Heart, Part 2 (Thanks to Silver League Patron Night of Cramps)

"Escape?"

Zhang Rongfang looked at the other person, and just by facing him directly, he could feel his body constantly sending out warning signals.

The pricking sensation, as if there were needles pointing directly at him, permeated his entire body at all times.

Clearly, this person is completely different from the Snake King he faced before.

The Snake King back then, perhaps due to age or other reasons, was far less powerful than the person before him.

"Why should I run away?" Zhang Rongfang. "Golden Wings feed on dragons, you're the one who should be running away."

"Talking big won't earn you respect," Xue Chengyu chuckled. "You've been lying in wait for so long, have you found an opportunity to assassinate me?"

"No," Zhang Rongfang sighed.

"So I made the decision."

I'll kill you face to face!

The figure moved in an instant.

Zhang Rongfang had already transformed into a black line and rushed towards the opponent.

When!!

The two men clashed bare-handed, their four arms striking each other with a metallic clang.

"The Azure Sea Heart Cleaving."

Xue Chengyu's Sandalwood Azure Rain Palm is far more powerful than Qing Jiao's.

His right palm pressed down on Zhang Rongfang, while his left palm shot upwards, aiming to stab at Zhang Rongfang through the gap.

Swish! The palm tip grazed the edge of his chin, knocking the straw hat off.

Zhang Rongfang retreated rapidly, dodging left and right with agile movements to avoid the next two attacks, and landed ten meters away.

A drop of blood slowly slid down his chin.

He touched the blood droplet, his eyes fixed on Xue Chengyu, growing increasingly gloomy.

"Such a sharp palm technique."

"You're the same; this isn't the Golden Roc Secret Record at all," Xue Chengyu said in surprise.

"I heard you also have Treasure Armor. So it seems you relied on these two things to scheme against Qing Jiao, expand your advantage, and ultimately kill him?"

"Who told you that?" Zhang Rongfang's heart sank.

"If you can find our stronghold, we can also trace you back to your roots."

Before he finished speaking, Xue Chengyu rushed forward.

He lacked the speed of the Golden Roc Secret Record and the eerie silence of Zhang Rongfang's fusion movement technique.

But he has his own unique way.

That is... violence!

Bang!

Two small craters were blown open in the ground.

Xue Chengyu used sheer force to accelerate straight towards Zhang Rongfang.

Two azure-blue short blades suddenly popped out from the back of the metal glove in his hand.

Two crisp clanging sounds.

The two clashed again.

At noon, the sun was shining directly.

At what should have been the clearest and brightest time of day, only two figures, one black and one blue, could be seen rapidly clashing in the Woodland.

The Shadow moved like the wind, circling around the blue figure, constantly attacking and searching for an opening.

However, it was clear that although the Shadow figure was fast, its attack speed was much slower than the blue figure's.

When he moved into position and struck.

In that brief moment of hesitation, the opponent struck first despite being behind.

He should have been on the offensive, but he ended up on the defensive.

After several consecutive moves, Zhang Rongfang became increasingly frustrated. His opponent's speed and power far surpassed his own, causing him to dare not parry or take the blows head-on.

Otherwise, internal injuries will be inevitable.

Furthermore, he could sense that his opponent was rapidly adapting to his movements.

Just like Qing Jiao back then.

No, even faster than Qing Jiao! It's here!! Suddenly, Zhang Rongfang's eyes widened.

Puff puff puff!

Three consecutive loud bangs.

With a smile on his face, Xue Chengyu suddenly saw three palm shadows appear in front of him.

The palm shadows descended from three different directions, curving and falling like smoke.

"Breaking Limit Skill: Three Lives Willing"

"Goodbye."

It was as if a palm shadow appeared out of thin air between his two palms, and it fell towards Zhang Rongfang's chest at the same time.

The speed was incredibly fast, catching everyone off guard, and there was no time to think.

Zhang Rongfang took a step back, but his front, left, and right sides were all blocked by palm shadows, so he could only retreat.

However, their retreat was not as fast as Xue Chengyu's explosive straight-line speed! The two retreated rapidly and rushed into the woods.

Trees kept passing by the two of them.

The three palm shadows were like a persistent, inescapable affliction, Shadow Follows Form and drawing ever closer.

