Chapter 252 - 251: Qian Yong
Chapter 252: Chapter 251: Qian Yong
"To think an ordinary disciple from back then has become this strong after just over a year!"
A cold light glinted in Qian Yong’s narrow eyes as he spoke in a grim tone.
"Thinking back, the attack on the escort convoy failed, forcing me to defect... it must have been because of you. Today, I’ll have my revenge for that!"
"You think too highly of yourself!"
Fang Han didn’t waste any more words, his killing intent already at its peak.
He executed the Flowing Wind Shadowless Step, his figure blurring like wind and lightning as he launched the first attack!
The first form of the Nine Swords of Sky Splitting—Wind Piercer!
The sword light was as fine as a thread of silk. It was silent, yet so fast it tore through the air, aimed straight for Qian Yong’s throat.
The power of this strike not only matched the Perfection Realm of the Wind Shadow Annihilation Sword, but even surpassed it.
After all, he had been practicing the Entry Level of the Nine Swords of Sky Splitting for several days. With his 128-times Swordsmanship Talent, a few days were more than enough for him to improve.
Qian Yong snorted coldly. Not daring to be careless, his palms took on a strange, grayish-black sheen. A foul, stinking Palm Wind howled as he met the sword light head-on.
His Inner Qi was sinister and insidious, clearly no longer one of the Qingxuan Sect’s Martial Arts, but some kind of Demon Skill.
CLANG CLANG CLANG... BOOM!
The two exchanged blows at high speed. Sword light and palm shadows flew, and the explosive sound of their Qi Force colliding was incessant.
Qian Yong’s Cultivation was two minor realms higher than Fang Han’s. His Inner Strength was abundant, his Demon Skill was bizarre, and his Palm Force was chillingly cold, constantly seeking openings to invade Fang Han’s meridians.
Fang Han, on the other hand, pushed his Flowing Wind Shadowless Step and Nine Swords of Sky Splitting to their absolute limits.
His Sword Techniques were vicious and his figure was erratic. He would often dodge lethal attacks by a hair’s breadth, only to launch a deadly strike of his own.
In the blink of an eye, they had exchanged over a hundred moves. The courtyard was in shambles, the ground covered in sword slashes and Palm Seals.
Fang Han’s clothes were torn in several places by the Palm Wind, and a chilling Palm Force struck his left shoulder.
A bone-chilling cold penetrated the defense of his Golden Silk Armor, causing a numbness to spread through his body, but his eyes remained as calm as ice.
Qian Yong wasn’t faring much better. His brocade robe was slashed open by Sword Qi in more than a dozen places, revealing rolls of fat and dripping blood. Although he wasn’t critically injured, he looked quite pathetic.
’This kid’s Swordsmanship... How can it be so incredible? And this Body Technique...’
The longer Qian Yong fought, the more frightened he became. He had originally thought that with his Late Stage of Fifth Grade Cultivation, capturing Fang Han, who was at the Early Stage of Fifth Grade, would be a piece of cake.
He never imagined his opponent would be so difficult to deal with. Both his Swordsmanship and Body Technique were exquisite and his resilience was astounding.
BOOM—
Unable to win after a prolonged battle, a ruthless glint flashed in Qian Yong’s eyes. He gathered a hundred percent of his power and sent a palm strike flying toward Fang Han’s chest.
SWOOSH—
Facing the danger, Fang Han remained calm. A sharp glint shone in his eyes as he unexpectedly made no move to dodge or evade.
The forward momentum of his Flowing Wind Sword didn’t change, but it now exuded an incredibly fearsome, sharp aura as it stabbed toward Qian Yong’s heart.
It carried the exquisite Transformations of one of the forms from the Nine Swords of Sky Splitting!
At the same time, the "Tide Surge" Divine Treasure within his body secretly activated, and his Inner Qi erupted in an instant.
PFFT!
BANG!
The sound of a sharp blade piercing flesh and a palm striking a body rang out at almost the same time.
Qian Yong’s Palm Force landed squarely on Fang Han’s chest. The Golden Silk Armor Fang Han wore dispersed most of the impact.
The remaining chilling Palm Force merely made Fang Han grunt and his face turn pale.
