Desperate Battle

Li Su's sudden strike left everyone stunned.

Monk Tianming, who had already raised his bowl to his lips, couldn't help but set it down, asking in utter shock, "Xuankong, what are you doing?"

The Supreme Yang Finger struck without warning.

By the time the Western Xia soldier regained his senses, Li Su's finger had already pierced his heart.

Pfft!

Before he could even react, his pupils constricted. As a wave of intense pain surged from his chest, his strength vanished in an instant.

"Not good!"

Not far away, the captain who had been watching them changed his expression and roared, "Attack!"

Clang!

Blades left their scabbards.

Unlike the martial artists of the Central Plains, these Western Xia soldiers were long accustomed to slaughter; they drew the blades at their waists the moment the order rang out. Without a second of hesitation, one soldier lunged at Li Su, while the rest charged toward the bewildered Monk Tianming.

The blades were like lightning, their edges gleaming in the air.

Li Su took a deep breath, pushing the Indestructible Diamond Divine Art to its limit. He gritted his teeth, praying that this divine art was as formidable as described.

Ignoring the blade-light slashing toward him, he reached out his arm and swept it toward the man attacking his master, Tianming.

Clang!

With a sound like metal striking stone, blood sprayed from Li Su's back.

At the same time, his palm struck the soldier with unrestrained force. The terrifying power crushed the man's skull, sending him flying—blade and all—into another soldier charging toward Tianming.

In an instant, the Western Xia formation surrounding Tianming was broken.

"Western Xia!"

At this moment, Tianming finally realized the truth. If nothing else, the captain's shout had clearly not been in Chinese. Seeing the disciple he valued most in Shaolin Temple bleeding to save him, even the usually composed Tianming felt a surge of uncontrollable rage.

"Useless trash!"

With a low shout, the front door of the nearby hut exploded outward, and a figure shot out like a bolt of lightning.

Without hesitation, he lunged straight for Tianming.

In mid-air, he threw a punch.

Heat—unbelievably intense heat—erupted from his fist.

"Prajna Palm!"

Tianming's expression shifted; he realized the newcomer's strength was equal to his own: First-Class.

Not daring to be careless, he struck back with a palm.

Boom!

A thunderous muffled sound erupted as their internal energies collided, the space a yard wide feeling like a detonating grenade, whipping up a violent gale.

Li Su and the others, standing closest, bore the brunt of the impact and were sent tumbling backward by the terrifying wind.

As for the two in the center, Tianming took several heavy steps back and spat out a mouthful of blood.

The newcomer didn't fare much better. Even though he was exhausted, the internal energy of Shaolin Temple was inherently domineering, and as the Head of the Arhat Hall, Tianming's internal power was far beyond imagination. Though both were First-Class, Tianming's cultivation standard far exceeded the average.

Mid-air, the man tasted sweetness in his throat, having suffered internal injuries. Yet, he tapped his toes lightly, forcibly twisting his momentum to charge forward once more.

No longer trading blows head-on, he curled his hands into hooks and unleashed the Eagle Claw Technique!

Tianming spread his palms, sensing the razor-sharp claw force. His hands moved like blades, his internal energy like fire—this was the top-tier Shaolin art, the Burning Wood Blade Technique.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

In an instant, the two turned into blurred shadows. In the blink of an eye, they had exchanged dozens of blows.

Tianming shouted sharply, "Nine-Turn Eagle Claw? You are from the First Rank Hall—Tuoba Xiong of the Eagle Claw?"

Tuoba Xiong gave a cold, sharp smile. "I didn't expect Master Tianming, Head of the Shaolin Arhat Hall, to recognize me. What an honor. Li Hui, kill them all!"

"Understood!" Li Hui, the captain who had withstood the shockwaves of the two First-Class experts, immediately shouted back.

Tianming's expression darkened. "Amitabha..."

Just then, a figure suddenly surged upward. Before anyone could react, he moved with blinding speed toward the Western Xia soldiers who had been thrown into disarray.

Blade-light flashed. Without a moment's hesitation, he decapitated two men in an instant.

Even with his expressionless face, he threw the blade, killing a third, while simultaneously kicking out with both feet to send scattered steel blades flying toward the remaining two.

In the blink of an eye, five Western Xia soldiers had been cut down.

There had been ten Western Xia soldiers in total.

Including the one killed by the finger strike at the start, six experts from the Western Xia First Rank Hall now lay dead on the ground.

Hoo!

Exhaling a long breath, Li Su turned back to look at the surviving Li Hui and the two remaining soldiers.

