## Chapter 28
The moment the masked assassin spurred his horse forward, Chen Qing moved.
Without the slightest hesitation, he stomped hard on the stirrup and shot up from the saddle like an arrow loosed from the bow, taking the initiative to meet the charging assassin head-on!
While still in midair, his ring-pommel saber was already out of its sheath! Dark red Killing Intent coiled around the blade. No longer as ostentatious as before, it was instead restrained as an abyss, carrying a deathly stillness that seemed capable of devouring everything.
"Good timing!"
The masked assassin gave a hoarse shout. His narrow curved saber traced an eerie arc, and before its edge even arrived, an ice-cold saber intent had already locked onto Chen Qing, as though it could freeze a person's blood, qi, and soul.
Clang—!
The two sabers collided savagely in midair!
There was no earth-shaking boom, only an unbearably shrill screech of metal grinding against metal that made teeth ache! Dark red and deep blue Killing Intent, utterly different from one another, clashed, corroded, and erupted into countless fine sparks!
Chen Qing felt an exceedingly cold, insidious force travel up the blade, attempting to freeze his meridians. Even the Fierce Tiger Domain around him stalled slightly. The opponent's power was truly bizarre!
But the consummate Black Tiger True Intent within him erupted in an instant. That domineering will, capable of suppressing all directions, was like a blazing sun melting snow, immediately scattering the invading chill! At the same time, the fully integrated power of Fierce Tiger Iron Body burst forth, dark red Killing Intent surging like molten lava!
"Break!"
Chen Qing growled. With a fierce twist of his wrist, the dark red Killing Intent on his ring-pommel saber flared brilliantly, forcibly crushing the deep blue saber light back!
The masked assassin grunted. Man and horse alike were blasted backward, sliding several yards, and a flash of shock crossed his eyes. His Mysterious Yin Fierce Saber had always been invincible, specifically made to break all manner of protective qi. He had never expected it to be shattered so brutally!
And just as the two exchanged blows!
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Several dozen poison-coated crossbow bolts shot from the slopes on either side like venomous snakes, streaking toward the Black Tiger Camp's formation!
"Raise shields! Spread out!" Old Niu roared himself hoarse.
The Black Tiger Camp soldiers reacted with incredible speed. Heavy shields rose in an instant as they spurred their warhorses apart to both sides, their movements neat and uniform, revealing superb discipline. Yet several soldiers were still a fraction too slow. Crossbow bolts struck them, and they screamed as they fell from their horses, their wounds instantly blackening and rotting!
"Courting death!" A vicious gleam flashed through Sun Quezi's eyes. Without waiting for Chen Qing's command, he led the soldiers under him skilled with bows and crossbows, drew their bows, nocked arrows, and launched a blanket counterattack at the slopes on both sides!
At the same time, nearly a hundred more black-clad assassins poured from the depths of the valley, charging the Black Tiger Camp's flank like ghosts!
These assassins were clearly all elites. Their cultivation was no lower than the Skin Refining Realm, and they coordinated flawlessly. Their moves were ruthless and tricky, striking exclusively at vital points, entirely different from the style of the Northern Mang nomad riders!
"Form up! Grind them to death!" Old Niu bellowed, brandishing his spiked mace as he charged forward. He clashed with an assassin wielding twin daggers, the wind from his mace howling, fierce and unmatched.
In an instant, the entire Soul Severing Valley became a brutal meat grinder!
Chen Qing and the masked assassin became the vortex at the heart of the battlefield.
After suffering a setback in their first clash, the masked assassin no longer fought head-on. His body drifted about like a specter, his narrow curved saber leaving trails of deep blue afterimages as it attacked Chen Qing from every unimaginable angle, every strike aimed at a vital point. His movement was strange and his saber intent frigid, capable of interfering with Chen Qing's Fierce Tiger Domain to a certain extent.
Chen Qing drove the Black Tiger Saber Technique to its utmost limit. His consummate saber intent flowed together as one—at times like a ferocious tiger descending the mountain, powerful and heavy, forcing his opponent to receive the blows head-on; at others like a nimble cat toying with a mouse, his saber light uncanny and unpredictable, always precisely intercepting the opponent's killing strikes.
Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!
