At this moment, Xie Jiuzhen’s expression finally changed.
From the moment Chen Zui took action, he had been observing.
He watched the young man’s spear techniques, the depth of his internal energy, and the way his movement technique allowed him to advance and retreat.
He had thought that even if his Young Sect Master couldn’t win, he at least wouldn’t lose.
After all, while Meng Huaiguang was arrogant, his mastery of the Searing Sun Skill was genuine. His cultivation at the early stage of the Inquiry Realm made him a standout among his peers.
But he never expected that in just three moves, Meng Huaiguang would be slapped to the ground.
What alarmed him even more was that after defeating the Young Sect Master, the young man showed no sign of smugness. Even his breathing remained perfectly steady.
Xie Jiuzhen had lived a long time and seen countless people.
Some hesitated before killing, some grew ruthless, and some went mad with bloodlust.
But he had never seen someone who could remain so calm when they were about to deliver a killing blow.
That calmness wasn’t an act; he truly didn’t care.
Xie Jiuzhen knew he couldn’t wait any longer.
“Stop!”
A raspy, low shout erupted beneath the city gate.
Simultaneously, a withered figure flickered into the fray like a ghost.
Xie Jiuzhen’s movement was incredibly fast. Despite looking like a sickly wretch who might fall apart at any moment, he moved swifter than a hunting hawk.
His thin, dry fingers emerged from his wide sleeves, the tips glowing with a faint golden light as they lunged for the back of Chen Zui’s neck.
This grab seemed ordinary, but it was laden with hidden killing intent.
Xie Jiuzhen had immersed himself in finger techniques for decades. His ten fingers had long since become like steel hooks or iron claws. The golden light at his fingertips was the result of pushing the Searing Sun Skill to its limit; ordinary iron armor would be like paper beneath his touch.
Chen Zui didn’t turn around.
He simply thrust his spear backward with one hand.
The moment the spear tip collided with the fingertips, Xie Jiuzhen felt a surge of bone-chilling energy flowing through his fingers.
That energy was incredibly strange—neither hard nor fierce, but rather like a venomous snake boring upward through his meridians.
His heart tightened. He hurriedly circulated his Searing Sun Skill to force the chilling energy out of his body. At the same time, he used the momentum to drift back several feet, landing beside Meng Huaiguang.
“Young Sect Master!”
Xie Jiuzhen looked down.
Meng Huaiguang’s cheeks were swollen high, and blood was streaming from his nostrils and the corners of his mouth. His expensive silk robes were covered in slush and bloodstains. He was in an utterly wretched state.
Having lived a life of luxury and privilege, when had he ever suffered such humiliation?
“Uncle Xie...”
Meng Huaiguang grabbed Xie Jiuzhen’s sleeve, his voice filled with endless rage.
“Kill this bastard! Kill him! I want him dead!”
Xie Jiuzhen didn’t respond.
He slowly straightened his back, his cloudy old eyes fixed intently on Chen Zui. The killing intent in his gaze had practically solidified.
“Young man, be lenient where you can.”
Chen Zui planted his long spear into the ground, the butt of the shaft sinking several inches into the accumulated snow.
“Hearing those words from the mouth of someone from the Jinyang Sect is nothing short of a joke.”
Chen Zui glanced at Meng Huaiguang, his eyes devoid of anger or hatred, containing only a faint, almost indifferent scrutiny.
“When he drew his blade to sever the tendons of A-Man’s father, did he ever consider that question?”
Xie Jiuzhen’s face darkened.
“That herb gatherer was merely an Unaffiliated Wanderer with no sect, a nobody.
Are you truly going to make an enemy of the Jinyang Sect for such a worthless life?”
Chen Zui was silent for a moment.
“Is the life of a nobody not a life?”
Chen Zui pulled his spear from the snow. With the spear tip pointing diagonally at the ground, he walked toward Xie Jiuzhen step by step.
“The world has never lacked people like you.
You rely on a bit of power and a bit of martial skill to treat the lives of others like grass.
You kill for treasures, prey on the innocent, and act like tyrants.
But have you ever wondered...”
He paused and looked up at Xie Jiuzhen.
“If one day you fall into the hands of someone stronger than you, what will you do then?”
Before his voice had even faded, his figure vanished from the spot.
Xie Jiuzhen’s pupils shrank. Without a second thought, he shoved Meng Huaiguang aside.
Simultaneously, he thrust both palms forward, creating a seamless barrier of palm shadows.
With his Searing Sun Skill pushed to the limit, the golden light on his palms flared brilliantly!
The howling wind from his palms kicked up all the snow on the ground.
However, Chen Zui’s spear was faster.
【Thirteen Ghost Shadow Spears Third Form: Ghosts Wailing and Gods Howling.】
The spear tip pierced the air, letting out a shrill, piercing shriek.
The sound was like the simultaneous weeping of ten thousand ghosts, making one’s skin crawl and mind tremble.
Xie Jiuzhen felt a sharp pain in his eardrums, and for a fleeting second, his mind went blank.
