Great Demon Sun Wukong

The Elixir was acquired while patrolling the Heavenly Realm; after consumption, it could raise a Domain Lord Level cultivator by a minor realm. Originally, the Rogue Heart Sword Hero had no intention of using this Elixir since he had already spent so much time accumulating his cultivation to a critical point. Even without the Elixir, he could make a breakthrough at an opportune time, yielding much better results than normal incremental cultivation. The Rogue Heart Sword Hero was quite certain that if he made this attempt at breakthrough, his cultivation would surely reach the Peak of Domain Lord Level. With some luck, he could even possess the combat power of a Half-step Peak at the Domain Lord Level. However, due to the current battle, he was forced to stimulate his cultivation with the Elixir to make this breakthrough, which he estimated to achieve only seventy to eighty percent of the effect it would ordinarily have.

Yet if he didn't do this, there was a high chance he would be killed right here, rendering everything meaningless. As soon as the Elixir entered his mouth, it dissolved, and the Rogue Heart Sword Hero's cultivation surged instantly, lifting him directly to the peak of Domain Lord Level, just as he had anticipated. Accompanying this was a dramatic increase in his combat power. Most notably, he could temporarily resist the Kirin's influence—although still unable to attack it, he could now concentrate to the utmost. The Rogue Heart Sword Hero's plan was, although the Mirror Kirin's abilities were troublesome, they were not fatal. It was that Liushang who was truly lethal.

Therefore, after the sudden surge in his cultivation, the Rogue Heart Sword Hero charged towards the Mirror Kirin. He was well aware of how precise a qualified, or top-notch assassin's timing had to be. If he did not expose any fatal flaws, that Liushang would definitely not make a move easily. Assassins are different from warriors; they won't clash with you head-on with swords and sabers. And if the Rogue Heart Sword Hero deliberately exposed a weakness as bait, Liushang would mostly likely refrain from acting, being no fool and certainly capable of discerning the ruse with his level of cultivation. Thus, the Rogue Heart Sword Hero decided to put himself in a do-or-die situation—for without sacrificing oneself, how can one defeat the enemy?

This was the Rogue Heart Sword Hero's realization over this period. Previously in battle, although he was equally ferocious, his primary goal according to his beliefs was to protect himself, since he had a vendetta to fulfill and could not afford to die by any means. His consistent combat philosophy had been that even if he could not kill his enemy, at least he had to protect himself. With that mindset, the Sword Hero's attacks lacked the necessary fierceness, deadly though they might be, they did not carry the unstoppable momentum crucial for a swordsman, which was fatal.

However, during his tenure in the Heavenly Realm, having witnessed the combat style of Po Jun from the Myriad Gods Hall, the Rogue Heart Sword Hero had an epiphany, which was also in connection with his defeat of Wan Jun and leading Wan Jun back to the Righteous Path. Wan Jun had always been a mountain weighing on the Rogue Heart Sword Hero's heart, the intertwining of hatred and kinship leaving him breathless. Now, with that mountain vanished, he, the Rogue Heart Sword Hero, was free from all concerns. Combined with the enlightenment from Po Jun's "I am the only one" fighting style, the Rogue Heart Sword Hero acquired a special aura.

This unique aura was fully showcased in his battles. His current actions were the best evidence—if one wished to defeat the enemy, one must disregard oneself. As a swordsman, what's needed is to pierce the enemy's heart with the sword in one's hand before the enemy stabs your own. This is the essence of being a swordsman. If one is preoccupied with self-preservation, such a person is not fit to be a swordsman; they're more suited to be a Blade and Shield Soldier.

After grasping the true essence of a swordsman, the Rogue Heart Sword Hero took a firm step towards becoming a true Sword Hero. Thus his strike was resolute, void of any hesitation or concern whether the sword could slay the enemy, nor did he care if the enemy behind him might inflict harm. All that mattered was thrusting his sword into the chest of the man before him. Even if the person appearing before him was himself. As a swordsman, one must remain undisturbed by external factors. To become a Sword Hero, one must possess a heart that can cut down anything, including oneself!

