“Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!”
Like a startled bird, a white figure plunged from midair, suddenly ducking into a narrow, dark, and deserted back alley.
His boots stomped against the bluestone pavement, splashing up pools of accumulated rainwater.
Liu Sanxian's face was as pale as paper. Blood constantly seeped from the corners of his mouth, and his heart pounded in his chest like a war drum, nearly bursting from his ribs.
He did not stop, flitting like a ghost through the shadows. Every few moments, he could not help but cast a terrified glance backward.
Only after repeatedly confirming that no one was pursuing him did the Ghost Sound Fiend breathe a sigh of relief.
Yet, the soul-stirring scene from moments ago still churned relentlessly in his mind, impossible to shake off.
“Gongsun Bei!”
“He originates from the Guanhua Sect, a supreme sect of Cangzhou, and is a direct descendant of the thousand-year-old Gongsun clan!”
“An Outer Gang Rank expert who has already condensed two divine ability seeds!”
“Fortunately, his primary target was Big Brother. He only threw a casual palm strike at me from afar, yet it was enough to leave me this severely injured...”
Liu Sanxian's eyes were dark as water. He ran his right hand over his agonizing chest, coughed twice in quick succession, and spat out two large mouthfuls of blood!
“Damn it! I only have about forty percent of my True Qi left, and I've sustained severe internal injuries. I must get out of the city first and find a place to recuperes!”
Gritting his teeth, Liu Sanxian took out a few medicinal pills and swallowed them. His feet never stopped moving as his mind raced to figure out what had gone wrong.
“That man had clearly departed for the capital, Linzi. How could he have returned so quickly in just a few days? Which means...”
“The intelligence must have been wrong!”
“The Nanxiang Prefecture branch is ultimately run by that bitch Qiu Yingying! On her lips, she speaks of the Sacred Sect's grand plan, but in the end, she still wanted to send us to our deaths!”
Hatred boiled in Liu Sanxian's heart. He clenched his fist tightly, his knuckles popping with a sharp crack.
“You worthless woman, just you wait... Once I return to the Southern Sea, I will definitely report everything that happened today to the Young Master!”
“As for Big Brother... Second Sister... Third Brother...”
Liu Sanxian's rapid pace faltered slightly, but in less than half a breath, that trace of hesitation was replaced by cold resolve!
“You might as well stay here!”
“Only if you die can I, Liu Sanxian, become the most valued subordinate under the Young Master, claiming all the resources and benefits of the branch for myself!”
“If I am fortunate enough to break through to the Gangjin Rank in the future... I will personally avenge my elder siblings!”
At this thought, Liu Sanxian quickened his pace even further.
High walls towered on both sides of the narrow back alley. At some point, a fine, needle-like drizzle had begun to fall from the sky.
The raindrops descended in a dense, slanted weave.
The autumn wind swept through the alley, squeezing out eerie, whistling wails between the high walls like a mournful weeping.
Liu Sanxian hugged the shadows of the walls, sprinting toward the secret escape route he had prepared in advance.
Right at that moment, a sudden change occurred!
Just as his figure swept past a bend in the alley, a silhouette burst forth without warning.
The figure moved with extreme speed, tearing through the continuous curtain of rain. The fierce wind cleaved the falling water in midair, leaving a churning trail of white mist in its wake!
Simultaneously, a brilliant white beam of cold light, carrying an endless sharpness, thrust straight toward his chest like a viper baring its fangs.
Even before the white light arrived!
A fierce, biting wind whipped against his face!
“Who is it?!”
Liu Sanxian's pupils contracted violently. Strands of his wildly whipping black hair were sliced off, fluttering into the air, and his cheeks stung as if slashed by blades.
But he was a Huajin Rank expert after all. The instincts forged from half a lifetime of life-and-death battles were far faster than his thoughts!
At the absolute critical juncture!
His right hand instinctively brushed against the storage bag at his waist.
“Swish!”
The Ghost Pipa instantly materialized in his grasp.
Without the slightest hesitation, Liu Sanxian raised this Ghost Pipa—a high-grade precious artifact that had cost him countless efforts to refine—to block his front.
The instrument's body was broad and hard, capable of both offense and defense. In this narrow alley, it served as an impenetrable shield.
“Bang!”
A deafening explosion erupted, immediately followed by the ear-piercing sound of tearing silk!
“Riiiiip!”
