Chapter 345 – Defeating Everyone Without Taking Damage? Mu Lin Is Human, Not a God

This attack by Xue Ying didn’t actually utilize any sophisticated abilities—it was merely a simple exertion of force and explosive speed.

Yet, abilities in this world aren’t necessarily better the more complex they are. Simplicity doesn’t equate to weakness.

There’s a saying in the martial world: “No defense is unbreakable; only speed is invincible.”

And there’s the more common adage: “Overwhelming force subdues all techniques.”

What Yan Yunyu demonstrated now was pure power and speed. But this very simplicity and purity made it even more difficult to counter.

At this moment, Black Sword’s pupils contracted as he realized that due to Xue Ying’s extreme speed and the length of her blade, he couldn’t dodge or escape—he could only block and endure.

He thought this, and he acted accordingly. Then:

“Boom!”

Amidst a deafening clap of thunder, he was sent flying hundreds of meters by Xue Ying’s single slash.

While still airborne, he uncontrollably spat out a mouthful of blood. Both arms he had used to block with his sword were numb and throbbing with pain, as if they had been broken.

“Impossible to match with brute force… How did Mu Lin manage to make her so powerful in just three days?”

The sent-flying Black Sword was utterly bewildered.

In his perception, Xue Ying’s cultivation level was only at the peak of Sha Refinement, mixed with some traces of Gang Condensation.

But after transforming into a dragon descendant, the power and speed she unleashed had long surpassed Gang Condensation, reaching the level of Gang Sha Unity.

And an eighteen-year-old at Gang Sha Unity—even among the precociously cultivated northern cultivators—was exceedingly rare.

Unfortunately, Black Sword was not one of them.

“Cough, cough…”

Because Xue Ying’s explosive outburst was so far beyond the norm, Black Sword’s mind raced with thoughts. But soon, he had no time for wild speculation… Xue Ying was closing in.

“Boom!”

Wrapped in crimson lightning, Xue Ying now resembled a charging train or a launched rocket.

With her explosive speed, she charged toward the still-flying Black Sword with an unstoppable, ferocious momentum.

Mid-flight, Black Sword was caught up. The thirteen-meter-long Blade of Slaughter descended once more with mountain-splitting force, crashing down toward his head.

“Boom!”

This time, from her commanding position, Xue Ying smashed Black Sword directly into the arena floor.

“Bang!”

With a deafening roar, the sturdy arena was cratered by the impact. Black Sword’s body lay collapsed in the pit, barely able to stand.

Yet it must be said that the Northern Wasteland Clans possess a fierce tenacity. Even now, Black Sword hadn’t given up. Instead, his severe injuries made him abandon all caution.

“Black Sword, release… Shadow of Death!”

With his furious shout, the deathly aura around him and his injuries transformed into a half-bodied spirit shrouded in black energy.

This spirit was closely linked to Black Sword. Relying on the eyes attached to Xue Ying and his understanding of Curse Arts, Mu Lin made a surprising discovery.

The Shadow of Death was actually closely tied to Black Sword’s injuries. The more severe his wounds, the closer he was to death, the stronger the Shadow of Death’s power became.

Only half-dead to unleash its power, and near death for full burst? How can such a Forbidden Power exist in this world?”

Black Sword’s ability left Mu Lin somewhat speechless, but it had to be admitted—this was a skill perfectly suited for ambushes.

Who could have imagined that the more severely wounded and closer to death the enemy became, the more dangerous they actually were.

Because Mu Lin hadn’t warned her, Xue Ying failed to realize this.

“Useless! Having received the power bestowed by Mu Lin, I am now very strong!”

“Boom!”

After murmuring these words, the Dragon-Blooded Blood Cherry in mid-air once again transformed into a Crimson Lightning, fiercely striking toward Black Sword.

“We’ve won!”

Xue Ying, wielding her saber in a downward slash, was unstoppable, like divine punishment. In contrast, Black Sword could barely stand, filling the Southern Aristocracy with excitement.

Meanwhile, the opposing Northern Aristocracy was also cheering jubilantly.

Others might not know, but these people understood the true value of the Shadow of Death.

The closer to death it was, the stronger its attack power became. With this ability, even if an enemy were significantly stronger than Black Sword, caught off guard, they would still be counter-killed by him.

And Xue Ying was precisely the type caught off guard.

What happened next further boosted their confidence.

Facing Xue Ying’s third furious slash, Black Sword did not use the Shadow of Death to block. Instead, he commanded the half-formed Shadow of Death to charge madly toward Yan Yunyu.

He intended to trade injury for injury, blood for blood.

And due to the nature of the Shadow of Death, “Boom!” When its host faced a fatal threat, the Death Qi on the Shadow of Death had become so dense it was about to ignite into flames.

The pitch-black flames, imbued with the intent of death, made even Xue Ying feel a sense of dread and perceive a lethal threat.

Yet, in the end, she did not retreat as Black Sword had anticipated, despite the threat from the Shadow of Death. The Long Saber in her hand still pressed forward relentlessly, slashing down furiously toward Black Sword.

