Chapter 35: Moonlit Night, Dark Thunder Stirs
Qiu Jiangping looked at the dead constable. The finger wound on his back was slightly charred.
The wound didn’t look deep. Just looking at it, it was hard to imagine how it could have been fatal.
Qiu Jiangping’s face darkened as he glared at the young man, “Did you kill Zhao Haisong and the others?”
The young man sneered, his hands clasped behind his back, “Yes. So what?”
Qiu Jiangping gritted his teeth, his saber flashing, a whirlwind of blade light sweeping towards the young man.
Cheng Kun, knowing this was a fight to the death, drew a heavy hammer and swung it, unleashing a wave of force.
The young man with the hooked nose showed no fear. He drew his sword, the blade flickering with flames.
The three clashed, a whirlwind of weapons and energy, their figures blurring in the darkness.
The remaining Shu Tiger Gang expert, holding his iron hook, couldn’t find an opening to attack.
Their leader and the chief constable were fighting with all their might. The young man, despite facing their relentless attacks, evaded them with his bizarre footwork, swaying and dodging, appearing in unexpected places at the last moment.
The slopes of the canyon rose on either side, and over a hundred corpses littered the valley floor, the stench of blood mingling with the smell of decaying leaves and mud, making him nauseous.
He gripped his iron hook tightly, his palms sweating.
Their leader, unleashing his full power, was unexpectedly strong, his brutal force and unpredictable supernatural ability like a tiger descending from the mountains.
Chief Constable Qiu Jiangping’s saber techniques were surprisingly vicious and cunning. Complementing Cheng Kun’s attacks, he struck like a venomous snake, darting in for a quick strike before retreating into the darkness, waiting for another opportunity.
He thought to himself that if he were facing such an onslaught, he wouldn’t be able to withstand a single blow. He would either be crushed by their leader’s supernatural ability or killed instantly by the chief constable’s venomous saber strikes.
Yet, the young man seemed calm and unhurried.
In the eyes of the Shu Tiger Gang expert, the young man remained composed.
But Qiu Jiangping had begun to discern a pattern in his bizarre footwork.
It was illogical, defying all conventional movement, but upon closer observation, he realized that every one of the young man’s seemingly random movements brought him closer to either his or Cheng Kun’s side or back.
The reason it seemed so illogical was the sheer speed and unpredictability of his movements. Sometimes, he would simply be standing there, then suddenly appear beside them, as if pulled by an invisible force.
It was as if he and Cheng Kun were magnets, attracting the young man.
Once he understood this, he could treat this bizarre martial art as a unique supernatural ability.
Qiu Jiangping pressed his attack, his saber flashing, forcing the young man back. He suddenly leaped back, and Cheng Kun leaped into the air, using his supernatural ability to slam down on the young man from above.
Qiu Jiangping, instead of pursuing the young man, unleashed a whirlwind of saber strikes around himself.
With a clang, his saber was blocked by the young man’s sword, but the young man stumbled, his body momentarily unbalanced.
This was the first time Qiu Jiangping had successfully disrupted his rhythm. He pressed his advantage, his saber flashing.
At the same time, Cheng Kun, seeing Qiu Jiangping’s success, flipped in the air and landed beside the young man, raising his hand and unleashing his supernatural ability again, a blade of light appearing behind the young man.
Qiu Jiangping’s saber flashed, intending to kill the young man while he was off balance. Even if this strike was blocked, the young man would be pushed back further into Cheng Kun’s Chopping Block attack, a trap from which there was no escape.
Suddenly, a divine light flashed from within the young man’s robe, and his body began to grow.
Qiu Jiangping’s saber struck the young man’s body, but a look of despair appeared in his eyes.
Ignoring the blow, the young man, now twice his normal size, swung his sword, flames erupting.
Qiu Jiangping, having committed to his attack, had no way to defend himself.
His saber sliced through the young man’s divine form, drawing blood, but the wound quickly healed.
The flaming sword, however, struck Qiu Jiangping, his body twisting to the right. In his blurring vision, the enlarged young man, along with the ground and the surrounding slopes, tilted to the left.
