Blood Splattered in the Warm Pavilion

"How could someone like you ever change? If you can't change, then death is your only option."

Afraid the target might not be dead, Qin Meng didn't wait for his words to fade before swinging his blade down. Lin Hai's head rolled to the side, blood spraying onto the landscape screen.

Without pausing, Qin Meng reached into the corpse's robes with one hand, pulled out a stack of banknotes, and shoved them into his own pocket. He sneered at the severed head, "Take your questions to the underworld and ask Yama yourself."

Almost simultaneously—

"Crack!"

The wooden door of the warm pavilion was kicked open, and two men wielding ring-pommel sabers burst in.

"Young Master, what happened..."

The lead man's voice cut off abruptly.

What greeted him was a blade tip rapidly expanding in his vision!

Qin Meng had long since sensed the guards outside and had struck the moment the door opened.

The blade tore through the air, piercing the first man's chest and exiting through his back.

"Urgh!" The man let out a short, miserable wail.

Qin Meng pulled the blade free, spraying a rain of blood, and simultaneously spun his body. His left fist, wrapped in a gust of force, slammed into the second man's face.

"Bang! Crack!" The sound of shattering bone exploded.

The man's entire face caved in, his body sent flying to crash against the doorframe before sliding down.

[Life source +3.2%, +1.9%...]

Two wisps of warm energy flowed into Qin Meng's body through his blade and fist.

"You dog! Pay with your life!" Zhao Tie's eyes were bloodshot, his internal blood and qi surging. The blue bricks beneath his feet shattered as he lunged forward like a heavy arrow.

He held nothing back, pouring his body forging realm strength into his blade. The heavy saber carried a bloody glow, the wind of the strike so fierce it made Qin Meng's skin sting.

Outside the warm pavilion, the sound of footsteps and shouts drew near as a dozen men came sprinting toward them.

I cannot be surrounded. Qin Meng's thoughts raced.

He took a sharp breath, his muscles tensing. He activated the berserker stomp effect of his berserker spear technique, his feet rooting firmly into the ground.

Facing Zhao Tie's strike, he did not dodge or retreat. He twisted his waist and hips, swinging his long saber from bottom to top in a swirling counter-slash, much like a horse-turning spear maneuver.

"Clang—!"

The sound of metal clashing exploded, sparks flew, and the blue bricks beneath their feet cracked inch by inch.

Taking the blow head-on, Qin Meng felt a massive force surge through him, his right arm trembling and the web of his hand going numb.

But his stance remained rock-solid. Without moving an inch, he leveraged the momentum to pivot, his left leg sweeping out like lightning to slam into Zhao Tie's exposed midsection.

"Bang!"

Zhao Tie let out a muffled groan, his blood and qi roiling as he staggered back several steps.

From the corner of his eye, Qin Meng caught sight of shadows flickering at the doorway.

The target is dead; no point in getting tangled up here! He forced Zhao Tie back with a kick and lunged toward the table, his large hand snatching up the dark-colored bundle.

"Bastard, put that down! That belongs to our Leiming Martial Hall."

Lei Jun's eyes were wide with fury. He thrust his longsword forward, the cold glint like a viper's tongue, aiming straight for the center of Qin Meng's back.

Qin Meng didn't even look back. He parried the blade with a precise backhand strike, then followed through with a fierce roundhouse kick that sent Lei Jun tumbling away.

His other hand had already tightened around the bundle, swinging it onto his shoulder!

"Damn it, hurry! Stop him! Kill him!" Lei Jun coughed up blood and roared.

Zhao Tie's skin suddenly flushed deep red. His blood and qi ignited, his speed surging as he blocked the path once more. A blood-red light flickered on his saber as he slashed down with wild intensity!

Qin Meng's eyes turned icy cold.

This strike brought a sharp sense of crisis, but... it was also an opportunity.

"Since you're looking for death, I'll send you both on your way!"

He dropped the bundle and gripped his saber with both hands, stepping forward instead of retreating! Threads of blood and qi poured into the blade as he unleashed the killing move of the evil-slaying blade-breaking saber.

He moved with the speed of a ghost, a black-red light rising from the edge of his blade. He transformed into a blur, colliding head-on with Zhao Tie!

"Clang—!" Sparks showered the room as the ear-piercing sound of metal clashing echoed through the warm pavilion.

Qin Meng let out a muffled grunt. A massive force pressed down on him, forcing him to one knee. The muscles in his right arm, which held the saber, tightened to the breaking point, aching as his blood and qi churned.

Yet, he had actually withstood the desperate strike of a body forging realm martial artist!

In that split second of delay, four disciples dressed in Leiming Martial Hall uniforms, with silver thunder patterns embroidered on their chests, surged into the pavilion alongside a dozen thugs like a tidal wave.

"Quick, surround and kill him!" Lei Jun rose with the help of others, shrieking.

"Kill!" The crowd clamored and swarmed forward.

Zhao Tie's face was blood-red, and just as he prepared to exert more force to pin his opponent down, he saw the suppressed Qin Meng suddenly look up, a chilling grin spreading across his lips.

Not good! Alarm bells rang wildly in his heart, and he tried to pull his saber back to retreat.

But it was too late!

