"Keke, this is the Homing Soul-Shocker Talisman. Seen such a charm before? Frog in the well!" Huang Cheng still had a snicker in him.
He had already lost so badly, but still he held on. Instead, he was even more savage now, even more cruel. He would fight for supremacy against Wu Yu.
The Homing Soul-Shocker Talisman seemed to have a pair of eyes trained on Wu Yu. Wu Yu felt his hair rise. He knew that the moment this talisman was activated, he would either be dead or wounded.
Huang Cheng's spiritual power was currently igniting the Homing Soul-Shocker Talisman.
In that instant, Wu Yu reacted.
His finger shifting into a blade, he channeled two charges of Nascent Yin Yang Single Sword Strike. In a flash, one was buried in Huang Cheng's skull, the other severing his arm.
Huang Cheng had underestimated Wu Yu's speed.
Wu Yu had a sixth sense for death. In this moment, the threat that Huang Cheng posed to Wu Yu could not be resolved just by cutting off his arm. Only by killing him in as short a time as possible could he have a hope of stopping the Homing Soul-Shocker Talisman!
Whoosh!
In that instant, the talisman's activation had been abruptly cut by Wu Yu. The severed limb had been sucked over by Wu Yu, and the Homing Soul-Shocker Talisman landed in his hands. Seeing its energized state, Wu Yu knew that he had eluded death by the briefest of margins.
"How terrifying."
The benchmark of the Shushan Immortal Sect was embodied in this talisman alone.
However, in order to stop him from activating the Homing Soul-Shocker Talisman, Wu Yu had no choice but to kill Huang Cheng.
Huang Cheng had been hit by the Nascent Yin Yang Single Sword Strike. With a muffled grunt, he died before Wu Yu's eyes. He had been a step behind.
In the struggle for survival, Wu Yu had not had time to consider the implications of killing Huang Cheng. And now, the only thing he could do was put the the Homing Soul-Shocker Talisman into his sumeru pouch.
The terrifying power of the Homing Soul-Shocker Talisman had been witnessed by all. They also knew that Wu Yu's finishing move was the result of a forced hand. Although he had really wanted to kill him....
But as they watched Huang Cheng die, a wave of goosebumps broke out amongst them.
Even Lan Huayi had lost all color in her face, on the verge of shocked tears.
"Huang Cheng, dead?" Night Wishes for Snow was still groggy. He had come to a brief moment of alertness, only to see Huang Cheng's corpse. Although he celebrated inwardly, he was even more worried that Wu Yu's fate had taken a turn for the worse in order to stand up for him.
"Wu Yu, run. The further the better." Su Yanli recovered, speaking tersely.
Perhaps they could pray that Zhang Futu could not catch him.
Everyone was reeling from what had transpired, and even Lan Huayi was panicking. She completely lost her head, her mind blank.
In truth, Wu Yu was thinking hard as well.
He looked around him and thought, "To Zhang Futu, the Bipo Mountain Range should be tiny. We have been struggling here for so long, and he must have already been alerted. If he wanted to stop the battle, or even save Huang Cheng, it should have been a piece of cake for him...."
But the truth was that he had not appeared.
And at this time, even Feng Xueya had shown up. Seeing the scene before him, he too paled. He looked again at Wu Yu, focusing on him. He too urged him tersely, "What are you waiting for? Go! Go!"
He understood that leaving before Zhang Futu showed up might be Wu Yu's only prayer at life now that Huang Cheng was dead. As for Zhang Futu's anger, they would have to take it for him.
"A man must take responsibility for his deeds. You all leave."
Wu Yu spoke calmly. He had already made up his mind. He could not drag anyone else with him.
"No, Junior Brother, I should be the one to shoulder this." Night Wishes for Snow struggled.
"Shoulder your ass! All of you, get out!" Feng Xueya hollered. He was struggling with himself. He had wanted to send Wu Yu to greener pastures, and now such a disaster had transpired.... Forget about sending Wu Yu off, he did not even know how many of them would make it alive out of this.
Wu Yu took a deep breath. "I killed him. None of you have a need to stay. Leave quickly. It will be easier for me to deal with this alone."
But he was clear in his heart that he had to face Zhang Futu, and it was possible that none of them would be allowed to leave.
At this moment, there was a soft voice from behind. "And where is everyone going at a late hour like this?"
He had seemingly materialized out of thin air.
Wu Yu turned back, and Zhang Futu was standing right behind him, almost like the Invisible Man himself. Or perhaps he had been there all the while, except that Wu Yu had not been able to see him.
"Senior Brother Zhang...." Feng Xueya and Lan Huayi were rooted with fear as well. This was the most perilous moment. No one knew what would happen.
