Commander

Zhao Tianming toppled forward and soon stopped breathing.

Li Xian withdrew his fist and looked at him...

Then nodded.

After that, he turned and strode off, chasing Bai Yup an again.

Unlike the fight against the Thirteen Eagles of Luoyang, this battle had erupted right at the city gate.

People streamed back and forth through the gate, and there were countless witnesses.

Even though the people of this world had often heard of struggles in the martial world, and even frequently witnessed them, seeing someone beaten to death before their very eyes still inevitably sparked an uproar.

Especially...

"Murder! Someone's dead!"

"That's... that's Master Zhao of the Lihuo Martial Arts Hall! His hall has over a hundred students, and disciples crowd around him whenever he goes out. His reach extends through both sides of the law, and he cuts an imposing figure wherever he goes. How could he have been beaten to death here?!"

"His reach isn't all he has! Master Zhao's name carries tremendous weight in the martial world. Across all of Jiangzhou, you could count on two hands the people who could claim to beat him for certain! And now he's died here?! Something huge is about to happen!"

The chatter and commotion spread rapidly.

But none of this affected Li Xian.

Nor did Bai Yup an, who was running for his life, know anything about it.

However...

When he saw Li Xian, who had originally gone after Zhao Tianming, reappear in his field of vision behind him, he could already guess that Zhao Tianming's chances were grim.

For a moment, the heart of this martial master at the blood exchange and marrow washing stage sank.

In particular, the greatest advantage of heavenly cycle without leak over blood exchange and marrow washing was that the blood and qi within the body replenished themselves endlessly.

Right now, his blood and qi were surging, letting him run faster than a fine horse, but this state could not possibly last long.

Once his strength ran out and Li Xian caught up, the consequences...

"Hm?!"

Just as Bai Yup an was gripped by unease and terror, several people came rushing into view in the distance.

When he recognized the man leading them, irrepressible delight surged into the eyes of this martial master from the Prince's Mansion. "Commander Zhang!"

The newcomer was none other than...

Zhang Shuheng, husband of the commandery princess of the Prince's Mansion, commander of its guards, and a first-rate expert with an impervious body.

Although the five men accompanying him had not reached blood exchange and marrow washing, every one of them was an accomplished practitioner of internal organ refinement.

"Hm? Attendant Bai?"

Hearing Bai Yup an call out, Zhang Shuheng was somewhat surprised. "What are you doing here? Weren't you with the Thirteen Eagles of Luoyang? Where are they?"

"They..."

Before Bai Yup an could answer, an internal organ refinement expert beside Zhang Shuheng abruptly fixed his gaze on the distance. "Commander Zhang, it's Li Xian!"

"Li Xian?"

Zhang Shuheng looked past Bai Yup an, his gaze swiftly settling on the figure coming in hot pursuit of Zhang Shuheng. "He's here? Where are the Thirteen Eagles of Luoyang? Surrounding Zhou Juechen to kill him?"

But another thought struck him, and he noticed something amiss. "No! The main reason the Marquis's Residence managed to enlist the Thirteen Eagles of Luoyang wasn't the thirty thousand taels of silver that First Madam promised, but the Blood Jade Art Li Xian cultivates. To them, Li Xian matters more than Zhou Juechen. How could they let him escape? Could they have switched sides? Did Li Xian offer up the Blood Jade Art in exchange for their help against us?!"

The thoughts of this commander in the body without leaks realm raced.

His gaze swept past Li Xian, searching as far as he could see.

He wanted to see whether any experts from the Thirteen Eagles of Luoyang were behind him.

However...

Whether there were any or not did not matter.

It was a fact that Li Xian had disgraced the Prince's Mansion and killed his sister-in-law.

"Take him down first!"

Without the slightest hesitation or second-guessing, Zhang Shuheng sprang forward decisively and charged straight at Li Xian.

The sight made Bai Yup an cry out, "Be careful, Commander! Li Xian is very strong!"

He gave a warning, but not a complete one.

He himself rushed past Zhang Shuheng as fast as he could and retreated behind the others.

"Commander?"

