Chapter 72: Blood Killing in the Desolate Temple

Only then did Duan Rong see that, beside the courtyard wall not far away, there was indeed a pit, with two small piles of loose dirt heaped next to it.

Duan Rong smiled slightly and said, "This pit of yours is dug a bit too small!"

"Small? Why do I feel it's just right to fit you?" Kong Bin said coldly.

Duan Rong sighed and said, "It is naturally suitable to fit me! It's just that it's a bit too small to fit the four of you!"

"Death is at your doorstep, yet you're still being stubborn!" Kong Bin's expression turned vicious, his teeth grinding with a creaking sound, but he dared not initiate an attack on Duan Rong, only gripping his Ox-Tail Saber until his knuckles turned white.

Duan Rong, however, remained expressionless, and suddenly, with a *slither* sound, he drew the Ox-Tail Saber tied to his waist!

As Duan Rong drew his saber, his gaze turned toward the direction of Kong Bin and Zhang Zheng; Kong Bin could still force himself to appear calm and stand there without moving, but Zhang Zheng's face had already turned pale, and he could not help but retreat two steps!

Holding the Ox-Tail Saber, Duan Rong ignored Kong Bin and Zhang Zheng entirely; the only thing he had to do was test the strength of those two fierce bandits!

If he could kill them, he would; if he couldn't, he would retreat!

Outside the Temple gate, by the roadside not far away, there was still an old horse!

Duan Rong's figure flashed, suddenly as fast as a ghost!

With one strike, he slashed toward the thin monk's face!

"What else could you be disguised as, but you just had to disguise yourself as a monk?! Today, I shall act on behalf of the Buddha to clean up the sect!"

As soon as Duan Rong's figure moved, the expressions of both Zhou Shoushan and Wu Hui changed!

"What... what kind of movement technique is this?"

Although Wu Hui was greatly alarmed, he had experienced life and death, having crawled out of piles of corpses more times than he could count!

Seeing that Duan Rong came with ill intent, he tilted his body slightly and swept out with his Wolf-Tooth Club; this was the overbearing nature of the Wolf-Tooth Club as a weapon—as long as one knew how to wield it, it could be called fierce and peerless!

Only a *bang* sound was heard!

The moment that Wolf-Tooth Club made contact with the edge of Duan Rong's saber, it instantly flew backward, slamming into the courtyard wall behind Wu Hui, causing bricks and stones to shatter and fly!

That Wolf-Tooth Club smashed a significant dent into the thick courtyard wall before falling to the base of the wall.

The expressions of both Zhou Shoushan and Wu Hui changed!

"Internal Breath First Layer! That's not enough to look at!" Duan Rong said coldly, then his figure swayed, and a blurred afterimage whistled past, followed by a human head flying up amidst a spray of blood!

Wu Hui's headless corpse still stood there, his monk's robe spotted with blood, the flesh at the severed neck wriggling, and fresh blood spraying like a fountain, reaching half a zhang high!

Before the head with the ring scars even hit the ground, Duan Rong's figure had already moved again!

Duan Rong's body was like a ghost, and in almost a single breath, he was before Zhou Shoushan!

At this moment, Wu Hui's head happened to fall at Zhou Shoushan's feet; the head was covered in blood, its eyes filled with terror, and its lips were still opening and closing, as if it hadn't yet breathed its last!

Zhou Shoushan was so frightened that his soul flew away, and he immediately wanted to retreat!

But Duan Rong's Blade Shadow had already slashed over!

Zhou Shoushan blocked horizontally with his saber, and the two were instantly locked in combat!

"Inner Breath Realm Second Layer!" "What a sharp saber technique!"

Zhou Shoushan's heart kept sinking!

An Apprentice Escort from the Yuanshun Escort Agency had actually reached the Inner Breath Realm Second Layer, and he even possessed Lightness Skill and movement techniques!

This was simply inconceivable!

On Kong Bin's side, seeing that Duan Rong had charged at Wu Hui instead of choosing him and Zhang Zheng, his heart was suddenly filled with joy, and he secretly thought Duan Rong was a fool!

In his view, he and Zhang Zheng were the weakest, and the best point to break through!

But when Wu Hui's head flew up, the blood in Kong Bin's entire body turned cold almost instantly!

And at this moment, Duan Rong was actually fighting with Zhou Shoushan!

Duan Rong's body was like a ghost, flashing left and right, attacking Zhou Shoushan relentlessly, while Zhou Shoushan retreated as he fought, clearly completely suppressed!

Zhou Shoushan was an expert of the Inner Breath Realm Second Layer!

Kong Bin suddenly felt that the whole world had begun to feel unreal! He stood there stunned for a moment, his mental defenses collapsing! His vision went slightly dark, and he felt a sense of vertigo at the scene before him.

"Brother Bin, let's go quickly!" Zhang Zheng suddenly said in Kong Bin's ear.

Only then did Kong Bin wake up as if from a dream, and in terror, he and Zhang Zheng ran toward a large banyan tree by the courtyard wall not far away!

Although this Temple had collapsed, it had been built very sturdily, and the thick courtyard walls were far higher than those of an ordinary residence!

Even though Kong Bin had practiced Internal Breath for nearly a month, if he didn't have that banyan tree to use for leverage, he would never be able to jump out!

And the courtyard gate was blocked by the figures of Duan Rong and Zhou Shoushan locked in combat!

Their only chance of survival was that large banyan tree near the courtyard wall!

At the entrance of the Temple courtyard!

