Chapter 38: Brutal

But the remaining twenty puppets gave her no time to catch her breath.

They wouldn’t.

The puppets of the Death Layer had no emotions, no mercy, only the instinct to kill.

Lin Xiaoyu had just unleashed the Eye of Heavenly Punishment. The spiritual energy in her body was almost completely depleted, and she could barely stand.

The twenty puppets were already rushing forward!

*

The first slammed a fist into her chest!

Crack!

The sound of breaking ribs was painfully clear.

Lin Xiaoyu was sent flying, crashing heavily onto the ground as blood sprayed from her mouth.

She struggled to stand, but the second puppet was already upon her.

It stomped down on her right arm!

Crack!

The bone shattered!

Lin Xiaoyu screamed, but before the sound could fully escape her throat, the third puppet’s fist smashed into her left arm!

Crack!

Her left arm broke as well.

Both arms hung limply at her sides, completely useless.

*

Outside the tower.

Countless disciples covered their mouths, tears streaming down their faces.

“Senior Sister Lin…”

“Enough… That’s enough…”

“Please, stop fighting…”

Some knelt on the ground, while others turned away, unable to bear the sight.

Saint Qingyuan’s face was livid, his entire body trembling.

He looked at Chen Ping, his eyes burning with anger.

“Chen Ping, you…”

Chen Ping did not speak.

He only stared intently at the light screen, his eyes locked onto the figure struggling in a pool of blood.

Inside his sleeves, his fingernails dug deep into his palms, blood dripping from between his fingers.

Yet he did not move.

Because he knew.

The true life-or-death crisis had arrived.

Whether she could break through and shatter the shackles of the ninth layer of Qi Refining depended entirely on this moment.

*

Inside the tower.

Lin Xiaoyu lay in a pool of blood, her consciousness beginning to fade.

Her arms were broken.

Her ribs were broken.

Not a single part of her body was left intact.

Blood poured from countless wounds, staining the ground beneath her a deep crimson.

Am I dying?

She thought hazily.

Her vision began to darken. The heavy footsteps of the puppets sounded increasingly distant, as if echoing from another world.

In her daze, she saw her mother’s face.

Her mother was smiling, gently stroking her head just like she used to when Xiaoyu was a child.

“Xiaoyu, live well…”

Then, her mother’s face began to blur and fade away.

No…

Lin Xiaoyu’s unfocused pupils suddenly constricted.

She couldn’t die.

She had not avenged her mother yet.

The Blood Fiend Sect was still out there.

The people who killed her mother were still alive.

She had promised her mother that she would live well, grow strong, and seek vengeance.

And her master…

Her master was still outside, waiting for her.

Her master had given her all his resources, accompanied her in training, taught her cultivation techniques, and pulled her back from the brink of death time and time again.

Her master said she was the best disciple he had ever taken in.

Her master said she could definitely do it.

She could not let him down.

*

Fight!

Lin Xiaoyu gritted her teeth and, using the very last shred of her strength, rolled over and forced herself up!

She had no arms, so she would use her legs!

She kicked out, striking the knee of the foremost puppet!

Crack!

The puppet’s knee shattered, and it crashed to the ground.

But another puppet’s fist had already slammed into her abdomen!

Pfft!

Spitting a mouthful of blood, Lin Xiaoyu was sent flying backward once more.

But she did not stay down.

Supporting herself with her legs, she wobbled back to her feet.

Her legs were still intact.

She could still fight.

*

The fourth puppet rushed forward.

Lin Xiaoyu dodged to the side and drove her knee into its flank!

Bang!

The puppet took a step back but did not fall.

Its fist smashed into her leg!

Crack!

Her left leg bone fractured!

Lin Xiaoyu groaned, dropping to one knee.

But she did not stop.

She used her remaining right leg to push off hard, launching herself forward!

She slammed her head into the puppet’s chest!

Bang!

The puppet stumbled back, a crack spiderwebbing across its chest.

Lin Xiaoyu hit the ground, her vision darkening as the metallic taste of blood filled her mouth.

