Chapter 17: Choose Your Path
The entire party stood there, staring blankly at the Phantom of The Immortal Blade.
"What do we do now?" Sword of Love asked.
"..." No One didn't know what to say.
With just one strike, the team's maximum health was reduced to only 1. Even if someone passed by and threw a stone at their heel, it would kill them.
No One checked the status.
[Path Broken: Negative effect, reduces maximum health.]
[Duration: 30 minutes.]
"So we have to wait 30 minutes before we can fight again, what the heck!!?" Sword of Love grumbled.
"Not necessary, let's continue."
"Huh? With just 1 health?"
No One nodded.
"The early stage doesn't cost any health. We can still proceed."
"That's right. The Phantom of The Immortal Blade only attacks twice. The first purple strike and at 90% health."
"Even with 1 drop of health, as long as no damage is taken, we can continue experimenting."
"Will there be any changes to the team composition, No One?" Lady Lam began to regain her composure.
Earlier, they had let loose, resulting in the whole team dying, which left her feeling a bit embarrassed.
"Me, Sword of Love, Cherished Dream, and Hana."
"The Eagle from TwinBird doesn't have much effect in this dungeon; bringing Hana as a Musician would be better."
Lady Lam nodded and adjusted the team lineup accordingly.
Unfortunately, blocking wasn't very effective this time. Lady Lam couldn't do much.
"Lady Lam, how are the other teams doing? Has anyone managed to get the boss into Demonblade mode yet?"
"Alright. I'm sending it. 300 million health."
Lady Lam directly sent the information about the Demonblade.
[Lv.300 Phantom Demonblade]
[Becoming an Immortal Buddha or a Demonic Fiend depends on a single thought. The Demonblade is born when the Immortal Blade no longer believes in its own blade heart.]
[Demonblade's Will: all of Demonblade's attacks instantly kill the enemy.]
[One Thought to Become Demonic: When beneficial effects are removed, revert to Immortal Blade state.]
[Demonblade's Descent, World Annihilation: If the sword of the wielder kills a target, it immediately annihilates all enemies.]
[Eternal Obsession: Lasts for 10 seconds after entering Demonblade state. If enough damage is inflicted during this time, this beneficial effect is self-removed.]
At this point, after reading the information about the Phantom Demonblade, the chat channel burst into various discussions.
["Oh my gosh... A hit is a sure death?"]
["That's pretty normal though. Just now, every hit meant certain death, right?"]
["The effects of the Phantom Demonblade seem mainly intended for the four difficulty levels in the future. By then, the purple strike might not cause team-wiping damage. Only the Demonblade state will wipe the team out."]
[This boss is very fascinating. In the Immortal Blade state, it's nearly impossible to hit, causing extremely high damage, but it has the lowest health.]
[In the Demonic state, it has medium health, can be hit, and deals Dark damage which can be defended against.]
[In the Demonblade state, it has incredibly high health, can be hit, but every attack is a sure death.]
"No One, do you think the same as I do?" Lady Lam pondered over the stats of the boss's three forms.
"Yes."
"This is the game giving challengers a choice."
No One vaguely understood that players could intentionally push the boss into one of the three states and keep it there to defeat it.
Theoretically, if you can deal damage to the Immortal Blade, the boss will be defeated the quickest.
If the team lacks a Blade Dancer, sacrifice one player to force the boss into the Demonic state, then use classes like Priest or Musician to revive that teammate.
The Demonblade state has the toughest health and strongest damage. It's a death sentence for players if they can't keep the team alive when bringing the boss back to the Demonic state.
And [One Thought to Become Demonic]acts as a "chance to correct mistakes."
If someone happens to die while fighting the boss in the Demonic state.
If within 10 seconds when the boss enters the Demonblade state, enough damage can be dealt, then the boss can be returned to the Immortal Blade state, eliminating the danger.
If that's the case, then the boss has revealed even more of its hand.
It seems the developers weren't cruel enough to create an invincible boss.
They've provided players with various methods to defeat the boss.
Thus, the easiest way to defeat the Phantom is by defeating it in the Demonic state."Here's something new," Lady Lam quickly sent to No One.
It was a clip from a stream by another clan.
The Pork Rice Restaurant clan.
Oh.
[Warning]
[The next attack will trigger a Storyline. Are you sure you want to execute the attack?]
The Pork Rice Restaurant party had pushed the boss into the Demonic state and brought it down to 90%.
The message read only "Storyline," not "Hidden Storyline."
Based on this, it's inferred that defeating the Demonic and Demonblade states will unlock the storyline.
