The Thirty-First Chapter

This single flaw exposed his whereabouts.

It was true that a blacksmith accustomed to using a large hammer wouldn't be good with an embroidery needle. They wouldn't be able to control the force required, so their stitches would inevitably be uneven.

This was a terrifying enemy. Ning Chang'an no longer thought of him as merely unusual.

Ning Chang'an narrowed his eyes and asked, "Who are you?"

Fierce Wolf replied, "Fierce Wolf!"

Ning Chang'an murmured, "Wolf..." The scene of Fierce Jackal killing someone and digging out their heart flashed in his mind.

Fierce Wolf's body tensed and he lunged forward.

Ning Chang'an flicked the Gloomy Cold Soul Severing Sword in his hand. A cold glint flashed as he thrust it forward. Fierce Wolf's body twisted bizarrely in mid-air, narrowly dodging the edge of the Gloomy Cold Soul Severing Sword. With one hand, he suddenly struck the blade, his entire arm twisting like a strange snake, slithering along the Gloomy Cold Soul Severing Sword towards Ning Chang'an's chest.

Ning Chang'an exerted his strength. The Gloomy Cold Soul Severing Sword vibrated, emitting a sound like a tiger's roar. A chilling coldness was released, and Fierce Wolf's hand, which was pressed against the sword, immediately shifted. Ning Chang'an swept his long sword horizontally, sending Fierce Wolf flying. Fierce Wolf rolled on the ground and stood up unharmed. At that moment, Ning Chang'an had leaped from the large rock, and the Gloomy Cold Soul Severing Sword descended like lightning.

The whistling wind sounded like the low growl of a fierce tiger.

Fierce Wolf rolled on the ground. The tip of the Gloomy Cold Soul Severing Sword grazed the black stone behind him, leaving a groove an inch deep. Ning Chang'an's assault did not pause. Like a fierce tiger pouncing, he thrust his long sword forward, aiming directly at Fierce Wolf. Fierce Wolf pushed off the ground, tilting his body back to the extreme as he retreated repeatedly. Ning Chang'an's long sword plowed through the ground, leaving a deep gully and sending dirt and stones flying.

Finally, both of them exhausted their strength simultaneously. However, Ning Chang'an's follow-up was not over. Cold stars flashed on the tip of his sword as he continuously stabbed out like a venomous snake's tongue, executing eighteen strikes within a single breath.

Eighteen strikes. This number was already triple his peak state.

He had completely surpassed his past self. This move was an extremely fierce and brutal technique from the Tiger Aspect Nine Moves, with immense room for improvement. This move, Fierce Tiger Rending Feast, displayed the ferocity and violence of a tiger tearing apart its prey. When practiced to perfection, the cold glint of this move would manifest a tiger's aspect, as if a fierce tiger were pouncing, leaving the victim shattered and their death gruesome.

Within a single breath, the long sword vibrated rapidly and stabbed repeatedly. The more strikes were delivered, the greater the power of this move. Of course, this was merely the most superficial and rudimentary part.

Ning Chang'an was very satisfied at this moment, feeling incredibly exhilarated.

He believed Fierce Wolf's legs were surely ruined.

However, the reality exceeded his expectations. As his sword tip struck Fierce Wolf's legs, Ning Chang'an felt as if he were stabbing a smooth steel plate. His long sword kept slipping, only managing to create cracks on Fierce Wolf's legs.

What kind of defensive technique was this?

Even iron and steel bones couldn't compare to external martial arts practiced to perfection!

As Ning Chang'an was momentarily stunned, Fierce Wolf sprang up from the ground, forming one hand into a claw and lunging towards Ning Chang'an's unguarded chest.

A chilling sensation washed over him. Ning Chang'an could even feel the flesh and skin where the claw was about to strike involuntarily twitching.

This feeling was utterly terrifying!

Ning Chang'an let out a loud shout, suddenly sidestepped, and channeled his strength into his elbow, violently colliding with Fierce Wolf's claw.

