Xu Zimei walked out of the Stone Heart Pavilion and looked up at the gloomy sky.
Misty and hazy, the entire heavens seemed like a giant beast, with thick layers of dark clouds rolling.
He opened his arms, the air was a bit cool.
A cool breeze blew from the north, and several green leaves danced in the air.
"Young Master Xu, good morning," Lu Ze came out from behind, greeting with a smile.
Xu Zimei nodded slightly.
"Are you ready for today’s great battle?" Lu Ze asked.
"To kill an ant, what preparation is needed?" Xu Zimei replied casually.
"It seems Young Master Xu is quite confident," Lu Ze’s eyes narrowed slightly, and he chuckled softly.
"It’s not about confidence. If he were Stepping into Immortality, it might be somewhat interesting.
A Divine Vein is hardly worth mentioning," Xu Zimei waved his hand dismissively.
"Brother Xu, you are also a Divine Vein," Lu Ze continued.
Xu Zimei smiled faintly, "Your curiosity seems quite strong."
"Just caring a little, after all, it is a fight to the death," Lu Ze quickly waved his hand, not daring to ask any further.
Under the somber weather, the thundering sound of drums arose again.
It boomed and echoed over the entire Stone Holy Mountain.
"Let’s go," Xu Zimei said to Da Zhi and walked toward the front of the mountain.
At this moment, the entire Stone Race was also gathering here.
Since each battle was a matter of life and death for the Stone Race, they paid extra attention.
A whirlwind of dust scattered through the center of the arena.
The land lay silent amidst a deathly stillness.
Members of the Stone Race and Feather Clan stood opposite each other, far apart.
It was the same crowd as the day before, and from a distance, Yu Feihuang’s voice penetrated the crowd, resounding all around.
"Brother Shaoshuo, who are you sending to their death today?"
Shi Shaoshuo snorted coldly, "It’s not certain who will die yet."
He turned his head to look at Xu Zimei beside him and said earnestly, "Young Master Xu, please."
"Don’t worry," Xu Zimei waved his hand and walked forward.
On the Feather Clan side, seeing Xu Zimei come out.
Yu Feihuang frowned slightly and asked, "Who is that guy?
Why haven’t I seen him before?"
"Uncertain, probably not from the Stone Race," someone said on the side.
"Hired outside help," Yu Shaoqing chuckled lightly.
"It’s interesting that someone dares to help the Stone Race at this time."
"Be careful, make sure you take him down with absolute certainty," Yu Feihuang added from the side.
Clouds of dust rose before the two of them,
Behind them were shouts of encouragement from the members of the two clans.
The noise echoed under the Stone Holy Mountain.
Yu Shaoqing raised his right hand, and all sound came to an abrupt halt.
"You seem quite unfamiliar, Brother," Yu Shaoqing said.
"May I know from where do you hail?"
Xu Zimei did not answer his question but asked instead, "Are you afraid of death?"
"What did you say?" Yu Shaoqing frowned slightly.
"Why ask so much," Xu Zimei replied.
"In the end, you’ll take everything to Hell, whether you know it or not is meaningless."
"Arrogant," Yu Shaoqing barked coldly.
His longsword came unsheathed and he struck a blow towards Xu Zimei.
The longsword pierced the void, concentrating its power to a single point.
Xu Zimei chuckled lightly, the Spiritual Energy in his hands surged and directly clamped onto the incoming longsword.
His other hand transformed into a palm, striking directly towards Yu Shaoqing.
The palm stirred wind and clouds, carrying a powerful momentum.
Yu Shaoqing hastily extended his right arm to defend.
With a "boom," infinite Spiritual Energy burst forth, sending Yu Shaoqing flying backward.
He quickly stood up from the ground, stretched out his tongue, and licked his lips.
He laughed and said, "No wonder you’re so arrogant, you’ve got some skills after all."
"Come," Xu Zimei beckoned, speaking.
Yu Shaoqing’s expression became slightly more serious, and a sharp light flashed in his eyes.
His figure flickered into countless afterimages, and his longsword spun from his palm, attacking Xu Zimei.
This sword strike was simple and unadorned, but even this ordinary strike brought with it heaven-shaking sharpness.
Xu Zimei’s right hand struck out forcefully, with a palm condensed with endless spiritual energy.
Palm and sword collided and both were annihilated simultaneously.
Yu Shaoqing moved neither hurriedly nor slowly, his face neither happy nor sad.
His sword moves did not include any flashy actions.
They were simply basic chops, stabs, lifts, points, bursts, presses, splits, intercepts…
These were the thirteen fundamental techniques of swordplay.
Fundamental techniques that every beginning swordsman would practice.
But in Yu Shaoqing’s hands, they took on additional layers of meaning.
"Sword Dao originates from the basics," Xu Zimei chuckled.
"I’ve seen many swordsmen, but you’re one of the few who can comprehend its essence."
The so-called essence is to have looked through all sword moves.
Even to be able to create one’s own sword moves.
Any earth-shattering Vein Skill was created by people.
"You have some insight," Yu Shaoqing said flatly.
"But that’s all there is to it."
Xu Zimei chuckled, "Is that so?"
"Clang," the sound of Tyrant Shadow unsheathed echoed from behind.
Followed by the blade intent that condensed like hell itself.
"Sword and blade are from the same family, try mine and see how it fares."
Xu Zimei laughed loudly.
"Chop, split, hack, shave, wash..."
These were the thirteen forms of blade techniques, the most basic of them as well.
Compared to Yu Shaoqing, Xu Zimei’s movements were even faster.
With only a few simple moves, Yu Shaoqing started to falter.
His chest was directly pierced by a blade, and he quickly retreated backward.
"What’s the matter? Where are you going?" Xu Zimei laughed.
"Seeing as you’re not from the Stone Race, may I know your name?" Yu Shaoqing asked seriously.
"Just a nameless Loose Cultivator," Xu Zimei gestured dismissively.
"Besides, the dead don’t need to know so much."
Yu Shaoqing’s eyes narrowed slightly, saying nothing more.
But the Power of Dark began to swirl around him slowly.
It seemed as if an ear-piercing crow call was heard.
The dark energy was faint at first, but in the blink of an eye, it surged forth powerfully.
The original firmament had already become somewhat gloomy.
Within these gloomy clouds, a completely black crow coalesced.
"So it’s a True Fate Emergence," Xu Zimei smiled.
On the white robe worn by Yu Shaoqing, there was already an image of a crow.
The crow that appeared at that moment looked exactly like it.
As the crow appeared, the Power of Dark surged out.
Omens of ill fortune and gloom struck together.
The crow stood tens of meters tall, its entire body as if it was splashed with ink.
Its wings were full, with nothing special about them, just an impenetrable blackness.
Its beak looked very hard and slightly sharp.
What was most striking, however, were its eyes.
Dark, corroding, deathly, as if in a moment one could think of countless ominous words.
"World-Ending Dark Night Crow," from the side of the Stone Race, Shi Shaoshuo exclaimed.
"It seems Chief Shi knows his stuff," Yu Shaoqing said with a light laugh.
"You’ve actually made it your True Fate," Shi Shaoshuo’s face was somewhat disbelieving.