“Swish!”

Thus, with neither side retreating, the Longsword burning with black flames and the blade of Crimson Lightning passed each other. Then, without even a moment’s pause, both weapons struck their respective enemies.

“Boom!”

Without any defense, Black Sword’s frail body was utterly incapable of withstanding the power of the Dragon-Blooded. With a single slash, his form and spirit were both annihilated beneath the crimson Long Saber.

This scene startled Mu Lin as well.

“What? So reckless? This is just a competition—are you really willing to perish together?”

Black Sword’s actions left Mu Lin utterly stunned.

He truly hadn’t expected the opponent to refuse to retreat even in the face of death.

But such fierce bravery also made Mu Lin understand why the Southern side had repeatedly failed in the conflicts between the Northern and Southern Prodigies.

The Southern Cultivators still approached it with the mindset of a competition.

Their opponents, however, were truly willing to decide life and death within the competition. With different mindsets, the strength they could unleash also differed.

As Mu Lin reflected, Black Sword’s Longsword, burning with pitch-black flames, also struck Xue Ying fiercely.

“Rip…”

Initially, this sword… failed to cut through Xue Ying’s defenses.

Unlike Yan Yunyu, Xue Ying had not chosen Baleful Qi like Blood Sha, Seven Stars Calamity Sha, or Yinghuo Sha—types that enhanced offensive power.

She had chosen the same as Mu Lin: Central Wuji Sha.

Its unwavering and unchanging nature strengthened her defenses, stabilized her genes, and enhanced her foundation.

—After fusing with the Crimson Holy Grail and gaining the ability to transform into a demonic creature, Xue Ying was not without consequences.

She was, after all, human. Frequent transformations into demonic creatures and contamination by their genes could cause her own genes to risk collapse.

Moreover, the demonic forms she transformed into were not just one kind, but varied and diverse, which made the probability of her genetic collapse even higher.

Under such circumstances, fusing with the Central Wuji Sha, with its immovable and unchanging nature, would stabilize her foundation, keeping it unshaken.

And at this moment, this Baleful Qi was exerting its own characteristics, making Xue Ying’s body ‘immovable and unchanging.’ Even though Black Sword’s deathly attacks were terrifyingly powerful, they still found it difficult to break through Xue Ying’s defenses.

Hmm… This was also related to the fact that the Baleful Qi refined by Xue Ying, combined with the Baleful Qi from her Divine Position, amounted to seven times that of a conventional Prodigy.

Bigger is better, more is beautiful.

Her massive size bestowed upon Xue Ying immense power, while the abundance of Baleful Qi rendered her defenses nearly impenetrable.

This was also why she dared to disregard the opponent’s attacks.

However, while Xue Ying had anticipated much, she had not expected that the ability Shadow of Death would be related to death itself.

The closer to death, the more powerful the Shadow of Death becomes. Being on the brink of death granted Black Sword the ability to fight above his level, and truly dying caused the power of the Shadow of Death to surge yet another tier.

“Whoosh!”

The overflowing deathly intent caused the Shadow of Death to truly ignite with flames of death all around it. That terrifying sword strike instantly shattered Xue Ying’s defenses and reached her body.

“Shh…”

Under that horrifying attack, whether it was the Central Wuji Sha, her dragon scales, her resilient flesh, or her sturdy bones, their defenses were almost nonexistent.

This sword pierced through them all and penetrated deep into Xue Ying’s body.

If not for her enlarged form after transformation, this sword would have pierced Xue Ying completely… no, it would have split her in two.

Even now, her condition was far from good.

A wound several meters long, reaching her internal organs, appeared directly on Xue Ying’s body.

That terrifying injury left no doubt that Xue Ying could die on the spot.

Mutual destruction—no, rather, one dead and one injured—this was the outcome of the battle.

As the battle ended, watching the gradually dissipating Shadow of Death and the utterly annihilated Black Sword, Xue Ying sighed and said, “You didn’t have to go this far. This was just a contest, not a fight to the death. There was no need for you to use such life-risking methods.”

Hearing this, the gradually fading Shadow of Death revealed a somewhat relieved smile.

“This isn’t a bad thing for me…”

Seeing Black Sword’s sense of relief, recalling his desperate fighting style just now, and the eerie, terrifying Forbidden Power, Mu Lin slowly understood everything.

“The Forbidden Power grants them immense strength, but it also torments them like a bone-deep parasite, with no end in sight. Because of this, many among the Northern Wasteland Clans cannot bear it and develop a self-destructive tendency. They do not fear death; instead, due to the torment, they long for death to come.”

Mu Lin was reflecting with emotion, while the Southern Aristocracy, watching this battle, sighed and shook their heads.

“Again, it’s the same thing. Damn it, this is a contest, not a war. Why do you have to go so crazy and risk your lives every time?”

“Exactly, it’s not that we’re cowardly. It’s just that exhausting ourselves or dying in a contest feels so pointless for us humans…”

“At equal strength, we’re bound to lose. It’s really not our fault… Facing these maniacs, who wouldn’t be defeated?”

