Chapter 137

138. Chapter 138: Seizing Two Schools

The Meridian Cultivation expert grew enraged and forced out his heart-blood, returning his strength to its absolute peak. Although this peak period could only be maintained for a very short time, it was already enough for Jin Zhihuan.

If he could not hack Li Yi to death within sixty breaths, he would have no choice but to end his own life.

At this moment, Jin Zhihuan no longer possessed his former composure; like a maddened beast, he took the initiative to attack, charging straight at Li Yi. He did not give Li Yi the slightest chance to stall for time, for if his heart-blood failed, he would have no more opportunities.

"A peak Meridian Cultivation expert? Good. Today, I shall kill you fair and square."

Li Yi could have circled around to stall for time, letting the opponent's peak period pass before striking, but he did not do so. He wanted to use the life of this Meridian Cultivation expert as a whetstone to temper his own powerful heart and, at the same time, cultivate his own momentum. Furthermore, it was not as if he couldn't beat a Meridian Cultivation expert; why should he avoid it?

The martial artists of these Four Seas and Eight Continents should be the ones avoiding him, Li Yi.

In an instant.

Li Yi also lunged out, hands clenched into fists. Skin, flesh, tendons, and bones resonated in unison. His entire body's strength twisted into one, his divine power erupted, and with every lift of his hand, his internal energy surged, whipping up a gale. Then, he threw another punch—another fatal killing move.

Jin Zhihuan's blade aura reappeared, the Wind-Listening Blade hummed, and in the blink of an eye, it had already slashed before his eyes.

Since he couldn't slash through the clothes, he would slash at the head.

Li Yi did not dodge; his invincible, divine punch had already met the attack. Although he had no gathered internal energy, the terrifying fist force he gathered actually shattered the air, seemingly forming a white mist that pierced through his body.

"Boom!"

The blood-colored blade aura collided with the invisible fist force. The two forces clashed with only an inch of distance between them. Afterward, the energy scattered, the gale recoiled, and the air hummed, causing the eardrums of the surrounding martial artists to bleed.

"You are not at the Meridian Cultivation realm."

Jin Zhihuan's pupils suddenly constricted. Only then did he see that there was no surging blood-Qi on Li Yi's fist, no gathered fist aura. Only then did he realize.

"I am only at the Bone Cultivation realm; of course, I am not at the Meridian Cultivation realm. Take another punch from me." Li Yi's punch exhausted its force, and then, with a roar, he lifted his other fist and threw it out again.

Divine power erupted, and the fist force surged once more.

"The Bone Cultivation realm has this kind of strength? Do you think I would believe your nonsense?" Jin Zhihuan widened his eyes, then roared as he swung his blade to attack again.

The blade aura surged out, yet it was struck by the invisible fist force. Not only could it not advance even half a step, but because of insufficient remaining force, he was forced to retract his blade and retreat.

It was only the second clash, and he, Jin Zhihuan of the Wind-Listening Blade, had actually fallen into a disadvantage?

Could it be that the time for his heart-blood had arrived and his strength was beginning to wane?

No.

That's not right.

His strength wasn't waning; rather, the kid before him was growing stronger. In the face of adversity, this kid's potential had been stimulated once again.

"I don't believe it. I don't believe there is such a thing in this world."

Jin Zhihuan went mad. The Wind-Listening Blade in his hand began to hum again. In an instant, he swung three times, fast as lightning, striking at vital points. This was one of his ultimate techniques, named "Three Corpses Severed," meaning that with one slash, only three severed corpses would lie before him. He didn't use this move often, only when fighting for his life.

It had been many years since he had fought for his life—so long that he couldn't even remember. But having recovered his peak, he wielded the killing move with ease, without the slightest rustiness.

"Well fought."

Li Yi's vertical pupils glowed, locking onto his opponent. His dynamic vision was maxed out, capturing a trace of the opponent's blade trajectory. Then, with a flash of inspiration, the killing move taught to him by his master, Zhao Ge, was executed almost instinctively. In an instant, he threw three punches, each one heavy and powerful enough to shake mountains and rivers.

This killing move was aptly named "Shaking Shanhe."

"Boom!"

The fist force and blade aura collided three times in the blink of an eye. The terrifying energy splashed everywhere along with the shattered blade aura. Just from the aftermath, a nearby Jin family disciple was struck by a stray burst of energy, spat out a mouthful of blood, and was sent flying, falling unconscious on the spot. On the nearby bluestone, there were also blade marks slashed into it.

