Chapter 9: Your Mockery, I'll Take. Your Life, I'll Carry Away.

"From this moment on, you're no longer a member of the Tenji Sword Sect…" Rosalyn Santee's face stayed cold, her voice edged with ridicule. Benson Santee glanced at the document lying on the ground ahead and chuckled. "Miss Santee, you really are something. Only one day, and you already got the Tenji Sword Sect to strike my name." Rosalyn let out a frosty laugh. "You brought it on yourself. If you hadn't gone to the Santee family to make trouble, if you'd crawled off somewhere and clung to life like a rat, you might've managed to drag out the rest of your days in shame. But you just had to jump out. You were begging to die." "So that's 'clinging to life.' And that's 'begging to die.'" Benson met her arrogant gaze head-on, his voice turning sharp with scorn. "The Santee family got where it is because you traded my drop of Heavenly Phoenix Blood for it. Even you, the 'noble' Miss Santee, used to circle me every day back then, fussing over me like I was precious. And the moment you latched onto the young sect master of the Tenji Sword Sect, you forgot yourself?" Rosalyn didn't even blink at his sarcasm. "Times change. Three years ago, you were a hope for the family's rise. Of course I treated you differently." Her lips curled. "But today? The gap between us is a canyon. My Froststar Body has only just taken shape, and I've already shown my edge. Once it's fully formed, my cultivation will soar. I have every right to be proud… as for the young sect master…" She paused, the contempt on her face deepening. "You aren't even qualified to be compared to him. His status is high, his authority absolute, his talent unmatched. At his age, he's already the most outstanding sword king of his generation in Eastos. Even if your Heavenly Phoenix Blood hadn't been stolen, you'd still be dirt beneath his clouds." Rosalyn's smug expression sharpened Benson's eyes into something colder. Behind her, Luca Santee barked viciously, "Benson, don't you dare put yourself in the same sentence as the young sect master. You're not even fit to polish his boots. You're just a dog our Santee family raised. Taking your Heavenly Phoenix Blood was nothing. Even if we wanted your life, all you could do is nod." Their words cut like blades, and Benson's anger surged up in a violent rush. He smiled, but it carried no warmth. "The Santee family? I can't afford to reach that high." With that, he sprang forward, lunging toward the front. At the same time, a powerful sword qi crashed down from above. "Boom!" It struck the ground like a frost-star falling, slamming into the earth right in front of Benson. Chaotic sword currents swept outward. The surface cracked, and a long sword wreathed in red light stood between Benson and the path ahead. The Santee family's assassins all jolted. "What terrifying sword qi!" "Who is it?" "…" Tap. Tap. Tap. Steady footsteps came from the darkness. A young man with a sinister brow stepped into view. "A Foundation Establishment Realm sword cultivator!" someone cried out. The assassins' faces tightened with fear. Rosalyn, on the other hand, smiled in satisfaction. It was obvious the newcomer came from the Tenji Sword Sect. "Flameblade, Jude Looske," the young man announced coldly. "By order of the young sect master, I'm here to help Junior Sister Rosalyn Santee clean house." "Whoosh!" He shifted his stance. A wave of scorching air rolled outward, and the edge he released surged straight toward Benson. Rosalyn watched Benson with lifted brows, smiling as if she were savoring a show. "Senior Brother Jude is an inner sect disciple of the Tenji Sword Sect. His Flame Sword Art is masterful. In a war over resources against an enemy faction, he slaughtered a hundred men by himself. If you die by his hand, you can count it as… dying without regret." Luca's grin turned cruel. "Heh. Didn't you claim you were a disciple of the Tenji Sword Sect? Those four words won't save you anymore." "Kill!" That single word made the air tighten. Jude didn't waste a breath. He charged Benson. As he moved, he stomped hard. "Boom!" The red-glowing sword embedded before Benson burst from the ground. "Clang!" Jude caught it in his hand in one smooth motion. His sword thrust shot out like lightning, aiming straight for Benson's throat. Jude was a true Foundation Establishment Realm first-layer cultivator, with one foot already stepping toward the second. His strength was no joke. Benson didn't underestimate him. With a thought, the Black Demon Blade Dark Star Soul snapped into his grasp. "Clang!" The eerie demonic blade, like a dragon's fang, gleamed with vicious light. Benson stepped in and struck, meeting Jude's sword head-on. "Savage Wolf Returns!" "Bang!" Steel collided with steel. The blast rang through the night as sparks sprayed like starlight and fire-rain. "Hm?" Jude's eyes narrowed in surprise when Benson only slid back a few meters. "You're not Body Refinement Realm sixth-" "You don't seem as impressive as that woman bragged," Benson shot back. Jude's mouth twisted. "Fine. Your mockery, I'll take. Your life, I'll… carry away!" He flicked his blade. Heat flooded the air, and red flames spiraled along the sword in a burning ring. "Blazing Slash!" "Whoosh!" A heatwave slammed into Benson's face, hot wind whipping like a hammer. Jude's footwork blurred as he shifted positions in rapid succession, and the scorching sword qi lunged in. Benson's gaze tightened. He bent his knees, then drove upward with sudden force. "Boom!" The demonic blade met the flaming sword. Heat exploded outward, but despite Jude's ferocity, Benson showed no sign of collapsing. "It's that blade…" Jude's