Chapter 34: Skill Breeds Courage
Six people arrived at the canyon, including Cheng Kun, the leader of the Shu Tiger Gang, and two of his top men. The others were Qiu Jiangping, the chief constable of Jin Prefecture’s Six Gates; Yuan Jia, the supernatural ability user with the Earth Dog Star; and another constable of average build, armed with a goose-feather saber.
They stood at the entrance of the canyon, staring at the carnage before them in shock.
The faint moonlight illuminated the blood-soaked ground and the scattered corpses.
Over a hundred Shu Tiger Gang members lay dead, not a single one having escaped.
“Who did this?!” Cheng Kun roared, his eyes blazing with fury.
Veins bulged on his forehead, his anger barely contained.
Two eighth-rank experts and over a hundred men. For the Shu Tiger Gang, this loss was devastating.
The two experts behind him gripped their weapons tightly.
Qiu Jiangping said grimly, “That Yue Ke Tai girl, Yue Ya’er! She secretly mobilized elite troops from Heavenly Centipede Pass. The commanding officer there, Ye Ju Gang, is a seventh-rank martial artist planted by the Yue Ke Tai family. He’s also a cousin of Yue Ya’er’s mother, Ye Shuxia, the ‘Wise Sword.’”
Cheng Kun raged, “Does she know who we’re working for?! How dare she?!”
Qiu Jiangping said slowly, “I think she does. She secretly mobilized troops and set up an ambush here. She must have gathered a lot of intelligence.
“She knew this was our only route, knew we were transporting goods to the Vast Sea. That’s why she ambushed us here.”
Cheng Kun gritted his teeth, “I must inform the one at the Vast Sea. I won’t let that girl get away with this!”
Qiu Jiangping lowered his voice, “Gang Leader Cheng, I think we’ll have to swallow this.”
Cheng Kun roared, “They’re not your men, so of course you don’t care! If she had just rescued those children, that would be one thing. But she slaughtered so many of my men! How can I just let it go?!”
Qiu Jiangping said, “The one at the Vast Sea could easily kill that little girl. But she has the backing of the Yue Ke Tai family and the Ancestral Altar, and her brother is currently favored by the Chancellor.
“Although the one at the Vast Sea is powerful, he’s currently outside the court’s influence. It’s uncertain whether he’s willing to offend the Yue Ke Tai family and the Ancestral Altar just to teach that girl a lesson.
“Even if he does and it triggers a conflict between the Zong Hai and Yue Ke Tai families, if the Yue Ke Tai family retaliates, they might not be able to destroy the Zong Hai clan, but eliminating us would be easy. Gang Leader Cheng, you have to endure this, whether you like it or not.”
Cheng Kun was speechless, unable to refute his words.
Qiu Jiangping paced among the corpses and bloodstains, “I’m more curious about where she got her information. Has the Yue Ke Tai family’s intelligence network become so extensive that it reaches even remote places like West Shu?
“As the saying goes, ‘Even a powerful dragon can’t suppress a local snake.’ No matter how powerful the Yue Ke Tai family is, they’re not from here. That girl, no matter how bold, couldn’t have done this on her own.
“There must be a local organization helping her secretly. We need to investigate this thoroughly. Heh, we can’t afford to offend the Yue Ke Tai family, but a local gang that dares to oppose us…”
Swish! A streak of fire flashed through the air.
A head flew up!
Although the six men weren’t standing close together, they weren’t far apart either.
While talking, Qiu Jiangping had walked to the front. Yuan Jia and the other Six Gates officer had also moved slightly forward.
The two Shu Tiger Gang experts behind Cheng Kun were standing almost shoulder to shoulder, one slightly behind the other… It was this man’s head that flew through the air.
The others only saw the head flying.
Cheng Kun and Qiu Jiangping were both eighth-rank experts. Yuan Jia, although only ninth-rank, possessed the heightened senses granted by the Earth Dog Star divine crystal.
The moment the firelight flickered in the darkness, they turned around.
