The Wheel King and the others were already struggling to cope with Yu Huatian's unpredictable swordplay. When they suddenly heard Murong Fu's cry for help, they nearly lost their composure and were swept by Yu Huatian's sword energy.
"Useless fool!"
The Wheel King cursed inwardly, but by now he could also see the gulf between himself and Yu Huatian. He understood that killing Yu Huatian with just their handful of fighters would be difficult indeed. With no other choice, he changed his approach-
They would kill Yu Huatian's two subordinates first. Once Murong Fu was freed up, another man joining the assault should improve their odds.
He immediately stepped forward to block Yu Huatian's sword moves and shouted to Drizzle, "Go help him finish off that successor of the Qi Family Saber!"
Without a word, Drizzle withdrew at once and went to help Murong Fu in the distance.
But even with six people, they had been unable to hold Yu Huatian back. How could they manage now that they were one fighter short?
Under these circumstances, every fighter they lost meant less pressure on Yu Huatian and one fewer restraint upon him.
Seeing Drizzle leave, Yu Huatian immediately intensified his assault. First, he flicked the nearby black-clad swordswoman away with a stroke, then attacked the Wheel King with the Sunflower Manual's Seventy-Two Sword Forms.
As the Wheel King executed his counter, Yu Huatian changed his sword move, instantly switching to the Thirteen Life-Taking Swords-
Clang, clang, clang-
A rapid succession of clashing blades rang out. The Wheel King's reactions were far from slow; the instant Yu Huatian changed his sword moves, he altered his own attack as well. Yet no sooner had he neutralized the first stroke than the second followed. Every stroke was vicious and uncanny, devoted solely to killing, without a thought for defense.
Finally, as he blocked Yu Huatian's fourth stroke, he could hold out no longer. Sword energy swept across his chest, disrupting the circulation of his True Qi. The next instant, he felt a chill in his abdomen. Sword energy traveled upward from his belly, leaving a fine sword wound along his body and flicking off his veil.
Yu Huatian's gaze was icy. Having gravely wounded the Wheel King with one stroke, he showed no mercy and closed in again, thrusting his longsword straight forward to end the man's life. But when the moonlight revealed the Wheel King's face, Yu Huatian instinctively paused:
"It's you?!"
Beneath the black robe was the aged face of a man in his sixties.
Although he had a mustache, Yu Huatian recognized him at once. This was clearly Cao Feng, the old eunuch in charge of receiving and dispatching palace case files whom he had met outside the Palace of Heavenly Purity when entering the palace for his imperial audience!
At this point, the Wheel King could no longer worry about his exposed identity. Seeing Yu Huatian's sword energy right before him, the threat of death flooded his heart, and he hurriedly shouted, "Eunuch Yu, spare my life..."
"Spare your life?"
Yu Huatian recovered after only an instant's distraction. At those words, a cold smile curled his lips.
The next instant, the murderous intent in his eyes only intensified. Sword energy wreathed the Three-Pronged Sword as it hurtled toward the Wheel King's chest even faster.
Whatever identity the Wheel King, Cao Feng, might have, and whatever purpose had driven him to conceal his identity and infiltrate the palace, he had sought Yu Huatian's life. That left him only one road: death!
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh-
Yet at that critical moment, a flurry of sharp whistles came from the side. A chill ran down Yu Huatian's back. He immediately withdrew his sword and turned to defend himself.
Clink, clink, clink-
Sword afterimages filled the air, and tiny glints of light fell away along the sword energy.
They were Lei Bin's flying needles!
"You dare play with hidden weapons against me?"
Yu Huatian's eyes turned cold. With a sudden flick of the Three-Pronged Sword, two slightly smaller short swords shot from either side of its blade. They moved with incredible speed, reaching Lei Bin in the blink of an eye.
The Three-Pronged Sword bore that name because it had never been an ordinary sword. Two short swords had always been concealed along either side of its blade, ready to be used as hidden weapons.
It was just that, since mastering the Sunflower Manual's swordplay, Yu Huatian had seldom used hidden weapons. Most of the time, he disdained them.
But that did not mean he could not use them.
He had already been skilled in the flying-sword art of the Three-Pronged Sword techniques. Combined with the needle techniques included in the Sunflower Manual, his mastery of hidden weapons now ranked among the finest in the entire martial world.
Flying needles were the specialty of Lei Bin, one of Black Stone's elite assassins, but compared with Yu Huatian, he still fell considerably short.
Of course, Lei Bin knew none of this.
Facing those two cold flashes, Lei Bin's confidence in his needle techniques kept him from choosing to defend immediately. Instead, he swept his sleeve and launched several more needles, intending to knock the two flying swords down. But he had underestimated their force.
