Jian Si stopped a distance away from Arthur, gazing at him with a strange look. He felt a bit of killing intent emanating from her, her facial expression was unusual as if she was struggling with two things.

After a bit of time in such a position, she had yet to speak to Arthur when turned her head and stared at a certain direction, exactly where his dismembered arm was.

Her eyes were glued onto his ring, which she seemed to be interested in. Obviously, he saw that but didn't say anything, in fact, he laughed inside as it is impossible to rob his belongings if they are inside Zodiak's ring.

To access it you need to be able to use Dark Mana and only he could do that, so it's a useless piece of garbage for her, still, he didn't tell her that and silently watched her actions.

The girl took the ring and injected Nether Energy, expecting to see what's inside, however, nothing happened even after a few tries so she looked at the defenseless Arthur again and spoke her first words

"Hand me your blade and I'll spare your life."

Simple and direct words, she told him her motive without any tricks which is something Arthur liked, but that doesn't mean he'll tell her how to open the ring or just hand his weapon to her.

Makaze is his strongest weapon and his connection with it is rather strong, not only is it a unique blade, it is too powerful and it could even harm Sovereign.

That is part of the reason Jian Si wants it, if she enforces her own sword with Makaze then the results will be extraordinary, and as a sword fanatic, she would never miss such an opportunity.

She had already seen the deadliness of his blade and its might, and without a doubt, it's stronger than her own blade, which is a very old inheritance so this made her more attracted to Makaze.

Arthur spat some blood on the floor and grinned as he looked at the dead serious girl

"My blade? You're not worthy and even if you were, I'm not foolish enough to hand it to you."

Not hearing the answer that she sought, Jian Si pointed her sword at Arthur with only a few inches of empty air separating the sharp tip of the blade and his fast.

"It's either your weapon or your life, you choose."

Still uncaring about the close blade that could end his life in a split second, Arthur mockingly replied

"As a sword user yourself, you know better than anyone that your sword is your life."

Listening to the dying man, Jian Si frowned and maintained her silence, seemingly lost in thoughts but that she soon snapped out of it when Arthur continued with a weak voice

"Furthermore, people like you are always the same, the outcome will be the same whether I hand your my blade or not."

"People like me?"

Arthur looked at her with a disgusted stare and answered

"Yes, people like you, the so-called young geniuses, born with unparalleled talent and expected to become legendary figures, however, the truth is sad and unpleasant to hear. You people, are nothing, you're like anybody else, fate just favored you so you were born in the right place, and with the right teachers and fed the expensive medicines, of course, you'll become 'prodigies'.

You want my blade to become stronger, you want revenge for the humiliation you suffered yet what you begrudge me for is nothing compared to those who really endured, others who experienced something you could never imagine, atrocities that would make you wish for death."

Hearing this only made the girl angrier, she stared at her with dagger eyes as she snorted and retorted

"Hmpf! What do you know about me!"

Still coughing blood that had long since become black, Arthur objected

"I know enough. Actions speak louder than words, you have what others lack yet you want more, you have power yet your greed for more. You think you're strong enough to oppose people when you ignore the fact that they do not fear you but what's behind you. You seek to become the ultimate sword user when you don't even know yourself."

Arthur seemed to have touched a sensitive topic as the girl snapped, slashing the air fiercely and cutting all the trees in its way, or what remained of them.

"I don't care about fate or whatsoever. Your life is in my hands, and it's up to you to choose wisely."

Arthur sighed as he knew that his words won't affect her reasoning, he didn't invent all of that and truly said his true thoughts. He didn't particularly like these gold-spooned kids and it isn't a simple lecturing that's going to erase their arrogance, which was built over several years of prevailing and stepping on others.

Although her tone seemed different than usual, the killing intent became thicker and she definitely wasn't joking when she said she'll kill him.

"You say to choose wisely when all choices lead to the same conclusion… tell me, girl, where's the wisdom in that? You make it sound like you're some kind of a merciful person, giving me 'choices' when all of that is useless, pointless talking to give you a sense of relief, however, in such a world, it's either kill or be killed, sparing enemies is not something to consider, you should know that more than anyone, right?"

The sword touched Arthur's neck, causing drops of blood to leak out, it's only a slight push away from penetrating his throat and ending his life, or what's left of it.

"So does that mean I should kill you and be done with it?"

Arthur grinned, showing his row of white teeth which became dyed with red blood from the unceasing blood that rushed to his mouth only to be coughed out.

"Hoooo that would be for the best in such a situation but… you'll feel unsatisfied, you suffered a humiliation yet couldn't get a proper revenge, that could lead to serious problems in your future cultivation. There are many choices laid out for you, for example, you can finish that old man's job and torture me, not that'll make me talk, though. You can also kill me immediately, which is something I'll do, or you can just go on your way and pretend you saw nothing but… you better give me that ring back or else I swear I'll show you true despair."

Arthur didn't point at Zodiak's ring, but the other one which was also picked by Jian Si. It was a simple ring, made out of gold and have a small engraving on it, it was not a magical artifact or anything of the sort, however, for Arthur, it meant the whole world for him as it is his marriage ring, the one he received from Lucy.

As she watched the man who was supposed to be surrendering, Jian Si felt a fear deep in her bones, imminent danger from the half-dead person in front of her. One look at the face of this beaten and tortured man, who should have been waiting for death, made it clear that his seemingly vain words were no mere boast.

She had no time to consider as her body reacted unconsciously, jumping a few meters back to avoid what's supposed to come but never did, the danger came from deep within the man yet no attack was thrown, it was indeed only a warning but its effect was more than he hoped for.

He didn't notice itself as anger consumed him, the ring for him was all that is left for Lucy, it's what's keeping him fight again and again, if it were destroyed or stolen, he would use anything to get it back if possible or abandon everything to kill whoever led to its destruction.

He may be half-dead and barely able to move his lips, but alternate actions could be taken, the chains were still on him, albeit not all of them since his limbs were torn off but they will grow back along with his flesh in a matter of time and he is capable of breaking them, it'll lead to his death but he has prepared for such a possible outcome since the start of his fight against the old man.