A Kill with Every Step

Wuzheng was truly shaken. He had agreed to join Zhou Wuji in fighting back mainly because he had complete confidence in the Yin Thunder Pearls his master had given him.

As he saw it, two Yin Thunder Pearls would be enough to rout a squad of rebel soldiers and defeat a Seventh-Rank Martial Artist.

Then Zhou Wuji could advance with his sword and seize the chance to wipe out the rebel soldiers.

He had never imagined that the enemy Seventh-Rank Martial Artist could actually withstand two Yin Thunder Pearls head-on and suffer almost no real injury.

Killing that Seventh-Rank Martial Artist had been almost entirely Zhou Wuji's achievement.

Zhou Wuji's exquisite use of Law Techniques and Law Artifacts, along with his peerless swordsmanship, had earned his admiration.

What he admired even more was Zhou Wuji's calm in a life-and-death struggle. Every step had been absolutely correct, allowing him to kill the Seventh-Rank Martial Artist by the narrowest of margins!

He had thought he already held Zhou Wuji in high enough regard. Now he realized he had still underestimated him far too much.

This eighth-rank Daoist, who had only just undergone transmission, possessed truly, truly terrifying combat prowess...

Zhou Wuji had no time to think about all that. Killing the Seventh-Rank Martial Artist was not the end. There were still quite a few rebel soldiers here, and even more outside.

Dozens of well-trained rebel soldiers who knew how to coordinate could become terrifying once they formed a battle formation.

Zhou Wuji adjusted his True Qi and slid lightly across the ground, the Seven Star Sword in his hand turning into two streaks of cold light that thrust left and right.

The two rebel soldiers struck in the face by the Fire Bell Incantation had only just opened their eyes when they saw icy sword light flashing toward them.

They tried to retreat and dodge, but Zhou Wuji's sliding step and thrusts were blindingly fast. As the sword light flashed, both were pierced through the throat, blood spraying out after the icy gleam.

After killing two men in succession, Zhou Wuji did not stop. Instead, he followed through and advanced, striking once with every step.

In the blink of an eye, Zhou Wuji killed another four spear-wielding rebel soldiers in succession.

These rebel soldiers had all been struck by Yin Thunder. Their vision had gone dark and their bodies were limp. Even if they sensed danger, they had no strength to dodge.

Among the remaining eight rebel soldiers, however, were two Eighth-Rank Martial Artists. Their injuries were not severe, but the Yin Thunder had ignited their Qi and Blood, making them feel as though fire burned them inside and out.

Seeing Zhou Wuji coming at them with his sword, the two rebel soldiers could no longer spare any concern for their internal injuries. Almost simultaneously, they swung their sabers at him.

For Eighth-Rank Martial Artists, internal and external force combined into Hidden Force. Unleashing the strength throughout their bodies could produce a thousand jin of force.

Their swiftly slashing sabers whistled sharply through the air, the moves simple yet exceptionally fierce.

The two rebel soldiers' saber techniques could also be called seasoned and ruthless. Slashing from left and right, they sealed off Zhou Wuji's path forward.

Zhou Wuji saw that the remaining two rebel soldiers were also struggling to rise. Noisy voices came from behind the room as well; clearly, another squad of rebel soldiers was about to rush over from the back.

He had no time to trade blows with the two rebel soldiers. If he delayed even slightly and the main force behind them rushed over, he had only one Yin Thunder Pearl and one Northern Pole Heavenly Gang Divine Talisman left. He feared he would not be able to hold them off...

Zhou Wuji swept his long left sleeve, launching two balls of flame straight at the two rebel soldiers' faces.

The two sides were too close. Even as they watched the flames descend over their faces, the rebel soldiers had no time to dodge. They could only desperately close their eyes and turn their heads, slowing their swiftly slashing sabers in the process.

Zhou Wuji seized the chance. The True Qi in his body erupted at full strength, and he moved like a flowing cloud along a curve, evading the saber of the man on the left and circling to his weak side.

This movement method from the Flowing Cloud Sword seemed slow but was actually swift. With a flicker of his figure, he was already there, and his sword arrived at the same instant.

A direct thrust of the Falling Goose Sword pierced the throat, disposing of the Eighth-Rank Martial Artist on the left first.

The Eighth-Rank Martial Artist on the right reacted. Ignoring whether his companion lived or died, he adjusted his footwork, raised his saber, and suddenly slashed horizontally at Zhou Wuji.

Zhou Wuji no longer had the strength to use his movement method to retreat and evade. He could only hold his sword upright to block.

Saber and sword collided. Having repeatedly unleashed his True Qi, Zhou Wuji now lacked enough True Qi in his sword to knock the enemy's saber away, leaving the two weapons locked together.

The rebel soldier gripped his saber with both hands and pressed down hard. Its mirrorlike blade was already pressing toward Zhou Wuji's face, and he could even see his own face reflected in it.

