Blood Melting!?

Rumble!

A streak of blood-red light plunged from the sky, slamming down between Pei Qingyan and Liu Yun. In an instant, rocks flew and a fierce shockwave surged outward like a tide. The solid stone ground had been blasted into a massive crater!

Pfft!

The mere force of the aftershock struck Pei Qingyan like a giant hammer weighing ten thousand jin. His throat turned sweet with blood, and he and the Frost Scar in his hand were hurled several yards away by an irresistible force.

The dust slowly settled. A towering figure, as imposing as a mountain, gradually emerged.

The newcomer stood over nine feet tall. His bare upper body was knotted with muscle, as if cast from crimson refined iron, and he radiated a savage, violent aura that seemed capable of crushing everything. Above his head, blood energy roiled and gathered without dispersing, forming a blazing crimson flame! Drops of bright red blood still dripped from the Black Iron Gauntlets encasing his fearsome fists, a horrifying sight.

"Venerable Meng! You finally came!"

Liu Yun, having escaped death by a hair, scrambled behind the burly man. His face was as pale as paper. Pointing at Qin Jue and the other two, resentment and terror mingling in his eyes, he cried hoarsely, "Those three bastards don't know when to quit! They killed Shen Yutang, and they even dared to run their mouths, saying the Ning Family is nothing, and that even if Young Master Ning himself came, they'd kill him all the same! Venerable Meng, you must cut them to pieces and tear them limb from limb!"

Meng Kuang, whom the Ning Family honored with the title "Bone Shatterer," didn't even spare Liu Yun a glance. He treated him like an ant. His gaze settled on Qin Jue and the others.

"You three brats dare lay a hand on someone from the Ning Family?" Meng Kuang's voice boomed like rolling thunder, making eardrums ring and blood surge.

"Hundred Refinements Sixth Layer... Hundred Refinements Fifth Layer..." His gaze swept over Pei Qingyan and Tang Xiaoman like a blade, then finally came to rest on Qin Jue. A grin spread across his face. "And one Hundred Refinements Fourth Layer? Interesting. Very interesting!"

Qin Jue's pupils contracted sharply! An unprecedented sense of mortal danger swept over him in an instant!

"Blood energy rising above the head, gathering without dispersing..." Qin Jue's heart sank to the bottom. He forced a few words through clenched teeth, his voice hoarse:

"Hundred Refinements Seventh Layer... Blood Melting Realm!!!"

At his words, Tang Xiaoman, who had just struggled to his feet, turned deathly pale in an instant, not a trace of color left in his face. He cried out, "W-what?! The Blood Melting Realm!? H-how are we supposed to fight him? We're not even on the same level!"

"Oh? Scared?" Meng Kuang rolled his neck, thicker than an ordinary man's thigh. His bones cracked in a string of sharp pops. He looked at the three of them like a cat toying with mice and said mockingly, "If you're scared, then kill yourselves. That'll save me the trouble of dirtying my fists."

Arrogant! Arrogant to the extreme! Arrogant beyond all regard for anyone!

But that was the confidence of a Blood Melting Realm expert! A warrior at this level had blood energy that burned and boiled like a blazing fire, strength that could reach ten thousand jin, and a body harder than refined steel. Ordinary blades and swords couldn't even scratch them. What were common warriors before them but ants?

"Enough talk!"

Pei Qingyan's icy, bone-chilling shout was his answer!

A swordsman's heart would sooner break than bend! A man might be killed, but never humiliated!

Clang!

The blade rang through the air! Pei Qingyan poured every last drop of blood energy in his body into his saber. Instead of retreating, he charged forward, his figure turning into a bolt of ashen lightning. At that moment, man and saber became one, delivering the strongest strike he could muster!

Stream Breaking Saber—Cut the Current!

The saber's momentum was peerlessly fierce. Its chilling aura seemed to freeze the air ahead of it before cleaving it in two!

"Good! You've got some backbone!"

A bloodthirsty excitement flashed through Meng Kuang's eyes. Facing a strike that could instantly kill any warrior of the same level, he neither dodged nor retreated. Instead, he let out a thunderous laugh. His left hand, wrapped in a blood-red gauntlet, shot out; fingers spread, he reached toward the deadly blade and clenched his fist in midair!

Clang—!!!

A deafening clash of metal rang out!

Pei Qingyan's unstoppable Frost Scar was clamped fast by a visible layer of blood-red energy. The blade was still three inches from Meng Kuang's palm, yet it couldn't advance another fraction!

"What?!" Pei Qingyan's eyes widened in disbelief.

"Break!"

Meng Kuang gave a savage grin and suddenly tightened his fist!

Boom!

The blood-red energy burst apart. A violent force surged back along the blade! Pei Qingyan felt as if the blow had knocked all his internal organs out of place. Blood sprayed from his mouth, and he, Frost Scar and all, was blasted away like a kite with its string cut!

Pfft!

Still in midair, Pei Qingyan could no longer suppress the churning blood energy within him. He spat out another mouthful of blood, mixed with fragments of his organs, and crashed hard into a rock wall several yards away.

"Old Pei!"

Tang Xiaoman's eyes were bloodshot. His fear of death now turned into a towering rage!

"You bastard! I'll fight you to the death!"

His eyes burning red, he activated his secret life-saving art without a second thought!

Blood Boil! He burned his own blood energy to gain a brief surge in fighting power!

Roar!

Tang Xiaoman let out a howl that barely sounded human. In an instant, his skin turned red as a branding iron, and wisps of blood mist steamed from his pores. His aura surged by more than thirty percent in the blink of an eye!

