Chapter 285: Chapter 285: Bottled Prisoner (9)_1
For fearless opponents who disregarded death, Fu Qian always held great respect, for example, granting them an intact corpse.
The black-clad swordsman named Yun before him seemed to treat this deadly contest as a trial.
“Over the years, I’ve struggled to find the Demigod Path, but without success,”
Yun said, twisting his body and holding the sword, readying his stance.
“Determine Sword, Invisible Sword, Killing Sword… none could help me take that one step.”
“To me, the only path I have yet to walk is now merely death.”
“Thus, the moment I stepped here, I was already dead, and all who come as enemies are but delusions.”
“And I shall extinguish the Delusional Heart, to be reborn from death.”
This step of becoming a demigod truly had driven a bunch of people insane!
Listening to the swordsman recount his life, Fu Qian shook his head and sighed.
In terms of strength alone, this man should be the strongest one he had encountered among all the prisoners up to now.
Hearing that he had been stuck on the demigod step for many years, it wasn’t too strange with his level of power.
And from the implications in his words, he was clearly a bit mad, perhaps even having entered voluntarily.
Indeed, it seemed like everyone in here had some sort of madness in them.
“Do you really want to fight him?”
At that moment, Ailina whispered from the side, her expression complex.
“Is there a problem?”
Fu Qian glanced at her.
“I’m aware of who Yun is,”
Ailina took a deep breath and spoke rapidly.
“Fourth Phase peak, Sword Dao Cultivation, he arrived at the Broken Lands not long ago, and soon after, he slaughtered an entire Exploration Team by himself, and was then captured by William.”
“I originally thought that although he was powerful, he wasn’t as much of a threat as Patrick.”
“But now it seems, he is even more insane than that Butcher, turning this death contest into his cultivation!”
“I used to wonder what grudge he had against that Exploration Team, but now it seems he came here specifically for this.”
“Perhaps he didn’t even resist when William captured him.”
Indeed!
Fu Qian nodded in agreement.
Butcher Patrick might seem murderously insane, but in reality, he was extremely adept at weighing the pros and cons of his actions, like earlier in the hall where he held back and didn’t strike in the end.
But this one was different, to him this was a trial of death.
Others were not even considered opponents to him, they were just delusions that interfered with his enlightenment, and his strategy was simply to kill whatever he saw.
The Sinflame, so dense around him it was to the extreme, even the faint glimmers seeping through his sword blade, well illustrated this point.
“He was already at the peak of the Fourth Phase, and now with the addition of Sinflame, I’m afraid his strength might’ve already broken limitations.”
“Unless you possess the strength of a demigod, you will have a hard time facing him,”
Ailina swallowed nervously, clearly not wanting to conflict with this person.
Seeing that Fu Qian remained unmoved, she added another point.
“And you should be clear on one thing, when you kill an opponent, their Sinflame will transfer onto you.”
Is that so?
This was the first time Fu Qian had heard of this.
Does that mean as long as one is strong enough, one could just find a place to sleep snugly, wait for others to fight it out, then swoop in to harvest at once?
Commonly known as fattening before slaughtering, it saves time and effort.
Of course, all this depended on being strong enough.
If you fattened it up too much and couldn’t overcome the Sinflame boost, then you’d truly have played yourself.
“This is indeed a problem, dealing with a body full of Sinflame is indeed troublesome,”
Fu Qian’s expression suddenly grew serious.
“But it seems you’ve misunderstood something, it’s not that I must kill him, but even if you want to leave, he may not be willing to let you go.”
Indeed, that was true.
Ailina didn’t argue—the man before her had always been a madman only interested in cultivating, and now, with his mind consumed by Sinflame, he was beyond saving.
The situation was indeed tricky, and she knew she should not have rushed down so hastily.
“How about this?”
At this point, Fu Qian suddenly changed his approach.
“How about I beat the guy half to death, and then you come in for the kill? You’re already soaked anyway,” he said.
…
Is this really a matter of being soaked or not? Hadn’t he considered whether he could actually defeat the man?
Ailina was so stunned by Fu Qian’s suggestion that she was almost ready to scream.
“Relax, don’t be tense—it looks like we don’t need to take action anymore,” he said.
The next moment, Fu Qian turned his gaze away, ignoring her.
No need to take action…
Ailina wondered, and subconsciously followed Fu Qian’s gaze. Her expression changed immediately upon seeing what was there.
A rhythmic clanging of metal was approaching from the darkness.
Seconds later, from the corridor in the distance, emerged a towering figure.
The figure, with a sword in each hand, was wrapped in a set of thick, heavy armor; the helmet was sculpted to mimic a human face.
The gleaming armor sparkled with cold light, and the figure’s stride even left trails of frost.
“Sin Seekers,” she murmured.
Seeing this scene, Ailina almost instantly breathed a sigh of relief.
With the arrival of Sin Seekers, it seemed someone had found the Goddess Statue.
It happened faster than expected but was undoubtedly a good turn of events given the current situation.
After all, there was no doubt that the Sin Seekers were here for Swordsman Yun.
Meanwhile…
Ailina stole a glance at Fu Qian without a flicker of expression.
The man was indeed powerful; she had been observing their surroundings all this time, yet she had utterly failed to detect the approach of the Sin Seekers.
For a moment, she felt somewhat grateful that she had chosen to save someone rather than kick them while they were down.
This thing is so eerie!
Fu Qian of course recognized it too; it was the very image of Sin Seekers that William had manifested earlier.
However, there was still a difference between an image and the real thing.
But this close encounter conveyed a distinct feeling.
First, not only was the expression on the heavy helmet fierce, but it also had no openings. It was hard to believe anyone would wear such an object for battle.
Second, it seemed capable of shielding detection; even with his abilities, Fu Qian couldn’t be sure if anyone was inside the armor, despite the close proximity.
Could it be that the armor was moving on its own?
Naturally, Yun had noticed the Sin Seekers too. From his perspective, he was suddenly flanked by enemies.
Normally, a sane person would run first, then find an opportunity to defeat them one by one.
However, this Swordsman, with his mind already clouded by Sinflame, was clearly not thinking clearly.
The next moment, he shifted his target and took a stance against the Sin Seekers.
The Sin Seekers, who had been walking with a steady gait, also stopped at a distance of about ten meters, seemingly peering at Yun through the closed helmet.
At this distance, one could feel the chilling cold emanating from him.
The staring only lasted a few seconds before Sin Seekers made a move.
With a leap and bowing of the body, the heavy figure soared high.
Mixing with a shroud of frost, it closed in the ten-meter gap instantaneously, with the silver-coated greatsword thrusting toward Yun’s face.
“Great swordsmanship!”
Caught off guard, Yun roared, drawing his sword instantly.
The next moment, two dark-red flames crossed in midair, forming a cross that met the body of the Sin Seekers.