Chapter 154: Chapter 154: Hidden Blade
SWISH!
The blade’s edge flashed, like moonlight spilling down.
This was a strike he was certain would land. The sinister viciousness on Fu Yuanming’s face was at its peak.
Beneath the gleaming blade, it was as if Chen Ping’an had eyes in the back of his head. His body twisted and shifted, narrowly dodging the attack.
The expression on Fu Yuanming’s face froze. He gasped in shock.
"How is that possible!"
Chen Ping’an moved, quickly creating distance between them.
"I’ve been watching you!"
The shirt on his back was now in tatters. Though the blade itself hadn’t touched him, the razor-sharp air around it had shredded the fabric.
SWISH!
Fu Yuanming’s footwork shifted as he lunged forward.
He refused to believe Chen Ping’an could have truly dodged that strike. He wrote it off as a combination of preparedness and sheer luck.
’I’ll be damned if I believe that!’
How could he, a veteran master at the First Pass of the Inner Qi Realm, fail to deal with some kid from the Qi Blood Realm!
Chen Ping’an laid Mu Wanjun’s body on the ground and, instead of retreating, advanced.
Fu Yuanming never imagined Chen Ping’an would react like this.
"You’re courting death!"
His saber came chopping down!
The Tiger Suppressing Saber Technique he practiced was perfect for frontal assaults.
The Tiger Suppressing Saber Technique consisted of eighteen slashes. Each chop built upon the last, creating a wave of Saber Momentum with unimaginable power.
Eight Steps Chasing Cicada!
Chen Ping’an shot out a kick, striking the flat of Fu Yuanming’s blade.
The power of Eight Steps Chasing Cicada at the Great Success Level was nothing to scoff at!
CLANG!
The immense force sent the blade vibrating wildly!
"No, impossible!"
Fu Yuanming’s face was a mask of disbelief.
’He’s only at the Qi Blood Sixth Layer, how can he be this strong!’
A single kick had blocked his attack.
But now, retreat was not an option.
Without the slightest hesitation, Fu Yuanming unleashed his ultimate move.
Demon Subduing Tiger!
This was the most powerful strike of the Demon Suppression Sword Skill. However, executing it required an enormous amount of Inner Qi.
Even for a veteran Inner Qi Master like him, at the First Stage of Inner Qi, he could only muster enough for a single slash.
With this one slash, the sky filled with afterimages of the blade, and a wave of Evil Qi washed over them.
At almost the same instant, Chen Ping’an’s saber left its sheath.
"You dare show off such a paltry glow?"
Gale Swift Blade Slash!
It is said that in all of the world’s Martial Arts, only speed is absolute.
Opinions are divided on that point.
But in this moment, Chen Ping’an was going to prove that saying right.
’My one slash shatters all techniques!’
Mid-flight, Chen Ping’an’s blade suddenly accelerated, carving a bizarre arc through the air. It moved faster than Fu Yuanming’s attack, landing squarely on his neck.
Fu Yuanming felt his head suddenly go light, and then his whole body seemed to fly into the air.
The next moment, his vision spun. All he could see was a headless corpse.
’Am I... dead?’
The vicious look still frozen on his face, Fu Yuanming’s head rolled across the ground.
Carrying endless shock and terror, Fu Yuanming’s consciousness sank into infinite darkness.
Fu Yuanming, Vice Director of the Southern Town Governor’s Office, was dead!
Though Chen Ping’an had decapitated Fu Yuanming, the man’s final, reflexive slash still came crashing down.
In that instant, Chen Ping’an activated his Iron Cloth Shirt, Thirteen Grand Protectors’ Horizontal Training, and Golden Bell Shield to their absolute limits.
’I’ll take it!’
CLANG!
It sounded like metal striking metal.
Fu Yuanming’s blade slammed viciously onto Chen Ping’an’s shoulder.
The strike was powerful, but Chen Ping’an ultimately blocked it.
"Hiss!"
Chen Ping’an couldn’t help but suck in a sharp breath.
’That hurts!’
’Th-th-this!’
’A strike that vicious... it must have broken the skin, right?!’
To be fair, Fu Yuanming’s ultimate move, Demon Subduing Tiger, was theoretically quite powerful.
