Chapter 54: Chapter 54: Sounding Gong
The forbidden technique of the Qiushui Sword Technique, Autumn Water and Sunset!
Once Autumn Water and Sunset was unleashed, her power of slaughter would skyrocket, rivaling that of an Inner Qi Master who had broken through the first pass. With this, she could escape Wu Haihua’s entanglement and grasp a sliver of a chance at survival.
A technique as powerful as Autumn Water and Sunset naturally wouldn’t come without a price.
If she were to use it, she would need at least two to three months to recover.
For a Martial Dao prodigy like her, whose progress advanced a thousand miles a day, time was the most precious commodity. Two or three months was no trivial matter.
This meant that for those two or three months, she would have to focus solely on recovering from her injuries and replenishing her losses. Her Martial Arts Realm would not advance during this process. While she made no progress, others would. The gap between them would only widen.
Such a loss was unacceptable to her!
But things had come to this. There was no other way.
Just as Mu Wanjun was about to use the forbidden technique Autumn Water and Sunset to break through, a series of loud, clear gongs suddenly rang out from nearby. The sound was as dense as falling rain, ceaseless.
DONG! DONG! DONG! DONG!...
"Not good!"
Hearing the gong, Wu Haihua’s expression changed.
"It’s the Garrison Commandant’s Office! Damn it!"
’To be discovered by the Garrison Commandant’s Office at the most critical moment... How?’ But he was absolutely unwilling to give up just like this.
"End this quickly!"
Wu Haihua roared, his Inner Qi surging through his body as if it were free. He pushed his attack rhythm to the absolute limit. The two First-class Stewards of the Ten Thousand Demons Sect, one fat and one thin, also launched their own relentless bombardments.
At Qi Blood Six Layers Perfection, they had undergone Bone Marrow Cleansing and Blood Changing. Their strength was immense, and every strike carried the force of ten thousand catties.
BOOM!
Under the assault, an entire wall collapsed with a crash.
Knowing that reinforcements from the Garrison Commandant’s Office were coming, Mu Wanjun’s mood was completely different. She executed her Qiushui Sword Technique flawlessly. Even though Wu Haihua was trying to force a breakthrough, he couldn’t take her down in the heat of the moment.
Hearing the incessant gonging around him, his impatience and anxiety threw his rhythm into disarray.
"Ah Shou, go take care of that kid first!"
Wu Haihua commanded.
The thinner of the two First-class Stewards besieging Mu Wanjun heard the command and started to break away from the fight to eliminate the person ringing the gong.
How could Mu Wanjun let them have their way?
SWISH~
A flash of sword light blocked the thin steward’s path.
"You’re courting death!"
Wu Haihua sneered, seized the opportunity, and thrust his Short Spike straight at Mu Wanjun’s chest.
Mu Wanjun’s willow-like brows furrowed. She reacted instantly, her body shifting slightly to dodge Wu Haihua’s lunge. However, she only managed to evade the brunt of the attack; the very tip of the weapon still struck her.
"Die!"
Wu Haihua wanted to press his advantage and aim for her heart and lungs. But Mu Wanjun gave him no such chance. Sword Aura surged as she stabbed toward his throat.
In his haste, Wu Haihua dragged the Short Spike downward, trying to inflict the deepest wound possible.
RIP!
A large section of her Fish Scale Armor was torn open and fell away.
"Soft Armor!"
Wu Haihua, who had retreated to dodge the Sword Aura, stared at the scene before him with an ugly expression.
Beneath the Fish Scale Armor, Mu Wanjun was wearing a suit of Soft Armor. It was exquisitely made but only protected her vital areas.
But this single detail had completely foiled Wu Haihua’s plans.
He had intended to kill Mu Wanjun by force before the Garrison Commandant’s Office reinforcements arrived. But with her Soft Armor for protection and her impressive Martial Dao skills, they truly couldn’t take her down in such a short time.
Yet if he lingered here any longer, once the experts from the Garrison Commandant’s Office gathered, they probably wouldn’t be able to escape even if they wanted to. They had already delayed long enough since the gongs started.
