“Bang!”
Ye Qiu was sent flying over ten meters, his back scraping against the ground, leaving a large bruise.
On the other side, the Starving Ghost supported the Hanged Ghost and asked, “Big brother, how are you?”
The Hanged Ghost’s face was pale. He quickly extended his fingers and tapped a few points around the wound on his left shoulder.
“Big brother, how are you really?” the Starving Ghost asked again.
“Are you blind? Can’t you see how I am?” the Hanged Ghost snapped irritably.
Scolded by his big brother, the Starving Ghost felt both wronged and angry. He then turned his fury toward Ye Qiu. “You bastard, how dare you hurt my big brother? I’ll kill you!”
The Starving Ghost, wielding two cleavers, strode menacingly toward Ye Qiu.
Ye Qiu gripped the Emperor Sword Chi Xiao tightly, preparing to use the Grass Character Sword Technique as soon as the Starving Ghost got close, aiming to kill him in one strike.
To prevent any unexpected changes, he secretly held a golden needle in his left palm, just in case.
But at that moment, Cold Blood suddenly stepped forward and grabbed the Starving Ghost’s shoulder.
“What are you doing?” the Starving Ghost turned and glared at Cold Blood, shouting angrily.
“His reinforcements are here,” Cold Blood said.
“Reinforcements?” The Starving Ghost turned around and saw two figures appear in his line of sight.
Ye Qiu also saw the two figures.
Azure Dragon and Qilin!
Instantly, Ye Qiu’s spirits lifted.
Tang Fei, in the car, also saw Azure Dragon and Qilin. He smiled and said, “This is great. Azure Dragon and Qilin are here. If those three don’t run now, they’re dead.”
Long Ye said, “They don’t have a chance to escape anymore.”
Tang Fei looked ahead and saw that Azure Dragon and Qilin had positioned themselves behind Cold Blood and the others, clearly to prevent them from fleeing.
“Ye Qiu, are you okay?” Qilin shouted.
“I’m fine. You came just in time,” Ye Qiu replied with a bright smile.
Azure Dragon noticed the injuries on Ye Qiu’s body and said, “Ye Qiu, take a rest. We’ll handle these three.”
Ye Qiu knew that Azure Dragon was highly skilled, but the three opponents were also incredibly powerful. Cold Blood alone could match Azure Dragon in combat and might even seriously injure him.
The title of the world’s number one assassin wasn’t just for show.
Qilin, with only one arm, was at a disadvantage and couldn’t handle both the Starving Ghost and the Hanged Ghost alone.
Ye Qiu said, “Azure Dragon, Qilin, help me hold off those two. I’ll take care of the world’s number one assassin myself.”
“You’re injured. Can you handle it?” Qilin asked.
“Don’t worry, I can take him down,” Ye Qiu replied with a smile.
In the next moment, Azure Dragon moved, charging straight at the Starving Ghost, while Qilin quickly engaged the Hanged Ghost in battle.
Only Ye Qiu and Cold Blood remained standing still.
There was a ten-meter distance between them, each holding a sword, their eyes locked on each other.
“Your sword is quite interesting. What’s its name?” Ye Qiu asked.
“Ruthless,” Cold Blood answered coldly.
“You’re called Cold Blood, and your sword is called Ruthless. Together, it’s ‘Cold Blood and Ruthless.’ Quite the perfect match,” Ye Qiu said, raising the Emperor Sword Chi Xiao. He asked Cold Blood, “Do you know what sword this is?”
“What sword?”
“The Emperor Sword Chi Xiao!”
Cold Blood’s pupils contracted slightly, and his expression, which had remained emotionless until now, changed slightly.
In fact, when Ye Qiu had drawn the Emperor Sword earlier, Cold Blood had noticed that the sword was extraordinary.
As a master of the sword, he could tell a good blade at a glance.
“The Emperor Sword Chi Xiao has been lost for centuries. Where did you get it?” Cold Blood asked with a hint of curiosity.
“That’s not important,” Ye Qiu said, his smile tinged with coldness. “What’s important is that you will die by this sword today.”
Cold Blood remained unfazed. “You overestimate yourself. In all my years as an assassin, I’ve never failed.”
“Just because you haven’t failed before doesn’t mean you won’t fail today,” Ye Qiu said. “Besides, Chi Xiao is the sword of emperors, designed to slay the disloyal and unfilial.”
Instantly, a strong killing intent emanated from Cold Blood. He understood that Ye Qiu was mocking him for killing his master and father.
Ye Qiu continued, “I’m curious. Did you feel any guilt when you killed your father to become the world’s number one assassin?”
Cold Blood stared at Ye Qiu for a long moment before saying, “You’re trying to provoke me, to find a weakness? It won’t work.”
“Your tricks are childish in my eyes.”
“Even with reinforcements, you’re still doomed today.”
Ye Qiu smiled. “You’re quite confident, but killing me won’t be that easy.”
“Hmph, you talk too much,” Cold Blood said, growing impatient.
Ye Qiu’s smile widened. “Do you really think I have time to waste on idle chatter?”
Cold Blood’s eyes narrowed. Only now did he realize that Ye Qiu’s injuries had unknowingly healed. “You were stalling to recover?”
“It’s too late to realize that now,” Ye Qiu said, already charging forward with his sword.
Cold Blood moved as well, his speed even faster. Despite starting later, he reached Ye Qiu first, his sword aimed straight at Ye Qiu’s heart.
“Whoosh!”
Ye Qiu’s figure suddenly vanished from Cold Blood’s sight.
Cold Blood reacted quickly, retreating immediately, but by then, the Emperor Sword was already behind him.
Cold Blood, as the world’s number one assassin, had rich combat experience. He performed a backflip, his sword clashing with the Emperor Sword.
“Clang!”
A crisp sound rang out.
Cold Blood quickly retracted his sword, his aura shifting as he launched a fierce strike at Ye Qiu from mid-air.
This strike was filled with overwhelming dominance.
Ye Qiu met the attack with his own sword, and in an instant, the two blades collided again, producing another clear, ringing sound.
Cold Blood, not wanting to give Ye Qiu any breathing room, suddenly increased the speed of his strikes. Countless sword beams intertwined into an impenetrable net, descending toward Ye Qiu.
Ye Qiu, in truth, didn’t have much experience with swordsmanship. The only technique he had mastered was the Grass Character Sword Technique, and he knew no other sword moves.
Seeing the sword net closing in, Ye Qiu suddenly sheathed his sword and began moving with bizarre footwork—sometimes to the left, sometimes to the right, sometimes with quick, small steps, and sometimes with spinning leaps. Each step flowed seamlessly into the next, allowing him to evade Cold Blood’s attacks.
Cold Blood’s eyes showed a flicker of shock. Ye Qiu hadn’t used this footwork earlier, even when surrounded by three opponents.
He realized that Ye Qiu had been holding back.
“Facing three powerful enemies, with several sword wounds on his body, and yet he was still hiding his strength. This level of composure is terrifying.”
Cold Blood knew he couldn’t afford to give Ye Qiu any more chances. This battle had to end quickly.
With that thought, Cold Blood’s figure flashed, and his sword seemed to pierce through the air, appearing in front of Ye Qiu’s throat in the next instant.
This strike was both fast and ruthless.
Ye Qiu leaned back, quickly crouching down as the sword grazed past his scalp. At that moment—
His eyes flashed with cold light as he threw a punch aimed straight at Cold Blood’s heart.
