Taiji Shows Its Might

The Heavenly Yin Mysterious Maiden Pavilion had been wiped out. No one knew who had done it except the killer.

Li Qiuran's questions were doomed to yield no answers.

Zhang Qingyuan leveled his blade, and silver light flashed across the Questioning Heart Sword.

"Watch out for that little bastard. Don't let him pull any dirty tricks!" Daoist Yang had clearly misunderstood Zhang Qingyuan, thinking dirty tricks were all he knew.

From hurling insults at a distance to laying traps, he dared not gamble on whether Zhang Qingyuan had any other underhanded methods.

"Why waste any more breath? Just take him down!" Daoist Yin hated him so much his teeth itched. He swung his silver hook first and leaped forward, kicking straight at Zhang Qingyuan's face.

Zhang Qingyuan activated his Lotus Steps and easily dodged the kick.

Seeing this, the others wasted no more words either. Three charged at Zhang Qingyuan, while two headed straight for Li Qiuran.

Facing three experts attacking at once, Zhang Qingyuan demonstrated the wonders of the Jade Purity Lotus Step.

This was open ground with plenty of room, leaving ample space for his Lotus Steps to maneuver.

Like a roaming dragon, he evaded Daoist Yang's slender sword, Daoist Qian's poisonous palm, and Daoist Kun's horsetail whisk.

Daoist Yin turned and swung his sleeve, flinging a cloud of darkness from its opening. Zhang Qingyuan hurriedly held his breath and dodged.

His reactions were swift, and his footwork just as fast. Even surrounded by four men, he still evaded them with ease.

Unlike Zhang Qingyuan, Li Qiuran had already crossed blades with her opponents. The three traded blows back and forth. Her Mysterious Maiden Pure Heart Swordsmanship was magnificent and graceful, like a heavenly maiden descending to earth, her apricot-yellow Daoist robe swaying with her movements.

Seeing that Li Qiuran could manage, Zhang Qingyuan felt considerably more at ease and could focus on dealing with the four men.

After several exchanges, he discovered that Daoist Yang and Daoist Kun were the Heavenly Principle Sect's main attackers.

One wielded a slender sword with strange, devious swordsmanship. The other used a horsetail whisk with a short blade concealed inside; combined with the whisk's flowing strands, it made for a dazzling assault.

Daoist Yin occasionally joined the fighting, but mostly chose to attack from a distance with poisonous smoke or sound waves.

Daoist Qian had been slacking off the whole time, but Zhang Qingyuan was wariest of him.

A contest between evenly matched experts could often be decided in an instant, so he could not afford the slightest carelessness.

Another dozen or so moves passed, and Zhang Qingyuan's loach-like movement left them deeply frustrated.

"Argh! This little bastard is slippery! Whose movement technique is this?"

"To hell with it. Once I catch him, I'll chop off both his legs. Let's see how he runs then."

They could not land their attacks, but Zhang Qingyuan could not strike either. Each time he twisted and dodged, he could find an opening in one of them, but if he rashly thrust his sword, he would also expose himself to the other three's attacks.

I have to find a way to split the four of them up!

Having grasped the key, Zhang Qingyuan turned and struck with his palm. A Taiji diagram hurtled straight at Daoist Qian. Daoist Qian spread both hands, blue light flashing in his palms. The blue light collided with the Taiji diagram, and the two forces crashed together in midair and exploded.

The men hurriedly dodged away from the center of the explosion.

Seeing them scatter, Zhang Qingyuan launched another palm strike through the air. This time, the Taiji diagram swept toward Daoist Yin.

Daoist Yin bellowed, blocking the Taiji diagram with a sound wave, but the force also sent him staggering backward.

Now!

While they were briefly separated, Zhang Qingyuan decisively leaped forward, his extreme speed leaving only a blue afterimage.

Clang, clang, clang, clang... Four sword moves clashed with Daoist Yang's slender blade.

The slender sword was fast. His was faster.

Sword Qi abruptly erupted from their blades, and within a few moves, he forced Daoist Yang back.

Just then, a figure suddenly darted out behind him. It was Daoist Qian, who had been slacking off all along.

Seeing Zhang Qingyuan expose his back to him, Daoist Qian was delighted.

He really is a newcomer to the martial world. I thought he was some young prodigy, but he has no combat experience at all. He actually dares leave his back to an enemy.

Daoist Qian swiftly reached his back, a ball of white light gathering in his right palm.

This was his signature ultimate technique, the Heavenly Principle Blazing Sun Palm!

Sensing someone behind him, Zhang Qingyuan turned sideways. He gently curled his left wrist and slowly raised it, softly stirring a gust of force.

Daoist Qian felt certain his palm would hit. How could such soft palm force possibly block my Blazing Sun Palm?

He seemed to see Zhang Qingyuan dying beneath his palm already.

Just as he was brimming with delight, his palm about to meet Zhang Qingyuan's soft hand, he saw that Zhang Qingyuan's left hand did not meet his strike. Those long fingers curved around his wrist instead.

