The air in the Hall of Righteousness was thick with blood.
Zhao Hei Hu's corpse was still warm, his unclosed eyes glaring at the ceiling beams as though questioning the unfairness of fate.
Agula flicked the blood droplets from his Water-Splitting Daggers, his pair of inverted-triangle eyes locked tightly onto Ji Ye as he slowly approached.
He could not see through this scholar.
Ji Ye clearly lacked the hardened muscles unique to martial men, and his breathing was as light as a cat's. Yet every step he took made Agula's heart tremble for no reason. It was the instinct a wolf king of the grasslands felt only when facing its natural predator.
"Southerner, you will regret this."
Agula let out a low growl, and his entire skeleton crackled like popping beans.
Bone Forging Realm, bones like refined iron.
The bluestones beneath his feet instantly shattered. He became an afterimage, shooting toward Ji Ye like an arrow released from the string.
He held nothing back in this strike.
One Water-Splitting Dagger went high, the other low—the upper one stabbing for the throat, the lower hooking toward the dantian. This was the White Wolf Tribe's killing move, Wolf Fang Intertwined, vicious and treacherous.
"Be careful, sir!"
Wang Meng could not help crying out from afar. He knew full well how terrifying the Bone Forging Realm was. That was strength the Skin Grinding Realm simply could not withstand head-on.
Ji Ye did not retreat.
In his vision, the world turned gray and white.
Only countless red lines lit up across Agula's body.
They were the paths of his muscles exerting force, the axes supporting his bones.
Too crude.
Under the analysis of [Martial Arts Through Divinity], this straightforward method of exerting force was like a dilapidated house leaking drafts from every side.
Ji Ye shifted slightly to the side.
At the instant the Water-Splitting Dagger was about to touch his collar, the Wild Goose Feather Saber in his hand moved.
It was neither a block nor a direct clash.
The blade pressed against the side of the Water-Splitting Dagger thrust upward by Agula, then gave it a gentle stroke.
"Scrrrk—"
A teeth-grating screech of metal scraping metal rang out.
That seemingly weightless stroke employed the principle of "sticking." The spine of the Wild Goose Feather Saber pressed precisely upon the dagger's point of force, then guided it outward.
Agula felt his wrist sink. His certain killing thrust suddenly veered three inches out of control, grazing past Ji Ye's ear.
At the same time, Ji Ye stepped half a pace forward.
That half-step landed precisely in the opening between Agula's legs.
"First strike."
Ji Ye spoke softly.
The saber flashed.
Rather than withdrawing, the Wild Goose Feather Saber swept downward with the motion, its tip picking precisely at the inner side of the wrist holding Agula's other Water-Splitting Dagger.
That was the Da Ling Acupoint, and also where the ligaments were weakest.
"Pfft."
A soft sound.
Agula felt a chill in his wrist, followed immediately by heart-piercing pain.
The hand that had been about to hook open Ji Ye's dantian instantly lost all strength, and the Water-Splitting Dagger clattered to the floor.
"Argh!!"
Agula screamed, but he was a Barbarian warrior tempered through countless battles. His ferocity was thoroughly stirred. He ignored his fallen weapon and clenched his intact hand into a fist, smashing it toward Ji Ye's face with a howling gust.
If that fist landed, even stone would shatter.
Ji Ye still did not take it head-on.
Like a fallen leaf swaying amid a storm, he gently leaned back with the force of the punch.
The fist grazed past his nose and struck nothing.
Agula's old momentum had run out, and inertia tipped his body forward.
This was an opening.
A fatal opening.
"Second strike."
Ji Ye turned his wrist, and the Wild Goose Feather Saber traced a bizarre arc through the air, like an antelope hanging its horns—leaving no track to follow.
The blade sliced into the hollow behind Agula's right knee.
Microscopic Control.
The blade avoided the hard leg bone and severed the major tendon inside as easily as cutting tofu.
"Crack."
Agula's enormous body abruptly dropped. His right leg instantly lost its support, and he crashed to his knees.
"How is this possible..."
Agula's face was full of terror. He clearly possessed the strength of the Bone Forging Realm, a physique that could crush his opponent—so why did every move feel like striking cotton? Why could his opponent's saber always appear where it hurt him most?
This was not combat at all.
This was dissection.
"You... who exactly are you?" Agula panted heavily, trying to struggle to his feet, but the leg with its severed tendon refused to obey him.
Ji Ye stood before him, looking down at the Barbarian commander of a thousand kneeling at his feet.
The Wild Goose Feather Saber in his hand was not even stained with much blood.
"I'm a physician."
Ji Ye said calmly, "I specialize in treating all kinds of defiance."
"I refuse to submit!!"
Agula released a desperate roar, using the last thread of his strength to lunge forward and bite through Ji Ye's throat.
"Third strike."
Ji Ye sighed.
The saber light suddenly appeared.
It was so fast that no one could see its path.
There was no flourish in this strike, only absolute precision.
The blade entered through the gap between the blood vessels at the side of Agula's neck, avoiding the cervical vertebrae as it instantly severed his windpipe and artery.
"Ghk... ghk..."
Agula's roar came to an abrupt halt, turning into a leaking hiss from his throat.
He clutched his neck as blood spurted through his fingers. The light in those inverted-triangle eyes swiftly faded, leaving only lifeless gray.
The corpse fell.
It landed right beside Zhao Hei Hu's corpse.
Their heads faced one another, like a pair of fellow sufferers who had died amid chaotic times.
The entire hall fell silent.
The surrounding Local Militia, Wang Meng included, stared blankly at the scene.
From the moment Agula erupted into action to the moment he became a corpse, only a few breaths had passed.
A Bone Forging Realm expert had been dealt with as easily as slicing melons and chopping vegetables?
There had not even been a proper sound of collision. It was like a master butcher processing a slab of meat on a chopping board.
"Wang Meng."
Ji Ye sheathed his saber, took out a spotless white handkerchief, and wiped away a drop of blood that had splashed onto the back of his hand.
"Here!"
Wang Meng jolted all over and hurried over. The way he looked at Ji Ye was no longer merely reverent; it was as though he were looking at a god.
"Clean this up."
Ji Ye pointed at the two corpses on the ground, his tone as calm as if he were deciding what to have for dinner.
"Gang Leader Zhao fought the Barbarians bravely and unfortunately perished. Give him a lavish burial."
"As for this Barbarian..."
Ji Ye glanced at Agula's corpse.
"Cut off his head and preserve it in lime. This will be an auspicious sign for us to claim credit from those above."
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