The Zenith Martial Pavilion stood in the Qing family village, the former site of the Virtue Association. However, it was not built upon the Association's demolished ruins. Instead, it was relocated from the land bordering the great lake, taking the form of two massive buildings with their backs against a towering mountain.

  It was believed that this mountain was sacred, housing a peculiar creature called the "Mouse Bird," with yellow ears and a body as bright as crimson. Anyone who beheld it was said to be blessed with great fortune: men would acquire wealth, and women would wed noble husbands. Yet, for decades—perhaps centuries—no one had actually seen it with their own eyes. It remained merely a legend passed down through the generations.

  Along the mountain path, several small pavilions offered rest for travelers admiring the scenery, providing shelter from the sun and rain while they recovered their strength. Among them stood one pavilion with a bright red roof. From afar, it was the only red roof on the entire mountain; the rest were entirely green. This was because it alone had once housed the statue of the Mountain Deity. However, that statue had long been stolen by sinners. Now, aside from an empty altar, the pavilion contained only a large stone table set squarely in the center.

  The pavilion was spacious and desolate, yet immaculately clean. Currently, a figure lay stretched out on the stone table, his back to the shining sun. Passersby might have mistaken him for a sculpture replacing the lost Mountain Deity. But this sprawling figure was no god. A closer look revealed a tall, heavily bearded man. Though his eyes remained closed, his demeanor exuded an air of profound destiny. Near his side lay an ancient blade, a bright blood-red hawk etched onto its scabbard. Both the man and the weapon radiated an intimidating aura.

  Soon, another man appeared before the red-roofed pavilion. He was a handsome youth dressed in white with blue trim, walking with lazy strides. Every few paces, he would stop to let out a massive yawn. Entering the pavilion and finding nowhere else to sit, he walked straight to the altar, floated upward, and settled quietly upon it, closing his eyes.

  Few travelers ever passed by this mid-mountain pavilion. Now, two strange figures occupied it: one sprawling on the table, the other perched upon the altar.

  "If you station yourself on the altar like that, doesn't that make me your sacrificial offering?"

  "Why is it you? The letter I received was signed by Uncle."

  "Wang Yi will never meet you again."

  "Old man, you killed my uncle." The only young man in the martial world qualified to call Wang Yi his 'Uncle' was the Descendant of the Stone Fiend, Shi Moyong.

  "The Blood Hawk despises betrayal above all else." There was only one person who called himself The Blood Hawk: Diao Zhufan.

  "You two were dear friends for so long. To think you could harden your heart and kill him."

  "I didn't just kill him. I hacked his body to pieces."

  "The letter stated Uncle would bring your head to me."

  It appeared a betrayal had taken place within the Zenith Martial Pavilion.

  "His moment of hesitation is why I am here today." Saying this, Diao Zhufan pushed himself up from the table, shifting the blade at his waist into a ready stance.

  "Having killed Uncle, why did you still come here?" Shi Moyong asked in surprise.

  "Because the blade in my hand thirsts for your blood."

  "Could you not wait for the scheduled day of our duel?"

  "I, the Blood Hawk, have always acted on my whims. Our past grudges must be settled entirely today." With that, Diao Zhufan moved his right hand to grip his blade's hilt.

  "You think I bear a grudge against you, old man?" A mocking smile touched the corner of Shi Moyong's mouth.

  "You don’t bear a grudge against me? The very one who condemned you all to imprisonment in the Mystic Valley?"

  "Imprisoned, yet we lived. Back then, if you had decided to execute us all, you could have. Why did you try to save us?" This question seemed to have always lingered in Shi Moyong's mind.

  "Save you?!" Diao Zhufan barked. "Me? Trying to save you?"

  "Because you considered Silver Serpent Kou Lingsi a dear friend. Aunt Zhou once told me the three of you were actually friends. The Silver Serpent Kou Lingsi, Medicine King Di Yi, and the Blood Hawk Diao Zhufan—three comrades forged through your shared defeat by The Stone Fiend Shi Wusha."

  "Did your Aunt Zhou not tell you that Kou Lingsi died under my blade? And now, Wang Yi has met the exact same fate." Saying this, Diao Zhufan drew his blade. The steel glinted with a chilling light.

  Shi Moyong, who had kept his eyes shut, slowly opened them. He stepped down from the altar, instantly channeling his internal qi throughout his body. His eyes shone with a bizarre, dark green gleam.

  Diao Zhufan also circulated his qi. The blade in his hand radiated a blood-red glow.

  Two supreme masters faced off. When speaking of the realm's greatest blade-wielder, the Blood Hawk Diao Zhufan came to mind first. As for the ultimate internal qi art, nothing surpassed the Nine Heavens Armor Art, which Shi Moyong had mastered to its pinnacle.