But at the same time, Fang Han’s Flowing Wind Sword had also pierced Qian Yong’s heart, its terrifying power instantly shredding the organ.
"You... you..."
Qian Yong’s charging figure froze abruptly. He looked down at his chest in disbelief, then back up at Fang Han, his eyes filled with terror, unwillingness, and venomous hatred.
Before he could finish, blood gushed from his seven orifices. His fat body crashed to the ground like a toppling mountain of gold or a collapsing pillar of jade, and he died, his last breath gone.
The Qingxuan Sect traitor, Qian Yong, had been executed!
Fang Han leaned on his sword, gently exhaling a breath of turbid air laced with cold. He quickly circulated his Inner Qi to expel the chilling Palm Force that had invaded his body.
Qian Yong had, after all, been a Steward of the Qingxuan Sect. He wasn’t weak; in fact, one could even say he was very strong.
Fortunately, Fang Han had proven superior, succeeding in killing Qian Yong at the cost of an injury.
The remaining members of the Celestial Eagle Gang had mostly been dealt with by the other Qingxuan Sect disciples; only a few were still putting up a futile resistance.
Seeing Fang Han standing there, sword in hand, his robes stained with blood, many disciples wore looks of awe.
Yang Zhe clutched his chest, his expression incredibly complex as he looked at Fang Han.
He, also at Early Stage of Fifth Grade Cultivation, had been defeated by Qian Yong. Yet Fang Han, with the same Early Stage of Fifth Grade Cultivation, had killed the Late Stage of Fifth Grade Qian Yong, fighting above his Realm!
The gap between them was immense!
Only now did he truly understand why he, despite being a Fifth Grade like Chu Feng, couldn’t make it onto the Celestial Pride List.
Even among those of the Fifth Grade, the difference in strength could be as vast as heaven and earth!
Yun Qianyue’s bright eyes, visible above her purple veil, sparkled with an unusual light. Li Feng’s eyes also revealed his shock.
’Fang Han’s strength has actually reached this level?’
An enemy that even Senior Brother Yang Zhe, who was ranked tenth on the overall list, couldn’t defeat, was killed by him alone.
His strength was probably on par with those monsters on the Celestial Pride List.
Maybe he’ll even make it onto the Celestial Pride List next month!
"Clean up the battlefield and search for the Demon Skill!"
Yang Zhe suppressed the turmoil in his heart and gave the order in a low voice.
But when he looked at Fang Han again, his gaze held a new gravity and a faint, almost imperceptible trace of admiration that hadn’t been there before.
...
At almost the same time Fang Han and the others were wiping out the Celestial Eagle Gang, similar encirclement operations were playing out in many other places within the Qingxuan Sect’s sphere of influence.
「Zhang City, Wang Mansion.」
Chu Feng, dressed in a spotless Silver-Striped Cyan Robe, stood holding a longsword, its tip dripping with blood.
Before him, the Wang Family Patriarch—an old man who had practiced a Demon Skill and reached Late-Stage Fifth Grade Cultivation—lay in a pool of blood, his eyes still holding traces of fear and unwillingness.
Chu Feng’s expression was cold and proud as his gaze swept over the devastated battlefield.
A disciple retrieved a manual with a blood-red cover that exuded a thick, bloody scent from a secret chamber and respectfully presented it.
"Senior Brother Chu, I’ve found the Blood Demon Skill manual."
Chu Feng took the manual and casually flipped through a few pages. A faint flicker of emotion crossed his eyes, but he suppressed it in an instant.
’Although the Cultivation Method recorded in the Blood Demon Skill is fast and powerful, if I were to secretly learn it, I would be ostracized by the Sect and even all orthodox sects in the world.’
He had a bright future ahead of him; naturally, he didn’t want to see it all destroyed.
"This Evil Skill harms people! It’s useless to keep it!"
He shouted coldly, and with a burst of Inner Qi from his palm, the blood-red manual was instantly shattered, turning into a cloud of confetti.
Seeing this, the surrounding disciples all showed expressions of admiration.
’Senior Brother Chu’s will is so firm! He wasn’t tempted by the Demon Skill. He truly is a role model for our generation!’
...
