Chapter 92: Chapter 91: The Fall of the Celestial Level
This incomparably sharp Sword Qi forcefully choked Qin Hengtian’s last words back down his throat.
’Strike when the enemy’s emotions are most volatile, and a single blow is sure to hit!’
Qin Hengtian was a whirlwind of shock and fury. He never would have imagined this young man was hidden right in this Ancient Tree. He was even more stunned that the boy had the audacity to assassinate him!
Before the sword arrived, its Sword Qi was upon him!
A bone-chilling killing intent followed the Sword Qi, stabbing straight toward Qin Hengtian’s skull. A bloody gash spread open, instantly leaving a deep, long wound across his bald head!
Qin Hengtian bellowed, his body lunging forward in an unbelievable way.
He face-planted in the dirt, but that astonishing sword strike pursued him relentlessly, like a persistent Yin Soul!
Qin Li’s face was savage, his teeth clenched. He swore to slay a Celestial Level Martial Artist... with this one strike!
Qin Hengtian’s power was immense. He gouged a long, deep trench in the earth as his body shot forward like a serpent. At the same time, an astonishing amount of energy erupted from within him, his Protective Gang Qi thickening to a terrifying degree and concentrating entirely... on his back!
Clutching his Treasure Sword, he planned to endure Qin Li’s strike and then kill him with a counterattack.
Expectations are always beautiful; reality is always cruel.
The Blood-Drinking Sword in Qin Li’s hand shot out a long stream of purple Sword Qi, which sliced into Qin Hengtian’s back as if cutting through dead wood. With a single thrust... he ran the Celestial Level expert straight through!
At the same time, moving with blinding speed, Qin Li left several more gashes on Qin Hengtian’s back, each one deep enough to expose bone.
A Celestial Level expert was truly powerful. Even with such a Divine Weapon, Qin Li hadn’t managed to slice him to pieces. Still, Qin Hengtian let out a bloodcurdling scream.
BANG!
His body smashed into an Ancient Tree so thick it would take several people to encircle, blasting a huge hole through it. Qin Li, still in hot pursuit, swung down twice more, and Qin Hengtian’s legs were instantly severed from his body.
Just then, the massive Ancient Tree exploded, revealing Qin Hengtian’s face, twisted into an unrecognizable mask of rage, fear, venomous hatred, and confusion. All these complex emotions swirled together in his eyes. The sword in his hand shot out a crimson ray of Sword Qi, slashing viciously at Qin Li.
"Die!"
But along with Qin Hengtian’s howling roar, the Sword Qi... struck nothing but air.
Qin Li’s movement completely defied Qin Hengtian’s expectations. ’He was leaning forward, so how could he suddenly be retreating?’ His body moved like a leaf caught in a gale, utterly unpredictable!
"Old fool, you succeeded in provoking me," Qin Li said, his body landing a dozen meters away from Qin Hengtian. His eyes flashed with intense killing intent as he stared coldly. "But you forgot that when a person’s emotions are at their peak, their guard is at its weakest! You kept looking for a crack in my composure, but you... you forgot to watch your own."
COUGH... COUGH... Qin Hengtian suddenly coughed up two mouthfuls of blood. Now that death seemed inevitable, he actually calmed down, though his gaze was still filled with endless confusion and doubt.
"Who are you? Why do I feel such earth-shattering hatred from you?" Qin Hengtian continued to cough up blood, while fresh pools of it gushed from his legs, which were severed at the knees.
Qin Li narrowed his eyes, shrugged, and retreated another dozen paces. Still feeling unsafe, he leaped back again, landing high up in a tree. From this vantage point, looking down at Qin Hengtian over fifty meters away, he finally felt secure. He failed to notice, however, the flash of venomous hatred in Qin Hengtian’s eyes at the moment he backed away.
’What a cunning little bastard!’
"Who am I? Heh, originally... I had a little something to do with you. But now, we have nothing to do with each other at all!" Qin Li sneered at Qin Hengtian. "Take a guess. Who am I?"
"You’re that bastard child!" Qin Hengtian’s reaction was lightning-fast; the words just tumbled out. But then his eyes filled with disbelief, and he shook his head violently. "Impossible! Absolutely impossible! You can’t be him! He’s not this old! That little bastard is just a teenager!"
"Tsk, tsk. I say, what are you getting so worked up about? Look, your knees are bleeding again. Oh, right, don’t you have some salt? Sprinkle a little on. I guarantee it’ll perk you right up!" Qin Li taunted Qin Hengtian, but he himself was covered in a cold sweat, using these words to relieve his own immense stress.
"Aaargh... You—you’re going to be the death of me! You little bastard!" Qin Hengtian never thought Qin Li would throw his own words back in his face. He was instantly fuming with rage.
But he had no idea that Qin Li was just as tense.
He had successfully ambushed a Celestial Level expert!
No one would believe it if he told them. Even Qin Li himself felt as if he were in a dream. He wasn’t reckless enough to charge in knowing it was a death sentence. He had already figured out that Qin Hengtian wouldn’t rest until he was found.
