"At once." ×3
All three Core Disciples heard something strange in 'Young Master Qin's' voice, at least it didn't seem entirely like his own… but at that moment they were too overjoyed and too focused on this opportunity to curry favor to care.
Flash.
The three Core Disciples placed themselves before Young Master Qin, whose Stealth Technique was still active, forming a protective formation as they instinctively spread out their Divine Sense to scan their surroundings for threats.
The two 1st layer cultivators focused on scanning forward, but while Colt did the same, his Divine Sense was stronger, and because of that he inadvertently partially scanned 'Young Master Qin' still under his Stealth Technique.
"Huh? What! Who are you!?"
Colt's eyes widened in disbelief, for what he saw by inadvertently scanning the distortion in the air was not the Young Master Qin he knew, but someone else in black with hints of silver Taoist robes—someone far, far more handsome than Qin Lei.
This dumbfounded him, 'What is this? Where is Young Master Qin?' At that moment he didn't truly understand the gravity of the situation, he was only confused, but in the very next moment he understood—
With his Divine Sense he saw, almost in slow motion, how the figure he thought to be Young Master Qin, but clearly was not, took hold of the weapon on his back.
This weapon was a beautiful yet deadly longsword, its blade an obsidian black with bloody red seeping along its edge and 'veins' of purple streaking through it, all of it joined to a silvery pure handle that, when combined with the bloodthirsty blade, gave the sword a strange mix of holiness and bloodlust.
'Fuck!'
This thought passed through his mind the next moment, for when he 'saw' the handsome man slowly slash toward him, he felt an unprecedented sharpness, as if thousands of blades were locking onto him, ready to cut him down.
Meanwhile his 'danger sense,' or otherwise called instincts, exploded with signals as the sharpness increased further, and he felt a sensation of mortal threat, like he was about to die… right now!
At that moment he watched with growing horror as this 'slow slash' seemed to warp reality, and he discovered with dread that he was stuck in place, unable to move out of the attack's way!!!!
"DON'T FUCK WITH ME, I WON'T FALL HERE!!!!!"
This scream escaped Colt to the shock of the two other Core Disciples, who didn't understand what was happening or why he had suddenly shouted that.
"BERSERK FLAME!"
With another cry a torrent of extremely hot Qi-powered orange flame erupted from Colt, surging toward the sword cultivator's location with seemingly unstoppable momentum.
"What!"
"Colt, what are you doing!? Attacking Young Master Qin!"
The two other Core Disciples screamed in horror as they saw this scene, but they were too slow to react, leaving them no time to help Young Master Qin before the attack reached him!
They could only watch with growing dread as Colt's Berserk Flame engulfed the distorted air.
'We are finished,' this was the thought that passed through their minds as they eyed Colt with uncontrollable fury, because they knew that if Qin Lei died from Colt's sudden bout of madness they would all be held accountable and follow him to the grave!
And even if he survived, let's not even talk about currying favor—they would be lucky if, in a fit of anger, Young Master Qin didn't have them killed!
The more they thought about it the angrier and more despaired both Core Disciples became as they powerlessly watched the scene.
But suddenly—
Slash.
With a slashing sound a transparent energy slash erupted from 'Young Master Qin' position, a slash that carried with it an unparalleled sharpness and that cut through Colt's flame with relative ease as it continued on—
"Noooo—" Colt let out a horrified scream as he felt death approaching, the next moment his scream was cut short as Mikael's Sword Intent cut him in half.
And then instantly extinguished his life, after all even though being cut in half should be fatal to a Core Formation cultivator it shouldn't mean an instant death, but when the cut was done by Sword Intent it was a different story…
Squlech, Thud.
Colt's bloody halves collided with the ground with a stomach-upturning wet sound while blood spread everywhere.
"COLT!?"
"WHAT!"
The two surviving Core Disciples' eyes widened to an almost comical degree as they witnessed this scene that was as horrifying as it was unexpected and confusing.
And that confusion certainly didn't diminish as their eyes landed on 'Young Master Qin's' position, only to see somebody else!
For a brief moment their confusion only deepened before the light of understanding flashed in their eyes, and in that instant they realized why Colt had been 'hit by a sudden bout of madness.'
It was simply that he saw what they didn't!
Both Core Disciples exchanged a glance, and in that instant a single thought passed through their minds, 'Flee!'
Both men were about to run away but just then—
BOOM!
Mikael's aura erupted outward in an explosion of power, and instantly the air grew heavier while both Core Disciples distinctly felt this impostor's 'strength'.
Normally this wouldn't have changed anything, for while powerful this aura was certainly not enough to affect them, as suppressing somebody through aura alone was only possible with an immense disparity, a disparity that clearly wasn't present in this case.
"1st layer of the Spiritual Foundation Realm!"
Both men exclaimed in disbelief as they stopped in their tracks, the panic that had previously consumed them largely diminishing.
Whooosh.
The wind howled powerfully as the three men eyed each other—Mikael's cold, indifferent eyes meeting both Core Disciples' shocked and terrified ones that quickly transformed into confident expressions.
"Tsk! And to think I thought we needed to run, when the only reason Senior Brother Colt was taken down was that he used a sneak attack!"
"And that clearly wasn't all, for along with his sneak attack, which didn't give Senior Brother Colt the chance to react and burst out with his full strength, he also used a Secret Technique, and considering his strength… probably one with extreme side effects!"
