Forge a path to success.

Chapter 245 Time Flies By (Part 1)

At the heart of the Nightmare City, atop the Demon King's Castle.

Under the moonlight, the mist flowed silently, and shadows lingered on the back of the tower. There was no sound of wind or footsteps; everything seemed to stand still in the cool moonlight.

This is the no-man's-land at the very center of the battlefield...

Only by striking down the remaining dead land can one survive.

From the depths of the misty haze, an extremely thin white line emerged. The line swam as gracefully as a fish, forming a slowly spreading fan of light. When that fan touched the slanted black line, it burst open like a bubble being pricked by a needle, splitting into hundreds of barely visible arcs. These arcs of light swarmed in like a school of fish, causing the black line to tremble and elongate into a column. The opposing colors collided in the mist, a sharp shriek suddenly rang out, the mist exploded, and countless slashes erupted simultaneously, cleaving the tower into rubble.

A ruthless black blade slashed vertically, while a nimble white blade struck horizontally. The two blades clashed in mid-air, leaving behind a lingering cross-shaped slash mark.

Then footsteps finally sounded, and the blocked wind broke through. The twin blades clashed and separated instantly. The sword-wielding warriors stood on the rooftop, their faces illuminated by the distant explosions of lightning and flames. For the first 30 rounds of the duel, both were at their peak.

Comparable.

Neither side nor any party was harmed.

Then, the 31st round began. Qingye attacked first, and unlike Chu Hengkong's strategy of responding to each move, she launched a fierce and rapid sword attack. She started with a wide and sweeping slash, followed by an upward thrust to the lower body, a third thrust to the midsection, and finally a backhand slash to a vital point.

It was clear that the trajectory of each strike was precise. In the eyes of the seasoned Nightwalker, the girl's swordsmanship was far too immature. He struck first, his uppercut aimed at Qingye's wrist just before the attack. One strike was enough to sever her wrist, then disarm her and smoothly slash towards her throat—

Zheng!
The future he had been gazing upon was severed by a flash of light. The strike, which should have pierced the opening, collided head-on with Mian Sheng midway. The simulation was flawless; his sword path had been anticipated. Yet, the girl's sword speed was beyond comprehension. The slash exceeded expectations from the moment it struck—it was genuine, extreme speed, a slash as fast as light!
As Mian Sheng clashed, a dazzling light shone forth. Qing Ye's initial stance pressed down on Ye Xing's short sword, and she seized the opportunity to step forward, locking the sword's momentum with her inner energy. A shuriken, guided by a thin thread, flew out of the mist. Ye Xing dodged the hidden weapon by turning his head, simultaneously stepping on Mian Sheng's blade. He leaped up, drew his sword, and spun around, the rotating blade slashing towards Qing Ye's eyes.

Seeing this, Qingye fiercely slashed at the ground, the Mian Sheng cutting through it in a crescent-shaped arc. She vanished the instant she struck, reappearing at the tip of the crescent that swept across the battlefield. From her high vantage point, she spun around and slashed again, the perfectly synchronized strike aimed at Yexing's back.

Wuxiang Nixin Liu · Fengzhan.

Nightwalker halted midway, using the hilt of his sword to parry Qingye's spinning slash. Qingye cautiously leaped, preventing the enemy from disarming her with one hand. She used her rear hand to create distance, then pushed off the ground and charged forward again. Without pausing or observing, the next sword strike arrived with equal speed. A swing. A swing. A swing. Since the enemy's swordsmanship was superior, she gave them no time to think. She used every opportunity to exploit her advantages, compensating for any shortcomings in swordsmanship with speed.

He moved with stillness, only drawing his sword when absolutely necessary. His strikes were like a dark, towering tree, standing unmoved amidst the storm of sword arcs. Qingye's sword was indeed swift, reaching a level far surpassing his previous speed without even using the Thousand Nights Instant Star technique. Merely ascending to point 3 wouldn't fundamentally transform his swordsmanship; its secret must lie in the "technique" Qingye had developed.

The "Secret Soul" of the Path of Broken Heart, a variant of the Path of Unity, is the "Heart of the Rising Sun." While the Sinful Bone seals shadows into the bones, the Secret Soul is an elemental "technique" woven into the heart. This is also an extreme form of self-mutilation; those with Broken Hearts fuse themselves with the elements in this way to create their own unique Broken Heart Techniques.

The most common secret soul techniques are often constructed around the three elements of water, fire, and dust, resulting in a single yet powerful effect. A few exceptionally talented individuals choose to mix multiple elements to create complex, almost magical techniques. Those fortunate enough to inherit the bloodline of their elders and cross the first abyss at birth may possess techniques centered around wind, thunder, rainbows, or even the void. However, Qingye's situation does not fall into any of these categories. Although she comes from a prestigious family, she has not inherited the favor of her elders, and her mastery of other elements is not particularly refined.

Nightwalker asserts that her Soul-Secret Technique utilizes only pure "light." Achieving extreme speed through partial elementalization seems like the most common build among low-level Soul Remnants. However, the core of the technique is not that simple; it's a method he's more familiar with…

As Ye Xing retreated, sheathed his sword, and two reverse blades flew out, slashing towards Qing Ye's sides in a V-shape. Qing Ye countered with a flat slash, drawing a horizontal line to meet the attack. The greater force of the reverse blades caused them to pierce through the glowing arc of the sword, but the direction of the strikes was strangely "offset," grazing past Qing Ye like light refracted in the air.

