Shen San and Old Ghost

"You... what kind of monster are you?!"

Jin Sheng stared in shock at Li Dao, whose ordinary human physique had unleashed decidedly inhuman strength.

"A monster?"

Li Dao smiled faintly. "A monster it is, then. Better than being useless."

Compared to the utterly useless man he had been at the start, he would gladly become a monster a hundred times over.

"Done attacking? Then it's my turn."

Li Dao snatched up his black iron saber and stamped down, the tremendous force propelling him toward Jin Sheng like a cannonball.

Gale Saber Technique!

He swung his saber. Though he lacked the saber radiance that true qi could produce, his terrifying strength and speed naturally whipped up a fierce gust, sending ripples through the air.

Jin Sheng's pupils contracted, and he hurriedly raised his saber to block.

Clang!

Once again, that terrifying force sent him flying.

Li Dao did not stop. He chased Jin Sheng, swinging his black iron saber relentlessly, his Gale Saber Technique battering Jin Sheng like a true gale.

Throughout the exchange, his understanding of the Gale Saber Technique deepened, and his attacks grew increasingly cunning.

Facing him, Jin Sheng suddenly found the pressure mounting. Not only did he have to contend with those terrifyingly powerful saber blows, but he also had to face flashes of steel coming from every direction.

Meanwhile.

The Third Prince of Falling Cloud had been hoping to watch his guard captain display his might. Instead, he saw Jin Sheng retreating steadily. Anyone with eyes could tell that Jin Sheng was already giving it everything he had.

"No, I can't stay here. I have to leave and get help."

The Third Prince of Falling Cloud looked frightened, muttering incessantly. All his earlier bluster had vanished.

Finally, he made his decision.

He told the guards beside him, "Stop watching! While the guard captain holds these assassins off, get me out of here!"

The guards snapped out of their daze and nodded repeatedly. "Yes, Third Prince."

They had no desire to face such a terrifying opponent either. They would much rather flee with the Third Prince.

As for Guard Captain Jin Sheng, they could only wish him luck. After all, they were usually the ones risking their lives, while Jin Sheng mostly scooped up the credit. They felt little guilt about leaving him.

"Hmm? What's that lovely smell?"

Just as he entered the military tent with his guards, the Third Prince of Falling Cloud wrinkled his nose. A faint fragrance drifted into his nose and mouth.

Before he could react, the guards around him crumpled to the ground, one after another.

Poison!

That was the only thought in his mind.

"You must be the Third Prince of Falling Cloud."

Just then, the Third Prince of Falling Cloud felt a chill against his neck. Looking down, he found a dagger resting there, though he had no idea when it had appeared.

Turning his head, he saw a plump, middle-aged man. An old man stepped out of the shadows nearby.

They were none other than Shen San and Old Ghost.

"Old Ghost, now this is the right medicine. What was that rubbish you used earlier?"

Glancing at the fallen guards, Shen San could not help complaining.

Old Ghost immediately retorted, "There was nothing wrong with my medicine. The wind changed."

"Fine, I'm not arguing with you now. If we wait any longer, the big guy and Little Madman might die."

Shen San kicked the Third Prince of Falling Cloud to the ground and said, "Go on. Have your guards bring my two companions over."

"I won't..."

"Then die!"

Shen San flicked his dagger, driving it into the ground between the Third Prince of Falling Cloud's legs, only a hair's breadth from his most vulnerable spot.

"I'll go! I'll go!"

Terrified, the Third Prince of Falling Cloud no longer dared protest and hurriedly nodded in agreement.

Outside the tent, the guards were busy watching the spectacle.

Suddenly, the tent flap opened, and three figures emerged.

"Third Prince, you-!"

"Assassins! There are more assassins here!"

"What? Where are the assassins?"

The three quickly drew the attention of the remaining guards nearby.

Yet nobody noticed that, despite shouting about assassins, not one guard dared approach rashly. They seemed terrified of encountering another monstrous assassin.

