Nothing More Than This

Nothing More Than This. Ning Qi's figure drifted like a white cloud, either evading the Gang Qi or swinging the Dragon Owl Sword, inner strength clinging to its blade and shattering the Gang Qi with each strike.

But Tie Ying took the initiative to charge forward, moving with astonishing speed.

Ning Qi shifted accordingly.

With a tap of his toe, his aura changed abruptly. His gaze turned indifferent as he surged forward like a dragon swimming through the night, even faster than Tie Ying.

The Ephemeral Swimming Dragon Steps he had created were a peerless art, exceptional in every regard, whether for nimble evasion or explosive bursts of speed. As he suddenly erupted forward, Tie Ying's heart lurched, and a sense of danger rose within him.

But it was already too late.

The two charged straight at one another, and the distance of several dozen zhang vanished in the span of a breath.

Looking at the indifferent Middle-aged Daoist, Tie Ying felt his scalp prickle. But when narrow paths met, the brave prevailed. He had confidence in his Sky Eagle True Gang. If he shrank back now, his momentum would inevitably fall behind. Today, he might not only return empty-handed—he might not even escape unscathed.

Three zhang remained.

Tie Ying formed eagle claws with both hands. With a clang, a pair of cold-glinting sharp claws sprang from each palm, casting a faint dark light beneath the night sky.

He roared inwardly.

"Sky Eagle Claw!"

A savage gleam rose in his eyes. Streams of Gang Qi burst from within his body and tore forth through the cold-glinting sharp claws, instantly forming two peerlessly sharp streams of eagle-claw Gang Qi. One could even hear the long cry of a sky eagle, shaking the mind and spirit.

He had used a killing move from the very first strike! Relying on this technique, Tie Ying had always been unstoppable; he had even slain Gang Yuan Realm experts before.

But Ning Qi was no ordinary man.

The effect of that sky eagle's cry was negligible to him. Having feigned death several times, his mind and spirit had become far stronger than those of others at the same level.

Looking at the eagle-claw true gang.

Ning Qi's expression did not change, remaining as indifferent as ever.

Before Tie Ying's astonished gaze, he gave a light swing of his sword. The Dragon Owl Sword struck from two zhang away, and to Tie Ying's surprise, what surged from its blade was not Gang Qi, but a stream of red-and-blue inner strength extending outward.

"Inner Yuan Realm?!"

Tie Ying found it absurd, then nearly burst into laughter. So the fellow opposite him was a pig pretending to be a tiger—an Inner Yuan Realm cultivator had actually frightened him, a Gang Yuan Realm expert.

But before his mocking laughter could leave his mouth, it came to an abrupt halt.

Tie Ying's eyes widened, filled with overwhelming disbelief.

The red-and-blue inner strength extended from the Dragon Owl Sword, crossing nearly three zhang in an instant.

Ning Qi lightly swung his sword.

He stood three zhang away, yet his inner-strength Sword Qi had already arrived to kill.

The power of his physical body was fused into it as well.

Tie Ying felt as if two colossal mountains of ice and fire were crushing down upon him. The faint rumble made his scalp go numb. An intense scorching heat rushed into his face, accompanied by a bone-chilling cold that set his heart trembling. He had never heard of such terrifying sword intent, and that inner strength was even more shocking beyond belief.

The Sky Eagle True Gang was sliced apart with virtually no power to resist.

The three-zhang inner-strength Sword Qi swept onward, invincible in its path.

Tie Ying's soul nearly fled his body. He only had time to raise his protective Gang Qi before his entire body froze in place.

He slowly lowered his head.

A horrifying wound ran from his left shoulder, slashing all the way across to his right abdomen. Blood was about to spray forth, only to be frozen by an extreme cold, forming blossoms of blood.

"Th-this... what is this?"

Tie Ying's eyes bulged. He struggled to move his hand, but his life force was draining away at an astonishing rate.

He could feel that the so-called inner strength was vibrating, spinning, and cutting. His protective Gang Qi was like brittle paper, shattered almost instantly.

