Cultivator (Part 2)

Qu Wuxing and Zhou Fang both thought: "The opponent only attacks, never defends—his sword technique is more than twice as powerful, yet the boss can only defend. He relies entirely on his sharp eyesight, striking the flat of the opponent's blade with every thrust to avoid death. But as time drags on, if the boss makes even one slip, he'll die under that sword."

Zhou Fang raised his hand, and over a dozen flying knives shot out, all striking Gao Kun's body. Yet with a clatter of clinks, they all fell to the ground, leaving Gao Kun completely unharmed. Gao Kun, however, had eyes only for Yan Chihuo and paid them no mind.

Yun Zaitian saw this and knew it was only a matter of time before Yan Chihuo lost. He thought to himself: "If this Gao Kun wins, he certainly won't let me go. And if Yan Chihuo wins, he'll drag me back to Tiger Roar Manor. If I don't leave now, when will I?"

Seeing that no one was paying him attention, he quietly edged his feet toward the door. Just as he was about to reach it, a flash of golden light appeared—Gao Kun thrust his sword straight at him. Yun Zaitian was terrified, knowing he couldn't dodge, and could only close his eyes and wait for death.

Yan Chihuo let out a long cry and leaped straight over, his speed no less than Gao Kun's. With a sweep of his white jade short sword, he parried the opponent's long blade.

With a crack, the white jade short sword was severed in two, and Gao Kun retreated three steps. Then he lunged forward again, thrusting his sword at Yan Chihuo with a ferocity and savagery that defied belief. Yan Chihuo sidestepped to evade, but suddenly a golden light flashed—Gao Kun's sword tip was already at his throat.

Yan Chihuo hurriedly dropped to the ground and rolled, then pushed off with his right foot, twisting his body sideways to fly out. Gao Kun's long sword swept past, and a strip of cloth fluttered down from the air. If he had been even half a beat slower, he would have lost an arm or a leg—or his head would have hit the ground. It was perilous to the extreme.

Yan Chihuo had just barely escaped death from an impossible situation when Gao Kun swung his sword in an upward arc. Yan Chihuo was midair, unable to evade. In that split second, he reached out and brushed his hand against Gao Kun's long sword, pressing down on the flat of the blade, using the force to drift another few feet away.

But then Gao Kun's sword circled around and stabbed straight into Yan Chihuo's ribs. Yan Chihuo rolled again and stood up, blood gushing from his side. He staggered, nearly falling, his face deathly pale. The wound was severe—Yan Chihuo seemed to have no strength left to fight. Overjoyed, Gao Kun flicked his sword and was about to advance when Zhou Fang flung both hands, sending another dozen flying knives hurtling toward him.

Gao Kun laughed heartily and stood still, letting the knives strike his body before all clattered to the ground. But in that instant, Yan Chihuo lunged forward and threw a punch.

Gao Kun sneered and swung his sword. Yet Yan Chihuo let out a thunderous roar. The sound hit Gao Kun's ears like a clap of thunder, making him sway twice. Seizing the moment, Yan Chihuo tapped his toe on the ground and circled behind Gao Kun in a flash—but Gao Kun had already turned around.

Yan Chihuo sighed inwardly. Cultivators were truly extraordinary. That roar had been condensed with his true qi and channeled directly into Gao Kun's ears. For an ordinary person, even one with deep internal cultivation, it would have left them stunned for a long while. If their foundation was weak, they might even become an idiot or have their heart and courage shattered to death. But Gao Kun only swayed once before recovering. Still, Yan Chihuo threw his punch at Gao Kun, because he only had one strike left in him!

When Yan Chihuo fought, he always calculated carefully, but when pushed to the wall, he would gamble with his life! Even with no chance of victory, he never had the habit of waiting to be slaughtered!