Xue Chengyu cut off branches and leaves one by one.

Suddenly, his expression shifted slightly, and he abruptly stopped.

Sizzle.

At his feet, a thin, sharp thread was blocking his way.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Zhang Rongfang flipped over and hooked his legs onto the tree trunk, disappearing into the leaves.

"Trying to escape??" Xue Chengyu narrowed his eyes, leaped into the air, and slammed his palms upwards in a spiral motion.

Large swathes of branches and leaves were scattered and fell to the ground.

Amidst the green and yellow leaves, Zhang Rongfang's current appearance is revealed.

He was hanging upside down in mid-air, his eyes closed, his hands forming a triangle in front of him.

"Critical State!!"

Under the vibration of the sound waves, Zhang Rongfang suddenly opened his eyes, and his whole body rapidly expanded and grew larger.

His skin was covered with blood vessels, and prominent blue veins were visible on his face.

The once clear whites of his eyes quickly turned pale red.

"Heavy Mountain!!"

From above, Zhang Rongfang resembled a roc swooping down from the sky, its claws tearing through the air and emitting a sharp cry like that of an eagle.

A terrifying force swooped down, grabbing at Xue Chengyu.

With his vision obstructed, Xue Chengyu simply closed his eyes and relied on his hearing to attack. He still used the Breaking Limit Skill - Three Lives Willing, to fight his opponent.

In his view, it was already a great favor that he had used his Breaking Limit Skill to kill someone who was only a Ninth Grade.

According to intelligence, Qing Jiao also died as a result of being plotted against.

As long as I am careful of other traps and ambushes, I can proceed step by step and kill this person completely.

But the moment his hands clashed, his expression changed.

An immense force, beyond his imagination, pressed down on his arms from above.

Boom!!

The two collided in mid-air, shattering large swaths of leaves and branches.

In an instant, the four arms rapidly exchanged three moves.

The Three Lives Willing Breaking Limit Skill was instantly shattered, and Xue Chengyu's body fell, his arms slightly stinging.

Knowing his arm was injured, he immediately used a poisoned blade to force his opponent away and retreated rapidly.

"Limit State: Silent Guanyin!"

As he retreated, his entire body swelled up, and he exhaled a heavy breath from his mouth and nose. His arms, like scissors, suddenly slashed forward in a cross motion.

Whoosh!

Boom! A clear whirlwind emanated from the center of their clash.

Zhang Rongfang was knocked back two steps by the immense force. He turned around, dodged the pursuing attacks, and mysteriously reappeared in another place.

In his Critical State, his movements are far more terrifying than usual.

If his movement speed is normally 10, then at this moment it is 15. This exaggerated increase left Xue Chengyu, who was just getting used to his movement speed, with no time to react.

He was clearly much stronger than his opponent.

But no matter how he pursued or unleashed his power, even when he reached his Limit State, he couldn't hit his opponent.

After a dozen or so moves, Zhang Rongfang dodged a palm strike and pulled the outside of his opponent's arm with his right claw, leaving a bloody mark.

To his surprise, Xue Chengyu was also wearing soft armor, and it was high-quality soft armor of excellent quality.

Although not as powerful as his Treasure Armor, it still blocked most of the damage.

Compared to Qing Jiao, Xue Chengyu can directly enter the Limit State - Silent Guanyin state without needing acupressure, which shows his strength.

But he is strong, and I am even stronger!

The speed of movement at the Critical State, when amplified by power, is even more exaggerated than the test under normal conditions.

At the Critical State, the superposition of Heavy Mountain is equivalent to continuously creating Double Heavy Mountain through high-speed impact.

Its power is far greater than simply using Double Heavy Mountain.

After just twenty moves, Xue Chengyu's expression grew increasingly solemn.

He was stronger than his opponent in both strength and explosive power, but he just couldn't hit him! No, it wasn't that he couldn't hit him.

It can't even catch a shadow!

That's too fast!!

All he could see and hear were the sharp whistling of Eagle Claw.

The Shadow kept circling around him and attacking, and just defending against them had already exhausted most of his Heart Force.

In other words, the Sandalwood Azure Rain Palm is extremely adept at dealing with such fast-moving opponents; otherwise, a Super Grade might have already been defeated.