At this moment, the area within three zhang of the two had become a meat grinder. Anyone not at the Meridian Cultivation realm would be ground to death if they entered; there was no possibility of survival.

"This... is this how Meridian Cultivation experts fight? Truly terrifying."

Rong Niang's face turned pale. Only now did she understand why, back at the ruined temple, Han Sui and Jin Bufeng hadn't dared to lay a hand on her master until the very end, only daring to capture her and then use powerful bows and crossbows to test him from afar. The full eruption of a Meridian Cultivation expert was so terrifying; how could a Blood Cultivation martial artist dare to pull the tiger's whiskers?

But the eldest senior brother seemed even more terrifying.

★cO

With a martial cultivation at the third stage of Bone Cultivation, he was actually evenly matched with Jin Zhihuan. No, the eldest senior brother was even a cut above. He still had his innate divine ability unused, still had boundless divine power to unleash, and still had potential to be stimulated... As long as Jin Zhihuan couldn't take down the eldest senior brother within ten moves, the final result would be being worn down to death alive.

"Fists fear the young and strong"—this saying never goes out of style.

However, at this moment.

Jin Zhihuan didn't know how many times he had gathered his blade aura or how many killing moves he had unleashed, but every time, his blade aura was shattered by the opponent's fist force, and his precious blade was sent flying. Such intense combat caused the time his heart-blood could sustain him to arrive early. After less than thirty breaths of fighting, he felt a sharp pain spreading throughout his body, and the blade aura he unleashed again was already lacking in strength.

His blood-Qi was failing, his peak was passing, and he seemed to be losing...

"I don't believe it! I, the Wind-Listening Blade, have been glorious my whole life. Could it be that today I will be killed by a Bone Cultivation martial artist? I cannot accept this result. Even if I cannot escape death today, I will drag you along on the road to the afterlife!" Jin Zhihuan roared again. At this moment, he forcibly mobilized all the blood-Qi in his body, and the blade aura that had dimmed suddenly flared with great brilliance.

At this moment, he no longer held the blade with one hand, because his right arm was numb and trembling, unable to hold the blade steady, so he held it with both hands.

His strength, blood-Qi, and even the last trace of essence and spirit in his withered body were all squeezed out.

In a trance, Jin Zhihuan seemed to see the path of a martial artist in the upper three realms.

"Sweeping Across the Eight Continents."

At this moment, he unleashed another killing move. That's right, this slash was aimed straight at Li Yi's head, not a "sweep" at all. Clearly, this old veteran had played a trick at the very end, attempting to mislead the enemy with the name of the move to create a chance for victory. But Li Yi was not from Xingzhou and did not know the names of the moves.

"Eye-Witness Technique."

Li Yi dared not be careless. He did not want to let the opponent's final strike succeed. At this final critical moment, he used the Eye-Witness Technique of an Inspiration Realm evolver.

His eyes flashed, and a powerful mental interference instantly struck the opponent.

Jin Zhihuan hadn't expected the opponent to have such a move. He had bet everything on this one slash, so he had no defenses and was immediately struck by the Eye-Witness Technique.

Hum, hum!

His consciousness went into a trance.

But he quickly broke free from the influence of the Eye-Witness Technique.

However, in a life-and-death struggle, life and death can be decided in an instant. At this moment, after being interfered with, Li Yi's punch was already a step faster than his blade, slamming before his eyes.

Boom!

The energy exploded like a thunderclap once more, and the divine power in his body surged out again.

Thunder God's Hammer!

Jin Zhihuan's pupils constricted sharply as he saw this punch, but his body could no longer dodge, nor could he mobilize his protective aura. Then, everything went black before his eyes, and his head took the punch solidly.

"Bang!"

The fist force pierced through his body, like the explosion of a Meridian Cultivation expert's fist aura. His head instantly vanished, turning into a mist of blood that scattered. And the Wind-Listening Blade that had been slashing down lost all its power at this moment, landing harmlessly on Li Yi's shoulder before being shaken away.

Clang.

The Wind-Listening Blade hit the ground, making a sound, but falling with it was the headless corpse of Jin Zhihuan.

This long-famed Meridian Cultivation expert, even after forcibly raising his heart-blood to return his strength to its peak, was still no match for Li Yi, killed by this newcomer in the front courtyard of his own martial arts school.

And his death meant that Li Yi's act of seizing the school had succeeded.

