The Crimson Lash and the Shattered Sky

Du Xiaoyan's whip skills far surpassed those of the purple-clad woman, Qin Nier.

The three-zhang-long red whip danced with unpredictable elegance, sometimes taking the form of a spear, with dazzling lash patterns shooting forth in sharp stabs. At other times, it became a cudgel, sweeping horizontally in a flurry of strikes. Occasionally, it transformed into a rope, coiling and tightening like a noose around the joints. And yet, it could also take on the form of a sword, cutting through the air with wide, sweeping arcs.

The shrill whistle of the whip filled the space within a twenty-zhang radius. The stone tiles beneath their feet shattered, and the houses and walls within range were reduced to ruins.

Qin Nier, though skilled in horse-riding, had no particular expertise in the art of the whip. She had only picked up the horsewhip by chance, and now found herself trying to fight Du Xiaoyan with it.

To her dismay, Du Xiaoyan's mastery of the whip was nearly unrivaled, a first-rate expert whose techniques outclassed those of Qin Nier by far.

At first, Qin Nier had fought from horseback, but soon she was forced to leap off her mount and rely on her agility to dodge the barrage of whips. For every ten strikes Du Xiaoyan landed, Qin Nier could barely counter one.

The battle dragged on for about a stick of incense's worth of time, draining both their energy. The longer whip became more difficult to control with each passing moment.

Just as Qin Nier saw an opening under her horse's belly, attempting to use her mount's bulk as cover to launch an attack, Du Xiaoyan whipped the horse from under her.

With a sickening swoosh, the horse was sliced in half at the waist. Blood and entrails rained down on Qin Nier.

Letting out a high-pitched scream, she performed a lazy roll to escape the onslaught, but still, blood and guts splattered onto her body.

Rage surged through Qin Nier's heart. Dropping the horsewhip, she changed her stance, her body flowing like water as she closed in on Du Xiaoyan. Her hands reached out, gliding toward Du Xiaoyan like the softest silk, but her palms shimmered with a malevolent purple glow, and the air around her was thick with a sweet, intoxicating fragrance.

Watching this, the woman in white, Qin Nier's cousin, Lian Zhou Luo'er, paled and gasped, "'Poison Hand Sky Net!' Nier, are you trying to kill her?"

Qin Nier's voice was cold and sharp. "She wanted to kill me first! If that whip had hit me, I would've been dead already!"

Du Xiaoyan's face tightened. Realizing that Qin Nier had gone for the kill, she didn't hesitate. With a flick of her wrist, seven rings of energy formed in the air, each one seeking to tighten around Qin Nier's neck.

But Qin Nier's movements were impossibly fluid. Her body danced with ethereal grace, sidestepping every lash, evading them with near divine precision. What could catch the drifting clouds, or the flowing waters of a lake?

Perhaps some could, but Du Xiaoyan was certainly not one of them!

In the blink of an eye, Qin Nier was right in front of Du Xiaoyan. The whip was too long to use effectively at such close range, and Du Xiaoyan could only close her eyes and await the inevitable.

Qin Nier's poisoned hands were mere inches from Du Xiaoyan's throat when a sudden, unnaturally powerful force surged from all directions, swirling around Qin Nier.

It wasn't a single gust of wind. It was seven.

Seven forces, each imbued with a distinct power—fire, ice, thunder, wind, strength, softness, and condensation—formed into a powerful vortex, pulling Qin Nier back several steps before she could steady herself. Her poison-laced hand missed its mark.

Gasping, Qin Nier looked up. A massive hand—unfathomably large—seemed to grow in the sky, pulling the very air with it, as if everything in existence had been made for this hand.

It was a hand that could cover the sky itself.

How could fleeting clouds and flowing water stand against the monstrous hand that was now descending upon her?

Qin Nier knew she had no way out.

Lian Zhou Luo'er stared in disbelief at the figure of the hand's owner.

A young man.

A young man who made her both furious and desirous, a man she wished to both destroy and possess, a man she wished she could devour whole.

