Chapter 175: Chapter 130: By the Might of One
Chu Susu was from the Thief Sect, and all her Miracle Techniques and skills were centered on the single principle of "theft." In this situation, Zheng Xiu had to find a way to put her talents to use.
As Zheng Xiu expertly dodged the trajectories of various Miracle Techniques, his hair suddenly stood on end like needles. In an instant, an image flashed through his mind: Gu Qiutang appearing behind him, slashing down with his saber, injuring him while simultaneously severing the binding on the scroll.
This scene was like a vision of the future, just a moment away. Zheng Xiu turned and bent his arm almost without thinking, following his Intuition.
"Move, and you die!"
As expected.
An indifferent voice sounded from behind him. Gu Qiutang appeared behind Zheng Xiu like a phantom and, without a single wasted word, chopped down at his back with his saber.
Amidst the chaotic battle, Gu Qiutang had shamefully retrieved the saber he had thrown, seizing a brief moment to catch his breath and immediately activating "Immovable Saber." That sharp and decisive saber strike descended like a thin line of light, the straight trajectory of the blade revealing Gu Qiutang’s determination to cut Zheng Xiu down right here.
At this point, no one dared to underestimate this man any longer. He was someone who could fight two members of the Twelfth Moon alone without being at a disadvantage. As Gu Qiutang struck, he even viewed the Mighty Man as another monster like Feng Bei, holding nothing back and attacking with his full strength.
But what Gu Qiutang hadn’t expected was that while Zheng Xiu was moving at high speed through the air, he himself had stealthily assumed the Immovable Stance. As long as he successfully entered the stance, Zheng Xiu’s high-speed movement would constantly meet the Casting Restriction, making this strike a guaranteed hit. Yet, the Mighty Man, as if precognizant, had predicted his prediction, and the blade landed squarely in the crook of the Mighty Man’s arm.
KA!
CHSHH!
In a flash, life and death were decided in an instant. The lightning-fast gleam of the saber came to an abrupt halt mid-descent. Gu Qiutang stared at his blade in shock. It was lodged firmly in the Mighty Man’s elbow joint, unable to move another inch. Blood sprayed forth. His saber had clearly hit its mark, yet it couldn’t cut any deeper to sever the Mighty Man’s arm!
Gu Qiutang was dumbfounded with astonishment.
’Blocking a saber with his arm?’
’Is this a fucking Painter?’
Gu Qiutang cursed inwardly.
"Get lost!"
Zheng Xiu’s furious roar once again triggered [Intimidation]. In Gu Qiutang’s eyes, the Mighty Man’s blood-soaked features were as ferocious as a demon god crawling out of the Netherworld, making him go weak all over. He almost lost his grip on the Treasure Saber, which was wedged between bone and muscle. The next second, a fierce wind howled past Gu Qiutang’s ears as a gigantic heavy weapon swept toward his waist. Gu Qiutang screamed. From his shoulder down to his waist, sharp serrations brutally "bit" away a huge chunk of his flesh, exposing stark white bone. Gu Qiutang first felt a wave of excruciating pain, then half his body went numb. He fell to the street, bloodied, and rolled screaming into the shadows, his fate unknown.
A piercing melody rang out from the crowd. A handsome Constellation was holding a pipa. Though a perfectly good man, he cast a flirtatious glance, his eyes like silk, and plucked a strident, metallic tune.
The sharp notes of the melody were like clanging blades. Zheng Xiu’s Intuition flared, and he abruptly pulled Chu Susu into his arms, turning to face the source of the music.
As if being sliced by a thousand invisible cuts, bloody gashes suddenly split open across Zheng Xiu’s broad back, spraying a mist of blood. Zheng Xiu threw the serrated greatsword that had belonged to Xu Shu. It flew into the crowd like a spinning cannonball. An unlucky Night Guard was just about to make a move when the rotating greatsword cleaved him in two. Blood sprayed high into the air. Another one dead.
This unreasonable strength made everyone curse inwardly again. ’Is this fucking Painter Path?’
"Nail!"
A Night Guard held a hammer in his left hand, a row of iron nails clenched in his teeth. The nails were connected by copper wires.
The hammer rose and fell. One by one, the iron nails shot into the air like hidden weapons, instantly weaving an inescapable net of sharp copper wires throughout the space.
"You can’t escape now!"
Jun Buxiao suddenly appeared from a shadow on the wall above Zheng Xiu’s head; no one knew if it was a shadow clone or his real body. With a grin, he snipped with a pair of scissors, somehow cutting even the barely perceptible shadows of the copper wires. The shadows transformed into a terrifying woven net that twisted toward Zheng Xiu.
The gruesome state of Gu Qiutang—a proud member of the Twelfth Moon, Lower Four—did not cause the other members of Ye Weiyang to retreat. At this moment, they were like a party of Jianghu Knights taking on a world-shaking villain, gradually starting to coordinate their attacks with the teamwork expected of Miracle Masters.
In just a few breaths of fierce combat, they had already seen how terrifying and formidable this Mighty Man was. His handsome face seemed to be just a disguise; his true nature was the ferocity of a wild beast and the cunning of a fox. No one dared to underestimate this Mighty Man of some unknown Path Mystic Skill who was pretending to be a Painter. They were all now going all out, showing off their Miracle Techniques.
"Hold tight my... painting!"
Zheng Xiu looked incredibly wretched at this moment. His body was covered in bleeding wounds with no inch left unscathed. The arm he had used to forcefully block Gu Qiutang’s killing blow was now held together by only sinew and bone. Yet, the worse his condition, the more frequently his [Intimidation] triggered. He radiated a terrifying battle lust like a caged beast. If anyone possessed the ability of [Spiritual Vision], they might have seen a colossal, pitch-black beast lurking behind Zheng Xiu, a creature darker than the night itself, blotting out the sky.
"Surprise Cage!"
As that arm pulled down the lever, the phantom slot machine spun rapidly and, in an instant, hit the jackpot on a corresponding ultimate move.
KA!
Tossing Chu Susu behind him, Zheng Xiu freed his hands. Bones erupted from his palms, growing into two Large Curved Sabers wreathed in black flames that emerged from his body.
’Excellent. It’s been a while, Purgatory.’
The Mighty Man’s sharp fangs made his happy smile at this moment look exceptionally ferocious and terrifying.
"It’s done!"
Suddenly, Chu Susu cried out in delight from behind Zheng Xiu, her hand, which had been hidden inside her clothes, now gripping a painted bone mask.
Above and in the crowd, two versions of Jun Buxiao touched their own pale faces, their expressions filled with astonishment. The pitch-black sky suddenly pulled apart like a curtain, and a brilliant red sunrise scattered the shadows.
"Well done."
Zheng Xiu’s face was covered in blood, but he now gave a leisurely smile as his body began to spin like a top.
Even before he started spinning, he had already devised this new move—an evolution of the Coiling Dragon Eighteen Slashes, enhanced with a "Massive Boost" bonus.
’Nuclear Dragon Bullet?’
’No.’
"Dragon Tail Swing."
