A Real Fight!

"Help? Heh, you're just delivering a few more heads to me."

Bing Tianxiao looked at the three men charging toward him, a trace of contempt flashing through his eyes.

Compared to Luo Li, these guys moved so slowly they might as well have been practicing tai chi.

"Too slow."

Bing Tianxiao shifted slightly, casually evading the blade chopping down at him.

Then his right hand shot out like lightning, seizing the man's wrist and twisting hard.

"Crack!"

A crisp snap of breaking bone rang out before the man could even scream.

Bing Tianxiao followed up with a kick to his abdomen, sending him flying like a cannonball into the companions rushing up behind him.

The two tumbled into a heap. Before they could get back up, a flash of cold light arrived.

The dagger in Bing Tianxiao's hand traced a perfect arc through the air, instantly slicing open both their throats.

Blood gushed out as the two Second-level Spirit Bodies died on the spot.

"H-How is that possible?!"

The remaining lackey was scared out of his wits. His legs went limp, and he no longer had the courage to attack.

"What are you standing around for?"

Bing Tianxiao's ghostly voice sounded beside his ear.

The next second, a slender palm pressed directly onto the crown of his head.

Power surged forth.

"Bang!"

Blood streamed from the man's seven orifices as he crumpled to the ground.

In the blink of an eye, all three Second-level Spirit Bodies had been wiped out!

Watching this scene, Zhao Tiandu felt a chill shoot up from the soles of his feet to the top of his head.

He had thought the three of them could at least hold Bing Tianxiao back for a moment and give him a chance to counterattack. He had never expected them to last less than ten breaths!

"Monster... you're a monster!"

Zhao Tiandu was utterly panicked. He turned and tried to flee.

"Since you came, don't leave."

Bing Tianxiao's cold voice came from behind him.

Zhao Tiandu felt a chill down his back and instinctively turned to block.

But what greeted him was a heavy knee strike!

"Thud!"

The blow slammed solidly into Zhao Tiandu's chest, the sound of his breastbone shattering making one's teeth ache.

Zhao Tiandu spat out a mouthful of blood, crashed heavily to the ground, and then dissipated into smoke.

Bing Tianxiao flicked the blood droplets from his dagger without even glancing at the corpse on the ground, then turned toward the other side.

The battle there had also ended.

Yang Hong lay in a pool of blood.

The gale still howled.

But the slaughter before this valley had already come to an end.

Luo Li sheathed her sword and turned around, meeting Bing Tianxiao's gaze.

The two looked at each other without speaking.

After a brief silence, Luo Li broke it.

Ignoring the corpses strewn across the ground, she took a pristine white silk handkerchief from her robes and gently wiped the blood from the Luoshen Sword.

Her movements were tender, as though she were caressing a lover's face.

"Bing Tianxiao."

The young woman's voice was especially clear amid the wind.

"Hmm?"

Bing Tianxiao was retrieving the arrows he had fired. He answered without looking back.

"In one hour, I want to have a real fight with you."

Luo Li sheathed the cleaned sword and lifted her head.

Her glasslike eyes brimmed with seriousness.

Bing Tianxiao's hand paused slightly as he pulled out an arrow.

The freezing wind swept up the hem of his clothes, making them flutter loudly.

He slowly turned around and looked at the young woman before him.

This time, Bing Tianxiao did not joke around as usual.

The careless grin faded slowly from his face, and his gaze gradually turned deep and grave.

He understood the meaning in Luo Li's eyes.

These five months of entanglement would come to an end in this battle.

"Alright."

Bing Tianxiao nodded. He carefully polished the recovered arrows one by one and returned them to his quiver.

Then he sat cross-legged in the snow and took out a pill.

His voice was calm and resolute.

"In one hour, we fight."

The corners of Luo Li's lips rose slightly, revealing a faint yet breathtaking smile.

She, too, sat cross-legged and closed her eyes, beginning to regulate her breathing and bring herself to peak condition.

The wind and snow continued.

The two sat back to back, only several yards apart.

There was no killing intent, no hostility.

Only two terrifying auras, continuously rising and gathering strength, quietly brewed between heaven and earth.

This was the final calm before the storm.

One hour passed in the blink of an eye.

When the last snowflake landed on Bing Tianxiao's shoulder, he abruptly opened his eyes.

At nearly the same moment, Luo Li opened hers across from him.

There was no referee and no command.

"Twang!"

A thunderous bowstring reverberation suddenly exploded through the air.

Bing Tianxiao left an afterimage where he stood, his whole body shooting backward at high speed with the force of the recoil.

From where he had originally stood, three black streaks of light flew toward Luo Li in a triangular formation!

Consecutive Arrows!

He opened with a merciless Killing Move.

"Clang! Clang! Clang!"

Luo Li's expression did not change as her wrist flicked lightly.

The Luoshen Sword transformed into a curtain of silver light, knocking aside the three Sharp Arrows with flawless precision.

Yet the instant she blocked the arrows, that icy sensation of being watched by a venomous snake struck again.

Bing Tianxiao darted rapidly through the forest, the Ice Crystal Longbow in his hand seeming to come alive.

He drew his bow while moving. Every time the bowstring rang, a Sharp Arrow flew from an exceptionally tricky angle.

Some shot straight ahead, some arced through the air, and some even rebounded off tree trunks to alter their trajectories!

Every arrow targeted a point Luo Li had no choice but to defend.

Luo Li's movement technique was also pushed to its limit, her silver hair flying wildly.

The Luoshen Sword seemed to become a river of stars in her hand. Sword qi crisscrossed the air, cutting down each deadly arrow in turn.

They fought from the ground into the air, then from the air back onto the snowy ground.

Their battles over the past five months had familiarized them with each other's techniques down to their bones.

Bing Tianxiao knew where Luo Li's next sword strike would go, and Luo Li could predict where Bing Tianxiao's next arrow would land.

This was a contest of dancing on a blade's edge. One moment of carelessness meant death and destruction.

"Is this all the strength you have?"

Luo Li shouted as her figure suddenly accelerated. She charged through the dense rain of arrows and forcibly closed the distance to Bing Tianxiao.

The Luoshen Sword shone brilliantly. An incomparably sharp sword intent locked onto Bing Tianxiao, sealing off every route of retreat.

She had gotten close!

For an archer, allowing a swordsman to close in often meant death.

Luo Li thrust her sword straight toward Bing Tianxiao's chest.

This strike was as fast as lightning. There was no avoiding it!

However, Bing Tianxiao was clearly no ordinary archer. He was a bow warrior!

Rather than retreat, he advanced!

His body twisted at an incredibly strange angle, barely avoiding the vital point of his heart. He allowed the fierce sword to cut through his clothes and leave a bloody gash beneath his ribs.

Using the instant they passed each other, Bing Tianxiao violently drew his longbow to its limit.

Not to fire at range, but—to shoot point-blank!

"Twang!"

The bowstring's vibration exploded beside their ears like Death's whisper.

Time seemed to freeze at that moment.