Night.
The north wind was fierce, withering all vegetation.
The sword struck, shadows followed, cutting down all that was superfluous.
In the wilderness under the pouring rain, frequent arcs of sparks illuminated each other, vying with lightning and thunder.
Clang clang clang—!!!
What a beautiful scene!
Unfortunately, no one was there to appreciate this splendor.
Bai Zhiyuan poured all her strength into the Ziying Sword, which transformed into a purple lightning bolt, its radiance extending dozens of feet.
Quan Sheng Yixin, wielding a nine-foot spear, danced with formidable power, maximizing the advantage of his attack range. Whenever an afterimage approached, he would pull a surprise from his dimensional pocket to drive them back.
His Japanese iaijutsu seamlessly blended with American iaijutsu, making it genuinely difficult for Bai Zhiyuan to get close for a time.
"Hah!"
Repelling the approaching figure, Quan Sheng Yixin pressed his advantage, unleashing a "Happy New Year" sword technique with a fierce downward strike.
Bai Zhiyuan decisively retreated to meet the attack, not daring to advance a single step.
This was where she had suffered a loss in her previous life. As everyone knew, a typical boss's "Happy New Year" sword technique was merely a setup for a brief stun for players.
Bai Zhiyuan initially thought the same, but when she successfully blocked Quan Sheng Yixin's "Happy New Year" sword technique and prepared to land a hit, he slightly turned, channeling power into his nine-foot spear and unleashing a combo that instantly sent her away.
Up until now,
Quan Sheng Yixin had never been defeated!
Proficient in all eighteen types of martial arts, he could precisely transition between weapons, his offense and defense seamlessly integrated, leaving no openings!
Rustle rustle rustle—!!
Bai Zhiyuan flashed, successfully creating distance.
Immediately after, the Sword Saint pressed his advantage, furiously spinning his nine-foot spear around him, forming a vortex with a diameter of over six meters.
Tornado destroys parking lot!!
Clang!
Alas, Bai Zhiyuan, having learned from her previous mistakes, managed to dodge this ultimate move with her perfect memorization skills.
"My turn."
Whispering softly, Bai Zhiyuan closed her eyes slightly, the edge of her Ziying Sword blazing with brilliance!
Zheng zheng zheng!!!
The sword, the ancestor of short weapons, the lord of all weapons, was born for slaughter.
The Ziying Sword, imbued with all her might, flickered with purple light. Bai Zhiyuan soared into the air, her purple sword light obscuring the clouds and moon.
The sky split into two colors: one half a divine silver light, the other half purple sword energy.
At the intersection, thunderous explosions continuously erupted. Silver and purple light spots fell to the ground, mountains collapsed, and earth veins cracked.
"Go!"
The purple stream of light, swift as lightning, instantly shaved off five-tenths of the Sword Saint's health as he sheathed his blade. His posture gauge also surged violently.
As the purple light dispersed, her graceful figure appeared beside the Sword Saint the next moment, raising her three-foot sword and striking back without hesitation.
Decisive!
Swordsmanship is the way of killing.
Any hint of hesitation or stray thought could determine the victory of a battle.
As a lone swordsman, Bai Zhiyuan’s ‘decisiveness’ permeated the entire game; licking the blade's edge was commonplace.
Wielding the power of slaughter, adept at finding opportunities in dire straits, she would rather break than bend, advancing fearlessly, her destructive power at its absolute peak.
Clang clang clang clang!!!
Chik chik!!
The humming of blades intertwined with the satisfaction of steel piercing flesh, and the health bars of the two figures on the battlefield rapidly depleted.
Embodying the path of the lone warrior, Bai Zhiyuan abandoned defense and charged forward relentlessly. The Sword Saint, who had also mastered the Ashina style to its fullest, fluidly switched between various weapons, his offense and defense meticulously balanced.
But alas, facing Bai Zhiyuan, who exchanged injury for injury and offered no defense whatsoever, the once indomitable Ashina style suffered its first defeat.