Yu Huatian's furious strike also carried the supremely yin, supremely cold Sunflower True Energy. How could Lei Bin's flying needles possibly bring it down?
The needles struck the short swords and were instantly deflected. By the time Lei Bin tried to dodge, it was already too late.
Shhk, shhk-
The two short swords pierced his chest, one on either side. Their force was so great that they carried him off his feet and pinned him to the ground. Then Sunflower True Energy erupted inside him, instantly severing his meridians and snuffing out his life...
[Fortune from Lei Bin +1088.]
Having killed Lei Bin, Yu Huatian did not even spare him a glance. He turned again and caught up with the Wheel King, who had fled only a few steps. His longsword flashed through the air, pierced the man's back, and emerged through his chest.
The Wheel King's body shuddered. He looked down at the half-length of blade protruding from his chest, then shakily turned his head toward Yu Huatian, his eyes brimming with regret and resentment.
But under the corrosive assault of Sunflower True Energy, he could not utter a word. His aura rapidly dissipated, and his body pitched heavily forward, the light in his eyes slowly fading...
[Fortune from Cao Feng +4568.]
The Wheel King was dead. This abrupt turn of events shocked the remaining fighters.
Lian Sheng, the Colorful Performer, exchanged a glance with Ye Zhanqing. Both instantly turned to flee the battlefield, without the slightest intention of avenging the Wheel King.
But things had come this far. How could Yu Huatian let them go?
Whoosh-
With a light tap of his toes against the ground, Yu Huatian soared like a hawk and landed before Ye Zhanqing in an instant. Her pupils contracted, terror filling her face, and she blurted out, "Don't kill me! I can..."
Bam!
Before she could finish, Yu Huatian struck her chest with his palm, shattering the meridians around her heart. She stared fixedly at him as her delicate body slowly crumpled...
[Fortune from Ye Zhanqing +1128.]
Ignoring the system notification sounding in his mind, Yu Huatian turned to look in the other direction.
A rope hung down from the sky. Lian Sheng, the Colorful Performer, had grabbed it and was preparing to escape. This was his signature technique-the Immortal Rope!
"A trick to fool people."
Disdain flashed in Yu Huatian's eyes. The Three-Pronged Sword suddenly shot out, cleaving through the air. While Lian Sheng was still suspended above the ground, sword energy struck him, and the longsword pierced him from behind.
Lian Sheng shuddered, a trickle of blood spilling from the corner of his mouth. Yet he clung stubbornly to the rope and struggled to climb, his will to survive pushed to its limit.
But before he could climb more than a few steps, the sword energy utterly destroyed his meridians. His body went limp, and he fell from the air. After two feeble struggles on the ground, he lay still.
Thud-
[Fortune from Lian Sheng +1068.]
"Your turn!"
Yu Huatian turned toward the last black-clad swordswoman.
To his surprise, even now she showed no intention of fleeing. Her eyes remained fixed on him, filled with such hatred and murderous intent that even Yu Huatian felt a stir in his heart.
Yu Huatian frowned and could not help asking, "What grievance could you possibly have against me?"
The woman in black did not answer. She drew a bamboo flute from inside her robe and gazed at it with deep longing. Then she tucked it away, tightened her grip on her longsword, and attacked Yu Huatian.
But this time, her eyes held only resolve and determination to face death!
Yu Huatian fell briefly silent. Only when the black-clad woman reached him did he turn lightly, evading that resolute stroke. Then he held two fingers together like a sword and struck her over the heart.
Shhk-
Unable to halt her momentum, the black-clad woman staggered forward several more steps before collapsing heavily in the rain. The rain grew heavier, washing her face covering loose and revealing a face full of heroic spirit.
But now that face was filled with release and remembrance, and even a trace of joy...
Clutching the bamboo flute against her chest, she gazed into the rainy night sky and murmured, "Zhao Huaian..."
Soon, rain blurred her vision. Unable to hold on any longer, she slowly closed her eyes...
"Zhao Huaian?"
Yu Huatian murmured to himself. He glanced once more at the bamboo flute in the woman's hand and suddenly realized who she was. "The former proprietor of the Dragon Gate Inn... Ling Yanqiu?"
[Fortune from Ling Yanqiu +2888.]
Coming back to himself, Yu Huatian's expression turned cold again. Though he now knew Ling Yanqiu's identity and why she had tried to assassinate him, he felt no sympathy.
By opposing him, Zhao Huaian should have been prepared to die. The same applied to Ling Yanqiu.
She was not wrong to seek vengeance for Zhao Huaian, but since she had failed, she also had to accept the price of failure!
Anyone who dared become his enemy or stand in his way had to be prepared to die!
Anyone, without exception...
-
Please send recommendation votes, tips, and investments...
(End of chapter)
Before you continue