Chapter Forty-Two: Even a Rabbit Bites When Cornered

The iron cage trapped both the Blade Master and Shadow Muyang. Above them, a massive sword gradually materialized, hanging ominously overhead. As the great sword descended, the Blade Master managed to block the first strike with his blade. On Shadow Muyang’s side, unable to use firearms to defend, he could only brace himself with his hands.

His knees bent slightly, and he nearly had the sword driven into his body, but he held on. Afterward, another giant sword appeared above the cage, plunging down vertically again. The Blade Master blocked this one as well, though his blade bent under the force and looked as though it might give way at any moment.

Shadow Muyang, on the other hand, couldn’t hold out any longer. The enormous sword pierced straight through his chest, and, overcome by pain, he dropped the first sword he had managed to catch. It fell, wounding him again.

A third massive sword then appeared above the cage. This time, Shadow Muyang didn’t bother resisting—he allowed the sword to run through him freely. But the Blade Master wasn’t so lucky; he didn’t possess Shadow Muyang’s regenerative power. A single strike from the giant sword would cost him nearly half his life.

At that moment, the Blade Master drew a short dagger and stabbed it into his own defending blade. The long sword snapped, but in that instant, the protective dagger emitted a faint blue glow. A humanoid spirit burst forth, and with a casual wave, shattered the iron cage—dispelling the impartial arena in an instant.

The spirit of the protective blade spoke to the Blade Master, “You’re using me so soon? It’s a pity about the new blade. Still, had you not made a sacrifice, that domain would’ve killed you just now.”

Looking at Shadow Muyang, the Blade Master said to the blade spirit, “Kill him.”

The blade spirit turned to look at Shadow Muyang, then shook its head at the Blade Master. “Your blade’s energy is still far from enough. If you had tens of thousands more, maybe we could talk, but this man possesses the trait of immortality. Did you think your blade, with its almost negligible destructive attribute, could kill any creature? Besides, this isn’t even his real body—he’s likely an important figure. Wait, there’s yet another guardian left. No wonder the Paradise wants you to kill him. The reward must be attractive, and the punishment likely unbearable. If I know Paradise, this task is mandatory.

“I’ll negotiate the punishment with Paradise for you. As for that guardian boy over there, he offended you earlier, didn’t he? I imagine your mission is to purge the Paradise crossers here. Aside from the one I’m protecting, do as you please with the rest.

“Give him the locations!” The blade spirit tapped the Blade Master on the head. In an instant, the blade spirit had deduced the entire purpose of Shadow Muyang and the Blade Master’s tasks, explained everything that required compensation or clarification, leaving Shadow Muyang with nothing to complain about. After all, the spirit had shattered the domain of equality in an instant, spoke to him amicably, and even offered compensation—one could hardly ask for more.

Though the Blade Master seemed somewhat dissatisfied, he had no choice. He casually tossed out a map, which marked the locations of all Paradise personnel.

Upon closer inspection, Shadow Muyang realized this was actually a pale gold artifact.

[Item: Paradise Locator Map
Level: Pale Gold
Function: Upon use, any target within 1,000 kilometers will have their position revealed unconditionally for 72 hours. Cannot be used again during this period, and the effect cannot be interrupted unless the target dies. (Cooldown: 5 days)
Paradise Map: All allied Paradise personnel are marked.
Comment: “Hey, ally, where are you?”]
[This is a unique artifact of Winter Paradise, of extraordinary value. It will be exchanged for a random divine artifact. Do you accept?]
[Yes] [No]

Shadow Muyang paused, then turned to the Blade Master and the blade spirit. “You two have forgotten one thing.”

The Blade Master looked at him in confusion, while the blade spirit said, “Guardian, you’ve received what you wanted. Don’t push it.”

Shadow Muyang shook his head and pointed at the Blade Master. “Your accomplice wounded the soul of my servant. I want nothing else—just restore her soul.”

The blade spirit glanced at the Blade Master for an explanation. The Blade Master, momentarily stunned, remembered that he had indeed cooperated with someone else to kill Muyang—someone whose requirement for advancement was to slay a vengeful spirit, specifically Muyang’s Sadako. Upon realizing this, the blade spirit relented and said to Shadow Muyang, “Very well.”

“Let me tell you, your negative energy is fierce. If it weren’t for the master-servant contract, I’d have killed you,” Sadako said to Muyang.

“That’s just how he is. If he weren’t a bit overbearing, he wouldn’t be able to protect himself. To be honest, if you hadn’t tried to take me away, you wouldn’t have ended up bound by that contract. In a way, you only have yourself to blame,” Muyang replied meekly.

“That’s a bit much, don’t you think?” Sadako said.

“Sorry,” Muyang apologized softly.

Seeing Muyang like this, Sadako’s anger faded considerably.

As Sadako was deep in conversation with Muyang’s main consciousness in his spiritual world, she sensed herself being summoned by Shadow Muyang. Reluctantly, she left his mental space.

The blade spirit gave Sadako a gentle tap. The ethereal Sadako began to solidify, while the blade spirit itself grew fainter.

Shadow Muyang beamed at Sadako. “So, how was your chat with my main self? Not bad, right?”

…

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