Kill Wang Kong

When Wang Kong stepped into Willow Street Alley, the silence within was somewhat unnatural.

His footsteps paused slightly, his narrow eyes sweeping across the alley.

No one.

Not one of the two men he had sent to stand guard here was in sight.

Wang Kong's brows furrowed as he stood in the alley and looked around.

He reached up to stroke the piece of Hetian jade at his waist, his fingertips sliding back and forth over its warm, smooth surface. It was a small habit he had only when he was impatient.

There seemed to be no extra traces in the alley.

The two men seemed to have vanished into thin air.

"Trash."

He cursed under his breath. His voice was quiet, but it carried a fury he could not suppress.

He had always handled Steward Zhao's assignments properly, never making a mistake.

But today, two living men had failed to keep watch over even a sickly official slave. Every time that Chen fellow went to report at the government office, he always took this alley. Wang Kong knew that perfectly well.

Yet now, the official slave was nowhere to be found, and neither were those two idiots.

"Could that slave have taken another route?"

Doubts rose in his heart, but he felt that was unlikely.

He could only leave the residence once every two months. He should have come to take a look at his former dwelling.

Unless someone had tipped him off.

Wang Kong's brows drew even tighter. Inwardly, he cursed those two useless fools who had bungled the job until they were drenched in dog's blood, then considered how he would explain things to Steward Zhao upon returning and how he might locate that official slave again.

He turned around, preparing to head back the way he had come.

The instant he turned—

A scorching blast of air erupted behind him.

Wang Kong's pupils shrank sharply. Before he could even turn around, his body instinctively lunged forward.

But the blast came too fast. Before his diving body could fully stretch out, a fist had already smashed into his back.

Bang!

Copper-Molten Qi exploded over the fist. Crimson qi-light, like molten iron, seeped into Wang Kong's back the instant it struck.

Wang Kong let out a muffled grunt. The punch staggered him forward three or four steps, and sweetness rose in his throat as a bloody taste surged to his mouth.

He spun around sharply, his right hand already gripping the hilt of the short blade at his waist.

Chen Lingxi stood several steps away in the alley.

He still wore that indigo short outfit, his cuffs tied with hemp cord and a leather belt around his waist.

Morning light fell across his face. It was paler than it had been days ago, yet no longer the pallor of illness, but a jade-like, restrained whiteness.

He stood there with even breathing, the crimson qi-light over his fist slowly receding.

"You—"

Before Wang Kong could finish speaking, Chen Lingxi had already closed in.

This time, he did not use his fist. He held his fingers together like a blade and struck directly at Wang Kong's throat.

Copper-Molten Qi condensed into a streak of crimson force at his fingertips, hissing as it scorched and warped the air in its path.

Wang Kong had no time to think. Qi and blood erupted from his dantian with a roar.

A layer of crimson radiance surfaced over his body, enveloping him from head to toe.

That radiance was not a thin, insubstantial membrane of qi. It was woven from countless fine scarlet motes, scale-like and densely layered, so solid it seemed as though he had been plated in red copper.

[Copperfire Qi Armor!]

This was the mark of a Copper Scarlet Realm master who had reached great mastery.

Chen Lingxi was shaken.

Wang Kong had attacked him before, in the marquis's estate garden.

At the time, Chen Lingxi had estimated that Wang Kong had at most just entered the Copper Scarlet Realm!

He had never expected Wang Kong to wield Copperfire Qi Armor so skillfully!

Had Wang Kong concealed his strength that day?

Doubt rose in Chen Lingxi's heart, but his movements did not pause in the slightest!

His finger-blade stabbed into the qi armor with a dull, heavy thud.

The instant the crimson qi-force collided with the crimson barrier, sparks flew everywhere. Scorching waves of air swept outward, sending broken roof tiles rolling all over the ground.

The finger-blade failed to penetrate it, leaving only a shallow dent in the qi armor. In the blink of an eye, surrounding motes of light poured in to fill the depression, restoring it to its original state.

Using that instant, Wang Kong drew his short blade.

The blade was narrow and long, with an exceptionally thick spine. Faint crimson patterns flowed along its edge. It was clearly a fine weapon nurtured with qi and blood for many years.

He swept out with a horizontal slash, Copper-Molten Qi flooding into the blade. Wherever its edge passed, the air was torn apart with a shrill howl.

Chen Lingxi retreated half a step. The blade grazed past his chest, cutting away a strip from the front of his short garment.

Wang Kong's first slash missed, and the second followed at once, chopping down from above with immense force, as if it would split Chen Lingxi in two.

Chen Lingxi twisted aside. The blade cut into the ground against his shoulder, leaving a white mark across the bluestone slab and sending chips of stone flying.

"You slave—"

Wang Kong had only spat out a few words when Chen Lingxi's fist was already before his face.

He had no choice but to shut his mouth and raise his blade to block. Fist and blade collided, and the force of Mountain-Crushing Force traveled through the weapon into his arm, numbing the web between his thumb and forefinger and nearly knocking the short blade from his grip.

The two traded blows, exchanging more than ten moves in the span of a few breaths.

The longer Wang Kong fought, the more alarmed he became.

This official slave had once been a soft persimmon before him, someone he could knead however he pleased. When Wang Kong had tested him in the rear garden that day, the slave had barely managed to dodge twice, and Wang Kong's fist-force had fractured the bones in his forearm.

Yet now, this official slave's qi and blood were so abundant, his fist-force so fierce, that he was not the least bit inferior to Wang Kong. In fact, he even seemed to be gaining the upper hand.

Wang Kong had reached great mastery in the Copper Scarlet Realm!

