Chapter 37: The Collapse Like a Mountain Avalanche

On the combat stage, Sun Hongshan felt his mind completely descend into chaos.

After all the plotting, calculation, and traps laid by his uncle Sun Dehai and himself, it turned out that in the end, the enemy had seen through everything long ago and had even set traps in advance, waiting for the uncle and nephew to walk right into them.

Everything was profoundly shocking.

For a moment, he found it impossible to accept.

However, Sun Hongshan was the deputy captain of Team One, having stood firm in the Special Operations Group and survived the jianghu for so long. He quickly managed to calm himself down. Glancing beneath the stage, he saw Xuan Yuan Du who had suddenly appeared, Sun Dehai who was being blocked by Shen Shiping, and the expression of an old fox whose cunning scheme had succeeded on Shen Shiping's face. He knew full well that he had fallen into a desperate plight.

He took a deep breath. "When an army is defeated, it collapses like a falling mountain; even among the survivors, there is no way out. Not every loser dies, for the future can bring boundless wealth."

Sun Hongshan was thirty-eight years old. During his youth, it happened to be the golden age of martial arts novels. Back then, he had read a great number of them. Later on, as the genre declined, he had almost despaired of finding good books to read. Fortunately, at that time, a comic book titled *The Ravages of Time* appeared in Hong Kong.

This was a manhua centered on the Three Kingdoms era. The entire work was full of dramatic twists and turns, featuring the Eight Geniuses of Water Mirror matching wits and strategies—truly a masterpiece of a book.

Within its pages, there were countless brilliant and exceptionally talented characters.

It contained all kinds of classic lines.

"Are you a fish, a bird, or an insect? A butterfly or a locust, who can tell? A commander, a general, or a mere foot soldier? A hero simply waits for the hour of his renown."

"What is human destiny? Destined by the heavens... forged by oneself... No! Human destiny is singular—death! Death is not terrifying. The purpose of a human birth is to step by step march toward death. What is truly terrifying is what, precisely, you have done... between life and death?"

"The power of a rebellious force is fiercer than anything else! It pushes the giant wheel of destiny to spin wildly, crushing the obstacles on the path of kings, purging the stagnant blood, and breeding chaos. Only then do people realize what is truly precious! Child, let Dong use his life and blood... use his might and tyranny... to march toward a new era! To create a new era! I see... I see... a blood-red path of kings!"

"What is life? Have you ever sighed over it? Old age, sickness, and death, perhaps. No, I ask of a warrior's life? My old man said before: Enlisting in the army at fifteen, returning only at eighty. Returning? That would be coming home wrapped in a horse's hide. Should you win, endless wars still await you. Should you lose, the families of the dead curse you, and military law punishes you. Should you flinch in battle, history books will certainly condemn you, leaving your descendants unable to hold their heads high for a lifetime. If by fortune you do not die at eighty, watching the younger generation slaughter the enemy on the battlefield while you lack the strength despite your heart's desire—that is far more difficult to bear than death. Such is the helplessness and absurdity of a warrior's life. Since you have chosen this path, there is no room for regret."

Among all these magnificent lines, Sun Hongshan inexplicably grew very fond of one particular phrase: "When an army is defeated, it collapses like a falling mountain; even among the survivors, there is no way out. Not every loser dies, for the future can bring boundless wealth."

This line was used to describe the Remnants, an organization within the manhua.

Sun Hongshan did not know why he liked this sentence.

Whenever he had free time in the past, he would write it down.

He had even once hung his calligraphy of these words in his study.

And now, he finally understood why he had grown to like such words.

Because at this very moment, he had stumbled into this exact predicament.

When an army is defeated, it collapses like a falling mountain; even among the survivors, there is no way out.

Not every loser dies, for the future can bring boundless wealth.

However, this did not frighten Sun Hongshan into cowardice.

Instead, a fierce surge of defiance erupted within him at this moment.

He could feel boiling hot blood surging through his entire body.

"Shen! Ye!" he ground out through clenched teeth. "Right now, I am indeed driven into a desperate situation where even among the survivors, there is no way out. But this is precisely what allows my power to burst forth. We have signed a pact of life and death, so let it be me who cuts you down. I shall take your head and build my own career."