Their gazes followed the streak of crimson, watching it slice through the man’s neck, watching his head fly up.
But they were too late to react!
The other Shu Tiger Gang expert was even more terrified. He had been standing closest to the victim. In this place filled with corpses and blood-soaked leaves, he had been holding his weapon, his senses on high alert.
Yet, his companion, right beside him, had been killed without any resistance.
Qiu Jiangping quickly drew his saber, and Cheng Kun clenched his fists, taking a step forward.
Yuan Jia narrowed his eyes, and the remaining Shu Tiger Gang expert and the Six Gates constable quickly drew their weapons.
Their gazes fixed on the figure that had suddenly appeared.
The man stood with his back to them, hands clasped behind him.
A faint firelight flickered around him, an oppressive, burning aura radiating outwards in the darkness.
The headless body collapsed onto the grass, joining the other corpses.
The head landed on another corpse.
“Who are you?!” Having lost over a hundred men tonight and witnessed one of his top experts being decapitated before his eyes, Cheng Kun’s rage intensified. He felt his body grow taller, his bones cracking.
His muscles bulged, and the sleeves of his robe ripped under the strain.
“The one who’s going to kill you,” the man slowly turned around.
He had sharp, angular features and a prominent hooked nose that added to his menacing appearance.
He wore a black tunic and carried a sword at his waist. His eyes were sharp and focused, but his physique didn’t suggest a martial artist.
Yet, the chilling killing intent emanating from him, mingling with the deepening darkness, ignited the night itself.
Cheng Kun and Qiu Jiangping exchanged glances. Neither recognized him.
But the intense killing intent told them that this man was here to kill them.
Cheng Kun, suppressing his rage, forced a laugh, “You have guts, kid! But may I ask where we have offended you? If we have unknowingly offended you, we’d be happy to offer our apologies and make amends.”
As the saying went, “Skill breeds courage.” This man dared to appear before them; he must be confident in his ability to kill them.
Despite his conciliatory words, Cheng Kun channeled his energy.
At the same time, Qiu Jiangping and the others spread out, surrounding the young man.
“You haven’t offended me,” the young man in black said calmly, “But treacherous villains and barbarian lapdogs deserve to die!”
“You’re courting death!” Qiu Jiangping shouted, attacking simultaneously with Yuan Jia, the Six Gates constable with the goose-feather saber, and the remaining Shu Tiger Gang expert.
Qiu Jiangping led the attack, his saber flashing, a whirlwind of blade light descending upon the young man.
Although it was a single saber, it seemed like dozens of strikes simultaneously, each carrying immense force, enough to shatter stone and break trees.
The dozens of saber shadows, their power terrifying, showcased his skills as the chief constable of Jin Prefecture’s Six Gates.
The Six Gates constable with the goose-feather saber and the Shu Tiger Gang expert with the iron hook attacked from the sides, restricting the young man’s movements.
At the same time, Yuan Jia, using his supernatural ability, flashed behind the young man, his blade ready to strike a fatal blow the moment the young man blocked the chief constable’s attack.
It was a flawless plan.
But the young man flickered, moving with incredible speed and at an impossible angle, appearing behind the constable with the goose-feather saber.
The constable had been preparing a horizontal slash, intending to block the young man’s path.
But the young man with the hooked nose was now behind him, his speed defying logic.
The constable even had the strange feeling that he hadn’t “moved” but had been “pulled” there.
Horrified, he tried to escape the young man’s reach.
The young man with the hooked nose lightly touched his back.
Then, Qiu Jiangping, Yuan Jia, and the Shu Tiger Gang expert with the iron hook watched as the constable stumbled forward, coughed up blood, and collapsed, motionless.
This bizarre scene made their scalps tingle.
Cheng Kun, who had been gathering his strength, also witnessed this.
Despite this, the battle-hardened Cheng Kun didn’t hesitate. He lunged forward and unleashed a powerful punch.
His fist, carrying terrifying force, aimed for the young man. But the true killing move was the blade light that suddenly appeared behind the young man.
