Translator: Transn Editor: Transn
In pitch black darkness of the night, dark clouds had obscured the sky.
Agula couldn’t return to sleep after a nightmare roused him. He got up from the bed, draped his coat over his shoulders, and began pacing back and forth.
“Beginning with Dari Achi’s death, he has killed four Half-step Exterior Scenery experts. That mongrel Wolf King’s breath is becoming increasingly distinct. I fear his breakthrough will come soon…” He became more panicked the more he thought about it.
This was something rarely seen in both the grassland and the Central Plains!
Even if the top ten of the Ranking List of Young Masters were capable of killing ordinary Half-step Exterior Scenery experts, not many would have such impressive battle records. Never mind the frantic way in which Wolf King killed his targets. What a complete lunatic!
No similar incident had happened in the past century, even including the time where Evasive Double Stars and Su Wuming had dominated the Ranking List of Young Masters!
Agula felt as if he could smell of blood and murder. He was beginning to believe that it was true that Wolf King had been murdering masters to achieve his breakthroughs. That would explain his recent battle records, enough to make a person go weak in the knees.
“I wonder who’s the one he’ll kill before achieving his breakthrough. Did he kill the four Half-step Exterior Scenery experts to gather energy and prepare for his final target?” Agula didn’t dare to lift the opening of the tent to take in a breath of fresh air. He was terrified of seeing Wolf King standing there in the dark. “Is he trying to emulate He Jiu of East Sea and Wang Siyuan of South Jin? Make a breakthrough in a go and enter the Exterior?”
“Based on his blood-thirsty style of assassination, I fear no one in the grassland except the Changsheng Denomination and the direct descendants would be safe from his wrath if he becomes an Exterior master. Even Grand Masters and Peerless Master Pros might not be able to protect those that Wolf King targets!”
“He can just kill me right under the nose of all the Exterior masters in River Gen…”
He felt his throat and lips turn dry. Feelings of anxiety and dread washed over him. Not only was it not his imagination, he noticed that it was strangely quiet outside. There was virtually no sound coming from the cows, goats, and horses. The howling of the wolves lingering in the area was also nowhere to be found.
The silence was terrifying. He couldn’t help pulling his clothes closer to himself.
Inside the Bayan Valley—
Wolf King ‘floated’ like a ghost, his tall and slender figure standing in front of the earthen house. It was as if he was bidding farewell to his past as well as cutting off the past. Then he fused his mind and body together and stepped on the journey to kill his key target, all so he can achieve the true meaning of killing.
One month ago, Meng Qi had began blending into his surroundings and embedding himself in the crevice of a rock next to a dead tree. Coupled with the disguising ability of his Eight Nine Mysteries, an ordinary Exterior master would be hard-pressed to find him sitting in this hidden corner without a careful search.
Having spent a month patiently waiting, tempering his willpower, and adjusting his Inner World, he was only one step away from achieving the Oneness of Heaven and Humanity.
Out of the blue, the dead trees began germinating. Magma burst forth as rays of light pierced through the still air. With the brightest and most dazzling of posture, Meng Qi slashed Wolf King with his sword.
He came back to ‘life’ again, all his lethargy waning as his desire was fulfilled. He was bursting with energy and his breath was full of vitality as if a gem that had been polished for many days was finally unleashing its splendor. His strength followed along the bursting of Knife Momentum.
The old saying that once a typically low-profile genius struck, the result would be astonishing.
His first stroke in several months gave rise to such a feeling!
The knife energy brushed past the horizon, strong yet gentle, giving off the feeling of light and darkness mingling together. It was as if it was expounding a certain truth of heaven and earth. Breaking through the shackles of the past, his Heaven Blade returned to its original state once consummated—it was his masterpiece.
“Impenetrable…” This thought crossed his mind as the second Wolf King anticipated the attack.
He was surprised that Meng Qi was retaliating against him in this place but he felt neither fear nor dread. His momentum had reached its peak after several months of murders, even surpassing his usual. Even if his opponent right now was a perfect Half-step or Exterior expert, his heart wouldn’t be shaken even a fraction.
With cold and bloodthirsty eyes, Wolf King pulled the fingers on his right hand into his palm and formed a claw. He struck, slashing open the dusky light to bring about total darkness.
The initial Knife Qi quietly disappeared without hope of returning. Darkness fell over their surroundings, so dark that they couldn’t see themselves. Meng Qi’s locked-on targeting of Wolf King abruptly disappeared!
Even if one’s attack was destroyed by the void, the challenge must still be met without negligence!
Having long since acquainted himself with Wolf King’s mystics, Meng Qi wasn’t at all perturbed. His hand suddenly emitted a red blaze that illuminated the area and expelled the darkness.
A blaze-like long sword appeared in his other hand. The blaze rose, shattering the strange darkness that Wolf King had conjured!