"Not bad. Meridian Cultivation is indeed unusual; a bit hard to kill." Li Yi slowly retracted his fist. His vertical pupils glowed as he commented in his heart.

But it was only "a bit hard to kill," not impossible.

"Won... won." The heart that had been hanging in Rong Niang's chest finally dropped, and a victorious smile appeared on her tense face.

The eldest senior brother had really succeeded in killing Jin Zhihuan, the master of the Jin Zhao Shiwu Arts School.

Incredible, truly incredible.

Using Bone Cultivation cultivation to overcome a superior, crossing three realms to kill a Meridian Cultivation expert—there really was such an outrageous thing in this world.

As expected, the saying holds true: Li Yi's divine courage is unparalleled through the ages.

With Jin Zhihuan's death.

All the disciples watching the battle nearby were dumbfounded. They couldn't believe this scene, but the corpse lay right before their eyes, and they had to believe it.

The master had really been killed by someone.

After briefly accepting this result, a wave of fear surged through their entire bodies.

With the master gone, who could stop the eldest senior brother of the Zhao Shiwu Arts School?

Almost every one of them had the blood of Zhao Family disciples on their hands. Now that the great tree had fallen, they were bound to be liquidated.

Run?

Afterward, this thought popped into all of their minds.

Fleeing this place, leaving Sanyang City, leaving Xingzhou—perhaps they could survive.

There were many of them; if they scattered and ran, the eldest senior brother of the Zhao Shiwu Arts School might not be able to kill them all.

At this moment, the core disciples at the Bone Cultivation and Blood Cultivation levels all had the same thought, but no one dared to move first, because moving first would surely lead to being killed. Only those who moved later would have a sliver of a chance to survive.

However, seemingly sensing the restlessness of these people, Li Yi's pair of glowing vertical pupils instantly swept toward them.

Wherever his gaze fell, everyone trembled. The thought of fleeing vanished instantly, replaced only by unease and panic.

Rong Niang also understood that now that the Meridian Cultivation master was gone, the revenge was not yet complete. She also looked at the others, killing intent rising in her eyes.

But she did not act rashly; what to do next depended on the eldest senior brother's wishes.

Li Yi also knew that now that Jin Zhihuan was dead, the Jin Zhao Shiwu Arts School was finished, but the disciples were still there. If they weren't liquidated, they would be a nuisance if they stirred up trouble later. Moreover, the law of the jungle—the winner takes all—was the rule of this world. It was like that for the Zhao Shiwu Arts School before, and it should be like that now.

Thinking of this, he immediately said coldly, "You are all core disciples of the Jin Zhao Shiwu Arts School. You all have a share in the blood feud of the Zhao Shiwu Arts School."

As soon as these words were spoken.

These dozens of disciples immediately broke into a cold sweat. Some were already shaking at the knees, unable to bear the fear of impending death.

"However, there is a saying: every debt has a debtor, every wrong has a perpetrator. Now that Jin Zhihuan, the debtor, is dead, I am willing to give you a way to survive. Whether you can grasp it depends on you. I heard that the blades of your Jin Zhao Shiwu Arts School are best at cutting off heads. Very well, whoever can bring me the heads of twenty Jin Family disciples, I can swear to let you live and will no longer pursue or retaliate."

Li Yi held up two fingers and threw them a task for survival: "You only have one quarter of an hour. Once the time is up, the opportunity is canceled, and I will then take action to liquidate you. Of course, you can also try to flee. If you think you can escape from my palm, then I have nothing to say."

"The path to survival is at your feet. How you choose is up to you."

Afterward, he kicked his foot, sending Jin Zhihuan's Wind-Listening Blade toward the disciples.

Clearly, Li Yi's intention was obvious: to make them kill each other.

Although the strategy was simple, it was very effective at this moment.

Even if one didn't want to do this, there were so many disciples present; what if the person beside them had other ideas?

However, looking at the blade before them, no one moved.

It wasn't that they were united, but that the head count wasn't enough for everyone to survive. On the contrary, perhaps fleeing was more cost-effective.

However, Li Yi's next sentence completely shattered their hesitation: "By the way, the heads of those lower-realm martial artists who left earlier also count. Your strength is not bad; you can join forces to hunt their heads for me. I only want the result, not the process."

As soon as this was said.

