A Heart Like Still Water, a Will Like a Ferocious Tiger

The two sides clashed in the clearing between the woods.

The constables had an overwhelming numerical advantage. Most had achieved Acupoint Opening, and their martial prowess was nothing to scoff at. Unfortunately, the vicious men of the Five Poisons Cult possessed strange arts, excelled at poison techniques, and wielded unusual weapons that were difficult to guard against.

The two sides fought, but despite outnumbering their opponents, the constables were hampered at every turn and couldn't gain the upper hand.

At the center of the melee, Liu Jingsheng faced off against the zombie-like man, his face livid. His long saber exuded a chill mist that bent the cold glimmer of the waning moon, stinging the man's eyes until they narrowed to slits. He was on high alert.

When masters fought, they first compared heights.

No, first they traded threats.

"'Fengxian' Iron Constable Liu Jingsheng—I've heard of your reputation. With your martial skills, being a constable is a waste of your talent."

The zombie-like man spoke with a thick accent. He began by praising Liu, then turned to a sneer. "How much is your monthly salary? How much renown have you earned? How much suffering have you endured, and how much credit have you been given? You'll waste your life in obscurity, then grow old covered in injuries, with your wife and children having to tend to your every need. What a pitiful existence!"

Faced with such mockery, Liu Jingsheng nodded. "You make a fair point. In that case, I'll use your head to secure a brighter future!"

The zombie-like man lost the exchange of threats. With a cold snort, he drew the curved saber and short dagger hanging at his lower back.

The weapon was shaped like a crescent moon, short and narrow, like a canine tooth. It was unlike any ordinary weapon, and its blade shimmered with a dim blue light. It had been coated with a deadly poison that killed at a touch.

Liu Jingsheng was undaunted. With his long saber in hand, he took several great strides and reached the zombie-like man in an instant.

The blade flashed like a ferocious tiger bursting from its cage. Its edge struck with such force that the wind shrieked, inspiring fear and making it seem impossible to resist.

The zombie-like man didn't dare block with his short blade. He gathered his strength and shot backward ten feet. Only when Liu Jingsheng's saber had lost some of its ferocity did he reverse his grip on the short blade and rush forward, slashing at Liu's throat.

His body was stiff, but his speed was astonishing.

A chilling light spread, carrying a soul-seizing killing intent, while a foul stench wafted in every direction.

Liu Jingsheng's old strength had yet to fade when new strength surged up. He had clearly left an opening on purpose, luring the zombie-like man into seizing his chance. Before the poisoned blade could reach him, Liu slipped away with a deft step.

The zombie-like man's guard was now wide open. Liu Jingsheng drew his saber back to his side.

A duel between masters was like a game of chess: one false move, and every move after would go wrong.

A flash of white blade-light flickered past. The zombie-like man barely managed to block with his short blade. For the next several exchanges, he could only defend, making up for his carelessness at the start.

Liu Jingsheng's saber strikes were as fierce as a tiger pouncing on its prey. Every slash carried overwhelming momentum and the force to topple mountains and overturn seas.

He traded speed for speed, the afterimages of his blade growing faster and faster. He gave the zombie-like man no chance to unleash his strange arts or poison techniques. What's more, with every swing, Liu's spirit and vigor surged higher, and the strength behind his long saber increased in turn.

After more than ten exchanges, the zombie-like man could no longer hold his ground. His short blade was knocked from his hand.

With no weapon left, terror filled his face. As Liu's saber came down toward his chest, he gritted his teeth and reached for Liu's ribs with both hands, hoping to trade his life for a wound.

Liu Jingsheng's saber tip struck the zombie-like man's chest, hitting his chest acupoint with a clang like metal striking metal.

He seemed to have expected this. With a smooth upward flick of the blade, he avoided the poisoned claws reaching for his ribs. Then he turned, sweeping his edge toward the man's eyes.

A few drops of blood flew, followed by a muffled groan.

The zombie-like man and Liu Jingsheng passed each other. The man raised a hand to cover his right eye, but blood kept seeping through his fingers.

He had avoided losing both eyes at the last moment, but one had still been struck.

"You used the poisoned blade to mislead me, hiding that your true strengths were your claw techniques and iron-body kung fu. Then you pretended to be careless and underestimated me, trying to lure me into close combat. You put a lot of thought into it. But I've seen schemes like yours eight thousand times, if not ten thousand."

Liu Jingsheng spoke coldly. "Your iron-body kung fu isn't fully mastered. You have plenty of vulnerable spots, yet you dared let me get close. You'd be better off blind."

The zombie-like man was furious. He had thought his scheme had worked and that he could kill Liu Jingsheng in one move. He hadn't realized he was nothing but a clown in Liu's eyes.

And he'd lost an eye for nothing!

The two fought again. With one eye blinded, the zombie-like man was full of openings as he scrambled to recover. If not for his superb iron-body kung fu, which made him as impervious as a zombie, he would already have been decapitated.

