The Same

Li ChunJun didn't kill for "experience."

He killed to quell violence.

So he chose whichever method killed fastest.

If he could use a sword, he'd never use his fists.

If he could use a gun, he'd never use a sword.

The moment the Special Gun he'd taken from Liu Zhengcun's bodyguard settled on Han Shan, he pulled the trigger without hesitation.

Not good!

Han Shan's face changed as he lunged at Li ChunJun, five fingers spread like a tiger's claws, aiming for his throat. His figure flashed aside.

No honor!

This kid had no honor!

They were fighting hand to hand, and he actually pulled a gun!

"Bang!"

A flash of fire burst forth.

Propelled by the force of special gunpowder, the bullet shot from the barrel in an instant.

Han Shan's reactions were lightning-fast, but he still couldn't outrun a gun fired from point-blank range.

The next moment, a spray of crimson blood burst from his shoulder.

The powerful force packed into the bullet made him shudder and tipped him slightly backward.

But that first shot was only the beginning.

"Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!"

Barely a second after the first shot, Li ChunJun fired four more times.

Even with his speed and footwork pushed to their limits, Han Shan still couldn't dodge the four-shot burst.

The second bullet grazed his arm, the third struck his chest, the fourth hit his kidney, and the fifth missed.

They were too close.

The two of them were too close.

At this range, even a martial artist in Circulating Energy Through the Heavens couldn't dodge the bullets.

Two hits out of four.

Combined with the first shot, those injuries were already enough to deal a devastating, potentially fatal blow to Han Shan, the head of the Sword Tasting Hall and the leading figure of Guangzhou City's martial world.

Reality wasn't a game.

In a game, getting shot only cost you health. As long as you weren't dead, you could still fight back.

But in reality, the searing pain and gaping wounds made the body instinctively divert all its Qi and Blood to the injuries. This physiological response brought on dizziness, weakness, and a host of other debilitating symptoms, causing a person to lose their ability to fight in short order.

Just like now...

Han Shan was still clinging to life. If they got him to a hospital in time, they might even save him.

But...

Though the powerful force of the bullets from the Special Gun had knocked him onto his back, he couldn't summon even a trace of strength to fight back.

All he could do was watch helplessly as Li ChunJun strode over after firing five shots, the barrel aimed straight at his head...

A fear unlike anything he'd ever felt erupted as his body weakened and the dark gun barrel pointed at his head.

Han Shan's eyes flew wide.

At that moment, he was no longer the revered leader of Guangzhou City's martial world, no longer the head of the Sword Tasting Hall with hundreds upon hundreds of disciples and students, no longer a martial artist in the Harmony Realm whom everyone treated as an honored guest.

He was just a middle-aged man who wanted to live, unwilling to give up his comfortable life and the bright years ahead of him!

"D-don't... spare me..."

"Bang!"

Li ChunJun, his gun trained on Han Shan's head, pulled the trigger without the slightest hesitation.

He didn't pause for even half a second.

This time, Han Shan couldn't dodge.

"Thud!"

Before Han Shan had even hit the ground, a bloody hole appeared in his forehead.

The bullet pierced his skull, burst out through the back of his head, and struck the ground less than thirty centimeters away.

Resentment, pain, fury, venom, regret—every kind of emotion surged across his face in an instant, twisting his expression beyond recognition.

That twisted look froze the moment his body slammed into the ground.

He looked...

So ugly.

"The same."

Li ChunJun said, "There's no difference."

"Killed level 8 creature, experience +781!"

Life Level: 9 (37/900)

"Master!"

"No!"

"You bastard! How... how dare you!?"

At that moment, furious roars came from the main hall.

The disciples had thought their master's victory was assured. Seeing this vicious criminal kill him in such a despicable, dishonorable way, they all flew into a rage.

But as they turned back, Li ChunJun—still immersed in the "level-up" state—whipped around. His pistol swung with him, aimed at the three men in the main hall doorway.

He fired!

"Bang, bang, bang, bang, bang!"

Their roars, curses, and shouts were instantly swallowed by panic.

The three disciples didn't dare hesitate. They sprang into motion and ducked into the main hall.

Even so, one was grazed by a bullet, and another was struck in the shoulder, the force packed into it driving him involuntarily backward.

As Li ChunJun fired, he strode forward and flicked up the Sharp Sword that had been taken from him earlier, catching it securely in his "fully recovered" right hand.

He charged at full speed, sword in one hand and gun in the other.

By the time he'd emptied the gun's remaining nine bullets, he'd already stormed into the hall.

The "Fourth Disciple" who'd been shot had been cursing the loudest, calling Li ChunJun a "bastard" over and over without pause. The bullet had forced him to shut up; now, seeing Li ChunJun charging at him with a sword, his face drained deathly pale.

"Whoosh!"

Just as Li ChunJun was about to finish him, a flash of cold light appeared.

A ringing sword cry accompanied a razor-sharp thrust that tore through the air and stabbed at Li ChunJun's side in an instant.

The sword's point was aimed squarely at his head.

The attack was ferocious beyond compare, its angle chosen to strike Li ChunJun's supposedly "crippled" right side.

With this treacherous, unpredictable thrust, even a martial artist of Internal-External Unity would, in theory, be killed on the spot if his right arm were out of commission.

Even if he narrowly avoided this deadly strike, the attacker could keep pressing him with one sword technique after another until he was finally cut down.

Unfortunately...

He clearly didn't know that the man whose wrist had been crushed and arm crippled just a moment ago had already fully recovered, before even the blood had dried.

Not only had he recovered!

He was far stronger now than when he'd first entered the Sword Tasting Hall.

Han Shan, with his Hundred Meridians Open and only a hair's breadth from reaching great mastery in the Harmony Realm, had given him enough experience in one go to raise him by nearly a whole Life Level.

After completing the jump from level 7 to level 8, he'd immediately risen from level 8 to level 9.

The all-around enhancement from those two Life Level increases had raised his reflexes, speed, and explosive power by two whole tiers.

So even though the First Disciple Zhang Li had launched a sudden attack from the side, choosing a flawless moment and angle, Li ChunJun reacted in an instant and still struck first.

"Hum!"

The long sword sang!

The Sharp Sword, which had accompanied him through countless battles, swept out in a flash of icy light, thrusting forward at an unbelievable speed.

Zhang Li didn't even have time to see the true path of the sword before its cold glint raced up his arm and pierced his throat.

Only then did his own sword, aimed at Li ChunJun's head, finally arrive. Li ChunJun tilted his head slightly and dodged it with ease.

"Shhk!"

The sword thrust in, then pulled free!

A streak of crimson blood sprayed into the air.

Splattering Li ChunJun from head to toe.

He didn't even blink. Without pausing, he turned and stepped toward the "Fourth Disciple," whose eyes had suddenly gone wide.