Wu Yu met Zhang Futu's eyes squarely. Although he stood by Huang Cheng's corpse, Zhang Futu's face was not very different from his usual expression. It was hard to guess what he was thinking.
Wu Yu had already made up his mind. He said, "Sword Saint Zhang. Huang Cheng humiliated me, and I challenged him and defeated him. I spared his life, but he activated a talisman to kill me. My hand was forced, and I had no choice but to kill him. Huang Cheng was Sword Saint Zhang's disciple. Killing Huang Cheng was my personal affair, and nothing to do with anyone else."
Sometimes, fate was just like that. Some challenges had to be met, even if they would only result in catastrophic outcomes. They could not be avoided. Wu Yu could only gamble once more.
He was calm and composed.
"I see." Sword Saint Zhang circled Huang Cheng's corpse a few times. This had clearly been his disciple, but, terrifyingly, Zhang Futu's eyes held no sign of sorrow at all.
The others were extremely tense.
Zhang Futu's every action and expression played on their heartstrings.
After looking for a while, Zhang Futu fixed Wu Yu with a stare. "He was my disciple, and you were only a disciple-to-be. Why did you dare to challenge him?"
Wu Yu answered evenly, "I consider myself stronger and took offense at the inanities he was spouting to insult me!"
His answer had Feng Xueya breaking out in cold sweat. It seemed like Zhang Futu was not angry right now, but Wu Yu's words might spark his anger.
Zhang Futu asked again, "I stand behind him. You dared to act against him, and even kill him. Do you not respect me?"
Wu Yu shook his head. "I feel like Huang Cheng's heart was not in the right place. He had no true greatness to him. He bullied the weak and was full of himself. He did not have the thirst to pursue the Immortal Dao. He was not worthy to be Sword Saint Zhang's disciple, and I think that Sword Saint Zhang must not have liked that person. I had no intention of slighting you at all."
Again, Zhang Futu questioned, "You dare to assume my thoughts? Are you not afraid I will kill you where you stand?"
Wu Yu replied, "I dare not. But I feel that Sword Saint Zhang has a love for talent. I am more talented than Huang Cheng, and my personality is straighter than his. Although I do not have a Jindan, still I am stronger than Huang Cheng. I feel that if Huang Cheng had forced you to choose between him and I, you would have chosen me."
"Haha!" Zhang Futu chuckled.
"Interesting. You commit murder and then banter with me. Are you made of nothing but guts?" Zhang Futu clasped his hands behind his back and circled Wu Yu. He was even more fascinated by Wu Yu now.
"But Huang Cheng indeed has made free with my authority many times. He loved to steal women and cuckold men. I brought him along to kill him. You did my work for me."
Saying thus, Zhang Futu's tone switched, and there was a glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel.
Had he truly been planning to kill Huang Cheng? His words could not be taken at face value, but at this time, saying this meant that he would probably not punish Wu Yu. He might even let Wu Yu take Huang Cheng's place!
Hearing this, Feng Xueya and the others were completely confused.
"Wu Yu!"
Sword Saint Zhang spun around and called Wu Yu's name loudly.
"Sword Saint Zhang, please speak." Wu Yu lifted his head. He felt like he was not going to die this time. This Sword Saint Zhang was, as he had expected, going to reward him.
He would use this turn of goodwill to call Wu Yu's respect. Or perhaps he had truly not expected that Wu Yu could fight well enough to defeat Huang Cheng, and dominate him as well.
"Could he have already been watching from the side when I started to fight Huang Cheng?" Only by doing this could he have understood Wu Yu's fighting abilities.
This thought had just occurred to him when Sword Saint Zhang's eyes flashed. A burst of sword light seemed to read Wu Yu completely. He said, "Wu Yu, since you feel that you are stronger than Huang Cheng, then I will give you a chance. From today onwards, you are the fourth disciple of I, Zhang Futu. There are three senior brothers ahead of you. As for Huang Cheng, he was the fourth, but he was not worthy. Take it that he never existed. From now on, you are the fourth."
His declaration fulfilled Feng Xueya's dream.
Of course, Wu Yu was not as ecstatic. He only regarded Zhang Futu as a stepping stone for him to reach the Shushan Immortal Sect. The only master he recognized was Feng Xueya, and not this Zhang Futu. Especially while Feng Xueya was still around.
Even though Feng Xueya did not mind, Wu Yu minded.
"Thank you, Master...." These three words were pronounced with much difficulty, but Zhang Futu clearly took it as a sign of nervousness.
Wu Yu was a little discouraged. He would have to accompany this person from now on. Who knew when he could pull ahead?
"Very good. Since Huang Cheng is dead, then let's waste no more time. Hurry and pack, and follow me back to the Shushan Immortal Sect! Wu Yu, starting from today, you have really taken a big leap towards success!" Zhang Futu's laughter rang out.