eyes locked onto the weapon in Benson's hand. Benson was only Body Refinement Realm, while Jude stood in Foundation Establishment Realm. If Benson could hold him off, the reason had to be the weapon. Jude snorted, a dark smile flickering. He struck again, and the instant Benson raised the demonic blade to meet it, Jude stepped in hard. A fierce palm force erupted from his left hand. "Bonecrusher Palm!" Bonecrusher Palm was a high-grade martial art of the Tenji Sword Sect, reserved for inner sect disciples. Its heavy, brutal internal force could pierce past surface defenses and shatter bones and organs. It was a killing move the moment it left his hand. Cold light flashed in Benson's eyes. He didn't retreat. He coiled his strength and threw a punch instead. "Steel Fist!" Spiritual power flooded his arm, turning it a dark, heated red. Not far away, Rosalyn's lips curled in disdain. "Using a low-grade combat technique to meet a high-grade martial art? You're courting death." In the blink of an eye, Jude's Bonecrusher Palm slammed into Benson's Steel Fist. Thump! A muffled shockwave rattled everyone's eardrums as turbulent air burst outward. The scene they expected, Benson's bones pulverized and limbs blown apart, never came. Instead, Jude's face filled with raw disbelief. "How is that possible?" The two separated, each pulling back. Jude could feel it clearly. Benson's body was absurdly tough, especially his tendons and bones, hard as ironstone. Rosalyn and the others felt their hearts jump. Foundation Establishment Realm against Body Refinement Realm. High-grade martial art against low-grade technique. With that double advantage, Jude still couldn't crush Benson? Luca panicked. He screamed until his throat went hoarse, "What are you doing? Kill him already! The young sect master sent you to clean house, not to spar with him! What are you waiting for? Kill him! Kill that dog!" Luca assumed Jude was holding back. After all, Jude had a record of cutting down a hundred enemies. There was no way he couldn't handle Benson. Being pushed like that stoked Jude's anger too. "This ends here!" "This sword will take your head!" "Whoosh!" In an instant, Jude drove his power to the limit. Magma-like red patterns surfaced across his body, and the red-glowing sword in his hand blazed brilliantly. Scorching flame-vines flowed up and down the blade. Fire burned in Jude's eyes as an unprecedented aura surged out. "Flame Sword Art: Firevine Execution!" Tense. Tense. Unable to break through for so long, Jude unleashed his strongest strike. "Die!" With a furious roar, he swung at Benson. The fire-vines shot out like flaming serpents. Below, Luca was ecstatic. He shouted viciously, "That's more like it! Hah. Benson, I told you, you're not even fit to polish the Tenji Sword Sect's boots. You're dead. You're dead… Hahahahaha!" Heat pressed in, but Benson didn't flinch. He gripped Star Soul with both hands, and vicious black aura spilled from the demonic blade. "Wolf Form Blade Technique: Fury Slash!" "Clang!" The blade intent surged. The strongest move of Wolf Form Blade Technique returned. Benson leapt like a wolf king. The demonic blade carved a perfect, moon-howling arc through the air. "Wooo!" A wolf's howl pierced the night. Firevine sword qi rushed in, and the two slammed together again. Boom! Thump! Killing moves collided. Tremendous force crushed against force, and a cross-shaped shockwave detonated in the air. Under the Santee family's disbelieving stares, both figures were driven back. Jude's face went pale. Blood dripped from between the fingers gripping his sword, and the red-glowing blade hummed in protest. A thin line of blood seeped from the corner of Benson's mouth, yet his aura only grew fiercer, as if the fight fed him. Rosalyn finally couldn't hold back. In only two days, Benson's strength had climbed again. "Kill!" she ordered. The low-grade Spiritual Weapon Verdant Sword flashed from its sheath. Jude didn't hesitate either. He steadied the churning blood and qi inside him and attacked together with Rosalyn. But at that moment, a cold glint slipped into Benson's eyes. As spiritual power poured into the demonic blade, dark, eerie patterns burst across its black surface. Benson lifted the blade and swung. "Roar!" From within the blade came a strange, mysterious dragon's cry. The instant it hit their ears, the surrounding airflow sank heavy. Rosalyn and Jude both went blank for a beat, their minds swaying with sudden dizziness. It was Star Soul's mental attack. "It really is time to end this…" Benson surged forward, choosing the closer target first, Jude. "Wolf Runs a Thousand Miles!" Whoosh! Benson exploded with savage momentum and reached Jude in an instant. He leapt, stepping in with a plunging strike that cleaved down. Jude snapped back to himself and raised his sword to block, but he was still a fraction too slow. Clang! The blade showed no mercy. It slashed diagonally across Jude's sword hand. Crack! Several severed fingers spun through the air. Jude's eyes bulged as he watched half his palm and his sword fly away together. "You…" Agony flooded his body, wiping his mind clean. Before he could even react, Benson's left hand clenched into a fist. Fierce, heavy force gathered through his arm. "As you said. Your mockery, I'll take. Your life, I'll carry away…" The words hit like a verdict, and the follow-up strike came like a battering ram. Benson's left arm drove forward like a terrifying armor-piercing bolt, smashing squarely into the center of Jude's chest. Thump! Blood mist burst. Bones snapped. Jude's organs shattered in an instant. Benson's punch tore straight through, punching from Jude's front to his back…