Chapter 64: Chapter 64: Slay
As Jiang Ran charged at him with saber raised once more, Li Feiyun had no choice but to brace himself and fight with everything he had, however much he wished otherwise.
The True Qi of his Blood Cauldron Scripture churned within him. A grim Gang Qi whipped about with every punch and kick, each of his moves savage and fierce.
He had come from a destitute background, his past filled with misery. It was only by a stroke of luck that he had stumbled upon a martial arts lineage.
He obtained a new Inner Energy technique, along with three sets of martial arts: a fist style, a kicking style, and a finger technique.
The True Qi of the Blood Cauldron Scripture had long ago converted the Inner Strength he had painstakingly cultivated for years. Now, when he executed his fist and foot techniques, their power was amplified several times over.
Unfortunately for him, the Blood Cauldron Scripture was useless against Jiang Ran.
For the moment, all he could do was react to each move as it came, and every time he clashed with Jiang Ran, he couldn’t stop himself from coughing up a mouthful of blood.
Having lost the initiative from the start, he was being completely suppressed by Jiang Ran.
The two had fought to this point, and the previous explosions from the pool had already attracted the attention of others nearby.
Hearing the growing number of footsteps all around, Li Feiyun grew even more frantic.
’If only I had known. The moment I saw Jiang Ran today, I should have just run. I definitely would have had a chance to get away then.’
’If I’d known, why would I have wasted so much time talking nonsense with him?’
’If only I had known... If only... But this world is not a world of "if onlys".’
He had turned to banditry and endured for many years, finally achieving some measure of success, only to end up controlled by others. Now, just when freedom was within his grasp, he had run into an immovable obstacle.
The resentment in his heart was beyond words.
Watching Jiang Ran’s saber press ever closer, he finally took a long, deep breath.
"I’ll give you everything I’ve got!!!"
He had fought to this point and could no longer sustain the battle.
The True Qi of the Blood Cauldron Scripture was powerful, but not limitless. After being wounded again and again, he wasn’t made of iron.
His physical stamina and Inner Strength were both draining away. Gasping for breath, he suddenly flipped through the air and unleashed three rapid palm strikes.
With a single tremor of his saber, Jiang Ran shattered the force of the three palm strikes.
He stepped forward, about to deliver another slash, when a single finger suddenly appeared before his eyes.
The finger was so fast that by the time Jiang Ran registered its presence, it was already less than three inches from his brow.
Executing a step of the Celestial Nine Steps, his body blurred as he dodged away.
When he looked up again, Li Feiyun was already more than twenty feet away.
His hands were spread to either side, palms facing down. True Qi billowed around him, whipping his robes and sending his hair flying. An overwhelming, bloody aura surged into the sky!
"Blood Cauldron Scripture!?"
Li Tianxin’s voice sounded from the side.
He too had been drawn by the commotion; the men Li Feiyun had arranged to stop him had already failed.
Guo Chong had also arrived with soldiers as backup.
But upon hearing the words "Blood Cauldron Scripture," Guo Chong’s expression changed instantly.
"Fall back!!"
His command was absolute. The moment he spoke, the soldiers who had been about to charge all retreated.
Guo Chong’s sharp voice rang out.
"Jiang Ran, be careful! Don’t try to block that attack directly."
At that moment, Li Feiyun’s hands slowly turned palms-up. The Gang Qi around him formed an arc, flowing in a shell about half a foot from his body.
Streaks of blood-red light coiled around the Gang Qi like silken threads.
The powerful winds radiating from him whipped up sand and pebbles.
Jiang Ran held his broadsaber, the blade angled toward the ground, as he silently watched the scene unfold.
At the same time, surges of Inner Strength from his Scripture of Creation and True Heart poured into the saber.
The saber’s edge began to hum, a sound that was faintly grating to the ear.
It was like someone scraping a small knife against your ear.
In that instant, a waterfall of True Qi suddenly erupted from behind Li Feiyun!
He leaned forward and thrust out his hand. In an instant, the blood-red True Qi condensed into a massive hand seal.
Guo Chong’s face fell the moment he saw it.
The massive True Qi hand seal was formed entirely from the power of the Blood Cauldron Scripture.
If that palm strike landed, even a hundred Jiang Rans would be annihilated without a trace. Guo Chong was instantly filled with uncontrollable rage.
"You dare!!!"
But it was already too late for him to charge forward and intervene.
Jiang Ran, however, suddenly closed his eyes.
’The saber in my hand, the energy in my body, my opponent’s martial art, and his fading life force...’
’All of it took shape in my mind.’
Then, he opened his eyes, lifted his saber, and brought it down in a slow, deliberate slash.
This slash did not condense into a line of qi, but moved with a silent, chilling sharpness.
There were no ripples of True Qi, no condensed Gang Qi.
It looked like a perfectly ordinary slash. Everyone watching could even see the nicks and chips on the blade’s edge.
Though his saber was new, the Blood Cauldron Scripture was not to be underestimated.
While Li Feiyun’s technique couldn’t harm Jiang Ran, his saber had nearly reached its breaking point.
Now, as the saber’s edge descended, a fissure effortlessly appeared on the massive hand seal Li Feiyun had formed with his Blood Cauldron True Qi.
In that instant, everyone had a strange feeling.
It felt as if nothing and no one in the world could stop that blade’s descent.
Though there was no sound, everyone seemed to hear the faint sound of tearing silk.
It was as if he were slicing through paper or cloth. As the blade passed, it tore the blood-red hand seal to shreds.
Immediately after, the saber swept across Li Feiyun’s chest.
In that instant, the slow, stagnant perception of time seemed to snap back to normal.
Two figures flashed past one another. Jiang Ran and Li Feiyun came to a stop, their backs to each other.
Guo Chong rushed forward, but the attack he had been about to launch froze in mid-motion.
He looked at Jiang Ran, then looked at Li Feiyun.
Just as he was about to speak, Li Feiyun tilted his head back and coughed up a mouthful of blood. Blood GUSHED from his chest.
His body gave out and he collapsed, turning his head back to look at Jiang Ran.
"Such a... piercing blade..."
Jiang Ran sheathed his saber and spoke softly.
"Who are they?"
"You want to die?"
Li Feiyun grinned.
Jiang Ran smiled too.
"Sounds like you’re talking about a big fish..."
"You plan... you plan... to use their... heads as ingredients?"
Li Feiyun’s breathing was faint as a thread, but he still managed a nod.
"Good... As long as, as long as you can... find them..."
"They can’t be found anymore."
Guo Chong spoke before he could finish.
Li Feiyun turned his head to look at him.
Guo Chong said flatly,
"If I’m not mistaken, the ’they’ you’re talking about should be the people hiding in Rice Village outside Cangzhou Prefecture."
"You... how do you..."
Li Feiyun looked toward Guo Chong, but his vision was already blurring. He could only struggle to follow the voice.
He heard Guo Chong say softly,
"Last night, I received an urgent report.
"In Rice Village, there were a total of seven hundred and thirty-five people, all of them top-tier experts.
"It’s a pity. They’re all dead.
"Wiped out in a single night.
"Just like the Qinghe Gang back then.
"And based on the timing, they have been dead for at least four days."
"Four days..."
As he listened, the light in Li Feiyun’s eyes dimmed.
"Could it be... the same night the Qinghe Gang was destroyed?"
However, this question would not be answered, because after saying these words, Li Feiyun had already breathed his last.
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