"…"
"…"
Staring into the other's eyes, silence looms between Long Hua and Su Wei.
However—
*Klang!* this silence doesn't last for long, as Su Wei swings his sword to push Long Hua back.
*Klang! Klang! Klang!* continuing to exchange hits with Su Wei, who utilizes both the sword and its scabbard in his attacks, Long Hua smiles with amusement—much to the former's irritation.
*Klang!!!* upon the 78th exchange, Long Hua remarks—
"78 exchanges; from these exchanges, it's quite easy to tell that you're someone who had dedicated the entirety of your life—as a practitioner, to the sword."
"…"
Towards Long Hua's remark, Su Wei raised a bitter frown, as he thought—
(If only I could return to my prime…)
"Regrettably…"
Shaking his head, mercurous liquid flows from Long Hua's sleeve, and wraps itself around Shui Yue—turning it into a colossal greatsword with an organic appearance.
"You're only a weapon spirit now."
"…?!"
*Boom!!!!!* not giving Su Wei the time to react to the weapon's sudden formation, Long Hua grips it with both hands, and gives it a mighty swing—throwing the former off into the distance!
"…"
Sensing cold Qi coming from behind him, Long Hua mutters—
"Surnamed Li, is it?"
*Klanggggg!!!* positioning the colossal weapon behind his back, Long Hua blocks off Li Xue's spear.
In a begrudging tone, Li Xue says—
"Surnamed Long, when I thanked you for that bottle of Spirit Extracts—that was quite stupid of me, wasn't it?"
Recalling that matter, Long Hua laughs aloud without turning around, prior to replying—
"Ai, genuine sincerity really does make me feel awkward, surnamed Li. In any case…"
Stomping the ground, Long Hua performs a Martial Emperor's Step, and—
"Off you go."
"…!"
*Boom!!!* throws Li Xue back with the Yin and Yang symbol's detonation.
"…"
Sweeping his eyes over the tattered cityscape, Long Hua spreads his divine senses, while thinking—
(I wonder when Zhou-laoye would be done with his strengthening? Ideally, I'd be able to obtain another bundle of Qilin flames from him before leaving.)
Just as this thought had crossed Long Hua's mind—
"…"
"…"
"…"
As numerous footsteps approach his direction, Long Hua finds himself surrounded by weapon spirits again.
Hatred, fear, confusion, anxiety, various emotions can be read off the weapon spirits' faces, as they appear in front of Long Hua.
But despite their instincts screaming at them to flee, there is a powerful gleam emanating from the weapon spirits' eyes.
(This bastard, he can't be allowed to live pass today.)
(He needs to die here.)
This gleam is especially evident in the members of Nine Lives' eyes—for they wished to prove to their despicable enemy that they were not merely objects in human form.
"Quite a spirited look in a few; I suppose, it'd be rude to not play with them for a while longer."
(*-laoban, you truly are the villain in this situation. I'm actually starting to feel sorry for these people…)
Chuckling in response to the Tai Xuan Emperor's remark, Long Hua must agree, as he mutters—
"Being the final obstacle in someone else's path towards a brighter future, this isn't the first time that I've played such a role."
Compared to him—who truly is a despicable villain, the weapon spirits before him could all be considered the main characters of a demon lord slaying epic.
Raising his chin, to look down on the heroes before him, Long Hua asks—
"So then? Who here wishes to slay this great evil to become a hero?"
"…"
Gritting his teeth, Wang Yongning charges out of the crowd, to which, Long Hua remarks—
"The knock-off first, is it? Ah, but I suppose it doesn't make any sense to call you that now—since you did used to be a practitioner yourself."
"Shut up!"
Swinging the white ribbons that flow from his armor, Wang Yongning sends out a blast of fire plumes in Long Hua's direction.
Towards the incoming plumes, which are made up of white flames, Long Hua summons a phantom maw over his head, and has it suck the plumes in.
"Uh!"
Seemingly intent on devouring Wang Yongning as well, the force of suction that emanates from the phantom maw increases in strength—causing the former to halt their charge.
"Sir Wang!"
Controlling his scarf—to have it take on the form of a hand, Chen Lan uses it to grab Wang Yongning by the shoulder, to drag the latter back.
As soon as Wang Yongning is away from the range of the phantom maw, Chen Lan swings his Relic—unleashing a wave of blade Qi at Long Hua.
*Boom!!!* as the phantom maw vanishes, Long Hua positions his weapon to the front—blocking off the blade Qi.
Despite the strength behind this blade Qi, Long Hua remains as immovable as a mountain, as he asks—
"Well then? What are all of you waiting for?"
"Charge!"
"Death to the Immortal!"
"Suppress your fears!"
Grinding their teeth together, the weapon spirits charged at Long Hua, who remarks—
"The louder their barks…"
Towards the approaching masses, Long Hua relinquishes his grip on his weapon; and vanishing from his original position, he reappears in the air—with his right fist drawn back.
"The weaker their bites."
*Boom!!!!!* mercilessly, Long Hua throws out a punch, causing a fist-shaped crater to open beneath him—crushing all the weapon spirits caught within the range of this strike!
"Surnamed Long!"
"Die, Hua!"
Leaping into the air, Qing Yue and Zhui Yun—with their forearms shrouded in blue flames, threw out a punch in union.
"Hmm."
Narrowing his eyes in the presence of these odd flames, Long Hua shrouds his hands in sword Qi, while rotating the Immortal Suppression Palm.
*Boom!!! Boom!!!* receiving the duo's attacks at the same time, the blue flames that shrouded their fists explode, to which, Long Hua remarks—
"Oh? A usable fire elemental source?"
Unfazed by the pain of being burned alive, Long Hua maintains a venomous smile on his face, as the power of the water and wood element emanates from his body.
"It's rather surprising for you two to possess something of this nature. Come to think of it…"
Staring at Zhui Yun specifically, Long Hua continues to say—
"Ah Yun, I never did receive a birthday present from you, did I?"
"…!"
"…!"
Remarking as such, Long Hua maintains his venomous smile, causing a chill to creep down the spines of both Qing Yue and Zhui Yun.
And in the next instance—
"It only makes sense for me to treat these flames as a present then."
*Boom!!!*
"Ack!"
"Guh!"
Stomping both Qing Yue and Zhui Yun in the face, Long Hua leaps higher into the air, while the two crash towards the earth.
Away from the weapon spirits' reach, Long Hua summons a phantom maw—to draw in the blue flames that are currently burning him.
And following the devouring of the blue flames—
"The flames of a Celestial Demon, is it? Compared to the flames that I've seen in the distant past of various places, it's nothing that special, but… It will have to do for now."
Sensing his mastery over the fire elements rising, a subtle hint of satisfaction appears on Long Hua's venomous smile.
(Actually, there's something about these flames that seems… Familiar? …Did I encounter someone with them during one of my past lives? Hmm, forget it. Now isn't the time to think about this.)