Chapter 73

Shen Qing gripped Crimson Sky and, with a casual motion, drew a beautiful blade flower.

As Shen Qing entered the Grandmaster Realm, Azure River proved utterly inadequate; merely executing the fifth form of the Nine Thunderblades caused cracks, and if he had just used the sixth form it would likely have shattered outright.

Still, it's fine—when drowsy, someone brings a pillow, causing no delay in training.

Shen Qing examined Crimson Sky in his hand; its strength was sufficient, its shape not greatly different from Azure River, and it felt very natural to use.

It just looks a bit new.

Shen Qing looked at Jiang Guo: "Hey, this sword looks pretty new, huh? Newly bought?"

Jiang Guo's eyes were vacant: "For the newly bought... to deal with Qin Chuan..."

"What about the old one?"

"The old one I left..."

"Shut up!"

Shen Qing tapped his finger three times; two bloody holes appeared in Jiang Guo's chest, and the final thrust pierced straight through his forehead.

He almost managed to say it.

Turning around, Shen Qing looked in a direction; after the fight began, Qin Chuan and Liu Chong had grappled over there, and now the sound of Qin Chuan's curses could still be heard continuously.

"Liu Chong, are you a turtle? You only take hits and never strike back?"

"Watch the hammer!"

Shen Qing gripped Crimson Sky tightly and stepped toward the final battlefield.

As long as he slays Liu Chong.

Then tonight's farce will end.

Liu Chong's body flowed with pale green light, and once again he effortlessly caught Qin Chuan's hammer strike with his flesh.

Qin Chuan retracted his Meteor Hammer, breathing heavily; his true qi was mostly depleted, yet Liu Chong before him still wore a full smile, showing no sign of qi loss.

"Damn, are you a turtle reborn? You're so hard!"

Liu Chong still squinted, smiling fully.

"You can't move me, and I'll honestly tell you: since I began martial training I've noticed my skin differs from ordinary people."

"My skin is far tougher than that of fellow cultivators of the same realm, and my training in hardening arts proceeds extremely quickly."

"Moreover, I have cultivated the Verdant Wood Body for over eighty years, having already reached the stage of divine proficiency."

"Not even you—even a first- or second-level Grand Master would need time to break through my defenses!"

Qin Chuan spat: "Pah! Watch me smash through your turtle shell!"

After saying that, he raised his Meteor Hammer and smashed it repeatedly at Li Chong, but could never break Liu Chong's defense.

Liu Chong turned his head to look toward the direction of Shen Qing's battle.

"I know you want to hold me back, then wait for that kid to come and join in surrounding me, right?"

"That kid is actually not bad—he actually managed to sever Jiang Guo's arm with a single blow; given time, I would surely not be his match, but right now he's just like you, unable to pierce my defense!"

Qin Chuan snorted: "Can't it be not up to you to decide? The noise over there has already stopped; Shen Qing will arrive shortly, and then you can keep your tough talk!"

Liu Chong remained calm: "It seems you really have great confidence in him."

"Then I'll give you a choice: either let me go now."

"Or keep dragging me along, and I'll head straight for Luoshui City to slaughter the Embroidered Uniform Guard! Not bad—my attack methods are few, but that's limited to you lot; if I were to slaughter the Embroidered Uniform Guard, could they really hold out?"

Upon hearing that, Qin Chuan's attack also ceased, and he fell silent.

Liu Chong, at least a ninth-level Grand Master, if he wanted to slaughter the Embroidered Uniform Guard would indeed be hard to stop; although he would surely die in the end, the Guard would also lose at least a hundred men.

Liu Chong chuckled: "That's right then!"

"I won't hide it from you either; after tonight you won't be able to find me—I'll leave Yongning Prefecture tonight for another country or the borderlands, wherever is farthest."

"Shen Qing's talent is terrifying, and his methods are somewhat wicked—I truly can't afford to provoke him."

"But I can dodge him."

Having said that, Liu Chong walked toward the outside of the Pacification Office; Qin Chuan felt somewhat unwilling—would he really just let him go like that?

Because of this Liu Chong, Lu Tong suffered severe injuries; casualties among the Embroidered Uniform Guard, clerks, and city soldiers in the city have at least doubled.

Yet not letting him go leaves them with no recourse against Liu Chong.

Qin Chuan clenched his fists, face full of reluctance.

Just then, a breeze swept by; a silver-robed figure appeared on the roof of the nearby small tower, and a clear, cold voice sounded.

"Who allowed you to leave?"

Qin Chuan's face lit with excitement as he looked up: "Shen Qing!"

He gazed at Shen Qing's Crimson Sky and understood that Jiang Guo was already dead.

