Volume One: First Signs of Brilliance Chapter 81: Are You Saying I Don’t Dare to Kill You?

Suddenly, a voice rang out.

“Say, aren’t you two celebrating a bit too soon?”

Sun Shan and the young man’s expressions changed instantly. They turned toward the voice and saw Wang Jue walking toward them, sword in hand. With a sweep of his arm, Wang Jue blocked their path. His face was cold as he said, “Hand over the goods. If you do, I might spare your lives.”

As the saying goes, when enemies meet, their eyes blaze with fury.

“You damned bastard!” Sun Shan, regaining his wits, glared with hatred. “You still dare show your face before me?”

“The spiritual medicine you mentioned—hand it over, now!” Wang Jue remained unmoved.

Sun Shan let out a furious laugh, his anger barely contained. “You’re the one who got my entire team killed, and now you have the nerve to block my way? I don’t know if I should call you stupid or just insanely arrogant!”

With those words, Sun Shan drew his twin axes and charged, bringing one down toward Wang Jue’s head with all his might.

As the axes hurtled toward him, Wang Jue did not dodge. He narrowed his eyes, stepping forward instead of retreating, and swung his sword.

Steel clashed with steel.

Sparks flew as their weapons collided, the sharp clangs ringing out like drums of war. The two figures moved with blinding speed, their swords and axes trailing arcs of fire through the air with every strike.

In the flash of each spark, Sun Shan’s face twisted with fury, while Wang Jue’s remained chilly and indifferent. The young man, knocked to the ground by the force of the wind, scrambled desperately to get up.

The battle erupted so abruptly that it shattered the tranquility at the edge of the blood-soaked forest.

Amid the swirling crimson mist, the two figures moved like phantoms, trading blows faster than the eye could follow. Their struggle was fierce and perilous, but as the fight wore on, Sun Shan grew more and more alarmed. His arms began to tremble with fatigue.

In just a matter of seconds, Sun Shan was forced to admit that Wang Jue’s strength surpassed even his worst fears. Power, speed, skill—Wang Jue’s abilities were far beyond what anyone his age should possess.

Where did this monster come from? Sun Shan fumed inwardly. He had just survived a deadly escape, and his strength was only half recovered. Otherwise, as a cultivator at the sixth stage of Spirit Nurturing, he wouldn’t be in such a sorry state—even if victory wasn’t certain, he wouldn’t be so humiliated.

“Boy, you think you have me cornered?” he snarled.

Wang Jue didn’t respond.

For him, this was the first battle he’d fought with all his might. The two assassins from the Nightshade Organization had left him on the defensive, his survival hanging by a thread. As for the Black Dragon Gang, the difference in strength was so vast he’d gained little real combat experience.

But this life-and-death struggle with Sun Shan was different. It honed his skills at a visible pace, granting him a deeper understanding of the master-level Basic Sword Art. His movements grew ever more fluid and deadly.

He continued to channel his star force, each sword strike screaming through the air with increasing ferocity. The sand and leaves beneath his feet swirled, forming a vortex around him.

Immersed in the flow of battle, Wang Jue seemed to forget that he was fighting for his life. Sun Shan had become little more than a training tool.

He didn’t even notice when the swirling vortex crystallized into a massive sword shadow. Instead, as his mastery increased, he felt the power behind his every move multiply, filling his heart with a fierce sense of pride.

Truth be told, Wang Jue could have killed Sun Shan at any moment. But he wasn’t in a hurry—he wanted to use this chance to master the sword technique completely. With every swing, his attacks became both more refined and more savage.

Faced with Wang Jue’s raging onslaught, Sun Shan’s expression darkened. He knew that if this continued, his defeat was inevitable.

“Qiangzi, now!” Sun Shan suddenly shouted. “We have to kill him, or we’ll never get out of here alive!”

The pale-faced young man hesitated only a moment. Gritting his teeth, he drew his sword and charged at Wang Jue, murderous intent in his eyes.

“It’s time to end this…” Wang Jue murmured inexplicably as the two attacked him from either side.

End this? Who does he think he is? Sun Shan was livid, feeling utterly insulted.

As Qiangzi lunged, Sun Shan followed up with a flurry of axe blows, seeking to strike from both sides.