Hearing how Bai Yup an addressed the man before him, Li Xian's eyes lit up as he closed in. "Zhang Shuheng?"

"Come and die!"

Zhang Shuheng circulated his blood and qi and drew his saber. Like a streak of silk tearing through the void, it slashed savagely toward Li Xian!

"Good!"

Li Xian answered with relish. "Blood Eagle hadn't achieved blood and qi mastery, and I killed him with one punch. I hope you've perfected your leakless state and are stronger than he was!"

At these words, Zhang Shuheng's pupils contracted as his saber flashed like a streak of silk.

Who was Blood Eagle?!

The leader of the Thirteen Eagles of Luoyang!

Like him, Blood Eagle possessed an impervious body and had been famous for years!

Although he had never fought Blood Eagle, the man's reputation and unchecked dominance in Luoyang were enough to tell him that his cultivation was by no means weak among those in the body without leaks realm.

Such an illustrious first-rate expert had been beaten to death by Li Xian?!

How was that possible?!

Instinctively, he wanted to deny it.

But when he thought of Bai Yup an, who was clearly being hunted down...

Whoosh!

While his mind reeled, Li Xian lunged forward and darted in like lightning. Power surged through him, and his five fingers closed like a clamp as he actually attempted to seize Zhang Shuheng's wrist with his flesh-and-blood hand and disarm him of his Black Iron Saber!

Unfortunately, the news had just shaken Zhang Shuheng's concentration, slowing his move a fraction, and Li Xian's right hand had already thrust ahead of the blade.

His mind was slow!

Naturally, his saber was slow too!

Realizing that his condition was wrong, Zhang Shuheng made a firm decision.

The next instant, all the blood and qi in his body erupted. He had plainly activated a secret art to ignite his blood and qi, adopting the stance of a lion hunting a rabbit and treating Li Xian as the greatest enemy of his life.

"True or false, with this saber in hand, gods and ghosts alike will scatter! Die!"

Zhang Shuheng abruptly changed his saber's course, tilting its edge to slice straight at Li Xian's closing fingers.

He meant to sever Li Xian's entire hand.

But...

His hasty change of moves was ultimately a fraction too slow.

Especially since Li Xian was treating him as an expert who had achieved blood and qi mastery and perfected his leakless state. He had entered the limit-breaking state directly, sharpening his mental perception to an unprecedented degree.

Almost the instant Zhang Shuheng unleashed his power and redirected his blade, Li Xian sensed it in this transcendent state and immediately saw through the intent of his saber technique.

His closing fingers shifted slightly, following the changing course of the blade with exquisite precision, driving straight in and clamping accurately around the wrist gripping the saber.

In a single exchange...

Li Xian's variations in technique and experience in lethal combat had utterly overwhelmed Zhang Shuheng!

At that moment, their ages seemed to have reversed.

It was as though the one over thirty was not Zhang Shuheng, commander of the Prince's Mansion, but Li Xian, who had been nothing more than a frail scholar three months ago!

Danger!

The instant his saber-wielding wrist was caught, Zhang Shuheng's expression changed drastically.

The next moment, he twisted his wrist and unleashed his power.

He actually intended to break free of Li Xian's clamping fingers while using dark force to shatter the bones in them.

But...

Li Xian's fingers were like steel, as though welded to his wrist.

Not only did twisting his wrist fail to free him from Li Xian's fingers, but as their forces collided, his pisiform bone, ligaments, and ulnar nerve were simultaneously jolted, compressed, and even snapped!

In particular, the ulna beneath the grip of Li Xian's index and middle fingers was cracked open by that steel-like finger strength!

"Aah!"

With just that little bit of pain, Zhang Shuheng actually let out an uncontrollable scream.

The weakness caused by the severe injury to his ulnar nerve left him unable to hold his saber, and it fell from his hand.

In a single exchange, this commander of the Prince's Mansion had already been disarmed.

Such a showing...

Was actually a notch below even Blood Eagle, leader of the Thirteen Eagles of Luoyang!

"Where's your blood and qi power?"

(End of chapter)