Under the moonlight, a blue figure danced and leapt like an elf of the night, light and graceful yet wildly fierce.
Ouyang Lan watched quietly. Gradually, her gaze grew unfocused, and her head began to nod bit by bit as drowsiness overtook her.
During the earlier battle,
she had suffered slight internal injuries after exchanging a palm strike head-on with the [Flying Feather Sword], then had been wounded by the concealed weapon poison of [Paired Swallows].
Though the poison had already been expelled and her wounds bandaged,
for some reason, her body still felt weary and weak. It was like when she had secretly drunk the fine wine her father had hidden away as a child—dizzy, muddled, and unable to summon any strength.
Especially the inner force that usually flowed endlessly through her meridians like a great river—it had become strangely difficult to mobilize.
Perhaps it's just some lingering effect after the poison was removed. It'll be fine after a while.
That was what she thought.
Listening to the sword forms slice through the air with sharp "hiss, hiss" sounds, she felt only peace and joy in her heart, slowly sinking into sleep.
Having someone stand guard really was wonderful.
The moon slanted westward, until the east began to pale.
Lu Wu-bing silently counted.
Until the hundred-thousandth sword.
As he thrust out with his sword,
"Hiss!"
An exceedingly faint sound of sword qi cutting through the air came from the darkness.
There were none of the previous rippling shockwaves,
nor was there that shriek like cloth being torn apart.
When this sword thrust out, there was no wind, no wave, no shadow, no form.
The white sword rainbow seemed to move, yet also seemed never to have been thrust at all.
He stood quietly where he was, gently closing his eyes.
In an instant, a flood of memories poured into his mind.
It was as though he had practiced sword thrusts for a very, very long time.
One move—[White Rainbow Pierces the Sun]—practiced from spring to autumn, from winter to summer...
Twenty years of sword training became abundant nourishment, sinking bit by bit into his heart, melding into his bones and soul.
At this moment, he felt that the sword was no longer a sword, but an extension of his own arm.
When the wind blew across the blade, it was as though he could sense every movement in all directions.
"Up."
After thinking for a moment, Lu Wu-bing lightly tapped his toes and kicked up a boulder the size of a human head.
The boulder flew three zhang before falling diagonally.
Lu Wu-bing lightly stepped forward. His figure shot ahead like smoke, and a faint arc of light, there yet not there, flickered once.
"Pfft..."
A narrow hole, clean through from front to back, appeared in the middle of the stone.
Stone chips streamed down like fine sand.
"So this is a mastery-level thrusting sword form. When it strikes, there is not the slightest warning; the sword moves before intent. Even when it pierced the stone, I felt no resistance at all, as if it had passed through flowing water."
The corner of Lu Wu-bing's mouth curved upward as he smiled silently.
His heart was filled with delight.
He was both astonished by the swift lightness of [Inch Step] and amazed by the ferocity and speed of the mastery-level thrusting art, [White Rainbow Pierces the Sun].
With a snap, the stone fell to the ground.
It let out a dull thud.
Ouyang Lan jolted awake and opened her sleepy eyes.
She asked in alarm, "What happened?"
"Nothing. It's just that those eyes in the sky have discovered us."
Still smiling, Lu Wu-bing raised his eyes and saw the black eagle circling overhead.
Faintly, sharp cries could be heard one after another.
"We've been discovered? Then why aren't we leaving?"
Ouyang Lan panicked.
She hurriedly tried to force her aching, weak body upright.
"No. They're the ones who should leave."
A cold glint flashed through Lu Wu-bing's eyes.
"Throw one punch wide open, and a hundred punches won't come after. Senior Sister, this time, I'll let you vent your anger properly."
"Quick, quick! They're right here! Don't let them get away!"
A string of footsteps rang out nearby.
More than a dozen bandits in garments of every color surged into view, brandishing sabers and swords.
Following behind them was a short, burly man built like a wild boar, clad in iron armor and carrying a spear in one hand and a great shield in the other.
This man was naturally Tan Siwu, chief of Tiger's Den Stronghold.
At this moment, he stared over with a vicious expression. Looking at Lu Wu-bing and Ouyang Lan, he seemed to be looking at sheep out in the wilderness.
The other man had broad shoulders and a narrow waist, a strong body and light steps. He carried a broad, serrated greatsword as casually as though it were a straw stalk.
He was an old acquaintance of Lu Wu-bing's.
The fifth disciple under Gu Dongting, master of the Eastern Sea Sect—Lu Zhongkui, the [Life-Severing Sword].
"Today, let's see where you can run to now."
Upon seeing Lu Wu-bing, Lu Zhongkui felt a faint ache beneath his ribs.
It seemed to remind him of the pain from the day at the Lu residence, when the other man had stabbed him with a sword.
