The flying sword shot straight towards Commander Xiong’s heart. Even clad in armor and thick-skinned, he dared not gamble on whether the blade could pierce his chest. He swiftly retracted his hammer to block, deflecting the sword with a metallic clang.
Suddenly, Jiang Liu’er whipped out a large bone club from his waist. Channeling the corpse demon’s power through his arms, he swung the bone directly at Commander Xiong. Aimed low due to their height difference, the strike targeted "Little Bear," sending a chill down the commander’s spine.
"Insolent brat, don’t you dare!" roared Commander Xiong, his voice thunderous. He raised his hammer to meet the bone club head-on.
*Boom!!!*
The moment their weapons collided, Commander Xiong’s face twisted in shock. A monstrous force surged through the hammer—far exceeding his own strength. His arms trembled violently, the hammer’s handle groaning under the strain. Numbness spread through his palms as he staggered backward, eyes wide as saucers.
Jiang Liu’er, already empowered by the Mountain-Bearing Mantra, pressed his advantage. With three to four thousand pounds of force, he struck again at the commander’s knee. Panicking, Commander Xiong blocked with his hammer, only for the darksteel head to crack under the blow.
Clang! Another strike forced the commander into defense.
Crack! One of his twin hammers shattered.
‘How is his strength so inhuman? Thousands of pounds, easily! I can’t match him brute-forcedly—I must exploit my experience!’ Commander Xiong thought, dodging Jiang Liu’er’s next swing. Seizing an opening, he lunged with his remaining hammer.
The blow landed squarely on Jiang Liu’er’s skull.
"Die!!!"
Yet instead of collapsing, Jiang Liu’er merely staggered. The recoil nearly wrenched the hammer from Commander Xiong’s grip.
‘How is his skull this hard?!’
Before he could react, Jiang Liu’er flipped forward, smashing the bone club into his other knee. Bones splintered. Howling in agony, Commander Xiong dropped to one knee. The whistling of the flying sword snapped his attention upward—too late. The blade sheared through his arm, sending a fur-covered limb and hammer thudding to the ground.
"Four breaths left of the Mantra," Jiang Liu’er muttered, blood trickling from his forehead. Dizziness threatened him, but he gritted his teeth. Another swing shattered Commander Xiong’s remaining knee.
Crippled and desperate, the commander snarled, "If I die, you die with me!" He clamped his mangled jaws onto the bone club, teeth and tongue pulped, refusing to let go. With his last arm, he swiped at Jiang Liu’er—a strike that could crush steel.
Dodging the claws, Jiang Liu’er leapt, palm smashing down on Commander Xiong’s skull with bone-crushing force. Blood gushed from the commander’s orifices as the flying sword pierced his heart. Two breaths later, the hulking body went limp.
Jiang Liu’er yanked the sword free, thrusting it repeatedly into heart, throat, brow, and dantian. Panting, he finally halted.
"Ten breaths. Perfect." He exhaled sharply, exhilarated. "With the Wolf Grotto’s second-in-command dead, only Wolf Wuji and Commander Ma remain."
Though not a drinker, he longed for a flask of liquor to savor the victory. Seizing the moment, he recited the Great Sutra of Karmic Transgression through Killing. Turbulent emotions churned into mana, mending his wounds and reviving his strength.
Hu Yuyu approached, silently dabbing blood from his brow without disturbing his focus.
...
"Found the Golden Cicada’s reincarnation!" Muzha circled above, spotting Jiang Liu’er beside the armored bear corpse. Blood soaked the ground, a severed arm nearby. "Did he slay Commander Xiong too?"
Watching Jiang Liu’er’s lips move soundlessly, Muzha mimicked the words—and paled.
"This... this demonic sutra twists the teachings of Maitreya’s scriptures!" Horrified, he raced westward, bypassing rest and food. In one day, he reached the Thunderclap Monastery.
Bursting into Guanyin’s chamber, he blurted, "Master! The demonic sutra Jiang Liu’er chants—it’s derived from Maitreya’s doctrines!"
As he recited the blasphemous verses, the gathered bodhisattvas’ serene debate dissolved into stunned silence.
