Compared to Wu Ming, who had killed two men within three moves, Ma Liu and Sun Wang had each already exchanged four or five moves with three opponents. Their situations were far from good. Sun Wang could only barely circle the courtyard pillar and dodge continuously, while Ma Liu had already taken a slash across the lower back, blood staining his clothes. He could only roar again and again as he forcibly swung his blade, guarding against anyone closing in.
Yet in that brief instant, the sudden turn on Wu Ming's side shocked everyone present.
The six men surrounding Ma Liu and Sun Wang all slowed for an instant. Zhao Hong and the other man's abrupt deaths left them stunned beyond measure, giving Ma Liu and Sun Wang a fleeting chance to catch their breath.
"How did this happen?!"
Among the three men besieging Hu Yong, Liu Chuan, who wielded a broad-bladed saber, frowned. Noticing the change behind him, he immediately drew back his blade and retreated, abandoning Hu Yong as he strode toward Wu Ming.
Seeing Zhao Hong and the other man lying in pools of blood, then looking at the youthful Wu Ming holding the Crimson Serpent Spear, Liu Chuan could not help but knit his brows tightly. Zhao Hong and the other had both survived countless bloody battles. How had they died within a few moves at the hands of some greenhorn?
"Wu Ming?"
With Liu Chuan withdrawing, Hu Yong went from facing three attackers to only two, instantly gaining a chance to breathe. He too noticed what had happened in the distance, and was equally astonished.
He had sparred with Wu Ming before and knew that Wu Ming's spear technique was fluid and refined, thoroughly integrated and filled with spirit, stronger than that of an ordinary martial man. But Wu Ming was young, after all. In a bloody fight like this, perhaps he could gain the upper hand one against one, but one against three? Hu Yong had thought victory impossible. Yet in the span of a few breaths, Wu Ming had killed two men in succession!
This was not the strength Wu Ming had displayed in their previous sparring matches.
"You killed two of my brothers. Go down and keep them company."
Liu Chuan gave a cold laugh.
He did not know how Wu Ming had killed Zhao Hong and the other man, but judging from his Blood Qi, Wu Ming was at most at First Blood Forging. Liu Chuan himself had long since reached Second Blood Forging. Taking action personally against Wu Ming was respect enough.
Whoosh.
Liu Chuan's footwork was strange. With a slant and a sweep, he crossed more than half the courtyard in an instant and arrived directly before Wu Ming. His saber suddenly rose and slashed down at Wu Ming. Whether in footwork or blade technique, he was swift and fierce, without the slightest flaw!
The power he unleashed was far beyond what Zhao Hong and the others could match. His long saber crashed down, carrying a scorching gale with it, and the hum of air shuddering could even be heard clearly.
"Second Blood Forging."
Wu Ming narrowed his eyes slightly as he faced Liu Chuan's attack.
He had trained with Hu Yong and knew that a martial man at Second Blood Forging was thirty percent stronger than him in both force and physique, and also somewhat faster. Their skin and flesh were tougher as well. While wearing leather armor, they could even take some of his attacks head-on. Even relying on his minute perception to gain a thirty percent advantage in technique, once they became entangled in battle, it would be difficult to determine victory or defeat without dozens or even hundreds of exchanges.
The situation before him was perilous, and every moment counted. Hu Yong had one fewer opponent and could still hold on, but Ma Liu and Sun Wang were both facing three enemies and stood on the brink of disaster. They could die within a few moves. Wu Ming knew he could not hold back now.
Since it was Second Blood Forging, then...
Wu Ming raised his spear and struck upward, exchanging a blow with Liu Chuan's broad-bladed saber. Then his mind settled in an instant, and his eyes abruptly became deep and unfathomable as he activated the Lin Word Incantation.
After Liu Chuan swung his saber to block the spear and tested Wu Ming's strength, confirming that it truly went no further than First Blood Forging, he prepared to rely on his Second Blood Forging physique and strength to break spear with saber, forcibly tear open Wu Ming's spear path, and swiftly kill him.