With that, Sun Hongshan unleashed his full power.

His hands gripped the twin Flame Tribulation Swords.

He charged directly toward Shen Ye.

When the distance between them closed to one and a half meters, the twin Flame Tribulation Swords had already cleared their scabbards, slashing directly at Shen Ye.

The twin swords burned like fire, radiating intense heat.

The blades were fire; the momentum was fire.

At this moment, a fierce indomitable spirit sustained him.

Right now, he was performing well beyond his normal limits.

Holding the Tiger Zen Saber, Shen Ye awaited Sun Hongshan's arrival. The moment Sun Hongshan drew his swords, Shen Ye also unsheathed his blade.

Clang!

The Tiger Zen Saber struck precisely against Sun Hongshan's twin swords without a fraction of error.

Two massive forces fiercely collided against one another.

Sun Hongshan's initial plan was to attack Shen Ye with both swords. As long as Shen Ye parried, one of his swords would intercept Shen Ye's blade while the other would strike directly at Shen Ye's undefended center. This was the inherent advantage of wielding two swords against one.

Sun Hongshan was well aware that Shen Ye's saber technique was likely the Bloody Battle Across Eight Directions style passed down by Shen Shiping, which included a twin-blade stance. However, Shen Ye's scabbard was made of wood and utterly incapable of withstanding the extreme heat of his twin Flame Tribulation Swords, meaning Shen Ye temporarily had only a single weapon—the Tiger Zen Saber—at his disposal.

However!

The instant the blade met the twin swords, Sun Hongshan felt a force surpassing all imagination instantly shatter his offensive momentum. *How is this possible! How could this strength be so immense! This is no longer the middle stage of the fifth rank! This is the peak of the fifth rank!*

*Shen Ye is so young! How could he possibly possess the strength of the fifth rank's peak?!*

While Sun Hongshan was lost in shock, that single saber swept toward him once more, carrying a dark, gloomy radiance.

A single strike to cleave floating clouds!

Sun Hongshan wanted to parry with a single-handed sword grip, but recalling the terrifying force contained in that previous blow, he could not help drawing a sharp breath, hurriedly using both hands to grip the twin Flame Tribulation Swords for defense.

Yet!

Another tremendous wave of force transmitted through the dark Tiger Zen Saber, causing the webbing between his thumb and forefinger to ache fiercely while involuntarily forcing his figure backward. Seizing the moment, Sun Hongshan flicked his wrists, shooting out a dozen or so hidden weapons while simultaneously widening the distance to prevent Shen Ye from pressing his advantage, thereby buying himself a breathing window.

The combat stage had a total length of ten meters.

The distance between Shen Ye and Sun Hongshan was now separated by a full seven meters.

Holding the Tiger Zen Saber, Shen Ye looked at him and said, "Do you know why I didn't seize the opportunity to attack you earlier, when you realized you had walked into a trap and were panicking inside?"

"Because I am far stronger than you. I can completely crush you even at your absolute strongest," Shen Ye said, holding his saber with supreme confidence.

...

"Crush me? Hahahaha." Sun Hongshan burst into loud laughter. "You are finally forcing out my true killing move."

"Shen Ye, prepare to face your judgment. Let me carve out a path of survival right here in the midst of a dead end." Sun Hongshan adjusted his stance slightly, put strength into his legs, and lunged straight toward Shen Ye.

However, before reaching Shen Ye's side, something suddenly sprang from his sleeve, colliding directly against the twin Flame Tribulation Swords.

Hiss!

In an instant, billowing clouds of water mist instantly rose.

Water meeting extreme heat transformed into vapor.

Within moments, the entire stage was shrouded in dense steam.

Amidst the white vapor, three white figures suddenly seemed to appear out of nowhere.

Which one of them was truly Sun Hongshan?

This was Sun Hongshan's genuine hidden trump card, known as the Crimson Flame Style.

The intense heat of the twin Flame Tribulation Swords was not only meant for injuring enemies but could also generate water vapor at critical moments.

Naturally, the two puppet dolls he had purchased from Fusang were also part of a unique technique.

The moment Shen Ye made the wrong judgment would be Sun Hongshan's ultimate opportunity.