But in the next moment, the scene changed dramatically.

Wang Jue’s technique became ethereal, ruthless, and overwhelmingly deadly—like thunder unleashed. In an instant, his sword light engulfed both attackers.

With a sickening crack, Qiangzi’s eyes widened in terror. His sword shattered under the force of Wang Jue’s blow, and bloody lines opened on his hand, growing wider and deeper until blood gushed out uncontrollably.

A shrill scream echoed through the air—he was dead before his body hit the ground.

The sight left Sun Shan cold with fear.

He too bore several deep gashes across his arms, chest, and face. If not for his considerable strength, he would have shared Qiangzi’s fate.

Now, looking at Wang Jue, there was dread in his eyes. “Let me go. We can end our feud here—what do you say?”

“Hand over the spiritual medicine you took,” Wang Jue replied, unmoved.

“Never!” Sun Shan spat the answer without hesitation.

“It’s not up to you.” Wang Jue’s gaze turned icy. He raised his sword, ready to attack.

A sudden rumble shook the ground.

Both men froze.

Sun Shan’s face turned ashen. That sound was all too familiar—it filled him with dread.

He turned, and saw a pack of blood-mad wolves closing in, their eyes burning with hunger.

Sun Shan was first startled, then let out a twisted laugh. “Ha! You can’t kill me now—if I die, you’ll die too!”

“Oh? You think I won’t kill you?” Wang Jue’s eyes flashed coldly. “Then watch closely and see if I dare!”

With that, he struck with his sword, the blow absolute and merciless.

Sun Shan never expected Wang Jue to be so relentless. All he could do was dodge in panic.

When he narrowly avoided the strike, he screamed, “Are you insane? With so many blood wolves, you can’t possibly fight your way out alone! If I die, you’ll be next!”

Wang Jue didn’t answer. The wolves were upon them.

Compared to Wang Jue, Sun Shan was in dire straits. Exhausted and battered, he was now beset by the blood wolves. A wave of terror swept over him as he saw the beasts tear into Qiangzi’s corpse.

All will to fight evaporated, but the wolves were relentless. Sun Shan shouted desperately, “Let’s put our fight aside and deal with these beasts together! Otherwise, we’ll both die here!”

But Wang Jue ignored him. With each wolf he cut down, his understanding of the master-level sword technique deepened. He could feel the power in his strikes transform.

At that moment, one of the blood wolves leaped from above, claws poised to crush Wang Jue’s skull.

A dazzling arc of sword energy erupted.

The wolf’s head exploded in a spray of blood and brain matter. The beast died instantly.

The strike was exhilarating.

Sun Shan, watching nearby, was dumbfounded. “How did your strength increase so suddenly? Were you hiding your true power this whole time?”

He had to admit, he wouldn’t have dared face that last sword strike.

A moment’s distraction, and a wolf’s claws raked Sun Shan’s right shoulder. He screamed in agony.

Fear gripped him—he didn’t want to die like his companion. In desperation, he hacked off the wolf’s caught foreleg and flung it aside.

Bleeding heavily, he staggered, sweat pouring from his brow as his face drained of color.

“Brother, help me! I’ll give you the spiritual medicine!” Sun Shan’s resolve crumbled as the blood wolves drew closer. “Just save me—I’ll give you anything you want! I don’t want to die, please!”

Wang Jue ignored his pleas.

Instead, he reflected that even within the same level of martial technique, understanding made all the difference in power. Before, his sword art was at the master level in name only; in practice, it was merely average.

Now, after this epiphany, he truly understood what it meant to be a master.

The difference was vast—strength, control, explosive power—all had risen dramatically.

His sudden surge in ability took some getting used to, but soon enough, he moved among the wolves like a god of slaughter.

Within moments, all the wolves, whether circling him or drawn by Sun Shan’s cries, lay dead at his feet.

Blood soaked the ground, transforming the forest’s edge into a scene from hell.

A sudden scream shattered the silence.

Wang Jue turned to see Sun Shan, his hand and leg severed, his abdomen torn open so his intestines spilled out, the stomach still visibly twitching inside the gaping wound—a ghastly, horrifying sight.

Anyone faint of heart would have either died of fright or lost consciousness on the spot.