Chapter 144 - 122: An All-Out Battle

Chapter 144: Chapter 122: An All-Out Battle

Why seek revenge?

The word seemed strangely out of place here.

"You wanted to kill me and seize my resources, which is what ultimately led to Zhao Qingmeng’s death."

"This is the bitter fruit of your own making. It was your greed that killed her."

With every word Zhao Zuo spoke, the force behind his blade grew heavier. The continuous momentum of his blade was the technique of One Slash, and the way his muscles compressed before suddenly erupting with immense force—that was the Realm of Overflowing Moon.

"You should be hating your own weakness."

There was nothing wrong with surviving to become stronger, but one should never sell their very soul to do so.

BAM.

Zhao Zuo formed the Vajra Seal with a single hand. His Qi Blood surged through his limbs like a torrent as terrifying waves of immense power erupted from him, directly knocking Lin Hao back several steps.

"I will kill you," Lin Hao muttered. The webbing of his hands, where he gripped the sword, had already been torn open by the immense force, and they were bleeding freely. Droplets of blood trickled down from the hilt, staining the blade red.

"As her brother, you didn’t protect her at all. In fact, you were the one who pushed her into danger."

"You’re really not much of a brother, are you," Zhao Zuo remarked with a sigh.

’I’m starting to connect the dots,’ Zhao Zuo thought. ’If most of Zhao Qingmeng’s resources went to Lin Hao, and if her associating with all those men wasn’t her own choice... then Lin Hao isn’t just a terrible brother. He’s a scumbag. A leech.’

Lin Hao pushed off with his legs, Mana coursing rapidly through the Meridians within them. His speed suddenly surged, and his footwork took on a peculiar, rhythmic quality.

This was one of his trump cards: the Magic Skill, Sword Shadow Step.

"What do you know!" Lin Hao roared.

"You’re a hypocrite, completely unworthy of such a righteous Swordsmanship!" Zhao Zuo said coldly.

With that, Lin Hao closed the distance and the two clashed. Lin Hao’s Sword Moves grew sharper, his blade no longer making the wide, sweeping attacks from before. His strikes now carried a sinister ruthlessness and a hint of Evil Qi.

In the blink of an eye, the two had exchanged over a hundred moves.

Zhao Zuo was barely managing to resist by relying on his immense strength, but wounds were gradually appearing on his body. Blood began to seep through his Taoist Robe... The pressure mounted. Once Lin Hao unleashed his full power, Zhao Zuo was inevitably thrown into a grueling fight.

What gave Zhao Zuo the most trouble was the footwork Lin Hao displayed at close range, which gave him a clear advantage in speed.

"You’ve never experienced having your monthly allowance stolen by senior disciples just because you were weak!"

"You’ve never had both your legs broken, nearly losing your life, just for fighting back!"

Lin Hao’s voice, once a roar, returned to a state of calm. His movements, however, betrayed a rage that sought to destroy everything. It was as if his extreme anger had pushed him into a destructive trance.

He stopped holding back, unleashing the full arsenal of Shenxiao Hall’s number one Outer Sect disciple. At this moment, he no longer cared how he would face the Punishment Hall after killing Zhao Zuo.

Now, Lin Hao only wanted Zhao Zuo dead. He didn’t care about the price. Zhao Zuo had struck his deepest, most painful nerve: that he, who prided himself on being a gentleman, was in fact just a coward using his sister as a shield.

But he refused to admit it, and he wouldn’t allow anyone to question him.

"You’ve never been locked in a sunless dungeon, feeling your own legs fester and rot away."

"You’ve never experienced any of that, so what right do you have to say I’m not a good brother!"

Mana surged through Lin Hao’s legs as he charged forward, the tip of his blade aimed straight for Zhao Zuo’s chest. Driven by rage, he forgot everything else and executed his most practiced, fundamental move.

"Charge Direct Stab."

CLINK.

The immense force behind the blade knocked aside the Black Flame Saber as it swung in to defend, even suppressing its raging flames. In that instant, Zhao Zuo’s guard was broken, leaving him wide open.

"Die!"

CLANG!

A dazzling golden light flared out from Zhao Zuo’s chest. It came from a round mirror. The front was engraved with the Five Elements and the eight trigrams, while the back depicted a landscape of mountains, lakes, and a full moon.

The Golden Light Mirror had blocked the attack, giving Zhao Zuo an opportunity to counter. His Black Flame Saber, which had just been knocked aside, swung down in a fierce chop as he simultaneously stepped forward to close the distance.

RRRIP.

The Taoist Robe on Lin Hao’s shoulder was sliced open. The saber’s edge bit into the bone of his left shoulder, and before the Black Flame could even begin to burn, he immediately retreated three steps, retrieved a Pill Medicine from his Storage Bag, and swallowed it in a flash.

The effects of the Healing Elixir were almost instantaneous. His two most serious wounds immediately began to close, and the bleeding stopped.

’That has to be at least a One Tier, Upper Grade Healing Pill. It must cost around a thousand Spirit Stones...’

"You’ve never experienced those things. What right do you have to judge me?" Lin Hao leveled his blade, the tip pointing at the space between Zhao Zuo’s eyes. His tone was still placid, but a madness he could no longer suppress glinted in the depths of his eyes.

Zhao Zuo was silent for a moment before charging forward to attack. He was stalling for time; after all, Shen Yunjiao had said she could deal with her opponent quickly.

"Even if I had gone through all that..." Zhao Zuo said in an unshakably firm voice as he charged, "...I would never hide behind my sister, using the name of family to achieve my own selfish goals."

"I don’t believe you!"

This time, Zhao Zuo didn’t answer. He knew with absolute clarity that he and Lin Hao were not the same kind of people.

Faced with the harsh realities of the Cultivation Realm, the two had chosen clearly different paths. After suffering countless cruelties, Lin Hao had chosen to protect himself and grow stronger by any means necessary.