Old Man Mu believed that his fear had all been uprooted decades ago and that it had rotted away underground with his Master’s mutilated corpse. Thus, he laughed it away when Lotus said, “I can.”

Although he was wary of Lotus, the Dragon King, and the Unique King, he had never really feared them. Even when he had been driven into a corner and had a slim chance of surviving, he had never been afraid of anything, not to mention an intangible killing aura.

He glanced at the Dragon King but received no special hint so he chuckled. “I don’t mean to show off but I used to kill people like flies, and I don’t think anyone in this hall has killed as many people as I have. As for killing aura, I think that I also have a little and I did use it to scare the opponent into freezing on the spot several times. It was quite satisfying, but not something that I could reliably execute. You want to try it on me? Hehe…”

All of a sudden, an exclamation of surprise sounded out around him. Old Man Mu looked around and wondered what had happened. Then he looked up, and for the first time in years, he was really shocked. His wrinkled face immediately changed because Lotus’s sword was hanging an inch or two above his head, and it seemed to have been there for some time.

Old Man Mu immediately jumped more than ten paces away and exasperatedly exclaimed, “That’s impossible. You… I… What tricks did you play?”

“The Dragon King’s introduction of the seven different training methods, as well as his demonstration, has inspired me,” Lotus said as she put away her sword, her voice slow and weak, unlike her usual self. “Killing aura is power. It can be applied to the swordsmanship and can naturally be applied to other martial arts skills as well.”

“Seven Magical Tones. Did you just use the Seven Magical Tones on me?” Old Man Mu almost couldn’t believe it, but he was sure of his judgment.

The Seven Magical Tones was one of the unique skills in Waning Moon Hall’s Manual of Seven Secret Techniques. It could be used to disturb an enemy’s mind. Old Man Mu also knew this move and he had used it on the Dragon King and others before, so he was sure that Lotus had used the magical tone when she had said, “I can.”

But the effect of the Seven Magical Tones was limited. Although it could distract the enemy and scare the enemy into fleeing at best, it didn’t have the magical effect of mesmerizing the enemy into completely neglecting the threat, especially when the threat was imminent.

“Just a little.” Lotus appeared to weaken and struggled back into her seat. A move that seemed extremely easy to others had actually cost her a great deal of internal energy.

“The secret arts of Waning Moon Hall can be used on the Death Sutra Swordsmanship and become much more powerful?” Old Man Mu, who was shocked, immediately became overjoyed as if he were the one who had mastered the divine kung fu.

“It’s not just the secret arts of Waning Moon Hall.” Gu Shenwei began to explain the profundities. “Any martial arts skills can be integrated into the swordsmanship as long as your internal energy is powerful enough and your faith in the swordsmanship is firm enough.”

Lotus fulfilled both criteria. Her Daoless Divine Power had passed the stage of dispersing internal energy. As far as internal energy was concerned, she was on par with the Unique King and much stronger than the Dragon King. As for her belief in the swordsmanship, she was the first to be confident in it and it was also her who had suggested that Servant Huan practice the swordsmanship in the first place.

“Ah, my understanding of killing aura is too narrow.” Old Man Mu seemed to have suddenly understood something. “Lotus’s killing aura wasn’t used to scare people but rather to activate the Seven Magical Tones. I didn’t feel any of it and couldn’t even see the sword coming at me. Incredible, that’s incredible… But not many people in this hall know the Seven Magical Tones. How can they apply this technique?”

“The Seven Magical Tones is not the most important aspect. Any martial arts skill can be blended with it.”

“That’s why the Dragon King can use the saber in place of the sword?”

“Right. I can use the saber to perform the swordsmanship, and the Master Commander can use her killing aura to activate the Seven Magical Tones, but no one else can do it.”

“Why?”

“Their understanding of the swordsmanship, as well as their internal energy, is not enough.”

Actually, Old Man Mu already knew the answer, but he still pretended that he had just realized it. He twirled on the spot and glanced over the crowd before shaking his head. “No, no, no… The Dragon King is right, you guys can’t do it. You’ve already reached the highest level that you can in the swordsmanship. It’s almost impossible for you to improve any further.”

The Dragon King’s introduction of the seven cultivation methods, though simple, had benefited everyone present. When the Master Commander showed her amazing skill and subdued the enemy, the crowd revered it and became even more confident in the swordsmanship. They didn’t expect that the Dragon King would conclude with the fact that no one else could do it, and they all became confused.

Shangguan Hong had originally been weak in kung fu, so he was more addicted to the swordsmanship. But he had still learned the Seven Rotation Skill and the Daoless Divine Power and thought that he still had some hope, so he boldly asked, “We can still make it as long as we improve our understanding of the swordsmanship and our internal energy, right?”

“That’s a good question, Shangguan Hong. What’s your reply, Dragon King?” Old Man Mu was like a teacher presiding over an argument, firmly controlling the direction of the debate.

“It’s too late.” Gu Shenwei said as he turned to face Wild Horse, “All of you have made a big mistake. You’ve killed too many people and your swordsmanship has improved too fast. It’s already gone far beyond your ability to bear it. If you continue practicing, then you’re doomed to die. Even if you can improve your internal energy quick enough, it’s like how distant water cannot quench your current thirst.”

Wild Horse’s face was like a stone carving. When the Dragon King said ‘no one else can do it,’ he no longer believed a single word coming from this man. He knew very well that Servant Huan had always been good at double-talk, confusing people, and poisoning their mind.

