1997 Knife and Sword Battle The knife and the sword made a crackling noise when they clashed. The knife and sword airs broke at the same time. Slashing. Thrusting. Swiping. Han Sen and Lone Bamboo’s techniques were very simple, but they were also very deadly. The battles before had been stunning enough, but this was a genuine fight. They had only been comparing skills before this. Now that they were fighting, their movements were simple and direct, without any added flair or style. But even so, every single attack was incredibly scary. Life and death were one misstep apart. Dong! Dong! Dong! The knife and the sword kept attacking. The sword airs and the knife airs were running at maximum power, and the swordmind and knifemind of the fighters swirled around the arena. Their minds were growing in strength as the terrifying fight progressed, and suddenly, they were breaking into a King class tier of battle. They were like wild horses that couldn’t stop running. “Their minds are still increasing. This is cheating! Are they going to become deified? They are just Earls!” “They have ascended so high because the depression is driving them forward. They cannot escape the effect it is having on them.” “If they are Earls, why are they fighting so far out of their league?” “It is a shame that if they keep fighting, there won’t be a winner. It will be a tragedy no matter who comes out on top.” “It’d be a tragedy if they did not fight, as well. For now, Brother Bamboo has faith. If they stop fighting, his perseverance will be consumed by the depression.” “It would be useless to continue the exams after this fight. No one else could stand up to either of those two.” Yun Suyi was so scared. She grabbed Yun Sushang’s shoulder. Her heart was thumping with every knife and sword flash. She looked pale. Yun Sushang held her hand and comforted her. “Master, if they keep fighting, the depression will affect them more and more. Should we stop them?” Thousand Feather Crane could see that their situation was a poor one. 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚 Yun Changkong shook his head. “It is too late for them to retreat. If they do that, they will die. For now, they can only proceed. They are going through hell, so they have to keep going. They need to survive in death. If they do this, they might have a chance.” “Survive in death?” Yun Suyi quickly asked. Yun Changkong sighed and said, “The depression will only increase as they fight. But this is also a release of that energy. Lone Bamboo kept it suppressed for the longest time. If he is able to unleash it all now, there is a hope he will end up fine. It’ll be difficult, but there is nothing else he can do.” “What about Han Sen? Does he need to release energy?” Yun Suyi asked. Yun Changkong shook his head. “It is the opposite for him. He does not need to release anything. He is being affected by Lone Bamboo’s depression. The demon resides inside Lone Bamboo, so Han Sen is fighting to keep his emotions from destroying himself. He is fighting for his life right now; he won’t want himself to die.” “How this fight ends will depend on Han Sen. If he gives in to the demon and ends up wanting to die, Lone Bamboo will lose his purpose and give in to the demon, too. Even if Han Sen can withstand that demon, if he stops fighting with Lone Bamboo and allowing him to release his depression, things will end up the same. So, Han Sen cannot afford to lose to himself nor Lone Bamboo.” Hearing Yun Changkong, Yun Suyi grew more nervous than ever. The minds of the two were strong. Under a King class shield, there was still a leak. Many of the Sky Palace students were affected, and their hearts were beating savagely in their chests. They wanted to die or destroy things. There was a cloud in the sky, above the arena. The white cloud had a beast inside it. The cloud spread like water, covering the entire arena. It smothered the scary feelings permeating the arena, so the audience could not be affected. “It is Dream Beast. Dream Beast removed their feelings. If their feelings reach a level a King class cannot handle...” The students of Sky Palace felt better, but the beast in the cloud was quivering. The King class elites could not withstand the feelings given off by Han Sen and Lone Bamboo. Their feelings were exceeding the range of a King class being. That was why the Dream Beast had to emerge and lend a hand in suppressing the emotions. It had to ensure the feelings and depression wouldn’t affect the students enough to permanently harm them. Not many people could carry such depression and keep on going, as Lone Bamboo had done. Han Sen’s knife was moving like crazy, and his knifemind was going wild. His body was like a beast that could shred space. Han Sen had received his deified knifemind from the scabbard, but he was just carrying it. It didn’t belong to him, so he could not use every ounce of its strength when he used it. But now, underneath the rage of that depression, Han Sen had to exert all his power and knifemind to retaliate against his foe. His knifemind was drawing closer to him beneath that pressure. And Han Sen was able to understand the Teeth Knife knifemind more, as well. It was assimilating with Han Sen. The knifemind had just been a tool, but now it was becoming one with his instincts. Teeth Knife knifemind destroyed everything, and that destructive madness spurred Han Sen with the desire to live- even in the face of all that depression. When Han Sen merged with the Teeth Knife knifemind, Ghost Teeth Knife became stronger. Ghost Teeth Knife followed Han Sen because of the deified knifemind he possessed. It was not following Han Sen explicitly. So, with Han Sen limited ability to use the deified knifemind, he still hadn’t been able to unlock Ghost Teeth Knife’s true power. But when Han Sen combined with the deified knifemind, Ghost Teeth Knife’s true power was triggered through Han Sen. Boom! Han Sen felt the scary power of Ghost Teeth Knife flow out of the knife. If he hadn’t awakened it, the demon would have lost control. A mark on Lone Bamboo’s forehead cracked. An eye opened there, and it began to bleed. Han Sen had seen Thousand Feather Crane’s eye, which was perfectly clear. Lone Bamboo’s was different. Lone Bamboo’s Sky eye was full of a murderous feeling. The mere sight of it could shake someone’s soul. When the Sky eye opened, Lone Bamboo’s power increased. It was unbelievable. With dismaying speed and strength, he teleported in front of Han Sen.