Chapter 87: Chapter 86: Jiaowei Qin
"Come out!"
With a sharp cry, Jiang Ran gave a sudden pull.
At the same time, a disheveled man chained hand and foot to the cave wall also gritted his teeth and pulled on his bonds.
The chains instantly snapped taut.
The two forces battled through the chains. In the blink of an eye, the thick manacles began to stretch, twist, and deform under the strain!
The man on the cave wall could no longer pay attention to anything else.
With a twitch of his shoulder, the chains that had bound a black-clad youth came loose. He swept them out in an instant, whipping them viciously toward Jiang Ran like a soaring python.
"Not good!"
Ye Jingshuang snapped out of her daze, her expression a mixture of shock and delight.
She had recognized Jiang Ran’s voice. Now, seeing the chains rushing toward him, she immediately moved to draw her sword.
But she saw Jiang Ran just smile. He tapped one foot lightly on the ground, his body bending like a bow as Barbaric Dragon Strength coursed through him.
"Get down here!!!"
As this force erupted, the man on the cave wall could no longer hold on.
Jiang Ran pulled him clean off the wall, sending him flying through the air.
Jiang Ran casually released Ye Jingshuang and, with a reverse grip, grabbed his saber’s hilt. He leaped into the air, drawing his blade with a HUM. A flash of steel pierced the darkness, aimed straight for the man’s head.
The man was already being pulled off-balance by Jiang Ran’s Barbaric Dragon Strength. Seeing this vicious strike, how could he dare to think of anything else?
He activated his Heart Method and retracted the chain. The very same chain that had been whipping toward Jiang Ran was now gathered forcefully before him.
It formed a makeshift shield of coiled links.
WHIRRR!!!
The blade descended in an instant. As its edge passed, the chain, like a piece of paper or a strip of silk, was effortlessly sliced in two by Jiang Ran.
Just as it seemed the man was about to be cleaved in two by Jiang Ran’s blade...
...a sharp CLINK was heard.
WHIR... WHIR... WHIR... A silver glint went spinning away.
It was the shattered blade of Jiang Ran’s saber!
’What did I hit?’
The thought flashed through his mind. In the next moment, a palm was already before him.
On the wrist of that hand was an iron ring. The ring looked unremarkable, but it now bore a fresh, white mark.
A thought stirred in Jiang Ran’s mind, and the Heart Scripture of Creation began to circulate. In an instant, a gale of Gang Qi enveloped his body. It split from one into two, yin and yang spinning on their own, transforming from formless to tangible and creating a layer of Protective Gang Qi about half a foot from his skin.
The palm struck suddenly. Upon contact with the Gang Qi, the force it carried instantly seemed to develop a mind of its own, scattering in all directions, never to return.
The power in the palm dissipated completely.
The man’s expression changed drastically. He tried to pull back, but it was already too late.
Jiang Ran’s five fingers shot out like soul-reaping talons, seizing the man’s shoulder.
But the man paused, slightly taken aback. He felt that although this claw attack was fierce, it didn’t possess the same indestructible force as before.
He was just about to shrug his shoulder to dislodge the talons.
Their Lightweight Techniques had both reached their limit, and they fell from mid-air to the ground.
The moment the man’s feet touched the ground, he felt more secure. He immediately circulated his internal energy, preparing to blast Jiang Ran’s claws away.
But to his surprise, the hand that had seemed somewhat weak a moment ago suddenly possessed an unstoppable power.
The force he used to repel Jiang Ran’s five fingers was like paper. With a casual clench, Jiang Ran pierced right through it.
Jiang Ran’s five fingers were like hooks, instantly sinking deep into the man’s shoulder.
The man let out a bloodcurdling scream. But before he could react, Jiang Ran channeled his power, and with a RIIIP, tore five bloody channels from the man’s shoulder down to his forearm.
The pain was truly unbearable.
But it wasn’t over... The Thirteen Frenzied Demon Claws of Kun, once unleashed, was a purely offensive technique that struck like a crazed demon. Having gained the upper hand, there was no sense in backing down now.
He had to press his advantage. With his five fingers bared, Jiang Ran was like a ghost or a god. His fingertips sketched across the man’s chest, each touch leaving a bloody mark.
Crisscrossing, gruesome, and bizarre. In the blink of an eye, after more than a dozen moves, flesh flew from the man’s chest. He was forced back step by step, unable to resist even when he tried.
Just as he was about to die on the spot, his neck was suddenly seized by Jiang Ran. Barbaric Dragon Strength coursed through Jiang Ran’s arm, and he slammed the man sideways onto the ground.
A dull THUD was heard.
The ground was slightly dented from the impact, with cracks spreading out in all directions.
The man on the ground was breathing in but not out. The wounds on his chest were deep enough to show bone. If Jiang Ran had reached his claws in just a little deeper, he would have torn out all the man’s internal organs.
At this moment, he stared blankly at the cave ceiling, his eyes lifeless, simply waiting for death.
This scene left not only the two youths in red and black but even Ye Jingshuang completely dumbfounded.
For a moment, she began to wonder if she had mistaken him for someone else.
The man she remembered, though highly skilled in martial arts, was an expert with the saber. He didn’t possess such a brutal and unreasonable claw technique.
Then she saw Jiang Ran look up, his eyes filled with a complicated expression as he stared at the broken half of his saber blade embedded in the wall.
"...What is it?"
Ye Jingshuang asked softly.
Jiang Ran heaved a deep sigh.
"Twenty taels of silver... and this was the first time I used it."
The previous one, worth ten taels, had been corroded by Li Feiyun’s Blood Cauldron True Qi after their fight and couldn’t be used anymore.
So he had replaced it with a more expensive one... only to have it destroyed in a single battle.
"Young Master, is it really you?"
Hearing Jiang Ran’s voice again, any trace of doubt vanished from Ye Jingshuang’s mind, and her eyes filled with joyful surprise.
Jiang Ran glanced at her.
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