What a Fine Head

Xu Bai reached for his waist the moment the words fell.

Maple Leaves Like Rain!

The Iron Beads, launched with a special technique, had their power multiplied severalfold. Whistling as they tore through the air, they shot toward the blacksmith and the proprietress.

It happened too fast. The proprietress had no time to react.

"Clang, clang, clang..."

A rapid series of metallic clashes rang out.

Xu Bai narrowed his eyes as he looked at the lump of iron before him.

The instant he had attacked, the blacksmith had suddenly thrust both hands into the iron chest beside him.

Then, in less than a breath, that iron chest seemed to come alive, transforming into a suit of iron armor that enveloped the blacksmith from head to toe.

Having turned himself into an iron man, the blacksmith did not hesitate. He stepped in front of the proprietress.

That iron shell was extremely hard. When the Iron Beads struck it, they could leave no more than a dent.

"You really do keep coming up with new tricks." Xu Bai smiled.

"Why aren't you afraid that our people will expose you?" the blacksmith asked in a deep voice.

The proprietress stepped out from behind the blacksmith. At some point, she had already picked up a cleaver, her face dark and gloomy.

"Why should I be afraid? Kill you two, bury the Iron Beads, then take some farm tools from the Blacksmith Shop. Who would suspect me?" Xu Bai said blandly.

He had already thought it through.

The only reason these two could threaten him was that he had forged Iron Beads at the Blacksmith Shop.

That was simple enough. Bury the Iron Beads, and everything would be settled.

Even if they had accomplices who went to the County Office to report him, it would amount to nothing more than one point of suspicion.

—He had once bought something from the Blacksmith Shop.

After killing these two, he could take a few farm tools from the Blacksmith Shop and claim he had bought them. What could anyone do to him? When the time came, he could make up any excuse he pleased.

"Enough nonsense. Kill him!" The proprietress gritted her teeth.

"It seems there's no other way. Your hidden weapons and saber are useless against me, and there are two of us. Surrender without resistance, and I'll give you a quick death," the blacksmith said slowly.

The suit of iron armor reflected the moonlight, looking exceptionally sturdy.

They were two people, both Rank Eight.

Their opponent was alone, and his terrifying hidden weapons had been countered.

The blacksmith believed victory was already in the bag.

"What did you just say?" Xu Bai asked with a smile.

"I said, surrender without resistance." The blacksmith could not make sense of Xu Bai's meaning.

"No, no, the sentence before that." Xu Bai waved a hand.

The blacksmith thought for a moment. "I said, there are two of us."

The instant the words left his mouth, a sense of danger rose within him. He hurriedly turned to look at the proprietress.

But it was already too late.

A brilliant flame surged up and enveloped the proprietress.

"Ah—"

Within the flames, the proprietress screamed and rolled ceaselessly across the ground.

But the blaze was too fierce, and her struggles did little good.

Moments later, the proprietress stopped moving, reduced to a charred corpse.

Four Xun Array Formation.

Xun was wood, and wood gave rise to fire.

It was Xu Bai's first time testing the power of these flames.

There was nothing more to say. Their power was absolutely monstrous.

"Now, there's only one left." Xu Bai's tone was thick with mockery.

Beneath his feet, a faint Bagua array rotated in and out of sight.

"You cultivate other methods too!" The blacksmith turned around, his eyes splitting with rage.

Cultivating multiple paths was no secret. It was simply that no one was willing to waste the time.

With one glance, the blacksmith could tell that Xu Bai was not merely a martial artist.

The flames wrapped around the iron armor, turning it red-hot without harming the person inside.

Even the area around the blacksmith's eyes was covered in some unknown metal, half-transparent in appearance.

"I'll kill you!" Having suffered the pain of losing his wife, the blacksmith roared and slapped the iron armor over his chest with his left hand.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

A series of mechanical clicks sounded as countless Iron Thorns emerged from the blacksmith's body.

The wind rose. A jet of air erupted beneath the blacksmith's feet, and the distance between them vanished in an instant.

Fast! Too fast!

Xu Bai's pupils contracted. At the critical moment, he used the Four Xun Movement Technique.

With a slight misstep, he had already slipped aside.

Clang!

The Ghost-Head Saber left its sheath and slashed against the blacksmith's body, sending sparks flying.

"Very hard..." Xu Bai raised a brow.

"You can't hurt me, but I can wear you to death!" The blacksmith turned around and charged at him again, wielding his iron armor as a weapon.

Xu Bai dodged once more.

"You really are an iron turtle. I hadn't expected your defense to be this high."

As he dodged, he executed the Four Xun Movement Technique with exquisite precision.

The blacksmith said nothing further, merely charging and smashing about recklessly.

"I was wondering why you were so confident. So you thought I was a martial artist and believed you could counter me. What a pity." Xu Bai shifted away again, then added another sentence.

"What's a pity?" At last, the blacksmith spoke.

"What's a pity is that I'm not a martial artist," Xu Bai said.

"So what? You still can't do anything to me!" The blacksmith adjusted his posture and charged again.

Xu Bai used the Four Xun Movement Technique repeatedly, opening up a wide stretch of distance.

"At first, you thought I couldn't do anything to you. That woman died, and now you think the same. You'll die too."

A golden Bagua appeared beneath his feet. Xu Bai lifted one foot and stepped forward.

Boom!

A crimson radiance appeared, and flames enveloped the blacksmith.

The iron armor was burned scarlet, and the blacksmith's voice came from within.

"Your flames can't harm me in the slightest!"

"Is that so? Let's find out."

Under the night sky, the two sides fell into a stalemate.

The blacksmith's attacks were evaded by Xu Bai, while Xu Bai continuously roasted the blacksmith with flames.

Time passed without end.

Half an hour later.

The blacksmith stopped, his movements slowing.

Hot! Unbearably hot!

Inside the iron armor, he had reached the point where he could no longer endure it.

The flames could not harm him, but they could pass through the armor and transmit their scorching heat inside.

The oppressive heat felt like being locked in a tiny room during the dog days of summer, with a huge pile of burning charcoal inside.

"Hot?" Xu Bai stood not far away, Ghost-Head Saber in hand, a smile on his face. "Why not take it off?"

"Dream on!" the blacksmith roared, charging again.

Xu Bai turned aside to evade him, then added more fire.

"Looks like you won't wear me to death. I'll wear you to death instead."

Those words were like a spark tossed into a powder keg. Coupled with the blazing heat inside the armor, the blacksmith became even more furious.

He charged and rammed about! But it achieved little.

After another half incense stick's time, the blacksmith finally stopped.

At this point, inside the iron armor, the blacksmith's lips had cracked.

His consciousness was beginning to blur.

That searing sensation felt as though he were being roasted over a fire.

He had only one thought now: get out as quickly as possible.

With his mind clouded, instinct overcame reason.

Crack!

A sound came from the helmet as the blacksmith opened it.

A cool breeze drifted over him, and his heart and mind opened wide.

His mind cleared, and his awareness gradually returned.

Only then did he realize what he had done. He hurriedly tried to close the helmet.

But it was too late.

Not far away, Xu Bai held the Ghost-Head Saber. With the Four Xun Movement Technique, he moved like a ghost.

"What a fine head!"

His voice was icy, and the wind howled.