Chapter 224: Defeating the Enemy with One Move
Ma Feima stared at the face before him, his eyes wide with absolute disbelief. It was identical to the one etched into his memories. A sudden, suffocating wave of panic washed over him as the weight of his past actions crashed down on his conscience. He couldn't even bring himself to meet Rovel's gaze. The joy of a long-lost reunion? Such a sentiment didn't even cross his mind. Only sheer, unadulterated terror remained.
"You... aren't you dead?" Ma Feima scrambled backward, his boots kicking up dirt as he struggled to his feet. His arms trembled so violently he could barely hold himself upright.
"Whoa?!" Li Sushang jumped, startled by Ma Feima's horrified outburst. Instinctively, she took a few cautious steps away from Rovel, eyeing him with sudden suspicion.
Rovel caught her movement from the corner of his eye and let out a dry sigh. "You don't even know if I'm a living person or a ghost, yet you still decided to tag along and meddle in this mess?"
"Uh... hehe." Sushang scratched the back of her head, offering a sheepish, embarrassed grin. She had been traveling with him for days. Aside from a few strange cognitive quirks, Rovel seemed perfectly normal. He certainly didn't act like some vengeful demon crawling out of the underworld.
Rovel shifted his attention back to the trembling man. "My own mind is full of unanswered questions right now. Once I see Junior Sister Ling Shuang and Master, I'll get to the bottom of this."
His gaze darkened, locking onto Ma Feima with a chilling intensity. "As for the things you have done... I will settle those debts with you, one by one."
Rovel casually rolled his shoulders, his eyes narrowing into dangerous slits.
A cold sweat instantly drenched Ma Feima's back, plastering his clothes to his skin. His mind raced frantically. First, he had received news that Qin Suyi had died and the Red Kite had been resurrected. Now, he was staring at Rovel in the flesh. Was this truly his Senior Brother? Decades had passed, yet the man standing before him hadn't aged a single day. Could it be that he had obtained some immortal art of longevity from Master? Did the Red Kite truly possess a method to bring the dead back to life?
If so, why did that ridiculous rule of executing the corrupted even exist? And why was such a miraculous method only taught to Senior Brother Rovel?
Ma Feima clenched his fists. His knuckles cracked audibly in the tense silence.
"Looking at your posture, it seems you want to spar." Rovel easily saw through the man's rising hostility. He gestured for Sushang and Otto to step back. "Come. Let me see just how much the 'Little Horse' Su Mei used to mention has grown over these past few decades."
Sushang opened her mouth to speak, her mind spinning. Junior Sister Ling Shuang? It couldn't possibly be a coincidence that the Taixu Sword Sect just happened to have a disciple named Ling Shuang, could it?
Hearing the childhood nickname 'Little Horse', Ma Feima flinched. Only those who had lived on Taixu Mountain knew that name. The man standing before him was undoubtedly the legendary Senior Brother rumored to have perished long ago.
Desperation flashing in his eyes, Ma Feima tightened his grip on Chijueying. To an outsider, his hands appeared empty. Chijueying was a blade forged to manipulate light. By channeling true energy into the weapon and using Taixu Sword Intent to refract the surrounding light, the sword became completely invisible to the naked eye.
Without warning, Ma Feima lunged. "Opening Sword, Instant Dust!"
Before a single speck of dirt could be kicked up from his sudden acceleration, he materialized directly in front of Rovel, thrusting the invisible blade straight toward his throat.
"Immortal Art, Heavenly Zenith."
Rovel merely raised a single hand.
Ma Feima froze. It felt as though his blade had slammed into an impenetrable fortress wall. No matter how hard he pushed, no matter how much true energy he poured into his arms, the invisible tip of Chijueying refused to advance even a millimeter. Panic setting in, he tried to pull back and change his stance, only to discover that the sword was locked firmly in place. He couldn't even wrench it from Rovel's invisible grip.
"It seems you really haven't made any progress at all."
Rovel struck out with an open palm, his movements nonchalant and fluid. In an instant, an incomparably fierce, invisible force erupted from his strike. The shockwave caught Ma Feima squarely in the chest, launching his body high into the air.
Like a kite with its string violently snapped, he plummeted back down, crashing heavily into the dirt. The impact forced his fingers to open. Chijueying slipped from his grasp and plunged into the yellow sand, the disruption in energy finally revealing its true, gleaming form.
