# 554
Chapter 555 – Scared Off
Above the sky.
The body of the God of Yellow Sand, Set, was cleaved apart by sword qi and plunged into the endless fog. Even in death, his eyes stared ahead in terror, his face filled with disbelief.
“Cough, cough, cough…”
Zhou Ping lowered his head and coughed violently.
Boom boom boom—!!
Clouds of blood mist burst from his body; flesh, skin, organs, and bones were all transforming into laws at a terrifying speed, dispersing into the air.
After this single strike, two-thirds of his body had vanished.
Now, Zhou Ping gripped his sword with one remaining arm; below his chest, nothing remained.
The power of law he had summoned for this strike was too great—even one sword was more than his body could bear—but the result was undeniable…
With one sword, he had slain a god.
A smile appeared on Zhou Ping’s blood-stained face.
He had done it.
He was the first human in history to step into the realm of the Mortal Sword Immortal, the first to inscribe a law upon the Great Dao, the first to behead a deity…
In these few short minutes he had made history several times over, yet none of that mattered much to him.
What mattered was that he had not broken his word.
He had fulfilled half of his promise.
Sword in one hand, Zhou Ping slowly turned his gaze to the Wind God nearby, eyes narrowing.
Having personally witnessed Set’s death, the Wind God Shu still had that god’s blood splashed upon him. He had yet to recover from that earth-shaking strike; his mind was still frozen on the instant Set was slain…
Even though it had happened right beside him, he still could not believe this human had… actually killed a god.
When he felt Zhou Ping’s gaze again, felt the undisguised killing intent, he finally snapped out of his daze. The fear he had forcibly suppressed surged back, stronger than before!
This man truly could kill him!
Yet thinking of the Sun God’s decree, he forced himself to stay calm.
This human body could not endure sword-law; after one strike his body was nearly collapsing. In this state, he might not be able to deliver a second…
If he just held on a little longer, this human would soon die, and he could bring this city back.
He met Zhou Ping’s eyes and said steadily, “You’ve already swung one sword.”
Zhou Ping looked at him calmly. “So?”
“…In your current state, you can’t swing a second.”
Zhou Ping’s eyes narrowed; pure killing intent surfaced once more.
“Is that so?” he said softly. “I’m still alive, my sword is still here, the hand that holds it is still here… on what grounds do you think I can’t swing again?”
His left hand, gripping the sword, lifted gently. Fierce, murderous sword-law once more poured from the void into the blade!
The sword sang again!
Rolling tides of sword qi erupted around him, driving back the fog; the sword-intent that filled heaven and earth spread anew!
This was Zhou Ping’s second god-slaying sword!
Sensing the identical heaven-slaying intent, Shu’s face turned deathly pale. He had never imagined that after killing Set, this human still had strength for a second strike!
He had watched every moment of Set’s death; even at his peak he would not dare receive that blow. Now, wounded from two clashes with Zhou Ping, he knew that if this sword fell, he would fare no better than Set.
This human’s condition was indeed terrible—but as long as he could swing again, to Shu he posed Infinity-level threat.
He dared not face this second sword.
After a moment’s struggle, resolve flashed in his eyes. Before the surrounding sword-force could launch, he tore at the void behind him with both hands.
A gale ripped open a corner of space; he stepped in and vanished completely.
The Wind God’s pressure disappeared in an instant.
He had fled.
Zhou Ping held his sword suspended, closed his eyes, and carefully sensed the surroundings. Only when he was certain Shu had truly escaped did he slowly lower the blade.
This wasn’t the first time Shu had run from Zhou Ping; when Zhou Ping had first arrived, a sword had driven him off and saved the city—then, too, he had torn space and shifted thousands of li away.
He would not return any time soon.
The moment the sword lowered, more blood mist burst from Zhou Ping’s body, his figure growing even fainter.
His face was gaunt, relief surfacing in his eyes.
His bluff had worked.
He could indeed still swing again, but the law-power behind a second strike would be barely a third of the first—enough for a blow, yet nowhere near enough to slay a god.
If Shu had stayed and fought, Zhou Ping’s only choice would have been to spend the last of his body for a chance to badly wound him.
From the start, Zhou Ping had built momentum—oppressive sword-intent, world-filling law, every word uttered—all to prepare for this moment.
He wanted them to believe he stood here today solely to kill gods.
The strike that slew Set could have been split in two, sparing his body, yet he had risked drawing that much law-power to create a single, stunning scene of god-slaying.
The goal: leave the surviving god convinced he could kill with one sword.
In the end, that opening posture had successfully scared the other off.
Now, only one final matter remained…
Sword in hand, Zhou Ping gathered the last of his breath and shot like black lightning after the fragmenting city.
…
Amid the surging tide of “mysteries,” several figures converged, sharp as a blade, carving through the dense beast-hoard and holding the ferocious creatures outside the Fengdu laws—not one set foot past them.
Song, spear-light, blade-shadow, forbidden artifacts… their attacks wove a net beyond the broken city, reaping mystery lives by the score.
Roar roar roar—!!
Behind the mysteries, a few mighty beasts sensed danger and bellowed low, their Forbidden Ruins unfurling toward those figures.
At the tide’s front, most mysteries were weak beings below the Sea Realm; Lin Qiye and the others could slice through them like melons, yet they never dropped their guard.
They knew very well: the true test of this beast wave lay in the powerful mysteries hidden deeper within.