Death… and me

The bright moon and the dazzling stars had lit-up the sky. The radiance of the moon made it look as magnificent as a bright-silver spoon. In fact, its lustre made it look like something out of a dream.

Almost everyone was exhausted after the last day's fierce competition. So, it was calm and peaceful everywhere.

Several influential clans from the Middle Three Heavens had come to participate in the competition. So, most of the people from Jiang Hu had left the scene because they knew about their hopelessness in the situation. Moreover, no one knew when-and-where the so-called descendants of Ask the Heavens Sword and the Underworld Saber had vanished.

Suddenly, a loud shout was heard, "Hand over the Moonlight Sword to me!"

People saw a stunning sword-light soaring high into the sky. A man could be seen fleeing at a lightning speed; he was being closely followed by another man with a sword-light.

Then, both the men disappeared.

The appearance of the Moonlight Sword was quite subtle in comparison to the Sunlight Saber. However, it hadn't failed to surprise people.

But, no one could deny that martial art experts would always be martial art experts; no matter how surprising the Moonlight Sword may've been.

Suddenly, a loud sound was heard in the Heaven Reaching Tower; it was followed by the appearance of a few shadows. Each of the shadows possessed a powerful spiritual pressure. They flew-up towards the sky, and took a sharp turn in the air as they set-off in hot pursuit.

The entire Heaven Reaching Tower had boiled over. Innumerable figures broke out from its windows, and flew-off in order to join the pursuit.

The importance of the Moonlight Sword had risen significantly since the Sunlight Saber had fallen into Ao Xie Yun's hands.

Mo Tian Yun and the other Young Masters felt extremely anxious.

The Ao Clan's strength would exceed theirs in no time if Ao Xie Yun managed to obtain the secret of the Sword and the Saber. This was a matter of life and death.

It was an extremely pressing issue for Ao Xie Yun as well.

After all, he already possessed the Sunlight Saber. So, how could he not go all-out to obtain the Moonlight Sword as well?

In fact, the first person to discover and chase after the Moonlight Sword was a member of the Ao Clan!

The sword-light was moving towards the west. The person holding the Moonlight Sword didn't stop even once. Instead, he continued to advance forward while avoiding all the obstacles posed to him by the people. He darted past them while leaving behind a trail of dispersed blood-flowers.

This person seemed to be more merciless than the Master of the Sunlight Saber.

The people who blocked his way… had to die.

He was using his actions to elucidate his statement. It would've been clear to everyone even if he hadn't even spoken a single word.

The sword-light stopped abruptly as the pursuers neared it; he came to the ground at the same time.

Then, he vanished without a trace.

The King Level Experts looked around in all directions. Some of them even searched in the air in the surrounding area. But, they couldn't find anything.

[Is it possible that he has escaped?]

Suddenly, the sword-light appeared about a thousand feet away in front of them.

Everyone's morale was lifted once again.

It was clear that it wasn't fake.

They saw a hill ahead. A shabby and dilapidated army camp was situated at its base. It seemed as if the troops had been stationed there since some time.

The military flag looked worn-out.

It looked like an ordinary military compound at the first glance. And, only a few knowledgeable people knew that it was the headquarters of the Golden Horse Riders Department!

The army camp had been designed in a manner to trick people's eyes, but there was an entire space hidden under this hill. Moreover, the hidden underground space was much larger than the area of the camp visible on the ground.

After all, the invincible Golden Horse Riders Department was located at that place!

Dong Wu Shang darted forward with the sword in his hand as Luo Ke Di chased him. It seemed as if they were mortal opponents who had found themselves in the same place. Bang! Bang! Bang! They continued to fight with each other in front of the soldiers.

"Brother, let me go… I'll surely return the favor in future," Dong Wu Shang shouted with a hint of desperation in his voice.

"Cut the crap! I want you to hand over that sword to me," Luo Ke Di was disguised as a black-clothed enemy with a cold frosty visor to mask his face.

