"Rainstorm Pear Blossom Needle."
The battle changed by the instant.
Ouyang Lan's heart leapt straight into her throat.
She recognized it.
The device Duanmu Tong had fired from his hand, unleashing over a hundred steel needles like blooming white pear blossoms, had to be the long-lost Rainstorm Pear Blossom Needle.
The enemy actually possessed such a devastating weapon.
Although she had seen Lu Wu-bing evade it perfectly, her heart still pounded wildly.
That had been close.
Lu Wu-bing, however, found it perfectly normal.
From the moment he had charged forward, he had already been on guard against this move.
A saying from his previous life had left a deep impression on him.
[Outside seven steps, guns are fast. Within seven steps, guns are fast and accurate.]
Although he had yet to discover firearms or muskets in this world, there was no telling whether this wicked scholar might produce a similar mechanical weapon.
Otherwise, the Paired Swallows hidden weapon alone did not seem enough to support Baicao Shusheng's enormous reputation.
Once the rain of needles had passed.
Lu Wu-bing's body moved like a swimming snake. His heels touched down, his waist and back exerted force, and like a roaming dragon ascending into the sky, he had already darted to Duanmu Tong's side.
A streak of white flashed like lightning.
Hiss...
From his lower jaw to the crown of his head, the sword tip pierced through.
Blood sprayed.
Duanmu Tong had only just brought his hands together. The neatly arranged sheet of needles clutched in his right hand fell limply to the ground, and his body crumpled.
At the moment of death, he did not manage to say a single word.
His eyes merely bulged round, his face twisting into a savage mask...
Who knew whether, at the very end, he regretted being too overconfident? Rather than fleeing first, he had wanted to use his vicious hidden weapons to take down his opponent outright.
Those skilled at swimming drown in water.
He had placed immense faith in his craft and his hidden weapons, yet in the end, he died because of that faith.
The black eagle in the sky circled mournfully, wheeling around the forest seven or eight times.
At last, it turned and flew away without looking back.
It had clearly discovered that its master was dead.
Perhaps it was grieving. Or perhaps it had regained its freedom.
"So pets really are unreliable. It didn't even die for its master. At the very least, it could have swooped down to avenge him."
Lu Wu-bing looked up at the sky and smacked his lips.
Watching that black shape vanish into the far-off heavens, he felt unbearably envious.
When facing enemies in the wilderness, having an eagle truly meant standing undefeated.
"Meow..."
Mao Mao yawned beside him, lazily shook out its fur, and seemed to roll its eyes.
Clearly, it did not think much of Lu Wu-bing's claim.
Ouyang Lan giggled, scooped up Little Black Cat, and laughed. "Actually, Mao Mao is formidable too, not one bit worse than that eagle. And in this senior sister's opinion, if something happened to you, little junior brother, Mao Mao might die alongside... Pah, pah, pah! What nonsense am I saying?"
As she spoke, Ouyang Lan laughed so hard she nearly doubled over. She looked skyward, made a bow, and scolded herself for speaking without restraint.
Then she eagerly began examining Baicao Shusheng's left wrist.
"This man truly was extraordinarily talented. He could even recreate and forge such a vicious weapon." She carefully removed the needle cylinder, then picked up the spare long needles from the ground for a look. She discovered that loading it was extremely convenient.
Just bring the left and right halves together, and it could be fitted.
"No matter how formidable a hidden weapon is, it still needs someone to wield it. The most terrifying thing has never been any weapon, but the human heart."
From the very beginning, the two had been plotting against one another, each seeking to drag the other into a dead end.
In the end, he had still been one move ahead and laughed last.
Part of that was due to his own strength.
But more than that, it was because he had been sufficiently cautious.
Even at the final moment, when cold steel decided life and death, he had not lowered his guard.
But Baicao Shusheng had been careless.
Lu Wu-bing sighed, accepted the needle cylinder for a look, then handed it back to Senior Sister Xiaolan.
"Senior Sister is injured, so you can't bring your full abilities to bear... With this, you can keep me safe and sound."
He knew that with his senior sister's temperament, if he spoke normally and asked her to accept the needle cylinder, it might seem as though he looked down on her.
But if he asked her to use the Rainstorm Pear Blossom Needle to protect someone—
She would certainly accept it gladly.
Sure enough, Senior Sister Xiaolan happily strapped on the needle cylinder, loaded fine needles and test-fired it twice, then filled the needle box again. Her face was full of smiles. "If Gu Dongting catches up with us, this can give us a few more chances to survive in an emergency."
"Exactly."
Lu Wu-bing agreed wholeheartedly.
They immediately began quickly searching the corpses of the bandits and Lu Zhongkui...
Some silver and jewelry were hardly worth mentioning.
The only valuable item they found was a thin booklet on Lu Zhongkui, the Life-Severing Sword.
"It's the secret manual for the Surging Wave Palm. This man actually copied out his sect's secret manual and carried it with him to study day and night. He was quite diligent—there are even plenty of annotations."
Ouyang Lan leaned over for a look and laughed.
Although the Eastern Sea Sword Sect was a second-rate sect, it ranked among the very best of all second-rate sects in the realm.
