“Xingwei!” Qian Yannian heard the shrieks outside, so he could not help but take a step forward. Li Qingshan would never let an opening like this slip by. He swung the Wind-entwining blade at Qian Yannian’s waist.
The blade moved swiftly and forcefully. Qian Yannian’s expression changed as a result. He never thought a second layer Qi Practitioner could produce such a fierce attack.
In Qian Yannian’s eyes, Li Qingshan was only able to kill the old elder in grey due to his underhanded sneak attack. He did not take Li Qingshan seriously at all. He only treated him as an annoying insect he could flatten to death at any time.
He did not flatten him immediately because he was still hesitating over the consequences that came with killing a Hawkwolf guard. He was thinking whether there was an actual way out of this or not.
However, the swing of Li Qingshan’s blade clearly told Qian Yannian that, I’m not asking whether you want to kill me right now. Instead, I want to kill you!
“Kid, you’re asking to die!” Qian Yannian yelled out. His right hand similar to a chicken’s claw opened up and grabbed the blade forcefully, catching the swift attack.
At a closer glance, a tiny distance separated the blade and the hand. Qian Yannian and Li Qingshan’s true qi clashed violently in that tiny distance.
They were like two armies waging war on an extended front. One side was composed of elite soldiers, but they were unable to match the opposing army that outnumbered them one hundred to one.
Li Qingshan’s blood vessels swelled up as he poured all of his strength into the blade, but it failed to move an inch further.
Qian Yannian was surprised as well. With his strength, he actually failed to rip the blade out of Li Qingshan’s hand. This kid’s strength was simply startling.
The almost indestructible Wind-entwining blade creaked painfully.
Despite their various thoughts, only a moment had passed, and the two of them basically reacted at the same time. Qian Yannian threw a punch at Li Qingshan’s chest, while Li Qingshan reached towards Qian Yannian’s head, completely ignoring the attack. As soon as they had clashed, Li Qingshan already seemed like he wanted to drag Qian Yannian down with him.
There were many aspects Li Qingshan had no confidence in, but his defences were not one of them. I got plenty of hit points and a high defence. Taking a couple of your blows won’t do anything, but if you’re hit by even a single one from me, you’re dead!
Qian Yannian felt like if he followed through with his strike, his head would be crushed. He was old, so he valued his life, so why would he risk it against Li Qingshan? He released the Wind-entwining blade and retreated in a hurry while throwing out over a dozen punches.
Just when Li Qingshan wanted to advance with his advantage, he saw the punches condensed from true qi fly over. He produced a flurry with the Wind-entwining blade and protected himself.
Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! With a series of collisions, a violent gust of wind swept out. The huge table was knocked onto the ground as all the lanterns and candles in the hall were extinguished.
Li Qingshan staggered backwards as his legs carved out two deep marks in the marble tiles.
With a crack, he kicked off the huge, broken door frame behind him with a foot and steadied himself. He raised his eyebrows.
“You’re a Body Practitioner!” Qian Yannian cried out. The true qi earlier would have smashed apart the organs of ordinary second layer Qi Practitioners. They might have even been ripped to pieces on the spot, unless their bodies had been strengthened by the arts of training the body.
Li Qingshan did not feel the slightest bit of displeasure. Instead, it was satisfying, like he had just stretched his body. He stared at Qian Yannian as his eyes revealed bloodthirsty excitement.
Qian Yannian looked at Li Qingshan. Contempt had vanished from his eyes, replaced by some caution, but it was only some. He had just been too careless earlier, which was why Li Qingshan had the opportunity to swing his blade. It was impossible for second layer Qi Practitioners to match fifth layer Qi Practitioners; this was simply common sense.
“Do you really think you can kill me just because you can endure a few attacks from me? Since you seek death, I’ll give you death. Then I’ll go kill that slut Qian Rongzhi.”
Outside, Qian Xingwei’s shrieks grew more and more miserable, but Qian Yannian completely ignored them now. Although he liked this eldest grandson very much, he had plenty of grandchildren. It did not matter if a few died.
Li Qingshan did not just stand around as Qian Yannian spoke. He grabbed his blade with both hands and raised it high above his head. His extremely pure true qi circulated along the Yang Heel meridian, channelling into the Wind Entwining blade through his arms and coating the blade with a layer of light. As he swung down, he produced an extremely sharp wind blade that whistled towards Qian Yannian.
Qian Yannian sneered. With a deep breath, a streak of golden light emerged from his nostril, piercing through the wind blade and shooting towards Li Qingshan. It left behind a thin, golden streak in the air.
A flying sword? But I thought only sixth layer Qi Practitioners could use them?
Li Qingshan was rather surprised, but he responded immediately. This should not have been a flying sword, but some kind of technique. However, it was much more powerful than regular techniques. It basically gave a fifth layer Qi Practitioner the methods that only sixth layer Qi Practitioners could use. The information that Qian Rongzhi had provided about how Qian Yannian was only as strong as a fourth layer Qi Practitioner was completely false.
As a fifth layer Qi Practitioner, Qian Yannian obviously did not practise the Innate Method of Practising Qi that had a limit at the third layer. Instead, he practised a stronger cultivation method, the Geng Metal Method of Sharpening Qi.
This was the Geng Metal Swords of Qi of the Geng Metal Method of Sharpening Qi. The lungs were metal attributed, and it condensed a sharp aura within it. The lungs were linked to the nose, which produced swords of qi. The streaks of light sliced through the air as they produced a sharp whistling sound similar to sirens. Just the whistling alone would have been enough to kill ordinary people.
