Explosions still shook Hải Long Thành. Walls split and shattered, massive stone pillars crashing down, stirring violent whirlpools that sucked everything toward the ocean depths.
Bích Thủy Wounded
Even as Bích Thủy played her flute, she staggered backward, blood seeping from the corner of her lips. Quang Minh shouted:
"Get back!"
But Hắc Trường Uy, clutching the fishskin scroll, lunged forward and seized Bích Thủy, locking her in a cruel grip. He laughed menacingly:
"Want the secret back? Quang Minh, take one more step and she dies!"
Bích Thủy struggled in his grasp, tears glimmering in her eyes but showing no fear. She whispered:
"Quang Minh… don't worry about me…"
Quang Minh trembled all over, blood trickling from his clenched fist around his sword hilt.
Nguyễn Tinh Vân's Sacrifice
At that moment, Nguyễn Tinh Vân staggered upright. His breath rasped, blood dripping steadily onto the stone. His voice came hoarse yet resolute:
"Hắc Trường Uy… If you master the Divine Art of Transforming into a Dragon, not only will you destroy yourself… you'll drag the entire world into hell!"
Hắc Trường Uy let out a crazed laugh:
"The world? Only the strong have the right to rule the world!"
Suddenly, Nguyễn Tinh Vân flicked forth a thread of inner force, shooting cold energy directly into Hắc Trường Uy's wrist, forcing him to release Bích Thủy.
But in the same instant, Hắc Trường Uy countered with lightning speed, striking a lethal palm blow into Nguyễn Tinh Vân's chest.
A dull, echoing thud resounded. Nguyễn Tinh Vân's body flew backward, crashing into the stone wall, a crimson spray of blood erupting from his mouth.
Bích Thủy screamed:
"Master!"
Nguyễn Tinh Vân gasped, still fixing his eyes on Hắc Trường Uy:
"He who uses martial arts to slaughter… shall never… become the true master of Jianghu…"
With those words, his head fell forward, breathing his last.
A Fight to the Death
Hắc Trường Uy sneered, eyes burning red:
"The old man's dead. Now it's your turn!"
He unfurled the fishskin scroll, golden light shimmering over the ancient script. A strange surge of sinister inner force rippled around him, boiling the seawater into a steamy mist.
Bích Thủy grabbed Quang Minh's arm, whispering urgently:
"Don't risk it! If Hắc Trường Uy completes the Divine Art of Transforming into a Dragon here and now… no one will ever stop him!"
Quang Minh growled:
"If I don't risk it… what meaning does Jianghu have left?"
He gathered his full strength and lunged forward like a blade tearing through water. His sword flashed, aiming directly to slash the fishskin scroll from Hắc Trường Uy's grasp.
A harsh "CLANG!" rang out. But Hắc Trường Uy, already absorbing some of the manual's power, caught Quang Minh's sword barehanded. With a single squeeze, he crushed the blade to fragments.
Hắc Trường Uy laughed fiercely:
"Quang Minh… you're no match for me anymore!"
Bích Thủy Unleashes Her Ultimate Art
In that instant, Bích Thủy closed her eyes and played a deep, long note on her flute. The music echoed through the surging waves, momentarily freezing Hắc Trường Uy where he stood.
It was the legendary Ocean Mist Endless Wave, the pinnacle of the Divine Dispersing Flute, capable of disrupting an enemy's inner channels and scattering their martial force.
Hắc Trường Uy's face blanched. Quang Minh shouted:
"Bích Thủy, fall back!"
He seized the moment and punched a powerful strike into Hắc Trường Uy's Đản Trung pressure point. A sickening crack rang out. Hắc Trường Uy reeled backward, coughing blood, the fishskin scroll slipping from his grasp.
Just as Quang Minh stooped to retrieve the scroll, a strange hand shot out of the shadows, snatching the fishskin scroll away. A voice cold as winter rang out:
"This… now belongs to the Lục Phong Sect."
Quang Minh snapped his head up, eyes widening at the sight of a mysterious figure in green robes, face hidden by a veil, exuding a sinister aura.
Bích Thủy shivered, whispering:
"Lục Phong Sect… Don't tell me… they're after the manual too?!"
Amid the violent chaos, stone continued collapsing around them, waves smashing into silver spray. The struggle for the secret manual had shifted into a new and deadlier game.