Blade Slays the Three Freaks of Lingdong!

"Eighth on the Villain Ranking?"

Han Jin murmured under his breath, unable to stop himself from widening his eyes at Ji Qing.

He had never imagined that this ordinary-looking passerby before him was actually the infamous Demon Lord ranked eighth on the Villain Ranking.

"What is the Villain Ranking?"

Ji Qing turned his gaze toward Han Jin.

This chief escort had traveled far and wide through the Jianghu and was well-informed. He surely knew about the Villain Ranking.

"The Villain Ranking is one of the Jianghu rankings compiled by Lingxiao Pavilion. More than a hundred people from the Jianghu are listed on it. The Villain Ranking does not rank people by martial prowess, but solely by the weight of their sins."

Ji Qing raised a brow. "So my name is on this Villain Ranking?"

Han Jin hesitated briefly before speaking. "The latest Villain Ranking was published seven days ago. Its greatest change was that Ji Qing, the scholar of Liang City, slaughtered his father and mother, severed all feeling and extinguished his humanity. With crimes too heinous to pardon, he was ranked eighth on the Villain Ranking!"

Ji Qing's brows knit slightly.

For the past half month, he had traveled only along mountain paths, so he truly knew nothing of the news circulating through the Jianghu.

So he had already been ranked eighth on the Villain Ranking.

Now his name had truly spread through the Jianghu, his infamy carrying far and wide!

"Eighth on the Villain Ranking—you're Ji Qing? Hahahaha! I never expected such an unexpected windfall. Your head is worth a thousand taels in reward silver now!"

The speaker was the leader of the Eighteen Riders of the Great Desert.

He stared at Ji Qing, his eyes gleaming.

It was as though Ji Qing had already become a mountain of shining silver.

This was simply a pie falling from the sky.

But the moment those words were spoken, the three short, strange men became displeased.

"Big Brother, what if someone tries to snatch our reward silver?"

"Our three brothers have pursued this Ji Qing all the way here. Now they want to steal the reward? Then we'll send them to their deaths!"

Not only did these three freaks look strange, their tempers were strange as well.

At the slightest disagreement, they attacked.

One wielded a saber, one a sword, while the third used concealed weapons.

The three moved with startling agility, swift as the wind, and lunged directly at the Eighteen Riders of the Great Desert.

The Eighteen Riders of the Great Desert could not be bothered with nonsense either.

"Kill these three dwarves!"

But before the words had even faded, a rain of concealed weapons descended over the Eighteen Riders of the Great Desert.

Every concealed weapon flew at incredible speed from treacherous angles, each one infused with Internal Force.

The Eighteen Riders of the Great Desert were immediately caught completely off guard.

At the same time, the other two freaks attacked as well.

Saber and sword swept forth like a raging gale. In merely a few breaths, the Eighteen Riders of the Great Desert cried out one after another and collapsed to the ground, already devoid of life.

A thick stench of blood filled the air.

They were dead!

The Eighteen Riders of the Great Desert, who had just been brimming with might and preparing to wipe out the Weiyuan Escort Agency, had died just like that?

The people of the Weiyuan Escort Agency seemed unable to believe it.

The Eighteen Riders of the Great Desert, who had run rampant across the desert and committed every imaginable evil—how had they died so quickly?

They had exchanged blows with them just moments ago. The Eighteen Riders of the Great Desert could have wiped out everyone in the Weiyuan Escort Agency as easily as turning over a hand.

Every one of the eighteen riders had been a Third-Rate Martial Artist.

Yet they had died at the hands of these three freaks.

"You are the Three Freaks of Lingdong?"

Han Jin spoke up.

"Hehehe, that's right. We are the three brothers."

Realization dawned on Han Jin.

"No wonder..."

"The Three Freaks of Lingdong are three brothers born of the same mother, each practicing a different weapon. It is said that the brothers' hearts are linked, allowing them to coordinate flawlessly with one another, without a single opening. Though all three are Third-Rate Martial Artists, together the three freaks can fight a second-rate expert!"

"As the saying goes, when martial skill rises by a thread, life and death become two separate heavens. When the Eighteen Riders of the Great Desert encountered the Three Freaks of Lingdong, they were naturally no match..."

