Chapter 150 Parallel Passages

Yue'er sat on the ground, savoring the wonderful sensation of regaining control over her body as tears unconsciously welled up in her eyes. The power gathering in her palms was a golden light: "It seems they have been waiting outside for a long time. Now, you traitors shall bear the grievances of these past days!"

She picked up a red and white intertwined cord from the altar, bit it between her teeth to gather her disheveled long hair, and tied it into a neat bow. A long ponytail cascaded down to her arms like a drifting cloud, while a flash of lightning slowly lengthened in her hand, eventually forming a cross-spear adorned with exquisite clan crest patterns.

Her gaze darkened as she stepped slowly in her wooden clogs, returning the way she had come to the mouth of the cave. Lacking the qualifications to enter the forbidden grounds, the crowd could only loiter in the outer area. The moment they saw Yue'er emerge from the cave, every pair of eyes locked onto her with the greedy, naked hunger one might reserve for an unveiled woman. Hosokawa Motoharu waved his hand, and a dozen samurai brandished their swords, rushing forward to form a surrounding perimeter.

As Yue'er stepped out from within the barrier, the aura radiating from her caused everyone to gasp for breath. This was the terrifying might of the Holy Light Jade. If one were to possess it, wouldn't their strength multiply exponentially? Faced with such an overwhelming temptation, all pretensions of decency stripped away from the crowd.

"You finally deigned to show your face, my dear sister. I've waited a long time for you," Heijiro stared at her with a sinister sneer.

Yue'er let out a cold snort and ignored him. Sensing the awkward silence, Saito Masahara coughed lightly and said, "Yue'er, do not be so stubborn. Just hand over the Holy Light Jade, and as your uncle, I guarantee that the head of the Nakajima family will not lay a finger on you."

"Is that so? Then I truly thank my dear uncle for his kindness. If you want the Holy Light Jade, you can wait for the next lifetime!" With that, Yue'er swung her spear backward, and with a resounding *bang*, a powerful surge of energy erupted. She instantly materialized among the samurai. "Flock of Birds Style."

A circular arc of spear-shadow flashed into existence. Before they could even react, every single samurai caught within the radius was sliced with deep, grievous wounds, over a dozen men perishing under her spear in a single instant.

"Blazing Sun Lightning Flash." She charged in a straight line directly into the crowd, countless spear-tips thrusting outward from her sides amidst a chorus of endless shrieks. Yue'er leaped mid-air, reversed her grip on the spear, and plunged down swiftly wreathed in purple lightning right into the thick of the throng. With a deafening explosion, samurai within a hundred-meter radius were instantly blasted into the air, torn to pieces, while those on the outer periphery were knocked violently sideways by the ferocious shockwave.

Witnessing this terrifying technique, Heijiro felt an involuntary pang of dread. He had never understood why his late father insisted on sending her to the Hozoin-ryu to study spearmanship, but seeing her prowess now made it all too clear: his father had feared she would be plotted against after his death. Her previous combat had been mere basic spearplay, but what she wielded now was the true secret technique of the Hozoin-ryu.

After deflecting a samurai's blade with a flick of her spear, she pierced straight through the man's chest. Yue'er spun, gripped the tip of the spear, and yanked it violently backward, tearing the cross-spear clean out from his back, the entire weapon now drenched in blood.

Seeing her slaughter nearly fifty men in the span of mere minutes, the others were too terrified to advance another step, the dread deeply etched into their minds. Realizing the morale was on the verge of collapsing, Isshiki Shida drew his blade and charged toward her. "Let me test this little girl myself!"

***

After dispatching several samurai with a single strike, Yue'er spun around and swept her weapon in a half-circle, sending a crescent-shaped spear-afterimage toward Isshiki Shida. The collision produced a resounding boom. Isshiki Shida twirled his katana a few times before sliding it back into its scabbard—both the hilt and sheath of his sword were crafted from brass, holding immense sentimental value.

*Clang.* A flash of steel swept through the air. Yue'er retreated a step, switching to a two-handed grip on her spear. "Hmph, Iai."

Isshiki Shida lunged forward once more with his blade. Each time, she skillfully parried with the shaft of her spear. Because Yue'er wielded a long weapon, she constantly maintained a lethal standoff distance, whereas her opponent required close quarters to gain any advantage. While Isshiki Shida had initially held his own and leveraged his weapon's superiority to apply some pressure, the battle grew increasingly arduous until he was forced to unleash his ultimate trump card.

