Turns Out I'm the Real Monster?!

The moment his knees hit the ground, He Shuangying was stunned.

Instinctively, he had raised the longsword in his hand to block above him. Jiang Mu’s saber was now pressing down on the blade.

The remaining force was not yet spent; the saber’s edge sliced more than half an inch into his shoulder blade.

Blood gushed out instantly.

However, the pain in his body was nothing compared to the storm raging in his heart.

’What is going on?’

’Who the hell is the real Star Official here?!’

’Why isn’t my Star Position’s pressure affecting him at all?’

"Is this all you’ve got?"

Jiang Mu twisted his wrist, swinging his saber horizontally toward his opponent’s throat!

Facing a life-and-death crisis, He Shuangying finally snapped back to his senses. He swiftly drew back his sword to block, the clash of saber and sword creating a shower of dazzling sparks.

The two figures clashed and separated in an instant.

His mind in chaos, He Shuangying was a fraction of a second too slow. A bloody gash was torn open on his abdomen by Saber Qi, instantly soaking his clothes in blood.

He looked down at the wound, then raised his head to look at Jiang Mu, his eyes filled with shock, anger, and disbelief.

"Why... how can this be?"

Jiang Mu’s expression was blank. "How do you think it should be?"

He secretly circulated Demonic Qi into his body, quickly recovering the energy he had just expended in his explosive attack.

But inwardly, he remained vigilant.

’A true Star Official is indeed tough to deal with. This Third Realm orthodox Cultivator is far more troublesome than that fourth-rank Snake Demon handmaiden.’

"You should be suppressed! You should be kneeling at my feet!"

He Shuangying was becoming hysterical.

"You must have used some wicked Secret Skill to temporarily prevent your fake Star Official status from being suppressed! Yes, that must be it!"

Having found a plausible explanation, his eyes turned vicious and cruel.

"But it doesn’t matter. A Secret Skill will eventually run out. I will kill you today!"

SWISH!

The gleam of a sword flared once more!

He Shuangying forced himself to calm down and unleashed the Divine Sword Sect’s secret technique, the Flying Cloud Nineteen Skills.

The sword moves flowed like rolling and unrolling clouds—seemingly light and ethereal, but concealing lethal intent.

Every strike aimed for a vital point.

Jiang Mu activated his Spirit Snake Body Step, his body weaving and dodging through the sword shadows like a slippery loach, occasionally blocking with his saber to the sound of crisp CLANGS.

He was waiting.

Waiting for an opening.

In the instant that He Shuangying’s attack lost its momentum, just before he could muster new strength, a thought flashed through Jiang Mu’s mind—

His figure vanished on the spot!

The next moment, he appeared behind He Shuangying.

Heaven-Breaking Slash!

Gripping his saber hilt with both hands, Jiang Mu viciously chopped down at He Shuangying’s back.

The blood-red Saber Aura was like a crimson moon rising from Hell. It carried an overwhelming momentum that could shatter anything, and it was fast to the extreme!

And ruthless to the extreme!

"What?!"

He Shuangying felt a vicious chill run down his spine, the hairs on his body standing on end.

He had never expected his opponent to have such a ghostly, unpredictable technique.

It was already too late to bring his sword back to block.

"SQUELCH!"

The long saber struck He Shuangying squarely on the back, slicing diagonally from his left shoulder blade down to his right waist.

He Shuangying felt as if he’d been hit by a mountain.

Spraying blood, he was flung forward several yards, crashing heavily against the trunk of an ancient tree.

Jiang Mu raised his saber to pursue, but he saw the longsword in his opponent’s hand begin to hum on its own. It transformed into a streak of light and shot toward him, forcing him to sidestep to evade.

The Flying Sword circled in the air before returning to He Shuangying’s trembling hand.

’Sword Control Skill?!’

Jiang Mu’s pupils contracted.

Leaning against the tree trunk, He Shuangying shakily got to his feet.

He stared deadly at Jiang Mu, his previous air of haughty superiority completely gone, replaced by terror and confusion.

He didn’t understand.

’Why would a mere ant cultivating a fake Star Position beat me into such a pathetic state?’

’Especially since he chose the fake version of the Earth Concealing Star!’

’He should have been completely suppressed by me!’

He Shuangying wiped the bloody foam from the corner of his mouth, a ferocious look appearing in his eyes. "You forced my hand!"

He suddenly brought two fingers together and pressed them heavily against the center of his own brow!

He spat out a mouthful of Essence Blood, but seemed not to notice. He immediately sat down cross-legged, formed seals with his hands, and his aura began to visibly wither as his face turned ashen.

At the same time, a sharp Sword Intent rose from the crown of his head.

BUZZ BUZZ BUZZ...

Seven points of cold light emerged one by one from between his brows.

They quickly transformed into seven small swords, each a little over three inches long and as translucent as crystal, hovering before him.

A thin line of blood flowed within the body of each small sword.

"If I have to, I’ll trade my life for yours!"

Blood streamed from He Shuangying’s seven orifices as he glared viciously at Jiang Mu. "This is my Divine Sword Sect’s secret Divine Ability, the Seven Kills Sword Soul. It can even slay a Fifth Realm expert!"

He waved his hand.

The seven small swords rose into the air, arranging themselves in the pattern of the Big Dipper. They instantly formed an invisible Sword Array, locking Jiang Mu firmly in the center.