  A blood-red blade arc swept outward, covering a radius of several meters. It was the fiercest blade technique in the land. From the very first strike, Diao Zhufan unleashed his full strength.

  Despite mastering the Nine Heavens Armor Art, Shi Moyong did not intend to take the weapon head-on. He rotated his arms in sweeping circles, deflecting multiple currents of blade qi. The blade slashed horizontally, reversed course, and plunged from above. Shi Moyong tracked the steel's movement. As the crushing pressure descended, he clapped both hands together, catching the blade right before him.

  Locked in this stance, the two had to clash directly with internal qi. Deep red qi surged from Diao Zhufan's blade, while dark green qi swirled from Shi Moyong's palms. In the time it takes to boil a pot of water, the green qi slowly advanced, suppressing much of the red qi's intensity.

  Find this and other great novels on the author's preferred platform. Support original creators!

  Unwilling to accept a disadvantage that could mean defeat, Diao Zhufan yanked his blade upward and spun mid-air. He generated another dark red arc, slashing at Shi Moyong's torso, only to be met with an even fiercer rebound.

  Dark green qi cloaked Shi Moyong's entire body. Even Diao Zhufan's blade force could not pierce it. Shi Moyong clamped both hands around the blade once more. The battle of internal qi resumed.

  In that exact moment, a shadow launched from the pavilion entrance, shooting straight at Shi Moyong's back. A series of explosions immediately erupted.

  "Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!"

  Seven punches slammed into Shi Moyong's back like sky-shattering firecrackers. His body trembled violently, yet his hands kept Diao Zhufan's blade clamped tight.

  The seven explosions, filled with fist force of immense destructive power, were followed by the eighth.

  "Boom!"

  Louder than all the rest.

  Attacked from front and back, Shi Moyong felt his internal qi churning so violently his body was near bursting. Yet, he endured. With a resounding roar, he blasted his palms outward to both the front and back, purging the invading qi from his body.

  The two opponents collapsed simultaneously. Shi Moyong remained standing.

  The shadow that delivered the eight punches was actually the Eight-Slayer Fist, Wang Yi—the very man Diao Zhufan claimed to have killed. Now, Wang Yi was down, blood seeping from the corner of his mouth.

  "This kid is no longer human. I channeled my lifelong qi into those eight punches at his back, and still couldn't defeat this monster," Wang Yi said to Diao Zhufan, who had fallen nearby.

  Diao Zhufan spoke with a weak voice. "Why did you return? We didn't both need to sacrifice everything. My fall alone was enough. From now on... let Tianwang handle this monster."

  "I have wronged a friend like you all along," Wang Yi whispered, gasping rapidly. "I never believed that giving my all wouldn't break that armor. Ridiculous... how completely ridiculous. Now, having sacrificed both my cultivation and my life force, I still cannot leave a scratch on this Fiend's Descendant."

  A smile appeared on Diao Zhufan's face—a smile meant for a comrade, filled with bittersweet joy amidst defeat.

  "You fared better than I," he rasped. "At least you got to clash with the kid until your strength gave out. You actually touched him. Me... I didn't even graze his clothes. Yet, you've helped vent some of the resentment in my heart."

  With that, he coughed up a mouthful of blood. He struggled to roll over from his stomach onto his back, staring at the sky with waning breaths.

  Wang Yi forced himself to continue. "This wicked armor is too formidable. I fear even Tianwang... won't be able to defeat it. It's just—"

  Before the sentence could end, Diao Zhufan's breathing stopped. The Blood Hawk had departed the martial world. His face still wore a peaceful smile. Wang Yi's eyes brimmed with tears, seeing his dear friend cross the threshold before him.

  Meanwhile, Shi Moyong circulated his qi to heal his internal injuries. Facing the full, combined might of two supreme masters—the Eight-Slayer Fist Wang Yi and the Blood Hawk Diao Zhufan—was no simple feat. Across the entire realm, likely only Shi Moyong could withstand and overcome their combined assault.

  After running his qi for two cycles to protect his heart and ease his trauma, Shi Moyong walked toward the two fallen men.

  "Uncle, gather your qi to stabilize your heart. I will channel mine to help heal you," he said to Wang Yi. Despite fighting a brutal battle to the death just moments ago, the depth of this Fiend's Descendant's mind was truly unfathomable.

  Wang Yi, his breath fading, shook his head. "You don't need to help me. We are not family. Even if I die today, I refuse to be kin to anyone named Shi."

  "Uncle resents my father that much." Shi Moyong didn't understand the grudges of the previous generation. Why did true relatives harbor such deep hatred?