Swoosh! Another soft sound rang out, Xue Chengyu had another bloody gash on his side.

The opponent was like a roc toying with its prey, constantly slicing past him at high speed, leaving streaks of blood in its wake, trying to exhaust him and cause him to die from exhaustion and blood loss.

We can't stay still!

The thought flashed through Xue Chengyu's mind: the terrain here had been prepared in advance, and he had to leave!

He endured the blow to his back and rushed off in one direction.

Ignoring everything else, he charged forward, protecting his head and face.

At linear speed, his explosiveness is no Zhang Rongfang's.

The two immediately left one after the other into the distance.

In the chase, they ran wildly until the outline of Wushan City appeared ahead of Xue Chengyu.

At the same time, another bloody gash appeared on his back.

It was only because he was in his Limit State at that moment, with all his muscles tense and incredibly hard, and with the protection of his leather armor, that he was not seriously injured.

But soon, the environment inside the city was no longer comparable to that of the mountains and forests.

His eyes turned cold; the narrow areas within the city were far more numerous than those in the mountains and forests.

The two men, one wearing Sea Dragon Mask and the other Golden Wing Tower mask, rushed into the city gate from the side.

Before the soldiers guarding the city gate could even react, they felt a gust of wind blow past them and the person was gone.

The two stayed close to the city wall, fighting their way through.

More and more palm prints appeared on the surface of the city wall.

The surrounding beams and pillars, the stone lions in front of the door, the tall flagpole for raising sons—everything that stood in their way was instantly disrupted.

The guards Spirit Army faces filled with terror, instinctively raised their Crossbow, ready to fire a barrage of arrows.

But the defender stopped them immediately.

"No one is allowed to fire!"

The garrison commander had a solemn expression; he was a close confidant of the Prefect.

He recognized both masks; one was from the Golden Wing Tower Spirit Envoy of the Eastern Sect, and the other Sea Dragon Jiaoren of the Western Sect. Neither of them was someone he could afford to offend.

And those two are so fast!!

Even if he personally took to fire, he probably wouldn't be able to catch up. He could only use cover fire.

"Notify the Prefect immediately!" he quickly ordered.

"Yes!"

The guards immediately obeyed and left.

At this moment, Zhang Rongfang and Xue Chengyu had already separated.

The two men each pierced the wall with one hand and hung on the city wall.

A house is located in front of the wall of a private Mansion.

Both were breathing heavily, and sweat was pouring down their temples like a broken string.

But neither of them was the first to destroy the other's mask.

This seems to be some kind of unspoken understanding.

"I think I understand why Qing Jiao died at your hands," Xue Chengyu said in a deep voice.

The surrounding crowd quickly moved away to avoid the fighting. Only a few daring martial artists dared to peek out from the corners to watch.

At this moment, Xue Chengyu was covered in wounds, with bloodstains extending from his torso to his trousers, making him look extremely disheveled.

Each of these injuries contains toxins.

Unfortunately, he had undergone Toxin Resistance training, and his Toxin Resistance had greatly increased under his current Limit State, so he didn't care about these methods.

"I'll ask you one more time, who told you that Qing Jiao died at my hands?" Zhang Rongfang said in a deep voice.

He was also in a bad state. Even after nine rounds of Breaking Limits enhancements to his Eagle Claw Skill, and with the addition of metal gloves, he couldn't withstand this level of combat.

His fingertips had begun to twist and twitch unnaturally, and there were minor bone fractures.

"You are very strong. To be able to fight me to this extent with the help of Ninth Grade cultivator is already one in a million, truly outstanding," Xue Chengyu said coldly.

"But it's a pity that someone as outstanding as you will surely perish here today."

"Who do you think you are?" Zhang Rongfang's eyes were bright, and with the support of his Golden Core, his blood and qi were continuously bursting out at the Critical State.

Anyone can boast. Although he is in a miserable state now, he can advance or retreat at any time if he wants.

"Hehe, now I'll show you the true power we gain after surpassing our rank!"

Xue Chengyu crossed his hands again, holding each other's wrists.

Swish! In an instant, ten fingers pressed on acupoints.

"Second Level Limit - Nameless Incense!!"

In an instant, his entire upper body swelled up rapidly with air, especially his arms.

