Chapter 419: The Apex

‘It all starts with cracking the secrets of Jiaowei…’

‘Doesn’t that mean Jiang Ran already knows exactly how to unlock the secrets of the Jiaowei zither?’

At this thought, the Young Manor Lord’s eyes instantly turned red.

The next moment, he shot out his hands, all ten fingers latching onto the zither strings, and yanked hard…

SCREEECH! The strings let out an extremely ear-piercing shriek.

The Young Manor Lord then released his fingers, and accompanying the zither’s cry was the sound of something incomparably sharp tearing through the air.

As the Young Manor Lord of the Heterodox Manor, he was a man of profound and diverse learning.

Not only were his martial arts formidable, but his knowledge was vast and comprehensive; he had even dabbled in sonic techniques.

Although it couldn’t compare to Yan Wengge’s Seven-Stringed Zither Manual, the power he now unleashed with his full strength was not to be underestimated.

Unfortunately, no matter how powerful a technique was, it had to actually hit someone to be of any use.

The moment the sonic attack landed, Jiang Ran was already gone.

The attack struck the cave walls, carving a crisscrossing web of irregular cracks, but it didn’t harm Jiang Ran in the slightest.

The Young Manor Lord’s eyes darted around, searching high and low for any trace of Jiang Ran.

In the space of a single breath, he looked up.

There was Jiang Ran, upside down, standing on the ceiling of the cave.

His feet seemed to be glued to the rock above, showing no sign of falling.

The Shattered Gold Saber in his hand, its power already fully gathered, unleashed a brilliant slash the very moment the Young Manor Lord looked up.

Ghostly God’s Terror!

Jiang Ran held nothing back with this attack, because he had already checked.

Other than the two of them, there was no one else here.

He wasn’t interested in seeing what other bizarre techniques this Young Manor Lord had up his sleeve.

If he did have more tricks, he might just be able to survive this Ghostly God’s Terror.

If not, killing him directly would save a lot of trouble.

Ghostly God’s Terror traveled in a straight line, cutting through nearly everything in its path. The range of its Qi Strength depended on the level of Inner Strength Jiang Ran unleashed.

As the saber fell, it was already too late for the Young Manor Lord to get up and dodge.

Instead, he spread his arms wide, palms facing out. His left hand turned upward and his right downward as he raised his index fingers and curled the rest. He slammed them together—one from above, one from below—pressing the heels of his palms tight before giving them a sharp twist.

Jiang Ran couldn’t help but be a little surprised when he saw this.

The man’s movements were bizarre; with every gesture, the surrounding Gang Qi shifted.

At first, the shifting Gang Qi seemed to entangle Jiang Ran’s Ghostly God’s Terror, slowing its advance.

When he finally pressed his palms together and twisted, the blade-glint of Ghostly God’s Terror seemed to lose its edge.

Only its raw power remained, which blasted him out of the cave and sent him tumbling outside.

With a push of his feet, Jiang Ran also shot out into the rain.

He saw the Young Manor Lord still holding his previous posture, sitting cross-legged on the ground. A hazy, indistinct barrier surrounded him, like an invisible wall enclosing him completely.

The rain didn’t even land on his head; it parted in mid-air above him, like an invisible lid.

“What kind of martial art is this?”

Jiang Ran couldn’t help his curiosity. This technique clearly did more than just protect the user, but he couldn’t figure out its nature.

The Young Manor Lord let out a cold laugh and was about to speak when a line of blood suddenly burst open on his cheek.

His expression changed drastically.

That wound on his face was like a trumpet call for a charge.

From that point on, wounds began to appear all over his body without warning—on his arms, his legs, his chest, his back, and even one on his forehead…

Jiang Ran said thoughtfully,

“You couldn’t block Ghostly God’s Terror, so you dispersed the saber qi. I could have split you in two with a single strike, but now that it’s dispersed, you’re merely covered in wounds…

“Why bother?”

The Young Manor Lord took a deep breath and looked down at the wounds on his arms.

At first, the wounds trickled with red blood.

But as his gaze fell upon them, the blood in the wounds began to change color.

From bright red, it turned pitch-black.

The Young Manor Lord’s eyes also changed at this moment.

The whites of his eyes took on a pitch-black hue, while his pupils glowed with a golden light.

He looked up at Jiang Ran.

“Finally… it’s taking effect. Jiang Ran… you’re too arrogant.”

“You’re confident in your saber techniques, but you don’t understand that in this world, there’s always someone better, always a higher mountain to climb.”

“Even if someone’s martial arts are inferior, there are still all sorts of methods to kill and maim!”

“Today, you could have killed me… but you allowed my medicinal pill to take effect.”

“Do you have any idea what kind of pill this is?”

Jiang Ran nodded.

“I’m all ears!”

“This is the ‘Hundred-Year Pill’!”

“For extending one’s life?”

“Hmph… Of course not!!”

The Young Manor Lord flew into a rage. “This pill can neutralize a hundred poisons, boost Inner Strength, and replenish qi and blood! Even someone on the verge of death can be reinvigorated to strike and slay a powerful foe!”

“Right now… the inner breath within my body is as vast as the pouring rain, surging like the crashing waves of the ocean, endless and unstoppable! It’s as if I have the power of a normal person who has cultivated for a hundred years.”

“Combined with the various unique and ultimate techniques of my Heterodox Manor, today… your death is certain!!”

“And the price?”

Jiang Ran said, “A pill like that must have a price, right?”

“Compared to the result, such a trivial price is not even worth mentioning.”

The Young Manor Lord gave a chilling smile.

“Since I failed to take Jiaowei, killing you… should be enough to make Father happy.”

“Jiang Ran… die!!”

He took a step forward and shook his arms. Suddenly, the sound of JINGLE JINGLE, JINGLE JINGLE came from behind him.

Two enormous silver needles, with a PFFT PFFT sound, shot out from the force of his vibrating Inner Strength. With a flick of his hand, the two needles, accompanied by the sound of bells, flew toward Jiang Ran.