The sharp white light seemed capable of slicing through anything in existence!
To Liu Sanxian's utter disbelief, the strings of the pipa—each tanned from the tendons of Anjin Rank martial artists—snapped like dry grass!
The remaining momentum of the white light sliced deep into the body of the pipa, carving a trench so deep it almost split the precious artifact in two!
Liu Sanxian's face fell instantly!
A massive, heavy force slammed through the pipa, sending a jarring pain through the webbing of his thumb and leaving his arms completely numb.
He hurriedly raised his left hand, and grey True Qi surged out, condensing into a near-solid form as he struck downward with all his might.
“Boom!”
The two forces clashed violently!
A shockwave rippled outward!
Blasting the falling rain backward into the sky.
Liu Sanxian stumbled back several paces, crashing heavily against the brick wall with a loud thud.
The wall shuddered violently, sending dust and debris raining down, dusting half his shoulder a chalky white.
Liu Sanxian raised his eyes in horror. His lips trembled, his voice laced with an undeniable quiver:
“This is... sword-glow?! You are the Moonlight Sword?!”
The man opposite him stood in a blue robe, holding a sword. He blocked the very center of the alleyway, completely sealing off any path forward.
The fine drizzle pattered against his shoulders, rising into a faint mist around him.
This person was none other than Shen Xiuhan.
Shen Xiuhan lowered his gaze to the refined iron sword he had purchased earlier as a spare.
Several hairline fractures had already spiderwebbed across the blade, a result of it being unable to withstand the raw power of his sword-glow.
“It really isn't a precious artifact... Just a single strike of sword-glow was enough to cause this much damage. If I were to condense sword-qi, this sword would probably shatter on the very next strike.”
Shen Xiuhan's thoughts spun rapidly. He redirected his gaze to Liu Sanxian, the killing intent in his eyes not diminishing in the slightest.
“Still, this is enough!”
“This man only recently entered the Huajin Rank. He has yet to cultivate the protective True Qi of the mid-stage Huajin Rank. Otherwise, my sword-glow alone wouldn't have been able to do anything to him.”
Across from him.
With a pale face, Liu Sanxian shoved the Ghost Pipa back into his storage bag.
Seventy to eighty percent of his combat ability relied on that pipa. Now, not only was he severely injured, but his precious artifact had also been ruined by a single strike from this brat.
A dignified Huajin Rank expert, forced into such a corner by an Anjin Rank junior!
The indignation and humiliation in Liu Sanxian's heart churned like an erupting volcano.
“A mere Anjin Rank brat dares to ambush and kill me relying on nothing but a bit of sword-glow! What an absolute disgrace!”
“But I cannot afford to get entangled with him. I must escape as quickly as possible. If Gongsun Bei catches wind of my trail, I'll be in deep trouble!”
Liu Sanxian took a deep breath.
With a flick of his right wrist, a pitch-black flute appeared in his palm, and he raised it toward his lips.
Shen Xiuhan's eyes darkened, and he moved instantly.
His long sword pierced through the rain, thrusting straight forward.
The sword-light surged like overlapping waves, rising layer upon layer!
It was as if a great river had been split apart by a single strike. The relentless, torrential momentum of the sword pressed down upon him!
『Thousand-Wave Sword: First Wave Overlapping the River』!
“I knew you'd try to strike first!”
Liu Sanxian let out a sinister laugh. Neither dodging nor retreating, he used his flute as a weapon and thrust it forward.
The tip of the flute, enveloped in greyish True Qi, shot forward like a viper baring its fangs, aiming directly at the strongest point of the incoming sword strike.
“Clang! Clang! Clang!”
The rapid, metallic ringing of clashing weapons exploded in the narrow alleyway, sparks flying in all directions.
Shen Xiuhan's swordplay was fluid and versatile.
At times, he pressed down with the majestic, river-like momentum of the 『Thousand-Wave Sword』. At others, he shifted to the elusive, airy grace of the 『Flowing Cloud Swordplay』, the tip of his blade darting out like drifting clouds from completely unpredictable angles.
Meanwhile, Liu Sanxian relied on his robust Huajin Rank True Qi, using his flute to substitute for a sword.
Every strike of his carried immense weight, deflecting Shen Xiuhan's sword moves one by one.
Within the narrow bluestone alley, the two figures blurred as they leaped and ducked. In the blink of an eye, they had already exchanged over a dozen blows.
Rate on N.U.