Daoist Qian felt a water-like force enveloping his arm, as though he had struck cotton.

With a guiding motion of Zhang Qingyuan's left hand, Daoist Qian's palm, which had been thrusting straight ahead, was drawn slightly off course.

The palm force erupted instantly, and a white pillar of light skimmed past Zhang Qingyuan's chest.

On the other side stood Daoist Yang, who had just been forced back by the Sword Qi.

"No!"

Before Daoist Yang could steady himself, the Blazing Sun Palm's force pierced his chest. The next moment, a bloody hole had appeared in it.

Taiji, gathering hands, borrowing force to counter force!

Seeing his companion die beneath his own palm, before he could even feel surprise, Daoist Qian felt his forward momentum continuing. Just as his body was about to topple forward, what stopped him ahead was a longsword.

Pfft...

Taiji, sticking, adhering, and following!

The blade pierced his heart.

This was the consequence of lacking intelligence. Only as he died did Daoist Yang understand that Zhang Qingyuan's outstretched left palm had not been intended to meet a palm strike, but to borrow its force.

"What martial art is this?"

Zhang Qingyuan pulled out the Questioning Heart Sword and said calmly, "Taiji."

Two of the four were already dead, greatly reducing the pressure.

Now it was Daoist Yin and Daoist Kun's turn to be shocked. In a flash of lightning, two companions had died.

But why had Old Qian struck Old Yang?

Victory and defeat were decided in an instant. This was the perfect illustration.

Before they could react, Zhang Qingyuan employed his Lotus Steps again and charged straight at Daoist Kun.

Holding his horsetail whisk, Daoist Kun saw Zhang Qingyuan coming toward him,

and shook the whisk,

sending countless strands spraying toward Zhang Qingyuan like countless needles.

Palm force emerged again, and a Taiji diagram blocked the strands.

He casually sent out a sword strike, its Sword Qi driving straight at Daoist Kun's throat.

Holding his now-bald whisk, Daoist Kun had barely blocked the Sword Qi when the killing blow arrived unexpectedly. The blade sliced across his artery. Zhang Qingyuan turned away with effortless grace, paying no further attention to Daoist Kun as he clutched his neck.

Daoist Yin stood behind Zhang Qingyuan and drew a deep breath.

His silver hook swept viciously across. Zhang Qingyuan leaned backward, easily evading the deadly strike.

Then he twisted around, pushed off the ground, and flew straight at Daoist Yin.

Daoist Yin was no close-combat expert to begin with. He opened his mouth and bellowed, his ghostly voice unsettling the mind.

But just as he made a sound, Zhang Qingyuan was already gone, though the sword remained.

Seeing that he was about to unleash his sonic technique, Zhang Qingyuan had hurriedly stopped and thrown the Questioning Heart Sword, choosing to dodge away for the moment himself.

Seeing the sword coming, Daoist Yin panicked. He hastily closed his mouth and prepared to block it.

But before he could get ready, he suddenly felt heat in his throat. Looking down, he saw a sword tip protruding from his chest.

Isn't the sword in front of me?

Pfft!

The Questioning Heart Sword pierced his throat, and he slowly fell.

Only then did he see that Li Qiuran was behind him.

How did she get here?

Not far away, the two Heavenly Principle Sect Vajras had fallen silent at some point.

The Vajras' martial arts were ultimately inferior to those of the Four Great Protectors. Moreover, Li Qiuran was no mere decorative vase, so she had finished her fight before Zhang Qingyuan.

Zhang Qingyuan stepped forward, pulled out the Questioning Heart Sword, and gave Li Qiuran a thumbs-up.

"Hmph!"

The young woman turned away haughtily without responding.

Sword in hand, he walked toward the trap.

Wails still rose from the deep pit, though there were no longer as many voices as at the start.

Zhang Qingyuan moved the large logs out one by one.

The poison was still taking effect. Half the people had been impaled by the wooden stakes below and had long since stopped breathing.

The other half had been lucky, but with the poison still in effect, they had no strength.

Seeing Zhang Qingyuan appear, the Dragon Master tilted his head up and cursed at him.

"You despicable scoundrel! If you've got the guts, fight us head-on with real blades and spears! What kind of hero uses such vile methods?"

Listening to his curses, Zhang Qingyuan smiled, sword in hand. "Sure. I'll give you a chance at a fair duel right now."

The Dragon Master tried to muster his internal force but could not sense a trace of it. Helplessly, he gritted his teeth.

"Come on. Get up here and fight me fairly. I won't use any schemes or tricks this time. I'll give you fairness."

Listening to Zhang Qingyuan's provocation, the Dragon Master, utterly devoid of internal force, lowered his head.

Motherfucker...

Seeing that they made no move, Zhang Qingyuan smiled, crouched down, and said:

"I already gave you a chance. You're the one who wouldn't come.

"Now, let's talk. What is the Prince of Yu planning?

"How many other experts does he have by his side?"