Chapter 196: Nine Deaths Divine Art
Chapter 196: Nine Deaths Divine Art
Three days passed in almost the blink of an eye.
Sky Splitting Tiger spent those three days in complete silence, buried in drinking himself into oblivion. That night, as dusk fell, after finishing all the strong liquor the servants had piled in the side room, he slammed the emptied wine jar hard onto the floor, shattering it with a resounding ‘crack’. Jerking his head up sharply, he declared, “This wine really is a fine thing! Second brother, how about keeping your big brother company in a good fight?”
As he spoke, Sky Splitting Tiger reached out towards the air with an empty hand. The Overlord Spear resting against the wall flew into his grasp. He then leaped out into the courtyard beyond the door.
After learning of the tragedy in Jing Family Village and drinking himself senseless for three days, his face was haggard, his beard unkempt, making him look like a down-and-out street vagrant who had weathered half a lifetime adrift. But the moment the spear was in his hand, he instantly radiated an overbearing, mountain-heavy pressure. His tall, robust frame, the spear stained the red of blood, and the immense power churning within him combined to make him look like an invincible God of War, imposing and formidable.
“Alright!”
Mu Feng put away the Buddhist scripture he had been holding. With a movement, he leaped out himself, landing about a dozen steps away from Sky Splitting Tiger.
This overwhelming spirit, this fierce presence – this was the Sky Splitting Tiger he knew!
“Second brother,” Sky Splitting Tiger gripped his Overlord Spear firmly, paused for a moment, and looked straight at Mu Feng, “there’s something I never told you. It’s said our Jing family ancestors once boasted an undefeated Overlord who roamed the world unchallenged on the battlefield. The Overlord Spear Technique attacks with fierce might, but its true innate divine ability isn’t a spear technique. It’s a profound and mysterious grand divine art named the Nine Deaths Divine Art. Passed down only through male heirs, generation by sole generation. Each death brings an opportunity to comprehend the Life and Death Profound Gate, leading to a tremendous surge in strength. This time, surviving by luck, I broke through to the second level of the Nine Deaths Divine Art. The might of my Overlord Spear Technique has exploded! Be careful!”
Nine Deaths Divine Art?
Mu Feng suddenly understood. So that was why Sky Splitting Tiger had jumped three levels at once!
Seeing the imposing Sky Splitting Tiger, Mu Feng’s battle spirit boiled fiercely. “Good! Big brother, then let me witness the power of this grand divine art of yours. My innate divine ability is called the Blood Refining Art, rooted in blood energy. It’s also broken through to the second level. Externalizing my blood energy allows me to condense sharp weapons of destruction. You be careful too!”
“Blood Refining Art! Good, good!” Sky Splitting Tiger nodded vigorously. His pointed Overlord Spear lifted, then he gave it a powerful shake. Cold starlight seemed to flicker on its tip. “Second brother, watch the spear!” he roared, launching a ferocious attack with the impact of a thousand-strong army. Instantly, Mu Feng felt a fierce gale buffet his face; his entire being felt trapped under the point of Sky Splitting Tiger’s spear. The spear thrust was like a tidal wave of soldiers, its momentum soaring.
Thousand Troops Behead!
Mu Feng was certainly familiar with this move of the Overlord Spear Technique. But now, facing Sky Splitting Tiger’s fierce assault, the pressure had multiplied dramatically.
It was the same technique, but after comprehending the Life and Death Profound Gate and breaking through to the second level of the Nine Deaths Divine Art, Sky Splitting Tiger’s power had exploded!
In that moment, looking at the cold, sharp spear tip appearing terrifyingly close before his eyes in a flash, Mu Feng felt transported back to the very first time they had met, clashing fiercely on the Mu Manor’s Back Mountain.
“It’s here at last!”
Mu Feng’s stance remained rock-solid. He took a deep, audible breath, and with a sharp ‘clang’, swiftly drew the sharp longsword from his waist.
The heavy, crushing pressure radiating from Sky Splitting Tiger ignited Mu Feng’s competitive spirit. His fighting will surged, his battle spirit blazed.
Ding…
An ear-piercing clang shattered the night’s calm. Just as the tip of Sky Splitting Tiger’s Overlord Spear was about to pierce his flesh, Mu Feng’s blade swept the spear aside. The intense clash between the two disturbed Situ Qing, who had been lying in bed. Assisted by Mu Qingzhu, he walked out and stood silently behind the doorway, watching the fierce duel without a word.
“Well fought with the blade, second brother!” Sky Splitting Tiger boomed, his voice a roar. “Overlord Second Form: Emperor’s Thrust! Be careful!”
Roar! Roar! Roar! The power within Sky Splitting Tiger surged again as he unleashed the Overlord Spear’s second form. As the spear stabbed forward, Mu Feng felt a needle-sharp, piercing sensation rush towards his face. Sky Splitting Tiger’s thrust seemed concentrated to an impossible point, unstoppable and razor-edged!
Boom… Huo Huo…
Mu Feng fiercely stimulated the Ancestral Sorcerer’s Essence Blood within his veins. A flash of red light sparked beneath his feet, coalescing into a huge, blood-red great wheel. Facing Sky Splitting Tiger’s devastating attack head-on instead of dodging, he charged forward. Ding! Their weapons collided savagely once more.
The next instant, both figures recoiled abruptly. Within Sky Splitting Tiger’s sturdy frame, blood and qi roiled violently. Mu Feng felt a sharp numbness shoot from his grip on the sword’s hilt.
