Expert

"Official business. All unauthorized persons, leave!"

From afar, Chen Wu saw someone by the waterwheel step forward and bark the order. It was none other than Chief Constable Zhang Zhihe.

He held a pair of iron rulers and stood to the left of a middle-aged man wielding a Golden Melon Hammer. Four others surrounded them, confronting a man opposite them. From so far away, they had failed to recognize the disguised Chen Wu.

The official who had pointed at Chen Wu that day, Crown Prince's Mansion Attendant Yang Yuchun, was among them as well. He had changed into fitted martial attire, held a pair of Judge's Pens, and stood to the right of the middle-aged man with the Golden Melon Hammer.

Chen Wu was even more shocked, because the man facing them was Old Jin!

"Such a grand formation. As expected of people from the Crown Prince's Mansion. All the experts above the Zhoutian Realm in the city are here, aren't they?" Old Jin's three-stringed lute was nowhere to be seen; he merely held that conical sword of his.

"Jin Shiyi of the String-Plucking Bewitching Sound Sword. You are, after all, a Mystic Realm expert, known alongside the master of Golden Wind and Drizzle Tower as one of the twin walls. Naturally, we had to go all out. If time had not been limited, more than this handful would have come today." The middle-aged man holding the Golden Melon Hammer spoke. "Aside from General Fubo Shui Ziyi and Monk Zhongcheng of the Thousand Leaf Palm, every Zhoutian Realm expert in the prefectural city is here at this very moment."

"You are still their greatest reliance, aren't you?" Old Jin said. "They are only Zhoutian Realm martial artists. The strongest has merely just entered the Concentrated Spirit Realm. They can delay me for a move or two, but if you think they can defeat me, that is nothing but a fool's dream."

"Tell me, which Mystic Realm expert are you?"

"I am Li Changgeng!"

"Who did I think it was? So it was Li Superman!" Old Jin laughed, swaying his head. "You came from the martial examinations and joined Wude Palace. You were originally in the army, yet the School of Heavenly Principle planted you in the navy as a spy, where you became a naval officer."

"I heard that when you suppressed the Southern Ocean pirates before, you got utterly routed by a band of pirates in a naval battle. You were already dismissed from office and sent home to live off old rice, yet you came to Jincheng Prefecture."

The moment Old Jin spoke, he tore open Li Changgeng's old scars. Li Changgeng's expression changed again and again, his chest heaving violently. Only after a long while did he manage to say, "Hmph! What could a country bumpkin like you know of the inside story?"

"Do you mean to say the navy set obstacles in your path?" Old Jin's tone grew ever more mocking. "Your School of Heavenly Principle interfered with the navy, so naturally they would trip you up. Even a country bumpkin like me can understand that. You were stupid as a pig and walked into the trap yourself, yet you blame others?"

Such secret gossip about Mystic Realm experts held everyone present spellbound. Even Chen Wu stood listening at the side, and no one paid him any mind.

"Fuck!"

Li Changgeng could no longer endure it. He swung his Golden Melon Hammer and attacked Old Jin.

As Li Changgeng swung the Golden Melon Hammer, it howled through the air like a torrent rising from flat ground. Thunderous booms burst from all over his body. He was an absolute master of external cultivation.

Rather than being alarmed, Old Jin was delighted. This was precisely what he had been waiting for. The reason he had hurled insults was to provoke Li Changgeng into attacking first and becoming separated from the others. This was the key to finding life amid death. He had fallen into an ambush; the enemy had four or five Concentrated Spirit Realm and Zhoutian Realm experts, with a Mystic Realm expert holding down the fort. They were many and powerful, so he absolutely could not allow them to attack together.

Old Jin's conical sword neither parried nor blocked. He merely retreated slightly with his footwork, evading the hammer blow. He pressed the sword tip against the Golden Melon Hammer and pushed downward, causing Li Changgeng's attack to become impossible to withdraw and forcing his body low. Then Old Jin closed in with a step and thrust straight at Li Changgeng's throat.

