Chapter 1157: Book 12: Chapter 97: Sword Heavenly Path

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Deprived of her spiritual power in this place, Lily had no choice but to rely solely on her blade to slay her enemies and her limbs to evade and disrupt their advances. Surrounded by countless formidable foes, she found herself in a desperate situation.

Yet, Lily entered a trance-like state, fueled entirely by searing rage.

“Yoruko… Yoruko… Yoruko!” the name echoed in her mind.

Encircled by demons who were masters of the blade, Lily’s sole focus was fixed on the distant end of Hyakki Street. Her crimson eyes burned like embers, her scarlet sleeves billowed like flames, and her silver blade gleamed ominously in the dim light!

Devoid of her Hazy Lunar Force, Lily seemed to revert to her primal self—a Demon Sword Maiden, born solely to kill.

‘How can I fall here? How can I stop now? Madam Yoruko hasn’t been killed—she’s been taken to those who enforce the rules of Hyakki Street. I must reach the end at all costs!’ Lily’s thoughts burned with an unshakable resolve.

“Stand aside, or die!” Lily roared.

As she cut down one Sword Demon, blades from all directions came crashing toward her. Ducking low, she raised her weapon to block the onslaught before leaping forward, her blade slicing through another demon’s attack.

Two blades crashed into the ground just behind her heels as Lily slid beneath a demon, rolled smoothly, and lashed out with both legs, toppling him. The motion disrupted the other demons’ advance. Rising halfway, she swung her blade above her head with instinctive precision, without even looking.

Her blade severed a massive, sword-wielding hand in a single strike. As she turned, her long black hair fell across her face, leaving only her glowing crimson eyes visible—pulsing with such killing intent that even the demons recoiled.

Two demons instinctively stepped back. The more skilled they were in swordsmanship, the more acutely they sensed the mortal danger before them.

“We can’t run! Fleeing would defy the rules of Hyakki Street!”

“Then kill her! All at once—kill this woman!”

With several of their comrades already slain, the Hundred Sword Demons descended into a frenzy, screaming as they charged at Lily with reckless abandon.

Despite her burning rage, Lily’s mind was unnervingly calm. Amidst the torrent of blades, she moved with surgical precision, evading with ease and countering lethally. Each opportunity revealed itself seamlessly, one after another.

In that moment, it felt as though she was born for this—born to fight, to survive, to kill.

“Die!” Two blades narrowly grazed Lily’s chest and back as she spun, slicing through her garments. Yet, she countered with blinding speed, her blade striking with deadly precision. ŕ�

A demon’s head separated cleanly from its body. Lily released her sword with one hand, her fingers brushing her waist, summoning Yasutsuna into her grasp.

Crouching low, she spun like a crimson whirlwind, her dual blades sweeping outward like deadly wings, cutting through everything in her path.

The surrounding demons fell, their bodies cleaved apart in the maelstrom. “To me, the rules of Hyakki Street are meaningless! Get out of my way! I won’t kill anyone who runs—leave now, or die!”

Her warning was met with a fresh wave of attacks. Lily moved like a tempest, her twin blades carving through a hulking Corpse Demon in her path, reducing it to nothing but pieces.

“Kill her! If we don’t, Yomi will punish us all! How can the Hundred Sword Demons be defeated by one woman?” screamed an elderly demon with white hair and ashen skin from the distance.

A powerful kick struck Lily from behind, propelling her forward.

Without the protection of her spiritual defenses, the kick’s force was far greater than usual. However, Lily’s body, resilient as that of a Supreme God, absorbed the impact with minimal damage as she was hurled forward.

As she stumbled forward, a blade slashed across her arm, leaving a deep wound. Had it not been for her godlike resilience, an attack of this magnitude would have severed the arm of even a Celestial Stage expert.

Blood dripped from the wound on her arm, but Lily spun sharply, her blades carving through the air like a deadly whirlwind.

In one swift motion, two demons were dismembered, their bodies collapsing to the ground.

Lily rolled and slammed into a nearby wall. Her powerful regenerative abilities worked quickly, the wound on her arm already beginning to close. But there were too many enemies—each attack chipped away at her stamina. If this continued, death seemed inevitable.

With a forceful kick against the collapsed stone wall, Lily launched herself back into the fray.

The demons’ relentless attacks reduced the rubble to fine dust. Through the swirling haze, only flashes of crimson and silver light were visible.

Agonized howls echoed through the street as black blood splattered in every direction.

Initially, Lily had only intended to repel her attackers, countering those who struck first. She understood that these demons bore her no personal grudge, bound instead by the rigid rules of Hyakki Street.

But this approach left her overwhelmed, surrounded on all sides and trapped in a defensive stance. Despite her skill, she was still just one person—how long could her body endure such relentless assaults?

Realizing the futility of her passivity, Lily made a decisive choice—she would attack!

Escape was only possible if she eliminated them all. Running would still break the rules of Hyakki Street, sealing her fate regardless.

“If you walk Hyakki Street after midnight, you must accept your fate—that applies to all of us!”

Her resolve crystallized: Kill or be killed.

In that moment, Lily felt something ancient stir deep within her soul, awakening from a long slumber.

“Perhaps, I was destined to fight from the very beginning. But for whom do I fight? Who am I?”

Her icy blades became instruments of carnage, cutting through the horde of demons with merciless precision as she surged forward.

“This doesn’t matter! If I don’t fight, how can I possibly survive? If I die, does it even matter who I am? If I don’t fight, who will protect the ones I love?”

In that instant, Lily felt her weapons meld with her very soul, becoming extensions of her will.