Once the Sword Array formed, countless needle-fine threads of Sword Qi filled every inch of space.

It was enough to make one’s skin ache.

’Holy shit, he’s using an ultimate move too?’

Jiang Mu’s eyelids twitched wildly. Without a second thought, he threw his number one Demon Shadow to a spot just outside the Sword Array.

At almost the exact same moment, He Shuangying pointed his sword-fingers.

"First Kill!"

The first small sword transformed into a streak of light, shooting straight for Jiang Mu!

Fast!

Too fast!

Jiang Mu had no time to swing his saber. His mind raced, and he instantly swapped places with the distant Demon Shadow.

"SHNK!"

The Flying Sword pierced the afterimage he left behind and buried itself in a large boulder, which exploded into a cloud of stone dust.

Jiang Mu had just succeeded in his Instant Teleportation, only to see with horror that the surrounding Sword Array had followed him.

"Second Kill!"

The second small sword shot out, its trajectory erratic, sealing off all of Jiang Mu’s escape angles.

This time, Jiang Mu couldn’t dodge.

Because after every Instant Teleportation, he had to summon the Demon Shadow again.

Even though the time required was extremely short, it gave the Flying Sword an opening.

SHHH!

The small sword struck Jiang Mu’s chest—

A faint golden barrier of light suddenly appeared, blocking the sword’s tip.

He Shuangying was stunned for a moment, then his eyes widened in fury. "A Protective Talisman?! You son of a—"

He Shuangying nearly coughed up blood.

’How does this kid still have a Protective Talisman?’

Jiang Mu secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

’The Protective Talisman from Ran Qingshan, after being modified by Demonic Qi, can block nine Fifth Realm attacks. I already used it four times against the Snake Demon handmaiden.’

’I was originally saving it for Huang Dalang, but I didn’t expect to use it here.’

"Third Kill!"

The third Flying Sword whistled through the air.

By now, Jiang Mu had finally caught his breath. He used Instant Teleportation again, narrowly avoiding the strike.

"Fourth Kill!"

"Fifth Kill!"

He Shuangying had gone completely insane, launching one attack after another. His ability could only control two swords at once, at most.

In the instant after his opponent’s Instant Teleportation, one sword from the left and one from the right struck Jiang Mu almost simultaneously!

CLANG! CLANG!

The golden light barrier shuddered violently twice, but still held.

The veins on He Shuangying’s temples bulged, and blood trickled from the corner of his mouth again. But he gritted his teeth and sneered, "A Protective Talisman is good for three blocks at most! Let’s see how many more you can take?!"

"Sixth Kill!"

Having caught his breath, Jiang Mu once again used Instant Teleportation to dodge the sixth Flying Sword.

"Seventh Kill!"

He Shuangying ground his teeth and unleashed the final Flying Sword.

The sword’s momentum was as heavy as a mountain. It came crashing down and struck Jiang Mu squarely.

The result?

The Protective Talisman blocked it again!

Watching this, He Shuangying was overcome with rage and anxiety. Coupled with the backlash from his Divine Ability, he tilted his head back and violently spat out a huge mouthful of blood.

"You monster! You’re a monster!!"

He completely lost his mind.

’Just how many Protective Talismans is this guy carrying?! Who gave them to him?!’

"Are you done?"

Seeing the protective Sword Aura and Spiritual Qi around his opponent begin to dissipate, Jiang Mu’s eyes grew cold. "You’ve tried to kill me so many times. Now... it’s my turn!"

Jiang Mu raised his saber and charged.

His Divine Ability exhausted, He Shuangying was now incredibly weak. How could he dare to continue the fight?

He let out a strange cry and turned to flee.

But in the next moment, Jiang Mu appeared out of thin air in front of him, the blade of his saber resting on his neck.

He Shuangying’s body froze, his eyes filling with despair and pleading.

"No... you can’t kill me..."

"I’m the young master of the Divine Sword Sect... If you kill me, my father, my grandfather... the entire Divine Sword Sect will never let you go!"

"You’re an official of the Demon-slaying Bureau, you should arrest me and take me back..."

Jiang Mu sighed.

"Young Master He, do you think I want to kill you?"

"I once had a dream. In the dream, Heaven itself had clearly granted me the position of a true Star Official. But when I woke up, I found you had stolen it."

"From that day on, I swore an oath. What belongs to me, I will take back with my own hands!"

Hearing this, He Shuangying almost coughed up another mouthful of blood.

’Son of a bitch!!’

’How can you be so shameless!’

He wanted to say more—

SWISH!

Jiang Mu didn’t give him any more time to blabber. With a swift motion, his saber fell.

A flash of blood-red light.

A head—its expression frozen in a look of shock, indignation, and utter absurdity—flew high into the air.

Blood sprayed like a fountain.

He Shuangying, dead.

In the instant that He Shuangying’s life was extinguished,

The sky suddenly darkened for a moment.

Jiang Mu sensed something and abruptly looked up.

Immediately after, a beam of faint blue starlight was drawn out from He Shuangying’s headless corpse and shot straight toward the heavens.

But the next second, the starlight seemed to be pulled by some unseen force.

It abruptly turned back and, like a sacred blessing pouring down, crashed over Jiang Mu!

The Earth Concealing Star has returned to its rightful place!