Although Duan Rong had achieved the Inner Breath Realm Second Layer, he had only just achieved it, and his Internal Breath was still not as solid and heavy as Zhou Shoushan's!

After several slashes, the web between Duan Rong's thumb and index finger was already slightly numb!

This was entirely from the impact!

But in reality, Zhou Shoushan was far more uncomfortable than Duan Rong; Duan Rong was fighting him in close quarters, moving like a ghost, his figure drifting!

The angles and directions of his attacks were both tricky and bizarre!

Zhou Shoushan had been scared into a cold sweat several times; if he hadn't spent many years fighting in the pugilistic world, experienced life and death, and had an understanding of Martial Technique that was long devoid of any flashy, useless tricks, he would likely have already been defeated!

Furthermore, even so, the clothing on his shoulders and waist had already been pierced by Duan Rong, revealing the thick, hairy skin beneath!

Zhou Shoushan was not only surprised by Duan Rong's realm and Lightness Skill, but even more surprised that a fifteen or sixteen-year-old Apprentice Escort, who logically should have no combat experience, could possess such sharp and ruthless saber techniques!

"Little brother! Zhou was only bewitched by your two fellow sect members, which is why I saw the hunt and felt greedy, leading to this misunderstanding!"

"Our original business is just robbing houses and plundering! When it comes down to it, this doesn't count as any deep-seated hatred!"

"Zhou has a fine residence in the city; I will gift it to Brother Duan as an apology!"

"If you are willing, we can shake hands and make peace, and become friends! I wonder what Brother Duan thinks?"

Duan Rong continued to attack with his head down, only casually spitting out: "Good!"

Yet the offensive in his hands became even more fierce!

When Zhou Shoushan heard Duan Rong say "good," his heart suddenly relaxed, and he thought to himself: In the end, he is still just a fifteen or sixteen-year-old child, his feathers haven't even fully grown yet.

But the next moment, Zhou Shoushan discovered that Duan Rong's offensive had not slowed down at all; on the contrary, it had become even more fierce!

Zhou Shoushan immediately understood that Duan Rong's "good" from before was merely toying with him!

A look of intense hatred suddenly shot from his eyes, but his lips remained tightly shut, and he did not speak again.

In a life-and-death struggle, one must be fully focused; for him to speak would not only distract him but also affect the circulation of his Internal Breath!

Under normal circumstances, this slight influence might not matter, but the two of them were currently locked in a life-and-death struggle where they were evenly matched!

A difference of a hair's breadth could lead to a change between life and death!

When Zhou Shoushan regained his composure, he discovered that because of the momentary chaos in his thoughts, the rather tight defensive stance he had managed to maintain with such difficulty had been seized upon by Duan Rong at a weak point, who then latched on tightly and launched a series of rapid attacks!

Originally, although Duan Rong's movement technique was like a ghost, Zhou Shoushan only needed to protect his vital points and parry each move, making it difficult for Duan Rong to defeat him for a time!

After all, both in terms of Internal Breath and combat experience, he was far superior to Duan Rong!

Most importantly, this Yellow Springs Saber Technique he practiced was also quite adept at defense!

But once a flaw appeared, if he wanted to defend against it, he had to take the initiative to attack, forcing Duan Rong back from the position of the flaw so he could return to a defensive stance!

Zhou Shoushan dared not hesitate and immediately abandoned his defensive stance, attacking Duan Rong fiercely!

As soon as Zhou Shoushan attacked, Duan Rong swiftly dodged away with his ghostly movement technique!

After all, Zhou Shoushan's Internal Breath was slightly stronger than his, and if they clashed blade against blade, he would be the one at a disadvantage!

As soon as Duan Rong dodged, he immediately employed his movement technique to attack Zhou Shoushan again from various strange and tricky angles!

But this time, Duan Rong was already familiar with Zhou Shoushan's defensive saber technique, attacking the void with substance and using speed to strike against slowness!

Before Zhou Shoushan could stabilize his defensive stance again, Duan Rong suddenly slashed open Zhou Shoushan's stomach from the side!

A piece of skin slightly larger than a palm hung open on Zhou Shoushan's stomach!

The upturned flesh and skin were dripping with blood, and fat was faintly visible...

The intestines inside the gash in the stomach writhed along with the blood...

Zhou Shoushan felt the pain, his eyes split open, and his face turned ashen, but Duan Rong's fierce attacks were still flickering all around, a sheet of saber light like water!

He could only retreat while blocking, and the gushing blood flowed down his stomach, already soaking his crotch...

Duan Rong maintained his advantage, his fast blade constantly flashing and turning, every strike ruthless!

At this moment, Zhou Shoushan's inner fighting spirit was gradually collapsing, but the fear of death drove him to wave his saber to block quickly, retreating step by step!

A flash of saber light!

The strike Duan Rong had aimed at his throat suddenly slashed diagonally downward; caught off guard, Duan Rong severed his right hand with a single blow!

Zhou Shoushan's severed hand, still clutching the Ghost Head Blade, plunged into the courtyard wall beside him, sending brick fragments flying!

That severed hand clutching the Ghost Head Blade swayed with the vibration of the saber hilt, and the diagonal cross-section of the severed hand was a bloody mess, with white bone faintly visible...

Having succeeded with this strike, Duan Rong immediately leaped up and kicked hard at Zhou Shoushan's shoulder and back!

Zhou Shoushan let out a muffled groan and was kicked, rolling toward the middle of the Temple courtyard!

(End of this chapter)