When experts fought, victory and defeat were decided in a hair’s breadth.
In that single moment of daze, Chen Zui’s spear had already penetrated his barrier of palm shadows. The thick black energy enveloping the spear tip was like a bolt of black lightning, aimed straight for his throat.
But Xie Jiuzhen was a Second Rank expert after all, a veteran of a hundred battles. In that critical moment, he forced his body to twist. The spear tip grazed the side of his neck, leaving a bloody gash.
Ignoring the stinging pain, his right hand curled into a claw to seize the spear shaft, while his left palm struck out at Chen Zui’s chest.
This palm strike carried the fierce internal energy of the Searing Sun Skill. The wind from the strike was scorching; if it landed, it would dent even a sheet of iron.
Yet Chen Zui didn’t retreat; he advanced.
Using the 【Dragon Roam】 movement technique, he slipped through Xie Jiuzhen’s palm wind like a swimming fish.
At the same time, his wrist flicked, causing the spear shaft to vibrate. A surge of chilling energy traveled up the shaft into the five fingers Xie Jiuzhen had used to grip it.
Xie Jiuzhen felt his fingertips go numb, and his hand involuntarily let go.
“Such bizarre energy!”
He was horrified. He tapped his feet repeatedly, retreating at high speed.
But Chen Zui was like a shadow, sticking close to him.
The spear tip flickered around him, each thrust aimed at a major acupoint, never straying from his vital spots.
The Jinyang Sect disciples at the city gate watched in stunned silence.
Elder Xie, whom they revered like a deity—the head of the Jinyang Sect’s four elders and a formidable Second Rank martial arts expert—was currently being suppressed by an unknown young man!
Ye Zhibai and Xiao Chengyan were also dazed.
Xiao Chengyan’s mouth hung open for a long time before he managed to choke out, “Brother Chen... just what is his realm?”
Ye Zhibai didn’t answer.
She was wondering the same thing.
Chen Zui had clearly only been at the early stage of the Inquiry Realm before.
But the combat power he was displaying now far exceeded the boundaries of that realm.
In particular, the layer of eerie black energy on his spear tip was something she couldn't comprehend at all.
That was definitely not an aura that could be cultivated through ordinary techniques.
In the center of the fray.
Xie Jiuzhen was being forced back repeatedly.
Though his palm techniques were refined and domineering, they seemed clumsy and inadequate before Chen Zui’s unpredictable spear techniques.
Chen Zui’s style defied all logic, shifting between broad, sweeping strikes and subtle, sinister maneuvers. He switched seamlessly between two completely different spear techniques, making it impossible to guess where the next strike would come from.
What terrified Xie Jiuzhen even more was that while Chen Zui’s assault was as relentless as rain, his breathing remained steady and his steps composed.
This meant he wasn’t even using his full strength.
“What is he waiting for?”
A terrifying thought suddenly surfaced in Xie Jiuzhen’s mind.
He whipped his head around toward Meng Huaiguang.
“Young Sect Master! Quick, ru—”
Before the word could leave his mouth, Chen Zui’s spear momentum changed abruptly.
He abandoned his fight with Xie Jiuzhen and shot toward Meng Huaiguang like an arrow from a bow.
The spear tip traced a straight black line through the air, moving so fast it didn’t even leave an afterimage.
Xie Jiuzhen was horrified and chased after him with everything he had.
But Chen Zui’s movement was too fast!
With 【Dragon Roam】 active, he truly seemed to have transformed into a wandering dragon. He left a winding trail across the snow and reached Meng Huaiguang in the blink of an eye.
Meng Huaiguang, hearing the whistle of wind behind him, was scared out of his wits.
He looked back, only to see a cold glint rapidly expanding in his vision.
He wanted to draw his saber to block, but his hands were shaking so violently he couldn’t even grip the hilt.
He wanted to call for help, but his throat felt as if it were stuffed with cotton; he couldn't make a sound.
“No!”
The spear tip pierced his chest!
It wasn't through the heart, but the right side.
Chen Zui had deliberately avoided the vitals. The spear tip entered through Meng Huaiguang’s right chest, punctured the lung, and emerged from his back.
Meng Huaiguang was pinned to the ground, large amounts of blood gushing from his mouth, yet he didn't die immediately.
“Young Sect Master!”
Xie Jiuzhen’s eyes nearly split from rage. He thrust both palms out, sending a blast of palm wind like a raging flame toward Chen Zui.
Chen Zui withdrew his spear and ducked, sliding beneath the palm wind.
The spear tip traced an arc across the snow, cutting through the slush and kicking up a spray of white mist.
He ignored the frantic Xie Jiuzhen and appeared beside Meng Huaiguang once more.
The spear tip struck four times in rapid succession, with absolute precision, hitting Meng Huaiguang’s wrists and ankles.
“Crack—crack—crack—crack—”
Four crisp snaps rang out.
Meng Huaiguang’s tendons and hamstrings were severed!
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