Chapter 11: Death Match

Chapter 11: Death Match

This... bloody thing can summon minions!

The sudden twist caught Li Yan completely off guard.

Plans rarely survive first contact with reality. Though he couldn't fathom how the Cold Altar Rampage Soldiers had managed this, the situation had undeniably shifted from a one-on-one duel to a brutal gangbang.

Looks like I pushed my luck with the taunts...

No time for regret. Li Yan sprang up, drawing his blade in one fluid motion.

Clang!

He held the sword in his right hand, tip angled upward, body crouched in a half-lunge stance. His left hand gripped the scabbard backward, holding it horizontally at his waist as he slowly retreated.

This was the Pressing Blade Stance—balanced for offense and defense. The angled tip could pierce charging beasts instantly, while the scabbard served as both bludgeon and shield.

He retreated until his back pressed against the Village Earth Shrine's incense burner, then crouched, snatching the sacred tassel from the offering table and tucking it into his chest.

The Wolf Pack was dangerous, but the greater threat lurked within the Cold Altar Rampage Soldiers. This Heavenly Triad Demon-Repelling Tassel held the key to victory.

Of course, now wasn't the time to use it recklessly.

The wolves didn't hesitate. With a thunderous howl, three Alpha Wolves lunged.

Baring jagged fangs, two charged low toward his abdomen, aiming to disembowel him. The third leapt skyward, jaws snapping toward his throat. A classic Wolf Pack triple-assault—evade the neck strike, and the other two would still tear him open.

But Li Yan was ready.

He stepped forward in a half-lunge, his right foot barely touching ground before his blade flashed.

It created an illusion—the steel moved faster than his body.

This was the secret of Guanzhong Quickblade.

Ordinary swordsmen grounded their power, channeling force from feet to waist to arm, each strike carrying a thousand catties of weight. But Guanzhong Quickblade struck mid-step, relying on sheer arm strength and a razor-sharp blade to compensate.

What good was a mighty strike if your throat got cut first?

The Wolf Sword School had built its reputation on this very trick.

The leaping wolf was still mid-air when the blade pierced its throat, cleaving through its skull. Blood sprayed as momentum carried the beast forward, its severed head practically vaporized by the Guan Mountain Blade's edge.

The ground assault came next. Li Yan retreated, flipping his scabbard upward to pierce the left wolf's throat while sweeping his blade downward in a single motion.

Pfut!

The right wolf lost a forelimb, tumbling sideways. Li Yan advanced, planting his foot solidly as he swung his leg in a sweeping kick—his "Horse-Blocking Leg"—slamming the crippled beast seven or eight meters away, kicking up a cloud of dust. The wolf lay broken, blood spilling from its mangled waist, its struggles fading.

Li Yan finished the left wolf next, driving his scabbard through its throat before plunging his blade downward from the back of its neck, pinning it to the earth.

Blood sprayed his face. He didn't flinch, his cold gaze fixed ahead.

The Wolf Pack fought with calculated brutality—never swarming, always probing for weaknesses in rotating waves. Even failed attacks aimed to wear prey down. Against such relentless pressure, even the mightiest beasts would collapse, physically and mentally.

This strategy minimized losses—a necessity in the wild, where injury meant death.

But their tactics faltered today. The wolves hadn't anticipated Li Yan's blade moving this fast—three Alphas felled in mere breaths. The remaining pack circled warily, howling, unwilling to charge yet unwilling to flee.

Li Yan's focus locked onto the lead Alpha.

He could smell that familiar stench of decay—stronger last night, yes, but weakened now.

Wang Guaifu had been right.

The Rampage Soldiers' host had suffered multiple injuries. Even after devouring wandering spirits for miles around, it had reached its weakest state.

The possessed wolf circled the Shrine's incense perimeter but didn't dare enter.

So—they wanted to drag me out.

Li Yan stood motionless, blade raised.

One would erase this plague. The other craved his flesh and soul.

Who would break first?

The standoff shattered with a guttural roar.

The Rampage Soldiers' host howled, its stench erupting. Several wolves voided their bladders in terror. Driven by its will, the pack surged toward the Shrine.

"Die!"

Li Yan bellowed, his back pressed to the Shrine. The Guan Mountain Blade slashed left and right, finishing two Alphas with a skyward kick before his inexperience betrayed him.