Yet she smiled.

She could still fight.

She still had her head.

*

The fifth, the sixth, the seventh…

One by one, the puppets fell.

Wound after wound opened across Lin Xiaoyu’s body.

Her legs were now broken.

Kneeling on the ground, she struck with her head and bit with her teeth!

As the eighth puppet lunged, she bit down hard on its throat!

Crack!

The puppet’s core shattered, and it collapsed.

Lin Xiaoyu’s mouth was filled with metal shards and blood.

But she did not stop.

Twelve left.

*

The ninth, the tenth, the eleventh…

She rammed them with her head, bit them with her teeth, and threw her entire body against them!

Every impact made her vision go dark.

Every bite left her mouth dripping with blood.

But she did not stop.

She could not stop.

*

The twelfth puppet’s fist smashed into her face.

Half of her face swelled up, her eye swollen nearly shut.

But she used her other eye to glare at the next puppet.

Eleven left.

*

The thirteenth puppet’s foot stomped onto her back.

Crack!

Her spine fractured.

She lay prone in the pool of blood, unable to move.

Yet she lifted her head, staring at the ten puppets remaining before her.

In her eyes, a golden light kindled once more.

Though faint,

it still burned.

“Come…”

Her voice was raspy, barely audible.

“Come on…”

*

Outside the tower.

There was dead silence.

Everyone stood with mouths agape and eyes wide, staring intently at the figure in the light screen wriggling in a pool of blood, refusing to stay down.

Some wept.

Some fell to their knees.

Others clenched their fists so hard that their nails pierced their palms, drawing blood.

No one spoke.

Because no one could find the words.

*

Saint Qingyuan closed his eyes, a single tear slipping from the corner of his eye.

He had cultivated for a thousand years, witnessing countless geniuses and countless brutal battles.

But he had never seen anyone push themselves to such an extent.

When her arms broke, she used her legs.

When her legs broke, she used her head and her teeth.

With every bone in her body shattered, she held on through sheer willpower.

What kind of willpower was this?

What kind of conviction?

He looked at Chen Ping.

Chen Ping still stood there, his expression as calm as still water.

But Saint Qingyuan could see.

His hands were trembling.

His eyes were reddening.

*

Chen Ping stared unblinkingly at the light screen, his eyes locked on the figure wriggling in the pool of blood.

His heart felt as though it were being squeezed, throbbing with sharp pain.

Silly girl…

Enough…

It’s really enough…

But he could not speak.

He could not tell her to stop.

Because this was her path.

The Heavenly Dao Qi Refining Path demanded this exact determination to find life in death.

It required this unyielding, never-say-die willpower.

If she could push through, she would break through.

If she could push through, she would truly set foot on that path.

“Xiaoyu…” he murmured, his voice raspy.

“You must push through…”

*

Inside the tower.

Lin Xiaoyu lay prone in the pool of blood, her vision growing darker and darker.

She could hear the footsteps of the puppets drawing closer.

But she could no longer move.

Not a single bone in her body remained unbroken.

She had lost too much blood, and her consciousness was slipping away.

Am I dying?

She thought hazily.

Then, she heard a voice.

It was very soft, very distant.

“Xiaoyu.”

It was her master’s voice.

“Stand up.”

Lin Xiaoyu’s unfocused pupils regained a trace of clarity.

Gritting her teeth, she used the last vestige of her strength to raise her head.

The ten puppets had already surrounded her.

Their fists were raised in unison.

In the next second, they would crush her into a pulp.

Looking at those fists, Lin Xiaoyu suddenly smiled.

Her smile was ghastly, her face covered in blood and her teeth stained red.

Yet it was beautiful.

“Master…”

she whispered.

“Your disciple… will not disappoint you…”

In the next instant,

Boom!

A brilliant golden light erupted from her body!

The light was as blazing as the sun, instantly engulfing all ten puppets!

Within the light, the faint phantoms of the Thirty-Six Heavenly Dipper Meridians could be seen slowly merging together.