More than ten shadows swarmed forward.

Gu Shen held the Ruler of Truth tightly, staring intently at the darkness in front of him. The strength of the Ruler of Truth depended on the user’s mental power, and in his current state, it was still unknown if the domain he set up could resist this level of impact.

These shadows seemed to have a heavier mass than ordinary people. As they charged forward, the ground trembled, and mud and dust flew everywhere. Gu Shen, who was leaning against the stone wall, felt obvious vibrations.

He looked nervously at the silver threads. Can they hold on?

Buzz!

It was no longer a silent slicing but a faint hum. The moment the shadows poured into the silver thread domain, Gu Shen felt a sharp increase in the consumption of his mental power, and the pain in the back of his head was like an iron spike being driven in.

One of the tightly stretched silver threads snapped.

Snapping sounds rang out continuously as the silver threads broke one after another. Under the illumination of the Blazing Fire, the broken silver threads reflected a cool, snow-white glow.

The eight tall shadows at the front were cut apart by invisible sharpness.

Breaking through the silver thread domain came at a cost.

“It’s… silver threads!” Qu Shui saw Gu Shen’s method clearly this time.

In the narrow cave, countless silver threads were densely suspended in the air. These threads were thinner than a strand of hair yet as taut as blades. They would slice through anything upon contact, let alone when these shadows charged into them at full speed.

The girl’s expression was gloomy.

She didn’t expect the usually gentle and refined Dr. Gu would actually be so vicious when he fought.

First, he had used silver arrows to attack her, then he had set up this web of killing threads. If she had approached immediately… she might have already been decapitated.

“Capture him alive.”

After Qu Shui regained her composure, she issued this command coldly and slowly retreated. She stood outside the cave, distancing herself from the battle, watching the situation unfold inside with a detached gaze. Since she had already understood Gu Shen’s method, there was nothing more to worry about. Now, it was merely a tug-of-war.

She had painstakingly collected a sufficient number of shadows!

Unfortunately, once these shadows condensed into physical form and were cut into pieces, they could not be revived.

However… this loss was nothing.

It would be great if she could cut out Gu Shen’s shadow. His shadow was more valuable than all the others combined. Perhaps she could even cut off that beautiful flame between his eyebrows and take it for herself.

…

She’s calmed down. Now, she wants to drag this out with me.

When Gu Shen saw Qu Shui slowly retreat from the cave, his expression didn’t change.

It was within his expectations.

Enraging her was to maximize the number of shadows he could kill while the silver thread domain still existed!

His greatest worry was that the Ruler of Truth couldn’t withstand the impact. But the situation was clearly better than he had expected. Half of the silver thread domain had been destroyed by the shadows’ onslaught, but it had also eliminated eight of them.

These shadows didn’t possess any additional attributes. They only retained the ‘strength’ of the original hosts without any characteristics such as burning or corrosion.

In that case, they were just like moving wooden figures.

Gu Shen closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Silver threads, withdraw!

The Ruler of Truth vibrated and emitted another furious howl. The silver threads shattered into flying fragments, and these mental power fragments of light didn’t dissipate in the air but gathered like a tornado, rapidly gathering toward the base of Gu Shen’s outstretched hand.

Gu Shen visualized in his mind the sight of when Nan Jin had attacked him with her saber across the rooftops.

He needed a blade.

A very, very sharp blade that could cut through everything.

Boom! Boom!

A gust of wind swept over, and Gu Shen opened his eyes. There was no fear in his pupils, only utmost calmness. At this moment, his eyes only had one thing in them.

It was a tall shadow nearly two meters tall, more robust and majestic than the other shadows. It crouched low, smashing a piece of rubble, and charged at Gu Shen like a wild beast with a violent momentum and a silent roar.

The shadow occupied all of Gu Shen’s vision.

The next moment, his vision was occupied by a bright and dazzling blade light.

The ruler in Gu Shen’s hands was filled with pure white light as it condensed into a slender Tang Saber. The blade was narrow and straight, with a small guard and a long hilt, and exuded a faint chill.

He stepped forward and swung the saber, executing the technique he had painstakingly practiced for fifteen days under Nan Jin’s guidance in the underground training ground.

He had practiced diligently more than ten thousand times every day.

All for this one strike.

Though he hadn’t used it in the assessment, it would serve its purpose today.

The moment the lithe saber cut through the air, it was as though it had pierced into a still lake. With every degree the blade descended, the air shattered like water, forcefully stirring up thousands of shimmering silver lights. The space in front of the tip of the blade was like a collapsed water vortex.

In an instant, the forehead of the shadow collapsed as though it had plunged into a meat grinder. The next moment, the entire black head was shredded into pieces by the water-like vortex wrapped around the blade’s tip. The tearing sound was like a piece of fabric ripping apart. This was only the tip of Gu Shen’s saber halfway through his slash. He half-knelt and exerted every ounce of his strength to complete the slash!

This sharp radiance illuminated the entire pitch-black cave with a brilliant silver light.

The powerful saber astral tornado howled as it surged forward. In the cramped terrain, this slash unleashed 120% of its lethality. The other shadows scattered on both sides were swept up by the tornado and instantly minced into pieces without exception.

Boom!

Late at night in River Shoal, it was as if a water dragon had roared.

The boundless river water surged out and exploded, shooting up a massive water pillar.

Then everything returned to silence in merely a moment.

Scattered water droplets fell down.

The long night remained dark and silent.

Qu Shui stood dazed outside the cave, straining to see what was happening inside. But she couldn’t see anything. Her vision, already blurred by blood, was further blinded by the white flash of light just now, leaving her in complete darkness.

A buzzing sound echoed incessantly in her ears.

“Don’t move.” A calm yet exhausted voice sounded in front of her.

She shuddered instinctively as she felt a sharp pain from her neck.

As her vision gradually returned, she saw the scene in front of her clearly. The tip of a slender silver saber was pressed against her neck.

The person holding the saber was Gu Shen.

Qu Shui had yet to recover from the shock from the slash just now and still looked confused and dazed.

Gu Shen held the silver saber expressionlessly and stared intently at the girl. He could understand the shock on her face. Even he himself was amazed by the effect of that strike.

The materialization power of the Ruler of Truth seemed to be even more formidable than he had imagined.

However, the consumption of this slash was equally immense.

After delivering this slash, he was completely spent, like a burnt out candle. If he had used his trump card from the beginning before completely killing off the shadows, then he… would probably have been finished as well.

It took Qu Shui a long time to recover his senses. She laughed self-deprecatingly and asked in a hoarse voice, “Do you… practice the saber?”

Gu Shen shook his head and answered truthfully, “I’ve only practiced for fifteen days and merely learned a little.”