Chapter 281: The Greatest Evil in the World

Frederick had finally seen through the true nature of his opponent. It seemed that Ji Jue had exploited the mechanics of the duel to their absolute limit.

Even if Ji Jue and the weapon had been separate entities before entering the simulation, then all those strange movements and moments of sluggishness after he entered the simulated world had probably been nothing more than an act. The opposing craftsman’s true objective had been to offer even his simulated replica as a sacrifice to his weapon. He had not even spared his own mimic!

At this point, Ji Jue and the weapon had completely merged into one. Through the preparations and spirit circuits built into the weapon from its very inception, Ji Jue’s blood, life, and soul had completely fused with the ferocious blade in his hand. Rather than calling the intruder Ji Jue, it would have been more accurate to say that he had become an appendage of the blade, nothing more than the tool that wielded it.

That was precisely why he could share so intimately in the spirit matter and vitality plundered by the weapon, using them to continually restore himself. Otherwise, the gravitational acceleration from earlier would have been enough to turn Ji Jue’s brain into mush, never mind the later attacks that pierced his vital points and the bolts of divine punishment unleashed by the workshop!

The armor had already become red-hot to the touch. Despite its cushioning layers, the temperature inside should have been enough to roast the pilot alive. There was no way he should have still been bouncing around like nothing had happened, wildly hacking and slashing at everything in sight!

As an unconventional sacrifice and an extension of the blade itself, Ji Jue could not possibly die so easily as long as the weapon continued supplying him with blood energy and spirit matter, unless Frederick could completely vaporize him in a flash.

Or, he could simply leave him alone. There was no need to engage him directly. All Frederick had to do was send large numbers of inorganic puppets to wear him down while reinforcing the workshop’s defenses and dragging out the battle.

After all, a blood sacrifice could not last forever. Once the external supply could no longer keep up, the ferocious weapon would turn on its wielder instead and suck him completely dry like a carton of milk. Yet Ji Jue had clearly anticipated even that. Just look at all those evil creature battery packs covering the armor.

Frederick was utterly speechless. Who the hell knew how long Ji Jue could keep going? And who the hell knew whether Frederick could outlast him?

Besides, did he really intend to run away?! Why should he?! Northwind had never feared the might of blades. Its flames burned fiercer still!

Deep within the fortress, Frederick pushed himself up from the enormous chair and hesitated no longer. He had issued the challenge, and his opponent had answered it. There was no reason to stall or drag things out. As a craftsman facing a powerful enemy, was he supposed to flee from his own workshop?! Today would be the day he erased his humiliation. The moment had come. His opponent was right before him!

The tattoos covering Frederick’s body suddenly blazed with brilliant light. Radiance flowed from him, rising in countless threads that stretched out in every direction. He had merged completely with the entire workshop.

The flames within the furnace erupted. Rolling fire spread around the fortress, filling every corner as it incinerated corpses, debris, and every insignificant speck of dust. Everything was cast into an eternal inferno of molten fire!

At the deepest point of that terrifying inferno, endless flames converged, and vast torrents of spirit matter surged forth. For a fleeting moment, the outline of Valhalla appeared. Every reborn hero, every Berserker, every war giant, and every phantom Soul-Hunting Knight dissolved into the flames.

All of them merged with Frederick! At that moment, he was no longer the frail craftsman he had once been. He had become the true sovereign of this world, the raging spirit that commanded boundless flames, burned every powerful enemy to ashes, and had once set the Nine Realms of the far north ablaze.

Among the three supreme manifestations of the Valhalla Sequence, this was the second. It was Surtr, Lord of Flames!

“Come!”

With the roar of flames, the burning giant appeared before Ji Jue and tore through the air toward him. In his hands, an enormous greatsword formed from flowing, molten iron and lava came crashing down!

Boom!

The Bloodblade collided with the flaming sword, and a vast surge of crimson erupted beneath the burning flames. For the first time, the Bloodblade failed to break through! Cracks had even appeared along its edge!

Empowered by multiple layers of blessings, the Lord of Burning had been created thanks to the craftsman offering his own body as a sacrifice. In terms of sheer quality, he had already surpassed the deadly weapon forged through countless blood sacrifices!

Just as Ji Jue had turned himself into a sacrifice for the long blade, Frederick had forged himself into Surtr. The flaming sword in his hands had become the embodiment of destruction, formed from all the power of the workshop!

A tide of blood surged and wrapped itself around the scorching armor. The damaged Bloodblade rapidly repaired itself, becoming even more ferocious than before.

As the seals of Solid Alchemy were gradually released, the vicious malice and resentment that had been restrained within the blade burst forth. This was a battle between monsters, a clash of destruction against destruction. Blood and fire collided as deafening blows rang out without pause.

By now, it was impossible to make out the duelists’ exact forms. There was only a violent mass of crimson twisting through the battlefield and another torrent of raging flame surging against it, while the shrill screech of metal grinding against metal echoed endlessly. Not only were the eliminated contestants watching from outside the simulation too stunned to speak, but even Jiang Tongguang could not help clicking his tongue in admiration as he watched the projection.

Rivers of blood! Hell yeah!!! So powerful, fierce, brutal, and absolutely spectacular!

This was exactly what he wanted to see!

“Just clip this part of the replay and send it to the Lord of Soldiers in the Central Lands. He’d probably give it a thumbs-up and say, ‘Looks like the Swarm has produced two more promising youngsters.’” Jiang Tongguang rubbed his chin and sighed, genuinely impressed. “I mean, Frederick is the direct disciple of that Big Beard guy from Northwind Workshop, so it makes sense that nothing but hacking and slashing goes through that head of his. But where the hell did Ye Xian find a gem like this? Just look at the way he fights. He isn’t losing out in the slightest…”

Gustav glanced at Jiang Tongguang, who was slipping back into his old habits. “I’ll make sure to have a proper talk with Yellowbeard about your ‘Big Beard’ comment. And don’t forget where Ye Xian came from.”

