Chapter 361 - 216: Assassin 4

Chapter 361: Chapter 216: Assassin 4

A piercing aura rushed toward him. The Assassin instinctively moved to dodge the deadly gleam of an axe—one that would kill or gravely injure him on contact. But just as he did, he realized the attack was actually a piercing Long Sword of incredible might!

’He switched weapons again?’

The Assassin was surprised. A beat too slow, his only option was to raise his short sword to block the Long Sword.

As his short sword entered the white light of the swinging Long Sword, it felt like a traveler lost in a fog, unsure of which way to turn.

The shadow was stunned for only a moment. But with his immense combat experience, he instantly swung his sword to protect himself, intercepting Xie Yuan’s decisive Long Sword at his chest with a CLANG.

Xie Yuan knew his foe was stronger than any he had faced before. He no longer hoped to merely confuse the Assassin with the "mist" of his technique. Instead, the moment he gained the upper hand, his sword "broke through the clouds" like a dragon, striking straight for his target. Yet, even so, it was parried at the very last second.

A chill ran down his spine. He knew this Assassin’s combat prowess was unlike anything he had ever encountered. Daring not to be careless, he flicked his Long Sword and unleashed the Cloud Dragon Nine Forms with all his might, enveloping the Assassin in the attack.

Empowered by an ancient alchemical pill from the ruins, Xie Yuan had not only returned to his peak but had also broken through his limits. Now, having seized the initiative, his Cloud Dragon Nine Forms actually managed to barely contain the Assassin.

The Assassin’s every move was honed to perfection, devoid of any flourish; even his simple horizontal and vertical slashes held immense power. However, faced with a profound, Grandmaster Level Swordsmanship, he had no specific counters and could only rely on brute force to break through.

But the Cloud Dragon Nine Forms excelled at constant change, avoiding solid attacks to strike at openings. Xie Yuan’s Long Sword became a dragon in the clouds, entangling the Assassin. This left his enemy, who was a full Transformation Realm higher in cultivation, feeling as though he had immense strength but no way to apply it.

The Assassin was surprised. ’But if this is all there is, it won’t be enough to stop me,’ he thought. ’I’ll find an opening and break free of this sword form in a matter of moments.’

But just as he was about to, Situ Qin, from a short distance away, would hinder him with a perfectly timed note from her zither. Her timing was impeccable.

Situ Qin possessed exceptional eyesight and a musician’s intuition. The "zither arrows" she fired weren’t overwhelmingly powerful, but they struck at the turning points of the melody, creating the subtle effect of using a tiny force to deflect a thousand pounds. Each time, she coordinated perfectly with Xie Yuan, striking the Assassin just as he was about to break the deadlock, disrupting his rhythm and forcing him back into the heart of Xie Yuan’s sword form.

After this happened several times, the Assassin realized he still couldn’t break free easily, and a chill went through him.

He rapidly switched tactics. With a flick of his short sword, he lunged with a speed far greater than before, aiming straight for Xie Yuan’s lower abdomen.

And yet, though the speed and power of this move were multiplied, it was almost completely silent. Immense power and utter silence were normally a contradiction, but he combined them perfectly—a testament to the pinnacle of the assassin’s art.

With this killing blow that instantly unleashed all of his power, the Assassin had felled countless targets, some of whom were even stronger than him in cultivation. He had always relied on this sudden, silent, lethal strike.

He ignored the blur of the Long Sword and its hidden killing intent, decisively disregarding his own safety in a gamble to trade his life for his opponent’s. He was confident he could take Xie Yuan’s life before the other man’s sword could cut him down.

With such a vast difference in their cultivation, Xie Yuan should not have been able to react to this ultimate killing blow.

He couldn’t see the trajectory of the thunder-fast blade, only a faint impression of the Assassin’s movement.

However, a thought flashed through Xie Yuan’s mind. It was as if he had seen this fatal strike somewhere before, and then, in a stroke of inspiration, he suddenly knew the counter.

His Long Sword, hidden within the mists of his sword form, suddenly twisted. It swept diagonally upward from his chest and lightly tapped the Assassin’s short sword.

Normally, for someone in the Second Transformation Realm fighting an opponent in the Third Transformation Realm, even a full-powered strike might not have deflected the blade in the slightest, let alone a light tap.

But that single tap was like striking a snake in its vital spot or hitting a man’s pressure point. The Swordsman’s hand suddenly jerked to the side, and his short sword was almost sent flying from his grip.

His face filled with horror. ’How is this possible?!’

But before he could process his shock, the Assassin saw that Xie Yuan’s Long Sword, having knocked his own weapon aside, hadn’t stopped. It continued its upward sweep, slicing toward his neck. In one fluid motion, the chillingly sharp edge rapidly closed in on his vital point.

At the last possible moment, the Assassin’s body twisted unnaturally. He dodged the strike to his neck, but as he turned, the tip of Xie Yuan’s sword grazed his chest, drawing a spray of blood.

The two men flashed past each other. The Assassin dodged again, evading a formless burst of musical energy from Situ Qin as if he had eyes in the back of his head. The sight made the young woman’s fine, willow-like eyebrows furrow in a frown.

Shadow came to a stop by the riverbank. He gently wiped his chest and glanced at the blood on his fingertips.

He gave Xie Yuan and Situ Qin a long, deep look, then took a slow step backward and submerged silently into the surface of the Wu River. He left only the faintest of ripples, which quickly vanished as the water stilled.

The surface of the Wu River was calm once more. The setting sun cast a bloody light, and returning birds chirped softly. All was tranquil.

If not for the signs of explosive Qi Force and a fierce battle scarring the riverbank, it would have seemed as if nothing had happened at all—as if the entire encounter had been an illusion.

Xie Yuan and Situ Qin exchanged a silent look, the tension finally easing from their bodies.

"A Celestial Tier Assassin from the Autumn Wind Building."

Situ Qin said, her fine brows furrowing.

Xie Yuan nodded slightly. He had guessed the Assassin’s origin as well.

The Great Li Dynasty’s control over the martial world was decent, and the realm was currently stable. As a result, heretical cults and other gray organizations usually kept a low profile; there were no sects that acted with particular flamboyance.

But in recent decades, one assassin organization stood alone. It was powerful, audacious in its actions, and held the imperial court in open disregard. Even its name, the Autumn Wind Building—

—not only alluded to "slaughtering men like the autumn wind sweeping away fallen leaves," but also served as a direct challenge to the legendary Spring Rain Building within the headquarters of the Six Gates.