Assassination

Yang Dongsheng's brow furrowed even deeper.

"Go on. What are you planning?"

"A plan?"

Lu Jingtian enunciated each word. "Stop being so miserly, scraping together petty sums. The three of us each bring several dozen elites, get hold of some powerful bows and heavy crossbows, and kill our way in directly. No matter how strong his martial arts are or how deep his reserves, he won't be able to escape!"

"Once it's done, we take our families and scatter in different directions. Any backing he has will be useless!"

Yang Dongsheng hesitated. "Is it worth it?"

After striving for so many years, was he really going to abandon it all just like that?

"It is!"

The black-robed elder sneered. "As long as one of your descendants breaks through to the peak of internal qi, wouldn't rebuilding these assets take only ten years or so?"

"Besides, even internal qi breakthrough pills are things he put up for sale. He might have something that could aid a congenital breakthrough..."

"Heh."

Yang Dongsheng sneered inwardly.

This man came from a great sect, so naturally he had no fear of retaliation. When the time came, he could simply pin everything on them and perhaps walk away without consequence, while Yang Dongsheng became the target of vengeance.

As for something that could aid a congenital breakthrough, perhaps such a thing existed, but he did not believe anyone would carry it on them at all times.

Besides, his son was still young and still had a chance to grow. He could presently keep the various factions under control, so there was no need to go this mad.

Lu Jingtian and the black-robed elder exchanged glances, both immediately feeling troubled.

In terms of strength, neither feared Yang Dongsheng. But when it came to influence in the prefectural city, neither of them could compare.

Bringing a group of martial artists into the city and procuring a batch of powerful bows and heavy crossbows would be impossible without a local power to cover for them.

"Since Brother Yang is unwilling, then it can only be this way." Lu Jingtian sighed helplessly. "One Void-Breaking Pill is hardly enough for the three of us to divide."

A vicious look appeared on his face. "Let me make this clear: if that Void-Breaking Pill isn't mine, I'd rather burn all these butterflies to ashes. The same goes for however much gold and silver there is!"

The Brotherhood Gang had successors while he himself did not. To him, that was the worst possible outcome.

"It needn't come to that."

Yang Dongsheng frowned. "When I return, I will press the matter harder. I will definitely give my two brothers an outcome that satisfies you."

With that, he flicked his sleeve and left.

Those two were not worth plotting with.

But the Blueglow Butterflies were in their hands. To capture more, he could not avoid the Tiger Den rooted in Eastspirit Mountain, and there was simply no bypassing a deal with them.

Perhaps he could consider persuading the Eastern Pacifying Marquis's Estate to act...

They were backed by the imperial family. No matter how deep that person's background was, there would be no need to fear too much. The only question was how to ensure that the Marquis's Estate would hand over a Void-Breaking Pill in the end. That required careful consideration.

Lost in thought, he unknowingly reached the door.

Whoosh!

A faint sound tore through the air, as soft as the buzz of a mosquito.

"You..."

Yang Dongsheng was horrified. He abruptly looked up and saw a youth in green thrusting a sword straight at him. The blade made no sound as it cut through the air, leaving behind a lingering sword shadow.

Clang!

Tempered through decades of hardship, with a name for righteousness renowned throughout Eastspirit, the gleaming longsaber at his waist suddenly flew from its sheath and slashed upward at an angle with lightning speed. His reaction could not have been swifter.

But it was too late!

This sword had been building momentum for too long. The internal force of the Minor Circulation surged and roared, all of it gathered at the sword's tip. Its speed was almost impossible to see.

"Save me!"

Yang Dongsheng roared. His face flushed crimson as he activated a life-risking technique to force up his qi, and his saber light suddenly grew several points faster.

Ding!

To Yang Dongsheng's delight, his saber edge barely struck the sword blade and blocked it.

"Still not fast enough..."

Jiang Ding sighed. His swordsmanship was fairly good among his classmates, but he was still inferior to an old jianghu saber wielder like this, one who had honed his blade techniques for decades. Even with a sneak attack, he could not succeed in one stroke.

What a pity.

Even though it was only the Minor Circulation, it had opened more than twelve hundred branch meridians.

The joy on Yang Dongsheng's face froze.

It was as though he had crashed into a mountain flood. The instant his internal force touched the other's, it collapsed completely. Several portions of his internal force could barely withstand one portion of the other's.

Yet the other's internal force was even more abundant than his!

Sshhk!

The sword tip tore through layer after layer of saber light, knocked the longsaber aside, then plunged straight into Yang Dongsheng's throat. Countless threadlike streams of internal force surged in and shredded every organ in his body.

The external protective barrier that should have blocked and deflected the attack was as useless as paper.

The delayed sword shadow finally arrived.

"Impossible..."

Blood scattered through the air. The light in Yang Dongsheng's eyes gradually dimmed, and even at death's door, he continued to mutter softly.