The two fought speed with speed. The sound of their clashing sabers was unceasing, Killing Intent spilling everywhere and grinding the surrounding dust and withered grass to pieces.
Chen Qing could feel that his opponent was immensely strong. That icy saber intent and bizarre footwork gave him no small amount of trouble. Yet he was even more excited! Such an opponent was precisely the finest whetstone for tempering his new realm!
He no longer held back. The Fierce Tiger Domain unfolded at full strength. Within a ten-foot radius around him, dark red Killing Intent churned like a living creature, suppressing and eroding the masked assassin from every direction!
At the same time, his spine swayed like a dragon, pouring all the Killing Intent of the Meridian Condensing Realm and Black Tiger True Intent into his ring-pommel saber!
"Take this saber strike! Black Tiger Rips the Sky!"
The ring-pommel saber was raised high above his head. All his Killing Intent, true intent, and strength condensed upon the blade's edge, causing the dark red saber radiance to contract in an instant and become dark and profound, as though it could swallow even light itself! Then, he slashed down!
There was no dazzling saber qi, only a slender black line condensed to the utmost extreme. It silently tore through the air and cleaved straight toward the opponent's face!
The masked assassin's pupils contracted sharply. He sensed a fatal threat from this strike! Wherever that black line passed, even space itself seemed to twist faintly!
He did not dare receive it head-on. As he retreated explosively, his narrow curved saber danced before him, creating a curtain of deep blue light in an attempt to block it.
Ssssh—!
The black line sliced into the curtain of light like a hot knife through butter. That condensed deep blue saber light was split cleanly in two! The black line did not slow in the slightest and struck directly against the masked assassin's curved saber!
Crack!
That narrow curved saber, clearly no ordinary weapon, was forcibly severed!
The remaining force of the black line continued onward, grazing past the masked assassin's shoulder!
Pfft!
An arm, spraying blood, flew into the sky!
The masked assassin let out a shrill scream. His eyes were filled with disbelieving terror. He could no longer care about anything else; clutching his severed arm, he fled desperately toward the depths of the valley like a startled rabbit!
[Heavily wounded a peak Meridian Condensing Realm assassin. Fierce Tiger Iron Body proficiency +300! Black Tiger Saber Technique proficiency +280!] [Fierce Tiger Domain absorbed pure killing intent and has been strengthened!]
Chen Qing did not pursue. He stood with his saber in hand, breathing lightly. That strike, Black Tiger Rips the Sky, had nearly drained more than half his Killing Intent and mental strength. Its power was formidable, but its consumption was equally immense.
He turned to look over the surrounding battlefield.
With their commander defeated and fleeing, the remaining black-clad assassins immediately lost all morale. Under the slaughter of the Black Tiger Camp's hardened soldiers, they were quickly wiped out.
The battle was over.
The Black Tiger Camp paid the price of more than twenty casualties, annihilating this elite force of nearly a hundred assassins.
Old Niu walked over with his blood-dripping spiked mace, spat out a mouthful of bloody saliva, and cursed, "Damn it, these bastards were even harder to deal with than those Northern Mang brats! They must be those rats that can't stand the light!"
Sun Quezi, meanwhile, wore a dark expression as he inspected the assassins' corpses. From them, he found identical tokens without any markings, along with poisoned hidden weapons.
"General, it seems someone doesn't want you to return alive." Sun Quezi handed the token to Chen Qing.
Chen Qing took the token. It felt ice-cold to the touch, and there was still not a single mark upon it. But he could tell that neither its material nor craftsmanship belonged to Northern Mang.
The Imperial Capital? Or another force?
His gaze turned icy as he put away the token.
"Clean up the battlefield. Bring our fallen brothers with us. Return to camp."
This border patrol had not only cleared out the Northern Mang nomad riders, but also dragged out a venomous snake hiding in the shadows.
And through this battle, Chen Qing had completely stabilized his cultivation in the Meridian Condensing Realm. His use of the Fierce Tiger Domain and Black Tiger Saber Technique had also become more practiced.
He knew that as his status rose and his strength grew, the road ahead would become bloodier—and more... thrilling.
As Fierce Tiger Patrols the Border, its fangs had been bared. Next, it was time for those rats hiding in the darkness to properly experience what fear truly meant.
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