Meanwhile, deep within a seemingly ordinary villa a thousand li away from the Qingxuan Sect...
In a dim Quiet Chamber, a figure completely shrouded in a wide, black robe, their face obscured, sat meditating quietly.
This was the mastermind secretly spreading the Demon Skill.
Suddenly, a cold, aged, and dignified shout rang out from outside.
"Demon! You spread your Demon Skill in secret and brought chaos to Qingyang! Today is the day you die!"
Immediately after, four tyrannical, unparalleled auras descended, completely surrounding the Quiet Chamber.
It was the four Elders of the Qingxuan Sect.
While sending out disciples to annihilate the forces practicing the Demon Skill, the Qingxuan Sect had also rooted out the mysterious person spreading it.
’Not good!’
The black-robed person shot up, their face a mixture of shock and anger.
BOOM!
The roof of the Quiet Chamber exploded, and the black-robed person transformed into a plume of black smoke, shooting into the sky.
But the four Qingxuan Sect Elders were prepared. They attacked in unison, a net of Palm Wind, Sword Qi, and finger attacks descending from the heavens.
The black-robed person was powerful and their Demon Skill was strange, but under the siege of four Elders of the same rank, they were in constant peril.
In the fierce battle, they took two palm strikes and a sword blow head-on, coughing up a large mouthful of blood. Their aura instantly weakened.
Knowing they would never escape today without going all out, the black-robed person hastily used a life-risking secret technique. They erupted with power far beyond their normal limits and forcefully tore open a corner of the encirclement.
Transforming into a streak of light, their heavily injured body fled in panic into the distant mountain forest and disappeared from sight.
"After him! He’s seriously injured, he can’t have gone far!"
one of the Elders shouted sharply.
The four Elders flickered and gave chase in the direction the black-robed person had fled.
The mountain forest, shrouded in night, returned to silence, leaving only the shattered villa and scattered drops of blood.
...
Back at the Celestial Eagle Gang’s headquarters under the night sky, the stench of blood had not yet fully dissipated. In the flickering light of torches, the bluestone ground was a mess, littered with corpses.
The twelve people, including Fang Han, split up to conduct a thorough search of the Celestial Eagle Gang’s headquarters.
The sounds of rummaging through chests and cabinets, and the dull thuds of walls and floors being broken open, rose and fell in the quiet night.
Fang Han’s gaze swept over the layout of the various buildings, a plan already forming in his mind.
Drawing on his experience from many "looting" sprees and his keen judgment of architectural structures, he quickly identified the residence of the Gang Leader, Yin Li.
He passed through several courtyards and arrived at what he suspected was Yin Li’s residence. He began tapping his fingers, carefully examining the side rooms, studies, and storerooms one by one.
About an hour later, he came to a room that was neither a study nor a bedroom. Its furnishings were simple; it was likely a Quiet Chamber.
Searching the room, he imbued his fingertips with a trace of Inner Qi and tapped very lightly and quickly on the back wall.
DOK DOK... TAP!
The echo from one spot on the wall was slightly hollow and muffled, a clear difference from the solid walls around it.
A thought struck Fang Han. He gently pressed on an exquisitely carved cloud pattern on the wall.
CLICK.
With a very faint mechanical sound, a section of the wall slid silently to one side, revealing a secret door just wide enough for one person to pass through.
Fang Han slipped inside. The secret room was several hundred square meters in size.
Inside were more than thirty mahogany chests of various sizes, all neatly stacked!
The lids were ajar, revealing gleaming gold ingots, sparkling silver ingots, and precious jewels of all kinds—pearls, agates, jades, and more.
The glittering treasures almost illuminated the secret room in brilliant splendor.
’I’ll deposit half, as a service fee for this sect mission!’
After confirming no one else was nearby, Fang Han summoned his system panel to make a deposit.
As his palm passed over them, fifteen chests near the entrance, along with all the wealth inside, vanished at a speed visible to the naked eye.
The wealth value on his panel began to jump wildly!
[Wealth: 963,000 silver]
[Wealth: 1,363,000 silver]
[Wealth: 1,963,000 silver]
Finally, the number slowly settled at—
[Wealth: 3,200,000 silver]