With just one casual move, Rovel had completely crushed Ma Feima—a warrior who had fought across the Central Plains and boasted a glorious, blood-soaked combat record.
Nobody present knew exactly how strong the current Rovel was. Truthfully, even Rovel himself wasn't entirely sure.
"Let's go." Rovel walked over, hauled the groaning Ma Feima up by his collar, and unceremoniously tossed him over the back of his own horse. He then plucked Chijueying from the sand and tossed the legendary blade to Sushang, leaving her responsible for keeping it safe.
Sushang caught the hilt clumsily, her brain practically short-circuiting. The pieces finally clicked together. Decades ago, the world-renowned 'Butcher of the Demonized', the second disciple under the Red Kite... Fang Ruobai.
"Sen... Senior Uncle?" Sushang asked tentatively, her voice squeaking slightly.
"You didn't get it wrong this time." Rovel looked at her, a teasing glint in his eyes. This girl's mind operated at a rather leisurely pace; it had taken her an agonizingly long time to finally recognize him.
But he couldn't entirely blame her. After all, he had supposedly been dead for decades, yet here he was, looking like a young man barely her age. It was incredibly difficult to associate this casual, youthful traveler with a legendary figure who had perished before she was even born. Even a cautious veteran like Old Eagle hadn't dared to believe it, let alone a novice like Sushang.
"Good grief, so you've been lying to me all these days?!" Sushang's face suddenly flushed a deep, embarrassed red. She had spent the entire journey calling him Senior Brother, only to find out he was actually her Master's Senior Brother!
"I never admitted to anything. You were the one who filled in the blanks of my identity all on your own," Rovel replied, spreading his hands in mock innocence. He had originally planned to let Sushang continue calling him Senior Brother right in front of Ling Shuang just to see her priceless reaction, but running into Ma Feima so early had unfortunately ruined his little prank.
"But... Senior Uncle, didn't you die? How did you come back to life?!" Sushang marched right up to him. She reached out and pinched his cheek, then grabbed his arm, circling him several times like she was inspecting a prize horse. Only after poking and prodding him did she finally accept that he was made of warm flesh and blood.
Standing quietly to the side, Otto's attention sharpened at her words. He turned his gaze toward Rovel. This man had died? And then resurrected?
A burning, desperate heat suddenly flared within Otto's chest. If resurrection was truly possible in this world, then perhaps... perhaps he could finally find a way to bring Kallen back.
"Regarding my supposed death, I'm not too sure about the details myself," Rovel admitted, rubbing his cheek where Sushang had pinched him. "How exactly does the pugilistic world describe me these days?"
"Senior Uncle, your reputation is absolutely massive!" Sushang's expression instantly brightened with excitement. "Rumors in the martial world say that wherever the Butcher of the Demonized appears, the corrupted within a hundred miles will flee in absolute terror. There are also stories claiming you have a green face and terrifying fangs, stand nine feet tall like a judge from the underworld, and that upon merely seeing your shadow, the corrupted tremble, lose all will to resist, and willingly offer their necks to your blade!"
Rovel stared at her, utterly speechless.
"Hehe, they are all just wild rumors, of course. People passing on stories always exaggerate a bit. Don't take it to heart, Senior Uncle." Sushang stuck out her tongue playfully, amused by his flat expression.
"But the legends also say that back then, you fought the fierce beast Taowu for a full day and night. You finally managed to slay it, but after carrying away Taowu's massive corpse, there was never any news of you again." Sushang pinched her chin, recalling the dramatic tales she had heard in taverns. "Some whispered that you were accidentally tainted by Taowu's ominous aura, causing your own body to become corrupted. Finally, to maintain your honor and protect the innocent, you chose to end your own life."
She looked up at him with sparkling eyes. "The people of the Northern Wilderness praised your bravery and resilience. They even built a temple in your honor, granting you the title 'True Lord of World-Purifying Demon Suppression'."
"Now that title isn't bad at all. It sounds a hell of a lot better than 'Butcher of the Demonized'." Rovel's eyes lit up, nodding in deep satisfaction.
Sushang's mouth twitched. "Is that really the point you're focusing on?"
This man, who existed only as a mythical figure in the legends of the martial world, seemed vastly more unreliable than she could have ever imagined.
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