Wandering Swordsman |

After twenty moves, Odin was drenched in sweat and breathing heavily. He finally realized that Shen Mo wasn't using his full strength, and his anger flared. He stopped, his gaze like a knife, piercing Shen Mo's eyes: "Use your full strength! Don't insult me ​​like this anymore!"

Shen Mo smiled slightly, a deep light flashing in his eyes.

He slowly raised his right hand, palm upward, as if to support the entire sky. "What you desire, may it be so."

In an instant, an indescribable pressure erupted from Shen Mo's body.

That was not the oppression of force, but the awe that came from the very source of life.

Apart from Hua Tianyou, Albert, Odin, Thorne, and Faceless, who were present, all changed their expressions drastically, their eyes flashing with shock and awe.

Because Hua Tianyou had already witnessed it; this was Shen Mo's Beast King aura!

Albert, as one of the Seven Stars, had seen countless powerful figures, but he had never felt such a pure and domineering aura of pressure.

The aura contained within it was so majestic that even heaven and earth seemed to bow down.

Odin felt an irresistible force surge from his feet to the top of his head, as if the blood in his body had frozen. He wanted to resist, to retaliate, but found that even moving a finger had become incredibly difficult. He watched helplessly as Shen Mo slowly raised his right hand, palm facing him.

Shen Mo gently waved his hand, and an invisible force surged forth like a tide.

Odin's body was thrown out like a kite with a broken string, crashing heavily to the ground several feet away.

He spat out a mouthful of blood, staining the ice beneath him red, and collapsed to the ground as if all his strength had been drained away.

He lay there, gazing up at the gray sky, his eyes filled with disbelief.

As the leader of the Seven Stars, he couldn't even withstand a single move from Shen Mo's full power.

He wanted to laugh, but couldn't; he wanted to cry, but no tears would come.

He seemed to see his past glory, now separated by a huge chasm from Shen Mo's martial prowess, just like the sun in the sky being obscured by clouds.

Thorne's eyes turned bloodshot as he watched his revered Duke fall in a pool of blood. This knight commander, known for his composure, was now like a lion on the verge of collapse.

"Get out of the way!" Thorne's voice was hoarse, filled with barely contained rage.

His gaze passed over Albert and stared intently at the Duke lying on the ground, as if he wanted to lift the Duke up with his eyes.

His fingers gripped the sword hilt tightly, his knuckles white, and every vein trembled—a sign of extreme fear and rage.

Albert remained motionless, simply extending his longsword to block Thorne's path. "Remember just now?" Albert's voice was low. "When you stopped me, I was just as anxious." A complex emotion flickered in his eyes. "So, you're not getting past me either."

Thorne's breathing was rapid and labored, veins bulging on his forehead. He attacked Albert relentlessly, but Albert's presence and the overwhelming difference in strength left him helpless. He could only watch helplessly, his fingers trembling slightly from the excessive force, as if silently screaming.

At this moment, Shen Mo turned around, his gaze shooting towards Hua Tianyou like lightning.

In those unfathomable eyes, there was no joy of victory, only a deep, still pool. "Heavenly Demon Lord," his voice wasn't loud, yet it clearly pierced the frozen air, "come and settle this yourself."

Hua Tianyou was stunned, his heart felt as if it had been struck by a heavy hammer.

He slowly took a step, each step feeling as if it were stepping on his own heart.

When he stood before the fallen Invincible Lord, the sword in his hand seemed to become incredibly heavy.

Odin lay on his back, his chest rising and falling weakly, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth, staining his long silver hair red. His once domineering eyes were now dull and lifeless, yet still held a trace of stubbornness and dignity.

Hua Tianyou's hands trembled slightly. He had fantasized about this moment countless times—to kill his enemy and avenge his father. But when the moment finally arrived, he found himself feeling no joy as he had anticipated. Instead, an indescribable emptiness was spreading through him.

Is killing someone who can't fight back really revenge? How does this contradict the martial arts spirit his father taught him?

"Heavenly Demon Lord," Shen Mo's voice came from behind, as light as a feather yet as heavy as Mount Tai, "face him directly. If you stop, hatred will imprison you for life."

These words were like a wake-up call, instantly shattering Hua Tianyou's inner hesitation.

He closed his eyes, and his father's face before his death reappeared—his body ravaged by poison, his ashen complexion, and those eyes filled with resentment. The poison had seeped into his bones, causing unbearable pain. Hua Shenyong had held his hand tightly, using his last strength to tell him the truth. It wasn't an accident, but a meticulously planned murder. And the perpetrator was none other than the man before him.

"Father..." Hua Tianyou murmured, a resolute glint in his eyes.

He gripped his longsword tightly, its tip aimed at Odin's heart. In this moment, he was no longer a hesitant avenger, but the Heavenly Demon Lord, burdened with his father's will and the mission of the Heavenly Demon Sect. The sword flashed like lightning, piercing straight down—

"clang!"

A sharp metallic clang ripped through the frozen air.

Hua Tianyou was stunned to find that the tip of his sword was blocked by a hand wearing a black glove. To his even greater shock, the blade pierced through the hand, and blood trickled down the blade, dripping onto Odin's pale face.

The faceless figure had appeared between the two of them without them noticing.

His face, covered by a mask, was expressionless, except for a pair of deep eyes that peered silently at Hua Tianyou through the gaps in the mask.

Blood kept gushing from his palms, flowing down the sword and dripping onto Odin's face and chest, forming a thin stream of bright red blood.

"What are you doing!" Hua Tianyou exclaimed in disbelief.

Odin struggled to lift his head, his blood-stained face etched with confusion. He gazed at the Faceless One, his voice weak yet clear: "Why... did you save me?"

The faceless one did not answer, but slowly raised its head. The gaze shining through the holes in the mask seemed to pierce through the chaos before it and look toward a distant past.

Those eyes held struggle, pain, and unspeakable memories breaking free of their cage.

Her body trembled slightly, not only from the excruciating pain of her hand being pierced by the sword, but also from the surging torrent of memories in her mind that was about to break through the last dam.

Shen Mo, Hua Tianyou, Albert, and even Knight Commander Thorne were all puzzled by this sudden turn of events.

The air was thick with the stench of blood and tension, as if even the wind held its breath, awaiting a truth that would rewrite everyone's destiny.

"I remember now, I remember everything!" The faceless voice suddenly became clear and firm, no longer the cold, mechanical tone of usual, but carrying a long-lost emotional fluctuation.

She turned to the motionless Invincible Duke lying on the ground, and slowly raised her only movable left hand, her fingertips touching the edge of the mask.

His movements trembled slightly from the intense pain, yet remained unusually resolute.

The silver mask was gently removed, revealing a heartbreaking face. The left half of her face remained as beautiful as ever, with skin as white as snow and emerald eyes like the purest jade; but the right half was covered with hideous scars, winding from her forehead to her chin, like land kissed by fire, leaving an eternal mark.