Volume 5 Chapter 43

Volume 5 + Chapter 43: Lightning-Fast Duel

The Fox Clan royalty intends to compromise with the Dragon Clan!

How can the proud Fox Clan bow their heads to the Dragon Clan? The Fox Clan royalty’s actions are undoubtedly a betrayal of our entire Fox Clan!

The cause of all this is precisely the so-called “faith” of the Fox Clan royalty. The fox deity they lead everyone to worship is nothing but a false god, unable to provide the Fox Clan with powerful strength. That’s why the Fox Clan royalty has chosen to seek power from outside!

On a high platform, a senior adherent dressed in the robe of the White Night Doctrine was delivering a speech to the commoners below.

Here, a considerable number of Fox Clan commoners had already gathered.

“The Fox Clan royalty has deceived us! They fabricated a false deity solely to facilitate their own rule!!”

“The elite class, perched high above, only cares about its own interests, not the future of the Fox Clan!”

“If they truly cared about the Fox Clan, then why are there still people among us who go hungry, who are in debt, who end up on the streets?”

The senior adherent’s speech was full of impassioned emotions, stirring the Fox Clan commoners below into a fervor.

It could be said that those who came here were undoubtedly people who had suffered hardships and setbacks in life, seeking salvation.

“If the true Lord Fox Deity were here to lead everyone, then everything would certainly be different!” the senior adherent said.

“What would the true Lord Fox Deity… do?” a young Fox Clan girl asked.

“An excellent question! The true Lord Fox Deity would bestow happiness and joy equally upon every fox. In the White Night Doctrine, we have no distinction between high and low. Everyone holds the same identity. That is, a believer of the true Lord Fox Deity!”

The senior adherent instilled these concepts into the Fox Clan commoners.

“The true Lord Fox Deity would never bow to foreign clans. All foreign clans are filthy and impure, they don’t deserve to live in this world! The wealth and grain in the hands of foreign clans also belong to us, because everything in this world is the possession of the Lord Fox Deity. But the despicable foreign clans have stolen these things. We should rightfully take back what is ours! Cast all foreign clans into hell, and make this world a pure White Night!”

“Good!! Good!!!”

“Kill those filthy foreign clans!”

“Take back what belongs to us!!”

The Fox Clan commoners shouted, becoming fanatical under the incitement.

The senior adherent, seeing this scene, was quite satisfied. “Everyone, each of you should join the White Night Doctrine and become a brave believer of the Lord Fox Deity. Only then will you be qualified to receive the Lord Fox Deity’s blessings…”

Whoosh!

Suddenly, a sharp sword light descended, striking the high platform and causing it to collapse. The senior adherent fell to the ground.

“This ends here, you heretical cultists spouting nonsense.”

An icy voice rang out.

Everyone looked over and saw an elderly Fox Clan swordsman. Although he was advanced in years, he was still awe-inspiring and possessed a powerful aura…

He was the renowned great swordsman of Fox Hill, Bai Yang.

“Great Swordsman Bai Yang?!” The senior adherent showed a stunned expression.

Besides Bai Yang, others also appeared with him.

These were Fox Clan soldiers who had come with Bai Yang, under orders from the Nine-Tailed Fox Sovereign, to suppress these extremists.

“There has only ever been one Lord Fox Deity at Fox Hill. You, with your sinister intentions, attempt to control innocent people through fabricated lies.”

Bai Yang’s anger grew.

“You people deserve to be completely eliminated!”

“Damn you, you lackey who sold your soul to a false god!!”

The senior adherent cursed, turned around, and started to flee.

His status wasn’t too low. Other adherents of the White Night Doctrine charged at Bai Yang, trying to block him.

“Ridiculous.” Bai Yang dismissed them with contempt.

How could these people possibly stop Bai Yang?

With just a casual swing of his longsword, he sent these adherents flying.

The other Fox Clan soldiers also sprang into action, arresting the White Night Doctrine adherents and calming the almost-riotous commoners.

“For… the true Lord Fox Deity!!”

Suddenly, an adherent who had been cut down leaped up and lunged at Bai Yang.

Bai Yang was truly getting impatient. Originally, he hadn’t wanted to kill these people, planning to arrest them all for interrogation first. Since the other party was so desperate to die, he wouldn’t indulge them.

He aimed his longsword at the adherent’s heart, easily piercing through it.