Furthermore, Qin Hengtian’s constant stream of filth, so unbecoming of a supposed master, had pushed Qin Li to his limit. In a sense, Qin Hengtian had succeeded. He had used his foul mouth to provoke an emotional response. What he had never expected, however, was that the person he was so desperately trying to find was the very "bastard child" he was cursing! Nor did he ever calculate that this "bastard child" possessed an Ultimate Skill so profound it had completely deceived him!
It was these two fatal errors that had led to his current, grievously wounded state.
How pathetic! How pitiful!
But to Qin Li, it wasn’t pathetic or pitiful in the slightest. At this moment, seeing Qin Hengtian so heavily injured that he had almost no strength to fight back, the tension that had been wound tight within him finally eased a bit. He said flatly, "You deserve it."
Qin Hengtian wished he could eat the little bastard alive, but for now, all he could do was stall for time to recover his strength. The resilience of a Celestial Level Martial Artist was far beyond what an ordinary person could imagine.
Qin Hengtian had been run through by Qin Li’s sword. Although the blow hadn’t struck a fatal organ, an ordinary person would have died instantly. In addition, the horrifying wounds on his back had shattered several of his vertebrae. And on top of all that, his legs were severed at the knee!
Despite such grievous injuries, he could still sit there, gritting his teeth and trading barbs with Qin Li. It had to be said, Celestial Level Martial Artists were truly formidable!
Qin Li knew exactly what Qin Hengtian was trying to do, but short of turning and leaving, he had no better option. Besides, he wanted to pry some useful information out of the old man.
"So, you really are that Qin Li?" Qin Hengtian forced himself to calm down, knowing it would help him recover his strength faster. "But why do you look like this?"
Qin Li chuckled. "A Disguise Skill. You’ve lived this long, don’t tell me you’ve never heard of such a thing?"
"Nonsense! There are no traces of a Disguise on your face whatsoever!" Qin Hengtian roared. "Kid, who the hell are you?"
A sudden chill ran down Qin Li’s spine. He shot back into the air, retreating another fifty meters. As expected, his retreat earned him a fresh torrent of curses from Qin Hengtian. Qin Li patted his chest. ’Thank goodness the old fool gave himself away,’ he thought. ’From more than fifty meters, and so grievously injured, he could still insist I’m not wearing a Disguise!’
’What kind of sharp eyes does it take to observe something in such detail?’
Just then, he heard Qin Hengtian shout, "Qin Li, I’ll just assume you’re the Qin Family’s little bastard. Do you want to hear about your mother or not? If you do, then get your ass over here! After I’m done, you can give me a quick end!"
’I’d be a fool to believe you!’ Qin Li thought. He shouted back through the trees, "Old fool, you’ve clearly got plenty of energy left! If you want to die, just kill yourself! As for what you have to say... even though I’d like to know, it’s no big deal if I don’t. My mother and I cut all ties with the Qin Family long ago! You can’t threaten me with this!"
His only response was a long silence. Qin Li, for his part, was continuously circulating the Innate Purple Qi in his body. The brief exchange just now had drained nearly all of his Innate Purple Qi and stamina just to grievously injure the Celestial Level expert.
If he had to do it all over again, he couldn’t guarantee such a perfect outcome.
Suddenly, Qin Li completely lost interest in Qin Hengtian. In a godforsaken place like this, who knew how many powerful Spirit Beasts were lurking about? Given how badly Qin Hengtian was injured, even if he miraculously survived, his strength would be greatly diminished. Once he himself broke through to the Earth Level, killing the old man would be child’s play.
’Why should I be afraid of him anymore?’
With that thought, Qin Li stood up, and without another word, turned to leave.
The instant Qin Li turned to leave, a string of incredibly vicious curses erupted from behind him.
"Little bastard, may you die a horrible death! Your mother’s a cheap whore, and you’re a little mutt! Come on, if you have the guts, come kill your ancestor! You unfilial little son of a bitch, you’ll never make it out of this Forest... you’ll be torn to shreds by Spirit Beasts..."
A contemptuous smile on his face, Qin Li walked away without a backward glance, heading back the way he came.
...
Left alone, Qin Hengtian began the arduous task of treating his leg wounds. The injuries on his back were also severe, but he managed to endure the pain. It was a bone-deep agony, and even with his Celestial Level strength, he was drenched in a cold sweat. He gritted his teeth and snarled, "Little bastard, I’ve memorized your face! Just you wait. One day, I’ll strip your mother naked right in front of you..."
CRACK! A faint sound, like someone accidentally stepping on a twig, abruptly cut off Qin Hengtian’s cursing.
A powerful aura pressed in from deep within the Forest.
"Who’s there? Which Spirit Beast senior is it? This humble one meant no offense! It was all that kid’s fault! He went north, he..."
From the shadows emerged a peerlessly beautiful girl with a pale complexion. She looked down at Qin Hengtian with contempt and said coldly, "Shameless man. Die."
A flash of light shot from the girl’s hand, and Qin Hengtian’s head rolled to the ground. His eyes, wide open, were filled with venomous hatred and indignation.
A ball of black fire appeared out of thin air in the girl’s hand. She flicked it onto Qin Hengtian’s corpse. The flames spread instantly, consuming the body bit by bit...
Having done this, the girl wrinkled her nose in the direction Qin Li had gone and quickly followed after him.