Li Changgeng inwardly cried that things were bad. In his anger, he had put no restraint into his strike, only to leave such a massive opening. It was too late to change moves now. When masters fought, this was the thin line between life and death.

In the critical moment, the ruthlessness in his heart was instead roused. He neither dodged nor evaded, releasing the Golden Melon Hammer to smash toward Old Jin's chest. Relying on his external cultivation, he intended to trade injury for injury.

In a flash of lightning and flint sparks, these two masters were about to decide life and death.

The others had no time to react. Only Yang Yuchun raised a Judge's Pen and jabbed toward Old Jin's ribs, but he too was half a beat too slow.

Old Jin knew this was the best possible opportunity and that he absolutely could not retreat. Once Li Changgeng caught his breath, steadied himself, and joined the others in surrounding him, Old Jin would have no hope of survival.

Thus, he merely twisted his body slightly as he attacked, then drew in his chest within the span of a breath, making it seem as though his chest had caved in. He avoided the Golden Melon Hammer to the greatest extent possible, while the sword in his hand never paused.

Old Jin's sword tip struck directly at the artery in Li Changgeng's neck. Just as it touched the skin, he felt a powerful resistance. He immediately understood that this was the Protective Astral Qi of an external cultivation master.

The instant he sensed the Astral Energy, Old Jin's conical sword spun madly. A Spiral Qi Force burst from its tip, shattering the opponent's Astral Energy in an instant. The sword tip pierced Li Changgeng's neck, and blood sprayed three feet high, splashing all over the charging Yang Yuchun.

Bang—

The Golden Melon Hammer smashed apart one corner of the waterwheel behind Old Jin, then flew far away and plunged into the Yellow River.

A sharp pain also erupted in Old Jin's chest.

It turned out that he had not completely evaded the Golden Melon Hammer. It had grazed Old Jin's chest, and the Astral Energy on it had torn away a layer of flesh. Most of the ribs in his chest had shattered, damaging his internal organs. He was already severely wounded, unable even to unleash a foot of Qi force despite being a Mystic Realm expert.

At that moment, Yang Yuchun's Judge's Pen arrived as well. Old Jin was in unbearable pain, and his retreat slowed for a moment. The Judge's Pen lightly touched him, sending an icy-hot current surging into his body. His already injured internal organs suffered insult upon injury.

Fortunately, Old Jin had successfully retreated by then, escaping Yang Yuchun's pursuit.

Splattered all over by Li Changgeng's blood, Yang Yuchun had no mood to continue the chase. He hurriedly looked toward Li Changgeng, who was clutching his neck nearby.

Li Changgeng's Astral Energy had been broken, and a Mystic Realm expert had severed his artery. Foreign true qi rampaged through his body, leaving him unable to control himself. His face was pale, and blood streamed without end.

"Quick... chase him..." Even speaking took effort for Li Changgeng, but he still ordered the others to continue hunting Old Jin.

The others exchanged glances. Yang Yuchun gave one of them a look, and that person hurried forward to support the swaying Li Changgeng. The rest, including Yang Yuchun and Zhang Zhihe—one Concentrated Spirit Realm expert and three Zhoutian Realm experts—attacked Old Jin together.

Gravely wounded, Old Jin did not dare face them head-on. He only leaped backward onto the waterwheel's support frame, hurriedly regulating his breathing and suppressing the icy-hot currents within him.

Yet Yang Yuchun and the others pressed their advantage without mercy, attacking from four different directions.

Old Jin gathered himself slightly and first received a blow from the short-staff expert, who had attacked fastest. Spiral Qi Force erupted, sending him flying backward. Then Old Jin lightly tapped off with his feet and soared upward, evading the Judge's Pens, iron rulers, and curved blade of the other three. He landed at the highest point of the waterwheel.

Old Jin exerted force beneath his feet, making the slowly turning waterwheel pause for a moment.

Yang Yuchun leaped onto the waterwheel's frame, then used his lightness skill to rush toward its highest point, his Concentrated Spirit locked firmly onto Old Jin.