If their strength had been similar and she had harbored fear, Black Sword truly could have turned the tables in the previous battle.

After all, when that sword thrust came, if Xue Ying had retreated, she would have lost the initiative and been suppressed by Black Sword instead.

And if Black Sword had continued fighting like that, unwilling to risk his life, with their strength being comparable, Xue Ying would have had no chance of victory.

However, Black Sword had calculated many things, but what he hadn’t anticipated was that Xue Ying, relying on her formidable strength and astonishing defense, would neither dodge nor evade, instead taking that sword strike head-on.

Though, immediately afterward, Black Sword counterattacked once more.

At the same time, the Southern Aristocracy, looking at the injuries on Xue Ying’s body, sighed with regret.

“Ah, what a pity. Xue Ying’s strength is still formidable, but after this sword strike, she can no longer fight…”

“Losing brings no good outcome, and winning isn’t pleasant either. That’s why I don’t want to fight these madmen… Huh?!”

“Wait, what is this…”

…

Black Sword’s defeat and death left the Northern Aristocracy with grim expressions.

But years of combat, especially life-and-death struggles, had long accustomed them to such outcomes.

Moreover, it was Black Sword who had first risked his life in the previous exchange—had he chosen to defend, he would have been severely injured but survived.

Yet he didn’t; instead, he gambled, and the final result was simply that he lost the bet.

Understanding this, the Northern Aristocracy did not act as sore losers, shouting threats of revenge.

However, though they didn’t speak of revenge, they, like the Southern Aristocracy, believed Xue Ying was no longer capable of fighting.

Just as they were thinking this, an unusual change occurred on the arena.

“Hum…”

As a flash of crimson light passed, Xue Ying’s flesh and blood seemed to come alive, actively regenerating.

As her flesh grew, her injuries visibly healed at a rapid pace.

“Not only is her strength immense, her speed fast, and her defense high… but her recovery ability is also top-tier. Xue Ying has truly become a formidable warrior.”

“But it’s useless. The injuries inflicted by Black Sword aren’t so easily healed.”

This time, it was Qing of the Northern Wasteland Clans who spoke. As his words fell, Xue Ying’s healing wounds split open once more.

Even the newly regenerated flesh, corroded by the aura of death, turned to dust and rot.

This scene made the Southern Aristocracy grit their teeth in frustration and tremble with fear—they had witnessed such scenes countless times before.

And it wasn’t just them who wore troubled expressions.

The Dragon Clan, tiger demons, Feather Clan, and other Foreign Races also furrowed their brows.

“Difficult to erase, indeed. I now understand why the humans of the South suffered consecutive defeats and eventually dared not even engage in duels. The methods of the Northerners are truly excessively troublesome.”

Some sighed, while others, based on the situation in the arena, began to judge the outcome.

The ones making this judgment were White Deer and Celestial Fox Tu Su of the Demon Race.

“Mu Lin is going to lose. He has no hope. The abilities of the Northerners are too terrifying and forbidden. Even if he wins, he’ll be left with injuries that are difficult to heal. Fighting a few more battles, even if he wins every time, he’ll eventually be defeated by the burden of his wounds.”

Many agreed with this assessment.

And this made them frown.

The Southern Aristocracy hadn’t invited them here just to watch. If Mu Lin lost, they would be the ones to step up next.

However, the forbidden abilities and life-risking tactics of the Northerners made even them somewhat apprehensive.

Just as the various members of the Demon Race were feeling troubled, a voice suddenly rang out among them.

“No, Mu Lin has a chance of victory. If he can defeat every opponent without injury, he won’t be held back by wounds.”

“That’s impossible. The Northern Aristocracy started cultivating earlier than him, have mastered Forbidden Power, and possess extensive combat experience—they are no weaklings. No matter how talented Mu Lin is, he is still human, not a god. How could he possibly defeat all his opponents without taking a single injury?”

It was the White Deer who refuted this statement.

After reasoning based on common sense, it also turned its head to see who had spoken such an unwise remark.

Then, to its surprise, it discovered that the one who had spoken was none other than one of the Demon Race’s leaders, the Black Fiend Tiger.

‘???’

‘What’s going on? The son of the Black King is usually quite steady—why would he say something so irrational?’

Not only was the White Deer puzzled, but the other members of the Demon Race were also confused.

However, since the Tiger Tribe was the king of beasts, none of the ordinary demons dared to ask.

But while others didn’t dare, White Tiger Li Jingjing, also of the Tiger Tribe, was bold enough.

“Black Tiger, why would you say such a thing? Are you trying to claim that you yourself can defeat the Northern humans without injury?”

“No, I don’t have that ability…”

“At least you’re sensible—you haven’t let arrogance cloud your judgment…”

The Black Fiend Tiger’s denial made White Tiger Li Jingjing smile slightly, and she casually began to say something.

However, before she could finish her words, the Black Fiend Tiger’s next statement left them all stunned.

“But even if I can’t do it, Mu Lin has a chance. Don’t underestimate him—that man is stronger than we imagine!”

“?!”

(End of Chapter)