"Are you refusing to let me go?"

"I am."

"You're forcing me to make a move."

"I don't care…"

"Wa… Ya… Ya… you're making me angry!"

"Ahwooh… Ahwooh… just hand over the sword to me; come on!"

This brainless interchange continued as both of them continued to shout at each other in a crazy manner.

Luo Ke Di couldn't help but think to himself in fascination, [F**king hell, you can't judge a book by its cover. This Second Young Master of Dong family is truly a mystery. I never imagined that he would be such a skilled actor.]

The silhouettes of the experts could be seen swirling in the distance.

The first wave of troops arrived; one of them entered the fight without saying a single word. He then tried to grasp the Moonlight Sword with his eagle-claw-like fingers.

Dong Wu Shang got furious.

He slashed his sword in the air.

The man snorted loudly. Then, the blood-colored light flashed. And, his fingers were cut-off in the process. However, Dong Wu Shang also staggered backwards as he received a malicious blow on his chest. The impact caused the blood capillaries inside his nose and mouth to burst open.

He might've even ended-up losing his grip on the sword if he hadn't relied on the sharpness of the sword.

The silhouettes of several people appeared in the distant horizon since they had rushed at great speeds. Moreover, several magnificent crowns had gradually assembled in the sky.

Everyone eventually arrived at the place.

They huddled in a circle, and trapped Dong Wu Shang inside the formation.

Mo Tian Yun stood in the front; his eyes were flashing with determination. He had become determined to win the Moonlight Sword for himself when he had seen a fierce competition going on over it.

Ao Xie Yun stood calmly with his hands crossed.

It would've been senseless to begin another martial arts contest. Ao Xie Yun was certain to win owing to his strength. That would be equal to presenting the Moonlight Sword to him with both hands. What could be done now?

"You want to steal my Moonlight Sword?" Dong Wu Shang looked at the people around him in a bitter manner.

Xie Dan Qiong sighed and said, "Listen, warrior… You can assess the situation you're in. You can't deal with it alone. So, you might as well hand over the sword… and save your life."

"Hand over the sword to whom?" Dong Wu Shang responded with a sneer.

Xie Dan Qiong became speechless.

Dong Wu Shang was right… Whom was he supposed to hand over the Moonlight Sword to?

Who would say 'no' to the Moonlight Sword?

Or who would dare to be the first one to take it under these circumstances?

Everyone remembered the time when Mo Tian Yun had been the first person to receive the Sunlight Saber. They knew what had happened after that. So, they couldn't help but hesitate from taking an action.

It was certain that the first person to obtain the Moonlight Sword wouldn't win it. After all, that person would become everyone's target, and would end-up exhausting all his strength as a result.

These people were wary of taking any action as they were burdened with these doubts.

"What's wrong? Is it too difficult to decide what to do?" Dong Wu Shang taunted, "How about I give you a proposal? Would you like to hear it?"

"What kind of proposal?"

"Why don't you all start killing each other until there's only one person alive? I'll give this Moonlight Sword to that person. What do you think?"

"Bullsh*t! What utter nonsense!" Everyone was obviously angered by the suggestion.

[Do you really think we're that stupid?]

"Then, what do you plan to do? Do you all want to keep standing here in a stalemate?" Dong Wu Shang asked as he lifted the sword.

Suddenly, Dong Wu Lei had a familiar feeling as he saw a black-clothed masked man. The masked man looked extremely familiar and close to him. He couldn't resist, and asked, "Who are you?"

Dong Wu Shang grunted, "Why are you asking who I am when you're going to snatch the sword anyway?"

"I say capture him first. After that, we'll discuss what to do," Li Xiong Tu roared, and took the lead. He then pounced at his target.

Dong Wu Shang laughed as he looked up, "Come on!"

Li Xiong Tu made no attempts to hide. Instead, he charged forward with his sword.

He ended-up making a reckless move.