He could accept that a sixteen- or seventeen-year-old youth possessed internal force of higher quality than his, but why was the total amount so much greater as well? It defied all reason!

In a flash, one thrust and one block, and Yang Dongsheng, leader of the Brotherhood Gang whose name was known throughout Eastspirit, had fallen.

"Who goes there? How dare you trespass into my Tiger Den!"

"East Mountain Flying Tiger" Lu Jingtian bellowed, his voice shaking the air for hundreds of meters. His eyes were filled with stunned terror.

Yang Dongsheng was not much weaker than him!

The black-robed elder sprang to his feet. At some point, a nine-section whip that writhed like a venomous snake had appeared in his hand.

"Little Brother Jiang, what happened before was all a misunderstanding. Villains stirred up trouble between us. You and I can share wine and speak freely..."

Once he clearly saw the green-clad youth at the door, stormy waves surged through Lu Jingtian's heart, yet he put on a hearty smile like that of an affectionate elder.

Jiang Ding said nothing. He shook the blood from his sword and walked forward step by step.

Beyond the door came the faint roars of the Mountain-Splitting Tiger and Gold-Touching Tiger, the orderly footsteps of Tiger Den guards, and farther away, the urgent clang of golden gongs summoning men.

"Bold!"

Seeing that the youth in green not only did not flee after killing someone, but instead drew ever closer, anger rose in Lu Jingtian's heart. "Then leave your life behind!"

"Come!"

Lu Jingtian swung his saber, unleashing five imposing streams of saber qi. The faint sound of tigers roaring could be heard within them, chilling souls and striking fear into hearts.

Five Tigers Soul-Breaking Saber!

He had obtained this technique through a fortuitous encounter in his youth. Ever since entering the martial world, it had never failed him. Wherever its saber light passed, an enemy's head, hands, and feet would be cleaved into five pieces. Thus, it was also known in the martial world as the Five Hells Saber.

Jiang Ding made no move beyond a single slash. A gleaming, perfectly arced line flashed past, followed by its sword shadow.

Sword Unfurling Form!

The instant the perfect arc collided with the Five Hells saber qi, it effortlessly cut through it. The remaining saber qi scattered to either side, blasting deep, bottomless pits into the ground and nearby wooden walls.

Jiang Ding seemed to realize something.

The more he cultivated, the more profound he found the Fledgling Eagle Takes Flight Sword Art. Whether in cultivation methods or combat techniques, it had been developed to the utmost extreme.

He had once practiced some jianghu sword arts, but now he had lost all interest in them.

"Impossible!"

Lu Jingtian's expression changed drastically as he let out a roar much like the dead Yang Dongsheng's.

His internal qi was no different from tofu before the other man, collapsing at the first touch. Why was this happening?!

One sword slashed down, then another stabbed forth.

It was like starlight from the heavens descending into the mortal world, its radiance growing brighter and more resplendent.

"Five Hells Kill!"

Lu Jingtian's internal qi surged out wildly without regard for the consequences, forming five interlocking, crisscrossing streams of violent saber qi that devoured everything before them.

This was a killing move he had created after fifty years of painstaking saber practice. Everyone who had witnessed it was dead!

Pfft!

Like the successive piercing of great drums, the starlit sword radiance shot straight through. The violent saber qi shattered one after another, without any turn or detour, as it stabbed directly toward his throat.

Lu Jingtian was terrified.

He realized that he could never face even a single sword strike from the other side head-on!

Whoosh!

A faint whistle came from beside his ear.

In the black-robed elder's sinister gaze, the winding black nine-section whip suddenly snapped taut, becoming a twisted fine line. Its needle-sharp tip shot toward the back of Jiang Ding's head at this critical instant, when his old force seemed spent and his new force had yet to arise.

The tip was sharp and dark, carrying a faint sweet scent. It was deadly poison; one touch meant certain death!

Jiang Ding's expression did not change. The sword tip that was about to pierce Lu Jingtian's throat turned back, tracing a gleaming perfect semicircle and striking the tip that was about to hit the back of his head, sending it flying.

Then the sword tip whirled back even faster, trailing its sword shadow.

"Get away!"

Lu Jingtian was terrified. He chopped out a vast stream of saber qi, barely forcing the sword tip back a little. His internal force and blood qi churned violently, while his muscles and bones went numb.

He did not dare take another sword strike. In blind panic, he charged toward the door.

As long as he got outside and mixed into the military formation, even a congenital master would be unable to kill him!

Sshhk!

Lu Jingtian's body stiffened. He woodenly looked down at the bloodstained sword blade protruding from his chest, then collapsed limply.

"Where did this fiend come from?!"

The black-robed elder sucked in a cold breath. He withdrew the black nine-section whip halfway through its attack and fled into the distance without looking back.

Jiang Ding glanced at the large group of Tiger Den guards rushing into the room. Internal force surged through the tip of his foot, and his body shot straight upward several meters, smashing through the roof and vanishing from sight.