Too many attackers. After the initial flurry, his movements slowed, openings appearing. The wolves seized the moment.

His right arm locked in a wolf's jaws, the others tearing at his limbs. Even when he kicked them off, they returned like relentless shadows.

A distant howl rang out—

The Rampage Soldiers' host, fearing damage to its prize, issued new orders.

The pack shifted tactics, biting his limbs to drag him outward.

Pain lanced through his body, fury through his mind.

This was the critical moment.

Even if he broke free, exhaustion would follow. Even if the Substitute God Statue restored his strength, the Rampage Soldiers would finish him.

Only one path remained—kill the host.

Gritting his teeth, Li Yan released his blade, letting the pack drag him toward the Rampage Soldiers' wolf. Blood painted the earth as dust swirled behind them.

They reached the Imperial Road's edge—beyond the Shrine's protective incense.

The possessed wolf pounced, pinning Li Yan's chest, its fangs bared in a snarl.

He felt the cold surge through his spine, spreading like wildfire. Numbness crept across his skin, his consciousness fading.

Then—the Substitute God Statue activated.

Li Yan's instincts proved correct. The curse attacked his spirit, but possession required physical transformation. If his organs began leaking black fluid as Wang Guaifu warned, it would be over.

The Statue's power restored his clarity.

No more hesitation. He gripped the Heavenly Triad Demon-Repelling Tassel, pressing it against the Guan Mountain Blade before driving it upward.

The Rampage Soldiers' host was mid-ritual—no time to dodge.

Pfut!

Wolf blood and black ichor dripped.

A guttural scream erupted from the beast—part beast, part human, overlapping in eerie dissonance.

The remaining wolves scattered, bowels and bladders voiding, fleeing into the brush.

Li Yan ignored them.

The moment the Trinity Demon-Subduing Coin met the blade, icy cold surged through the wolf's body.

Not just flesh—

He could smell the Coin's power, mingling with the Rampage Soldiers' stench.

The Yang Six Roots awakened his sense of smell—his Divine Ability. Not as direct as Yin-Yang Eyes, but he felt the forces clashing.

The "Hundred Battles Indomitable" plague and Shrine incense were warm, yang forces. They canceled the Rampage Soldiers' power on contact.

But the Trinity Coin's energy was yin—colder than the Rampage Soldiers themselves, like ice sinking into water.

Not merely resisting—absorbing.

The howls weakened.

Finally, as the Rampage Soldiers' stench vanished, the wolf's corpse stilled.

Thud!

Li Yan shoved the body aside, gasping. The Substitute God Statue worked overtime, sealing his wounds between breaths.

Only torn clothes and blood marked the battle's toll.

The Statue could erase all physical damage—even muscle fatigue.

Yet mental exhaustion lingered. He lay there, panting, before rising slowly.

Then his face froze.

Inside his Dantian, the Substitute God Statue's accumulated damage reached its limit—cracks spiderwebbed across its surface, threatening collapse.

A flicker of ghostly flame extinguished on the Statue's left shoulder.

Like a machine rebooting, it restored itself, flawless once more.

So... that cost me a life?

Li Yan spat in disgust.

But without the Statue, he'd be dead.

Wang Guaifu's patron—the legendary Horsebound Spirit Master—might be hiding, but if even they feared this Rampage Soldiers...

Suddenly, his grip on the Guan Mountain Blade tightened.

Cold radiated from the blade, intensifying. It felt like holding an icicle. His bones ached, skin numbing.

He dropped the blade instantly.

The tassel's yellow ropes and Trinity Coin lay soaked in blood, reeking of Rampage Soldiers' power.

Absorbing the curse had strengthened the artifact—but at a cost.

Using it again would only grow harder.

He needed solutions.

Or... a master to teach him, to open the door to this hidden world!

Pocketing the tainted tassel carefully into the Sacred Red Cloth pouch, Li Yan vanished into the night.

Wang Guaifu's courtyard came into view.

He paused at the threshold.

The stench of blood and incense—gone.

Pushing the door open, he found the yard empty.

Ancestral tablets, red ropes, incense burners—all vanished.

The odd formation of jars lay scattered, filth pooling across the ground.

Wang Guaifu and the Horsebound Spirit Master had erased all traces of their presence.

Li Yan's suspicions hardened.

They were running from something...

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end