But before he could make a move, his mind suddenly went blank. It was as if a bronze bell had abruptly rung beside his ears, its dull hum filling his eardrums. In an instant, his head spun and the world whirled around him.
Lin Word Incantation!
Immovable as suchness, the true self descends; shake the heart and slay the soul!
Caught unprepared and struck by the Lin Word Incantation's intimidation, Liu Chuan immediately fell into chaos. Yet he was a vicious bandit who had lived through countless bloody battles. Though his soul had suffered a fierce impact and his head felt as though it were splitting apart, he still instinctively swung his saber three times in succession.
Triple Mountain Barrier!
Each of the three slashes was faster than the last, swift as lightning and answering one another, forming a stubborn defensive stance like layer upon layer of mountains.
But those three slashes, hurriedly swung by instinct alone, were naturally riddled with openings before Wu Ming and utterly useless.
A flash of spear light.
Squelch.
Liu Chuan staggered back several steps, his right hand still gripping the broad-bladed saber while his left clutched at his throat. His mind remained a muddle as he stared blankly at Wu Ming before him.
He forced his mouth open, trying to say something, but no sound came out. Only blood poured from his lips.
What happened just now?
Hidden weapons? Poison?
Liu Chuan could not understand what had happened to him. It was as though someone had suddenly struck him with a muffled club blow, utterly without warning. Amid the confusion, he could only use Triple Mountain Barrier to defend himself. But the saber technique he had used in that state had obviously been full of openings. Wu Ming had seized one directly and pierced through his throat with a single strike.
Though he possessed the physique of Second Blood Forging, had mastered his saber technique, and moved with swift footwork, he was still only flesh and blood. No matter how tough the skin and flesh of Second Blood Forging was, it could not withstand the Crimson Serpent Spear's piercing thrust.
Thud.
Liu Chuan's body stumbled two more steps before finally collapsing to the ground. His eyes stared fixedly at the night sky, unwilling to close even in death.
"So this is the might of the Lin Word Incantation. As expected, even Second Blood Forging finds it difficult to resist. It may not immediately shatter the soul and rob one of all ability to fight back, but it still delivers an instantaneous blow that is hard to withstand..."
Wu Ming was not surprised by this result.
The Lin Word Incantation was a spell technique derived from the Black Emperor's Demon Subduing Diagram, containing supreme profundities far beyond what his current spear techniques could compare to. Though his opponent was an expert at Second Blood Forging, dying on the spot was not unjust.
After using the Lin Word Incantation and resolving Liu Chuan with three spear strikes, Wu Ming did not pause in the slightest. Holding the Crimson Serpent Spear, he surged forward and directly attacked the third man who had previously assaulted him.
Seeing Liu Chuan fall, the vicious bandit's face was filled with horror. Wu Ming's successive killings of Zhao Hong and the other man had already terrified him. Now, even Liu Chuan of Second Blood Forging had died at Wu Ming's hands. Fear had already begun to creep into his heart.
"You..."
As Wu Ming charged at him, he did not even dare meet the attack for a moment. Clutching his weapon, he retreated again and again, backing all the way beside the eastern house and into the battle where three other bandits were besieging Sun Wang.
Sun Wang was already drenched in blood and had suffered several wounds in succession. Though he had barely avoided vital areas each time, the situation had become increasingly perilous, and he could collapse at any moment. But as Wu Ming arrived, the situation changed at once.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!!
Wu Ming took one stride into the battlefield. With a sweep and an upward flick of the Crimson Serpent Spear in his hand, he launched several spear strikes in succession.
The three men surrounding Sun Wang were also shocked beyond measure. Only one remained to continue dealing with Sun Wang, while the other two turned back, attempting to join forces and block Wu Ming. But before Wu Ming's strange spear technique, they had no way to parry at all. After only a few brief exchanges, another man was struck in the chest. Though he wore thick leather armor, Wu Ming's spearhead still pierced straight through his heart!
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