Having killed Qiu Jiangping with a single strike, the young man stomped his left foot, creating a deep crater.
The Chopping Block slammed down behind him, but he had moved just in time, stopping right before it.
He tossed aside his sword and, relying solely on the divine form and power granted by the Earthly Valor Tiger, charged towards Cheng Kun like a war chariot.
Even the burly Cheng Kun seemed small before him now.
Terror filled Cheng Kun’s heart. He stumbled backwards, trying to regain his footing.
His hammer shattered with a bang as a massive fist slammed into his chest.
His ribs cracked, the fist sinking deep into his body, grabbing his heart and pulling it out, dripping with blood.
The Shu Tiger Gang leader collapsed, his body going limp.
Casually tossing the still-beating heart aside, the young man strode towards the last remaining opponent, the one with the iron hook.
The man’s legs gave way, and he fell to his knees, kowtowing frantically, “Spare me, Master! Please spare me!”
His forehead struck the stone, blood flowing freely.
The blood-stained fist, without hesitation, slammed down on his head… Treacherous villains deserved no mercy.
His head exploded like a melon—
Dawn broke, painting the eastern sky with brilliant hues.
The dark clouds that had covered the sky for most of the night, having failed to produce any rain, finally dispersed.
The young man, his clothes torn and tattered, crouched by a stream, washing his hands and splashing water on his face.
He looked down at his ruined clothes and sighed.
The Earthly Valor Tiger was indeed a powerful magical weapon, but it was hard on his clothes.
Both the Earthly Valor Tiger and the Moon Phase Ring had one less use now, but he wouldn’t hesitate to use them when necessary.
Expending a magical weapon’s uses was better than risking his life.
And if he hadn’t had the Moon Phase Ring, he wouldn’t have dared to challenge them like that.
Although Yuan Jia’s own strength was only ninth-rank, the supernatural ability granted by the Earth Dog Star made him almost invincible.
Without the Moon Phase Ring to quickly eliminate him, Shi Hao didn’t think he could have won against all of them.
He quickly reviewed the fight, realizing his lack of experience in the martial world.
Although the Soul Chasing Locking Steps were bizarre and effective, after repeated use, Qiu Jiangping had seen through them.
This highlighted the importance of experience.
He realized he had become arrogant after easily subduing and capturing Du Yuejiao.
Although Du Yuejiao possessed a peak eighth-rank foundation and exceptional martial arts skills, her experience paled in comparison to someone like Qiu Jiangping.
Fortunately, he had both the Moon Phase Ring and the Earthly Valor Tiger, which further demonstrated the importance of magical weapons in battle.
The presence or absence of a magical weapon could often be the deciding factor.
He thought to himself, “If I had two God-Sealing Stones with me, I could have collected the divine crystals from Cheng Kun and Yuan Jia’s bodies. Then, I could have them forged into magical weapons.
“Even if the Moon Phase Ring and the Earthly Valor Tiger run out of uses, I wouldn’t have to worry. As long as I have the God-Sealing Stones, the depleted divine crystals will reappear inside them.”
This made him realize the true impact of Daoist Lan Ke’s creation on the martial world.
Shi Hao stood up… He had to meet with Dark Thunder as soon as possible and seize the God-Sealing Stones.
He headed southeast, leaving the desolate wilderness behind.
Along the way, he undid the Evil Shadow Disguise Technique and rubbed his face.
The technique was indeed useful, allowing him to change his appearance easily without any tools or preparation.
But after using it for so long, his face felt stiff.
Also, while disguised, he couldn’t show much expression. That was why he had adopted a cold and menacing demeanor, not out of choice, but because it allowed him to remain expressionless, making it less likely for his disguise to be detected.
Changing his appearance was sometimes necessary.
For example, in this battle, although he was confident in his ability to kill them all, if he had appeared as himself and one of them escaped, it would have been disastrous.
He could become a fugitive, but Small Han Mountain City would suffer the consequences.
He entered a village, slipped into someone’s backyard, left some money, stole a robe drying in the courtyard, and continued on his way.
