Naked Sword Art

A deathlock.

'I could get rid of it using [ Devourer ],' Xiao Fang thought. 'But not without alerting the caster. The thread is made out of profound Qi, so it'll take too long.'

Just as Xiao Fang was trying to think of another way, Chu Piao suddenly spoke, but he kept his voice down to just a whisper, so only Xiao Fang could hear.

"Long Wang… you really couldn't think of a better name?" Chu Piao smirked.

It really was a very arrogant and uncommon name, so he couldn't help but think Xiao Fang was doing a pathetic job at hiding his identity.

{"You know, I can leave if you really want me to,"} Xiao Fang threatened jokingly through a spirit transmission.

"Hey, don't be like that. I was only joking," Chu Piao replied.

Xiao Fang smiled. {"It's good to see you again, brother. You made me a little worried."}

"Yeah, I didn't think I was going to see you again. You know I would've gone with you to the Chaos sect if I hadn't been captured. Tell me, did you kill any of them while you were there?"

Xiao Fang smiled warily. {"You think I'd still be here if I did. That was a suicide mission and you know it."}

"Hahaha, but it would've been an incredible way to go."

Xiao Fang shook his head helplessly. What Xiao Fang considered an impossible rescue mission was nothing but a glorious way to die to Chu Piao.

{"Maybe we'll get that chance in the future,"} Xiao Fang said to him.

"Mn, assuming I can make it out of here alive," Chu Piao's mood became a little more serious. "How are you planning to help me get out of this?"

Without moving his lips, Xiao Fang continued to speak to Chu Piao through a [ Spirit Transmission ].

{"I can dissolve the lock—but there's a risk the caster will notice before I do."}

Chu Piao frowned, then gave a soft, almost bitter laugh and shook his head.

"Risky. I had a method of my own... though I'm afraid to say—it might be even worse than yours."

Xiao Fang's curiosity stirred.

'What's your plan?'

A murderous look appeared in Chu Piao's eyes as his next words escaped his lips.

"It's simple really. I'll just kill him."

Xiao Fang had considered it, but there was no way to know if the caster was the only one capable of setting off the deathlock, or if the deadlock would automatically go off upon his death.

Xiao Fang warned him, but Chu Piao simply replied,

"I thought the same, but all that means is that I need to kill all of them faster than they can lift a finger. I don't think I can do that on my own, but with your help it might be possible."

Xiao Fang counted the Elders present on the Flowing Blade sect's side. There were 25 of them, 3 in the Divine Realm, and the rest in the Profound realm. That meant they'd need to kill 11 Elders each, not including the 3 Divine Realm cultivators.

{"I can deal with the Divine Realm Elders, do you think you can handle the rest?"} Xiao Fang asked.

"I can," he replied.

Chu Piao was right, his plan was way too risky, just dealing with the 3 Divine Realm experts would be too much to handle alone, but he was also right to assume that with Xiao Fang's help he'd be able to pull it off.

"Say, if your plan doesn't work, could you give me one last battle."

Xiao Fang paused. Although they were surrounded by prying eyes, he understood how Chu Piao felt. For all of Chu Piao's life he had been using the sword, so if he could, he'd like to have one good sword fight before risking it all.

Xiao Fang drew his sword. Seeing that, Chu Piao did the same.

"Let this be the decider then. Standard sparring rules, pure swordsmanship, first to draw blood wins," Xiao Fang said.

Chu Piao smirked. "If I win, you'll help me carry out my plan."

"And if I win, we'll do it my way," Xiao Fang replied.

"Good."

Chu Piao's foot slid slowly, making his stance a bit wider, while Xiao Fang's head tilted down as he sharpened his senses.

They both prepared themselves.

Watching that gave Xun Wei the chills. She was the only one there who knew how strong both of them were, and what they were capable of.

"Another swordsman!" the announcers said. "Will this clash be as exciting as the match against Xun Wei?"

"Surely it will be better," the other announcer said in excitement.

Neither Xiao Fang nor Chu Piao moved, but that only heightened the suspense.

The air grew cold. An unfamiliar energy swept across the stage.

Supreme Elder Song's skin prickled with goosebumps. Her eyes narrowed as she felt it—Sword Qi. It was rare, not just because of its power, but because of how it was born. Normally, Sword Qi only appeared in the aftermath of prolonged, brutal battles between seasoned swordsmen. Sometimes it took days on a battlefield before even a wisp of it emerged.

But here… it was manifesting before a single strike had been exchanged.

'I was wrong…' Supreme Elder Song swallowed. 'That boy… he's a monster.'

Then it happened—

CRACK!!

The stage—reinforced with layers of Qi and built to withstand techniques from even the Profound Realm—fractured under an unseen pressure.

Yet neither Chu Piao nor Xiao Fang had moved.

A heartbeat later, both figures were at the center of the stage. Their afterimages faded like smoke.

Gasps rippled through the arena.

Every Elder's jaw dropped. Eyes widened. Not a single voice could rise in time to speak.

A flurry of exchanges followed, too fast to be tracked with the naked eye. Each clash rang like thunder, each step left another crack in the foundation of the stage.

"Th-this!" Even the announcers were speechless.

Suddenly, Xiao Fang halted mid-swing and twisted his body to the side. A blade swept past him, just inches from his neck. He had dodged at the last possible moment.