Even so, he was at a disadvantage, managing only to protect his vulnerable spots. It looked as if he would soon be captured.

Xiang Yuan stood at the edge of the fighting, shouting alongside several constables wielding long sabers and putting on a spirited display of slashing at the air.

In the midst of the melee, blades and swords showed no mercy. He had no combat experience, and feared disrupting his allies' formation even more than he feared an enemy sneaking up and cutting him down.

He could shout a few times to intimidate the enemy and put them under pressure. That counted as support.

At the same time, he watched Liu Jingsheng and the zombie-like man fight from start to finish. Their footwork and feints came too quickly for him to see clearly. He only caught glimpses of Liu's fierce saber technique, which shared a remarkable resemblance with the essence of the Five Tigers Severing Gate Saber.

A heart like still water, a will like a ferocious tiger!

A calm heart guided the saber; the tiger's ferocity cowed the enemy!

Xiang Yuan felt he'd learned something. Just as he was delighted, his headache suddenly flared, making him grimace in pain.

"I finally get to see masters fight, and my head has to hurt right now..."

Xiang Yuan complained to himself. Meanwhile, the wind began to howl faintly in the distance. From its direction, it seemed constables from the Six Doors had noticed something and were sending reinforcements.

The sound of the wind lifted the constables' spirits, while the vicious men of the Five Poisons Cult roared furiously. Several of them took a few saber cuts, then pulled poisonous insects and toxins from the quivers at their waists.

In an instant, a sinister wind swept through, and a rank stench filled the air.

Several constables collapsed without a word, falling fast asleep.

Even Liu Jingsheng, whose heart was cold as a blade, faltered at the sight. His saber missed its mark, and the zombie-like man seized the opening. After leaping away, he made several quick evasive moves before finding a chance to unleash his poison techniques.

Black smoke poured from his mouth, and a poisonous miasma spread.

The miasma was like ghost fire, like mist, and it spread at a startling speed. Liu Jingsheng swung his long saber to cleave it apart. Several vicious men of the Five Poisons Cult leaped into the air and came rushing at him with wild cries.

He swept his saber through them, cutting them in two.

The zombie-like man grabbed several members of his cult along the way and hurled them at Liu Jingsheng like sandbags, then plunged into the woods. After the rustling faded, there was no sign of him.

The remaining vicious men of the Five Poisons Cult didn't dare stay and fight. Following their leader's example, they darted into the woods and fled in every direction.

"You're not getting away that easily!"

Liu Jingsheng held his saber in one hand. His other hand blurred as four flashes of cold light flew out, and four vicious men of the Five Poisons Cult fell to the ground.

Throwing knives.

He was about to order the constables to give chase, but some had collapsed in the poisonous miasma while others had retreated far away. Their ranks had already fallen apart, so he had no choice but to let it go.

"I'm going after the bandit chief. You, hurry and save the injured. When the Six Doors arrive, tell them what happened." Liu Jingsheng sniffed, then charged in the direction the zombie-like man had disappeared.

Whatever happened, the bandits had escaped by way of the path the constables were guarding. Only by capturing their leader could he give his superiors an answer.

The constables swung their sabers to fan away the poisonous miasma, then dragged their poisoned comrades to safety. This time, Xiang Yuan didn't hang back. He put his heart into using the Five Tigers Severing Gate Saber and actually managed to rescue two of his comrades.

As Xiang Yuan charged into the poisonous miasma for the third time, his head began to swim. He had inhaled a little of the poisonous air, and his foot caught on something.

Just as one crisis seemed to end, another arose. A vicious man of the Five Poisons Cult who had been lying on the ground sprang up and lunged at him with a short blade.

His face was covered in blood. He had pretended to be dead, waiting for his chance to break through and escape through Xiang Yuan's position.

He had chosen the perfect moment. The constables were busy rescuing people and had scattered in every direction. No one noticed him lying there as a 'corpse,' and even those who might have wanted to save Xiang Yuan were too late.

All he had to do was kill Xiang Yuan, and he could run into the woods.

A boy barely out of his teens, a constable fresh on the job—could he really block even one of my moves?

A little trick would be all it took.

With a furious shout, the vicious man accelerated, his blade slashing even faster.

Xiang Yuan was still dazed. The shout startled him awake, and when he saw the 'corpse' with a bloodied face like an evil spirit, he instinctively tried to dodge.

Suddenly, he saw Liu Jingsheng's saber-wielding figure flash before his eyes. His gaze sharpened, his mind instantly grew still, and his hands and feet moved faster than his thoughts. Copying what Liu had done, he stepped forward and brought his saber down in a slash.

All his strength surged into the tip of the blade. Its white gleam flashed like lightning, fierce and unstoppable, forcing everything before it to yield—like a tiger descending the mountain!