’Time to go!’
Wu Haihua hadn’t expected this. Mu Wanjun was just a young girl; her high Martial Arts Realm was one thing, but for her combat experience to be this rich was another.
’With talent like this, she probably ranks in the top ten of Weishui County City’s younger generation!’
"Let’s go!"
Wu Haihua said, his voice laced with unwillingness.
’But before we leave, I’ll kill the one who ruined my plans!’
Huh!?
Wu Haihua suddenly froze.
Just a moment ago, the once-deafening gonging had abruptly vanished. Wu Haihua’s gaze fixed on the spot where the sound had last been heard, and his body flickered as he prepared to give chase.
SWISH~
Mu Wanjun thrust her sword, its movement like the waves of an autumn river, blocking Wu Haihua’s path.
"You want to kill someone? You’ll have to get past me first."
"Fuck!"
Wu Haihua couldn’t stop an expletive from bursting out.
But after a moment’s hesitation, he made his decision. With the gong silent, it would take time to find the person responsible. Combined with Mu Wanjun’s interference, trying to kill the gong-ringer by force would likely waste even more time. It wasn’t worth the risk for such a "trivial matter."
’Forget it! Another day!’
SWOOSH! SWOOSH! SWOOSH!
Three figures moved with extreme speed, leaping between the rooftops.
DONG! DONG! DONG! DONG! DONG!...
Not long after they had left, the incredibly dense gonging started up again.
Wu Haihua, mid-leap, almost coughed up a mouthful of old blood.
"You motherf..."
"What a despicable little shit! This is infuriating!"
...
’They’re finally gone.’
Chen Ping’an, the one ringing the gong, was a little nervous, his palms slick with sweat. Seeing the situation stabilize, he lowered his head slightly, taking deep breaths to calm himself.
He had originally followed the sounds of fighting here. The closer he got, the clearer the sounds became. He’d heard the battle from a long way off. From the sounds alone, he could tell that the people involved were highly skilled.
’Are these people at the Qi Blood Fourth Layer!? Or the Qi Blood Fifth Layer!?’
He had quietly crept closer, but while he was fine from a distance, getting near gave him a huge shock.
There were magnificent sword shadows dancing about, flashing with Sword Aura, while on the other side, a Short Spike spat out a sharp glint. These techniques...
’They’re beyond the Qi Blood realm!’
Chen Ping’an, having gotten a clear look at the scene, was thoroughly stunned.
’In the middle of the night, in a forgotten corner of Jiming Lane, how did so many masters just pop up!? What kind of luck is this!?’
While still a fair distance away, Chen Ping’an’s first action was to extinguish the candle in his lantern. Then he looked at the gong in his hand, and his first reaction was, ’Don’t ring it!’
’If I ring this, I won’t even know how I died!’
’For beings above the Qi Blood realm, killing me would be all too easy!’
’How much is my Monthly Allowance? It’s not worth risking my life for this!’
Just as Chen Ping’an was preparing to sneak away and run as far as he could, he suddenly spotted the Black-Striped Fish Scale Armor among the figures.
’Black-Striped Fish Scale Armor! It’s someone from the Garrison Commandant’s Office!’
’Fortune is found in danger. I’ll risk it!’
After a fierce internal struggle and weighing the pros and cons, Chen Ping’an finally made his decision. He struck the gong in his hand.
But he wasn’t a fool. As he struck the gong, he kept a close watch on the situation. If things went south, he was ready to run at a moment’s notice.
Later, when Wu Haihua was about to come over and kill him, Chen Ping’an keenly noticed it. Without the slightest hesitation, he decisively stopped ringing the gong and made a run for it.
However, his opponent was intercepted by the person in the Black-Striped Fish Scale Armor.
Seeing the enemy flee, Chen Ping’an grew bold again and started striking the gong once more.
DONG! DONG! DONG! DONG! DONG!....
"Alright, they’ve already run off. You can stop ringing that."
Chen Ping’an looked up and saw an incomparably beautiful and elegant figure standing not far from him.
