Cultivators

The corner of Chen Zhongshi's mouth twitched.

He stared at the figure below and swallowed.

Was this... fucking thing even human?

In Li Ping'an's hands, the Azure Heaven Saber seemed to become a thousand blades.

Saber light flashed, accompanied by strange, repeated sounds.

Li Ping'an pushed off with both feet and leaped.

He dodged the crossbow bolts hurtling toward him and sailed more than ten feet away.

One slash spread into a curtain of blades.

Several crossbowmen were cut down.

Like a bird, he flew up to the second floor.

Chen Zhongshi roared and brought his long saber down at his head.

Li Ping'an landed abruptly and rolled across the floor, avoiding the blow.

Chen Zhongshi's weapon was a long Horse-Slaying Saber.

Its blade was long and thick, a terrifying sight.

Drawing on the twisting force of his arms and waist,

Chen Zhongshi delivered a blow so powerful that the mere sight of it inspired dread.

Li Ping'an did not retreat. He met him head-on.

Twisting at the waist, he unleashed a whirlwind backhand slash.

The flash of steel vanished in an instant, but the fierce wind of the blade tore through the air.

Chen Zhongshi's expression changed sharply. He pulled back his weapon and hurriedly retreated.

With a swish, a slit opened in his robe.

A seven-inch bloody gash appeared across his abdomen.

"Attack! Attack!"

The men around them dropped their crossbows, drew their weapons, and rushed Li Ping'an.

Bright saber light flashed, and blood instantly blossomed in the air.

Chen Zhongshi saw only a faint streak of rainbow light. He could not make out how his opponent struck.

He could only watch helplessly as the saber light coiled toward him.

Life was a gamble. Stake everything on one throw.

Win, and laugh up at the heavens.

Lose, and fall beyond redemption.

At death's door, Chen Zhongshi could not help remembering those words he had once spoken.

The gulf between their strength was simply too great.

"The Azure Heaven Saber?"

Facing death, Chen Zhongshi murmured the name as though moved by some unseen force.

"You recognize this saber?"

Only when Chen Zhongshi came to his senses did he realize the blade had stopped two centimeters from his neck.

"The Azure Heaven Saber. This saber belongs to our Peace Escort Agency."

"What's your relationship with Chen Shun?"

"I'm his father."

The other man fell silent for a moment. "Go."

"...All right..."

Chen Zhongshi slumped on the floor, his expression vacant.

Why... had he suddenly decided not to kill me?

As realization dawned, Chen Zhongshi felt his calves trembling uncontrollably.

"Boss! Boss, are you all right?"

His men hurried over.

"Go! Go!"

Even Chen Zhongshi's voice trembled.

The night wind howled, and the moonlight flickered between bright and dim.

A suffocating gloom hung in the air.

The heavy stench of blood carried a shivering chill...

A few drops of blood spattered Liu Yun's face.

Whoosh!

An arrow shot toward her, aimed straight at her chest.

Liu Yun instinctively dodged.

But she suddenly seemed to hit a wall. Looking up, she realized she had collided with Li Ping'an's chest.

The incoming arrow had already been cut in two.

"Are you all right?"

"...Yes."

Li Ping'an stroked Old Ox. "Well done, brother."

"Moo~"

Old Ox lowed happily.

The lackeys had all been cleared out. What came next was the main event.

Li Ping'an sensed two powerful presences ahead.

"It's him?" Liu Yun's delicate brows knitted slightly.

"You know him?"

"Yes." Liu Yun nodded. "Lu Cheng of the Brocade-Clad Guards. Mother personally promoted him back then.

"Hmph! People's hearts really do change."

At that, Liu Yun glanced worriedly at Li Ping'an.

"Be careful. This man has real skill."

Li Ping'an meticulously wiped the blood from his blade.

"He's a cultivator."

"A cultivator?"

"You don't know about them?" Liu Yun asked curiously.

Li Ping'an shook his head.

He had been a beggar, and later his life had improved a little.

He had sung on the streets and rented a home.

He had quietly lived his own life, dealing only with ordinary people like himself.

How could he have had any way to learn about cultivators?

"He's a Martial Warrior," Liu Yun said.

At the end of the street stood two men.

An old man with a hunched back, leaning on a saber.

And Lu Cheng, a Deputy Thousand-Household Commander of the Brocade-Clad Guards, dressed in plain clothes.

Li Ping'an held his saber in his right hand and pressed his left hand against its spine.

The blade in his hands reflected a streak of white light beneath the moon.

"You have remarkable skills, sir. I've spent so many years in Luoshui City, yet I've never heard your illustrious name."

The hunched old man was the first to speak.

"I'm merely a street singer," Li Ping'an said calmly.

"Do you know who the girl behind you is?"

"I do."

The old man said, "You'd best not choose the wrong side, sir. One careless step could leave you beyond redemption."

An indescribable heaviness and oppression seemed to settle over the air.

No one spoke. No one moved.

It was so quiet that even a falling needle could have been heard.

The old man slowly stepped forward. Though his steps were slow,

they carried a rhythm, each footfall exerting an invisible pressure.

The saber roared like a tiger as it cleaved through the air.

The old man shook both palms, and a fierce wind howled forth.

Though Li Ping'an's saber was fast, before those gaunt hands with their oceanic power,

it was like a lone skiff amid towering waves, liable to capsize at any moment.

Turtle-Breath True Qi surged within him, and Li Ping'an steadied himself.

The saber light swirled like a whirlpool, then spread like ripples over a lake, unending.

As swift as lightning, it struck straight at the old man's vital point.

A cold sneer appeared on the old man's gaunt face.

He raised his withered hand and blocked the strike.

He even seized the Azure Heaven Saber.

Lu Cheng darted to Li Ping'an's side and slashed down.

Li Ping'an spun like a top, easily avoiding the blow.

But he lost his weapon in the process.

He rolled backward and regained his stance.

A longbow was already in his hands.

The Heaven-Shaking Bow.

Whoosh!

An arrow?

The old man swept his sleeve, sending a gale blasting out from it that blew the arrow apart.

Before Li Ping'an could fire a second arrow, Lu Cheng charged at him.

Li Ping'an had no weapon left in his hands, only a longbow.

"Die!"

Lu Cheng's gaze was icy, and the long saber in his hand seemed to fall from the heavens.

Even a horse would have been cleaved in two beneath that slash.

Half a second later, the long saber fell to the ground.

Lu Cheng grunted and spat out a mouthful of blood.

His saber had indeed struck Li Ping'an's left shoulder, but at the same instant, Li Ping'an's knife-hand had pierced his heart.

The old man's expression changed. "Lu Cheng?"

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

In an instant, three more arrows flew in rapid succession.

The old man was about to act when he suddenly detected movement behind him.

Turning his head, he saw an enormous black ox charging toward him at full speed.

The old man paid it little heed and casually waved his hand.

He intended to crush the black ox to death.

The ground shattered, and dust flew.

But it could not stop the black ox, who rushed at him even faster.

The old man frantically swept his sleeves, forcing out streams of internal energy.

They formed a curtain of qi before him as he tried to stop the black ox.

Boom!!!

Under that single impact, the curtain of qi nearly burst apart.

A muffled thunk sounded.

The old man grunted and spat out a stream of blood.

A long saber emerged from his chest.

Holding Lu Cheng's black saber, Li Ping'an let out a heavy breath.