Zhang Iron Ruler and the other curved-blade expert each clung to one side of the waterwheel and leaped upward as well.

Seeing this, Old Jin exerted force beneath his feet again, accelerating the waterwheel's rotation. The curved-blade expert was attacking from the downstream side of the wheel. As the wheel lifted him upward, he became a few moments faster than the other two and abruptly stood out from them.

Ignoring the others, Old Jin took the initiative and swooped down, thrusting directly at the curved-blade expert.

The curved-blade expert was horrified and hurriedly assumed a defensive stance. But Old Jin came too swiftly, leaving him no choice but to meet him head-on.

Bang—

As metal crashed against metal, the curved-blade expert had already been far inferior to Old Jin. Now he had been ambushed and forced to fight from low ground against high. His entire body shook violently, and he could no longer control himself as tremendous force sent him flying away.

Splash—

The curved-blade expert was sent flying more than ten meters before plunging into the Yellow River.

Old Jin borrowed force from the curved-blade expert and flew away from the waterwheel, throwing off Yang Yuchun and Zhang Zhihe, who remained on it.

Just then, a short staff came whistling toward him. It was the short-staff expert whom Old Jin had knocked back first. Unable to gain leverage in midair, Old Jin could only gather all the true qi in his body once more and clash head-on with the staff.

While seriously injured, even a Mystic Realm expert would not fare well after repeatedly condensing true qi and exerting force. After a single exchange, Old Jin's face turned deathly pale, and blood seeped from the corner of his mouth.

The short-staff expert gained no advantage either. Struck by Old Jin's thunderous blow, he too fell into the Yellow River like the curved-blade expert, never to be heard from again.

Old Jin had expected this. He knew these two Zhoutian Realm experts had been conscripted by the Crown Prince's Mansion and would surely put on a show without truly exerting themselves. Falling into the Yellow River merely gave them an excuse to slack off. Otherwise, even with a full-force strike, he could not have made Zhoutian Realm experts completely lose their fighting strength.

Old Jin had targeted these two from the beginning with precisely this intention, and it had indeed worked.

But the danger had not passed. Delayed by the short-staff expert, Yang Yuchun and Zhang Iron Ruler had caught up. Just as Old Jin landed, the iron rulers and Judge's Pens jabbed at him simultaneously.

Old Jin could only force himself to hold onto one breath of true qi. He swung his sword aside to deflect the Judge's Pens, caved in his chest again, and twisted to evade the iron rulers. With a backhand thrust, he temporarily forced Zhang Zhihe away. Yet this only worsened the injuries to his internal organs. His true qi could still circulate, but his steps became increasingly unsteady.

The two opponents saw this as well, and their attacks grew ever more urgent, move after move without pause. They drove Old Jin into peril after peril. Before long, he was on the verge of being unable to fend them off.

Seeing Old Jin fall into a desperate plight, the expert who had been tending to Li Changgeng could no longer hold back. He extended the Iron Claw in his hand and silently pounced toward Old Jin's back, intending to land a sneak attack.

"Watch out—" Chen Wu could not help calling out a warning.

Before the Iron Claw could strike, it was as if Old Jin had grown eyes in the back of his head. With a light shift, he evaded the claw. His right hand blocked Yang Yuchun's Judge's Pen, while his left caught the Iron Claw and guided it with the motion. The Iron Claw expert was dragged charging forward, directly tangling with Zhang Zhihe's iron rulers.

"Chen Gawa, run—" Old Jin shouted, vomiting blood again!

Old Jin had recognized Chen Wu long ago!

Buzz—

The sword rang! The treasured sword left its sheath!

Not only did Chen Wu fail to run, he instead drew his treasured sword and rushed forward.

He did not charge into the battle, but toward Li Changgeng lying on the ground!

The Iron Claw expert panicked and hurriedly tried to return to defend him, only to be held in place by Old Jin's surging true qi. For the moment, he could not break free and could only watch helplessly as Chen Wu seized the immobile Li Changgeng.

"Now, can we talk?" Chen Wu pressed his sword against Li Changgeng's lower back.