Before dying, this adherent used all his remaining strength to make a bizarre move, reaching into his clothing.

Bai Yang was startled, discovering that this adherent had a large number of talismans bound to his body.

The charms on the talismans flashed with dazzling light, overflowing with violent magical power, which erupted in an instant.

Boom!!!

The adherent’s body exploded, and the flames engulfed Bai Yang.

“Lord Bai Yang!!” the Fox Clan soldiers shouted worriedly.

“Cough, cough… I’m fine. These people are truly insane, resorting to such a suicidal attack.”

Bai Yang walked out from the flames. He had sustained minor injuries, nothing serious.

This had successfully delayed him, allowing the senior adherent to escape.

“You stabilize the situation here first. I’ll pursue the escapee alone!”

After issuing this order, Bai Yang went off in pursuit.

“Lord Bai Yang going alone is very dangerous, right? What if it’s a trap…” a Fox Clan soldier asked worriedly.

“What are you saying? Lord Bai Yang is the strongest great swordsman in our Fox Hill. How could anyone possibly be a match for Lord Bai Yang? His swordsmanship is already superb and unparalleled in the world!”

Another Fox Clan soldier chuckled upon hearing this.

“If that explosion had happened to anyone else, they’d be ashes by now, but Lord Bai Yang came through mostly unscathed. Who else could do that? Tell me, isn’t our worry for Lord Bai Yang unnecessary?”

“You’re right. Lord Bai Yang is so strong, there’s no reason for him to lose. Let’s quickly suppress this riot here and then go to support Lord Bai Yang.”

The others also expressed agreement.

After all, everyone acknowledged Bai Yang’s strength. As the foremost expert of Fox Hill, his reputation was well-deserved, almost no one could defeat him.

…

…

“Damn heretical cultists, running pretty fast. Where did he go?”

Bai Yang pursued the escaping senior adherent and arrived outside the city.

It was getting late now. If he waited until the sun completely sank below the horizon, and the senior adherent used the night to flee into the suburban woods, finding him would become troublesome.

Bai Yang calmed his mind and sensed changes in the surrounding aura.

Within the flow of the air, he caught a trace of disordered breathing.

“This way.”

After locking onto the direction, Bai Yang moved rapidly and indeed spotted a fleeing figure—it was the senior adherent of the White Night Doctrine.

“You can’t escape.”

The Fox Clan’s great swordsman used a special footwork technique, Earth Shrinking, traversing the grassland at extreme speed, as if teleporting, and appeared before the White Night adherent.

“Ahhh!!”

Upon seeing Bai Yang, the senior adherent’s face lost all color, plunging into despair.

Bai Yang drew his longsword and swung it towards the senior adherent’s head.

Just as the senior adherent was about to meet his end, Bai Yang suddenly felt a chilling killing intent, accompanied by a sword gleam as bright as moonlight.

Clang!

With a crisp sound of clashing blades, Bai Yang’s sword was actually repelled?

He found it hard to believe. In Fox Hill, how could there be someone with stronger swordsmanship than his?

However, the Fox Clan’s great swordsman didn’t have time to think carefully before several more sword lights came slashing from tricky angles.

A swordsman capable of launching such attacks was by no means an ordinary person.

Realizing this, Bai Yang became serious. A sharp light emanated from his eyes.

Reverse · Kasane Slash!

He twisted his waist and delivered a powerful, sweeping slash.

The sword energy tore through the air on a large scale, this time dismantling the opponent’s attack.

“…”

A swordsman wearing a bamboo hat appeared in Bai Yang’s field of vision, shielding the senior adherent behind him. He had lowered his bamboo hat, shading half his face, making it impossible to distinguish his features.

“Sir!” The senior adherent was overjoyed.

“You go first. Get to a safe place.”

“Alright!” The senior adherent nodded, got up, and ran off.

“Stop right there!”

Seeing the other trying to escape again, Bai Yang this time mobilized his killing intent, intending to pursue and strike.

The mysterious swordsman lowered his stance and softly intoned: “Divine Speed · Drawing Cut.”

Hearing this technique name, Bai Yang was stunned.

The other’s longsword, at a speed indistinguishable to the naked eye, left its sheath, roaring like a wild beast as it pounced on him.

By the time Bai Yang tried to counter, it was too late. His own longsword was sent flying.

The opponent seemed to have shown mercy, merely knocking away the weapon rather than severing an arm.

