The Cunning Treasure Hunter

Chapter 62 Petals of Vengeance

A cunning person.

Valen's presence was enough to make him leave, creating the excuse he needed. Yet, he persistently targeted her.

Who could harbor such hatred toward her?

The people of the Storm Clan?

No.

They raised her to offer as a concubine, not to kill her.

In her short life, the only places she had known were the Storm Clan and the Suncrest Sect.

If the Storm Clan was excluded, then only Suncrest remained.

Did someone from Suncrest Sect hire an assassin from Bloodshadow Pavilion?

Her master Aiden's words came to mind:

— "I refused to give you up, so surely, something fitting as retribution will follow."

The face of Elder Gideon appeared in her thoughts.

At first, she believed he was a kind man.

But now she knew better.

That kindness had been driven by greed, the desire to possess her for himself.

"…Did someone from Suncrest Sect send you?"

"No need for you to know."

"Akrest Clan, perhaps?"

"I said, you don't need to know!"

At that moment, his blade thrust forward with terrifying precision.

The disorienting and elusive footwork of the Shadow Veil Step paired with his strike exuded a menacing chill.

Vera stepped back, lowering her Falling Blossom Sword in a downward arc.

Clang!

The clash of blades rang out as sparks flew.

Vera deliberately didn't brace herself, allowing the force to push her back.

She landed lightly twenty steps away.

However, confronting Kieran's mastery at the peak of the Supreme Realm wasn't simple.

The flickering sword aura distorted the distance between them.

It was only a slight extension of the blade's reach, but the overwhelming internal energy made her hand tingle.

'I can't counter sword aura with mere sword radiance.'

No matter how incomplete his sword aura was, it was still sword aura.

And no matter how refined her sword radiance was, it was still inferior.

Each clash sent vibrations through her hilt, making her hand ache.

"…Fine. If you say I must kill you to live, then so be it."

"You talk too much."

He charged again.

Both Marcus and Ethan couldn't even follow his movements with their eyes.

This was reality.

As talented as Ethan was within Suncrest, he was only seventeen.

He was merely at the first-class level.

Worse, he lacked real combat experience.

Kieran was a warrior of the Akrest Clan.

Even if he wasn't adept at Bloodshadow Pavilion's techniques,

he was a forty-year-old martial artist seasoned by countless battles.

He knew exactly how to kill.

Marcus clenched his fists in frustration.

He had to do something to help Vera.

'There's only one way…!'

A three-man sword formation?

Impossible.

Sword formations relied on the principles of four directions, five elements, six harmonies, or eight trigrams.

They required at least four participants.

That left only one option.

Marcus gritted his teeth.

"Ethan!"

"…What should I do, Senior Brother?"

"Vera lacks stamina. You'll have to carry me."

"What… what are you saying, Senior Brother?"

In that instant, Marcusgathered all his inner energy and launched himself with a powerful step.

The ground beneath him cracked with a thunderous roar.

Boom!

Startled, Kieran shifted his attention from Vera to Marcus.

The Step of Power was a preparatory move for delivering a decisive strike,

used in sword, fist, spear, or palm techniques.

And as its name implied, Marcus's body surged forward with explosive force.

His sword traced chaotic paths in midair—

a display of the Elegant cherry Sword Art's initial forms, the ones he had shown to Vera before.

The Elegant cherry Sword, Wilted Blossoms.

Full Bloom Desire.

It was a technique meant for blossoming flowers yet to bloom.

However, Marcus had already gained insight.

Even with the Elegant cherry Sword, he could now make Cherry blossoms bloom.

Bright red blossoms spread along his sword's path like wildfire.

All he needed was one strike.

A single move to disrupt his opponent's rhythm and create an opening.

He trusted Vera wouldn't miss that opportunity.

"You little…!"

Realizing Marcus's intent, Kieran let out a roar.

Though not as powerful as the Iron Fist Sect's Lion's Roar,

his shout was charged with inner energy.

For a moment, Marcus felt his insides churn.

But he couldn't stop.

If he stopped now, nothing would work.

And he had made a promise to his master.

To protect and shield his junior disciples.

Kieran's short sword slashed violently.

Its movements were swift and linear—

the hallmark of the Soul Slaughter Sword.

Whing!

The strike deflected Marcus's blade, sending his arm upwards.

His chest was wide open.

Seeing this, Kieran decided to rid himself of this nuisance first.