Crack! Fierce Wolf's claw came down, striking Ning Chang'an's arm fiercely. His five fingers closed, digging into the flesh.

Ning Chang'an cried out in pain and swept the Gloomy Cold Soul Severing Sword towards Fierce Wolf's waist.

Fierce Wolf grinned, completely ignoring Ning Chang'an's counterattack. His cold voice rang out, "Leave this arm behind!"

Ning Chang'an felt that the strength in Fierce Wolf's hand was incredibly immense, as if his elbow joint was about to shatter.

Ning Chang'an roared and twisted his body backward. He suddenly grabbed the middle section of his long sword with his other hand. As his waist twisted backward, Ning Chang'an's body formed an arc of extreme tension.

The sword sang like a dragon.

In this extremely perilous situation, the single move from the Dragon Aspect Nine Moves, Azure Dragon Emerging from Lair, was finally unleashed.

The series of actions was almost seamless, flowing like clouds and water.

The sword's cry grew louder.

Fierce Wolf realized the extreme danger, but the Gloomy Cold Soul Severing Sword in Ning Chang'an's hand roared out like an azure dragon.

A dragon is divine, its movements unpredictable like a goat's horns.

What does "Emerging from Lair" mean? It means the sword appears and disappears, piercing the enemy's body at the moment it emerges, like an enraged dragon bursting from its lair.

Crack!

A piercing sound echoed as the sword broke through Fierce Wolf's defenses and pierced his body, entering from the center of his chest and exiting from his back. The sword became stuck in Fierce Wolf's body.

Ning Chang'an's execution of Azure Dragon Emerging from Lair was still quite rudimentary.

Fierce Wolf's rigid face, which had shown little expression from beginning to end, contorted. He stumbled back three steps, the ferocity in his eyes intensifying. Then, he suddenly leaped forward, crashing into Ning Chang'an. In mid-air, he bared his teeth ferociously, biting towards Ning Chang'an like a wolf.

Fearless and extremely savage.

Ning Chang'an sighed, "Stop struggling. Your spine is already broken!" As he spoke, he suddenly stepped forward and grasped the Gloomy Cold Soul Severing Sword. Due to inertia, Fierce Wolf's body slid forward along the sword, suddenly appearing before Ning Chang'an. Fierce Wolf was not quite dead yet and bit towards Ning Chang'an's major neck artery. Ning Chang'an flinched, turning his head, and the bite landed on his shoulder, tearing off a piece of flesh. Ning Chang'an cried out in pain and suddenly exerted force, driving the Gloomy Cold Soul Severing Sword through Fierce Wolf's body and into the ground.

Only then did Fierce Wolf truly die.

Ning Chang'an looked at Fierce Wolf's corpse on the ground. The pungent smell of blood filled his nostrils and lungs. Cold sweat streamed down his face.

This person was too fierce, too ruthless.

Fierce Wolf had not uttered a single sound of pain from beginning to end. He seemed incapable of feeling pain; the more he was injured, the more ferocious he became. Even when death was imminent, he had bitten back.

The more Ning Chang'an thought about it, the more terrified he became. If it weren't for the flash of inspiration in his mind at the critical moment, accidentally unleashing Azure Dragon Emerging from Lair from the Dragon Aspect Nine Moves, he would surely have died here today.

At this moment, a mysterious energy began to dissipate from Fierce Wolf's body. With his life gone, his cultivation was also fading, returning to nature.

Ning Chang'an's pupils contracted, and he exclaimed in shock, "Essence Qi?!"