Liu Chong also turned: "Your move is indeed fast! Jiang Guo has actually been dealt with by you."

"Even so, trying to detain me is still unlikely."

"Your grasping of the Nine Thunderblades at second-level Grand Master is truly heavenly talent."

"But you're still too young; if you want to break my defense, first master the ninth form of the Nine Thunderblades, then talk."

"Otherwise, the two of you truly cannot hold me."

At that moment, a slightly weak voice sounded: "What if I join in as well?"

Qin Chuan turned his head, only to see at the edge of the ruins, Lu Tong dragging a mixed iron chain finally arrived at the battlefield.

Immediately after, a tiger's roar sounded; at the edge of the Pacification Office, a white tiger appeared there, that sound seemed to be speaking.

"Master, I have come to help you!"

Liu Chong's smiling face finally disappeared; three Grand Master realm experts, plus a white tiger with Grand Master realm attack power, truly could threaten him.

However, just then, Shen Qing spoke.

No need, I'll come alone.

I want to see if his turtle shell is as hard as his mouth!

Qin Chuan wanted to say something, but Shen Qing threw the Azure River into his hand.

"Pacification Envoy Qin, help me look after the Azure River."

The Azure River already has cracks, and the upcoming battle will only be more intense; Shen Qing doesn't want the Azure River to be completely shattered by the aftershocks.

Qin Chuan saw that Shen Qing's mind was made up, so he didn't say anything; at worst they'd just surround him later.

Overbearing True Qi surged forth, its might so great that even the wind in the Pacification Office stilled.

Lu Tong stood at the edge of the ruins, waving his right hand like a giant windmill, shouting loudly.

"Shen Qing! Beat him up! I've got faith in you! Smash his turtle shell for me!"

The White Tiger beside him also let out a tiger's roar.

"Master! Beat him! Just like you beat me!"

Qin Chuan did have doubts, but what Liu Zhong said was correct—the first few forms of the Nine Descending Thunder Blades couldn't possibly break his defense.

No matter how talented Shen Qing is, he couldn't possibly learn all nine blades in a day, right?

Just then, Shen Qing's eyes snapped open, he gripped the hilt of the Crimson Sky, Overbearing True Qi surged instantly, whipping up a fierce wind, thunder rang out all around him, and Shen Qing's voice echoed through the Pacification Office.

"Nine Descending Thunder Blades, Eighth Form."

"Heavenly Thunder Guide!"

Shen Qing's figure shot toward Liu Zhong at a terrifying speed, thunder blazing, the roar echoing throughout Luo River City!

Liu Zhong's face grew grave beyond anything he'd ever known, for in his eyes Shen Qing seemed to have become thunder itself; Liu Zhong let out a low roar: "Verdant Wood Body! Hundred Woods Heart!"

Liu Zhong directly activated the Verdant Wood Body at full power, and in an instant a jade-green light illuminated a corner of the Pacification Office.

In the next instant, the fierce lightning pierced straight through Liu Zhong, triggering a massive explosion.

The smoke and dust cleared.

Liu Zhong slowly knelt to the ground, the green light on his body flickering, as a huge wound appeared in his waist and abdomen.

Shen Qing's cold voice sounded.

"This strike is to tell you that even without the ninth blade, I can easily break your defense!"

Liu Zhong's eyes filled with disbelief: "I lost? How could that be?"

At that moment, the White Tiger and Lu Tong at the edge were completely dumbfounded—was this power a little too much?

Qin Chuan also briefly froze, then his body began to tremble uncontrollably and his face flushed.

To grasp the Eighth Form of the Nine Descending Thunder Blades in just a day—what a monster!

He seemed to see a heaven-defying genius who would shake the great martial world rising up, a hidden dragon soaring straight to the heavens, wanting to overturn the cosmos!

And such a person walked out of his Pacification Office!

But soon Qin Chuan realized something was off: the Overbearing True Qi in the air hadn't dissipated, and the thunder hadn't stopped.

He had an unbelievable suspicion forming in his mind: could it be?

As expected, in the next moment the might of the Overbearing True Qi rose another notch, and the thunder in the air grew fiercer!

Shen Qing's cold voice sounded.

"And this strike is to tell you that I will also master the ninth blade!"

"Nine Descending Thunder Blades, Ninth Form!"

"Ninefold Thunder Blade!!!"

As the words fell, a lightning dragon seemed to faintly appear in the air, as if coiled in the ruins of the Pacification Office, the pressure maxed out.

Immediately, as Shen Qing charged out, the lightning dragon roared and screamed, lunging straight at Liu Zhong.

【Congratulations on slaying a Grandmaster Realm martial practitioner! Looted trait: Golden Iron Skin (Purple)】