Chapter 184: [The Formless Martial Path]
Yu Xuan retrieved another spear from his space ring. He had no shortage of weapons; his family ensured that. But Yu Xuan’s aim wasn’t to rely on abundance — it was to refine his mastery of different styles beyond simple swordsmanship.
He had dabbled in everything: spear, dagger, scythe, longsword, even hidden weapons.
His training in each was brief, but his terrifying comprehension had allowed him to grasp the core basics with ease.
Long before his cultivation journey truly began, he had studied weapons for the sake of building a foundation.
And while his swordsmanship had become his signature, particularly with the noble [Magic Swordsmanship of the Avalon Imperial Family] he had also birthed something else: his own spear intent.
Yu Xuan’s spear intent was simple, direct, uncompromising. It was piercing. Nothing more, nothing less. A weapon to drive through all defenses.
Now, for the first time in a long while, he let that forgotten path breathe breath again.
With a thought, he reached out with his [Telekinesis]. The spears that had been knocked aside earlier trembled, shivering on the ground before rising into the air.
They floated to his sides, their blades gleaming faintly as a silvery luster coated them. It wasn’t overwhelming. It wasn’t majestic. It was the first step — Novice-level spear intent, proof that he was only beginning this path.
Yet even at that beginner level, the pressure they emitted was enough to make the air around them quiver.
The Mad Killer stopped, his tusked grin widening. His blood-red eyes gleamed with something close to respect.
"Even though you are a pathetic creature, it seems the blood of warriors runs in your veins," he rumbled. "Fine then. Let’s fight properly."
His massive axe shook as if eager for slaughter, and a deep crimson aura poured over it, thick with savagery. The intent was suffocating.
Yu Xuan’s gaze narrowed.
"Really now..." he muttered, studying the crimson aura. It wasn’t like his own swordsmanship.
His [Magic Swordsmanship of the Avalon Imperial Family] radiated dominance and nobility, a path that sought to command all beneath heaven.
But this... this was slaughter intent. Pure carnage, sharpened into a weapon. The kind of path that lived only to kill.
Still, Yu Xuan smiled faintly. "Fine. I’ll take your challenge."
He gripped the spear in his hand while the two others floated at his sides silently.
Three spears. One wielder. His heart beat faster.
The Mad Killer roared and lunged forward, his gigantic form shaking the ground as his axe cleaved downward.
Yu Xuan met him head-on. His spear clashed with the axe, sparks and shockwaves exploding at the impact. Then the second floating spear darted forward from the side, forcing the Mad Killer to twist his weapon and deflect. The third came from the opposite angle, stabbing toward his flank.
In a blur, weapons met again and again, too fast for the naked eye to follow.
The Mad Killer had speed that defied his size, each swing of his axe a blur of crimson destruction. But Yu Xuan was faster still. His footwork flowed like water, precise and untouchable. He wasn’t just fighting — he was dancing.
It was [The Formless Martial Path].
For so long, Yu Xuan had buried himself in cultivation. He had never given this martial path, the one that could embody endless change; its rightful stage.
But today, before the Mad Killer, it would have its formal debut.
His movements blurred, each step vanishing into the next, each spear thrust unpredictable and untraceable. He was no longer a boy testing weapons — he was a cultivator unveiling the beginnings of his true martial identity.
The Mad Killer’s laughter boomed as his axe spun in brutal arcs, but his eyes had narrowed.
To him Yu Xuan now appeared in a trance. He was a predator sharpening his fangs.
For the first time, the Fourth Guardian, Mad Killer, realized something he rarely admitted even in the blood-soaked span of his existence: this fight would be remembered.
Whether he perished here or his enemy fell, this duel would mark one of the most interesting clashes of his lifetime.
And so, their battle dragged on, stretching longer with each deafening exchange of spear and axe.
Yu Xuan’s spear work wasn’t devastating at first glance. His attacks lacked the grand cleaving dominance of his swordsmanship.
Yet his style carried a frightening precision. He targeted the same point on the Mad Killer’s massive body again and again.
Piercing.
That was the essence of his spear. That was all it needed to be.
And then, in the midst of this storm of steel and bloodlust, something shifted.
His spear intent brightened faintly, just for a breath of a moment.
Yu Xuan’s eyes glowed sharpened. It wasn’t a full breakthrough, but it was a small enlightenment. A step forward on a path he had long ignored.
If he survived this fight, and if he digested this comprehension afterward, his spear intent might truly ascend to next stage.
But he had no time to dwell. The Mad Killer’s savagery was not a thing to underestimate.
Yu Xuan’s clothes had been torn in several places, near his arms and chest, streaked with shallow cuts where the axe had grazed him.
It was only his superior agility and the fluid unpredictability of his [Formless Martial Path] that kept him from being hacked apart.
Even the briefest brush of the slaughter intent radiating from the axe left his skin tingling with slight pain.
And yet... Yu Xuan smiled bitterly. "He’s starting to go crazy..."
The Mad Killer’s eyes glowed with greater madness, his strikes growing less measured, more violent, as if his very bloodlust was devouring his sanity.
Each swing of the axe left cracks in the ground and shockwaves that rattled through the trees. The Mad Killer’s power had increased.
Yu Xuan clenched his spear tighter.
He pushed harder, calling upon [Telekinesis]. The two other spears at his side flared with energy, streaking toward the Mad Killer from different angles. One angled low, aiming at the guardian’s thigh. The other darted high, stabbing toward his shoulder.
Forced to defend not just one opponent but three relentless fangs, the Mad Killer snarled. He swung his axe in brutal sweeps to knock the floating spears aside, but each distraction opened new opportunities for Yu Xuan’s main weapon to strike.
Every exchange was a storm. Every second stretched long.
And through it all, Yu Xuan’s fighting spirit only grew sharper.