Gao Kun saw the punch coming but paid it no mind. With his movement technique, he could have easily dodged, but instead he stood his ground, golden light blazing around him—clearly intending to take the blow head-on. With a heavy thud, Gao Kun's body flew backward, flipped in the air, and crashed to the ground, his eyes filled with disbelief. He struggled twice, then opened his mouth and spat out a spray of blood before collapsing motionless.

Everyone present was both shocked and overjoyed. None had expected that Yan Chihuo, on the verge of certain defeat, could still turn the tables. Qu Wuxing and Zhou Fang rushed to Yan Chihuo's side, only to find him also collapsed on the ground, struggling to rise.

Seeing Yan Chihuo's face covered in sweat, muscles twisted in a hideous grimace, utterly devoid of his usual calm composure, they were greatly alarmed. Then they heard Yan Chihuo say in a low voice: "It's nothing. Let me rest a while. Keep an eye on Yun Zaitian—don't let him slip away."

Yun Zaitian had been planning to escape in the chaos, but seeing Qu Wuxing staring fixedly at him, and knowing that after yesterday's battle he was severely injured and no match for Qu Wuxing, he turned back and plopped down into a chair.

Zhou Fang glanced back at Gao Kun, raised his hand, and sent a flying knife streaking out, piercing his throat. Only after confirming the man was dead did he relax.

Yun Zaitian called out: "Someone, clean this up." Several burly men entered and carried the bodies out. When Yun Zaitian saw them lift Gao Kun's corpse—limp and crumpled, clearly with every bone in his body shattered—he gained a new respect for Yan Chihuo. He thought to himself: "This Yan Chihuo truly has bizarre methods. He can even kill a cultivator. Second Brother Ping really trained a fine disciple."

After the cleanup, Yan Chihuo's face was still pale, but his complexion had improved somewhat. He said: "Village Chief Yun, I'll trouble you to come with me in a few days." Then he stood up, walked over, and sealed three more of Yun Zaitian's major acupoints with his hands. Yun Zaitian knew he was no match and didn't dodge or resist, letting Yan Chihuo seal his points.

After doing this, Yan Chihuo swayed slightly, as if drained of strength. Yun Zaitian saw this and said: "It seems Nephew Chihuo is unwell. You'll probably need a few more days of rest."

Yan Chihuo ignored him and called out: "Someone, take Village Chief Yun and the Second Village Chief away. Leave this female thief here." Immediately, several burly men came and led Yun Zaitian and the other two out of the hall.

Qu Wuxing asked: "Boss, can you hold up?"

Yan Chihuo took a breath and said: "It's nothing. Every time I strike with full force, I end up drained. I just need some time to recover. That wound from Gao Kun's sword is just a flesh wound—nothing serious. That kid had little real-world experience. If he hadn't shown off just now and had charged straight in, I wouldn't have had time to gather strength, let alone launch that strike. Even so, if he hadn't been so confident in his invincible defense, he could have easily dodged my punch. We got lucky, but then again, I never expected Second Master's mission would involve a cultivator. Hard to say whether that's good luck or bad."

Since he had started out, he had fought over a hundred battles, large and small, but none had been as uncertain as this one. Now that he had won, it truly felt like escaping death. Those dozens of sword exchanges just now—each one striking the flat of the opponent's blade—hadn't taken long, but the energy expended was immense. Add to that the final punch, which had nearly drained all his true qi and physical strength, and though he had recovered a little, he was already flagging again.

Seeing blood still seeping from Yan Chihuo's ribs, Zhou Fang pulled a packet of medicine from his pocket and said: "This is top-grade wound salve. Boss, don't talk anymore—stop the bleeding first."

Yan Chihuo nodded. Qu Wuxing took the packet, tore open the cloth at Yan Chihuo's ribs, and applied the salve. As soon as it touched the wound, Yan Chihuo felt a sharp pain, followed shortly by a cooling sensation.

While applying the medicine, Qu Wuxing asked: "Boss, let me ask you something. How did you spot that Xiao Tao was wearing a disguise? I won't brag about anything else, but when it comes to disguise techniques, I'm no worse than you. I didn't see a single flaw."