Li Xiong Tu was famous for his extraordinary strength in the Middle Three Heavens. But, the collision with this masked man made him feel as if he had bumped into a mountain. His enemy looked as if he weighed hundreds of pounds. But, the impact was much more massive.

He seemed as strong and immovable as a chunk of an ice-cold iron.

Li Xiong Tu cried out. He spouted blood from his mouth as he was pushed back. Two of his frontal ribs cracked inside his chest with breaking sounds. He cursed in anger even before he had landed, "F**k! Who are you mother**ker? How can you be so heavy?"

Li Xiong Tu had once clashed with a bison. But, his injuries hadn't turned out to be this severe even then. So, this was obviously very hard for him to accept. He wouldn't have been so shocked even if he had been beaten.

Dong Wu Shang was also pushed five or six steps backwards. He snorted coldly, but didn't reply.

Li Xiong Tu took a closer look at the built of the masked man who was carrying the saber on his back. He couldn't stop to think that the ordinary-looking saber weighed about five-hundred-and-seventy pounds.

His weight combined with that of the saber reached over eight-hundred pounds. Li Xiong Tu was taken aback by his body mass. After all, he had realized that he couldn't have gotten away without suffering any injuries since his cultivation level was much lower than his opponent's.

Everyone became more cautious from that moment onwards.

"That's it! I'm done!" Dong Wu Shang appeared disappointed as he looked towards the bright crowns. He shook his head and said, "I had initially thought that I would be able to devote myself entirely to cultivation after obtaining this Moonlight Sword, and would become an invincible Jiang Hu expert. But, I had never thought that this precious treasure wasn't destined to belong to me."

He heaved a deep sigh, and said in a desolate tone, "Sword, Oh Sword… Am I really going to lose you forever?"

His sorrowful feelings stirred-up everyone's emotions for a moment.

Dong Wu Shang looked towards the sky, and shouted loudly, "If it can't belong to me — then I'll make sure that it doesn't belong to anyone."

Dong Wu Shang then let out a long and loud shout as he leapt-up more than a hundred feet high into the sky. The Moonlight Sword sparkled in the bright moonlight; it seemed as if it was merging with the moon.

Everyone was puzzled since they didn't know why Dong Wu Shang had jumped. They thought that it was an upward jump with no momentum; even though it was an admirable leap. After all, wouldn't he just come crashing down?

Suddenly, the masked man flung his arm in the air with a loud shout. Then, a long beam of red energy shot out of his hand.

The trail of light left behind by the energy looked like the tail of a comet. It surmounted a distance of several thousand feet in a flash. Then, it advanced towards the hills.

After that, it vanished with a loud clanging sound.

Thrown away?

The sword had indeed been thrown away!

Moreover, it had been thrown from a high altitude with great force.

Everyone had witnessed the sharpness of the Sunlight Saber. Therefore, the same could be expected of the Moonlight Sword.

The force with which it had been thrown indicated that it had penetrated hundreds of feet into the ground.

Moreover, it would be difficult to pinpoint the location of its fall in the dim-lit night…

Everyone obviously became furious as they realized this.

Dong Wu Shang landed on the ground. After that, he ran in the direction of his brother – Dong Wu Lei. He then shouted, "You'll be dead — not injured — if you try to catch me!"

Dong Wu Lei's iron-clad face turned furious as he heard these words. He said, "You scoundrel! Just wait and see how I beat you to death, you bastard!" They interlocked their palms and moved forward. The ringing of sounds made the scene quite exhilarating.

Dong Clan's First Young Master had personally taken an action. So, how could the others join the scene? Moreover, most people were only concerned about the Moonlight Sword. Therefore, a large crowd swarmed to the place where the sword had fallen.

The forces from the army barracks attempted to block them. But, they failed, and were run-over in no time.

A King Level Expert on the front opened a large hole in the hill with his hand. He then shouted loudly, "F**k! There's a big labyrinth under the camp!"