If they were to compare mystics, how could Wolf King match up to his Flowing Fire?
Wolf King’s eyes remained cold. It was as if nothing but killing could disturb his state of mind. He bent his body and lowered his center of gravity, before abruptly speeding and unleashing all his Body Movements. He was so fast that Meng Qi could only catch his residual shadows!
This was one of the best characteristics of his kungfu, also the one that propelled him to fame!
Of course, the change was only temporary. He wouldn’t last if he continued to run and it would be hard for him to keep up such speed. That was also why, when Meng Qi gradually drew closer to him the last time, he had to pay a certain price to cut off his senses.
Meng Qi felt like he saw Wolf King’s shadows from all directions in his peripheral vision but kept his eyes focused on the front and neglected what was behind him. If not for the tugging and entanglement of Qi, he might not have been able to stop Wolf King from escaping with just this skill.
This was a true battle, an exchange of blows. Wolf King was the second fastest person that he knew, with the first being Star of Northern Dipper. He couldn’t even see the latter’s shadow with his vision back then!
The conjured dark clouds, the simple and crude earthen house, the crudely-made chairs, the flourishing weeds, the moist soil—every detail of his surroundings appeared in his mind. He adjusted his breathing to correspond and merged with them as one. He brandished his sword following his senses, thrusting his Heaven Inflicted Pain upward from below. The trajectory of the sword was profound as it slashed at a certain empty spot.
When the firm sword arrived, Wolf King brandished his hand and took the initiative to claw at the Precious Weapon. If he didn’t change his direction, he would be using his own body to test the sharpness of the blade. It would be as if he was begging for disaster by overreaching himself!
Meng Qi didn’t rely on his Precious Weapon this time. Depending purely on himself, he stepped onto the stage where he was close to achieving the realm of Oneness of Heaven and Men, allowing him the capability to grasp Wolf King’s attack!
Wolf King’s clawing remained unchanged, with his forefinger placed in front of his middle finger as he secretly secured both sides of the sword. This way, not only could he lock the sword in place, he could also prevent injuries that the pointed end of the sword would cause.
But just then, Meng Qi’s sword lost all of its blaze and fire. Qi rose with a turn of his blade as he slashed with the sharp end of the sword, trying to snap off Wolf King’s fingers.
Wolf King’s fingers disappeared as he changed his claw into a fist, avoiding the blade. He transformed into residual shadows and turned toward another direction.
Both inhaled and began executing all their changes to the best of their capability. Even though it looked as if there wasn’t any collision, the standoff gave the impression that the two of them were opposing each other with equal ferocity. Their momentum had reached its peak, none of them weaker than the other.
The silhouettes piled on layer upon layer, like a pack of wolves or evil spirits. Wolf King’s attacks were imbued with the entanglements of the genuine and the imaginary, but every move never targeted anything but Meng Qi’s weak spots: his throat and mid-brows.
Would he still repeat his mistake after receiving a lesson last time?
Even if he had Hallucination Body Movements, Facing Wind in Air, or Empty Jade Steps , his changes in Body Movements were still lacking compared to Wolf King. But even without them he still had Specialized Ears!
He decided to slow his pace, standing up from his original spot. He stood tall and motionless like a mountain as the knife energy and shadows of his sword appeared from time to time, each time perfectly blocking Wolf King’s attack.
Wolf King didn’t dare to run and the two of them confronted each other head-on, exchanging blows. Their energies entangled, yet neither of them was at a disadvantage. If he escaped now, it would be equivalent to giving his opponent a chance to completely unleash his murdering techniques. Like all old shrewd assassins, he eased his temper and stayed on the lookout for opportunities.
His clawsmanship wasn’t extravagant; it was accurate, sharp, and vicious like a tool for massacring the whole world.
Thump, thump, thump! The air resounded with the sounds of collision between the claw and the side of the blade.
Amid the deadlock, Meng Qi abruptly thrust his sword in a plain and mediocre way as if he was sleepwalking.
But that wasn’t how Wolf King perceived it. The second he was done using his Body Movements, the sword was already charging at his face!
Meng Qi seemed to have known for a long time and was waiting to capture him!
Wolf King let his shoulders fall as he lowered the center of his gravity. There was always an answer to every danger. He used his left hand to swat the blade away and dodged his opponent’s follow-up attack.
Since this stroke, Meng Qi took the initiative to attack more and more often. It was as if he had finally acclimated himself to Wolf King’s pace, discovered the order to the latter’s actions, and found his flaws. He began to demonstrate his swordsmanship and bladesmanship—perhaps common and ordinary; perhaps quintessential and compelling; perhaps flat and straight, erect and vertical, while pointing at a flaw; perhaps bringing about various changes. His sword became a net of the heaven, and his blade a web of the earth.