"You dare court death!"

The aura-laden blade shot toward Marcus's exposed chest, aiming to end him.

Before Vera could react…

The blade pierced through Marcus's chest.

"…Urgh."

A short, pained gasp.

Yet even as blood spilled, Marcus didn't forget his duty.

With his remaining strength, he extended his hand and grabbed Kieran's sleeve.

With both eyes wide open, Marcus channeled all his inner energy into his arms.

"Wh-what is this?! Release me, or you'll—"

"—It's too late."

Slash.

In an instant, Kieran's right arm was severed.

Through the mask, his eyes flickered with disbelief.

He had dodged, thinking she was aiming for his neck, but she hadn't.

This cunning girl had gone for the one place she could guarantee a hit.

"You wretched girl!"

Most people are right-handed.

Kieran was no exception.

His attacks relied heavily on his dominant hand, making her strategy painfully effective.

"You… will be killed by me," Vera said, her eyes gleaming.

Those eyes carried the brilliance of stars—

the final light of the Seven Stars of the Big Dipper, the destructive power of North Star's Breaking Light, the star that overturns the heavens.

"Gaaah!"

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In his last desperate struggle, Kieran began condensing his inner energy into his left hand.

The air around him turned cold and sticky, filled with a murderous aura.

A master who could concentrate sword energy into their blade could undoubtedly do the same with their hand.

Light gathered and flickered in his left hand.

It was the Instant Death Palm Technique,

a martial art designed to kill with one strike—an ultimate move crafted for a single decisive blow.

Vera's sword aura was incomplete.

So was Kieran's, but his was still leagues ahead.

Her so-called sword aura was little more than an unstable explosion of raw inner energy.

If it clashed with his, it would undoubtedly shatter.

And with such reckless concentration of energy, she would likely suffer severe internal injuries.

It was at that moment Ethan realized it was his turn to act.

"Where do you think you're aiming that technique, you bastard?!"

He let out a thunderous roar and charged forward.

Under normal circumstances, Kieran would have easily deflected him and returned to strike Vera.

But now, his balance was off, his body frozen from the searing pain of losing an arm, his breath uneven.

And worst of all, those eyes—those terrifying, cold eyes of Vera—had captured his attention for just a moment too long.

Even the greatest master can fall when conditions are stacked against them.

In the end, Kieran couldn't dodge Ethan's blade.

Slash!

Ethan's sword, empowered by the footwork of Hidden Fragrance Step, sliced through Kieran's arm.

Had he struck the wrist, the blow would have been absorbed by the immense energy protecting it.

But Ethan had aimed cleverly just behind it.

"Gaaaah!"

Kieran screamed in agony—a sound so horrific that even Ethan stumbled back in shock.

Yet Vera didn't flinch.

Her mind was cold.

Just as it had been when she killed Darian, her thoughts were ice.

"…They say the martial world is a place where grudges are settled clearly," Vera said quietly.

Kieran, now kneeling in pain and bleeding profusely, looked up at her with trembling eyes.

He hadn't expected this.

He never imagined that after only a month in Suncrest Sect,

this girl's senior brother would sacrifice himself for her.

And that was his downfall.

He had underestimated them.

He dismissed them as mere children at the first-class level, incapable of intervening in his battle with the peak-level Vera.

He believed they wouldn't, or couldn't, interfere.

That was his mistake.

"I will weigh your grudge and take your life as payment," Vera declared.

Her inner energy surged.

The mighty energy of the Black dragon flowed through her meridians, from the tips of her toes to the crown of her head.

For a fleeting moment—

a mere instant—

a true sword aura extended from her Falling Blossom Sword.

It was the Fourth Form of the Nine Heaven Cherry Blossom Sword,

Wild Petal Tempest.

A storm of swirling petals.

Though incomplete, the flickering sword aura combined with crimson Cherry blossoms.

In that split second, Vera drew over a dozen intricate trajectories in the air with her blade.

Each stroke left crimson trails—

a mix of blood and blossoming flowers spreading across the air.

Clang!

In just the time it took to blink a few times,

the flickering sword aura tore through Kieran's body, leaving a massive Cherry blossom imprint on the ground.

Vera never struck for the neck with her first blow.

She slashed his knees, thighs, abdomen, and remaining arm—

only after carving through every part of him did she finally twist her blade and take his head.

He would have suffered in agony until his final breath.