At noon, he reached a stone town. Before entering, he changed his appearance again, using the Evil Shadow Disguise Technique to become “Hao Xinghua.”
Soon, someone approached him and whispered, “Righteous Hao, please follow me.”
Shi Hao followed the man to an inn in the town, entering through the back door.
As soon as he entered, he saw Lu Tong, “Brother Hao!”
Shi Hao nodded slightly and whispered, “When are we leaving?”
Lu Tong said, “Time is of the essence. We’ll leave immediately.” Two horses were brought for them.
They mounted the horses, left the town, and headed east at full speed.
After two days of continuous travel, Shi Hao and Lu Tong reached the border of West Shu and entered the mountains.
Ancient trees towered above them. A figure jumped down from a tree, “Miss Lu!” He glanced at the young man with the hooked nose beside her.
Lu Tong whispered, “This is Brother Hao, one of us.”
The man stepped aside, “Leader Zhao is inside.”
Shi Hao and Lu Tong continued walking, seeing many people hidden in the forest.
It was afternoon. The dense canopy blocked out the sunlight, casting the forest in shadow.
Many people recognized Lu Tong, greeting her and glancing at Shi Hao.
Shi Hao’s grim, expressionless face kept them at a distance.
Numerous tents were set up in the forest, and many martial artists, having also just arrived, were resting.
They reached a clearing where a middle-aged man in a grey robe stood, his forehead high, his face thin, his demeanor radiating authority.
Lu Tong approached, “Leader!”
The man, who was studying a map with two others, turned around, “Niece Tong, you’ve arrived.”
Lu Tong said to Shi Hao, “This is Leader Zhao of our Kan Shui Branch!” She then turned to the man, “Leader, this is Brother Hao Xinghua.”
Leader Zhao shook Shi Hao’s hand, “I am Zhao Leitong. Old Qiu wrote to us about you, Brother Hao. We are deeply grateful for avenging our brothers who died on Disordered Chess Mountain. And thanks to you, we were able to uncover the barbarian court’s plot and take action.”
Shi Hao said solemnly, “You’re too kind, Leader. Opposing the barbarian court and their lapdogs is the duty of every Chinese.”
Zhao Leitong sighed, “Unfortunately, even within the Chinese martial world, there are many treacherous villains who crave power and wealth, becoming lapdogs of the barbarian court and oppressing the people. If everyone in our martial world were like you, Brother Hao, we wouldn’t be suffering like this.”
Lu Tong whispered, “Leader, isn’t the Grand Leader coming?”
Zhao Leitong released Shi Hao’s hand and said helplessly, “This happened so suddenly. The Grand Leader went to Lingnan a few days ago. Although he should be on his way back, he probably won’t make it in time. If we allow these barbarian troops to reach the central plains, we’ll lose our chance.
“Even within our Kan Shui Branch, many of our skilled members couldn’t arrive in time. We had to invite local righteous martial artists who are willing to resist the barbarians. Also, our brothers from the Li Huo Branch are on their way and should arrive before nightfall.
“Those barbarian troops are traveling day and night. We’ve learned that they’ll be crossing Civilian Martial Ridge late tonight. If our brothers from the Li Huo Branch arrive, we can set up an ambush. Otherwise, we won’t have enough men.”
He looked at the sky and said, “Niece Tong, Brother Hao, you must be tired from your journey. Go and rest. We’ll be busy tonight.”
Lu Tong said, “Yes,” and walked away with Shi Hao. After eating something, they each found an empty tent and rested.
Zhao Leitong turned back to the map. One of the men beside him said, “This Brother Hao seems difficult to get along with. Cold and expressionless, he never even smiles.”
Zhao Leitong, still studying the map, said casually, “People in the martial world have their own personalities. As long as they’re willing to expel the barbarians and restore our Chinese lands, they’re our allies. Why should we care about anything else?”
Inside his tent, Shi Hao, seeing he was alone, sat down and rubbed his face vigorously.
His face felt stiff. If he didn’t undo the Evil Shadow Disguise Technique soon, he might develop permanent facial paralysis.
Come to think of it, tonight was the night of the full moon…