Chapter 26: Chapter 25: Instant Kill and Thousand-Li Fire
Translator: 549690339
The cool night was as tranquil as water, moonlight streaming through the verdant foliage.
In an instant, a fierce sword light emerged, like water, light, electricity, and thunder, clean and sharp, drawing blood the moment it left the sheath.
Liu Chengshi’s laughter abruptly ceased. His eyes were filled with intense disbelief. He opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but could utter no words. The long knife in his hand fell, his body went limp, and he tumbled from the carriage to crash heavily onto the ground.
A man next to Shen Xiang exclaimed in surprise, “Water Swordsmanship!”
This Water Swordsmanship was the medium-grade martial arts skill, incomplete as it was when it was handed over to Pei Xuanjing by Shen Xiang.
But to everyone’s surprise, in just a few short months , Pei Xuanjing had already mastered this sword skill and could so easily kill Liu Chengshi, a sixth-grade martial artist, with a single stroke, even with such suddenness.
Pei Xuanjing said indifferently, “Correct!”
‘You really dared to strike!” Shen Xiang’s face was horrified.
Looking at this calmly-faced young man, Shen Xiang felt a storm surging in his heart.
Turns out everything the other party had said was true; he really wanted to kill Liu Chengshi.
Even though the rise of the Liu family led to an escalation of conflict among their several powers, most of the time it was merely friction among the underlings.
And because of the suppression of the Great Ming government office, they all tacitly controlled these conflicts, never really involving the powerholders.
Liu Chengshi was the first high-ranking official to die in this struggle.
A major incident was about to happen in Anping Prefecture!
This was the only thought in Shen Xiang’s mind.
“Second master! ”
“You deserve to die!”
The sudden strike by Pei Xuanjing took everyone by surprise.
The high-level martial artists of the Liu family did not even realize it until this moment. The three of them charged towards Pei Xuanjing, with a fifth-grade martial artist leading two sixth -grade martial artists.
Clang!
The moment their weapons collided, both of them felt a huge impact. The fifth-grade master of the Liu family also discovered the true strength of Pei Xuanjing.
“You’re a fifth-grade martial artist, you guys be careful…”
He never expected that the other party wasn’t a sixth-grade martial artist as they had learned, but a fifth-grade martial artist, almost equal in skill with himself, who had been immersed in the fifth-grade realm for nearly ten years.
Unfortunately, before he could finish his sentence, while both were clashing, Pei Xuanjing, having been prepared, spun around and charged directly at the two sixth-grade martial artists behind him.
Pei Xuanjing moved with borrowed momentum, swiftly, with his longsword flashing out.
This time he used the “Yin Wood Sword Skill,” which he had practiced for a long time and was on the verge of advancing to the ‘intuitive understanding’ realm.
Splat!
Two sounds of a sword piercing through bodies echoed, two sixth-grade martial artists from the Liu family were stabbed through their chests by him. Caught off guard, the two continued to run forward from inertia for a few steps before crashing to the ground.
From the moment Pei Xuanjing dueled with the Liu family’s fifth-grade master, killing two of the Liu family’s sixth-grade martial artists with ease, it seemed like a lot had happened. But in fact, everything took place in the blink of an eye, almost impossible to react to.
Shen Xiang, along with three high-level members of Shen’s Business Association, just watched as the trio from the Liu family, infuriated by the death of Liu Chengshi, charged forward. But in the blink of an eye, they found that not only did they fail to kill Pei Xuanjing, but they were also killed by him instead.
Initially, their alliance laid siege to Pei Xuanjing, believing that he had nowhere to escape. But in just a short time, he had successively killed three sixth-grade martial artists, which was almost surprising considering the rapid change in circumstances.
“Merchant, you retreat first. This opponent is not a sixth-grade martial artist, but a fifth- grade martial artist,” said a man with a bamboo hat standing beside Shen Xiang.
Their group was composed of four people led by Shen Xiang. However, Shen Xiang himself only had a ninth-grade realm. Among the other three, there was one fifth-grade and two ninth-grade martial artists.
The one who just spoke was that fifth-grade martial artist. He came from Shen’s Business
Association, a clan elder of the Shen family. It was because of his presence that Shen Mei was assured enough to let her Shen Xiang, a mere ninth-grade martial artist, participate in this ambush personally.
“A fifth-grade martial artist!” Upon hearing the words of his clan elder, Shen Xiang’s face turned pale,
a bitter expression revealed at the corner of his mouth.
Did he still underestimate him?
However, his thoughts were quickly hidden. He made a quick decision, saying: “Elder, I’d like you to take action personally. Join forces with the Liu family and kill this boy tonight, otherwise, he will be a
continuous threat.”
Shen Xiang, who maintained considerable relations across the entire Northwest Dao due to his business dealings, was well aware. A twenty-year-old sixth-grade martial artist seemed only a grade away from a twenty-year-old fifth-grade martial artist. But this one step difference was as vast as the difference between heaven and earth.
While a sixth -grade martial artist was considered respectable in the Northwest Dao, a fifth -grade martial artist was recognized as a top talent across the Great Ming, almost on par with a direct descendant of the top powers.
Therefore, to prevent the Shen family from having to face an intimidating enemy in the future, they must keep him here tonight, no matter what.
Puff-
Pei Xuanjing took a long breath. After successively killing three sixth -grade martial artists with a single stroke each, his inner energy and mental energy were both severely drained. It was only because the inner energy of the skill he practiced was inherently deeper than that of martial artists of the same level, otherwise, he might not even have the chance to escape now.
To be clear, although he was a fifth -grade martial artist, his fighting experience against other fifth-grade martial artists was rather lacking. If he were to fight with a martial artist of the same realm for too long, coupled with the threat from the remaining sixth-grade martial artists, death would be certain.
Therefore, he was willing to face the enormous risk of cutting off the assistance of his enemies first, to create a better combat environment for himself.
However, when he saw the surging aura released by the fifth -grade martial artist of the Shen family, Pei Xuanjing, who had been calm, finally showed some signs of alarm. He had overreached this time. While he had suspicions, he didn’t expect these forces to be so cautious as to each dispatch a fifth-grade martial artist to deal with him, a simple “sixth-grade martial artist.”
Fortunately, Pei Xuanjing wasn’t completely unprepared. He pulled out a foot-long, two-finger-thick cylinder from his arms and held it in his hand.
“Thousand-Li Fire, he has reinforcements. Stop him quickly!” Shen Xiang’s eyes flickered as he shouted.
The Thousand -Li Fire, a kind of signal-comparison device similar to fireworks, can be seen within a ten-mile radius even at its lowest level.
Pei Xuanjing bringing out the device held a deeper meaning that he wasn’t alone but had reinforcements. This gave Shen Xiang a chill down his spine.
The two fifth-grade martial artists hurriedly charged forward upon hearing his words. But it was too late. Pei Xuanjing gave a faint smile and unscrewed it without hesitation..