The masked assassin seemed desperate to destroy those letters, ignoring the threat of the Void-Breaking Strike, gathering his sword technique, preparing to unleash a killing move to slay Ling Xiao.
Oddly though, he didn’t use his broken martial soul.
Ling Xiao speculated there were two possibilities.
The first was that this person didn’t possess a broken martial soul, but that seemed unlikely—if he was from the Hidden Dragon Camp, the odds of not having a remnant soul were slim.
The second was that he didn’t dare expose his broken martial soul, because doing so might reveal his identity.
Even without using a broken martial soul, given Ling Xiao’s current state, this killer move could very well finish him off.
He’d have to go all out!
Ling Xiao had faith in himself, with the soul-entering state of his Mountain River Martial Soul, he could lock onto the opponent’s position perfectly, giving the Void-Breaking Strike—a mechanical treasure—over a ninety percent chance of hitting its mark.
Flower Sword: Rose Funeral!
A top-tier advanced sword technique—Flower Sword!
As this killing move was unleashed, strange rose petals danced before Ling Xiao’s eyes.
These petals wrapped toward him at incredible speed, their edges sharp as blades, glinting with a cold light.
“Brilliant swordplay!”
Despite his shock, Ling Xiao couldn’t help but admire it, after all, the Flower Sword’s greatest trait was its sheer beauty in execution.
“Hmph, at least you’ve got an eye for it, seeing such a gorgeous sight before you die should satisfy you!” the masked assassin sneered, his hands never slowing despite his words.
“Stop!”
Just as Ling Xiao prepared to use the Void-Breaking Strike, a booming shout rang out.
Like a giant elephant descending, a massive figure landed in front of Ling Xiao, fists smashing forward, meeting the assassin’s sword move head-on.
“Shi Lei!”
“Sorry, Brother Ling, I’m late, but don’t worry, with me here, he won’t touch you!” Shi Lei said.
Shi Lei was a man who repaid kindness, having taken Ling Xiao’s Golden Snow Lotus earlier, he wouldn’t stand by and let him be killed now.
The opponent was strong.
But Shi Lei wasn’t weak either.
Boom!
In the air, rose petals clashed with the phantom of a giant elephant, exploding apart.
Strangely, despite not being at a disadvantage, the masked assassin turned and fled.
“No escape!”
Shi Lei gave chase.
“Don’t chase a desperate foe—bloody hell, he’s too impulsive,” Ling Xiao muttered, shaking his head with a wry smile, he’d tried to call Shi Lei back, but it was no use.
“Better focus on recovering, in case more trouble comes!”
Ling Xiao didn’t opt to go back for Ling Yixue and Yin Ran, since danger could strike on the way.
Quick recovery was the priority.
He’d just taken a Golden Snow Lotus and a Gang Qi Pill, so his recovery was rapid, three martial veins of gang qi were already restored, plus the one left from before, making four in total.
The true essence he’d converted earlier wouldn’t be so easy to replenish though, that’d have to wait until he had time to work on it slowly.
For now, getting his gang qi back to full strength was the smart move.
That’s what he planned, but things took an unexpected turn.
“Didn’t think this Murong Shao would actually dare show up!”
As Ling Xiao prepared to keep recovering, his terrifying vision in the soul-entering state spotted Murong Shao approaching with eight young martial artists, all at the sixth martial vein level.
They were nearly upon him.
“Since you’re so clueless, this forest will be your grave today.”
Ling Xiao took a deep breath and swallowed over a dozen more Gang Qi Pills.
If anyone saw him popping Gang Qi Pills like sweets, they’d be green with envy.
Gang Qi Pills weren’t as precious as low-grade spirit stones, but they were still the best pills for the gang qi stage, only the kids of wealthy clans could afford to burn through them like that.
Five martial veins restored!
Six martial veins fully restored!
Ling Xiao opened his eyes, a smile creeping onto his face.
Even without a shred of true essence, just pure gang qi, he had more than enough to handle a punk like Murong Shao.
Still, he put on a weakened act.
“Hahaha, didn’t expect you’d have a day like this, eh?”
Murong Shao emerged from the woods, laughing as he looked at the seemingly terrified Ling Xiao.
“Didn’t you say you’d take my life? Too bad, the one dying today is you!”
Ling Xiao frowned, “Murong Shao, we’ve got no real grudge, no reason to fight to the death, why push it?”
Murong Shao sneered, “Trying to trick me into spilling something? I’m not that daft, take your questions to the grave—be a confused ghost when you’re dead—attack!”
This guy was sharp enough to see through Ling Xiao’s ploy, with a wave of his hand, the other eight sixth-vein martial artists surrounded Ling Xiao.
Back-Through Fist!
Wind-Cutting Sword!
Mountain-Splitting Blade!
…
Various killer moves came flying, clearly intent on ending Ling Xiao.
Murong Shao, the sly sod, stayed back, summoning his black bear remnant soul and gripping his giant axe in an attack stance, but he didn’t join the assault.
Meteor Strike!
Whether Murong Shao jumped in or not, Ling Xiao’s killing move was ready.
The arrow was notched, no turning back.
Besides, if he took out the other eight, Murong Shao wouldn’t even register as a threat.
This Meteor Strike was a killer move derived from the Meteor Fist.
As it unleashed, Ling Xiao leapt into the air, slamming a fist down like a massive meteor crashing into the crowd.
It was a terrifyingly wide-ranging attack, designed for one-against-many kills.
Boom!
The ground erupted, flames shot everywhere, and all eight who’d surrounded Ling Xiao were blasted dead on the spot.
Some were charred black;
Some were torn apart;
Others had their insides shattered.
Not a pretty way to go.
What!
Seeing this, Murong Shao finally realised he’d underestimated Ling Xiao—this guy recovered way too fast.
No good, run!
He had enough self-awareness to know he wasn’t a match, so he turned tail.
To max out his speed, he even tapped into his black bear remnant soul, lumbering through the forest like a giant bear.
That speed was at least twice what it’d been before.
“Gotta kill Murong Shao!”
At this point, Ling Xiao couldn’t let him go.
Murong Shao had come at him time and again, even trying to kill him while he was down—if he let him off now, he’d be too much of a coward.
To save gang qi, Ling Xiao didn’t summon the ghost ship, instead twisting his body into an ice dragon and giving chase.
Even so, his speed outstripped Murong Shao’s by a fair bit, though Murong Shao had a head start, at this rate, it’d take less than a cup of tea’s time to catch up and cut him down.
But moments later, he abruptly halted, a look of sheer terror crossing his face.
About a mile away was a great river, the biggest in Baiyun Province, called Cloud River.
Cloud River was always busy with boats, mostly simple sailboats or rowboats.
Yet now, on a quieter stretch, sat a massive mechanical ship.
Etched on this ship was a black dragon pattern—or rather, an emblem.
