Chapter 67: Five-Sevenths

Failure, setbacks, jealousy, crime, betrayal, and... defeat.

A person’s life will inevitably be filled with countless events one never wishes to endure, yet must face regardless. Still, in every world, there exists a universal truth: the strong survive, the weak perish.

Thus, everywhere, humans struggle in adversity.

So if you refuse to accept defeat, then sacrifice everything, and claim victory.

No matter how long one prepares or how lengthy the battle, victory and defeat are decided in a single instant. At this moment, Qiu Bai felt he could finally unleash that sword.

Lucci was about to burst through the wall Qiu Bai had shattered, ready to deliver a fatal blow to his opponent suspended helplessly in midair. Yet as he stepped forward, he was forced to retreat.

A limitless sword light descended from the heavens, driving Rob Lucci back.

Qiu Bai’s “Heretical View.”

This time, his sword, by some chance, did not break, but that was unimportant now.

Still plummeting headfirst, Qiu Bai’s desperate sword in midair rendered his posture even more awkward, the ground looming ever closer. He had no intention of crashing down headfirst.

He released the “Thin Blade” from his grip, muscles bulging in his arm as he braced himself fiercely against the ground, then flipped and landed upright.

Though the movement might barely be called graceful, “nimble” was not a word that fit. Qiu Bai managed to stand, but lunged forward a step, nearly stumbling.

“Cough!” Blood spewed from his lips, staining his chest.

Lucci’s powerful impact made Qiu Bai feel as if a fire were burning in his chest—after all, the human body is frail.

Yet only pain of this magnitude could fully concentrate his mind. Staggering, Qiu Bai pressed on, charging toward the breach in the wall.

At the same time, Lucci, who had dodged Qiu Bai’s feinted strike, realized the previous attack was a bluff and was about to rush out again.

After two swift steps, Qiu Bai’s speed surged. His arms extended diagonally from his sides, and with a forceful grip, two swords appeared once more in his hands.

His right hand hurled a sword with all its might, spinning toward Lucci. As it crossed the midpoint between them, it suddenly exploded near Lucci’s side.

The blast forced Lucci back, deeper into the building.

Now Qiu Bai switched to a single blade held in both hands, then… closed his eyes and exhaled deeply.

When he opened them again, his pupils gleamed with an unusual color.

The sword that determines victory requires the utmost focus; in fact, it demands the unity of essence, spirit, and strength—all unleashed in a single strike.

Sword energy truly pursues concentrated power—the thinner, the sharper!

With a fierce, staccato vibration, the remnants of the previous sword’s fiery explosion split in two, its brilliance undiminished. A blazing white line sliced through the building from one side to the other, bursting out the far wall. The enormous force passed through the narrow, straight fissure compressed into a line. A great cloud of dust, pressed into a thin air layer, shot from the building’s rear, and after exhausting its upward and downward momentum far away, rebounded and expanded, swirling into a fog of debris.

A long-range sword energy attack—Qiu Bai had succeeded.

In that month, most of what he learned from Ryoma concerned the fundamentals and essence of swordsmanship, but that did not mean he hadn’t mastered any practical, concrete sword techniques.

Previously, with his skill level, he always felt something was missing when attempting Ryoma’s moves—this tiniest gap left him with theory but no means of execution. This time, though, he truly managed it…

Ryoma the Swordmaster’s “Dragon-Slaying Strike.”

Yet, having made it his own, Qiu Bai renamed the technique “Yujun.”

The effect of this sword was not as devastating as when Ryoma himself wielded it, but Qiu Bai was satisfied enough… Before him, the multi-story building, struck along a single sword scar, collapsed entirely.

“Boom!”

Lucci was unmistakably buried within.

Even relying solely on swordsmanship, Qiu Bai now possessed the power for large-scale demolition—his long-sought goal.

Had this sword struck Lucci directly, it would have sealed his victory. But Qiu Bai had deliberately controlled the trajectory, so Lucci could likely evade.

He never intended to kill Lucci.

Yet hoping a building could instantly crush a skilled Zoan-type user was unrealistic.

For a moment, the scene fell silent. Then a beast-like roar of rage erupted from beneath the collapsed structure. The ground exploded where the howl emerged, and debris of different weights, sizes, and shapes shot skyward, tracing varied parabolas as gravity brought them down.

Lucci could still stand, but after being struck by the “Elegant Speech” sword and left bloodied, only to be smashed beneath such weight, he was in no danger of dying, but surely suffering greatly.

His blood-soaked appearance was almost excessively miserable—the young talent of the World Government had likely never endured such an ordeal.

Savage “beast eyes” locked onto Qiu Bai’s advancing figure, murderous intent clear—Lucci was, evidently, quite angry.

As Qiu Bai charged at high speed, he suddenly leapt.

Lucci’s gaze followed upward.

Qiu Bai vaulted, spun, then pushed off a corner of the demolished floor thrown by Lucci. With a blast, he rebounded to the ground.

Like a ray reflected off a mirror, Qiu Bai crashed down with tremendous force, his feet sinking into the hard earth. With a loud bang, the ground collapsed in a ring around his landing, fissuring outward.

“Wusan.”

While Lucci’s eyes were still fixed above, two words abruptly sounded in his ear. As he dropped his gaze, he saw a sharp blade pressed against his neck, piercing the ruined wall behind him.

Qiu Bai stood before him, gripping the blade.

“Wusan” was a rapid thrust technique—the only piercing move in Qiu Bai’s sword repertoire.

The explosive force of his entire body gave him speed surpassing Lucci’s “Soru” in that instant.

If he wished, this sword could pierce Lucci’s throat or heart, but he did not.

“Relativity is correct—after all, the more handsome wins. The ending… is my victory.”

“Rikyu,” “Heretical View,” “Elegant Speech,” “Yujun,” “Wusan,” “Wrath,” and…

“Slaughter.”

“Scarlet Evil” comprises seven swords—Qiu Bai defeated Lucci with five of them.