Qingye weaved through the pincer attack, thrusting his blade towards Yexing. Yexing suddenly roared, his aura shaking the air like a cannonball. He kicked out at Qingye's ankle, breaking his balance, then drew his sword and punched Qingye's wrist from below. Miansheng was thrown from his grasp and sent flying. Yexing slid his knee and spun his blade, the gleam of the blade transforming into a sharp horn in Qingye's eyes.

There was no way to avoid it, no way to dodge it; a single opening in its path meant the difference between life and death. The jet-black dagger magnified infinitely in his pupils… and then vanished!
She vanished from the desperate situation, reappearing behind Ye Xing, stepping into the fading arc of light from the blade! It was Qing Ye's initial strike, the faint light about to dissipate. Qing Ye leaped up, grabbed Mian Sheng, and slashed down with all her might, while Ye Xing sidestepped and raised her blade sharply upwards. The black and white blades clashed once more, their opposing forces suddenly overflowing, forming cones of light and shadow.

“It’s not just elementalization.” Nightwalker pressed the blade down forcefully. “You affected time when you struck… Your secret soul is a technique that uses light to interfere with time.”

"As expected of Mr. Nightwalker, you discovered it so quickly." Qingye laughed. "This is the same technique as yours. It was passed down from your generation and the patriarch's generation—the Time Transference Technique!"

Talent is innate.

Talent is determined at birth.

The upper limit of relationships between people seems to have been set from the very beginning.

However, over the long course of time, there is ultimately a power that everyone can "inherit." It is the insights of the elders, the discoveries gained in practice, the truths that can only be known at a higher level, and the will passed down from generation to generation, engraved in the hearts of children through education.

The renowned Time Transformation Technique of the prestigious Guangshi Clan is a spiritual inheritance, a "worldview" depicted by the Martial Venerable.

Unchanging light records the past, ever-changing shadows give rise to the future, and countless lives, like dust, collectively observe the present. Therefore, to influence time, one must begin with light, using your life to affect its flow, and defining its trajectory with your swordsmanship—

Starting from this guiding principle, the members of the Koji family, those skilled in swordsmanship, explored the art of influencing time through swordsmanship. Each person's thinking differed, and each person's conclusions were different. This series of unpredictable techniques was given a well-known collective name by the people of Shura Island.

The flow of thought without intention, the art of time turning in vain.

In stark contrast to the Nightwalker's Time-Turning Technique, which stops time, the essence of the Nightwalker's Time-Turning Technique is to accelerate time.

I wish I could grow faster, fight faster. At such a young age, I can't yet reach the level of experience accumulated over many years, so I'll conquer it with even greater speed. However, in terms of physical ability alone, a person with a crippled heart cannot compare to a martial arts practitioner or a demon indulging in desires. Simply strengthening myself won't allow me to achieve my ideal of extreme speed.

Therefore, we need to use "technology" to bypass it.

Just like the almost unsolvable overflow of Vaklo's sword light, since one cannot achieve ultimate speed, one should become faster than the enemy. By using the sword light to locally accelerate the enemy's attack, one can use the time difference to deflect the originally guaranteed strike, stepping into the sword light that is accelerated dozens of times, thus achieving a teleportation that is impossible in the real timeline.

This is the "Time-Shifting Technique" of Light and Night, which uses slashing to accelerate the flow of photons and achieve a super photon acceleration zone that speeds up time!

--amazing.

Night Walker felt a surge of admiration in his heart.

Even in the era he fought so hard, few with broken hearts dared to challenge such an absurd technique. The more powerful the technique, the greater the corresponding risks; simply constructing such a technique within the heart could lead to organ failure due to temporal distortion. She must have used the historical mysteries within her bones to resolve part of the crisis, but even so, she still had to pay a price for using this technology.

The accelerated time within the sword light meant that those who stepped into it also had to bear the corresponding passage of time. Her features had subtly changed; her once youthful face had matured little by little during the battle. In reality, it was a doubled aging process; she gained the glory of the battlefield, but at the cost of her youth slipping away twice as fast.

There's nothing to criticize anymore.

The young man walked alone toward a dead end, knowing the consequences, but his original aspiration remained unwavering.

Then it can no longer be called foolishness, but deserves applause for its enlightenment.

Nightwalker held his short sword level and charged towards the sword path he had already seen through. At this moment, he had no more reservations; Nightwalker's strike would sever his throat in a second.

"Very good. Light shines through the night. Beautiful technique."

Keep moving forward. Don't look back.

Return to your hometown with your glorious achievements.

"Thank you, Mr. Nightwalker," Qingye said earnestly. "I will continue to improve."

"—Until I become as remarkable as you!"

Then, sincere words reached Ye Xing's ears.

Before thought even arises, emotion has already driven the body to act.

A jet-black dagger blocked Mian Sheng's path, and the gaze beneath the silver mask was as terrifying as a demon. The merciless black and white hues moved with rage, creating a still battlefield!
(End of this chapter)