"Die!"

Riding the terrifying power unleashed by the secret art, he shot toward Meng Kuang from the side like a cannonball. He poured the strength of his entire life into his right leg, then whipped it toward Meng Kuang's vulnerable ribs in a kick powerful enough to collapse a mountain, the shrill howl of torn air trailing behind it!

Mountain Stomping Leg—Mountain Collapse!

Yet facing a kick strong enough to shatter solid rock, Meng Kuang merely sneered in disdain. He didn't even turn his head, only sweeping out a fist behind him!

Boom—!!!

Fist and foot collided with a muffled crash like a war drum!

Tang Xiaoman felt as if his kick had struck a burning iron mountain! The fierce, scorching rebound instantly shook his leg bones to the verge of shattering. Then an even more terrifying force came crushing toward him, like an avalanche!

He flew backward like a torn sack, faster than he had come, and slammed into a pile of rubble, sending dust billowing into the sky.

Two moves! Two men gravely wounded!

That was the terror of the Blood Melting Realm! Both the power of their blood energy and the defense of their bodies had reached an entirely new, despairing level!

"Fancy moves. Pathetic."

Meng Kuang flicked his fist as if he'd merely swatted away an annoying fly. He slowly turned around, and his eyes, filled with violence and boundless killing intent, finally fell on Qin Jue, the only one still standing.

"Now it's your turn." He stuck out his tongue and licked his cracked lips, as if savoring his final prey. "Are you going to do it yourself, or should I give you a hand?"

Qin Jue's face remained impassive, but his heart was in turmoil.

Too strong! Strong enough to make a man despair! Neither Pei Qingyan's peerlessly sharp saber nor Tang Xiaoman's desperate, blood-burning attack had managed to inflict even the slightest injury on this monster!

Yet the stronger Meng Kuang was, the calmer Qin Jue's heart became!

Retreat? There was no such word on Qin Jue's martial path!

"If you want my life, you'll have to prove you can take it!"

There was no fear left in Qin Jue's eyes, only a battle intent surging skyward like an erupting volcano! He stepped forward, and the Cold Iron Sword slid from its sheath with a ring!

Swordlight flowed like water; the sword's cry surged like the tide!

Tide Rising Sword Technique, Third Layer—Tidal Stance!

In an instant, dozens of swordlights appeared out of nowhere. At times they crashed like raging waves against the shore, fierce and domineering; at others they flowed like hidden currents, subtle and treacherous. The swordplay rolled on without pause, layer upon layer, forming an airtight net that covered every vital point on Meng Kuang's body!

"Oh? That strike has some promise." A hint of surprise crossed Meng Kuang's eyes.

"But before absolute power, every technique is just a joke!"

He laughed wildly and thrust both fists forward at the countless sword shadows!

"Break for me!!!"

Boom!!!

His boiling blood energy erupted without restraint! Centered on him, a visible wave of blood-red energy shot skyward, sweeping out in a frenzied onslaught!

Sss! Sss! Sss! Sss!

Qin Jue's seemingly flawless sword net was torn apart inch by inch the moment it touched the crimson wave, vanishing like snow beneath the blazing sun!

A violent force surged along the sword. Qin Jue grunted, tasting blood in his throat, and was driven back seven or eight steps by the shockwave. Each step left a deep footprint in the hard stone ground before he finally managed to steady himself.

"That all you've got?"

Meng Kuang advanced one step at a time. The earth trembled faintly with every step, and his dense, almost tangible blood-energy pressure made it hard to breathe.

He looked down at Qin Jue, kneeling on one knee, his eyes full of mockery and cruelty, as if admiring his prey's final, futile struggle.

"I thought I'd found something tough enough to loosen my muscles. Turns out you're just three stinking bugs I could crush whenever I pleased!"

He shook his head and let out an exaggerated sigh. "Too weak. Far too weak! You're so weak I can't even work up a shred of interest!"

"Ptooey!"

A curse came from the nearby pile of rubble.

Tang Xiaoman struggled to shove aside the rocks covering him and spat out bloody foam mixed with bits of his organs. One side of his body had caved in, and who knew how many ribs he'd broken, yet his face still wore a stubborn, ferocious look.

Coughing up blood, he cursed in fits and starts. "You've got... cough... just wait till I'm healed, then I'll fight you for three hundred rounds!"

"Oh? Still got a sharp tongue."

Meng Kuang glanced at him with interest and grinned savagely. "Don't worry, I won't let you die that quickly. I'll break every bone in your body, one inch at a time, and let you truly experience what despair means!"

"You..."

Tang Xiaoman wanted to curse him again, but the undisguised savagery in Meng Kuang's eyes made his heart clench in terror. The rest of his words died in his throat.

He wasn't afraid of dying. From the very first day he became a wander-hunter, he'd been living with his head in his belt. But he was afraid of being treated like an ant, toyed with at will, and tortured to death!

On the other side, Pei Qingyan, leaning against the rock wall, opened his eyes.

Pain washed over his consciousness like a tide, and every breath was sheer torment. He looked at Qin Jue, kneeling in the middle of the battlefield yet still holding his back straight, and a flash of shame and resolve crossed his unfocused eyes.

"Just a Hundred Refinements Fourth Layer, and he still hasn't fallen... Am I, Pei Qingyan, really going to lie here and wait to die?"

No... Never!

He glanced at the gravely wounded Tang Xiaoman, then finally looked toward Frost Scar, lying some distance away.

Even if he died, he would deliver one final slash! That was the last shred of dignity he had as a swordsman!