What shocked him even more was this official slave's boxing technique.

He recognized the Seven Forms of Ceasing War. It was an incomplete manual ignored by everyone in the Martial Hall, crude and motley, difficult to learn and even harder to master.

Yet in this official slave's hands, that crude boxing technique had somehow taken on a hint of seamless perfection.

Every punch was just right—not a fraction too much force, not a shred too little strength. It was as though the man was not wielding the fists, but the fists were leading the man forward.

And there was that Mountain-Crushing Force.

It was West Courtyard retainer Jiang Yuan's signature art. Only someone at Silver Bone Perfection could train Mountain-Crushing Force to the pinnacle.

How many days had this official slave been following Jiang Yuan? And he could already integrate Mountain-Crushing Force into his boxing, wielding and withdrawing it at will?

After another seven or eight exchanges, Wang Kong gradually steadied himself from his initial shock.

He was, after all, a master at great mastery in the Copper Scarlet Realm. With Copperfire Qi Armor protecting his body, six or seven parts of the force in Chen Lingxi's punches were dispersed by the armor. The remaining three or four parts could no longer harm his muscles and bones.

Meanwhile, his blade technique followed a fierce and forceful path. Each slash was heavier than the last. Though Chen Lingxi evaded them one by one, they still forced him to retreat again and again.

"Is that all you can do?" Wang Kong sneered, though his hands did not slow as his blade flashed faster and faster. "You think you can turn your life around after following Jiang Yuan for a few days? An official slave will always be an official slave—mud cannot be plastered onto a wall."

Chen Lingxi did not answer. He merely dealt with the attacks calmly.

He knew clearly that relying only on the qi and blood of minor achievement in the Copper Scarlet Realm and Mountain-Crushing Force, he truly could not break Wang Kong's Copperfire Qi Armor.

That qi armor was as solid as genuine copper-forged armor. Every time his fists struck it, his own knuckles ached from the impact, yet he could not harm Wang Kong in the least.

But he was not anxious.

He was waiting.

Waiting for a suitable opportunity.

Seeing Chen Lingxi's attacks gradually slow, Wang Kong assumed that he had exhausted his strength. His confidence soared, and his blade attacks became increasingly savage.

One slash cut through empty air. Taking advantage of the momentum, he spun, then swept the blade upward from below, directly toward Chen Lingxi's lower abdomen.

This time, Chen Lingxi did not retreat.

He stepped forward into the blade's path and hurled out his right fist.

This punch was different from the previous ones.

Not only did crimson Copper-Molten Qi flare over his fist, but an extremely fine streak of azure light, almost impossible to catch with the naked eye, silently extended from his fingertips.

That azure light was too fine—fine as a silken thread. Mixed amid the crimson qi-flames, it was impossible to distinguish.

Wang Kong's blade came down.

At the same time, Chen Lingxi suddenly crouched low, narrowly evading the slash, and smashed his fist into the Copperfire Qi Armor over Wang Kong's chest.

Crimson qi-flames collided with the crimson barrier, bursting into a blinding blaze.

Then, that streak of azure light moved.

Like a needle, it silently pierced into the Copperfire Qi Armor.

The solid qi armor that had blocked Chen Lingxi's fists for more than ten exchanges was like a sheet of thin paper before that slender azure gleam, easily punctured.

The azure light passed through the qi armor and entered Wang Kong's chest.

Wang Kong's entire body stiffened.

He looked down. A pinprick-sized hole had appeared in the qi armor over his chest, wisps of crimson qi-mist leaking from it.

The tiny hole rapidly expanded. Motes of fiery light peeled away in flakes, and the Copperfire Qi Armor collapsed at a visible rate.

"You—"

He raised his head and stared at Chen Lingxi.

Chen Lingxi swung his right fist again.

This time, there was no Copper-Molten Qi and no azure light—only a clean, decisive strike of Mountain-Crushing Force that landed solidly on the shoulder joint of Wang Kong's blade-wielding right arm.

Crack.

The sound of shattering bone was exceptionally crisp!

Wang Kong's right arm drooped limply, and the short blade fell from his hand, clanging as it bounced twice against the ground.

Before he could scream, Chen Lingxi's left fist arrived. It was another strike of Mountain-Crushing Force, smashing into his right elbow joint.

All three joints were shattered. Only flesh and skin still connected the arm to his body, hanging at his side like a torn cloth sack.

Wang Kong finally screamed.

He staggered backward, his left hand clutching the break in his right arm. Blood gushed between his fingers, dyeing his slate-blue satin robe a dark purple.

Every trace of color drained from his face, and his narrow eyes were filled with shock and disbelief.

"You..." His voice trembled. "How could you... You're only an official slave... What gives you the right...?"

Chen Lingxi did not answer.

He simply walked toward Wang Kong.

Wang Kong backed away until his spine struck the earthen wall of the alley. There was nowhere left to retreat.

He watched Chen Lingxi approach step by step. There was no killing intent in those dark eyes, not even anger—only a calm, almost indifferent scrutiny.

"The medicine Zhao Yong tested on us." Chen Lingxi finally spoke. His voice was quiet, but every word was clear. "What medicine was it?"

Wang Kong's lips quivered twice, but he did not answer.

Chen Lingxi extended his right hand. Copper-Molten Qi lit up once more, casting a reddish glow across Wang Kong's face.

Wang Kong's teeth chattered. "Dragon-Drawing Powder... That medicine is called Dragon-Drawing Powder... It's in my belt."

"Dragon-Drawing Powder." Chen Lingxi repeated the name. "What is it used for?"