Almost at the same time.

Taking advantage of his pressure point strike, Zhang Rongfang pounced down like a bat, his arms swelling and enlarging as well.

The strongest ultimate move that killed the Black Ten Sect's Snake King — Fivefold Heavy Mountain —was used simultaneously.

Layer upon layer of power gathered from all parts of Zhang Rongfang's body, descending from the sky and fiercely attacking, like a golden roc hunting a dragon.

***A moment later.

A blood-covered figure rushed out of the city gate and headed away along the Official Road into the distance.

Xue Chengyu's robes were torn to shreds, revealing his forearms and arms with not a single patch of intact skin.

He never dreamed that he was only there to eliminate a Golden Wing Tower Spirit Envoy.

But it has been fought to this extent.

None of the officers and soldiers along the way dared to stop him.

Just as we were about to leave the city gate, we were about to follow the Official Road into the nearby mountains and forests.

Suddenly, three tall figures cloaked in black appeared in front of him.

"Your skill is impressive!" the leader said in a deep, stern voice. "Would you like to have a fight with me?"

The cloak was lifted, revealing the face of Sweeping Mountain Tiger Ding Yu.

Xue Chengyu's face twisted in pain, he paused, and looked up at the three of them. The humiliation of having been forced to flee surged into his heart.

"Does anyone dare to block my way? Do you really think I can't kill someone?"

His face was contorted with rage as he stepped forward, his figure moving like a phantom as he suddenly passed between the three men.

Three Lives Willing!

Driven by the dual- Limit State, the three palm shadows moved at terrifying speed and crashed into the hearts of the three men.

Bang bang bang!!

The three men, including Sweeping Mountain Tiger, were completely caught off guard.

Too fast! At that speed, only Ding Yu realized she needed to resist, but that was only in her mind.

His eyes widened, his pupils filled with horror.

In that instant, he frantically tried to raise his hand to block the palm strike.

He possesses incredible strength; as long as he can block it, as long as he has the time, he is confident that he can block anything.

Unfortunately, he couldn't do it.

His burst speed is fast, but it depends on the level he's compared to.

An ordinary Ninth Grade is indeed no match for him.

However, Xue Chengyu was already of the Super Grade, and his normal burst speed exceeded the limit of the Ninth Grade.

Not to mention that at this moment, in Limit State, a deadly move is unleashed.

Three muffled thuds exploded outwards.

Three bright red bloodstains splattered out.

Ding Yu felt as if everything around her had slowed down at that moment.

His body slowly arched backward, flew backward, and landed.

His two brothers, like him, looked surprised and didn't even know what had happened.

And that was the end of it all.

The intense pain didn't reach their minds until they landed and rolled around.

Each of the three had a deep, sunken palm print over their heart.

Ding Yu lay on her back, struggling to raise her arm to touch Xu Xin's shoulder.

But large amounts of blood kept gushing from his mouth.

As a result, he was unable to move any further.

Xue Chengyu didn't even glance at the three of them, treating them like three ants he had crushed, and quickly left into the distance.

In the blink of an eye, he disappeared into the vast mountains and forests, leaving no trace.

Only then did the soldiers guarding the city gate realize what had happened.

The three men, including Sweeping Mountain Tiger, who had revealed their faces, were killed simultaneously after only a moment's resistance against the mysterious man wearing the Sea Dragon Mask.

The invincible Sweeping Mountain Tiger, who was rampaging through Wushan Prefecture not long ago, is gone just like that?

The officers and soldiers thought they had admitted their mistake.

But soon, Shangguan Qingrong, Yue Hanquan and others who had heard the news arrived. Looking at the scene from afar, they were shocked to confirm the identities of the three people.

No one expected that the Sweeping Mountain Tiger, who roamed freely throughout Wushan Prefecture, would meet his end in such a way.

Calm, sudden, unreal.

Yeah, over a thousand more words. Old Gun did its best. Thanks to Silver for ending... So tired...

Everyone's been so supportive lately! With all the support and the added anti-piracy measures, I reckon as long as this book doesn't collapse, it will definitely surpass the previous one.

Finally, thank you again to all the friends who have supported The Old Gun.

I hope that in these difficult times, you can find a moment of peace in the books of The Old Gun.

Thank you everyone~