The pitch-black iron sword wailed in Zhang Shan’s grip for a moment before finally falling silent.
“Truly like a living thing… How bizarre.”
Seeing that the black sword had ceased reacting, Zhang Shan casually tossed the remaining half onto the ground.
Old Lü glanced back, scratching the bloody marks on his belly as he asked, “Little Four-Eyes, you alright?”
“I’m fine, Old Lü,” Little Four-Eyes replied, adjusting his glasses. “You saved me. I’ll find a way to repay you.”
“What nonsense—I didn’t save you. Thank Zhang Shan instead.”
Old Lü gave him a once-over, confirming he was unharmed, then turned back to Zhang Shan.
“Zhang Shan, what do we do now? This situation’s pretty damn tricky, ain’t it?”
“What’s so tricky about it?” Zhang Shan chuckled. “I’ll go talk to them. If they refuse to listen, I won’t mind knocking them flat.”
As he spoke, Zhang Shan strode forward, with Old Lü and Little Four-Eyes following closely behind.
Han Yimo, seeing the three figures approaching in the distance, tugged at Dr. Zhao’s sleeve.
“Hey… D-did I see that right just now? That guy caught the ‘Seven Black Sword’ and then snapped it in half on the ground.”
Dr. Zhao shook his groggy head and squinted into the distance. “N-no way… That sword just cut down several ‘Echoers’ with ease. If it could be broken, it would’ve snapped long ago…”
“But I really think I saw it…” Han Yimo muttered blankly. “My sword is gone…”
“Stop standing there like an idiot…” Dr. Zhao snapped. “We’ve already spilled blood—there’s no backing out now. Summon another one!”
Han Yimo nodded, then closed his eyes and murmured, “With so many wicked souls in this city… why does the ‘Seven Black Sword’ refuse to judge them?”
As soon as the words left his lips, Han Yimo felt a wave of dizziness—his mind was clearly overtaxed. When he looked up again, the distant sky answered his call with a gust of wind.
Zhang Shan glanced upward, finding the situation increasingly perplexing.
Every person’s “Echo” had a fixed ability, but summoning a flying sword—what kind of power was that?
“Hey!” Zhang Shan bellowed. “You over there! Call off your ‘Echo’ and come talk to me!”
Only then did Han Yimo and Dr. Zhao vaguely recognize the approaching figure as Zhang Shan. As one of the leaders of “Paradise’s Edge,” his sheer presence alone was enough to unsettle them.
“Z-Zhang Shan!” Han Yimo shouted hoarsely. “I’d advise you to stop right there! Stay where you are and wait for death!”
Dr. Zhao yanked his sleeve. “What the hell are you saying…?”
“We’ve already started killing!” Han Yimo pointed at the nearby corpses. “These people were all from ‘Paradise’s Edge’! You think Zhang Shan’s just gonna let us walk away?”
“But…!” Dr. Zhao said grimly, “Chu Tianqiu told me Zhang Shan has ‘Heaven’s Vigor’! Your sword can’t touch him!”
“What ‘Heaven’s Vigor’…” Han Yimo gritted his teeth. “Chu Tianqiu’s the one who ordered us to kill for him. If anything goes wrong, he’ll take responsibility.”
“That’s the problem!!” Dr. Zhao hissed. “Chu Tianqiu wants us to be his ‘guns,’ but we still need to protect ourselves! Someone like Zhang Shan isn’t an enemy we can recklessly provoke. Call back the ‘Seven Black Sword’—let’s talk to him first! Otherwise, if he really loses his temper, he might just kill us both right here!”
Han Yimo gave a bitter smile. “But have you forgotten…? The ‘Seven Black Sword’ doesn’t obey me…”
No sooner had he spoken than the iron sword in the sky descended, circling once before leveling its tip at Zhang Shan and the others.
“Well, shit.” Zhang Shan smirked at the hovering black sword. “Things just keep getting weirder. You won’t even talk to me? You really just want us dead?”
Without hesitation, the black iron sword shot toward Little Four-Eyes behind Zhang Shan and Old Lü. At the same time, Dr. Zhao dashed toward the corpse of a nearby woman.
Zhang Shan’s expression darkened as he watched the sword hurtle toward him with a piercing whistle.
He took a deep breath, raising his arms—thick as iron pillars—ready to meet the strike head-on. But then, like rotted wood, the sword crumbled mid-flight, dissolving into black dust that scattered on the breeze.
“Oh…?” Zhang Shan frowned, shielding his eyes from the dust. “Interesting.”
“Zhang Shan!” Dr. Zhao shouted. “We… we didn’t mean to attack you!”
“Ha…” Zhang Shan chuckled, continuing his steady advance. “You didn’t attack me just because I’m Zhang Shan?”
“…”
“Others weren’t Zhang Shan, so they died by your sword. But I am Zhang Shan, so you don’t dare fight me. Yet we’ve got no history—so you’re just afraid of my power?” His aura radiated menace, unsettling the two men.
“We were following orders,” Dr. Zhao said. “Killing us won’t change anything. We’re just pawns.”
“You think ‘following orders’ excuses all these deaths?” Zhang Shan spat on the ground. “Damn it, these people barely survived the deadly ‘Pegasus Hour,’ only to come back to ‘Paradise’s Edge’ for shelter—and you bastards were waiting here with a sword, slaughtering everyone in sight… What kind of sense does that make? If you can’t give me a good reason today, you’ll be joining them.”
“Wait!!” Dr. Zhao waved his hands frantically. “We really were acting on orders! Chu Tianqiu told us to do this!!”
“Chu…”
The name sent a ripple of tension through not just Zhang Shan, but Old Lü and Little Four-Eyes as well.
“That kid Chu?” Old Lü blinked. “Last time, I didn’t have my ‘Echo,’ so I don’t remember much, but wasn’t he our leader?”
Little Four-Eyes lowered his head in thought. Like Old Lü, he lacked retained memories, making it hard to judge the truth of the claim.
Zhang Shan, however, shook his head dismissively. “Too bad I don’t buy it. Chu Tianqiu’s the person I trust most here. That lie’s way too far-fetched.”
“It’s true!” Dr. Zhao insisted. “Zhang Shan, do you think we’ve got a death wish? This is ‘Paradise’s Edge’ territory—neither of us is bold enough to kill people here without reason!”
Zhang Shan sneered. “If anything, this sounds more like orders from your leader, Qi Xia, than Chu Tianqiu’s.”
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