Unexpected Change III

San Tou stood frozen in shock, gripping his eyebrow-level staff.

Head Chopping Saber Lin Hongshui gaped. He looked at the head rolling on the ground, then at Lu Sheng standing there in a daze.

The autumn wind sighed bleakly, stirring a thin layer of dust across the ground.

For a time, none of the three spoke.

Lu Sheng had never expected that this fellow, who looked so overwhelmingly formidable, had failed to dodge even his merely probing slash.

San Tou, meanwhile, had been scared witless. His legs had begun to tremble.

As for Lin Hongshui, he had never imagined that the slash just now had been delivered by a green young brat like Lu Sheng.

"Good, good, good!"

He suddenly burst into laughter, though there was a hint of savagery in his grin.

"Another one looking for—"

Pfft! Blade Light flashed. This time, it was San Tou.

Lu Sheng's figure crossed past San Tou, and another spray of blood splashed down.

San Tou's head was gone as well. It rolled several times across the ground before bumping into a pile of charcoal and coming to a stop.

Lu Sheng shook the blood from his saber.

A faint, scorching sensation of surging blood rose in his chest.

So this was killing. This was being a saber wielder! This was the legendary drawing blades against one another at the slightest disagreement!

He tightened his grip on the long saber. This ordinary silver-white blade, its edge only as long as his forearm, felt in his hand like his closest comrade-in-arms.

A faintly strange feeling welled up from the depths of Lu Sheng's heart. Suddenly, he felt as though he had stepped into all the martial arts novels he had once read.

An indescribable fervor burned ceaselessly in the depths of his heart.

"Come on! Either kill me, or end up like those two pieces of trash on the ground."

Lu Sheng liked this feeling. His eyes were slightly red as he licked his dry lips and walked toward Lin Hongshui step by step.

"You bastard!!"

Lin Hongshui's face gradually twisted with fury.

He gripped his thick-backed chopper in both hands and strode toward Lu Sheng.

Whoosh! The silver swallow suddenly reappeared as Lu Sheng slashed out.

Although the Swallow Chasing Wind Saber had only just reached beginner level, with the Black Tiger Saber Technique's mastery of the saber path supporting it, its power was still quite impressive.

Clang! Yet Lin Hongshui raised a hand and blocked the strike.

"I recognize that move—Swallow Skimming Water. The Swallow Chasing Wind Saber." He gave a savage grin. "Back then, I nearly hacked the original owner of that saber technique to death. What are you, a little brat?"

With a sudden exertion, he knocked Lu Sheng's long saber aside.

The edge of his chopper flipped, carrying immense force as it slashed diagonally upward from below.

This Water Splashing Stance from the Splashing Wind Saber Technique was his tried-and-true opening move. Whenever he used it, his opponent either had to dodge or was forced into a head-on clash with him.

Lu Sheng sprang to the side, evading the chopper. His long saber unleashed the Swallow Chasing Wind Saber Technique at full force as he engaged his opponent.

The two fought fiercely in the middle of the rear courtyard.

Lin Hongshui's saber momentum was heavy. He wielded his huge blade much like a sledgehammer, with immense power; even a single collision left one's arm numb.

Lu Sheng, however, was faster with the saber and possessed greater endurance. From time to time, he relied on the Swallow Chasing Wind Saber Technique to slash and deflect along the side of his opponent's blade, knocking his attacks off course.

Both men were actually extremely fast, far faster than Er Tou and San Tou.

But to them, this speed was merely ordinary.

Lu Sheng used every move of the Wind Chasing Saber several dozen times in succession, yet still could not gain the upper hand.

Lin Hongshui, on the other hand, remained as lively as a dragon and vigorous as a tiger, his strength astonishing.

Clang! Clang!

Their sabers collided twice more in quick succession.

Lu Sheng misstepped, landing on a brittle wooden plank. His body lost its balance.

Lin Hongshui's eyes lit up, and his chopper immediately slashed forward with all his strength.

"Die!!"

He wanted to split this hateful brat in two from head to toe! The boy had dared kill Er Tou and San Tou right in front of him.

If he did not avenge this hatred, who would dare join his brother's ranks in the future!?

The chopper trembled strangely as it hacked viciously down at Lu Sheng's forehead.

The core principle of the Splashing Wind Saber Technique was to use special methods of exertion to greatly amplify the strength behind a chopping blade.

This made Lin Hongshui's already astonishing strength even more terrifying when channeled through his saber.

The chopper descended straight toward Lu Sheng's head.

Whoosh! At that moment, Lu Sheng straightened himself and instantly regained his footing. The long saber in his hand vibrated rapidly, suddenly releasing a blurred howl.

Roar!!! It was Tiger's Roar!!

Lu Sheng's eyes turned red as he suddenly unleashed Tiger's Ferocity from the Black Tiger Saber Technique.

The blade, carrying immense vibration and explosive force, crashed viciously toward Lin Hongshui's arms gripping the saber. This strike was faster and fiercer than the chopper's! "You dare!!" Suddenly, an angry roar rang out from beyond the breach in the courtyard wall.

In an instant, a dark blur shot over and slammed viciously into the side of Lu Sheng's long saber.

Clang! It was a grayish-white stone.

A second burly man carrying a thick-backed chopper leaped into the courtyard.

Two intersecting scars ran from this man's forehead down to his chin, making him look exceedingly vicious.

"Big Brother!!"

Lin Hongshui had been slowed for a moment by the Tiger's Roar brought forth by the Black Tiger Saber Technique, and had nearly had both arms severed by Lu Sheng.

Taking the chance, he hurriedly withdrew his saber. Large beads of cold sweat streamed down his face. He had clearly been frightened badly.

"This brat uses the Black Tiger Saber Technique. He's not easy to handle! More people are coming. Let's join forces and finish him!"