“That still doesn’t add up, does it?” Jiang Tongguang frowned, his expression turning serious as he lowered his voice. “You mean that person? But they didn’t fight like this either.”

Gustav could barely resist rolling his eyes. “I meant before that.”

The Ye family of the Thousand Islands had descended from the orthodox lineage of the Central Lands and inherited the legacy of Gan Jiang and Mo Ye.

Several centuries ago, during the Second Battle of White River, the Ye clan had fought the King of the North head-on as part of the Thousand Islands Alliance. Not to mention their reputation as swordsmiths, a legacy stretching back more than a thousand years to the Eternal Empire.

The family had declined until Ye Xian was the only one left, and Ye Xian herself did not care enough to bring those traditions back, but that did not mean people could pretend her family legacy had never existed!

“Wasn’t that inheritance already broken? Even the flow of the Sage’s spirit through the tapestry of the world has been severed.”

“A collateral branch can still restore the orthodox succession. If Ye Xian truly intends to do so, then I imagine every relevant party would recognize it.”

Jiang Tongguang sighed. “It must be nice to have such a good student.”

“If you’re jealous, you could always take one yourself,” Gustav said. “There are plenty of apprentices and craftsmen outside lining up for guidance from ‘Heavenly Abyss Tongguang.’”

“No thanks. Too much trouble.” Jiang Tongguang shook his head and sighed once more.

Teaching someone dull was troublesome. Teaching someone intelligent was even more troublesome. And if his luck was especially bad and he ended up with someone like Ji Jue, then teaching would probably bring enough trouble to last a lifetime.

Crack!

Within the projection, flames spilled, splattering like blood. Surtr staggered and took a step back. Even though his gigantic body had been forged from intangible flame and molten iron, a horrifying wound had appeared across its chest.

In front of him stood the red-hot armor. In one hand was the savage long blade, drenched in blood; in the other, a short sword that flickered like a shadow.

“A short sword?!” Frederick cried out in shock as an inexplicable wave of pain tore through him.

He was not the only one left stunned. The spectators outside the simulation had also fallen silent, and even Gustav looked faintly surprised.

Ji Jue actually had a second weapon that was just as sinister?! When the hell had he made that?

A prerecorded voice sounded from the red-hot armor. “Come to think of it, we haven’t gone through the proper formalities yet. According to tradition, this is the part where I’m supposed to introduce my creations and earn myself some style points! I’m sure you must be wondering right now, ‘What the hell are these things, and why are they so damn creepy?’ To tell you the truth, these are the fruits born from one brilliant flash of genius after two and a half years of studying alchemy!”

Ji Jue’s replica spread its arms. The long saber swept outward while the short sword was held in a reverse grip. Blood-red light and venomous curses flowed around both weapons, making them look utterly vicious.

“I’m sure you’ve already experienced firsthand just how savage and malevolent they are. They’re nowhere near the level of a Divine Creation, of course, but as blessed creations, I’d say there are very few weapons that can match them. And that is exactly why I named them after the two most terrifying things in the entire world.”

Jet-black inscriptions emerged beneath the flowing crimson light along the saber and the spine of the short sword, proudly revealing their names. Over the loudspeakers, accompanied by an explosive, pounding beat, the craftsman declared solemnly, “This long saber is called Ex-Wife! And this short sword is called Stepmother!”

For one brief moment, no one made a sound. Inside and outside the simulation, above and below the shimmering projections, an indescribable chill crept into everyone’s hearts. Their expressions froze on their faces. They wanted to dig a finger into their ears, wondering whether they had heard correctly.

What the fuck did you just say?!

Even Frederick, now transformed into a giant of flame, stood frozen in place, having completely forgotten where he was. If Assault Horsey had seized the opportunity to attack, Frederick probably would not have reacted in time and would have been hacked beyond recognition.

Instead, with the introductions out of the way, Ji Jue’s replica seemed to enter demonstration mode. It swung the two weapons around, shifting through different stances to show them off.

“Pretty terrifying, right?! Did I scare you?” the voice from the speakers asked. “As the name suggests, Ex-Wife strikes with a fierce edge and tremendous force. Practically nothing can withstand it. It is especially good at plundering spirit matter and taking half of everything you have. Every slash cuts straight to the heart, and even if you’re worth billions, it’ll leave you with nothing but the clothes on your back and dump you out on the street!

“Stepmother is even more terrifying. Not only is it light, unpredictable, and capable of slipping through the smallest opening, but its sheer speed makes it nearly impossible to defend against. It also comes fully equipped with curses and poison. Its blade leaves no visible wound, yet everything inside you quietly falls apart, allowing it to kill without spilling a drop of blood! You could say that even the slightest graze will hurt all the way to the bone and leave you traumatized for the rest of your life…”

Faced with such terrifying power, who in the world could possibly remain fearless?! No one! Absolutely no one! Even if every iron-blooded tough guy under heaven donated every last ounce of courage they had and pooled it all together, the sight of such a terrifying pair of weapons would probably still bring tears to their eyes.

“It’s just a shame I didn’t have enough points.” Ji Jue sighed with genuine regret. “My original plan was to make a pair of gauntlets, too. The left one would’ve been called Carrot, and the right one would’ve been called Stick. Together, they would’ve been unstoppable…”

Without the slightest warning, boundless flames erupted.

Surtr, Lord of Flames, let out a furious roar. The enormous sword in his hands swelled dramatically before crashing down toward the opponent who simply would not stop talking!

Frederick had had enough. “JUST! SHUT! THE! FUCK! UP!!!”