Killing intent boiled in Lu Wu-bing's heart, but his expression remained as calm as still water.
"Run? Then why aren't you coming up to stop me? Are you afraid of dying?"
Facing the bandits charging toward him, Lu Wu-bing's sword showed no mercy.
His feet moved slowly forward.
One step, one sword. Ten steps, ten swords.
Bodies fell in heaps around him with muffled thumps.
Blood flowed like a brook, spreading into a crimson pool beneath his feet.
It was especially glaring.
"Don't think that your fast sword can still catch people off guard..."
As though he had not seen the bandits suffering grievous casualties, Lu Zhongkui sneered. "Hand over the Yuanling Swordplay Manual, and we can still leave you an intact corpse."
Though his words were fierce, he did not let down his guard in the slightest. He remembered the scene of his second senior brother being buried in the desolate mountains...
With his second senior brother's qinggong and swordsmanship, he had actually fallen to these two.
Lu Zhongkui could not understand it, but he was unwilling to take risks.
Though one of the two before him was injured and the other had shallow inner force... that was no reason to underestimate them. When a lion fought a rabbit, it still had to use all its strength.
As he spoke, Lu Zhongkui secretly gave a look.
Tan Siwu immediately understood. He laughed wildly. "Brother Lu, you deal with that little brat. Leave the woman to me. For all these years, I've been holed up in these desolate mountains and wild stockades. I've never touched such a fine little beauty."
"As you wish. So long as Brother Tan isn't afraid that Old Ouyang will turn your lair upside down, anything goes."
Lu Zhongkui burst into laughter.
Before his laughter had faded, he stomped heavily with one foot. Like a golden carp leaping through waves, he sprang into the air and, with a whoosh, pounced before Lu Wu-bing.
The broad serrated sword in his hand slashed down diagonally, producing three layers of sword shadows.
The sword move rolled like waves, surging and receding without end.
It was impossible to see where it would land.
At the same time,
Tan Siwu rolled across the ground, shooting forward like a ball.
His great shield guarded his front.
His eighteen-foot spear darted forth like a spirit serpent flicking its tongue.
It stabbed low along the ground toward Lu Wu-bing's lower abdomen. The spearpoint trembled lightly, shaking out several points of cold light.
He had known beforehand that Lu Wu-bing's fast sword was astonishing.
Thus, he attacked from within his defense. His moves were dark, vicious, and ruthless, cautious to the utmost—utterly unlike his crude appearance.
"Hiss..."
The sound of wind rose in the air.
Drops of blood splattered in every direction.
Tan Siwu saw in horror that as his spear thrust forward, his opponent merely stepped diagonally aside, and the longsword in his hand vanished.
No.
It had not vanished.
It had appeared in Lu Zhongkui's throat.
Drawing a trail of bloody light.
The sharpness of that sword could not be described.
It could not be seen or touched.
Where the sword light rose, it was there yet not there.
He did not even know how his opponent had dodged, or how he had drawn his sword.
Within an inch of space, life and death were decided.
Lu Zhongkui's sword had only reached the middle of its slash when all strength left his body.
His vision turned crimson. Hearing blood spray from his own throat with a "hiss, hiss," boundless regret surged through his heart.
Knowing his sword was fast, why did I insist on rushing forward? What suffering was I asking for...?
His eyes bulged wide as he tried to watch Tan Siwu's spear pierce the enemy.
Yet he saw that the short, fat man retreated even faster than he had come.
Bang...
Lu Zhongkui's corpse fell to the ground, kicking up dust.
Tan Siwu's hair stood on end. Wrapping himself in his great shield, he whirled his spear madly and spun backward.
This move, "Tornado," had been learned from a veteran commander in the army. It had saved his life several times during moments of life and death on the battlefield.
After escaping in defeat from that battle long ago and becoming a bandit, he had not used this life-saving ultimate move before anyone for a very long time.
"Pfft!"
His spear spun like a wheel as he prepared to borrow its force and leap away.
Tan Siwu's body abruptly jolted. All strength drained from him, and he froze where he stood.
His eyes were filled with disbelief. His Ermen Point hurt faintly, and from the corner of his eye, he saw a longsword lying across the side of his head—the blade to the left, the sword body to the right.
"How is that possible?"
His final consciousness rippled through his mind before darkness swallowed his vision.
Lu Wu-bing slowly withdrew his sword, paying no attention to Tan Siwu's body as it slowly crumpled.
Using the sword as his eyes, the sword moved before intent.
To destroy the enemy's leader was like piercing rotten earth...
He raised his eyes toward the distance off to one side.
"Baicao Shusheng, why aren't you using those Paired Swallows to strike me?"
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