Qin Meng's left fist was clenched tight, a dark red flow of light swirling around his knuckles. The Black Dragon Eighteen Hands ultimate move, Life-Taking, had been gathering power for quite some time!

The punch was thrown—silent, and fast as lightning!

Boom! That fist slammed into Zhao Tie's abdomen, right at his sea of qi!

Pfft— Zhao Tie's eyes bulged, the color draining from his face. He spat out a mouthful of blood mixed with fragments of his internal organs, his body sent flying backward.

Qin Meng pushed off the ground, shattering the stone tiles beneath his feet, and shot forward in pursuit. His long blade transformed into a black bolt of lightning, thrusting straight toward Zhao Tie's chest and abdomen.

Rip!

The blade bit into flesh, making a sound like thick leather being sliced open.

The body of a Body Forging realm martial artist was formidable, with skin and muscle providing immense resistance.

But with the sharpness effect added, the tip of the blade cut through like bamboo, sinking in up to the hilt.

Ah—! Zhao Tie let out a dying howl. One hand gripped the blade embedded in his abdomen with a death grip, while the other swung a fist toward Qin Meng.

Qin Meng leaned back to dodge, then violently twisted his wrist, delivering a brutal upward slash!

Squelch—

The blade carved a foot-long gash from Zhao Tie's abdomen up to his chest. Blood gushed out, and intestines spilled forth, mixed with shreds of viscera.

That earlier ultimate punch had already shattered his internal organs; now, with wounds piled upon wounds, Zhao Tie vomited blood, collapsed, and his aura withered away.

This bloody reversal had occurred in the blink of an eye.

The disciples and hired thugs who were about to charge forward stopped in their tracks, their faces filled with terror. Instructor Zhao, a Body Forging realm expert, had actually been crippled to this extent?

Fear appeared in their eyes.

Qin Meng did not pause for even a second! He pulled out his long blade, spraying droplets of blood. Relying on his Iron Back talent, he didn't dodge or weave, instead actively charging into the crowd.

"Evil-slaying blade, slash!"

The blade glowed with black light. A disciple raised his sword to block, but with a crack, both the sword and the man were sliced diagonally in two.

Another thug struck Qin Meng's back from the side, but it only produced a crisp clang as his blade was deflected. Qin Meng swung backhand, slicing the man's head clean off!

He swung his blade in a wild frenzy, occasionally reaching out to grab an enemy's arm or neck, using brute force to snap their necks or crush their chests with his elbows.

[Life source +3.2%]

[Life source +2.9%]

[Life Source +3.5%]

Inside and outside the warm pavilion, the scene had turned into a bloody slaughterhouse. Severed limbs flew through the air, and the sounds of miserable wailing mixed with the clashing of blades.

"Mommy, he's not human! Run!" The thugs in the back broke down, turning to flee in a panic.

"I am a liangshan hero of dawang mountain, the timely rain song jiang, song gongming himself! I am here specifically to kill scourges like lin hai. You lot, acting as his accomplices, deserve to die just the same!"

Qin meng roared his fabricated title while giving chase. He showed no mercy to these scoundrels; every one he caught was killed with a single strike.

Streams of warmth continuously surged into his body. Qin meng's eyes were cold, his strikes ruthless.

In a short amount of time, more than a dozen corpses lay scattered inside and outside the warm pavilion.

The surviving servants and grooms were so terrified that they hid in corners, trembling.

Lei jun, shielded by two disciples, took advantage of the chaos to retreat from the warm pavilion and sprinted toward the martial arts hall.

"Young master lei, since you love sticking your neck out, don't bother leaving!"

Qin meng cut down the last thug. Covered in blood, he raised his blade to give chase.

Just then—

"Young master... run!" A hoarse, shrill roar exploded from the pool of blood in the warm pavilion.

Zhao tie, his abdomen sliced open and his intestines spilling out, had actually propped himself up with his long blade and staggered back to his feet.

His face was devoid of color and his eyes were unfocused, yet they burned with a frantic light. Dragging his heavily wounded body and his trailing intestines, he roared and lunged at qin meng.

The vitality of a martial artist... is actually this tenacious? Qin meng's eyelids twitched. He instantly recalled what old man wang had once said: martial artists in the body forging realm possess robust blood and qi, granting them tenacious vitality. Unless their vital organs are destroyed, they are difficult to kill instantly.

This dying counterattack was purely to buy a chance at survival for his young master.

Qin meng reacted quickly. Not daring to underestimate his opponent, he spun and slashed his blade with fury.

Zhao tie was at the end of his rope; how could he block it?

After a few short exchanges, a flash of steel swept by, a head flew into the air, and the headless corpse crashed to the ground.

[Life Source +18%]

A pure, powerful surge of warm energy rushed into qin meng's body.

Qin meng exhaled a long, murky breath. Watching the street corner where lei jun and the others had vanished, he knew it was too late to catch them.

He suppressed the urge to pursue—his wild instinct was sending out faint warnings of danger.

Qin meng began to sweep the battlefield. His movements were swift, like wind sweeping away clouds. He looted the corpses for wealth and swept all the valuables and copper coins in the warm pavilion into a bundle. Then, he smashed through the back window, shouldered the loot, and vanished into the vast, dark night.