“Bai Yang, it’s you, isn’t it?”

The mysterious swordsman spoke, removing his bamboo hat.

Upon seeing the other’s face, memories from Bai Yang’s past surged forth. He quickly recognized who it was, his face filled with disbelief.

“This… how is this possible!!”

The person before him was actually Bai Yang’s long-missing fellow disciple, Wu Tong.

Wu Tong had once studied under the same master as Bai Yang, learning swordsmanship from the former Fox Clan great swordsman.

Wu Tong surpassed Bai Yang in both talent and skill. Almost everyone believed Wu Tong would be the next great swordsman, and even Bai Yang himself thought so.

Compared to Wu Tong, he indeed fell short.

But one day, something changed Wu Tong’s life forever.

His beloved wife died of illness.

From then on, Wu Tong became disheartened. He couldn’t escape the shadow of his wife’s death, numbing himself with alcohol daily. His strength regressed instead of advancing, his talent gradually fading. Eventually, he became a drunkard who couldn’t even hold a sword steadily, completely surpassed by Bai Yang.

Then, one day, Wu Tong left behind a letter and departed.

The letter contained only a brief sentence: he wanted to leave this world.

At that time, Bai Yang thought Wu Tong had taken his own life and departed from the world of the living.

He felt deep regret for Wu Tong in his heart.

But he never expected that the deceased Wu Tong would appear before him, and with significantly improved swordsmanship.

“Wu Tong, I’m surprised you’re not dead, but let’s talk about that later. I must first eliminate that heretical cultist over there,” Bai Yang said.

“That’s not a heretical cultist,” Wu Tong said. “And I cannot let you pursue him.”

“What do you mean? Don’t tell me you’ve joined… a heretical cult?”

“The White Night Doctrine is not a heretical cult. On the contrary, the deity promoted by the Fox Clan royalty is the false fox god.”

“Wu Tong, saying such things, I cannot forgive you! Are you in your right mind now?”

“I am perfectly clear-minded. The deceived ones are you and the other foxes. The Fox Clan royalty are all despicable usurpers. The fox god worshipped by the people is a false god who seized power. This despicable false god took everything from the true Lord Fox Deity. The actions of the White Night Doctrine are precisely about returning everything to the right path.”

“Wu Tong, how did you become like this?”

“Once, I couldn’t wield my sword anymore. I had no reason to live and planned to end my life… However, I encountered the leader of the White Night Doctrine. He saved me, who was seeking death. The true Lord Fox Deity also bestowed grace upon me, allowing me to find a reason to live again, and thus I was able to wield my sword once more.”

Wu Tong slowly slid his longsword back into its sheath.

“No more words. Pick up your sword, Bai Yang. There was always supposed to be a battle between us.”

Originally, for Bai Yang to become the great swordsman, he had to defeat his fellow disciple Wu Tong. But due to Wu Tong’s disappearance, that matter was left unresolved.

Indeed, there was an unfinished duel between the two.

Bai Yang could already feel the other’s fighting spirit. This was no misunderstanding. Upon their reunion, the two had become enemies, standing on opposite sides. There was truly no need for more words.

He walked a few steps, picked up his knocked-away longsword, and slid it into its sheath.

“I won’t hold back, Wu Tong.”

A gentle breeze swept across the grassland, rustling the vegetation.

Bai Yang and Wu Tong stood their ground, hands on their weapons, poised to strike.

The sun slowly sank below the horizon. The light grew dimmer and dimmer. The moment it completely disappeared in the west, the life-or-death duel of the draw would begin.

Three.

Two.

One.

Zero.

Darkness enveloped the grassland. The two men drew their weapons almost simultaneously, using the same drawing technique. Two beams of sword light intertwined, the impact causing the very air to tremble.

Two arcing sword energies expanded outward, neatly cutting a smooth plane across the grass.

The lightning-fast duel would be decided in an instant.

“Ugh…”

Wu Tong groaned first, clutching his chest as he knelt on one knee, a trickle of crimson seeping from the corner of his mouth.

He raised his head and looked at Bai Yang.

“…”

Bai Yang’s expression was complex. He seemed to want to speak but stopped, ultimately saying nothing as he closed his eyes.

A spray of blood blossomed from his chest. A fierce sword scar was etched across it. He collapsed, the weapon in his hand shattering along with him, proclaiming the outcome of this duel.

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