However, the hidden storyline with the true ending requires defeating it in the Immortal Blade state.
No One felt a thrill; this boss was truly worth fighting.
"Lady Lam, before we proceed, since you're the clan leader, I need to ask you this."
"Huh?"
"Make a choice."
Lady Lam fell silent.
She vaguely understood what No One meant.
"This silence means you already know, doesn't it?"
"Yes."
This was about deciding the path the Moonlight Clan would take.
If they wanted to compete for the top spot, to become the first to clear this dungeon.
The Demonic state was the path to take.
Damage from four people would surpass what No One could inflict alone. Even if the boss had double the health, four people would bring down the Demonic state faster than No One could nearly solo defeat the Immortal Blade.
The glory of being the first guild to conquer the dungeon was unimaginable.
News coverage, interviews, perhaps even investment opportunities for the guild.
In this era, a First World master was akin to a celebrity.
Money, fame, everything can be achieved if you're the first.
Who remembers the one who stands second?
However, the other path also offers an opportunity for the Moonlight Clan to gain glory.
But it is by no means an easy one.
The Hidden Storyline is certainly not simple. Especially defeating the Boss in the Immortal Blade state will be much harder and take considerably longer than in the Demonic state.
Regardless of which path Lady Lam chooses, No One will not blame her.
If given a choice, No One would certainly choose the Hidden Storyline.
But the risks are too high. The Moonlight Clan might even fail, not to mention being unable to finish quickly enough to be in the Top 3 or Top 10.
Lady Lam remained silent.
"Who do you think I am?"
"Huh?" No One was startled.
"The words Hidden Storyline are written all over your face, still acting like you'll do it for the guild if I choose the easy path?"
"The Moonlight Clan might not be in the Top 10, but it has never put pressure on one person or used the ambitions of its members as a stepping stone for glory."
"Reputation? Isn't Great Lady Lam's streaming channel enough?"
"Money? Sorry. I've bought 5% shares of First World."
"Don't ask me."
"Ask the sisters and brothers."
In the chat room, Great Lady Lam again, with her firm voice, directly called out.
It sounded almost like a female general rallying countless soldiers.
"I dare to ask the whole Moonlight Clan!"
"THE.PATH.YOU.""WANT.TO.TAKE."
"IS WHAT!?"
[Great Lady Lam is mighty!!!]
[Great Lady Lam is mighty!!!]
[Great Lady Lam is mighty!!!]
"Now that is a true leader of the clan."
"Forget money. Open the Hidden Storyline for this world!"
"No One, follow your passion."
"Open the door no one dares to, lead the Moonlight Clan not just to the mountain top, but to break through the blue sky!"
"Well said! Break through the blue sky!"
"No One, the stage is yours!!!!"
Numerous people in voice chat are shouting.
At this moment, No One laughed.
Thank you.
Thank you for letting me do what I want. Brothers and sisters of the Moonlight Clan.
-
The formation this time remains the same as before.
No One stands in the arena. Sword of Love stands near the arena. Cherished Dream and Hana are outside providing buffs.This time, No One played a different piece of music.
[A Bridge of Fate.]
[Critical Damage Increase!]
[Critical Damage Increase!]
[Attack Increase!]
[Attack Increase!]
[Path of The Star Transformation]
[Ritual of War Declaration]
[Yin Yang Formation]
[Marching Melody]
Exactly like this band, combining the execution of Sever The Sun And Moon twice, and Blade Slash twice.
"The corpses are laid out in smoke and fire."
Huh?
No One nearly missed a slash.
It wasn't the sound from his Cube or him singing.
Lady Lam was singing live on the stream!
Cherished Dream chuckled and added a comment.
"Kid, did you really think Lady Lam doesn't know how to sing? She graduated from a music school, you know."
Hahaha.
But Lady Lam's singing only fueled each of No One's slashes with more passion.
"Lost souls in chaotic times do not lose."
"The clear blue sky, eyes hidden and slanted."
"A mark in the Spring and Autumn, paid with blood."
"How can love and hatred be discussed in a moment?"
"The war drums beat loudly."
...
...No One was in high spirits, slashing the blade while singing along.
Suddenly, Lady Lam's voice turned into a fierce tune. Just as the boss's health neared 90%.
"How can love and hatred be discussed in a moment?"
This slash once again prompted a notification.
Time seemed nearly uninterrupted.
At this moment, No One had no hesitation and made a decision.
"Burning Red Dust."
Almost simultaneously, the boss immediately retreated defensively.
"Hana !!!!"
Almost instantly, Hana executed her skill.
"Use Life to Prove Who Is the Most Important."
What the hell!?
