As Evan Lin finished speaking, he paused mid-step. This time, instead of retreating, he advanced and reached out his hand.
Across from him, the black-robed man unleashed a sword strike. At the tip of his blade, there was a faint sound of wind and thunder, stirring the clouds in the sky and drawing in all the sand and gravel nearby.
The wild force seemed like it could split the earth itself. The black-robed man's robe billowed as the sword edge fell. At that moment, Evan Lin pressed his two fingers together and blocked the sword tip dead-on.
Time seemed to freeze in that instant.
The clouds stopped moving, and even the wind fell silent.
Only the faces of the crowd around them were filled with shock and disbelief.
Boom!
The next second.
A deafening blast erupted, spreading out from Evan Lin and the black-robed man at the center in all directions.
The violent force made the entire ground cave in, and countless trees and plants were bent low by the sword qi shockwave.
Dirt and stones flew everywhere, and fine dust drifted and swirled in the air.
The people around instinctively closed their eyes and covered their heads, afraid of being hit by flying debris and getting caught in the chaos.
A long moment passed.
"Is it over?" someone asked softly.
"It should be over, right? That's Sudden-Clarity! The guy with the sword is the Southriver Sword Sect's founding patriarch who just crawled out of the grave. With that sword, even a mountain could be split. No matter how strong Evan Lin is, he can't possibly take that strike." Harvey He swallowed hard.
He looked around at the others.
Dominic Ding, who had lost his arm, was still barely standing, but his face was deathly pale and his eyes were fixed on the spot where the dust hadn't settled yet.
The rest of the Southriver Sword Sect disciples, who used to flaunt their power and act superior, now looked like they were mourning a death—defeated and pathetic, almost comical.
Everyone stared at that spot, hardly daring to breathe.
"Selina, why don't we take this chance to slip away?"
Selina watched the scene unfold, letting out a startled cry.
"My last strike sealed off your acupoints. For at least five breaths, you can't move a muscle. This next sword? I'm taking your head!"
"Lin Jiuxuan! When was I ever inferior to you? Why does she love you so much? She was supposed to be mine!"
The black-robed man let out a wild howl, his face twisted with madness: "Go to hell! If I can't have her, if I can't see her again, then you won't see her either! You can't have her!"
Sudden-Clarity's blade flashed again, suddenly speeding up, about to slice across Evan's neck and take his head clean off.
"Sigh."
A soft sigh echoed out.
Evan stood there, completely still, then turned his head slightly, locking eyes with the black-robed man in front of him.
But it was already too late!
Sudden-Clarity's blade was just a hair's breadth from his neck!
Just one breath—one breath and a head would roll!
The black-robed man's face twisted with excitement, victory within reach. But when he saw the utter calm in Evan's eyes, a sudden, intense sense of danger surged up inside him.
That feeling of danger came out of nowhere.
But none of that mattered now!
The black-robed man gritted his teeth and pushed forward.
He was just a hair away from killing Lin Jiuxuan—if he did, he'd never be lonely on the Yellow Springs road again!
But then...
To everyone watching, Sudden-Clarity looked absolutely unstoppable.
But the moment it touched Lin Jiuxuan's neck, the entire blade shattered.
It was like glass smashing into solid steel—Sudden-Clarity blew apart in midair, scattering into a million shards.
The whole sword shattered, every last inch of Sudden-Clarity breaking apart.
From tip to blade, the entire sword crumbled into dust and drifted away on the wind.
But the boy standing there was totally fine—untouched, not even a scratch.
"What... What the hell just happened...?"
All that was left in the black-robed man's hand was a bare hilt—Sudden-Clarity's blade was gone.
He stared down at the hilt, dumbfounded, totally lost.
That was Sudden-Clarity!
In the whole Southriver Sword Sect, only the Broken Red-Dust Sword ranked higher than Sudden-Clarity!
"How can your body be sharper than my sword?"
His eyes went wide—back in the day, it was Sudden-Clarity that let him roam the world and found his own sect.
Most people only knew he used to be a stonecutter. He carved a stone statue, had a sword epiphany, and became a legendary hero—founding his own sect and roaming the world with Sudden-Clarity.
But hardly anyone knew he fell in love with that statue—and the woman it was based on was real.
He should've died hundreds of years ago, but he couldn't let go. The woman he loved was in love with someone else—a man named Lin Jiuxuan!
He pierced his own collarbones, endured centuries of agony, clinging to life on sheer will—just to kill Lin Jiuxuan!
Today, he came back from the brink, determined to finally finish what he started.
Everything was going just as he'd planned.
But at the very last second, Sudden-Clarity shattered—just like that Broken Red-Dust Sword he'd heard about in old legends.
A hero in twilight—there's always a bit of regret.
"Maybe if it was someone else, you would've won."
"Too bad your opponent is me."
"This sword—you still lost."
Evan spoke calmly, his expression distant and quiet.
He glanced over at the vertical coffin still locked in a standoff with Dustleave, a trace of inexplicable sorrow flickering in his eyes.
"How... how is this even possible...?"
Sudden-Clarity's blade was gone from the black-robed man's hand—he was left holding nothing but a bare hilt.
He just stared at the hilt, totally dazed and lost.
That was Sudden-Clarity!
In the whole Southriver Sword Sect, only the Broken Red-Dust Sword ranked higher than Sudden-Clarity!
"How can your body be sharper than my sword?"
His eyes went wide—back in the day, he roamed the world and founded the sect with Sudden-Clarity in hand.
Most people only knew he used to be a stonecutter. He carved a stone statue, had a sword epiphany, and became a legendary hero—founding his own sect and roaming the world with Sudden-Clarity.
But hardly anyone knew he fell in love with that statue—and the woman it was based on was real.
He should've died hundreds of years ago, but he couldn't let go. The woman he loved was in love with someone else—a man named Lin Jiuxuan!
He pierced his own collarbones, endured centuries of agony, clinging to life on sheer will—just to kill Lin Jiuxuan!
Today, he came back from the brink, determined to finally finish what he started.
Everything was going just as he'd planned.
But at the very last second, Sudden-Clarity shattered—just like that Broken Red-Dust Sword he'd heard about in old legends.
A hero in twilight—there's always a bit of regret.
"Maybe if it was someone else, you would've won."
"Too bad your opponent is me."
"This sword—you still lost."
Evan spoke calmly, his expression distant and quiet.
He glanced over at the vertical coffin still locked in a standoff with Dustleave, a trace of inexplicable sorrow flickering in his eyes.