A long saber burst out through his chest.
Holding Lu Cheng's black saber, Li Ping'an let out a heavy breath.
The old man's eyes widened. He could no longer summon any of the true qi in his body.
The saber had crushed his heart and torn through his flesh.
The old man let out a muffled groan of pain.
He had never imagined an ox could possess such strength.
At the gates of Luoshui City.
An old man with snow-white hair sat with his head lowered, eating peanuts.
A wine basket rested beside him, and he drank as he ate.
Tap, tap, tap~
Footsteps echoed down the empty street.
Heavy snow fell, and the north wind roared.
It battered the city walls with a thunderous crash.
Wu Shishun had originally received an appointment from the Ministry of Personnel, ordering him to go to Beyond the Pass.
But while passing through Luoshui City, he had suddenly received a special order.
Li Ping'an stopped walking. The bleeding from his shoulder had stopped.
But the injury had reached the bone, and it probably would not heal anytime soon.
Li Ping'an frowned slightly.
His opponent had yet to make a move, but he could already faintly sense disturbances in the surrounding air.
A dangerous presence permeated the air.
It was an intuition, like the instinct a wild beast felt when facing danger.
"Do you know him?"
Li Ping'an asked softly.
Liu Yun, who had been frowning at Li Ping'an's wound, came back to her senses.
She looked up at Wu Shishun in the distance.
"...I think I've seen him before...but I can't remember..."
Liu Yun was the Princess of a nation, the future successor to the empire.
Every day, she had countless people to meet and matters to attend to.
She could not remember everyone.
"But he looks like a Qi Refiner."
"A Qi Refiner? He must be pretty powerful, then."
"Yes," Liu Yun said. "He probably isn't a Sword Cultivator among Qi Refiners, just an ordinary Qi Refiner."
Li Ping'an flexed his injured hand.
He abruptly drew the Heaven-Shaking Bow, and blood spurted from his wound.
A piercing whistle cut through the air.
Three arrows broke through layer upon layer of falling snow, heading straight for Wu Shishun.
At the same time, the Azure Heaven Saber in his hand traced arc after arc through the air.
Wu Shishun watched the falling snowflakes.
With a casual flick of his finger, the incoming arrows turned into a long rainbow streak.
With a thunk, they struck a large tree several yards away.
As Li Ping'an's saber strike followed close behind,
Wu Shishun did not move his body, but swept out a sleeve.
It landed on the blade with a muffled bang.
Li Ping'an instantly felt as though all his internal organs had been knocked out of place.
A terrifying blast of force hurled him backward, and he crashed beneath the roots of a tree several yards away with a thud.
A series of buzzing sounds rose behind Wu Shishun.
They came from countless snowflakes. One flew straight toward Li Ping'an.
Li Ping'an twisted his upper body.
There was a thunk, and a heart-piercing agony shot through his shoulder.
Under Wu Shishun's control, countless snowflakes became lethal weapons.
The saber fell to the ground, and Li Ping'an was sent flying another few yards.
He landed in the snow with a thud.
Before he could get up, a slit opened in the front of his clothes.
A line of blood spread across his chest beneath the torn fabric.
Blood stained his body red, making him tremble even harder.
One snowflake pierced his right abdomen, and another stabbed into his heart.
Blood gushed out, and he fell utterly silent.
"Ping'an!!" Liu Yun cried out.
Wu Shishun smiled faintly. "Not bad. With a little guidance, he could have had a promising future. What a pity."
With his hands behind his back, he strode forward.
"Princess, do you remember me?"
"No."
"I passed the imperial examinations in the twenty-fifth year of Heaven's Approach and became Vice Minister of the Chancellery in the thirtieth year of Heaven's Approach. Later, I was demoted and sent away to serve as a county magistrate...
"I've spent my life rising and falling in the sea of officialdom, yet I still have nothing to show for it."
Liu Yun sneered. "With every sip and every bite, you should remember your sovereign's grace. You've achieved nothing in office, yet instead of thinking about serving the people,
"you come here to murder your sovereign and kill your ruler. What kind of reasoning is that?"
Wu Shishun burst out laughing. "Hahaha! Well scolded, Princess.
"But now, Great Sui's bureaucracy, politics, and military are all steeped in corruption.
"The incompetent rise to power, while the talented are left to fade into obscurity.
"Yet those of you at the top know only how to fight for power and profit. How can such a foolish ruler deserve to rule?"
Liu Yun's gaze fell on Li Ping'an, lying in the snow, and she said urgently, "Then what can you do? This is how the world is. Do you think killing me will change it?
"Do you truly believe those above you will fulfill their promises? They're nothing but a pack of useless mediocrities.
"After you've done something like this, do you think they'll let you live?
"If I take the throne, I will reform the system and root out its abuses. You still have a chance to turn back.
"Nothing can happen to that man. Hurry and save him."
Wu Shishun sighed almost inaudibly. "Princess, your naivety means you are destined to lose to your elder brother."
The moment he finished speaking, a silver flash streaked past with the sound of wind and thunder.
Wherever it passed, it cleaved a path through the snow on the ground.
Liu Yun's expression changed abruptly. He was...still alive...
Wu Shishun frowned. He had never expected his opponent to return from the dead.
At the brink of life and death, Li Ping'an's Turtle Breath Technique had finally broken through its limits.
[Turtle Breath Technique (90%)]
The true qi within him became a torrent, surging through every limb and bone.
Like a wild horse breaking free of its reins, it erupted in that instant.
Wu Shishun's powerful qi was like a bottomless abyss, or an active volcano shrouded in deathly stillness.
Yet now, Li Ping'an felt an incomparably powerful presence within his own body.
It was as though an endless wellspring of vitality was swelling inside him.
His body was like a blazing furnace, burning fiercely.
The heat grew ever stronger, and his attacks ever fiercer.
Wu Shishun's expression changed again and again, the muscles in his face trembling.
He let out a roar, as though trying to drive his strength to its utmost limit.
Frenzied fluctuations spread from his body, making the surrounding space ripple in concentric rings.
They spread in every direction as he launched his final counterattack.
Bang!!
Under the immense force, the Azure Heaven Saber let out a deafening crack and broke into several pieces.
Li Ping'an made his body a saber and slammed into him.
Wu Shishun was forced into disarray, danger closing in from every side.
He staggered, trying to fight his way out alive.
But a blade flashed, and a wound opened in his chest, blood pouring out wildly.
Gritting his teeth, Wu Shishun thrust a finger at Li Ping'an's left shoulder.
Under his all-out strike, Li Ping'an's entire left arm was reduced to a pulp of blood and flesh.
"Moo!!"
Old Ox charged in from the side.
Wu Shishun brought his palm down, brutally knocking the black ox to the ground.
A streak of light swept past as Li Ping'an lunged at him.
With no time to gather his qi, Wu Shishun twisted to the right and turned his left hand over, seizing Li Ping'an by the neck.
Just as he prepared to unleash his full strength and crush his neck.
Before you continue