This was unexpected wealth, and also a reward for surviving a near-death battle. The lingering shock of the life-or-death fight had not yet subsided, and Ning Chang'an's eyes caught the mysterious aura constantly dissipating from the recently deceased Fierce Wolf's body. Having witnessed the Essence Qi of Gangsha, Ning Chang'an was not unfamiliar with it, but the subtlety of Essence Qi was still like looking at flowers in a fog or the moon in water for him. He already knew that Essence Qi could be projected to attack from a distance, completely ignoring armor defenses, and could easily break through protective True Qi and inner energy defenses, possessing astonishing special attributes. For example, the Essence Qi of Gangsha released by that bizarre assassin was specifically designed to target the opponent's heart meridian and qi sea. To resist Essence Qi attacks, one could either rely on agile footwork to dodge and prevent it from hitting, which was very difficult and not entirely reliable, as the difference in strength and experience between opposing sides played a decisive role. Another method was to use Essence Qi or even Divine Cultivation to resist Essence Qi and confront it head-on. However, the number of Essence Cultivations in the world was unknown, and their mutual interactions were not definitively concluded or thoroughly documented. For most people in the martial world, Essence Cultivation, whether in terms of martial arts or Mind Methods, was something they yearned for their entire lives, carrying a sense of rarity and elusiveness.

But a dog under King Mao, a mere vassal who moved chairs, actually cultivated a complete Essence Cultivation Mind Method, forged a body of Essence Qi, and reached a state of true invulnerability to blades and swords. That was truly terrifying and unbelievable!

If such a minor character was like this, what about King Mao himself?!

Ning Chang'an felt a tingling sensation on his scalp.

He suddenly felt that Mao Dongyue's death was too suspicious. He even suspected that Mao Dongyue wasn't dead at all. With such a father, and not being a useless waste himself, it would be very difficult to die. Moreover, Mao Dongyue had extremely high martial arts talent and didn't want to die, so how could he have died like this?!

Ning Chang'an slowly extended his hand, secretly circulating his Heart Sutra to absorb all the scattered Essence Qi from the Fierce Wolf.

The Essence Qi within the Fierce Wolf's body was not just one level inferior to the Essence Qi of the mysterious killer. It seemed this Essence Cultivation Mind Method wasn't particularly brilliant. Of course, "not brilliant" was only in the context of the Essence Cultivation Mind Method itself.

Ning Chang'an benefited greatly, no less than the benefits he gained from absorbing the four points of Essence Qi of Gangsha.

He opened his palm and saw a gray lotus pattern, like a totem tattoo, in his palm, appearing in a budding state with a faint luster flowing.

Ning Chang'an clenched his fists, his knuckles cracking, and immense power flowed through his palms.

Glancing at the Fierce Wolf's ferocious face and a piece of flesh it was chewing in its mouth, Ning Chang'an drew the Gloomy Cold Soul Severing Sword and shot towards the depths of the cypress grove like a phantom. With a few leaps, he disappeared.

He didn't know how many people managed to escape Green Willow Manor, but it was undeniable that Green Willow Manor must be a river of blood and a field of corpses at this moment.

After this battle, Green Willow Manor's reputation was ruined. Who knew how many vengeful parties it would face later. Perhaps few in the martial arts world would dare to attack King Mao, but there were plenty of people who would seek revenge against Lu Family Manor, whose experts were mostly dead and whose top expert, Lu Feixin, was crippled.

Ning Chang'an hadn't expected that a mere challenge duel between martial artists would trigger such a bloody upheaval.

He continued to ponder, following his own deductions, thinking deeper and deeper, becoming more shocked and more confused.

Never mind which faction the mysterious killer belonged to or what their objective was. Just assuming Mao Dongyue faked his death made the entire incident incredibly bizarre. King Mao and Lu Family Manor had no connection whatsoever; they minded their own business. But with Ning Chang'an's assumption, he realized King Mao had a motive to destroy Lu Family Manor.

Taking the guess a step further, if the mysterious killer was actually one of King Mao's subordinates, then this motive became even more apparent.

With King Mao's abilities, how could he not have detected the aura of the hidden killer? Moreover, when King Mao first appeared, the killer's murderous intent still lingered around Ning Chang'an. With King Mao's profound cultivation and keen senses, it was absolutely impossible for him not to have noticed any clues. Yet, he didn't. Not only did he not notice, but he also allowed the killer to retreat silently.