The camp gates stood wide open as dusk closed in.
Chen Qing sat alone before his tent, pouring and drinking by himself, as though the three Azure Wolf Death Warriors from the Northern Mang Royal Court, their hands drenched in blood, were not enemies at all but ordinary guests who had come from afar.
The three Azure Wolf Death Warriors halted a hundred paces outside the camp, like three lifeless black stone statues. The Death Warrior in the middle finally fixed the cold, indifferent eyes beneath his hood upon Chen Qing.
There was no Killing Intent, no hostility, not even the slightest emotional fluctuation. Yet that gaze itself carried a chill enough to freeze the soul, as though it were examining a dead object.
"Chen Qing." The middle-aged Death Warrior's hoarse, dry voice sounded like a cold wind passing over withered bones. "You are very good."
He seemed to be stating a fact. The fact that all three of them had been dispatched together was proof enough of Chen Qing's "value."
Chen Qing set down his wine cup and looked up. His dark-red pupils met that cold, indifferent gaze in midair, faintly stirring invisible ripples.
"The Northern Mang Royal Court certainly thinks highly of me." Chen Qing's tone was calm. "Since you three have come from afar, why not have a cup of watered wine and warm yourselves?"
A nearly inaudible snort came from beneath the hood of the somewhat leaner Death Warrior on the right, as though he disdained Chen Qing's pretended composure.
The Death Warrior in the middle slowly stepped forward toward the camp gates. The other two followed like his shadows, their strides identical and utterly soundless.
They walked slowly, yet with every step, the surrounding air seemed to grow thicker and colder. An invisible power of domain, carrying the meaning of death and annihilation, quietly spread outward from the three of them, faintly clashing against Chen Qing's Fierce Tiger Domain.
This was the Azure Wolf Death Warriors' Annihilation Wolf Domain!
Chen Qing could feel his Fierce Tiger Domain trembling faintly beneath the enemy domain's erosion, its range being suppressed to around two zhang! The Annihilation Wolf Domain did not triumph through violent Killing Intent. Instead, it bore an absolute deathly intent that stripped away life and froze everything, making it exceedingly troublesome.
The three entered the camp gates and walked straight toward Chen Qing.
Fifty paces, thirty paces, ten paces...
The instant they stepped within three zhang of Chen Qing!
Chen Qing moved!
His once-calm aura erupted with a boom! The terrifying cultivation of the late Meridian Condensing Realm burst forth without reservation! His dark-red Fierce Tiger Domain expanded and boiled like an enraged beast, crashing viciously into the Annihilation Wolf Domain!
Sizzle—!
Like ice and fire colliding, the two utterly different domain powers frantically slammed against and annihilated one another, producing a piercing, teeth-grinding hiss! The dust and withered grass on the ground were instantly ground into powder, while the air warped and blurred!
The three Azure Wolf Death Warriors clearly had not expected Chen Qing's domain to be so tyrannical and violent. Caught off guard, their figures all stalled slightly, and a trace of disorder appeared in their synchronized steps!
Now!
Chen Qing's left hand slammed hard against the ground. Borrowing the force, his body shot forth like a cannonball, straight toward the somewhat weaker Azure Wolf Death Warrior on the left! His ring-pommel saber carried a black-red saber radiance that tore through everything, appearing before the man's throat as though it had teleported!
Capture the ringleader first? No—break his fingers first!
The Death Warrior on the left reacted swiftly. The moment his domain was hindered, he had already become alert. Facing that lightning-fast slash, he neither dodged nor retreated. He brought the fingers of his right hand together, blue icy light gleaming at their tips like a poisonous wolf's claws, and precisely grabbed for the blade!
He actually intended to catch a blade barehanded!
Clang!
The sound of metal striking metal was deafening!
The ring-pommel saber was seized tightly in his five fingers. The blue icy light clashed fiercely with the black-red Baleful Intent, producing a corrosive sizzling sound! The Death Warrior's fingers were unbelievably tough. They had not been severed by the blade, though several bone-deep white gashes had appeared upon them!
But Chen Qing's slash had never been meant to sever his fingers!
The instant saber and claw met, Chen Qing's right leg silently lashed out like an iron whip. Highly compressed Baleful Intent condensed at his toes as he kicked straight at the man's groin!
At the same time, he opened his mouth!
Soundless dark-red ripples—Fierce Tiger Roar—erupted once more! Their target was precisely the Death Warrior on the left!
Three killing moves, linked ring after ring!
The Death Warrior on the left had to resist the blade, guard against the attack below, and endure that impossible-to-defend-against mental assault. He was instantly driven into a dead end!
For the first time, a trace of shock flashed through his eyes. He tried to retreat, but it was already too late!