Ultimately, Bai Zhiyuan, relying on the killing aura of her initial gaze, successfully maxed out the posture gauge of the second phase Quan Sheng Yixin with less than one-tenth of her health remaining!
Hesitation leads to defeat!
This profound truth, spoken by Yixin whenever she was defeated, was now thoroughly embodied in every move and stance she made.
She had, once again, reclaimed the sharpness unique to swordsmen, transforming into the ancestor of short weapons, the lord of all weapons, looking down upon the entire game!
Swish!!
Leaping forward, Bai Zhiyuan gently thrust her sword towards a red dot on the Sword Saint’s chest.
Chik chik!!
A sliver of health bar was instantly wiped out!
Phase three begins!
Lightning flashed across the sky. The Sword Saint, who commanded the power of lightning, instantly saw his speed and strength surge. His sword techniques, blade techniques, lightning arts, and spear arts emerged endlessly.
The grandeur of the battle, the brilliance of the clashes between swords, blades, and spears.
Bai Zhiyuan, caught in the midst of it, was stunned as never before.
The third phase of the battle lasted for more than ten minutes, both fighters giving their all.
In the end, the more skilled Sword Saint, superior in technique, sent the slightly impetuous Bai Zhiyuan back to before the Demon Bell.
"Hahaha, hesitation leads to defeat, Lone Wolf!"
Perhaps after several deaths, Bai Zhiyuan had never truly grasped the meaning of the Sword Saint's words. But after the ordeal of the third phase,
after completely immersing herself on the battlefield, discarding everything, disregarding life and death, and fighting bravely,
upon hearing this familiar admonishment once again,
at this moment, Bai Zhiyuan had an epiphany!
In the depths of fate,
she seemed to glimpse the life of the Sword Saint and understood the designer's painstaking intention in placing such a formidable figure in the final stage.
Since picking up his weapon, Ashina Yixin had never been defeated in countless life-and-death battles.
And the philosophy he adhered to was the phrase he always uttered: 'Hesitation leads to defeat'!
Therefore,
regardless of the scale of the battles he faced, the Sword Saint would always choose the most effective way to end an enemy's life.
Even if it meant employing less than honorable tactics, such as interfering with toes, or using a somewhat cheating American iaijutsu move like drawing a gun from the groin.
Against players who challenged him, he employed the most decisive means to cut them down, time and time again.
And he tirelessly reminded them, 'Hesitation leads to defeat'!
Unfortunately,
most players were simply focused on memorization, guides, techniques, and skills, imagining, as usual, that they could easily defeat this boss named 'Ashina Yixin' with a little time and skill.
They failed to realize the environment they were in and did not treat it as a serious battle for life and death.
From the outset, they lost the sharpness and decisiveness befitting a lone warrior, becoming impatient, numb clearing machines.
And precisely,
the designer, exploiting this player mentality, specifically created Quan Sheng Yixin, a formidable opponent with countless combat experiences, refined through billions of practical combat simulations, capable of defeating both newcomers and veterans.
He annihilated all players across the internet, crushing all hesitant swordsmen to the point of questioning their sanity.
This designer, who had a masterful understanding of the human psyche, revealed his sharp fangs in the final stage, at the moment players were closest to victory.
Bai Zhiyuan was utterly stunned by this unfathomable and terrifying strategy upon her moment of realization. He truly understood human nature, and he truly understood this impatient society.
In the end, he arranged a grand graduation ceremony for the players, with Quan Sheng Yixin, the embodiment of his will, at the finale.
This 'Sekiro' Player Graduation Ceremony had to be personally orchestrated by him!
Who was Ashina Yixin?
The Sword Saint!
The never-defeated Sword Saint!!
He possessed his absolute pride and strength!
How similar this was to Lu Li, the newcomer designer who had risen to prominence in the past two years!