Equally matched!
After their fight on Mu Manor’s Back Mountain, this was their second duel, another clash of titans.
In the time since, Mu Feng had advanced step by solid step: Early Mortal Realm, Middle Mortal Realm, Late Mortal Realm. Building a deep foundation, he eventually broke through to the peak of the Mortal Realm, making his strength outstanding. While Sky Splitting Tiger had remained stuck in the Early Mortal Realm and had lain unconscious for over a month; after swallowing the Yang Soul Pill, comprehending the Life and Death Profound Gate in an instant, and breaking through to the second level of the Nine Deaths Divine Art, his strength had skyrocketed explosively!
“Hahaha! Good! This is exhilarating!”
Though blood and qi churned violently within him, almost causing him to cough up blood from Mu Feng’s sword strike, Sky Splitting Tiger wasn’t dismayed — he was delighted! Throwing his head back in loud laughter, he thrust his Overlord Spear forward, stirring the wind and clouds as he charged Mu Feng once more. After glancing down at their weapons simultaneously, the two fiercely engaged once again.
“Overlord Fourth Form: Desert Beacon Smoke!”
“Overlord Fifth Form: Storm Smash!”
…
They exchanged blows rapidly. Their movements sped up relentlessly, their attacks growing fiercer and more ferocious, leaving blurred afterimages that whipped about dizzyingly fast.
By the end, when Situ Qing and Mu Qingzhu looked up, they could only make out indistinct, hazy silhouettes. They couldn’t even tell who was Mu Feng and who was Sky Splitting Tiger anymore. Only Sky Splitting Tiger’s enraged roars pierced the darkness. The sheer ferocity of their assaults was heart-stopping for the onlookers.
“Brother Mu Feng! Stop fighting! Please stop…!” Mu Qingzhu cried out loudly, while the sickly Situ Qing beside her remained silent, merely frowning.
Witnessing the intensifying ferocity of the scuffle between Mu Feng and Sky Splitting Tiger made her tense with rising anxiety. Seeing that her cries fell on deaf ears and the fight showed no sign of abating, she stomped her foot in frustration, then turned and sped away. She hoped desperately to find the powerful Qingling and bring her back to forcibly break up the intense battle between the two brothers.
Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding!…
A long stretch of time passed, filled with a rapid cascade of sharp clangs. Then, suddenly, one particularly piercing metallic shriek ripped through the air as Sky Splitting Tiger’s Overlord Spear was wrenched violently from his grasp and sailed through the air, embedding itself deep into the ground a dozen steps away. The two figures locked in combat recoiled sharply from each other.
Mu Feng’s right hand holding the sword trembled uncontrollably, a numbness radiating from the sword’s hilt. Standing opposite him, Sky Splitting Tiger panted heavily. Thin trickles of blood ran down his wrist where tendrils of grim, thorny Blood Vines still clung onto his clothing.
“Defeated… again!”
Staring at Mu Feng, whose aura seemed to blaze even fiercer with the sword in hand, Sky Splitting Tiger offered a bitter smile. “Second brother… last time, on the Back Mountain, I lost. This time… after arduously breaching the Life and Death Profound Gate… I never imagined… I’d still… lose!”
“Big brother, victory and defeat are simply ordinary affairs. In the long road of cultivation, who hasn’t tasted both victory and failure?” Seeing Sky Splitting Tiger appear somewhat disheartened, Mu Feng offered words of comfort, pausing briefly before continuing. “The outcome of one fight means little. Victory today or defeat tomorrow is not what truly matters. What matters is whether our strength grows when compared to the past, whether we shatter our bottlenecks swiftly as we walk the path. Big brother… stay. Settle here at Mu Manor. After some time, travel with me to Jiangling Prefecture. Then, our paths will align; we can test each other daily and cultivate together!”
“No, second brother. I must leave. Now. I’m heading north to enlist at the war-torn Northern Frontier!” Sky Splitting Tiger shook his head decisively. “For descendants of the Jing Family Village, the path to mastery in the Overlord Spear Technique and the Nine Deaths Divine Art lies only on the frenzied battlefield. Only amidst the clash of war and soldiers can an Overlord manifest his true worth and aura. Second brother… I leave Shuang’er to you. Reaching the True Human Realm may seem an impossible dream for an ordinary man… but I know you will achieve it one day. Take care! Take care of yourself!”
As he spoke, Sky Splitting Tiger walked over, pulled the Overlord Spear deeply embedded in the earth, gave a final, firm “Take care!”, turned, and strode purposefully towards the distance. He did not look back.
“Brother, may you journey well!”
Mu Feng bowed respectfully, watching intently as Sky Splitting Tiger’s retreating figure grew smaller and smaller until it vanished into the distance.
Bound as brothers, he understood Sky Splitting Tiger’s character and choices intimately. Once Sky Splitting Tiger had settled his resolve, forceful attempts to hold him back would ultimately prove futile.
With Jing Family Village destroyed and Shuang’er lost to him indefinitely, it made sense to Mu Feng: for Sky Splitting Tiger, drowning in sorrow, to enlist and confront war— seeking to numb his grief within the chaos of battle while pushing relentlessly towards the summit of martial prowess— was ultimately a sound decision. Regardless, it was infinitely better than collapsing into despair and becoming a pitiful drunkard lost to the world.