After all, none of the previous three assassins had been easy to deal with.

"Speak!"

Holding his dagger against the prince, Shen San spoke into the Third Prince of Falling Cloud's ear.

Looking at the surrounding guards, the Third Prince of Falling Cloud hurriedly shouted, "Stop staring! Bring those two brave warriors lying over there here, now!"

Brave warriors? Weren't they assassins?

But one glance at the Third Prince of Falling Cloud's predicament explained his choice of words.

"What are you standing around for? Hurry!"

Under the Third Prince of Falling Cloud's urging, some guards finally moved.

But the moment they approached Xu Hu and Little Madman, the aura coming from the pair intimidated them into retreating repeatedly, terrified that one wrong move would get them beaten to death.

"Get moving!"

Seeing this, the Third Prince of Falling Cloud shouted again.

But compared to his authority, the terror Xu Hu and his companion inspired in the guards was clearly far greater.

"Forget it. We'll go over ourselves. Those two can't tell friend from foe."

Knowing their temperaments, Shen San held the Third Prince of Falling Cloud at knifepoint and approached Xu Hu and Little Madman with Old Ghost.

"Hiss!"

As soon as they approached, Little Madman reacted first, snarling in a threatening posture.

"It's me! I'm not an enemy."

Shen San hurriedly spoke.

He would have been better off staying silent. The instant he spoke, Little Madman's snarling grew much louder.

Shen San: "???"

Fortunately, Little Madman was only trying to frighten Shen San. After a couple of snarls, Little Madman ignored him and lay weakly across Xu Hu's shoulder.

Xu Hu was in poor shape too. Blood loss had left his skin somewhat sallow and his face much paler.

Even so, he maintained an attacking stance, every inch a wounded tiger whose ferocity remained undiminished.

Looking at the blood pooled beneath Xu Hu and the wounds covering him, Shen San asked, "Old Ghost, the big guy's hurt this badly. Can you really handle it?"

Old Ghost snorted softly. "My medical skills are truly unrivaled."

With that, he pulled an assortment of bottles and jars from inside his robe.

Seeing them, Shen San looked puzzled. "Say, Old Ghost, you're not planning to strike out on your own, are you? You used these same medicines when you mixed that poison earlier."

Glancing at Shen San, Old Ghost began mixing his medicines without further ado, explaining as he worked, "Not a single bottle of medicine in my hands is poison."

"These are also the fruits of my research over all these years."

"Though none of them are poisons, once I mix them, they can become over a hundred poisons with different effects."

"By the same principle, I can also combine them into ordinary medicines."

"And there's one final thing I must tell you: my skill at healing people far exceeds my skill at poisoning them."

"Poison is merely for self-defense. Healing is the foundation on which I stake my life."

His hands never stopped moving as he spoke, and he soon produced several bottles of medicine.

Old Ghost approached Xu Hu and Little Madman with the medicine. Ignoring Xu Hu's feral aura, he reached straight out to treat him.

"Careful!"

The sight startled Shen San. He feared Xu Hu or Little Madman might attack Old Ghost, but the result left him dumbfounded.

Facing Old Ghost, Xu Hu and Little Madman instantly lost their earlier aggression.

"Old Ghost, how did you..."

Shen San looked astonished.

Apart from Li Dao, those two would submit to no one.

Old Ghost said calmly, "I've cultivated Evergreen True Qi for nearly a hundred years. Its aura mimics the natural world. It does little for ordinary people, but it has a remarkable effect on these two."

He took out a bottle, removed the cap, and held it beneath Xu Hu's nose.

"Inhale."

Xu Hu nodded and took a breath. A moment later, a flush spread over his entire body, and he immediately looked much more alert.

Then Old Ghost did the same for Little Madman.

Old Ghost also explained, "This is the Blood Spirit Mist I formulated. It's specifically meant to anchor the lives of patients with external injuries. Even if all five internal organs are ruined, it can keep someone hanging on for half an hour."

