Hu Xiaotian had waited for him to come closer because he wanted to make the first strike count. He had never imagined Yan Zhou would be so formidable that a volley of steel needles would fail to kill him on the spot. In a panic, he raised the Black Box again and pressed the trigger repeatedly, firing every remaining needle. Both volleys struck Yan Zhou in the face. Even so, they could not stop his all-out thrust.
The steel saber carried the full force of Yan Zhou's lifetime of cultivation as it drove toward Hu Xiaotian's chest with unstoppable momentum. Hu Xiaotian was scared out of his wits. My life is over! he cried inwardly. The blade struck his chest with a clang!, yet failed to penetrate even a fraction of an inch. Only then did he remember the Iron Deed of Redemption tucked against his chest-it had saved his life at the very brink of death. Even so, the force transmitted through the blade sent him staggering several steps backward. Only the courtyard wall at his back kept him from falling.
Yan Zhou had exhausted his last ounce of strength. The steel saber in his hand could not advance another inch. Steel needles studded his face, and both his eyes had been blinded. He remained standing there, whether dead or alive impossible to tell.
Hu Xiaotian drew the short knife Huo Ge had given him from his boot and approached cautiously. Seeing that Yan Zhou still did not move, he took a deep breath, steeled his courage, and circled behind him. He raised the knife and plunged it hard into Yan Zhou's back, piercing his heart. When he pulled it out again, Yan Zhou's hulking body slowly toppled to the ground.
Afraid that Yan Zhou might not be dead,