Chilly Spring Cold, The Deadliest

The spring night in Lin'an Prefecture wasn't the most pleasant. Compared to summer nights, the evening breeze in spring carried a bit more chill, and those with weaker constitutions could easily catch a cold from it.

Qingbo Street, as the sunset hues faded into darkness, grew quiet.

Although Great Zhao had no curfew and its night markets were quite prosperous, with dazzling, vibrant lights, this was limited to Imperial Street and the main thoroughfares. Those were the places vendors were willing to set up stalls despite the cold night wind.

Qingbo Street was, after all, a bit out of the way. Setting up a night stall here meant enduring the cold wind all night for meager earnings.

Therefore, once night fell, the entire street fell silent.

The carriage was parked, and the fine horse whinnied softly, its breath steaming in the air. The coachman sat upright on the carriage shaft, a burly figure wearing a bamboo hat.

His old bamboo hat had been split in two by Madam Hua during a spring shower, forcing him to switch to a new one.

He sat on the carriage shaft, his Blood Essence churning like a hidden furnace. He released his not-so-masterful spiritual power, probing towards the impending slaughter in the alleys of Imperial Ancestral Temple Alley.

He needed to "witness" the young man's death with his own eyes. Only then would he avoid making mistakes when reporting to his master.

However, he was confident that this matter was as good as settled.

The young man had only recently completed his cultivation enlightenment a few days prior, just opening his Qi and Blood and barely entering Samadhi. Such a novice cultivator would have no power to resist a ruthless character like Hu Jingang, whose hands were stained with blood.

Hu Jingang's Blood Essence had already reached perfection, not far from forging Spirit Bone within his body using Blood Essence as a furnace. Facing a novice cultivator like the young man, there should be no surprises.

The coachman looked up at the dark Imperial Ancestral Temple Alley, and the scene from that day flashed in his mind: under the drizzling spring rain, the young man stood tall against his master's oppressive aura, like a lone green pine, or a plum blossom standing proud against the frost.

The young man's resilience was truly admirable.

It was common for new cultivators to bow their heads and bend their backs under Mr. Luo's oppressive aura.

Those with a fierce tiger in their chest and pride in their hearts, who could withstand the pressure, were rare.

But no matter how strong their resilience, if their strength was lacking, they would still die.

Suddenly, the coachman's eyes beneath his bamboo hat narrowed slightly. A gust of wind carrying a trace of scorching Blood Essence drifted from the alley.

"It's started."

Inside the courtyard.

An Le had already finished his Five Animals Body Forging Technique and was now visualizing the Sword Waterfall Diagram. Fifteen strands of Time Qi had been used to enhance the Five Animals, and the remaining four strands were chosen to augment the Sword Waterfall Diagram.

The enhancement from Time Qi made An Le's visualization of the Sword Waterfall Diagram increasingly profound. Previously, he could only visualize the first page. After advancing his Spirit Refinement to Fetal Respiration, he could visualize the second page.

The second page of the Sword Waterfall Diagram depicted two intertwined swords. At first glance, the swords in the diagram appeared ordinary, but when visualized with spiritual power, they exuded infinite sharpness!

After all, he had only just stepped into Fetal Respiration and needed to consolidate his foundation. If he visualized too readily, he could easily be injured by the sword intent within the Sword Waterfall Diagram.

However, with the augmentation of Time Qi, this worry vanished, and visualizing the second page was effortless.

The silver moon hung like a disc, and the starlight blazed.

It cascaded upon the white-clad young man in the courtyard, making his handsome face appear even more ethereal.

Suddenly, An Le, who was visualizing the Sword Waterfall Diagram with his Fetal Respiration and spiritual power surging around him, opened his eyes and calmly looked towards the courtyard gate.

It was as if something that craved to devour flesh lurked in the darkness.

The sound of straw sandals rubbing against the bluestone slabs of the alley slowly approached.

A surge of hot Blood Essence gradually erupted under An Le's spiritual perception.

The moonlight illuminated a figure: a man wearing a bamboo hat, thin and not particularly robust, carrying a heavy-bladed saber, which looked rather peculiar.

An Le glanced at the approaching figure, unfazed. He remained seated on his small stool, pouring himself a cup of old yellow wine that had been chilled by the spring evening breeze.

After a gulp of yellow wine, the aroma filled his mouth.

"The biting spring chill is the most deadly. You are not at home warming your wine, yet you carry a saber into my home. I presume... you've come to take my life."

An Le said calmly, picking up a piece of pig's head and chewing it slowly.

The figure carrying the saber removed his bamboo hat and casually tossed it to the ground. He revealed a face that didn't look particularly ferocious and looked at the young man eating and drinking under the moonlight with a smirk.

"Do you recognize me?"

Hu Jingang chuckled.

An Le took another sip of the old yellow wine and glanced at Hu Jingang. A flicker of surprise crossed his eyes.