Then he took out another bottle, poured out some sticky salve, and spread it over Xu Hu's wounds.

"This is Blood Spirit Salve, an enhanced version of Blood Spirit Mist. It can't bring the dead back to life, but it can grow flesh over bare bone."

Once the Blood Spirit Salve was applied, Xu Hu's wounds stopped bleeding immediately, and a visible layer of scab formed over them.

As the medicine seeped in, the scabs grew thicker and thicker.

Old Ghost likewise applied the medicine to Little Madman nearby.

The sight stunned not only Shen San, but also the Third Prince of Falling Cloud and the surrounding guards.

The medicine's effects, in particular, stirred desire in every person present.

After all, whether roaming the martial world or going onto a battlefield, wounds that refused to heal were what people feared most.

"You big fellow, you've cost me quite a lot of medicine this time."

After finishing the application on Xu Hu, Old Ghost could not help looking pained at the expense.

Then he glanced back at the guards surrounding the Third Prince of Falling Cloud, and his eyes suddenly lit up.

Walking up to the Third Prince of Falling Cloud, he said, "Sorry for the trouble, young fellow, but I need another favor."

"What favor?"

"It's very simple."

A little while later, Shen San stared blankly at the guards lined up before Old Ghost to have their blood drawn. "Old Ghost, what are you doing?"

"Making medicine. Did you think my medicines appeared out of thin air?"

"Human blood can be medicine too?"

"Heh. To me, everything in nature can be used as medicine. It's fortunate I'm kindhearted. Otherwise..."

Old Ghost revealed an eerie smile.

Elsewhere.

While Old Ghost and Shen San were saving lives and drawing blood, Li Dao and Jin Sheng's battle continued.

Although Li Dao's astonishing physique allowed him to suppress Jin Sheng at every turn.

Jin Sheng was, after all, a martial artist at the second grade of the Acquired Realm.

As long as his true qi had not run dry, he still had strength to spare.

"I'll block! I'll block!"

Facing Li Dao's saber as it descended like a raging storm, Jin Sheng kept swinging his own saber to defend.

Suddenly, he realized he did not seem to be blocking anything.

Looking carefully, he discovered that his opponent had stopped at some point.

"You..."

Jin Sheng was just about to speak when his opponent suddenly came charging at him again.

That was when he understood why Li Dao had stopped.

He was trying to disrupt his rhythm.

Jin Sheng had just adapted to his opponent's rapid, heavy saber blows. That sudden pause had thrown him completely off.

"Stop!"

Jin Sheng hurriedly shouted.

Li Dao's expression did not change when he heard him. He continued attacking relentlessly.

Seeing this, Jin Sheng hurriedly said, "I'm done fighting! Let me leave. You can have the Third Prince of Falling Cloud."

"Won't your Third Prince be heartbroken if you do that?"

"So what if he is? I just want to live."

At this point, Jin Sheng had utterly overturned the loyalty in his heart. Faced with that idiotic prince who refused to listen to reason, his only thought now was to survive.

"Unfortunately, you ran into me."

Li Dao shook his head.

"What do you mean?"

Jin Sheng looked bewildered. He was clearly just an insignificant figure, and killing him would take effort besides.

"You might survive if you met someone else. But with me, forget it."

After all, he could only grow stronger by continually killing people.

Especially after wasting so much time on his opponent, letting him live would feel like a crushing loss. To avoid losing out himself, he could only have the other man die.

"You!"

Jin Sheng's face darkened. He had never imagined his opponent would hound him like this.

"This slash is my gift to you."

Suddenly, Li Dao swung his black iron saber, changing his previous rhythm.

"Nameless Slash!"

This was a slash he had distilled from their ongoing battle and his earlier mental training.

It had been born from the Gale Saber Technique, yet differed from it, and possessed only two qualities-speed and precision!