“A Long, attack them quickly!” shouted Fang An after coming up with a plan, his voice cutting through the thick, foul-smelling smoke that now filled the forest. His mind raced as he calculated every possible move—if his hunch was correct, this was their chance to end the battle once and for all.The young man didn’t hesitate, gripping his twin blades tightly as he charged forward. Unlike before, he did not attack from a distance but instead closed in at close range, his body moving with the fluid grace of a seasoned warrior. He was confident that the staggering, blinded undead would not be able to land a single hit on him—their movements were already unsteady, and the light from Fang An’s sword had left them disoriented.As A Long advanced, Fang An moved forward too, the Sky Blade in his hand glowing with intense blue light that seemed to pulse with his inner energy. The closer he approached the horde, the more he noticed something strange: thin wisps of smoke began to seep from every

The True Enemy RevealedFang An rose to his feet, his muscles tensed and ready as he scanned the clearing. A dozen steps away, standing where the black shadow had reformed, was a human-like figure—but his entire body was pitch black, as if carved from solid night. He towered slightly taller than Fang An, his form rippling with dark energy as he glared at the young warrior with blazing fury. His eyes, unlike before, burned with an intense white light that seethed with rage, casting eerie shadows across his featureless face."You dare deceive me, human!" the figure snarled, his voice like grinding stone mixed with crackling thunder. His body trembled with barely contained anger, and tendrils of black smoke curled from his fingertips as he took a step forward.Fang An chuckled softly, tapping his forehead with one finger as a confident smile played at his lips. "Did you forget that I have a mind of my own? I could see you clearly when you were thrown out of Grandfather Sun Zu’s body—your

Without uttering a word, only a low growl escaped the hidden figure’s throat—a guttural sound that rumbled through the shadows like distant thunder, a clear sign that they were burning with a mix of rage and frustration. Their eyes remained fixed on the three travelers until they disappeared from view, then slowly turned toward the dark forest beyond, where the path to the Tong Dynasty’s capital lay waiting.After resting long enough to let their horses recover from the earlier battle and the rough forest terrain, Fang An, A Long, and Sun Zu spurred their mounts onward, continuing their journey toward the grand capital city of the Tong Dynasty. The sun was beginning to sink toward the horizon, painting the sky in shades of orange and purple as they rode along the dusty road that wound through rolling hills and small patches of woodland.Along the way, before they reached a quiet village nestled in a valley at dusk, Fang An remained mostly silent. He rode with his eyes fixed on the roa

The Dawn of Battle"Find the culprit no matter what, and bring him before me!" shouted the hooded figure, the leader of the cult, his voice booming through the vast chamber with an authority that silenced even the most panicked members. His hands clenched into fists at his sides, and though his face was hidden in shadow, the rage radiating from him was palpable. He had spent months preparing for this day, gathering the purest offerings and ensuring every detail of the ritual was perfect. He could not accept that the sacred sacrifice of a maiden’s blood—meant to awaken the Dark Prince from his slumber—would end in such humiliating failure.Just as the hooded figure barked the final word of his order, the Executioner swayed on his feet for a brief moment before collapsing forward onto the stone table with a heavy thud. A clean, gaping hole had appeared in his forehead, and fresh, dark blood flowed out in thick streams, soaking into the cold stone of the altar where the offering was to t

Fang An gave a wry smile as he recognized the familiar dark energy gathering around his opponent’s staff—he had already guessed that the skull-headed figure’s next technique would surely be laced with lethal poison. The way the black smoke coiled and writhed around the weapon was a telltale sign of the forbidden art he had read about in ancient scrolls: the Dark Poison Wave, a move said to dissolve flesh and bone on contact.The figure suddenly tensed, then launched himself high into the air, his form seeming to stretch against the cavern’s ceiling as he raised the staff above his head. With a guttural roar that echoed like thunder through the stone halls, he slashed downward toward Fang An."Dark Poison Wave!"A thick, billowing cloud of inky black smoke surged forward in a massive arc, rolling across the chamber floor like a living tide as it raced toward Fang An. The fumes carried a sickeningly sweet scent, and where they touched the stone, the surface bubbled and turned dark green