He was wearing a pale blue robe, with sleeves and hem so wide they fluttered in the wind like wings.

His long hair was swept up, defying gravity, standing on end like a wild flame.

His face, usually smirking with an air of charming arrogance, was now uncharacteristically serious and steely.

His eyes—icy, yet burning with the fires of passion—fused two extremes, creating an unsettling yet captivating aura.

He looked like a man who commanded the heavens with his very presence.

As his hand descended, it seemed as though he held the fate of the world in his grasp. His ability to obliterate life with a single motion gave Lian Zhou Luo'er a rush of indescribable excitement.

This was a true man. This was a true hero.

But why? Why did he have to act so despicably? Why did he have to take her most precious possession? Why did he have to be Qin Ren?

A thousand thoughts flashed through Lian Zhou Luo'er's mind. In the span of less than a blink of an eye, she was consumed with emotions—ranging from hatred to confusion to longing.

Qin Ren's hand still descended like a mountain over Qin Nier's head. She screamed in despair, her palm rising in a last-ditch effort to block his mighty hand.

Lian Zhou Luo'er acted on impulse. She couldn't let her cousin die here, not under the hand of this man. She would kill him. Kill this unfaithful rogue who had wronged them!

With a piercing clang, the Nine Heavens God Sword was unsheathed, and Lian Zhou Luo'er leaped into the air, her form as graceful and pure as a lotus. The sword radiated blinding light, and with a deafening screech, it shot toward Qin Ren like a white comet.

"Nine Heavens Divine Art!" she whispered, launching her deadliest strike, the Desire to Snatch the Moon from the Heavens.

Qin Ren caught a glimpse of her from the corner of his eye. Without flinching, he smiled coldly and raised his other hand.

The ancient, unchanging move.

One Hand Covers the Sky.

"If you want to break the sky, I will cover it. Let's see if your sword can pierce this hand!"

As the hands neared, Qin Nier knew her struggle was in vain. She closed her eyes in despair. Her poison wouldn't affect him, and her power was no match for his hundred-year internal strength.

Just as their palms collided, she heard a crack, and her body went limp.

Meanwhile, Lian Zhou Luo'er faced the same dilemma. The whirlpool of seven different forces in Qin Ren's hand absorbed the energy from her sword, and her weapon veered helplessly toward the vortex.

She understood that she could never pierce his hand. If their weapons collided, her sword would snap, and she'd be finished.

Yet she could not retreat.

Not when her cousin was about to die beneath his hand. Not when she had to endure nightmares of him every night.

With a defiant cry, she thrust her sword forward, tears in her eyes, determined to die with dignity.

Qin Ren, however, smiled knowingly.

Just before his hand could strike Qin Nier, he suddenly retracted it. The massive hand disappeared into thin air.

Qin Nier's palm struck him square in the chest with a resounding boom!

At the same time, Lian Zhou Luo'er's sword stabbed into his shoulder, blood gushing out.

The two strikes sent Qin Ren flying, his body spinning through the air as blood gushed from his mouth.

Everything happened in a blink.

Du Xiaoyan screamed and rushed forward to catch him, but she was shoved aside by someone charging in from the side.

It was Qiao Wei, his hands trembling as he caught Qin Ren's body, taking the blow as they fell together. Blood pooled beneath them.

"Young Master! Why do you do this to yourself? Why risk your life for Xiaoyan?" Qiao Wei sobbed, his voice cracking. "You're too foolish! Your skills could've easily handled them! Why did you stop? Why—"

He sobbed and struggled to lift Qin Ren, his body shaking from the effort.

Qin Nier and Lian Zhou Luo'er stood in stunned silence, eyes locked on the bloodstains on the ground.

"What have we done?" Lian Zhou Luo'er whispered, her voice trembling. "Is he really… doing this for us?"

Qin Nier's face was a mask of confusion. "This... little pervert... How did we hurt him?"

Lian Zhou Luo'er took a shaky step forward, tears welling in her eyes.

Both women were uncertain, caught between rage, confusion, and an inexplicable sense of guilt.