Chapter 037: The Edge of Sharpness

Zhang Yisheng of Hearts Nine showed no concern whatsoever about fighting me; I could sense him moving constantly. He was in no hurry to attack, as if intent on wearing down my patience. As long as he didn't make a sound, I had no way to pinpoint his location, putting me at a clear disadvantage.

Time slipped by, and sweat began to bead on my forehead.

"Zijian, be careful! Zhang Yisheng has a lot of scalpels in his hands!" Han Xue warned me, and just then, a surge of intense danger gripped my heart.

I unleashed my ability, wildly firing beams of light in all directions, hoping to prevent him from aiming at me.

"Hmm?" I heard Zhang Yisheng's voice again, followed by two quick footsteps, and then his voice faded.

"So your ability is light?"

"Let's see how you handle this!"

It seemed Zhang Yisheng had widened the distance between us, preparing for a ranged attack. However, he appeared unaware of the true range of my beams. I couldn't guarantee I could disrupt him again, but after bathing in the golden light card, I had discovered a new use for the Spades Two ability—my greatest trump card yet.

I had intended to save it for the most dangerous moment, but now seemed the perfect time.

Both hands gathered light, fusing into a radiant shield that enveloped Han Xue and me.

"Light Shield."

Feeling the impact of objects against my shield, I guessed he had thrown a barrage of blades.

"Zijian, Zhang Yisheng seems to have run out of knives!" Han Xue had apparently witnessed the whole sequence of throws and happily reported it to me.

If that were true, I had nothing to fear from Zhang Yisheng of Hearts Nine; he had no way to break through my defenses.

I dispelled the shield.

"Zhang Yisheng, your skills might work on ordinary people, but against me? Forget it."

Since he couldn't harm me, I teased him, but his only reply was a cold laugh.

"What are you laughing at?" Han Xue, emboldened by my confidence, stood behind me and spoke.

Yet the sense of danger in my heart remained undiminished. I felt certain Zhang Yisheng had more tricks up his sleeve.

I had a bad feeling, but Han Xue, ever oblivious, hadn't noticed.

Suddenly, a scream rang out from Han Xue, and I felt some liquid spatter across my face.

I dabbed at it and tasted—salty, metallic.

Blood.

"Han Xue!"

I called out urgently.

There was no answer. Han Xue did not respond.

"Han Xue, what's wrong?" After that scream, she had fallen silent. I had no idea what had happened.

---

"Zhang Yisheng, what have you done to Han Xue?" I shouted at him in the distance.

Hearts Nine Zhang Yisheng replied coldly, "See for yourself."

Then, remembering my lack of vision, he added, "This woman with only half a body left should die very soon."

I felt something touch my foot.

I reached down—it was a hand! Han Xue's hand.

Following it downward, I found her body below the waist was gone, as if severed cleanly in two.

Grasping her hand, I frantically searched for the rest of her body, and after much fumbling, finally found her lower half.

Zhang Yisheng watched from the side, convinced all my efforts to help this dying girl were pointless.

But as I pieced Han Xue's body together, a surge of black light erupted from my hands, enveloping her wounded part. In moments, it was restored as if nothing had happened.

Zhang Yisheng seemed to notice Han Xue's sudden recovery and prepared to attack again.

But I was ready; beams of light formed another shield.

Han Xue's body was slowly healing, while dizziness began to cloud my mind.

Damn, my stamina was draining fast; I might not hold out much longer.

Han Xue's consciousness gradually returned.

My mental strength faded until I could only sustain a tight, close-fitting shield.

"Miniature Light Shield, Light Layer Garment."

When Han Xue awoke, she stared at me in astonishment.

"Zijian? Me? Didn't I die? Wasn't I cut in half?"

The silly girl had forgotten the danger, but quickly realized the fight wasn't over.

"Do you remember what attacked you? You said Zhang Yisheng was out of knives."

"It was thread!"

Han Xue declared firmly. "There was a fine thread tied to every scalpel Zhang Yisheng threw."

"I was attacked by those threads. The scattered knives on the ground were set up to lay out these threads."

"Heh." Zhang Yisheng sneered. "Never expected your little girlfriend to be so observant."

He seemed to notice my exhaustion and paused his assault.

Yet escape was impossible; after Han Xue described his attack method, I sensed my surroundings were now filled with threads, forming a vast web.

I freed a hand to shoot light, hoping to melt the threads.

"Trying to melt my threads? Keep dreaming," Zhang Yisheng called from afar. "My ability represents the divine beast Jingxie and the sharpness it embodies. Anything imbued with this sharpness becomes the hardest and most lethal!"

I knew of Jingxie—a legendary crab whose pincers were used by the gods of thunder and lightning as weapons, combining awl and scissors, symbolizing sharpness.

If that was the case, escaping seemed impossible.

---

Suddenly, chaos erupted! I could only rely on Han Xue's description to grasp what was happening.

"Several ice spikes are erupting from the ground, and Zhang Yisheng is frantically dodging!"

Han Xue clung tightly to me, and I realized the threads around us had thinned considerably.

Zhang Yisheng must have withdrawn many scalpels to fight.

"Oh!"

"Something flew past!"

"It slammed straight into Zhang Yisheng—it looks like a person!"

"It's Lu Ling from the Engineering College!"

Han Xue cheered, for she knew these people were our allies.

Spades King Pang Dongqiang, Diamonds Three Lu Ling—Lu Ling must have been hurled at Zhang Yisheng by Diamonds Two Chen Hao's divine power, then accelerated by Spades Six Lin Wan's speed ability.

Zhang Yisheng frowned, and I sensed several people around me.

"Never imagined a blind man like you could hold out this long," Lin Wan of Spades Six joked. He was cocky, unable to use his hands, and without Lu Ling, he probably wouldn't have survived either.

"Pang Dongqiang, Chen Hao, are you both here?" I asked, feeling their presence beside me.

"Yes, we're both here," Pang Dongqiang replied, as Chen Hao's speech ability had been stripped and could not respond.

Hearing they were both present, I relaxed.

"Zhang Yisheng, now..."

"Do you intend to fight six of us alone?"

Zhang Yisheng snorted, then fell silent. I sensed all the threads vanish.

"He's gone! Amazing!" Han Xue shouted joyfully, leaping up. The strange black energy had healed her body and twisted ankle, though her arms remained unrepaired, sparking a suspicion in me.

"Lin Wan, why haven’t we heard from Wen Lingyu and Sun Cheng?"

"They got separated from us when we fell," Lin Wan explained. "The sudden growth of this hedge scattered us completely."

Hearing this, I could only comfort myself, hoping nothing befell them.

After all, Sun Cheng's ability was quite formidable; being deaf wouldn’t hinder him too much.

"If they're together, they shouldn't be in too much danger."

We regrouped and began searching for the missing two.

Meanwhile, Sun Cheng and his companion collided with Wu Ziwei and Chu Yuyan, who were also alone.