Chapter 155: Hua Ping

Hua Ping, male, thirty-two years old, the Chief Leader of the Guanzhong Thirteen Gangs.

He is very short.

But no one would ever think of him as a short man, because he looks as if his entire body is filled with a kind of vigor, a captivating vigor.

He wears a very long black cloak, yet it reveals the red scabbard of his blade handle.

Hua Ping was able to become the leader of the Guanzhong bandits precisely because of this blade.

There are truly many people in the Edo who use blades, perhaps second only to swords.

But very few are faster than Guan Ping's blade.

He began practicing the blade at five years old, and now he has practiced for twenty-seven years. His blade technique has two characteristics.

——Fast, and fierce.

If it is not fast, it is not enough to kill.

If it is not fierce, it is not enough to kill his way to a fearsome reputation.

Ten years ago, he was already the Chief Leader of the Thirteen Gangs.

And in the year he sat in the position of Chief Leader, he gained two other titles.

Left-Handed Divine Blade.

World's Fastest Blade.

"Taiyuan One Sword" Shang Fei, who claimed he never needed a second sword to kill, a First-class Expert in the martial arts world, had a conflict with the Thirteen Gangs over business matters and was split in two by a single strike from Hua Ping.

The "Taihang Twin Blades" Ding brothers were famous masters of blade technique in the Edo; thinking their blade techniques had reached perfection, they went up Luan Shi Mountain three months ago to challenge Hua Ping.

Hua Ping used only one strike.

One strike severed two hands.

Two right hands that held blades.

In reality, Hua Ping is not only the Left-Handed Divine Blade, but he is also capable of using both hands, only his right-handed blade is not as fast as his left.

But even so.

He was confident that even relying only on his slower right-handed blade, he could still sit firmly in the position of Chief Leader.

But now, he suddenly has no confidence.

All his confidence has melted away like ice and snow before this young man.

A very handsome young man.

"The position of Chief Leader has always been for the capable; you are no match for me, so let me sit in this position instead."

The young man in black holds a sword in his right hand; he is handsome and elegant, his whole person unstained by a speck of dust, as if he had drifted down from the clouds above the nine heavens.

Even now, Hua Ping still does not know the young man's name.

He only knows that the young man's martial arts are very, very high.

……

Less than a cup of tea's time ago, Hua Ping was still in the backyard practicing his blade. He has practiced for twenty-seven years, and in these twenty-seven years, regardless of wind, rain, cold, or heat, his morning and evening lessons have never been interrupted.

If not for this, how could he have sat in the position of Chief Leader?

He had just finished resting when a trusted subordinate told him in a panic that someone at the inn at the foot of the mountain wanted to see the Chief Leader and also wanted to take the Chief Leader's position.

The place where Hua Ping lives is called Shitou Mountain, also known as Robber Mountain, simply because everyone who lives on this mountain is a robber.

The great heroes and gallants of the Edo are all awe-inspiring and possess peerless martial arts, yet no one dares to come up the mountain to look for trouble.

And at the foot of Robber Mountain, there is an inn that specializes in slaughtering passing travelers.

Slaughtering in the literal sense.

But the passing traveler to be slaughtered today is extraordinary.

The mountain bandits not only failed to slaughter the traveler, but instead had their own heads slaughtered by the traveler.

When Hua Ping rushed over, dozens of people were already lying on the ground, with severed limbs and broken arms, blood flowing all over the floor, which was extremely cruel.

And the three gang leaders who arrived a step before him attacked together, their long blades slicing through the air as they killed toward the young man in black.

Although the martial arts of these three gang leaders were not as good as his, they were still First-class Experts of the Edo.

That person merely waved his sleeve lightly, and the hundred-refined steel blades in the hands of the three gang leaders instantly shattered into fragments, which then shot toward them, piercing the three gang leaders into sieves in the blink of an eye.

At this moment, Hua Ping's palms were already slick with cold sweat.

Not a match!

Definitely not a match!

An expert like this is simply the first he has ever seen in his life; Hua Ping has not the slightest bit of certainty.

"You are no match for me, let me sit in the position of Chief Leader." The young man in black has already cast his gaze toward Hua Ping.

It is only early autumn now.

But at this moment, Hua Ping feels exceptionally cold. A gust of autumn wind blows by, the cold wind is like a blade, scraping with bone-piercing pain.

But no matter how cold, it is not as cold as Hua Ping's heart.

He only feels the opponent's aura surging over like a mountain-toppling sea, and he himself is nothing more than a small boat on the waves, in danger of capsizing at any moment.

But his left hand has already slowly gripped the blade handle.

"Oh." The young man in black seems somewhat surprised, then claps his hands and sighs lightly: "Very good, I underestimated you. To be able to sit in the position of Chief Leader, your temperament is indeed extraordinary; I allow you one strike."

Hua Ping does not speak.

His muscles are tense, his internal energy is overflowing, his robes are billowing, and his whole person is like a fully drawn bowstring, ready to be released.

Under the powerful pressure of the young man in black, his entire spirit and energy have reached an unprecedented peak.

Yet the young man in black just stands with his hands behind his back, a smile on his face.

Suddenly, Hua Ping lets out a roar. The true energy between his feet explodes, and the soil splashes and bursts to the side. He leaps up toward Yu Liancheng, his long blade held high toward the sky, stirring up the howling gale, and slashes down from the air.

A bolt of blade light, like a silver river, suddenly unfurled, the momentum of the blade completely enveloping the young man in black.

This strike was truly the peak of Hua Ping's life; his entire being seemed to merge with this blade light.

After slashing down with this blade, his confidence also surged violently.

He was known as the "Left-Handed Divine Blade" and the "World's Fastest Blade." But he knew that as long as that person existed, he would never be the number one blade master.

That person was—Xiao Shiyilang.

The number one bandit of the pugilistic world, who wielded his blade like a God.

And Hua Ping was confident that the power of this strike was absolutely not inferior to the blade of Xiao Shiyilang.

Yu Liancheng let out a soft sigh and pointed a finger out casually.

This finger was crystalline like jade, yet it gave people a feeling as sharp and overbearing as a blade, for it employed the profound martial arts of the "Finger Blade."

Only a "ding" sound was heard as the long blade collided with the Finger Blade; after a moment of stagnation, the blade light shattered with a boom, and the long blade in Hua Ping's palm also cracked instantly, covered in a dense web of fissures.

As the blade fragments scattered and fell, Yu Liancheng's finger had already tapped onto Hua Ping's chest.

"You have the courage to swing your blade at me, very good, I will not kill you. But while the death penalty may be spared, the living punishment is unavoidable."

With a release of force from his fingertip, Hua Ping was sent flying backward three zhang, spitting blood from his mouth, his aura weakened to the extreme.

"I think there should be no one left to object to me being the Chief now."

Yu Liancheng stood with his hands behind his back and smiled, "If there is, speak up; I have always been a very kind person, it would be bad if I killed the wrong person."