Hana!? She was also singing along.
Lady Lam chuckled.
"Hana! Focus on fighting! Let me handle the singing!!!"
The entire chat room burst into laughter. She was lured into singing by the atmosphere at the moment.
"Fate Is Like a Bridge."
"Turn Over Old Stories."
[March to Eternity]
"This Sword..."
"Silence."
CLANG
CLANG
Sword of Love charged directly forward, and they countered almost at the same time.
Double Parry.
"My sworn brother are singing, and you dare interrupting ?" Sword of Love said mischievously while running up.
No One and Sword of Love directly parry the Principles Cleave. Breaking through the skill.
A perfect counterattack.
The music couldn't overpower the piercing KLANG sounds.
March to Eternity was merely a backup plan in case their counterattack failed. The whole team still had a shield to protect them from this attack.
"Reaching the end of the sky, we shed our battle robes."
"That's right, daddy saw through you, punk !" Sword of Love grinned widely.
"Your Principle Cleave is a Red Attack, not a Purple one, kiddo." No One was readying for the next move.
No One took advantage of the situation, delivering a slash that launched Phantom of The Immortal Blade into the air.
The enemy, after being parried, could be thrown into a stunned state or knocked up immediately afterward.
COUNTERATTACK!!!!!!
Sword of Love's cooldown had just finished. He dashed straight to the Phantom's feet.
"Stop mimicking my skill, ya punk."
"This sword."
"Shall Cleave Not Men.."
"But The Principles."
SWISH
Critical damage!
[Making Love with the Sword used This Sword, Shall Cleave Not Men But The Principles and dealt critical damage, erasing 3,529,732 of Phantom Memory Of The Sword Immortal's maximum health]
It struck with nearly three times the damage of a normal Principle Cleave !
"Let's dream together of the song of the eternal wall."
The music continued, igniting a fiery blaze in the eyes of those with fervent desires.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
AuAuTheSeal
AuAuTheSeal Song: Bridge of Fate
Chapter 18: The Monster
Phantom of The Immortal Blade had just landed, No One was immediately close by, ready to swing his blade.
The blade slashed down fiercely and powerfully, as if to engrave the heavens and earth onto its edge.
[First Move of the Blade Dancer: Sever The Sun And Moon]
...
The Phantom of The Immortal Blade was still a bit away from fully descending.
No One deliberately swung his blade before the Phantom of The Immortal Blade completely touched the ground.
Because the moment the damage is dealt, it's sufficient for the Phantom to have landed. At that point, the damage will be immediately inflicted.
If the Phantom of The Immortal Blade lands at point X:
1 2 3 4 5 6 X 8 9 10
No One's attack needs only to deal damage at point X. It doesn't need to wait for the Phantom to fully land.
"Complacency is a slow and sinister killer."
No One was taken aback.
CLANG
A piercing clang echoed. Simultaneously, a layer of shield on No One disappeared.
No One's eyes widened as he watched the Phantom of The Immortal Blade's lips curl as if in a mocking smile, its sword just knocked away his twin blades.
It... knows how to parry?
At this moment, No One was still under the adverse effect from the previous Principle Cleave, with health at only 1/1.
If it hadn't been for the shield that Hana created earlier, he would have died instantly.
The chat room was now in an uproar.
The boss knows how to parry!!!?
Parrying is a mechanic almost exclusively reserved for players. Besides requiring precision, it also demands knowledge of animation.
And yet, the Phantom of The Immortal Blade directly parries!?
[Holy heck. Parry?????]
[Phantom of The Immortal Blade: Silence.]
[Got goosebumps because No One and Sword of Love looked so cool, and then goosebumps again because the Phantom of The Immortal Blade was too overbearing.]
[There never was any Boss before that did this, and in the future... please, no one else!!!]
The chat room was exploding.
The viewership was still in the millions.
Bosses in the Demonic state didn't have parry mechanisms. Not even at 90% would they mimic player skills.
What exactly is the Phantom of the Immortal Blade state!?
No One retreated.
He hadn't yet regained his composure.
What kind of monstrosity is this?
No One's worldview was further crumbling.
Yesterday, he witnessed the Heavenly Demon In Black perform an animation cancel.
Today, he directly faces the Phantom of The Immortal Blade that can parry.
This time, the Phantom of The Immortal Blade didn't remain stationary and directly swung its sword at No One.
Still dazed by the counterattack, at this moment he truly had no means to resist the coming slash.No One was gritting his teeth, trying in vain to escape the stun effect.
Suddenly, before No One's eyes appeared a sword with an azure glow sweeping in.