A Blood Cultivation martial artist was immediately tempted. His gaze flickered. Rather than fleeing on his own and benefiting others, it was better to cut off twenty heads to complete the task. After all, those ordinary disciples were nothing more than a single slash away; why gamble with luck?

Furthermore, Li Yi had sworn; he would surely keep his word. There was no need to worry about the other party breaking the contract.

Thinking of this.

This Blood Cultivation martial artist gritted his teeth, and the fast blade in his hand was suddenly drawn: "Kill!"

A junior brother at the Bone Cultivation level beside him couldn't react in time and had his head cut off with one slash.

His eyes widened, revealing a trace of shock, but he could do nothing more. Beside his ears, there was only the whistling of a blade.

And with the first person acting, the evil in everyone's hearts was released.

They were afraid—afraid that if they didn't act, they would become heads in someone else's hands, exchanged for a chance to survive.

"I don't want to die! Take the heads of those outer-sect disciples to trade for a way to live!" A Bone Cultivation disciple roared and charged straight toward the residence of the outer-sect disciples.

Seeing this, the others acted one after another.

But the Blood Cultivation martial artists didn't care about that. They were the strongest in the martial arts school now; cutting off twenty heads was easy. They killed everyone they saw. The only thing they had to avoid was others with the same strength.

For a time, the calm Jin Zhao Shiwu Arts School was filled with endless shouts of killing.

Those ordinary disciples didn't know what was going on at all. They only saw several powerful senior brothers wielding blades and killing. Before they could react, their heads were already cut off and held in others' hands.

Li Yi, the instigator, was as firm as iron, his face calm, unmoved.

"Eldest... eldest senior brother, although your idea is good—inciting them to kill each other—you will also let many Jin Zhao Shiwu Arts School disciples go, and some will surely take advantage of the chaos to flee. We have no way to stop them." Although Rong Niang admired Li Yi's method, she noticed the loophole in the strategy.

"I know that doing this will let many people go, and indeed a large portion will take advantage of the chaos to flee, but I never intended to pursue them. You know, the art of war says: killing is secondary, attacking the heart is primary. After this turmoil, the hearts of the Jin Zhao Shiwu Arts School are completely scattered, and they will never be able to become a threat again."

Li Yi said calmly, "Still the same saying: the process is not important; the result is. Rong Niang, the result I want is not really those heads, but for the Jin Zhao Shiwu Arts School to disappear completely from Sanyang City."

"Ask yourself, after this, will those Jin Family disciples seek revenge on me, or will they seek revenge on their senior brothers?"

"So that's how it is." Rong Niang's pupils constricted. After reacting, a cold sweat broke out on her back.

Because if it were her, caught in the situation, she wouldn't be able to escape either.

Even if you didn't kill anyone and just escaped smoothly, how could you possibly work for a martial arts school that had once turned on itself?

"It's just a pity for those damn animals."

Rong Niang gritted her teeth. Although she knew this was the best method, thinking that many of those people had the blood of her junior brothers and sisters on their hands, she found it hard to swallow this anger.

"There's no other way. There are only two of us here. If we were to liquidate them one by one, it wouldn't be realistic. Moreover, we have already wasted quite a bit of time here, and the Han Zhao Shiwu Arts School is waiting for us."

Li Yi patted Rong Niang's shoulder: "The fire here has already been lit; the rest is just to let it continue burning. We don't need to guard here. Let's go, to the next one."

"Mm." Rong Niang nodded. Although she was unwilling, she could only accept this result.

Soon.

The two left the Jin Zhao Shiwu Arts School, then rode away on fast horses.

After Li Yi and Rong Niang had been gone for a moment.

A Blood Cultivation martial artist laughed loudly, carrying a string of bloody heads back into the courtyard.

"I have already taken twenty heads. According to the agreement, you can spare my life... Where are they?"

Seeing the empty courtyard, the smile on the Blood Cultivation martial artist's face froze.

This... how is the situation different from what he imagined?

Could it be that you trust us so much? Knowing we could complete the task and take twenty heads, you weren't afraid we'd renege on the debt? You didn't supervise at all? You didn't even count the heads?

He glanced outside.

Outside the broken gate, the horses of the eldest senior brother and Rong Niang of the Zhao Shiwu Arts School seemed to be gone. The two seemed to have really left.

In that case, did the twenty heads he cut off have any meaning?

But no one gave him an answer.

Only that, from this event alone, the Jin Zhao Shiwu Arts School was completely destroyed. In the future, no one would mention it again, and no one would want to seek revenge for it.