However, the current Rogue Heart Sword Hero hadn't reached that point yet; his sword lacked such decisiveness. Hence, when the Mirror Kirin realized that its own illusions had no effect on the Rogue Heart Sword Hero, it immediately morphed the illusion into that of the Supreme Sword Sovereign. This move proved effective. The Rogue Heart Sword Hero, hesitated. His sword, slowed. This was not a deliberate flaw to lure out Liushang, but rather, when he saw the figure of the Supreme Sword Sovereign, his deepest feelings rippled. Consequently, his otherwise fatal thrust did not pierce the Mirror Kirin's chest but passed through its left arm. Still, the Mirror Kirin was scared out of its wits. It had never imagined that the man, who moments before dared not face combat due to its illusionary ability, would suddenly become so fierce. That one sword made the Mirror Kirin's heart palpitate—if not for its last moment reflex, the injury would not have been merely to the arm.

However, the Sin Mirror was no pushover. Although Rogue Heart Sword Hero's strike had given it quite a scare, ultimately it didn't claim its life. "Since you didn't kill me, now it's your turn to die!" Sin Mirror thought bitterly as it reflexively grabbed the blade of Rogue Heart Sword Hero's Seven-Star Dragon Abyss sword. Its left palm was immediately sliced open by the sharp blade, with blood spurting out, but Sin Mirror paid it no mind and continued to grip the blade tightly. It was evident that the blade had fully cut into its palm; in fact, Sin Mirror was gripping the Seven-Star Dragon Abyss with its palm bones.

At the same time, a shadow flashed by. Naturally, Liu Shang wouldn't pass up such a golden opportunity, which Sin Mirror had created for him. However, what neither Sin Mirror nor Liu Shang expected was that Rogue Heart Sword Hero suddenly let out a cold laugh, and the sword in his hand vanished. Following that, a voice as cold as bone chilled the air: "Demon-Breaking Sword, Ultimate Shadowless Slash!" This was the result of the Sword Hero's recent cultivation, and it was also his strongest move to date, not counting that forbidden move, of course!

Immediately after, Rogue Heart Sword Hero's body disappeared as well, and when he reappeared, he was already ten steps away. Standing tall, clutching the long sword in one hand and with a cold expression, Rogue Heart Sword Hero truly began to live up to the name in this moment. Soon after, a scream echoed from behind. The reason there was only one scream was that the Ultimate Shadowless Slash could currently only attack one person. Hence, Sin Mirror had not sustained further injuries from Rogue Heart Sword Hero's attack besides the shoulder and palm wounds. However, Liu Shang's situation was much more miserable; as he screamed, blood erupted from over a dozen places on his body, the scene resembling a human fountain, except what spurted out was scalding blood!

"Ah, it's still not enough. It looks like I have to continue my arduous cultivation. This power isn't sufficient!" Rogue Heart Sword Hero sighed and slowly turned around, his gaze once again falling on Sin Mirror. Just as Rogue Heart Sword Hero was preparing to use the Ultimate Shadowless Slash once more to finish off Sin Mirror, he suddenly heard a loud voice saying, "Retreat, form the Kirin Nine-Directions Formation!" The voice was loud, heard by everyone present.

"Damn it, they're going to escape, block them!" Rogue Heart Sword Hero immediately realized what was happening, but it was too late. Before the echo of Ye Xingchen's voice had even faded, every person present pinched the same hand seal. As for those who couldn't move, someone beside them took hold, and then, in an instant, they all vanished.

"Damn it, they had a teleportation array, and it was a single-use one too. It looks like they had it all prepared in advance!" After the Nine Kirin disappeared, a rather large formation suddenly lit up on the ground. This was a modified teleportation array. The shout that Ye Xingchen had made about forming the Kirin Nine-Directions Formation was just to divert Sun Wukong and the others' attention. Hearing about forming a formation would certainly require a sequence of actions. Yet no one imagined it was just their code for retreat, and their hand seals were merely to activate the teleportation array on the ground.

"These Nine Kirin had planned their escape before they even started the fight, only they didn't expect that a few of us would suddenly join in!" Sun Wukong and the others gathered together, eyeing each other, as Rogue Heart Sword Hero spoke.

"Sword Hero, do you know those people we just fought?" (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, we welcome you to vote for it with a recommendation ticket or Monthly Pass at Starting Point (qidian.com). Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users please visit m.qidian.com to read.)