Protected by the Indestructible Diamond Divine Art, although the shockwave of the energy blast reached him and forced him to stumble backward, it failed to strip him of his ability to act. It was a pity, however, that despite his swift movements, he had still been a step too late.

"You little bastard!"

Seeing this scene, Tuoba Xiong was instantly enraged. "Li Hui, what do you think you are doing!!!"

Tianming's eyes brightened, a flash of relief washing over his anxious face, though he immediately grew tense once more.

"Damn it!"

Staring at Li Su, Li Hui's eyes nearly burst from their sockets, his fury soaring to the heavens.

Everyone present here was an elite of the First Rank Hall, peak third-rate experts, not far from the second-rate threshold.

Under normal circumstances, the death of one would require the sacrifice of at least three Song Dynasty third-rate experts, yet today, six had died in succession. The first had been killed by a sneak attack, and the following six had essentially been slaughtered without offering any resistance.

"You deserve to die!!!"

Though consumed by rage, he did not lose his reason, barking out, "You two, go kill the others first, then come back!"

"Understood!"

The other two were also filled with murderous intent, undoubtedly enraged by the humiliating way their brothers had perished.

"Hehe, what a dire crisis."

Just then, a voice like silver bells rang out. Ming Yulong stood up, her face pale; her skin, white as jade, was visible as her internal energy surged.

Hm?

Li Hui's eyes narrowed. The drink everyone had consumed was the Muscle-Softening Powder specially concocted by Western Xia—colorless and odorless, it rendered one unable to muster even a shred of strength once ingested. Who would have thought someone could circulate their internal energy to purge the toxin?

"Shangqing True Qi? The Mystic Maiden of Shangqing? You two, go kill her!"

Instantly realizing the situation, Li Hui pointed at the two men, then drew his long saber. Like a thunderbolt, he charged toward Li Su.

The moment the blade's light rose, Li Su felt a chill run through his entire body.

It was a powerful blade, and even more so, a killer's blade.

He drew a sharp breath, flooding his palms with Arhat True Qi while simultaneously shrouding himself in the Indestructible Diamond Divine Art. He unleashed a Cotton Palm, sweeping it toward the descending saber.

"Hah!"

With a cold shout, murderous intent flared in Li Hui's eyes. To face me barehanded? You're courting death!

Clang!

As they clashed, it sounded like gold and stone colliding.

Li Su's palm bled, but Li Hui's saber was also sent recoiling.

"Hm??"

Li Hui's eyes widened, his face etched with disbelief. Although the saber in his hand was merely a standard-issue Song Dynasty military blade—hardly a legendary weapon—when wielded with his martial arts, it could cleave stone and split wood. Such force could bisect a horse, yet this flesh-and-blood body had blocked it barehanded?

This was impossible!

"Roar!"

With a fierce howl, Li Hui slashed wildly, throwing everything he had into the assault.

Li Su, now finding his footing, held that same breath in his chest and raised his palms to meet the onslaught.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Steel blades and palm-strikes collided frantically; there was no turning back, no room for retreat.

The sparks that flew and the blood that splattered left Wang Jiantong and the others—who could only lie on the ground in despair, unable to move a muscle—utterly shocked and horrified!

Wang Jiantong, in particular, recalled what his master, Guan Tiannan, had once said.

There were three supreme peaks in the martial arts world.

Xiaoyao Northern Darkness, Shangqing Mysterious Jade, and the Shaolin Diamond.

Anyone who mastered even the basics of these could shake the past and dazzle the present.

Heavens.

It's actually the Indestructible Diamond Divine Art!!!

One minute, two minutes, three minutes.

The two men did not retreat a single step, locked in a frenzied, desperate exchange. The ground beneath their feet sank deep into the earth, a testament to the terrifying power they wielded.

Finally, after five full minutes, Li Hui's breathing faltered. His movements stalled for a split second, and his crazed eyes couldn't help but contract.

This is impossible!!!

Li Su was faring no better. Normally, a single breath could sustain him for half an hour, but after only five minutes, his chest felt as if it were about to explode.

However, this was not the time to stop. He forced himself to circulate the last of his Arhat True Qi.

"Two fingers, Formless!"

The silent, invisible finger-energy pierced the air, striking Li Hui square in the heart.

Boom!

The energy burst forth. Though far weaker than the first strike, it was still more than a mortal body could withstand; from his chest to his heart, the flesh was scorched through.

Watching the light fade from his opponent's eyes as he collapsed, Li Su felt his own vision blur, his strength deserting him.

He cast a strained glance toward Ming Yulong, and upon seeing her still locked in combat with the two remaining Western Xia soldiers, Li Su's vision went black.

Master, please don't let me down.