And you called this the Inner Yuan Realm?!

But he was destined never to receive an answer.

Ning Qi swung his sword again.

One slash sealed his throat. Frost bloomed, and the blood that was about to gush out instantly congealed.

Tie Ying's corpse fell to the ground.

Ning Qi's gaze flickered slightly.

"This man was weaker than I expected."

The White Mist Realm seemed to be nothing more than this?

Ning Qi gained a clearer understanding of his own strength.

This was his first battle against a Gang Yuan Realm cultivator, and he was quite satisfied with the power of the Frostflame Triple Sword. Shattering the protective Gang Qi of the White Mist Realm had been effortless. Of course, it was also possible that this man was not particularly strong within the White Mist Realm.

"I need to go support Senior Brother and the others."

Ning Qi glanced at the man's corpse. There was no time to deal with it now. He rushed toward the Martial Arena at top speed, where the battle was still raging.

But what he did not know was that at the very instant he killed Tie Ying, the situation at the Martial Arena had changed.

Originally.

Tie Long fought the True Disciples alone, yet still had strength to spare. From time to time, he taunted them, drawing all their attention to himself.

"Tsk, tsk. Everyone in Qing Province says Old Taoist Longshan's disciples are all outstanding talents. But seeing them today, I find they're nothing more than this."

But the moment he finished speaking, his expression changed drastically.

A faint, twisting pain came from his heart.

His eyes filled with disbelief.

"Second Brother is dead?!"

"How is that possible?!"

Distracted, Tie Long nearly took a sword flash from Ye Qinghe. Ye Qinghe cursed furiously, "At your age, you still hide your head and show your tail. You must be some trash too scared to provoke my master. Give me a few more years of cultivation, and killing you will be like butchering a dog!"

Tie Long threw a punch, and Fist Qi blasted the crowd back.

He had no time for verbal sparring. He merely stared in horror toward the Scripture Pavilion, monstrous waves rising in his heart.

When the Three Ferocious Bandits of Tieling had encountered their great fortune, they had obtained three Concentric Heart Gu. Each of them swallowed one, allowing it to parasitize their body and enhance their martial cultivation.

Moreover, if one of them died, the other two would sense it.

And now—

Tie Ying's Concentric Heart Gu had died. What that meant was self-evident.

"How is this possible? How long has it been since Second Brother went over? He might not even have reached the Scripture Pavilion yet. How did he suddenly die? Doesn't that mean he had virtually no ability to resist the person lurking in the shadows?!"

Threads of fear surfaced in Tie Long's eyes.

Anyone capable of instantly killing Second Brother with such strength, even by ambush, absolutely could not be underestimated.

"Is it another expert hidden within the True Martial Sect, or has Old Taoist Longshan emerged from seclusion?"

"Fuck! That Dog Thing Wang set us up!"

Tie Long gritted his teeth, his scalp prickling.

Though they called him Old Taoist Longshan at every turn, if they truly had to face the Dragon Mountain Daoist, they would run faster than anyone. The Dragon Mountain Daoist's fearsome reputation had not been blown out of proportion—it had been carved out sword stroke by sword stroke! The three of them together were not even worth his notice.

They had only dared to come wreak havoc in the True Martial Sect because they knew the Dragon Mountain Daoist had entered a death seclusion and could not emerge.

"We need to retreat! Retreat now!"

Tie Long immediately decided to flee. He had no thought of avenging Tie Ying. They knew nothing at all about the hidden expert, and now the backlash from the Concentric Heart Gu was causing his strength to decline as well. He had to find somewhere to regulate his breathing immediately.

If he kept dragging this out, he might end up dying here too.

Tie Long unleashed punch after punch, sending streams of dragon-shaped Gang Qi flying outward in indiscriminate attacks. Explosions rang out without end.

But Jiang Baishan and the others were no easy opponents. They immediately saw Tie Long's intent to retreat.

Though they did not know what had happened, they certainly could not let the man before them leave so easily.

Come when you please, leave when you please.

What did he take the True Martial Sect for?