  "Kou Lingsi's Heavenly Snake Sword couldn't pierce it. Diao Zhufan's Hawk Blade couldn't cut it. My Eight-Slayer Fist couldn't shatter the armor qi. How could the Han father and son defeat Shi Wusha?" Though devoid of strength, Wang Yi continued to lament his fate and that of his comrades.

  "Because Shi Wusha befriended a traitor," a voice rang out as a long-bearded old man appeared. His beard was snow-white, and his eyes were as clear as an enlightened sage's.

  "You are that traitor," Wang Yi gathered his strength to speak.

  "Correct. It is I, the shameless Gao Qingxin. I revealed the secret that Shi Wusha's fatal acupoint shifts to the apex of his body at noon. Furthermore, I held off the Stone Fiend's ultimate technique, creating an opening for my son-in-law and his father to strike my friend's fatal point." Gao Qingxin unveiled the mystery that had long plagued Wang Yi and Diao Zhufan.

  "We guessed correctly. Other than you, no one could rival Shi Wusha."

  "Wrong. Even I could not fight the Stone Fiend alone. If we hadn't used sheer numbers to win that day, I would have died," Gao Qingxin said, his voice laced with remorse.

  "Shi Wusha died at the hands of his own friend. I suppose my end isn't too terrible. In death, I get to meet many friends."

  Reaching that point, Wang Yi's weary eyelids slowly closed. His breathing ceased. Thus ended the life of the miraculous doctor who possessed the devastating fist technique.

  Gao Qingxin stepped forward slowly, his gaze fixed on Shi Moyong, and spoke in an even tone.

  "Child, now you understand who killed your father. This old man sacrificed his friend for his daughter's happiness. Over the past decades, not a single night has passed without regret. Nephew... strike. My life has dragged on long enough."

  Shi Moyong's body trembled. He stared at the supreme master—a symbol of virtue in the martial world, who in truth did everything for personal gain, betraying a friend without hesitation. The youth's face turned a pale, purplish hue, his eyes brimming with furious hatred.

  Gao Qingxin continued, "Before you strike, purge the poison the Medicine King sneaked into you. I won't run anymore."

  "I fear no poison. I possess the Seven-Star Meridian," Shi Moyong replied coldly.

  Hearing "Seven-Star Meridian," Gao Qingxin's expression shifted. "One with the Seven-Star Meridian who masters the Nine Heavens Armor Art to the fifth stage no longer has a shifting fatal point. They become truly invincible. You are incredibly blessed, Nephew."

  Shi Moyong scoffed coldly. 'It seems my father confided in you more than I thought. You even know the Shi family's secrets.

  Gao Qingxin sighed. "Even if I could turn back time, the outcome would be the same. My fragile daughter could only smile when she was with Han Zhaoming. For those smiles, I would sell out a friend like Shi Wusha dozens of times over."

  "You committed shameful acts, yet claim remorse. What is true, and what is false?" Shi Moyong rebuked, no longer addressing him as a senior.

  "I regret harming a friend, but I am joyous to see my daughter happy. Both are cruel truths," Gao Qingxin answered calmly. "Life is never simple. We don’t always get to choose the path we walk."

  "Your words are so beautiful," Shi Moyong sneered. "When others err, you hunt them down. When you err, you blame destiny. Is this the way of the righteous?"

  Gao Qingxin chuckled lightly. "Righteousness or wickedness are just words people invent. Did the Virtue Association ever truly have virtue? It was actually the Defying Heaven Sect led by the Demonic Doctor Di Jiao that gave wrongdoers a chance to mend their ways. Even today, this old man feels ashamed before that doctor."

  "In the past, you helped your son-in-law kill a friend," Shi Moyong said mockingly. "But today, Han Yuexin is my woman. Naturally, I cannot violate the moral code. Not only can I not avenge my father against you, but I must also call you my elder."

  The words were not spoken with sincerity; they were meant to pierce the old man's heart.

  "Yuexin... foolish granddaughter," Gao Qingxin murmured. He understood perfectly how cruel the cycle of revenge was, and could only softly chide his granddaughter.

  "Now the Zenith Martial Pavilion has lost both Diao Zhufan and Wang Yi," Shi Moyong concluded. "Let the duel on the fifteenth of the fifth lunar month be a wedding instead. The two families will end all grievances on that day."

  With that, he turned sharply and left.

  Gao Qingxin watched the youth's back, sensing a chilling aura radiating from him. With such power, who in the entire martial world could rival him? Especially now, knowing he possessed the Seven-Star Meridian and had mastered the fifth stage of the Nine Heavens Armor Art. This Fiend's Descendant... was truly the single invincible being in the martial world.