Wild Horse could not speak, but a lot of other people had the same idea as he did. One male disciple of the Essence Pavilion loudly asked, “Is the Dragon King saying that we should give up on the Waning Moon Swordsmanship?”

“It may not be too late,” Gu Shenwei said, still looking at Wild Horse.

“Hah, ridiculous. I knew that the Dragon King wouldn’t be so kind. After all is said and done, the Dragon King actually wants us to give up the unique skill that we’ve spent so much effort cultivating. You might as well advise us to commit suicide.”

“If you are still obsessed with it, then you won’t be far from committing suicide yourself.”

“Haha.”

“Heh heh.”

…

Laughter rang out from all sides. Apparently, even the ordinary disciples didn’t believe the Dragon King’s words anymore.

Gu Shenwei neither responded to the sneers nor did he continue to explain.

Old Man Mu flapped his arms, motioned the crowd to stay quiet, and then said, “The words of the Dragon King are indeed a little profound. Just ask if you have any questions, but do not make any strange noises. After all, the Dragon King knows more than you.”

Shangguan Hong opened his mouth, looking a bit excited. “The Dragon King and Master Commander started practicing the Waning Moon Swordsmanship several years ago. At that time, you were not as powerful as now. How have you remained unscathed so far?”

Many people nodded, indicating that they also had the same question.

“But the Master Commander and I didn’t kill as many people in as short a time. When we saw the danger, we immediately slowed down. I started to use the saber and later learned other techniques to reduce the effects of the backfire. As for the Master Commander…”

Gu Shenwei was telling the truth. He and Lotus had discovered the side effects of Death Sutra long ago. The explanatory note of the abstract scripture clearly said that killing a target that had a similar strength and skills could improve the swordsmanship very quickly. However, when the practitioner reached a certain level, killing would become a must. If the practitioner didn’t kill within a set period, the swordsmanship would backfire. But there would always be an end. When the practitioner could no longer find a suitable opponent, the only one they could kill would be themselves.

For years, Gu Shenwei had carefully controlled his progress in the Death Sutra Swordsmanship and had only used it a few times a year. Most of the time, he had transferred his sword intent to his sabersmanship. Although the power had been reduced, it could last for longer. As his power grew and his understanding deepened, he was able to activate more of the swordsmanship.

Lotus naturally knew this, but she had continued to use the sword all this time. She had never said what kind of methods she had used to suppress the backfire, so Gu Shenwei didn’t know them.

Lotus sat still. As more and more eyes fell on her, she said, “Psychotic Divine Drain. When the backfiring gets worse and worse, I’ll use the Psychotic Divine Drain to transfer it to someone else. I can only transfer a part of it.”

The disciples of the Waning Moon Hall believed her because they all knew that the Psychotic Divine Drain was one of the most profound secret arts of the Waning Moon Hall. It was said that it could even bring the dying back to life. Lotus had been awarded this martial arts skill for stealing the Daoless Scroll. No one else in the Waning Moon Hall had learned it besides her and Han Wuxian.

Even when Old Man Mu was seriously wounded, Han Wuxian had only taught him the Seven Rotation Skill which had unpredictable consequences.

“The swordsmanship will backfire? I don’t believe it. I’ve killed a total of fifty or sixty people so far and I’m still fine.” A male disciple of the Essence Pavilion was suspicious of the Master Commander.

They were in high spirits and could not be persuaded to give up by a few words.

Han Ling came out from the right and said, “I don’t know if the Dragon King is telling the truth or not, but the swordsmanship does indeed backfire on the practitioner. I have experienced it myself.”

“But you didn’t die.”

“The Dragon King saved me. Believe me, it’s not obvious yet and it’ll only happen when the attack is blocked. If no one saves us, then we’ll die on the spot, which is why none of us knows about it.”

Han Ling was an ordinary disciple of the Waning Moon Hall but her words won more of the crowd’s trust. Someone immediately cried out, “Do you mean that the Master Commander taught us the swordsmanship to kill us?”

Han Fen was the first to respond to such an accusation. “Who said that? Stand out and let me have a look,” she snapped.

No one came out. Han Fen didn’t know what to say next. It was still Han Ling who continued. “No. Just think about it, it was actually Wild Horse who taught us the swordsmanship and that old man of the Essence Pavilion. They did mention that the swordsmanship might backfire on the practitioner, but they deliberately didn’t mention it in detail, as if it were just a strange thing that would happen by accident.”

Han Ling’s reminder produced an immediate effect. The crowd immediately turned their attention to Wild Horse, but many people still had doubts in their hearts. “But Wild Horse is fine. He kills the most and his sword technique has improved the fastest too. By all odds, it should have backfired a long time ago.”

Wild Horse couldn’t speak. And even if he could, he disdained doing so. Standing upright and unafraid, he saw the people in the hall as nothing but ants.

“Wild Horse has suffered a backfire once before,” Lotus said softly, letting out a light sigh. “He killed himself, but the one who died was ‘Immortal Peng.'”

Wild Horse and the old man of the Essence Pavilion were closely related and the two had almost the same mindset, as if they were one person. And they even called themselves ‘Immortal Peng’. Lotus hadn’t seen it with her own eyes, but she could guess what had happened. Wild Horse had ‘committed suicide,’ but hadn’t been able to kill himself. Instead, he had come back to himself and completely rid himself of the bondage of ‘Immortal Peng.’

Wild Horse’s wide apart eyes became empty again. He had heard enough. Although not all of Servant Huan’s words were true, they had still helped him a lot. He had ‘died’ once, so who could be better than him at the swordsmanship?

It was time to end the duel of seven years ago.