109: Boy from the thorn bushes, Ahe, congratulations, you have crossed the thorn bushes.

Sword shadows intertwined, like a fleeting white colt, a momentary splendor, their speed pushed to the extreme, making their figures like wandering dragons, flickering unpredictably, clashing hundreds of times in an instant!

Clang—

It was another collision of sword and blade.

Inuyama He's forehead was sweating, but Angers opposite him was as calm as if nothing had happened, striking casually, yet each blow made Inuyama He feel a despair like facing a mountain range.

Is it going to end like this?

A peculiar vortex swept over, as if pulling Inuyama He back to those years in the past.

That was World War II, when Sakura ambushed Pearl Harbor in the Lighthouse Nation, and then, from the Lighthouse Nation's General River South Road, tens of thousands of Lighthouse soldiers, commanding mighty ships and cannons, roared in!

That day.

The pride Sakura had accumulated since World War I was undeniably shattered!

And it was that day.

The Eight-Headed Serpent Family, which claimed to be the strongest Half-bloods, was reshuffled. Half-bloods from all over Europe, and even the mysterious East, united and nearly wiped out the entire Eight-Headed Serpent Family!

And of his own family, only he remained as a man...

That year, when the Emperor was defeated, the Sheqi Eight Families took the opportunity to extend their reach into the entertainment industry. As the weakest of the Sheqi Eight Families, they found it difficult to resist, and his eldest sister also died in a street conflict. To prevent a resurgence, their enemies even demanded they hand over the family's sole heir.

That was Inuyama He, himself.

Intense pain struck. People always like to escape painful memories, even the strong are no exception. Inuyama He recalled, his hands and feet trembling. At this moment, he seemed to have transformed back into that weak little boy.

After his eldest sister's death, to protect the family, his second sister voluntarily approached Lighthouse soldiers, offered her body, and became a lowly prostitute, thereby securing the continuation of the Inuyama family...

And at that time, as a young boy, he didn't even dare to go home.

Because every time he returned home, he saw the same scene: two people disheveled, reproducing like savage animals, and his once respected second sister, pressed beneath a Lighthouse colonel, like the most despicable plaything, utterly without dignity...

'I once swore to lead the Inuyama family to the peak of the Sheqi Eight Families, to prevent these tragedies from ever happening again... But at that time, I ultimately retreated.'

'I dared not face it. This cowardice has been buried deep in my heart for many years, like falling into an endless thicket of thorns, where that little boy struggled, yet could never escape...'

Crack—

The ground cracked. Inuyama He gripped the blade tightly. As the memories deepened, he entered a peculiar state.

His veins bulged all over, blood surged, and at the same time, his eyes were bloodshot. He stood in place, holding his long blade, like an Asura crawled out of hell!

'I will not run away again.' he said.

The next moment!

Word Spirit: Moment!

Not enough, too slow! Too slow!

Inside Inuyama He, it was as if a lion roared. The speed of his blade swings became slower and slower, to the point where outsiders could clearly see them, but the aura emanating from his entire body continuously climbed with his slow movements, becoming increasingly sharp!

The power of Word Spirit: Moment also surged with his actions!

Finally.

At a certain moment, Inuyama He felt his body breaking down, and at the same time, he felt himself breaking through some limit, reaching a new height!

Ninth-level Moment! The limit of the divine speed Word Spirit: Moment!

512x Divine Speed Slash!

The boy who had struggled in the thicket of thorns for sixty years finally traversed the thorns at this moment.

A roar!

Like a roar of liberation, and also like the anger from the little boy of yesteryear, Inuyama He let out a lion-like roar, his blade trembled slightly, unleashing a strike that could astonish Time!

Even this famous Sakura blade could not withstand it, reaching the verge of shattering!

The next instant!

Blade light blossomed, like a streaking meteor, a momentary splendor. A powerful blade qi, centered on Inuyama He, expanded in an arc outwards!

Iaijutsu Ultimate Skill!

...Cherry blossoms drifted like a snowstorm from the trees, and the wind blew gently. Inuyama He's full-power strike was like an Asura from hell, letting out a ferocious roar at the world.

Just this one strike!

Time Zero, broken!

For the first time in Angers' life, he was defeated in speed by a Half-blood. Even with Time slowed by five hundred times, that strike still came like a nightmare!

Ninefold Moment!

A strike that almost transcended Time!

Drip... a trace of blood flowed from his cheek, dripping to the ground. Angers looked at the fresh red on his hand, momentarily stunned, then walked towards Inuyama He.

Inuyama He, having unleashed his ultimate strike, now had his bodily functions completely broken down.

He had no strength left to fight.

The only reason he hadn't fallen was to stubbornly maintain the pride in his heart.

He watched Angers approach, closed his eyes, preparing to accept his defeat. However, after a few brief seconds of waiting, a jacket was draped over his shoulders.

Angers patted Inuyama He's shoulder, like a father, Feeling that his child had grown up.

"You have traversed the thorns, A-He, congratulations."

With that,

Angers' muscles bulged all over, like a flood dragon, emanating an overwhelming aura as he walked towards the positions of the other Sheqi Eight Families.

And behind him,

Inuyama He, who had no strength left to fight, stared blankly at his teacher's back, his lips moving, seemingly wanting to say something, but in the end, it concluded in silence... How many years does it take for a person to understand the truths their teacher tells them?

Perhaps an instant in the classroom, perhaps a lifetime.

But at least at this moment,

Inuyama He understood. He had truly transformed from a boy into a man capable of bearing responsibility.

He had received his teacher's approval.

At the same time,

On the other side,

The Sheqi Eight Families learned of Inuyama He's defeat. Angers, the strongest Half-blood in history, was approaching their headquarters!

They quickly mobilized their forces, preparing to encircle Angers!

The Shadow Emperor, Uesugi Etsu, also walked out at the same time. The power of Word Spirit: Black Sun surged through his entire body, and an aura, like a black tide, spread from him... Early March!

The season when cherry blossoms usually bloom had now become a backdrop for bloodthirsty slaughter!

9:15 PM.

Angers and Uesugi Etsu met. Moments later, an earth-shattering battle erupted! Uesugi Etsu's Word Spirit: Black Sun against Angers' Word Spirit: Time Zero!

The two great Word Spirits unleashed unprecedented fluctuations at this moment!

The commotion... even the giant dragons near the Sakura Sea felt it, prostrating themselves on the ground, trembling all over under the influence of this power!

This was a war of the strong!

...[Angers and Uesugi Etsu erupted in fierce battle! At the same time, Lu Mingfei and his group, who had escaped from the submarine, fled to a hotel. The Half-bloods of the Sheqi Eight Families quickly tracked them there.]

[A chaotic battle erupted.]

[And it was in this melee that Lu Mingfei, who had always been an unlucky kid, for the first time had the courage to stand in front of a girl.]

[That girl was named Eriyi.]