The dagger slid in with a crisp sound...
A sharp gasp escaped simultaneously from both Nangong Shang and Yi Ruoshui. Though they held no great affection for Liang Xiaoke, it was undeniable that he had taken a direct stab to the heart from Xuanyuan Yu in order to save them. To claim they felt no concern would be a lie...
But the gasp came too late; the dagger was already fully buried in the center of Liang Xiaoke's chest...
A grotesque grin twisted Xuanyuan Yu's ugly face, and an icy glint flashed in his eyes. All the preceding fury had been mere pretense, designed only to catch the other off guard. After all, he was gravely wounded, and he doubted he could easily dispatch this newcomer.
"Boy, I said you would die, and you must die..." Xuanyuan Yu spoke, gripping the dagger tightly, a look of smug triumph on his face...
"You... you... you're despicable..." Liang Xiaoke's face was a mask of shock mixed with agony. He clearly hadn't anticipated Xuanyuan Yu resorting to such a base tactic...
"This... is just something I learned from you. Now, die," Xuanyuan Yu snarled, twisting his right hand holding the dagger, directly pulverizing Liang Xiaoke's heart...
"Aghhh..." A painful scream tore from Liang Xiaoke's throat, and his body pitched forward, collapsing onto Xuanyuan Yu...
Seeing Liang Xiaoke’s suffering filled Xuanyuan Yu with dark satisfaction. This despicable fellow had dared to ambush him just moments ago; now he would learn what it felt like to have his heart shredded...
His hand remained clamped onto the hilt, while Liang Xiaoke’s head rested squarely on his shoulder. The utterly triumphant Xuanyuan Yu made no immediate move to push him away...
"Boy, before you die, let me give you a final thought: the state of mind of a Grandmaster does not fluctuate easily..." Xuanyuan Yu gloated. The other had tried to provoke him, but little did he know that this was merely a deliberate opening he had manufactured. Even gravely injured, he was not someone these others could simply eliminate...
Just as Xuanyuan Yu prepared to shove Liang Xiaoke’s corpse away, he suddenly felt a sharp pain at his neck, followed immediately by a creeping paralysis washing over his entire body, as if bound by invisible chains. Something within him seemed to be relentlessly draining towards his neck...
It felt like his own blood, and along with the blood, his True Essence—his power—was being siphoned away...
Horror seized Xuanyuan Yu. An unprecedented fear engulfed him, raising goosebumps across his skin, chilling sweat instantly breaking out on his back.
He desperately circulated his True Essence, managing only to slightly dull the sensation of numbness. He tried to shove the corpse off, but the body that should have been dead suddenly flung its arms wide, embracing him tightly...
Those arms possessed a strength of nearly a million jin, locking around him like iron pincers, crushing his frame...
He furiously pumped True Essence through his system, desperate to break free, but the more power he called upon, the faster his blood drained, the quicker his strength ebbed. He found himself utterly unable to escape the grip of those arms...
The terror intensified. He struggled wildly, straining to pull his neck free, but prey once secured by Liang Xiaoke’s embrace was not easily let loose...
Seeing Xuanyuan Yu still struggling, Liang Xiaoke suddenly released his hold, delivering a savage punch directly to Xuanyuan Yu's chest. The impact, carrying over ninety thousand jin of force, shattered the True Essence Xuanyuan Yu had managed to condense and pulverized his sternum...
A fresh torrent of blood erupted from Xuanyuan Yu's mouth. He was now powerless to resist Liang Xiaoke’s embrace, forced only to watch as his blood continued to drain, taking with it his strength and... the very breath of his life...
After an immeasurable span—perhaps an age, perhaps a second—Xuanyuan Yu felt his mind growing hazy, his spirit profoundly exhausted, as if he hadn't slept in ten days. All he desired was a deep, final sleep from which he would never wake...
By this time, Liang Xiaoke had drunk his fill, even letting out a prodigious burp. He looked down at the withered, barely breathing shell of Xuanyuan Yu and remarked with cool arrogance, "You are despicable, truly. You are shameless, indeed. Any living man stabbed like that would have died long ago. But didn't I tell you? I died countless years ago. What good is stabbing me a few more times? Doesn't it strike you as utterly idiotic to try and trick a mere zombie to death?" He then lightly patted Xuanyuan Yu’s bloodless, desiccated cheek, as if schooling a child, his own face alight with mocking contempt...
A zombie? Seeing the mockery in Liang Xiaoke's eyes and recalling the word "zombie,"
Xuanyuan Yu tried to open his mouth to curse, but his blood was gone; no words could be formed. Only his wide eyes remained, brimming with unconcealed frustration. He had calculated everything, yet he had failed to account for the fact that his opponent was a zombie...
But... what was a zombie?
Xuanyuan Yu stared, confused, bewildered, and defiant, fixing his gaze upon Liang Xiaoke, desperately seeking an answer. But his body slowly crumpled to the ground, and a shadow detached itself from within him, seemingly poised to drift into the heavens...
"Your essence blood has a fine flavor. I won't waste this last remnant of soul either..." Seeing the ascending shadow, Liang Xiaoke mumbled, then inhaled sharply. An immense force pulled the shadow directly into his nostrils...
"Hoo..." Liang Xiaoke let out a long, deep breath, displaying unmistakable enjoyment...
Nangong Shang, Yi Ruoshui, and several Flaming Flame Army soldiers who had rushed over to aid Xuanyuan Yu witnessed the entire sequence. Nangong Shang and Yi Ruoshui were slightly less affected; they already knew Liang Xiaoke consumed blood. They were only staggered by the sheer fact that a dignified Grandmaster had been reduced to a husk and drained so utterly—it seemed a pathetic end...
But for Xuanyuan Yu's few subordinates, the scene was profoundly bizarre and terrifying. A living Grandmaster desiccated into a mummy. Was this man human or ghost?
Especially upon seeing the dagger still impaled in Liang Xiaoke's chest, his heart seemingly shredded, yet acting as if nothing had happened, then producing a white handkerchief to delicately wipe the fangs visible at the corner of his mouth—these soldiers simultaneously rolled their eyes and promptly fainted dead away...
"Hmph, soldiers indeed. Not even this much courage. It's just sucking a bit of human blood, and they faint? Really?" Liang Xiaoke rolled his own eyes at the sight of the unconscious officers before slowly retracting his two prominent fangs...
Even Yi Ruoshui felt a sudden urge to faint witnessing this display...
"Not good, the power influx is too great. I need time to properly digest this energy. Nangong Shang, the rest is up to you..." Suddenly, Liang Xiaoke's expression shifted. He plunged his body straight into the earth and vanished without a trace...
It was at this precise moment that Sima Xuan, leading his personal guard, arrived on the scene...
(I’ve been pushing myself too hard writing lately, leading to frequent headaches. I'll adjust for a few days. Three chapters posted today. I hope everyone can be understanding!)