"Brat! Die!" Wang Wu roared hoarsely. Dark teal Gang Qi surged wildly toward his arms, and his long saber let out a piercing hum. A phantom wolf appeared faintly over the blade, jaws agape in a snarl! This was the ultimate technique he'd kept in reserve, a desperate strike that embodied his life's cultivation—Wolf's Heart-Devouring Slash!
Ye Yun's gaze sharpened as he sensed the terrifying power within that strike. An 8th Rank peak martial artist's full-force burst was not to be underestimated! He dared not be careless. Essence Qi surged through him like a mighty river, pouring into his saber! A pale golden light flared across the blade, accompanied by the faint rumble of wind and thunder!
"Mountain-Crushing Saber Technique, Second Form—Mountain-Shattering!" Ye Yun shouted inwardly, his aura rising to its peak! Gripping the saber with both hands, he swung upward from below, delivering a heavy diagonal slash as if to split the very earth!
"Boom—!!!!!"
The two saber auras, each infused with their wielder's mightiest strength and resolve, collided deep in the forest like a pair of falling stars!
This explosion was ten times more violent than any before it! Blinding light swallowed everything in an instant, and a savage shock wave swept in every direction like a tsunami! The boulder Yan Xiao Liu was hiding behind was hurled away, and he cried out as he was flung through the air! Countless splintered branches and broken stones shot out like cannonballs!
The light faded, leaving dust swirling everywhere.
Wang Wu's body flew backward like a torn sack, tracing a long arc through the air before crashing to the ground more than a dozen steps away! His clothes had been shredded into strips by the violent saber aura, and fine cuts covered his exposed skin. A horrific wound deep enough to show bone gaped across his chest, blood gushing from it! He struggled to get up, but suddenly spat out a mouthful of dark red blood mixed with bits of his organs. His face turned as pale as gold paper, and his aura dwindled to almost nothing!
Ye Yun was also driven back three steps by the tremendous recoil. Each footfall cracked the earth. The web between his right thumb and forefinger had split from gripping the saber, blood staining the hilt. His arm was so numb it had nearly lost all feeling, and his blood and qi churned inside him. But in the end, he stood firm! He drew a deep breath and forcibly suppressed the roiling blood and qi. His icy gaze pierced the dust and fixed on the gravely wounded Wang Wu in the distance.
Wang Wu raised his head with difficulty. His gaze was filled with venom, shock, and a trace of disbelief and fear. He had never imagined that even after risking his life, his attack would still leave him in this state! This brat... was terrifying!
Just then, the venomous light in Wang Wu's eyes abruptly turned into the utmost cunning! Gritting his teeth, he used the last of his strength to discreetly reach to his waist with his left hand and flick his wrist!
"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!"
Three tiny streaks of black light tore through the swirling dust like poisonous snakes from hell, silent yet as fast as lightning, flying in a triangular pattern toward Ye Yun's face and eyes! They gleamed with a faint blue sheen—the needles had clearly been coated with a deadly poison that killed at a touch! The timing was treacherous, the attack vicious; there was no way to guard against it! This was his final trump card, the Life-Taking Bone-Piercing Needles!
"Look out!" Yan Xiao Liu had just struggled to his feet and happened to see the perilous scene. He was so terrified that he nearly lost his wits and cried out in alarm!
Yet the instant Wang Wu's expression changed, Ye Yun's superhumanly keen senses had already picked up a faint ripple of murderous intent! Just as the three streaks of black light were about to hit him, the saber in his hand became a blurred wheel of light!
"Clang! Clang! Clang!"
Three crisp impacts rang out almost simultaneously! The three nearly invisible streaks of black light were knocked away in midair by the impossibly fast saber! The poisoned needles shot into a nearby tree trunk with muffled thuds, their tails still trembling!
"What?!" The malice and smugness in Wang Wu's eyes froze, turning to utter despair and disbelief! His last means of saving his life had been so easily thwarted?!
Yan Xiao Liu's mouth hung open in shock, and he forgot to breathe. Ye Yun... just how strong was he?! That reaction speed, that precision... it was practically inhuman!
Ye Yun's gaze turned colder, and unease stirred in his heart. The martial world was treacherous indeed; he couldn't afford to let his guard down for even a moment! If he hadn't stayed alert and kept his senses sharp, that attack would have left him grievously wounded, if not dead! It was a stark reminder: even when a lion hunted a rabbit, it had to use its full strength!
He held nothing back from his killing intent!
Ye Yun gave Wang Wu no chance to catch his breath or launch another sneak attack! He moved like lightning, instantly closing the distance between them! His saber swept across, carrying a bone-chilling cold and unwavering killing intent!
How could the gravely wounded Wang Wu muster the strength to resist? He could only watch as the icy blade rapidly grew in his pupils!
"Shhk!"
The blade swept unhindered through Wang Wu's hastily raised arm, sending a spray of blood into the air, then continued on and slammed into his chest! The immense force sent his entire body flying off the ground!
The instant Wang Wu's body lifted into the air, Ye Yun's left hand flicked to his waist. A streak of cold light shot from his hand, even faster and more concentrated than Wang Wu's poisoned needles, with a piercing whistle! It was the throwing knife he'd been holding ready!
"Ugh..."
Wang Wu was still flying through the air when a vivid spray of blood burst from his throat! His movements froze, and the light in his eyes went out as swiftly as a candle in the wind. He crashed to the ground, all four limbs twitching violently. Clutching his bleeding throat with both hands, he let out a ragged, air-leaking "khh, khh." Blood gushed like a spring between his fingers, staining the earth beneath him. His eyes widened in disbelief as he stared fixedly in Ye Yun's direction, filled with utmost unwillingness and shock. He muttered, but could only spit out more bloody froth: "How... how... could this... be..."
His twitching gradually stopped, and Wang Wu's body went completely rigid. His wide, lifeless eyes remained fixed on Ye Yun, frozen in their final resentment and confusion.
Only then did Ye Yun slowly release a long breath of foul, blood-scented air, allowing his taut nerves to relax a little. He walked over to Wang Wu's body and confirmed that he was truly dead. Then he bent down and wrenched the throwing knife from where it had been buried deep in Wang Wu's throat, drawing out a stream of dark red blood. He carefully wiped the blood from the knife on Wang Wu's clothes, then returned it to his waist.
When he was done, he turned around.
Yan Xiao Liu was still slumped on the muddy ground not far away, his face deathly pale and his body covered in dirt and grass. He stared at Ye Yun as if he were a monster, his eyes filled with utter fear, bewilderment, shock, and a trace of awe. His lips trembled, and his teeth chattered. After a long moment, he finally forced a few broken syllables from his throat:
"Th-this... Ye... Ye Yun... you... you..."
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