Among the righteous path, its prestige was only slightly weaker than One Temple, One Mountain, Three Divine Peaks.
Its direct-line Azure Wave Sword and Surging Wave Palm were both renowned far and wide.
They were even no worse than the Celestial Star Sect's Seven Stars Swordplay.
"Is it a very powerful martial art?"
Lu Wu-bing became interested at once.
He mainly cultivated internal arts and swordsmanship, but he had never intended to neglect fist and foot techniques.
A true all-round fighter needed to ensure that, no matter the circumstances, he had the means to protect himself and preserve his life.
If, in an extreme situation, his sword broke or was not in his hand, he could not possibly be unable to use anything at all and only passively take a beating...
That would be disastrous.
"It is very powerful. Our Celestial Star Sect has only one fist technique that can compare to it: the Dragon Tendon Tiger Bone Fist. That fist art follows the external path and is exceptionally majestic and fierce.
"Though the Surging Wave Palm is not quite as powerful in attack, its subtlety is even greater. When one strikes with the palm, the force stacks layer upon layer, unceasing as a flowing stream.
"I have heard that, when cultivated to the highest depths, one palm strike can produce nine layers of force. It seeps into the marrow and specifically damages the five viscera. It is an extraordinary palm art that lets the weak overcome the strong."
Like a cat that had stolen a chicken, Senior Sister Xiaolan tossed the palm manual into Lu Wu-bing's arms and laughed. "This palm art is war booty. Besides, we are now enemies with the Eastern Sea Sect, so there is nothing to worry about.
"Junior Brother, your comprehension is high and you learn quickly. Learn the Surging Wave Palm too, and infuriate Gu Dongting to death."
"That sounds perfect."
Thinking of the day he would use the Surging Wave Palm to blast great swathes of Eastern Sea disciples to death, Lu Wu-bing could not help smiling as well.
Now, he rather wanted to see Gu Dongting's bitter melon face.
After a great battle.
Naturally, they hurriedly slipped away.
Remaining where they were would be seeking death.
Half an hour after Lu Wu-bing and Ouyang Lan departed, a group finally arrived.
At their head was a lean middle-aged man with eyes as sharp as an eagle's.
He wore brocade robes with wide sleeves. The veins on the hand gripping his broadsword stood out prominently, and when his gaze swept over the corpses scattered through the forest, his entire body trembled with rage.
Fortunately, Gu Dongting's self-control was astonishing.
His heart surged with anger, then surged with anger once more, yet he actually calmed down.
After carefully examining the traces at the scene, his brows furrowed into the shape of a river.
"Zhongming, what do you think?"
He was asking the young man with a scarred, browless face standing solemnly at his side.
This was Eyebrowless Sword Wei Zhongming, foremost of the Seven Swords of the Eastern Sea and his prized chief disciple.
Though Wei Zhongming looked fierce, his temperament was steady.
After carefully inspecting Lu Zhongkui's wounds, as well as the Paired Swallows hidden weapons and the needle holes in the trees, he pondered for a moment and said, "If this disciple is not mistaken, the attacker's movement technique was extremely fast, and his swordsmanship exceptionally exquisite.
"Within the Celestial Star Sect, only Old Ouyang's chief disciple, Yue Lingfeng, possesses such skill."
"What makes you say that?"
"Celestial Star Sect disciples have scattered in all directions. Even if others wished to help, they would not risk their families and their lives by opposing our Eastern Sea Sect. Therefore, the rescuer must be from the Celestial Star Sect itself.
"If Qin Huaiying had personally arrived to receive them, Junior Brother Lu and the others would not even have had a chance to fight back, much less allowed Duanmu Tong to use every trick he possessed..."
That reasoning made sense.
The Gazing Sky Cliff branch of the Celestial Star Sect was famously protective of its own.
Ouyang Zheng and Qin Huaiying, husband and wife, were both first-rate experts of the martial world.
There was no need to mention Ouyang Zheng. His cultivation was unfathomably deep, utterly impossible to gauge.
Even Qin Huaiying, despite being a woman, had entered the Second Rank and opened twenty-four meridians...
With a casual strike, her sword qi would rise like mountains. These people would have been slain on the spot before they could even approach.
Why would she fight and chase them through the forest, leaping east and darting west?
"The attacker was stronger than Junior Brother Lu and the others, but not by too much... The only possibility is the Celestial Star Sect's chief disciple, Yue Lingfeng. He has Fifth Rank cultivation and formidable swordsmanship. I hear he is also a rare genius."
As he spoke, a flash of excitement passed through Wei Zhongming's eyes. Clearly, he was unconvinced by Yue Lingfeng's reputation in the martial world and wanted to test the man's mettle.
"Find their trail. This time, I will act personally."
Gu Dongting's face remained expressionless.
He gave the order coldly.
Dozens of disciples answered in a thunderous chorus.
I recommend Little Fish's excellent old masterpiece, A Sword Calms the Realm. It is also a martial arts novel, long and satisfying.
The martial world and the imperial court, flashing blades and sword shadows.
Before you continue