CLANG
That blade directly disrupted the Phantom of The Immortal Blade's attack.
"Did I give you permission to touch my son?" Sword of Love had raised his sword, deflecting the strike from the Phantom of The Immortal Blade.
No One sighed in relief, quickly picking up his dual blades that had been knocked away.
"Your body, my sword can't reach. But your attack, my sword is a big fan of!" Sword of Love said with a laugh, raising his hand in provocation.
"Hana, Cherished Dream, don't stop the buffs."
"One small mistake, and we all gonna die."
"Understood," Hana and Cherished Dream replied in unison.
The Phantom of The Immortal Blade still wore that emotionless face. It continued to sweep its sword towards No One.
He was still holding the aggro of the Boss. Although Sword of Love's total damage was also significant, the interval between his strikes was too long compared to No One's continuous attacks with consistent damage, thus maintaining aggro.
This time, No One perfectly timed and prepared to use a counterattack.
Swish.
Huh?
The Phantom of The Immortal Blade's expressionless face was like that of a poker player.
It wasn't that it truly lacked emotions. The smile when it parried No One was proof.
Rather, it hid its emotions completely.To make it impossible for the opponent to discern its intention.
Z!
That blade, in a miraculous way, curved in mid-air, forming a beautiful Z shape!?
It seemed as though the blade was about to hit No One's sword, triggering a parry.
But it bent downward, then swept away at a lower level!?
"I'm not dead you know!"
Sword of Love had been closely observing every move of the Phantom of The Immortal Blade.
He charged directly, swinging his sword, ready to clash with the incoming blade.
Sword of Love was covering for No One's vulnerability!
Freeze.
CLANG
No One couldn't believe his eyes.
The shield effect from Hana had just expired.
Sword of Love didn't even realize what happened. He was instantly killed.
HP 0/1.
This demon!?
It wasn't Sword of Love that countered the Phantom of The Immortal Blade!
Instead.
The Phantom of The Immortal Blade countered Sword of Love.
Sword of Love had perfectly timed the parry activation point.
But the Phantom of The Immortal Blade defied the norm.
No One saw what it had just done.
In 1/10 of a second.
The Phantom of The Immortal Blade, while sweeping its sword, had activated a retraction animation.The animation when preparing to use Principles Cleave !!!
It accomplished the unimaginable.
An area that, except for No One, all players thought belonged solely to them.
Slash -> activate skill -> Slash.
It used Principles Cleave to cancel the animation of that Z-shaped sword path.
Then it directly launched another slash, countering Sword of Love.
[What the heck is that?]
[Oh Lord. Am I seeing things?]
[Not just canceling animations.]
[It canceled the animation to parry him!]
[...]
An invisible wave of emotions erupted in the chat window.
Many viewers had gone through countless ultra-hard dungeons released by the publisher.
Numerous beings were referred to as Bosses, as the Final Boss.
But today, they no longer regarded The Phantom of The Immortal Blade as a Boss.
It was a Monster.
A Monster that breached the boundaries of humanity.
At that moment, the Phantom of The Immortal Blade suddenly flared up with demonic energy.
The conditions were met.[Lv.200 Demonic Phantom of The Immortal Blade]
The silhouette of the Phantom of The Immortal Blade was now enveloped in a demonic aura, interwoven between blood-red and jet-black.
The Phantom of The Immortal Blade began to speak.
"Unable to let go of memories. I do not wish to relinquish these memories."
"This is not a loss of control to demonic influence, but rather an acceptance of one's Inner Demon!"
The Demonic Phantom's blade raised up to the sky, igniting with a dark flame.
Damn it.
Demonic Mode.
Its health bar was fully restored, yet it remained depleted from the damage Sword of Love had inflicted with Blade Slash.
"Hana! Quickly resurrect Sword of Love!"
Hana was startled; she was also shocked by what had just happened.
[Resurrection]
The Priest's resurrection skill was activated.
Sword of Love returned, immediately exclaiming.
"What the hell just happened?"
His face really showed a bewildered expression.
Up until now, he still couldn't believe what had occurred.
The Demonic Phantom suddenly smiled.
Its face now defaulted to a smile instead of a blank expression.
"Shall we continue the fight?"
"You humans, so proud of these childish techniques, aren't you?"
The entire team shuddered simultaneously.
A sense of threat from things they couldn't fully understand.
Today, humanity will come to know.
Those beings who can shatter the Principles of the First World.
The truly strong ones.
Just by confronting the shadow, one can already sense the impossibility of even reaching the level of true form of Immortal Blade.
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
200+ Power
Ranking 
6 Power
stone 
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