Chapter 1552

Qin Yangming nodded and said: "Not bad, not bad, that old man Qiao Fangzheng actually passed the Dog Beating Staff Technique to you." The news that the new gang leader had mastered the thirty-six routes of the Dog Beating Staff Technique had already spread throughout the Beggars' Sect, and for Qin Yangming it was no secret.

Long Xi Yue said: "You are also an elder of the gang; it's not too late to turn back now, I will give you a chance to make amends."

Qin Yangming said: "It's too late; you will surely die!" He raised the iron staff with one hand, the two strange snakes coiled around it raising their heads and flicking their tongues, poised to strike.

Long Xi Yue stood there silently; as the decisive battle approached, she instead became completely calm. Hu Xiaotian was trapped in the Dog Beating Grand Formation, and she and Tang Qingxuan could only rely on themselves to seek a sliver of chance.

Qin Yangming slowly stepped forward, a powerful killing intent spreading like a canopy and pressing down on Long Xi Yue; even Tang Qingxuan, who had fallen to the ground and not yet managed to get up, felt her breath catch. If the small courtyard of the tofu shop were a tiny world, then Qin Yangming would be its master, holding the power of life and death; as long as he wished, he could take their lives at any moment.

Under this tremendous pressure, Tang Qingxuan had completely lost the ability to resist; she could not even muster the strength to rise from the ground. Qin Yangming gazed at Long Xi Yue, killing intent growing in his eyes.

Long Xi Yue, being the first to bear the brunt, naturally could feel this pressure from Qin Yangming; Qin Yangming's martial arts should far surpass that of the Beggars' Sect leader, Shangguan Tianhuo. Long Xi Yue recalled a saying from Qiao Fangzheng: the stronger the opponent, the more one needs to remain calm; when the opponent attacks, one must grasp where his force lies; the secret of the Dog Beating Staff Technique lies in yielding force, in going with the flow, rather than meeting force head-on.

Qin Yangming finally made his move, raising the iron staff with both hands to strike down upon Long Xi Yue's head. He did not exert full strength; even if he wished to eliminate Long Xi Yue, even though they stood on opposing sides, Qin Yangming could not help but acknowledge her beauty, nor could he deny that personally killing such a beautiful life was an act of immeasurable cruelty and sin, yet he still had to do it, for his existence was born for sin.

The skull hurtled straight toward Long Xi Yue's face, the two poisonous snakes each flinging half their bodies to left and right; from afar, it looked as if the iron staff had sprouted a pair of small wings, or as if it had turned into a heavenly fork. One strike, three attacks—the staff head alone could shatter Long Xi Yue's beautiful skull. Moreover, if either of those poisonous snakes bit any part of her, she would surely die.

The green bamboo staff flashed with a shadow, accurately striking the iron staff's skull; going with the motion, although the force was not strong, it successfully redirected the iron staff's power, causing Qin Yangming's attack to veer from its original angle, while Long Xi Yue shifted her footwork, the Heavenly Net Footwork suddenly increasing the distance between them by one zhang. The attacks of the two poisonous snakes also simultaneously came to nothing.

Qin Yangming frowned, taking two large steps in succession. He swept the iron staff sideways toward Long Xi Yue; this princess who appeared frail had actually mastered the Dog Beating Staff Technique to such a degree of proficiency.

Whoa! This time Long Xi Yue's strike was directed downward at an angle; Qin Yangming felt the muscles in his arms suddenly tighten, as if someone were trying to wrest the iron staff from his hands. He knew it was entirely due to his own force; Long Xi Yue was merely borrowing and deflecting force, and if he exerted too much strength, he would fall into her trap.

After each block, Long Xi Yue immediately used her footwork to drift outward, distancing herself from Qin Yangming.

Qin Yangming saw that her footwork and staff technique were peerless marvels of martial arts; killing Long Xi Yue would not be easy. From outside came occasional cries of anguish, showing that the fierce battle was raging; Qin Yangming had to kill Long Xi Yue in the shortest possible time, lest the expert outside return and ruin his carefully laid killing scheme, for although he believed the Dog Beating Grand Formation would not fail, there is always a chance.

Thinking this, Qin Yangming abruptly abandoned Long Xi Yue and charged at Tang Qingxuan, the iron staff heading straight for her crown to smash it.

Long Xi Yue knew Qin Yangming was feinting east to strike west, trying to force her to rescue Tang Qingxuan, thus leaving her no choice but to engage him head-on. She raised the Dog Beating Staff, placing it before Tang Qingxuan, using the staff's entangling character technique, the green bamboo staff wrapped around the iron staff; she turned her wrist in a clever downward press, the iron staff sank, and Qin Yangming gave a cold snort as he lifted the staff from below upward, thrusting straight at Long Xi Yue's lower abdomen. His attack varied greatly—just moments ago he had used the staff head as the main force, now he employed the sharp tip of the staff's end, making it more like spearplay than staff technique.

Long Xi Yue lashed out at the iron staff like lightning, each strike exquisitely clever, making Qin Yangming feel the iron staff suddenly grow heavy, nearly slipping from his control; Tang Qingxuan also realized the situation was dire, and under pressure she struggled to rise.

How could Qin Yangming allow Tang Qingxuan to leave the battlefield? He shook the iron staff, and one of the poisonous snakes coiled on it actually detached and flew off, propelled by his shake like an arrow from a bow, shooting toward Tang Qingxuan. Facing the iron staff, Long Xi Yue could barely parry; she had no free hand to rescue Tang Qingxuan, and she watched helplessly as the poisonous snake bit Tang Qingxuan's shoulder. Tang Qingxuan screamed and grabbed the snake's tail; after the snake bit her once, it immediately turned its head and bit her wrist.