Lin Shuanghuo glanced at the two corpses on the ground and spoke sharply.

"Fine!"

The two brothers came from opposite sides, lunging at Lu Sheng together.

Lu Sheng showed no fear. He unleashed Tiger's Might from the Black Tiger Saber Technique, and his saber momentum became far heavier than that of the Swallow Chasing Wind Saber.

The fully mastered Black Tiger Saber Technique possessed astonishing power. Every slash he made was a step ahead of the two men, striking at vital points they had no choice but to defend.

In the span of a few moments, he used Tiger's Might seventeen times in a row! Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

Shouts rang continuously throughout the courtyard. The two brothers, fighting together, could barely force Lu Sheng into a draw.

Their saber moves had no chance to clash head-on with Lu Sheng's. Each time they had only executed half a move before being forced to fall back and defend desperately.

After fighting like this for Half an Incense Stick, Lin Shuanghuo could no longer endure it. He took a step back and, while his brother temporarily held Lu Sheng off, reached into his robes and pulled out a paper packet, hurling it straight at Lu Sheng's head.

"Die!!"

Pfft~!

Lu Sheng split the paper packet apart with a slash, scattering a great cloud of lime powder.

Startled, he immediately held his breath and shut his eyes.

Without time to think, he frantically unleashed the final move, Tiger's Roar.

Roar!!

Another tiger's roar rang out.

Clang! Clang! This time, Lu Sheng's long saber could not evade and collided head-on with the two choppers.

With a crack, the long saber snapped in two and spun away, shooting into the ground from the side.

But as the strongest move of the Black Tiger Saber Technique, Tiger's Roar possessed formidable strength and speed as well.

The force behind the brothers' choppers was also shaken loose.

"Let's see what you can use to block now! Die!! Hahaha!"

Lin Shuanghuo laughed. A saber wielder without a saber was a pig or sheep waiting for slaughter; the difference in strength was immense.

He was just about to tighten his grip and finish Lu Sheng.

Thud! Thud! At that moment, two dull palm strikes rang out.

Lin Shuanghuo's eyes widened as he watched Lu Sheng suddenly close in, both palms moving like thunderbolts as they struck Lin Hongshui's chest in rapid succession.

Lin Hongshui's chopper fell to the ground with a clang.

He staggered back two steps in disbelief, clutching his chest and unable to speak.

"B-Big Brother... run...!"

Pfft! Lin Hongshui spat out a mouthful of blood and fell backward.

Lu Sheng had already fallen into a strange state of hot-blooded fervor.

After striking Lin Hongshui to death, he flashed forward again, charging toward the nearby Lin Shuanghuo with the footwork of the Heart Piercing Palm.

Lin Shuanghuo seemed to wake from a dream. He roared angrily and tried to use his saber to block him.

But it was already too late.

His younger brother's death had left him stunned. That single instant of hesitation was enough for Lu Sheng to close in.

Thud! Thud! Thud!!

With three consecutive palm strikes, Lu Sheng's hands flashed like lightning, striking Lin Shuanghuo three times across the chest and lower abdomen.

The Heart Piercing Palm's unique force passed through skin and muscle, reaching directly into his internal organs.

Lin Shuanghuo's face flushed crimson. He staggered back several steps, then dropped to his knees with a thud.

He glared fixedly at Lu Sheng, opening his mouth as if to say something, but the blood continuously gushing from his mouth left him unable to make a sound.

Pfft! Lin Shuanghuo fell stiffly forward, no longer making the slightest sound.

Lu Sheng chuckled twice.

"Two experts at the Power Through level. They should be the Ghost Head Saber and Head Severing Saber that Uncle Zhao pursued in his younger days. I never thought they would die by my hand today."

He gazed at the four corpses on the ground. For a moment, his heart surged with emotion and his blood roiled throughout his body.

Could this be the Power Through Intent level Uncle Zhao spoke of? The unity of mind and intent that Master Zhang Xun had pointed out to me before?

If Power Through was the realm of commanding most of the body's strength,

then Power Through Intent was the integration of eyesight, intent, sound, and other means to strike one's enemy from every direction.

At the same time, in the Power Through Intent realm, one's control over their own strength was even greater than in the Power Through Realm.

How could it be so easy to fully command every muscle in the human body?

Lu Sheng remembered that someone on Earth had once researched this. If a person could direct the strength of every muscle in their body toward a single point,

then even an ordinary adult could unleash a terrifying force of several tons.

That was the theoretical limit.

But human joints and bones could not withstand such power.

So it remained only a theory.

Power Through Intent, however, should be able to come extremely close to that degree of muscular development.

Lu Sheng stood in the courtyard and stepped forward to search the waist pouches and clothes of the Lin Shuanghuo brothers.

He found a stack of banknotes in their waist pouches, all large-denomination notes worth one hundred taels each. Without counting them carefully, he swiftly stuffed them into his own pouch.

He also found a worn black booklet made from some unknown kind of leather. Lin Shuanghuo had kept it close to his body, so it was clearly important.

Lu Sheng did not touch the rest of the miscellaneous items. He simply stood quietly in the courtyard to rest, waiting for people from the Lu Estate to arrive.

He had actually been injured in his fight against the two Power Through Realm opponents.

Both Lin Shuanghuo and Lin Hongshui possessed Innate Divine Strength, and the Splashing Wind Saber Technique also enhanced strength. As a result, the brothers' saber momentum was exceptionally heavy.

During that final head-on collision,

the muscles in Lu Sheng's right arm had been jarred injured. His heel ached faintly as well; the intense burst of force had probably injured the tendons in his foot.

His shoulders also throbbed with pain after repeatedly exploding with force in such a short time, wielding his saber at full strength, and then taking that final collision head-on. He did not know whether his bones had been injured.