After speaking, Han Jin glanced at Ji Qing.

Ji Qing looked at Han Jin meaningfully.

He could tell that Han Jin's words seemed to have been meant for him.

The Three Freaks of Lingdong were clearly here to cause Ji Qing trouble.

However, the Three Freaks of Lingdong were not quite so quick-witted and failed to catch Han Jin's hidden meaning.

They thought Han Jin was praising their formidable reputation.

"Is there anyone else who wants to fight us for the reward silver?"

Han Jin clasped his fists. "Our Weiyuan Escort Agency only escorts goods. We do not involve ourselves in Jianghu disputes."

After saying that, he signaled for the people of the Weiyuan Escort Agency to retreat into the temple.

"Brother..."

Ji Yao, however, clutched Ji Qing's sleeve tightly.

Though she was young, after their journey as fugitives, she seemed to understand what Ji Qing was about to do.

"Be good, Yao'er. Stay here properly. I'll be back soon."

Ji Qing then rose to his feet and walked step by step toward the Three Freaks of Lingdong.

"Ji Qing, don't blame us three brothers. Rather than let a thousand taels of reward silver fall into someone else's hands, it might as well benefit the three of us."

The Three Freaks of Lingdong spoke lightly, but they had long since readied themselves in full battle formation, not daring to let down their guard.

For some reason, as Miss Lin watched Ji Qing's back, her heart rose faintly into her throat.

"Chief Escort, eighth on the Villain Ranking... How skilled is Ji Qing?"

Han Jin's expression was grave. He shook his head and said, "The Villain Ranking is determined by sins. As for his martial arts... I do not know. But since he could commit monstrous crimes in Liang City and still escape so easily, his martial arts must not be weak."

"However, the Three Freaks of Lingdong have roamed the Jianghu for more than ten years. They are even more difficult to deal with..."

There were many people in the temple, yet the atmosphere was incomparably silent at that moment.

Ji Qing walked step by step to the entrance.

He was now only two or three zhang away from the Three Freaks of Lingdong.

Ji Qing stopped, his hand slowly closing around the saber hilt.

The Three Freaks of Lingdong also fell silent. Though they had spoken casually before, all three now wore solemn expressions, as if facing a formidable enemy.

"Whoosh..."

A cool breeze swept in, carrying with it a faint chill.

"Clang."

Ji Qing drew his saber.

With a flick of his thumb, the long saber slid from its sheath.

A dazzling streak of saber light suddenly appeared in the night, as though it would split apart the black curtain of darkness.

At the same time, Ji Qing lightly pushed off with his feet and crossed the distance of two or three zhang in the blink of an eye.

"Thread of Sky!"

Ji Qing did not hesitate in the slightest and immediately unleashed his ultimate move.

Even the Internal Force within his body erupted in full, instantly amplifying its might by thirty percent.

Ji Qing held nothing back. The instant he drew his saber, he struck at his peak!

This saber strike was already the strongest blow Ji Qing could currently unleash!

From the moment Ji Qing drew his saber, it seemed that only this streak of saber light remained within the Three Freaks of Lingdong's vision.

It was too dazzling.

This breathtakingly beautiful saber light was almost certainly the finest sight the Three Freaks of Lingdong had ever witnessed.

Unfortunately, such a dazzling strike was not meant to be admired, but to kill.

This was a killing blade!

Ji Qing and the Three Freaks of Lingdong passed through one another.

The Three Freaks of Lingdong's eyes widened.

"What a fast saber..."

A deep line of blood appeared across all three of their throats.

"Thud."

The Three Freaks of Lingdong fell to the ground together.

Blood spurted from their necks like fountains. They had already lost all breath.

They were dead!

The Three Freaks of Lingdong, who had run rampant through the Jianghu for more than ten years, had died just like that?

And Ji Qing had used only one move.

One saber strike, instant kill!

Silence!

The entire temple became even quieter.

The people of the Weiyuan Escort Agency stood with their mouths agape, yet not one of them made a sound. They did not even dare breathe too heavily.

Ji Qing sheathed his saber.

He lowered his head slightly. A concealed weapon was lodged in his abdomen, and blood had already dyed his clothes red.