Severing

Yang Qingyun gripped his long saber and spurred his horse forward, charging straight at the one-eyed big man!

Though their earlier exchange had been brief,

with the rich combat techniques and experience from his Previous Life, he had already seen through his opponent.

He could kill him!

Boom!

Long saber in hand, his mind and body as one, he locked the blade upon the one-eyed big man!

At that moment,

facing Yang Qingyun's charge head-on, the one-eyed big man inexplicably felt fear rise within his heart!

A feeling stirred in the dark,

as though the other man's saber were already pressed against his neck!

"Playing tricks!"

"You're just a mere mortal. I refuse to believe you can turn the heavens upside down!"

The one-eyed big man roared, his voice booming like thunder, as though he wished to drive away that inexplicable fear in his heart!

Then,

he waved a broad hand.

"All of you, get him! Hack that brat to death!"

At his command, the surrounding Black Wind Bandits hesitated somewhat.

Yet under the intimidation of the one-eyed big man's past displays of tyranny and cruelty, they ultimately gritted their teeth and charged forward on horseback!

Hooves struck the ground, making the earth tremble!

A distance of over a dozen yards vanished in the blink of an eye.

More than a dozen Black Wind Bandits surged toward Yang Qingyun with fierce momentum. Working together, their glittering blades nearly sealed off every inch of space in which he could dodge!

The Black Wind Bandits truly deserved to be vicious outlaws who had run rampant throughout this hundred-mile region for years without being wiped out!

With this alone, even martial artists in the Late Entering the Realm would likely struggle to escape this siege unscathed!

One man charging an army—

perhaps only martial artists of the Viscera Refining Realm could accomplish such a feat!

Yet,

facing the dozen or so blades rushing at him, Yang Qingyun showed no fear, and the horse beneath him did not slow in the slightest!

He clamped his legs around his mount, the strength throughout his body nearly meshing with the horse's, merging into one. He had reached the Man-Horse Unity realm of horsemanship!

In truth, Yang Qingyun was not proficient in horsemanship.

The reason he could achieve this was largely due to the peak control he had developed over Qi and Blood and force through the unrelenting efforts of his Previous Life!

His keen perception of power and formidable control over force

allowed him, in a short time, to thoroughly grasp the flow of strength throughout the horse beneath him!

He then used a subtle Method of exerting force to "merge" it with his own, "borrowing" the horse's power into his hands. Thus, he attained the pinnacle realm of the Mortal Horse Riding Art!

Within a few breaths,

the dozen or so Black Wind Bandits met Yang Qingyun head-on.

At the instant before they collided, Yang Qingyun urged and controlled his horse, passing through the middle of the dozen bandits in a flash of lightning!

At the same time, borrowing the horse's strength, his saber took an unorthodox path. Like lightning bursting forth, several cold flashes exploded in an instant, sweeping through the Black Wind Bandits!

Swish, swish, swish!!!

Every flash of cold light

struck from openings the Black Wind Bandits could neither block nor evade. Combined with lightning-fast speed, the bandits saw only the cold light bloom before a sharp agony tore through their bodies before they could even raise a defense!

Within a few breaths,

several people had their throats or chests ripped open,

falling from their horses one after another with a crash,

while every one of the survivors was wounded!

Some fell, some were injured,

with devastating casualties!

More than a dozen men had charged together, yet after a single clash, only a scant few lucky survivors crossed paths with Yang Qingyun.

Their courage and gall had shattered!

Yang Qingyun burst from among the Black Wind Bandit horsemen.

His gray clothes were now drenched in blood, mottled with crimson stains. Anyone seeing him for the first time would likely think he had suffered some horrific death by a thousand cuts.

Yet all of it was, in truth, the blood of his enemies!

"This body is still only an untrained mortal. Otherwise, if I had refined even a thread of Qi and Blood, I could kill without a drop of blood touching me."

Feeling the scalding blood on his body, Yang Qingyun shook his head slightly.

He was not the sort of fool who would place himself in danger solely for revenge.

If he lacked sufficient strength, he would not have minded hiding when the Black Wind Bandits attacked, then emerging from the mountains to take revenge only after mastering divine skills.

Yet though he had been confident,

with the untrained strength in this body, this was all he could manage.

"Mountain Splitting Saber!"

"Die!"

At the very instant Yang Qingyun burst from the encirclement of the Black Wind Bandit horsemen, as several thoughts flashed through his mind,

a furious roar suddenly erupted before him,

exploding like thunder!

A dazzling saber light rose, drawing out a long, terrifyingly brilliant streak. It tore through several yards of air and descended head-on with the dreadful might of splitting mountains and shattering stones!