Zhou Wuji sensed intense danger. Under the stimulus of life and death, he instead became exceptionally calm. He could not use brute force now.

His sword blade trembled slightly to shed the force, employing precisely the Azure Mountain Mist Sword from the Xiaoxiang Sword.

Azure Mist was the dense mist in the mountains. It shrouded the green mountains and was tinted by them in turn, taking on an azure hue.

The Azure Mountain Mist Sword was dense and ethereal, a defensive sword move. It primarily directed the circulation of True Qi to dissolve the enemy's offensive layer by layer, an exceptionally intricate and complex variation in swordsmanship.

The rebel soldier's saber carried great force and heavy momentum, but it was merely a straightforward eruption of Hidden Force, lacking far too many of True Qi's variations.

With saber and sword locked together, the more fiercely the rebel soldier unleashed his Hidden Force, the more clearly Zhou Wuji could see his opening.

The Seven Star Sword turned, drawing the long goose-feather saber aside. Taking advantage of the momentum, the Seven Star Sword darted out, its tip piercing through the gap left by the saber and into the rebel soldier's throat.

The rebel soldier's spine was severed. Even with a thousand jin of strength, he could not exert it. He could only collapse limply, choking out wretched cries...

Zhou Wuji mustered his remaining strength, advanced two more steps, and killed the last two rebel soldiers.

In fewer than five breaths from beginning to end, Zhou Wuji had killed another eight rebel soldiers in succession.

The little courtyard was now covered with corpses.

Wuming emerged from the room and immediately saw the corpses strewn across the ground.

In the gloom, she could see gleaming patches on the ground. Though she could not make out their color, she could guess that they were flowing blood...

Wuming was about to speak when Zhou Wuji waved a hand and said gravely, "Go, quickly. Meet up with the others. There are more men behind us, and rebel soldiers outside too. Be careful!"

Wuzheng strode out, clutching his arm. He was relatively calm and paid no attention to the corpses covering the ground, looking straight at Zhou Wuji instead. "You're not leaving?"

"I'll deal with this squad of rebel soldiers, then come meet up with you," Zhou Wuji said calmly.

Only at this distance could Wuming see clearly that Zhou Wuji's face and body were already spattered with dots and patches. Those were unmistakably bloodstains!

Wuming did not feel afraid. Instead, she felt that Senior Brother Wuji was so powerful and so charming at this moment that she was utterly captivated and liked him immensely.

She gathered her courage and said softly, "I'll stay and help you!"

Zhou Wuji sighed inwardly. Wuming staying would only add to the trouble.

Yet he could hardly speak harshly. He had coveted her beauty, after all. Besides, the beauty was staying out of loyalty, and he could not chill her heart.

He gave Wuming a gentle smile. "I couldn't bear to let you take that risk. Leave with Senior Brother Wuzheng. I can deal with them."

Wuming's face immediately reddened, but her heart filled with even greater joy. Senior Brother really does favor me!

The mature Wuye wore a complicated expression. At a time like this, those two still had time for intimate sweet nothings!

She could tell that Wuji was merely coaxing Wuming, yet Wuming had taken him seriously. She did not know how to advise Wuming either. Wuji's cunning, methods, and martial skills were all terrifyingly formidable...

Wuzheng had heard it clearly too, but he acted as though he had heard nothing and simply said, "Let's go, quickly!"

He was injured, and he had used up all his Yin Thunder Pearls. Even if he stayed, he had little strength left to help Zhou Wuji.

Having witnessed Zhou Wuji's meticulousness and ruthlessness, he believed that Zhou Wuji must be extremely confident to dare stay behind.

As he spoke, he gave Wuye a meaningful look, signaling her to hurry up and take Wuming away rather than let her keep making a spectacle of herself here!

Wuming's heart was full of sweetness, and she did not resist Wuye's tugging. The three hurried out the door.

Zhou Wuji, however, was in no hurry to go looking for the men at the back. A battle formation made up of a squad of fully armored soldiers was formidable, far stronger than he had expected.

Had Wuzheng's Yin Thunder Pearls not been so effective, he would never have had a chance to kill that Seventh-Rank Martial Artist, much less wipe out the entire enemy force.

While he still had a little time, he needed to improve his swordsmanship!

In a head-on fight to the death, no Law Technique was as useful as swordsmanship.

Zhou Wuji opened the Northern Emperor's Book of Heavenly Punishment in his sea of consciousness. All thirteen rebel soldiers he had slain were listed there.

The rebel soldiers' leader had a fate weight of three liang and three qian. Two others had weights of two liang and six or seven qian, while the rest were all around two liang.

The fate weight of three liang and three qian had to belong to that Seventh-Rank Martial Artist. Without hesitation, Zhou Wuji converted the three highest fate weights into Origin Profound Spirit and invested it all in the Xiaoxiang Sword.

Violet spiritual light shone, and a small world unfolded...

At that moment, however, Zhou Wuji also heard the clatter of armor plates coming from behind...