Pfft!
The mental assault of Fierce Tiger Roar arrived first, freezing his movements!
Immediately afterward, Chen Qing's toes struck viciously into his crotch! Even with protective astral energy, the condensed Baleful Intent instantly penetrated through, bringing shattering agony!
Finally, Chen Qing violently twisted his wrist. The ring-pommel saber erupted with its last edge, forcibly breaking free of the enemy's grip as its light swept past!
Shhk!
A hooded head shot into the sky! The headless corpse stood stiffly for a moment before crashing to the ground!
[You killed an Azure Wolf Death Warrior (mid Meridian Condensing Realm).] [You obtained an enormous amount of qi and blood.] [You obtained supremely pure Deathly Silent Malevolent Energy.] [Fierce Tiger Iron Body proficiency +1500!] [The Fierce Tiger Domain has undergone a subtle change...]
In the blink of an eye, an Azure Wolf Death Warrior of the mid Meridian Condensing Realm had died!
It had all happened too quickly—so quickly that the other two Death Warriors had only just stabilized their domain and reacted!
Seeing his companion killed in an instant, the cold, indifferent eyes of the Death Warrior in the middle finally rippled. It was... Killing Intent provoked by fury!
"Kill!"
With a hoarse growl, he no longer held anything back. The Annihilation Wolf Domain unleashed its full might, its deathly intent that stripped away life surging toward Chen Qing like a tide! At the same time, his figure vanished like a ghost. In the next instant, he appeared to Chen Qing's left, a nearly transparent short sword as thin as a cicada's wing silently stabbing toward Chen Qing's temple!
The lean Death Warrior on the right formed seals with both hands and muttered an incantation. An invisible force like shackles instantly coiled around Chen Qing's legs, seeking to restrict his movements!
Their coordination was flawless, killing moves emerging one after another!
Chen Qing had just erupted and slain one man, and his aura had dipped slightly. Now, besieged by two even stronger Death Warriors at once, he was immediately plunged into peril!
He sharply twisted his body, barely evading the fatal transparent short sword. Its edge skimmed past his cheek, bringing up a string of blood beads. At the same time, he circulated Fierce Tiger Iron Body, and dark-red Baleful Intent exploded outward, forcibly shattering the invisible shackles around his legs!
But in that brief delay, the middle Death Warrior's short sword stabbed again like a disease clinging to the bone! Its angle was even more vicious and treacherous!
The Death Warrior on the right followed with another spell. This time, dozens of frigid blue ice spikes descended upon Chen Qing's entire body like a torrential downpour!
There was nowhere to evade!
A fierce glint flashed through Chen Qing's eyes. He ignored the ice spikes filling the sky, gathering all his Baleful Intent and true intent into the ring-pommel saber as he resolutely thrust it toward the middle Death Warrior's heart!
Trading injury for life! That fearless, life-risking style again!
The middle Death Warrior had not expected Chen Qing to be so mad. The momentum of his short sword faltered slightly.
That slight hesitation was enough!
Pfft, pfft, pfft!
Several blue ice spikes pierced through Chen Qing's iron armor and embedded deeply into his back and shoulder blades. Bone-piercing cold instantly spread, nearly freezing his blood!
[Heavily wounded. Fierce Tiger Iron Body proficiency +200!]
Yet Chen Qing's thrusting ring-pommel saber also seized that fleeting opening, its tip striking the middle Death Warrior's chest!
Clang!
A muffled sound rang out! Black light flashed over the middle Death Warrior's chest. Some protective treasure appeared to have blocked the fatal strike, but the terrifying force within it still sent his qi and blood churning as he staggered backward!
Taking the opportunity, Chen Qing retreated swiftly, opening distance from the two men. He panted heavily, blood streaming down his back as the cold continued to invade his body.
One against three—he had slain one man in an instant and heavily wounded the main force among them, though he himself had also suffered serious injuries.
These Azure Wolf Death Warriors truly lived up to their reputation!
The two remaining Death Warriors looked at Chen Qing, whose aura had fallen but whose eyes remained as fierce as ever, then at their companion's corpse on the ground. At last, gravity appeared on their cold, indifferent faces.
This battle was far more difficult than they had anticipated.
Chen Qing licked the blood from the corner of his mouth. Feeling the faint transformation occurring within his Fierce Tiger Iron Body after it devoured the pure Deathly Silent Malevolent Energy, as well as the Black Tiger True Intent growing ever more condensed beneath the pressure of life and death, the fighting spirit in his eyes burned even hotter.
"Warm-up's over." He bared bloodstained teeth in a grin. "Now it's time to get serious."
Before you continue