Confidently commented the second Core Disciple as he eyed Mikael, whose breathing was fast and labored, with traces of extreme exhaustion clearly visible.
Step.
"Now, where is the Young Master? Answer me and I can grant you a quick death!" declared one of the Core Disciples as he intimidatingly took a step forward, while the second circled the tired-looking Mikael.
A Mikael who didn't answer and only coldly eyed them, 'Using Sword Intent to burst with nearly all of my strength is more draining than I thought, I should be careful with my use of it!' he analyzed as he kept his silence, his cold gaze fixed on them.
As both men continued to talk and threaten him he remained silent, focusing on recovering from the strain of his Sword Intent.
When he saw them wasting more and more time, and consequently allowing him to recover, a mocking glint flashed in his eyes, a glint that quickly disappeared, masked by his usual indifference.
"Son of a whore, why don't you answer!!!" angrily demanded one of the Core Disciples.
"Eh? How do you know?" Mikael tilted his head curiously as he asked, his voice full of innocent curiosity.
"What?"
Shing.
Just as both men were surprised by the sudden 180 in Mikael's personality, the ground beneath his feet caved in as he erupted at full speed, a mix of Sword Intent and Lunar Qi swirling around Sangrelia, and in an instant he was before the nearest Core Disciple.
Swish.
With a rapid movement the Core Disciple backed away as Fire Qi wrapped itself around his arms, showing that he was a cultivator fighting with his fists and using Fire-attributed Qi.
At the same instant the other cultivator pulled a spear from his storage ring, a spear around which violent Wind Qi began to swirl as he thrust at Mikael, showing that despite how it might have seemed earlier, their aggression and… let's be honest, stupidity wasn't really what they thought.
After all, it would take a special kind of dumbass to underestimate an enemy right after the latter killed someone stronger than you, even if this enemy was of a lower cultivation realm!
Even if he had used some kind of Secret Technique with extreme side effects to do so, who was to say that he wouldn't be able to use it again?
Understanding this… BASIC logic, both men stayed wary, which allowed them to react the moment Mikael attacked.
'Ooh? Good reaction!' this thought passed through Mikael's mind as, like he could see the future, he dodged before the spearman's Wind Qi-powered attack could be fully launched.
Swish.
Mikael tilted his body slightly, letting a punch covered in fire pass beside him as he slashed forward.
Instinctively, to defend himself, the Core Disciple placed the fire-covered arm that wasn't extended from the previous punch before him.
"Arghh!"
A pained scream escaped him as Sangrelia cut deep into his arm, carving into his bone and making the use of that arm in the near future far more difficult.
Fortunately, because of his fast reaction, he didn't follow in Colt's footsteps and wasn't cut in half!
Thwack.
Just as the Core Disciple's attention was focused on Sangrelia carving into him, Mikael's foot lashed forward, landing a powerful kick that folded him in half and sent him flying through a couple of trees.
"Kuangshi!!! Bastard! Cyclone Fang Technique."
The still-uninjured Core Disciple screamed as Wind Qi concentrated on the tip of his spear and began to spin at high speed, generating a powerful current around him as he thrust toward Mikael.
Moonpiercer Sword Art – Third Movement: Silver Dawn Requiem
Lunar Qi intensified around Sangrelia just before the moment of impact—
BOOMM!!
Wind Qi and Lunar Qi collided in a terrifying explosion that uprooted nearby trees and sent nearby demonic beasts running, having no intention of joining a fight of this level.
After all, at the location where the trio currently fought, the demonic beasts present were 'only' at the Late Stage of the Spiritual Foundation Realm, clearly not strong enough to participate in a battle of this level, which was at the Core Formation Realm.
Consequently, no matter how tempting the faint scent of the Thunder Vein Dew that Mikael was releasing was, these demonic beasts didn't approach—they weren't suicidal…
Boom, boom, crack, wsshh, swwsssh.
Explosions and eruptions of Qi resounded as Mikael and the wind-attributed spearman clashed multiple times in the next seconds.
Mikael moved like a whirlwind, with a Wind Cloak swirling around his body, dramatically amplifying his speed to the point that the spearman couldn't keep up!
Gush, squelch.
Multiple wounds erupted on his body, and the only reason his head wasn't already taken off by Sangrelia in this short clash was because his Qi was so much superior to Mikael's!
After all, no matter how strong Mikael currently was, 'stats'-wise he was still a good distance from equaling somebody a major realm above him in base stats—that was for sure.
Clank.
'How is he so fast!!!' was the thought that passed through the spearman's mind just as his spear and Mikael's sword clashed once more, only for him to see Mikael disappear the next moment and attack him from another angle.
He tried to defend but was too slow, causing another relatively minor gash to open on his side.
'If this continues, it will end with him carving me apart!' he thought with growing dread, not understanding how somebody a MAJOR REALM below him could be so strong in all aspects, especially in speed and the sharpness of his attacks!
'NO! This can't go on, I need to do something!' he realized, and the next moment he caught Kuangshi moving from the corner of his eye.
Author Note:
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Unfortunately everything was going alright up to the point where Mikael was discovered but fortunately using a sneak attack he was able to burst out with his Sword Intent and instantly take down the strongest ennemy so maybe…everything will be alright?
At the same time we see cultivators with brain!!!!!
I know it's mythical to see something like that happen, but I have difficulty writing overly stupid characters, like if they reacted 100% like in a cultivation novel I found it just too stupid and unrealistic, because of that we can see the 'miracle' of cultivators with brains…
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— End of Chapter —