Whoa! The green bamboo staff and iron staff collided again; Qin Yangming, wily and crafty, had already discerned the secret of Long Xi Yue's Dog Beating Staff Technique— the greater his own force, the easier it was for her to control him—so he reduced his effort to seventy percent; even so, it was already enough to overwhelm her, reserving three-tenths of his strength for control, which in fact made the threat greater.

Tang Qingxuan had been bitten twice by the poisonous snake; she strained to shake it off, seeing the area on her wrist where it had bitten turn black as if soaked in ink, her heart filled with dread; she realized she was likely eight or nine out of ten to die, her gaze fell to the ground where she picked up a crossbow mechanism from a dead warrior, aimed at Qin Yangming and fired off a series of rapid shots, hoping that even in death she could delay Qin Yangming and ease the pressure on Long Xi Yue.

Qin Yangming's iron staff fluttered in his hand, continuously knocking down the crossbow bolts.

Long Xi Yue seized the opportunity, inserting the green bamboo staff between Qin Yangming's legs—this was the tripping character technique of the Dog Beating Staff, aiming to make the old scoundrel stumble. Qin Yangming's iron staff sank downward, its tip embedding deeply into the ground, as if taking root beneath his feet, blocking Long Xi Yue's staff; then he discarded the staff and threw a punch, a straight blow aimed at Long Xi Yue's chest.

Long Xi Yue did not dodge or evade; she let the green bamboo staff slide along the iron staff upward, flinging the poisonous snake that had raised its head and flicked its tongue, then she flicked her wrist, hurling the snake at Qin Yangming's face. Qin Yangming gave a cold snort, unable to forgo his attack, he backhandedly snatched the snake from the air; the snake was extraordinarily obedient, offering no attack toward him. Qin Yangming pulled out the iron staff with one hand and tossed the snake away with the other; Long Xi Yue let out a delighted cry, and her shoulder too was bitten by the poisonous snake.

Qin Yangming also had not expected to succeed so easily; he laughed loudly, raising the iron staff to attack Long Xi Yue.

Seeing Long Xi Yue in peril, Tang Qingxuan snatched up the long knife from the ground and charged heedlessly toward Qin Yangming's rear, thrusting the blade at his back; by now the poison was already taking effect, her mind held only one thought: I may die, but I cannot let my sister share my fate—if something happened to her, how would Hu Xiaotian grieve?

The frigid, overbearing blade qi cleaved the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust that surged like a great wave toward the attack formation of thirty-six men; the beggars' line of sight was blocked, and Hu Xiaotian immediately followed with a horizontal slash of his blade. Through several exchanges he had realized that the enemy formation could block his blade qi, while the fierce fighting sounds and delighted cries from within the tofu shop proved that Long Xi Yue and Tang Qingxuan were already in danger; he must break out of their encirclement as quickly as possible and reach the tofu shop.

Using the dust for cover, that single slash achieved a remarkable effect; the hedgehog-like attack formation of the thirty-six men was split in half by the horizontal blade qi, more than half of their bodies severed, blood spraying everywhere, a foul stench spreading; some had not yet breathed their last, dragging half their bodies as they desperately crawled, seemingly trying to flee from the killing star they had provoked, but it was already too late.

Hu Xiaotian did not press his advantage to charge into the enemy formation; instead, he backhandedly slashed, and the courtyard wall of the tofu shop behind him collapsed with a roar.

Qin Yangming seized the blade that was thrust at him; his hand suffered no harm, the long knife twisted and deformed in his grasp, clanging! —it snapped into two pieces. He did not send the blade tip into Tang Qingxuan's chest, but discarded the hilt and struck her body with a fist; Tang Qingxuan flew toward Hu Xiaotian like a kite whose string had been cut, and Qin Yangming was not showing mercy at the last moment—he intended to use Tang Qingxuan's body to block Hu Xiaotian's gathering blade qi.

With his right hand, the green bamboo staff blocked Long Xi Yue's advance; this hard clash shook her green bamboo staff loose from her grip and sent it flying. Qin Yangming coldly regarded Long Xi Yue; the princess's steps were visibly unsteady, the poisonous snake having bitten her shoulder earlier—she must have succumbed to the poison. Qin Yangming raised the iron staff, its tip flashing cold light in the sunlight; the opportunity had arrived, he would not hesitate in the slightest—he would pierce Long Xi Yue's throat and eliminate this serious threat.

Hold it! Hu Xiaotian let out an earth-shaking, sorrowful roar; although he had arrived, it was too late—he was too far from Qin Yangming, and even if he struck now he could not save Long Xi Yue, moreover Tang Qingxuan lay between them; Qin Yangming was sly and vicious, having calculated nearly every step with perfect clarity.

Yet Qin Yangming discovered that Long Xi Yue's clear, pure eyes held no fear, no panic—how could a person about to die possess such composure? What kind of mighty mindset was this? Qin Yangming even felt a grudging admiration for the little girl, yet deep down he sensed something was off.

Posting the First Update; today should be able to have two updates, even Three More, since there are no social engagements today, Zhangyu can finally focus on writing in peace. I'll say it straight: if I manage to finish Three More, Zhangyu will release a Single Chapter seeking Monthly Ticket—hehe! Everyone, get ready mentally! (To be continued~^~)