According to Mark Sullivan's judgment, Brian Grant was so eager to escape his predicament that he resorted to such a dangerous move to break the stalemate. And once he gained the upper hand, he would definitely seize the opportunity to launch a fierce attack.

Based on this deduction, as Mark Sullivan retreated by borrowing force, he unhesitatingly activated the most powerful magic weapon in his possession. If Brian Grant pursued the attack at this distance, he would inevitably be caught by the sweep of the poisonous scales. Even if he had protective spells or magic weapons, this strike would be enough to seriously injure him.

Magical weapons, especially high-grade ones, are not so easy to use. This is particularly true for low-level Qi Refining cultivators—the higher the grade of the weapon, the more troublesome it is to wield. If it exceeds a certain grade, it may not even be possible to activate it at all.

The Feathered Ring was a second-grade, low-tier magic weapon. With Mark Sullivan's fifth-level Qi Refining cultivation, it was almost impossible to activate it instantly. But Mark Sullivan had learned a secret technique that could temporarily increase the circulation speed of his true qi. Thanks to this secret art, Mark Sullivan was able to instantly form a hand seal, cast a special incantation, activate the divine rune array on the Feathered Ring, and finally drive the Feathered Ring to attack.

Though it sounds simple, to execute it all in one go is by no means easy. Only someone like Mark Sullivan, who had undergone rigorous training, could flawlessly complete each step and, in the shortest time, fully unleash the deadly power of the Feathered Ring.

Driven by Mark Sullivan's true power, the coiled little snake on the Feathered Ring quickly broke apart into thirty-six palm-sized, sharp, green scales. The spinning green scales emitted sharp "whoosh whoosh" sounds as they sliced through the air, forming a net of green blades that enveloped an area of over ten meters.

Yet, even as Mark Sullivan successfully activated the Feathered Ring, his heart sank, because at the very moment the thirty-six poisonous scales shot out, Brian Grant, who was charging forward with his sword, suddenly lowered his body, gliding along the ground like a snake.

The razor-sharp net of thirty-six green poisonous scales missed Brian Grant's back by a hair's breadth. The biting wind made the back of Brian Grant's neck break out in goosebumps. The slightly sweet, bloody scent of the poison on the green scales even made Brian Grant momentarily dazed.

But with a powerful soul force of a thousand standard units, Brian Grant immediately snapped out of it, though his vision was blurred by the poisonous gas. The potency of the green scales' poison was evident.

Although Brian Grant's vision was impaired, with his powerful soul force, he could clearly sense every subtle fluctuation and change in the surrounding energy. With this mystical perception, within a hundred meters, Brian Grant could detect countless extremely hidden details.

The surging of Mark Sullivan's blood, the flow of his true power, the reaction of his magic weapon—all of this was as clear as if written on paper to Brian Grant. It was precisely because of this that Brian Grant could sense the range of the Feathered Ring's power a step ahead, rendering Mark Sullivan's carefully planned strike futile.

Having just used a secret technique to instantly unleash the Feathered Ring, Mark Sullivan was now in a period of weakness as he recovered his breath. Sensing this, the Cold Iron Wind-Slicing Blade suddenly thrust forward.

The cold blade light became a streak of icy brilliance in the night, its sharp gleam making Mark Sullivan squint involuntarily. Even before the blade arrived, the unstoppable, swift, and fierce momentum made Mark Sullivan feel as if he had already been pierced through.

A simple thrust, yet it embodied the true essence of swordsmanship. Thus, mind, body, and blade became one, bursting forth with an invisible blade intent that struck the soul. At this level, the blade technique had reached mastery, worthy of being called expert.

"Ah..." Trapped at a disadvantage, Mark Sullivan roared in anger, his Azure Sword vibrating in his hand. The ethereal sword light formed a dense curtain, precisely blocking the long blade. This sword, executed in a moment of crisis, displayed Mark Sullivan's exquisite swordsmanship to the fullest.

At the instant the blade and sword clashed for the second time, the long blade suddenly accelerated impossibly, piercing through the dense sword curtain in a flash of cold light.

"Pu..." The four-foot-three-inch blade sank to the hilt into Mark Sullivan's heart, and the powerful blade energy shattered Mark Sullivan's internal organs into a mass of pulp. Mark Sullivan died instantly.

In the final moment, Brian Grant activated the Gale Array on the Cold Iron Wind-Slicing Blade, nearly doubling the speed of the thrust, easily piercing through Mark Sullivan's defense. Even at the moment of death, Mark Sullivan's eyes were filled with disbelief.

Activating the divine rune array on a weapon was equivalent to driving a magic weapon. When Brian Grant activated the array, there was no gesture, no incantation, not even a fluctuation of magical power. Mark Sullivan never expected Brian Grant could activate the array on the blade; a single misjudgment cost him his life.

Brian Grant had no time for sentiment. He casually pulled out the long blade, activated the Jade-Scaled Sword on his wrist, and turned into a streak of green light speeding down the mountain. From the start of the fight to the moment of death, Mark Sullivan had blocked Brian Grant for almost ten seconds. A very short time, but enough for Emily Thompson to fly several hundred meters away on his sword.

If Emily Thompson had calmly found a place to hide, it would have been difficult for Brian Grant to find him in a short time. But Emily Thompson, terrified out of his wits, was consumed by panic and only thought of escaping as quickly as possible, completely unaware of this, desperately flying his sword down the mountain.

Seeing the azure sword light flashing away in the sky, Brian Grant felt a weight lift from his heart. With the Vajra Divine Power Art running at full force, Brian Grant's Jade-Scaled Sword instantly reached its top speed.

The green sword light, like a flickering meteor, flashed past, and within a few breaths, it overtook the azure sword light. As Brian Grant flew past Emily Thompson on his sword, his long blade lightly swept across Emily Thompson's neck. The blade passed, and the head fell.