Chapter 19: Granting Your Wish—In Your Dreams

The burly man had clearly not expected his senior brother to speak so coldly. A flicker of shock crossed his eyes, quickly replaced by resolute determination.

The words left him no room for rebuttal; he clenched his fists tightly, the knuckles cracking audibly.

“Very well,” the burly man said in a deep voice, filled with unyielding resolve, “I want to see which of us is truly stronger.”

In the next instant, he moved like a tiger descending a mountain, spiritual energy surging around him like a bursting river, unstoppable.

His fists collided with a thunderous boom, like lightning crashing to earth. The powerful impact unleashed a storm of force, sweeping away the countless hidden weapons flying toward him like a swarm of locusts. Each projectile traced a silver arc through the air before falling lifelessly to the ground.

Hidden in the shadows, the senior brother watched everything unfold, his expression dark and unsettled, eyes filled with both astonishment and unwillingness to concede.

“How can he still be this strong?” the senior brother thought in alarm. He had assumed that after exhausting his junior brother, the burly man would be utterly drained. Yet here he was, still displaying such formidable power.

“What a waste,” the senior brother muttered bitterly. “He couldn’t even break through his physical defense.” His voice brimmed with anger at his junior brother’s incompetence, but even more so with disappointment in his own plan.

He realized that if things continued this way, he might not be able to leave the burly man alive.

Yet beneath that worry, there was no desire for revenge against his junior brother—only frustration at losing control of the situation and deep concern for his own safety.

With this in mind, the senior brother decided to act. Seizing the moment before the burly man fully recovered, he would strike unexpectedly, aiming to turn the tide of battle.

Holding a gleaming longsword, its tip lightly tapping the ground, he unleashed several fierce sword qi waves like silver dragons surging from the sea, hurtling toward the burly man.

The burly man frowned, suspecting his senior brother was attempting a lethal strike while he was off guard.

But he was mistaken.

The senior brother’s true intent was not to kill directly but to create a smokescreen. He intended to use the swirling dust as cover.

By the time the burly man realized and tried to evade the sudden assault, it was too late.

Soon he was engulfed in rolling dust, his vision obscured, his breath growing labored.

“Not good,” the burly man thought grimly, sensing his senior brother’s cunning and malice.

As he prepared to retreat and find an opening to escape this disadvantage, the senior brother silently slipped up behind him under the veil of dust.

In a flash, the senior brother appeared like a ghost at the burly man’s back, his longsword transforming into a cold gleam, thrusting toward a vital spot.

Shielded by the smoke and acting with great caution, the senior brother’s blade only struck before the burly man could react in pain.

He roared furiously, attempting to retaliate, but the senior brother had already vanished once more into the dust without a trace.

“Seeking death,” the burly man shouted, his voice echoing in the haze, filled with boundless fury and unwillingness.

He drew a heavy, gleaming greatsword from his pouch—a blade sharp and weighty enough to sever any obstacle.

Blindly, he swung the weapon through the dust, each strike accompanied by howling winds, desperate to catch a glimpse of his elusive opponent. But all efforts were as futile as chasing shadows.

His figure flickered within the haze, every attack missing its mark and only stirring up thicker clouds of dust.

Frustrated by the ineffectiveness, his rage intensified. He swung the greatsword violently, attempting to tear the smoke apart and restore clarity.

Where the blade passed, the dust ripped violently asunder.

But just as the haze was about to clear, the senior brother vanished like a phantom, merging seamlessly with the air.

Knowing the burly man’s intent, he would never allow him to succeed so easily.

He used his intimate knowledge of the terrain and precise timing to weave through the dust, appearing only to deliver deadly strikes before slipping away again.

Every attack from the burly man struck only emptiness. Consumed by anger and despair, he was pushed to the brink of madness.

No longer wary of the senior brother’s hidden blades, nor caring about the wounds from several sword strikes already suffered, the burly man chose to risk everything.

He unleashed his ultimate technique—the Dragon and Tiger Roar.

“Roar!”

A deafening bellow echoed like the simultaneous cries of dragon and tiger, a force so powerful it violently scattered the surrounding dust.

As the haze cleared, the senior brother’s figure stood fully revealed, his expression shifting slightly—clearly unprepared for such a mighty secret move.

Without the cover of smoke, the senior brother swiftly dodged aside, attempting once again to create chaos through the environment, hoping to trap the burly man in a clouded fog.

But the burly man had learned his lesson. “Seeking death?” he sneered coldly, planting his back foot firmly.

Like an arrow loosed from a bow, he charged forward, greatsword raised.

The blade flashed like lightning, fierce and relentless, determined to avenge past grievances.

Faced with this sudden onslaught, the senior brother dared not underestimate him. He hurriedly blocked with his sword, striving to intercept the powerful strike.

Yet his sword qi faltered against the burly man’s rock-solid body and razor-sharp greatsword.

Blades clashed, sparks flying, but the senior brother could not halt his advance.

As they closed in, the senior brother grew increasingly uneasy, knowing that at such close quarters, wielding powerful sword techniques risked harming innocents and possibly himself.

Thus, amid the dense forest, sword and blade met in a fierce battle of life and death.

Their confrontation resembled a clash of natural forces, heedless of the surrounding trees, ravaging everything in their path.

Each strike resounded with the crashing of broken wood, branches and leaves scattered like a storm’s fury.

After more than a hundred vigorous exchanges, the forest around them was a wreck—shattered branches and fallen leaves blanketed the ground, the air thick with the scent of wood and earth.

The earth itself bore the brunt of their power, cracked with jagged fissures, as if trembling silently, bearing witness to this breathtaking combat.