The world around her blurred into a foggy haze. Everything faded into obscurity except for her swords and the precise movements of her enemies. In the clarity of combat, nothing else mattered.

Lily began to grasp that swordsmanship was more than just technique—it was a state of mind. The right mentality could amplify her strength far beyond its limits.

She realized that mastering swordsmanship was akin to mastering Lunar Force or Charm Intent; each could significantly enhance her power. But unlike the others, which fortified her body, swordsmanship was channeled solely through her blade—purely as a means to kill.

It existed for one purpose—to kill.

The clash of steel rang out as Oborozuki Muramasa glowed with newfound strength, sharpened by Lily’s evolving comprehension of swordsmanship. With each strike, she shattered the blades of demons revered as swordsmanship prodigies.

Both Oborozuki Muramasa and Yasutsuna seemed to grow sharper, imbued with the depth of her newfound understanding.

In Hyakki Street, spiritual powers and spells were rendered useless—only swordsmanship held sway.

While Lily’s strength far surpassed that of the demons, her swordsmanship had always lagged behind.

Through countless battles, she had developed a profound understanding of swordsmanship, though she had yet to establish a complete Path. Now, in this moment of clarity, everything fell into place—she was fully awakened.

At last, her understanding of swordsmanship had advanced to the foundational stage of the Sword Heavenly Path.

Though this level was only average among the Hundred Sword Demons, her inherent strength made her superior. In that instant, the gap between them widened dramatically.

As one demon after another fell, Lily’s movements became more frenzied, her blade swinging with relentless precision.

Another demon fell to her blade in a clean, lethal stroke.

Lily instinctively prepared for another counterattack, but as her crimson gaze swept the battlefield, she realized no opponents remained. The ground was littered with the broken bodies of demons and fragments of their shattered weapons.

"Huff… Huff…" Panting heavily, Lily’s body was drenched in sweat, demon blood, and the remnants of her tattered clothing.

It was only now that Lily felt the depth of her exhaustion—her stamina was completely drained. She used Yasutsuna to steady herself, sinking to one knee as her head bowed in exhaustion.

A sudden chill coursed through her body. Lily raised her head abruptly, her eyes locking onto a figure standing in the distance.

“Well done. I never imagined anyone could nearly annihilate the Hundred Sword Demons—beings no one dares challenge on Hyakki Street after midnight. And yet, here I stand—the last one.”

The figure was a tall, striking man with an almost human appearance. Only his golden horns and ashen skin marked him as something otherworldly.

In his hand, a sword radiated an unsettling, otherworldly aura.

“Come, woman. I am the leader of the Hundred Sword Demons,” the towering man declared. Lily steadied herself, gripping Oborozuki Muramasa tightly as she prepared to face the self-proclaimed leader.

“I’ll admit it—you’re stronger than me, and your swordsmanship surpasses mine. If you were a man, I’d already have lost. But alas, you’re a woman,” he sneered, locking eyes with Lily. His pupils shimmered, swirling with an unnatural, hypnotic pattern.

“Ah!” Lily gasped as her surroundings darkened. Her field of vision constricted until all she could see was the grotesque, swirling pupils of his eyes, looming unnaturally large before her.

“This… this is a pupil technique. But how? I thought no spells or techniques could be used here!” Lily murmured in shock.

“You misunderstand,” he said with a mocking grin. “Spells cannot be cast here, true. But I’m not casting anything—I’m simply reflecting your own desires back at you. And to think, they’re this overwhelming. Such a shame to waste your talent on swordsmanship. You’re nothing more than a harlot.”

“You b̲a̲s̲t̲a̲r̲d̲…” Lily growled through gritted teeth, her body betraying her. An uncontrollable heat surged through her, leaving her drenched in sweat and trembling as her strength faltered.

“Die!” he roared, charging toward her. “Every woman in Hyakki Street longs for me, would gladly die at my feet! But I desire none of them. You, too, are unworthy of the Sword Heavenly Path, harlot!”

Weakened and disoriented, Lily barely registered the man’s form blurring into motion. In an instant, his blade was slicing through the air toward her.

Lily’s eyes narrowed, her resolve hardening. The turmoil within her body no longer mattered. Facing this deceitful, vile man—regardless of his looks—she felt only unbridled disdain.

With a surge of defiance, Lily swung Oborozuki Muramasa in a decisive downward arc as she rose to meet him.

Her strike, fueled by raw fury and disdain, carried immense power. It cleaved through the man, his blade, and even split the unyielding ground beneath him.

The blade’s force tore through the impenetrable surface of Hyakki Street, leaving a deep, jagged fissure stretching for dozens of meters.

The remnants of his shattered blade clattered to the ground. Blood poured from his bifurcated form as both halves of his body collapsed lifelessly1.

Lily’s trembling hands betrayed her as she tried to sheath her sword, repeatedly missing the scabbard. With effort, she steadied herself, adjusted her grip, and finally slid the blade home, shaking her head to clear her fogged vision.

Clutching the remnants of her tattered skirt, Lily staggered forward, her body wracked with unrelenting sensations that threatened to rob her of her ability to continue.

Her legs gave out beneath her, forcing her to collapse against a nearby wall and slump to the ground.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

“I can’t… go any further… for now,” she whispered, activating her Charm Intent to suppress the overwhelming sensations. It was a temporary fix, a ticking time bomb of unresolved energy, but survival demanded her immediate focus.

Just then, the lanterns lining Hyakki Street flickered to life, illuminating one by one in an eerie procession.

The street came alive with the unsettling cacophony of demon cries and bestial howls echoing from every direction.

Dawn had arrived.