The one-eyed big man of the mid-Entry Realm had taken action!

When he ordered the Black Wind Bandits to charge, he had already hidden behind them, building up this thunderous, crushing strike!

The instant Yang Qingyun burst out,

he unleashed this long-planned, terrifying killing move!

Low-grade Martial Skill: Mountain Splitting Saber!

This was a true martial skill!

Unlike ordinary chops that relied upon brute Qi and Blood strength,

martial skills were methods that could employ a martial artist's Qi and Blood, vastly increasing their killing power!

If the Qi and Blood of martial arts was like allowing a child to grow into an adult, greatly increasing their strength, then martial skills were like giving that adult a weapon!

An armed adult and a bare-handed adult possessed killing power as different as heaven and earth!

"Die for me!"

The one-eyed big man roared, driving the power of Qi and Blood within him with all his might.

The Qi and Blood in his body circulated frantically. Terrifying force passed through the long saber and clung to its edge, tearing through the air with a piercing shriek and carrying dreadful power that was nearly impossible to resist!

Danger!!!

Beneath that suddenly appearing blade,

Yang Qingyun sensed the crisis of death!

Under such a sudden, full-force ambush, even a martial artist in the Late Entering the Realm might have been cleaved in two, saber and body alike!

But unfortunately,

the man he had encountered was Yang Qingyun!

Yang Qingyun's expression grew solemn, yet he was not overly afraid.

Even before he burst out of the Black Wind Bandit horsemen's encirclement, he had sensed that hidden edge behind them that faintly sent chills down his spine!

Thus, he had long been prepared for the one-eyed big man's ambush!

Swish!

The long saber in his hand swept out, tracing several extremely tiny arcs through the air in rapid succession like lightning. It came across before him, as if he were raising it head-on to block the strike!

Was he caught off guard and preparing to take it head-on?!

A flash of delight crossed the one-eyed big man's savage face!

Though he did not know how this brat had managed it,

there was not a trace of Qi and Blood power on him. He was no martial artist, merely an ordinary mortal—of that, there could be no doubt!

For a mortal to try blocking his ultimate martial skill was simply courting death!

However,

at the instant their blades were about to collide, Yang Qingyun's saber suddenly dropped three inches. At the same time, the blade turned and met the edge of the Mountain Splitting Saber at a strange angle!

That point was precisely where the Mountain Splitting Saber's force was weakest!

Clang!

A crisp sound rang out.

The one-eyed big man's expression changed drastically in shock!

At that moment, his entire arm went numb, as if an electric current had passed from the blade into his body. The great saber in his hand nearly flew away!

The Qi and Blood power he had gathered with all his strength was unexpectedly scattered at that instant by some inexplicably rebounding force!

And then,

"Transform!"

Yang Qingyun shouted. His arm holding the long saber trembled, and the terrifying force from the blocked blow flowed directly through his body into the horse beneath him!

Neigh!

The horse beneath him cried miserably. As the sudden force surged into it, its ribs snapped at once, and it collapsed with a crash, skidding across the ground like an out-of-control carriage!

The power of the Mountain Splitting Saber martial skill was exceedingly terrifying,

but unfortunately,

Yang Qingyun had neutralized it with the meticulous control of his Previous Life's Viscera Refining Realm. He then shifted the remaining force onto the horse beneath him, moving flowers onto trees!

He himself suffered scarcely any injury at all!

Instead, borrowing the remaining force, he leaped into the air!

His saber followed his body, carving a dazzling streak of blade light through the air!

Borrowing part of the one-eyed big man's attack, this strike became faster and fiercer. The air was torn apart in an instant, its killing power nearly doubling!

Carrying terrifying force, it slashed toward the one-eyed big man's neck!

At the same time,

the one-eyed big man, whose attack had been broken by a strike at its weak point, was caught in the powerless interval where his old strength was spent and new strength had yet to arise.

He could only widen his single eye and watch helplessly as the sharp cold gleam rapidly approached and swept across his neck!

Rip!

A head shot into the sky!

The headless corpse remained on horseback, carried more than a dozen yards away before that one-eyed head finally tumbled down from the sky!

Not far away,

Yang Qingyun landed on the ground, both hands gripping his long saber, his body spinning amid a gust of force. His face had turned deathly pale.

This counterkill

had also cost him greatly!

Yet,

compared to the emptiness of his strength,

his eyes now held the exhilaration of a tiger entering the mountains, a fish leaping into the sea!

From this day onward,

he had severed the fate of his Previous Life!