Leaping backward, he held his katana horizontally with both hands as a faint cyan glow converged upon the blade. Isshiki Shida concentrated his entire focus, unleashing a surging, torrential aura from his body. Yue'er did not rush to attack; she maintained her stance methodically, holding her spear at the ready with stern composure.

"Golden-Winged Roc King Slash!" Raising his sword high above his head with both hands, he roared fiercely and brought it downward in a straight line, unleashing a massive crescent-shaped sword qi. Within the surging energy wave, the phantom of an eagle seemed to burst forth, its piercing cries echoing across the entire rear mountain.

Faced with the fierce and domineering sword qi hurtling toward her, Yue'er gripped the upper and lower portions of the spear shaft, spinning it clockwise to form a swirling vortex. *Bang!* It collided head-on with the sword qi, sending arcs of electricity crackling where their forces met in a deadlock.

The onlookers standing nearby felt the oppressive shockwaves radiating from the two opposing forces, and muttered internally, "It seems Shida-kun's Golden-Winged Roc technique has improved once again."

A deafening explosion rocked the ground, causing the earth to tremor violently as plumes of smoke billowed into the air. Isshiki Shida drove his sword into the ground to support his weight, panting heavily. As the smoke cleared, Yue'er's figure reappeared before them, completely unscathed.

"Although your Golden-Winged Roc is formidable, it is utterly useless against me." Yue'er extended a pinky finger to gently brush away a wisp of bangs from her forehead, smiling as she looked at their stunned expressions.

With that, her figure vanished from the spot with a whistle, leaving behind a streak of trailing light wherever she sprinted. Isshiki Shida caught a faint glimpse of that blurred afterimage, but no matter how frantically he searched in all directions, he could not match its blinding speed.

Suddenly, Yue'er materialized right before him and lashed out with her spear. *Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!* The luminous afterimage fluidly swept around him in rapid succession, tracing out a five-pointed star of light. Finally, her half-crouching form materialized at the converging point, and she gracefully spun the weapon a few times before swinging it backward.

For a brief moment, Isshiki Shida felt a surge of elation upon realizing he was completely uninjured. Then, his expression froze. In his field of vision, several fine cracks suddenly appeared across his body. Before he could even register what was happening, his physical form split apart into a pile of mangled flesh and blood.

***

"Shida-kun!"

To dispatch an opponent whose strength was hardly inferior to the rest of them with such effortless ease thoroughly shocked everyone present. Snapping out of his stupor, Hosokawa Motoharu flew into a rage: "Don't just stand there, everyone attack together! I refuse to believe that combined we cannot deal with this girl!"

"Right, let's all attack!" Shouting in unison, the rest of the group drew their respective weapons and charged at Yue'er.

"Taste this!" Hosokawa Motoharu leaped into the air, holding his blade high toward the sky as two streams of sword qi intersected to form a cross: "Cross-Slash."

Saito Masahara similarly unleashed a Crescent Slash, coordinating a two-pronged assault from front and back. Faced with the simultaneous attacks, Yue'er remained unperturbed. Six energy spheres rapidly coalesced around her, shooting out laser beams to intercept the incoming sword qi on both flanks. *Bang, bang, bang...* Before the converging techniques could even draw near her, they instantly disintegrated.

Seeing this, Matsui Yoshiken assumed an iaido stance and materialized rapidly before Yue'er. With a crisp *clang*, he drew his blade, unleashing a full-moon slash centered entirely around himself: "Forsaken Slash."

Yue'er brought her spear up to block the front, the sword qi striking the metallic shaft with a sharp, piercing ring. The sheer force of the blow pushed her back a few steps, but right as she retreated, another streak of sword qi lunged toward her from behind. Yue'er whirled around and easily deflected the blow—the person launching the sneak attack from behind was none other than Saito Masamori. At that moment, she recalled Kagura's words spoken while she was in slumber.

Charging forward with her spear, the shaft crackling with purple lightning and leaving an elongated trail of light in her wake, Saito Masamori squeezed his eyes shut in sheer terror and braced his head for the impact. Remembering he was a relative, Yue'er softened her heart and halted mid-air. Sensing that death had not claimed him, he opened his eyes to find the tip of the spear pointed directly between his brows.

Yue'er pulled back her spear and prepared to turn away, but seeing her back turned, a malicious impulse seized Saito Masamori. He thrust his blade straight toward her heart. Though she had spared his life for the sake of kinship, such a wretch was simply beyond redemption. Yue'er spun around instantly, sweeping her spear to deflect his attack as the tip pierced unerringly into his heart: "I gave you a chance, but you did not know how to cherish it."