Twice, Meng Qi used bladesmanship and sword art to ‘tell’ Wolf King an irresistible story. Step by step, he forced Wolf King until the latter had no choice but to put up a strong resistance. If not for his exceptional Body Movements, he would’ve long created an opportunity to fully use his killing strokes!
The Bayan Valley became even duskier as the battle grew more intense, yet in the dimness was the bright Grand Sun and stars. It was as if there were threads of murderous energy in the air. While they were vivid and brilliant, they were also a mass of evil and disorder.
Had Gegengol been any closer, the Exterior masters there would’ve long noticed the abnormality happening inside the valley. But Meng Qi didn’t create a commotion or call for help. At this very movement, his only thought was killing Wolf King!
Wolf King also appeared unrattled and not at all worried about falling for an ambush. He was still moving up and down, trying to his best to create an opportunity to escape.
If he were to escape, he must first attack!
The saber was like the thunder; ringing with a heavy, smothered sound. Using a crushing motion, he slashed at Wolf King sideways from the front. Wolf King brandished his right claw precisely at the same time, pinching Meng Qi’s throat.
Due to his limited weak points, Meng Qi was able to better grasp Wolf King’s attacks as time passed. The latter tended to force him into adjusting his moves to correspond with his.
This time was no exception. Wolf King had no choice but to change. Stepping out and raising his arm partially, he dodged the edge of the blade and turned his hand to strike the blade. His five fingers were like swords; they burst with energy, in preparation of his next move.
Just then, he broke away from the momentum that was trying to draw him in with a lift of his saber. He did so with a carefree confidence like he was a bird in a cage, finally able to flap its wings to soar in the sky. It brought him an indescribable feeling of contentment and carefreeness!
This time, his saber was working with an implicit compliance with the power of heaven and earth—sometimes seemingly using bladesmanship, other times not. Meng Qi had learned his Sword Emperor but it was another thing to combine them!
Wolf King slapped a hollow area with his right hand, suppressing his feelings of unease. His gaze had finally become somewhat frozen.
He saw the saber that rose in the air and its peak momentum, and Meng Qi who seemed to have become larger and more imposing as he transformed into a giant while holding firmly onto the saber. Meng Qi forcibly pulled his saber downward and slashed the empty void eight times.
“Kill!” Meng Qi roared.
Boom!
Purple bolts of lightning soared in the sky to form a mad dragon, causing the airflow to collapse. The world seemed to diminish because of this and all Wolf King could see was Killing Blade’s Purple Thunder!
Boom!
The dragon, followed by the booming of nine bolts of thunder, guided Meng Qi’s violent and unyielding Knife Momentum as he brought it down upon his opponent.
Wolf King’s eyes were still unfeeling. The Aperture acupoints all over his body shone with strange rays of light that became interlinked. The light then spread, moving toward his left hand.
This time, his left hand shriveled instantly, with his skin stretched taut to reveal jade-ink, stick-like bones underneath. But it was no longer a hand anymore, but a sword!
A sword full of thirst for blood!
Wolf King’s killing sword had five pointed ends that he formed into a claw to fight the mad dragon head-on.
The sounds of thunder began dying as the two opponents stood not speaking, with the purple bolts of lightning turning into falling stars that soon dissipated. The saber was powerless to stop this, to the extent where even Meng Qi felt as if strength was leaving him and his Vital Spirit was trembling.
Meng Qi’s attack this time was an empty move. It was an empty move that he duped using his Eight Nine Mysteries. Initially, he planned to use it to evoke retaliation from Wolf King, doing so in preparation of the later strings of killing strokes. Yet who knew Wolf King’s killing strokes would be this strange? He instantly penetrated the emptiness to strike his Vital Spirit without a sound!
Meng Qi was forced to thrust his sword earlier than expected and executed his dazzling Heavenly Fairy move.
Clang! His sword crashed into Wolf King’s five-pointed ends. Like Precious Weapons, the bones of the latter emitted sounds of gold metal being crashed into.
Both their bodies began to shake violently and they took a step back. Momentum began to temporarily separate. Wolf King saw his opportunity and took it. Feigning his movements, he made a dash outward to leave the valley.
Even though it was necessary for him to kill such masters to make a breakthrough, now was neither the timing nor venue that he had selected. He, naturally, thought of escaping far away!
Furthermore, there were still Exterior experts nearby. If his opponent started pestering him and calling for help, how should he deal with the scenario?
One moment of fleeting bravery wouldn’t be enough for him to handle it!
Wolf King’s decision didn’t alarm Meng Qi. Running away from unfavorable situations had always been Wolf King’s style. Naturally, he had prepared for this.
This way, with Wolf King running and him chasing, their momentum would no longer be equal!
His entire body combusted into flames and he turned into a stream of light that traveled across the horizon, surpassing Wolf King by a short distance. He then pounced onto his back!
“Go ahead and run! That’s exactly what I’m aiming for!”