Cheng Kun wasn’t just an eighth-rank martial artist; he was also a supernatural ability user. His divine crystal was the “Chopping Block Star.”
As he punched, he unleashed his supernatural ability. A heavy cleaver appeared above the young man’s head, and a chopping block formed beneath his feet.
With a clang, the blade slammed down on the chopping block, sparks flying. But the young man had already escaped… Cheng Kun’s status as a supernatural ability user wasn’t a secret. Shi Hao had known about it from Dark Thunder’s intelligence and had been prepared.
He landed on the ground, having escaped the Chopping Block attack. A dark figure silently attacked him from behind with a blade. It was Yuan Jia, using his Earth Dog Star ability.
At that moment, the young man flicked his wrist, and a crystal-clear, circular jade pendant with mysterious water patterns appeared in his hand. A divine light flashed.
—Magical Weapon: Moon Phase Ring
—Divine Crystal: Yin Divergence Star
Yuan Jia suddenly found himself in a strange, fragmented space, composed of numerous diamond-shaped shards.
The young man’s figure flickered among the mirrored surfaces, seemingly everywhere at once.
Realizing the young man with the hooked nose had used a magical weapon, Yuan Jia tried to escape using his supernatural ability.
But space was distorted. He entered one mirrored shard and emerged from another.
The young man’s attacks came from all angles, and he couldn’t tell which were real and which were illusions.
Panicked, Yuan Jia swung his blade wildly, trying to block the attacks. He deflected several illusory strikes, then a firelight flashed beside him. A red line appeared on his neck, and as his body swayed, his head fell to the ground.
Above the distorted space formed by the mirrored shards, a blade light appeared and slammed down.
Having killed Yuan Jia, the young man flickered again. The mirrored shards shattered with a bang, space collapsing, and he appeared half a zhang away.
The young man with the hooked nose stood in the canyon amidst the corpses, looking at Yuan Jia’s mangled remains.
Different supernatural abilities had their strengths and weaknesses. He had known, before attacking, that the Moon Phase Ring, obtained from Du Yuejiao, was the perfect counter to the Earth Dog Star.
But on the other hand, when Du Yuejiao had used the Moon Phase Ring against him, he had been able to overcome it with the brute force of the Earthly Valor Tiger.
Similarly, the mirrored space created by the Moon Phase Ring couldn’t withstand a full-powered attack from Cheng Kun’s Chopping Block Star.
However, Cheng Kun, Qiu Jiangping, and the remaining Shu Tiger Gang expert were now terrified.
If their initial carelessness, allowing the young man to emerge from the darkness and kill one of them, could be excused, now, this young man had, in a very short time, killed the Six Gates constable with the goose-feather saber while under attack, and then, using a mysterious magical weapon, had trapped and killed Yuan Jia, known for his speed and silent assassinations.
Especially Yuan Jia, who usually worked undercover, was rarely seen, and even fewer people knew about his supernatural ability.
This made Qiu Jiangping narrow his eyes, trying to figure out who this man was… He had never seen him before. Or rather, with such distinctive features, he wouldn’t have forgotten him if he had.
Qiu Jiangping quickly assessed the situation. This young man was definitely not a supernatural ability user; otherwise, he wouldn’t be able to use magical weapons.
And generally, a magical weapon could only be used once or twice a day, and not many could be used twice… This young man’s weapon should have reached its usage limit, or even if it hadn’t, it was countered by Gang Leader Cheng’s supernatural ability.
But he couldn’t be certain that the young man only had one magical weapon. After all, while supernatural ability users could use their powers without limitations, non-supernatural ability users could use multiple magical weapons.
And more importantly, his bizarre footwork, allowing him to escape their encirclement and appear behind the constable, was unlike anything Qiu Jiangping had ever seen.
In the darkness, a cold light emanated from Yuan Jia’s mangled remains, then dissipated into the air.
The young man with the hooked nose stood with his hands clasped behind him, his gaze cold as he looked at the remaining three. The night wind blew, and his killing intent intensified—
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