But Demon Subduing Tiger normally required the build-up of the preceding moves from the Demon Suppression Saber Technique. One slash after another would stack, layering its power. Only by unleashing Demon Subduing Tiger as the final strike could its power be maximized.
But Fu Yuanming never got the chance. His Saber Momentum had barely begun to build before Chen Ping’an shattered it.
Moreover, there was a vast difference in their Realms. If it had been activated by someone at the Second Stage of the Inner Qi Realm, Chen Ping’an would have been wary.
But activated by someone merely at the First Stage of the Inner Qi Realm!?
It was just so-so!
After all, with a Perfection Level Iron Cloth Shirt, a Perfection Level Thirteen Grand Protectors’ Horizontal Training, and a Great Success Level Golden Bell Shield all stacked together—not to mention the perfect breakthroughs from his system panel—Chen Ping’an’s defense had already reached a terrifying level.
If his Golden Bell Shield could advance just one more step, he could withstand a direct blow from a master at the Third Stage of the Inner Qi Realm. That was no exaggeration!
"You refused the path to heaven and instead threw yourself through the gates of hell!"
Chen Ping’an said this with a grim expression, but his solemn act immediately shattered as he bent down and began to loot the body.
Compared to Mai Xiongbo, Fu Yuanming was undoubtedly far wealthier. He had several silver notes, each for a thousand taels, along with some other miscellaneous items.
Chen Ping’an pocketed everything.
’As expected of a Vice Chief of the Patrol from the Garrison Commandant’s Office. He was loaded! To think he carried this much on him!’
In comparison, Mai Xiongbo was a complete pauper!
Then again, it made sense. Mai Xiongbo’s line of work was a dangerous one; he lived life on the edge. Of course he wouldn’t carry many valuables on his person.
Hmm!
Wait!
’No, that’s not entirely true!’
’The things you truly value, you keep with you at all times!’
Chen Ping’an thought of the item hidden under the skin on the back of Mai Xiongbo’s neck.
After looting the corpse, Chen Ping’an went through the motions, using a flint to set Fu Yuanming’s body ablaze.
Watching the flames gradually rise, Chen Ping’an’s heart swelled with delight.
Between Zuo Wumei and now Fu Yuanming, his net worth had quietly crept toward ten thousand taels of silver.
’Sure enough, the old saying is true: crime pays.’
Besides the items on his person, Fu Yuanming had left behind one other treasure: the saber that had fallen to the ground.
The patterns on the blade were distinct, and it radiated a faint, sinister aura. It was sharp enough to slice a falling hair!
It was undoubtedly a masterpiece among blades!
In terms of value and material, it was far superior to Chen Ping’an’s Hundred Pattern Saber.
Chen Ping’an hesitated for a moment but ultimately decided against taking the saber.
As Fu Yuanming’s personal weapon, the saber was far too recognizable.
If he were to just take it, he might as well put up a sign announcing that he was Fu Yuanming’s killer!
However...
Not taking it was one thing, but hiding it was another matter entirely.
Chen Ping’an scanned his surroundings and spotted an old pagoda tree nearby.
He flickered into motion and was at the base of the tree in an instant. With a light tap of his toes, he soared into the air. He wrapped one arm around the trunk and ascended to the top.
He chose a spot where the leaves were thickest and plunged the saber into the branches.
It was the quickest method of hiding the blade he could come up with for now.
The chaos started by the Ten Thousand Demons Sect in South City was likely about to subside.
He didn’t have much time to waste.
Chen Ping’an released his grip, and his body landed softly on the ground.
’What’s done is done!’
’Whether I can actually keep the blade is up to fate now!’
By the time Chen Ping’an returned to Mu Wanjun’s side, Fu Yuanming’s body had already been mostly consumed by the flames.
Chen Ping’an had wanted to wait until the corpse was reduced to ash before dealing with the loose ends. But at that moment, he heard faint stirrings from a nearby alley.
"No time!"
Chen Ping’an was decisive. Without a moment’s hesitation, he scooped up Mu Wanjun and fled in the opposite direction.
Failing to clean up the scene properly would leave behind a minor point of suspicion. But if someone had actually seen him here, it would be a much bigger problem.
Chen Ping’an knew how to weigh his priorities.
