'Fuck! This man has gone crazy!' Mira cursed as she bounced away. Zhou Yuan charged at her as if she was some apocalyptic being that was out for blood and slaughter! However, he couldn't be more wrong.
Why would she waste her time killing a bunch of nobodies?
Although fighting battles to the death might be a way for her to blow off steam, she wouldn't run around the world killing mortals. What would be the point of doing that?
If she's going to fight and kill, it has to be for a reason. Before, it was so she could get her head on straight, but now that she's improving her mind and no longer needs that, fighting is a way to temper herself.
Her only reason for fighting these people is to temper herself and learn more about her strength.
'However, it seems like this man has seen something he shouldn't have.' Mira frowned, dodging his sword strikes.
'Did my killing intent really make him go crazy?' She speculated, but that only confused her more. While she had released some killing intent throughout this entire time, it wasn't near what she could unleash. Rather, it was a relatively average amount; some of the other Soul Transformation Realm men emitted denser killing intent than her!
'Are his senses so good that he could see what lay underneath the surface?' Mira shook her head, not believing that to be the case. If it were, the others would've sensed something as well.
'It's your soul, Mira.' Elenei spoke inside her mind.
'Hmmm? What do you mean?' Mira questioned, raising her scythe to block Zhou Yuan's attack. Their weapons collided, but unlike the other times, Mira felt her arms tremble a bit from the impact.
'Have you heard the saying, "the eyes are the windows to the soul"?'
Mira nodded.
'Well, think of that, but on another level. After you broke through, the quality and quantity of your soul rose to an insane degree. Thus, killing intent, which is directly linked to your existence, or in other words, your soul, became more effective. However, since you've just broken through, you're unable to control this, so a bit too much leaked out.'
Mira instantly understood what was going on. Zhou Yuan must've looked deep into her eyes and gone crazy from what he saw. The weight of billions of deaths isn't something an average person could withstand, much less someone of upstanding character like him. Even she feels burdened by it, and she's lived with it for years!
'I also just came back from "hell", so I'm sure that didn't make things better.'
Mira nodded, taking in the information. It made sense now. She had been so focused on her physical strength that she had neglected the changes happening to her soul.
'I see," Mira said before dodging another one of Zhou Yuan's attacks.
'But how do I control it? I can't have people going crazy whenever they look me in the eye.'
'Just imagine yourself shutting a door between your eyes and your soul. That should limit the leakage until you better understand your soul and how it interacts with the world around you.' Elenei replied.
Mira nodded and did just that. However, she didn't feel any different than before, so she shifted her focus back to Zhou Yuan, who was still charging at her with all his might.
He raised his sword and channeled his empowered Qi into it.
"Die!!"
He yelled, his sword descending from the sky.
Mira snorted and created an earth barrier with a wave of her scythe, deflecting the sword strike with ease. Zhou Yuan's expression changed as he realized that his attack had failed.
Mira took the opportunity to counter-attack. She dashed forward, her scythe slicing through the air with blinding speed, aiming straight for Zhou Yuan's chest. However, he dodged it by leaping back, narrowly avoiding the lethal strike.
Zhou Yuan regained his composure and resumed his offensive, his sword strikes becoming faster and more ferocious. Mira was forced to retreat, parrying each blow with her scythe. The two warriors exchanged blows, their weapons clashing with deafening clangs.
Mira soon realized that Zhou Yuan was not an ordinary opponent.
He was a seasoned warrior who had faced many formidable foes in the past. His swordsmanship was impeccable, and his reflexes were lightning-fast. Mira was impressed by his skills but knew she couldn't afford to underestimate him too much, as he had most likely lived as long as she had.
Besides, the aura he was emitting right now was much more potent and ferocious than it was at the beginning of the fight.
She decided to change her tactics. Instead of relying solely on her physical strength, she used her Scythe Manifestation for the first time since she broke through. The scent of death emanated from Mira, causing Zhou Yuan to falter for a moment. Mira seized the opportunity and struck him with her scythe, but he managed to block a fatal blow with his sword.
The two went back and forth for many more rounds, their weapons clanging with each attack, destroying the land around them.
Some of the other Soul Transformation Realm cultivators watching from afar watched with bated breath as they rooted for them to kill each other, so they could swoop in and steal all the loot.
Zhou Yuan glared at Mira, his eyes filled with fury. He realized that he had been too careless and allowed Mira to gain the upper hand. So, he decided to go all out, using his most powerful sword technique.
If he couldn't end it with this, then…
'I'll have to take more drastic measures.'
He gathered all his Qi and infused it into his sword. The sword began to emit a blinding light, and Zhou Yuan lunged at Mira with lightning speed, his sword aiming straight for her heart.
Mira's eyes widened in surprise as she realized the full extent of Zhou Yuan's power. She knew that she had to act fast if she wanted to survive. Thus, she focused all her strength and created a barrier of earth and ice around her, shielding her from Zhou Yuan's attack.
The impact of the attack sent shockwaves through the surrounding area, causing the ground to crack and the trees to sway violently.
Mira dispelled the barrier and immediately shot toward the man, using her Yin Lightning and Wind affinities to boost her speed and catch him off-guard.
'Shit!' Zhou Yuan cursed and hurriedly raised a barrier while dodging, but when Mira swung her scythe, he felt a searing pain coming from his left leg!
"Ugh!"
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a mangled limb fly past, and he knew that it was his leg. He stared back at Mira, whose eyes were eerily calm, and felt a chill run down his spine. Her scythe, which was already black, seemed that much darker. The air became harder to breathe, and the surroundings seemed to have become icy cold.
The threat of death had never felt so close before.
'So, this is it, huh?' Zhou Yuan's mind, which was occupied with killing Mira, cleared up when he realized his fate was sealed. Memories of his life flashed before his eyes, recounting everything he'd gone through until this point.
'It was a good run, one I'd do all over again if I were given a choice.' He lived up to his fullest potential, helped train numerous generations of cultivators, and helped his Sect grow. He had wonderful friends and a fulfilling life with no regrets.
He had done everything he wanted to do in this life.
'I guess it's true that death finds us all,' His eyes suddenly narrowed as he regained his focus. He stared back at Mira with bloodshot eyes and released a crazy smile, 'And it will certainly come for you too!'
He focused on all the energy inside his core, preparing to use it to explode, taking out everything in the surrounding area, including Mira.
"Hehehe~ I'll see you in hell, you crazy monster!"
His body started glowing with a bright light, like a mini sun. However, before he could self-destruct…
*Shing!*
Mira's scythe [Manifestation] crossed shot through the air and removed his head from his body.
"I'm sorry, but I can't let you do that. Even I'm a bit worried about taking on the brunt of a Soul Transformation Realm cultivator's core exploding." Mira sighed and floated over to his dead body.
A complicated light shone in her eyes as part of her wanted to refrain from killing the man. She didn't know him for long but could tell he was a decent man from that brief interaction.
Unfortunately, his mind was already too far gone after he sensed the hell deep within her eyes. She could've tried to help him regain his 'consciousness', but decided it wasn't worth the effort.
She didn't know the man, after all. He was just an unlucky fellow who happened to meet the wrong person.
Shifting her eyes away from Zhou Yuan's corpse, she glanced at the other Soul Transformation Realm cultivators, waiting for them to make a move, but they never did.
Mira shrugged her shoulders and turned to the Unorthodox Faction guy, who Rhydian had restrained.
"Now, why don't we learn a little more about you, hmm?" A smile ran across her face as she looked forward to the near future with this man.