As the one who had drawn Hu Jingang's true likeness, how could he not recognize him? The surprise stemmed from the fact that Hu Jingang had come to kill him.

Was it because he had drawn his wanted poster?

"The drawing you did for the Black Yamen caused me a lot of trouble; I was almost caught. I hate you deeply for it, so I've come to kill you."

"Do you recognize me?"

Hu Jingang put down the saber he was carrying, and his Blood Essence began to surge and strengthen. The aura of perfected Qi and Blood opened caused even the biting spring chill to radiate warmth.

An Le savored the old yellow wine. "You've come to kill me because of a drawing?"

"I suspect someone specifically sent you here, wanting to use your saber to kill me. Otherwise, how could you, a rat chased by the Black Yamen, accurately find my new residence and openly come to kill me?"

Hu Jingang narrowed his eyes. His truth had been exposed, but he didn't react much. In his eyes, An Le was already a dead man.

He had just opened his Qi and Blood, and had only recently entered Samadhi. Although he was a cultivator, he posed no threat to him.

Hu Jingang's blade tip reached him, piercing the ground three inches deep. "Young man, since you know, why don't you flee?"

An Le put down his wine cup, and held a chopstick between two fingers.

He looked calmly at Hu Jingang and said, "This is my home. Why should I flee?"

"Such courage. Unfortunately, I prefer to see fear and despair on your face as you die. It makes killing more satisfying." Hu Jingang laughed heartily. The next moment, his eyes widened in fury, and his Blood Essence surged like crashing waves!

The great saber, which had been stabbed into the ground of the courtyard, was violently pulled up.

The shattered stones, torn apart by the heavy saber, shot out like arrows. Hu Jingang, enveloped in his Blood Essence, followed closely, hacking towards An Le. The heavy saber, carrying a powerful force, whistled like a ghost's cry!

An Le sat upright in his chair, his expression gradually becoming serious. This was his first battle as a cultivator.

Before, at the entrance of Jing Street, he had dealt with two ordinary thugs. Those were not counted. They were not cultivators and could not put any pressure on An Le.

However, An Le felt no fear, no timidity. All he felt was excitement and exhilaration.

The fierce tiger within his chest seemed ready to leap out.

The only threat was that Hu Jingang held a weapon, while he did not. In a direct confrontation, he was at a disadvantage.

But An Le's Spirit Refinement realm surpassed Hu Jingang's. In reality, that was enough.

Facing the heavy saber Hu Jingang swung at him, An Le, with his two fingers holding the chopstick in a sword-finger posture, gently pushed.

The chopstick sprang from the table at an extremely high speed. Stained with the grease from the pig's head meat, it transformed into a dark streak of light, tearing through the darkness of the chilly spring night, and shot straight towards Hu Jingang's neck.

The spiritual power of the Fetal Respiration realm, carrying the chopstick, galloped like a sword light.

Hu Jingang's hair stood on end. He immediately retracted his saber, blocking his throat. The chopstick, like a flying sword, pierced towards him, and the overflowing spiritual power of Fetal Respiration made Hu Jingang's mind tremble!

"Spirit Refinement second realm... Fetal Respiration?!"

"No, the first two realms of Spirit Refinement, Entering Samadhi and Fetal Respiration, have weak offensive capabilities. Only after Transcendence, when spiritual power is projected outwards, does Spirit Refinement become terrifying. This young man is only at Fetal Respiration, why does he put so much pressure on me?!"

Cold sweat instantly broke out on Hu Jingang's forehead. If he hadn't blocked it just now, that chopstick would have pierced his throat.

He felt a surge of anger. What kind of faulty intelligence did that noble person provide?!

This was called "just entered Samadhi"?

However, Hu Jingang was, after all, ferocious and battle-hardened. He had reached the perfection of Opening Qi and Blood. If he could get close to a cultivator at the Fetal Respiration stage of Spirit Refinement, he still had a chance!

With this thought.

Hu Jingang did not hesitate. He threw the heavy saber in his hand like a projectile, and his body followed closely behind the saber, lunging towards An Le.

An Le looked at the thrown saber and the lunging Hu Jingang, a fighting spirit flashing in his eyes.

"Come!"

His body instantly rose from the chair, and he dodged the saber with a sidestep.

Then, his body moved like a fierce tiger emerging from its mountain lair, pouncing forward. It was the Tiger Style of the Five Animals Body Forging!

Magnificent is the tiger, fierce and majestic, its powerful aura unlike that of ordinary beasts!

An Le's perfected Blood Essence also erupted like a mountain torrent!

Hu Jingang, who had just lunged forward, felt as if the young man had instantly transformed into a magnificent tiger. His surging Blood Essence, no weaker than his own, washed over him, and his heart sank to the bottom.

The next moment, a terrifying force slammed into Hu Jingang. He felt a sharp pain.

He drew an elegant parabolic arc across the sky, reflecting the stars, carrying a bloody light and utter confusion through the spring night.

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