Two and a half years since his debut, he had released several critically acclaimed works, the strongest of his generation, never defeated!
Never defeated!!
The Sword Saint needed no cowardly swordsman as an opponent!
Just as he himself did not need opponents who hid in the shadows and employed petty tricks!
'Sekiro' was born from the oppression and slander of a major overseas game developer. Was this Lu Li's retaliation and mockery of those dirty individuals?
Let's set that aside for now.
Returning to the game, did the Sword Saint Yixin need an opponent who could battle him until the heavens darkened, the sun and moon tilted, the mountains and rivers overturned, and until an epic battle for the ages unfolded?
The answer was undoubtedly yes!
In the story, Ashina Yixin did not care about his own life or death. He spent his entire life in pursuit of worthy opponents; he even seemed to care less about the survival of Ashina than he might have imagined.
This could be understood from the endings of the Shura route and other paths for the elderly Yixin.
Bai Zhiyuan vividly remembered the sharpness that blazed from the Sword Saint's eyes, even while barely clinging to life, as he succumbed to Shura – an unadulterated excitement and aggression.
She recalled that windy, rainy afternoon.
Fierce blood once again filled the old body, and the legendary long blade flashed from its decaying sheath.
The peerless swordsman of yesteryear had returned to this old man.
He was so old he was practically dying.
But the moment he drew his sword, lava seemed to flow in his eyes.
Elderly Yixin was gratified to see the Wolf.
Even in his eventual defeat, he harbored no resentment.
Even if the Wolf subsequently became an ogre, he stated that although the Wolf was an annoying fellow, he felt no hatred whatsoever, his words conveying profound praise.
As for the other endings, the elderly Yixin, suffering from a lack of opponents, eventually died in bed during an enemy siege.
Tragic, lamentable. The end of a great swordsman, so unceremoniously reached.
Were it not for his grandson sacrificing himself with his own blood, the fate of that legendary figure might have evoked sighs from countless people.
Now,
with one foot in the afterlife, he had returned once more to slay Shura in this mortal realm one last time.
There is honor in death, but disgrace in life!
Perhaps in the Shura ending, the elderly Yixin departed with satisfaction.
But in other endings, facing the frailty of his body, the fading life force, the insurmountable aging and illness, the elderly Yixin was filled with regret and unwillingness.
Even at the moment of death, the sword that had accompanied him for a lifetime was still in his hand, his body maintaining a charging posture.
How unwilling he was.
Fortunately,
Lu Li, the creator of this world, gave Yixin this opportunity, ingeniously and plausibly designing the concept of the Black Mortal Blade to empower the physical body and "open the door" for the undead.
Allowing Quan Sheng Yixin to inherit the elderly Yixin's regrets, crawling out of hell, and fulfilling his lifelong wish to fight with all his might.
This was not only to fulfill the wish of the one behind him but also the conviction of an unwilling person after death!
This setting, these foreshadowing, this plot arrangement…
Bai Zhiyuan was completely stunned.
Lu Li,
was her—God!!!
From any perspective, in any capacity, facing the game 'Sekiro,' facing the rare opponent of the Sword Saint, as Bai Zhiyuan, who possessed a strong desire for combat and a penchant for masochism,
she experienced an unprecedented, immense satisfaction, both physiologically and psychologically!
Her surging, ardent fighting spirit spread wildly, and her unparalleled admiration grew steadily. Bai Zhiyuan was completely exhilarated!!
"Fight, fight, fight!!!
"I want to fight! I want to fight more fiercely, more decisively!!"
Pouring her entire being into the battle, channeling all her will into the sword held in her hand.
The next moment,
the Ziying Sword transformed into a stream of light, as if tearing the night in two.
The Sword Saint, standing still in the reed field, his eyes lit up, and his ardent fighting spirit immediately erupted!
"Hahaha!!"
"It's been so long since I've fought such a thrilling battle, Wolf, go on!!"
.........
(Three thousand-word chapter)