Note: The Geng Metal part comes from the twelve heavenly stems. They don’t really mean anything by themselves, heavily depending on the context. For example, they can be incorporated into calendars or used for fortune telling.
Li Qingshan bent his knees and leapt high into the air. The sword qi brushed past the soles of his feet. Taking advantage of the opening, he leapt towards Qian Yannian, rapidly closing the distance between them.
Qian Yannian saw Li Qingshan lunge over, and he snorted once again. His eyes were filled with viciousness.
Suddenly, another sword of qi emerged from his nostril, stabbing towards Li Qingshan in the air. At the same time, the other sword of qi made a turn under his control, stabbing towards Li Qingshan’s back.
The lungs were split into the left and the right, so there were two Geng Metal Swords of Qi as well, one left and one right, which formed an ultimate killing move.
Li Qingshan used his right foot to hook onto the beam above, and with a tug, he leapt up, essentially dodging the swords of qi by a hair’s breadth. However, in the next moment, a sword of qi surged up, piercing through the beam. He bent backwards suddenly, and the sword of qi brushed past his face, dazzling his eyes.
Li Qingshan was already prepared. The blade in his hand lit up, and without any sign, it landed on the sword of qi.
Clang!
The blade and sword collided. It actually left behind an extremely small knick on the Wind-entwining blade, but the sword of qi collapsed as well. However, before he could celebrate, the collapsed sword of qi condensed once again, but it had lost an undetectable sliver of sharpness.
Li Qingshan flew backwards as the swords of qi pursued him. He constantly leapt about and made turns within the large hall. He would avoid the swords of qi by a hair’s breadth every time. He was as agile as a monkey. Whenever the swords of qi were unavoidable, he would swing out with his Wind-entwining blade, temporarily blocking it.
He discovered that while the swords of qi were similar to flying swords, they were not as nimble or swift as Zhou Wenbin’s flying sword. Otherwise, it would have been impossible for him to dodge them. However, this must have been due to Qian Yannian’s insufficient strength. If he reached the sixth layer, the swords of qi definitely would become weapons no weaker than flying swords.
Qian Yannian paled out of anger as he constantly snorted angrily. He placed more focus on controlling the Geng Metal Swords of Qi as he tried to chase down Li Qingshan. However, he would keep a sword of qi by his side out of great caution as well; this was not only to guard himself against an attack from Li Qingshan, but also because his mind had deteriorated with his old age, so it was rather difficult for him to split his attention between two swords of qi. However, he believed that a single sword of qi was more than enough to kill Li Qingshan. With one attacking and one defending, he was undefeatable. He had no openings.
Li Qingshan was amazed. As it turned out, fifth layer Qi Practitioners were impressive. He wondered what cultivation method this old man practised. Although he did not know about the Geng Metal Method of Sharpening Qi, he did understand that these two swords of qi must have been a technique that was bound to the cultivation method, which was why Qian Yannian could control them so freely. In comparison, the Innate Method of Practising Qi was just like its name, only able to practise qi. It did not offer any proper accompanying techniques.
Back when he killed the naked Zhao Liangqing, he had used the absolute difference in their strength to directly crush him. He had killed him in a single stroke, which was why he had not experienced the strength of a fifth layer Qi Practitioner.
Although there was no one present now, he was in no hurry to transform. It was easy for him to kill Qian Yannian in a single attack, but once he returned, the entire world would know he killed Zhao Liangqing. As a result, he came up with a prudent plan. He would simply play around with this old man for now and practise his abilities so that he could understand the essence of the second layer through actual battle.
Qian Yannian believed he had gained the upper hand, but he never imagined that Li Qingshan only treated him like a hunk of meat on the chopping block, currently thinking about how to carve it up. Moreover, he wanted to have some fun before he got down to business.
He could see how he could not kill Li Qingshan so easily. He was also afraid that Qian Rongzhi would escape and was worried that Qian Rongzhi was telling the truth, that Zhuo Zhibo was already on his way. As a result, he was in a hurry to end this battle, which was why he took out a well-made hundred treasures pouch.
Li Qingshan’s eyes lit up. He had finally seen the main reason for all of this. Afterwards, he saw Qian Yannian fish out a talisman, just about to use it.
Li Qingshan roared out, “Stop, you old coot!”
Qian Yannian mocked him and said, “You’re finally afraid?”
Li Qingshan said frigidly, “Whether it be the pills, spiritual stones, or talismans, everything in your hundred treasures pouch is my property. You best not use it, or you will die very soon!”
Your things are mine! You best not use them! That was as arrogant as one could get.
Qian Yannian had utterly lost his temper as well. Without any hesitation, the talisman in his hand exploded with light.
……
Several hundred feet in front of the hall was a large, square terrace connected to five stairways, leading to various parts of the Qian estate. However, there was only one path that led up the mountain to the main hall.
Tonight, due to the birthday celebration, every single person of the Qian family had been mobilised. They had mobilised all the forces they had for the celebration. As a result, they gathered over from all directions due to the alarming activity on the mountain. There were even several people of the Qian family who knew neither martial arts nor how to practise qi. They all wanted to understand what had happened.
They saw a single figure standing on the terrace. People with better eyesight spotted her and cried out, “That’s Qian Rongzhi!” “Kill her!”
Everyone in and near the Qian estate had heard Li Qingshan’s previous words. Many of them ground their teeth at the thought of this traitor of the Qian family. However, when they got a little closer, they were all dumbstruck.
Qian Rongzhi was covered in blood as she smiled crazily and joyfully. A person covered in blood laid on the ground as he constantly gasped and moaned. She was holding something in her hand that fluttered in the night breeze.
