Chapter 10: Rainy Night, Sword in Hand, Killing

"General Yue, you're indeed ruthless—but how do you assume I'll cooperate with you?"

The cloud-patterned spy heard all these words, then suddenly spoke, his voice hoarse and mocking, coldly smiling as he drew his short sword to kill himself—when Yue Qianfeng suddenly said, "If you can defeat this child, I'll let you go today."

The spy had witnessed Yue Qianfeng’s slaughter firsthand and knew exactly where he was hiding.

They were mortal enemies; Yue Qianfeng’s words, even a child would know, were not to be trusted.

Yet hearing this, the spy paused, his gaze lowering to the child clutching the blade. As an enemy, he inexplicably slowly lowered the short sword meant for his own throat, and after a long silence, said, "...General Yue is Deputy Commander to Marshal Yue."

"Marshal Yue keeps his word like gold. I believe you."

He Mianqiang stood up, his fingers pressing several acupoints on his body, halting the bleeding.

Excruciating pain drenched him in cold sweat, yet the faint glimmer of survival sharpened his spirit, forcing his internal Qi to surge upward—gradually, the pain faded. His leopard-like eyes locked onto the teenager, and he drew a long, narrow blade with his right hand, gripping the short sword in his left: "Boy, come."

Li Guanyi gripped the blade, his heart pounding faster. Yue Qianfeng smiled, clapped his hand on Li Guanyi’s shoulder, and a scorching energy surged into him—Li Guanyi heard Yue Qianfeng’s voice inside his mind.

"Advance, raise the blade, sweep the clouds, cleave the mountain."

The warm current flowed through Li Guanyi’s tendons and muscles, triggering his body’s instinctive response. He stepped forward instinctively, the narrow blade rising from below in a sweeping arc, its cold gleam under the moonlight like a crescent moon, deflecting the spy’s long blade.

The opponent’s strength far exceeded Li Guanyi’s, but he was now gravely wounded, on the brink of death.

Second, the warm current inside Li Guanyi had drastically enhanced his muscles’ explosive power.

He perfectly deflected the opponent’s weapon, matching force with force—then the current twisted in Li Guanyi’s palm tendons, spinning his hands to transform the upward sweep into a heavy downward chop, following the original arc with crushing force. The spy’s short sword was knocked away, a grotesque gash tore open across his clothing, and blood sprayed.

The cloud-patterned spy let out a muffled roar and lunged again.

But his body had been pierced by a Heaven-Engine Crossbow—only permitted to commanders of Night-Run Riders—his meridians shattered, his speed and strength greatly diminished. The warm current in Li Guanyi flowed, propelling his body forward as he executed the sword techniques, each move fierce and domineering. The current flowed through his meridians and muscles, not vanishing entirely, but leaving behind faint threads of warmth.

This sword form centered on chopping and cleaving.

It used sweeping, slashing, and brushing as auxiliary moves, with thrusting as its hidden strike.

"Hold the blade horizontally, sweep the clouds."

"Grip the blade with both hands, cleave the waves."

Yue Qianfeng’s voice came slow and steady. As the warm current swept through Li Guanyi’s arm meridians, it stirred his body and Qi. The teenager felt a river of heat surging within him, driving the long, dark blade through the rain-soaked night, stirring up splashes of blood.

The spy’s eyes suddenly flared. He discarded his short sword, thrusting his long blade straight forward—a killing aura slammed into Li Guanyi’s face. In that instant, his body grew cold, his mind blank—then Yue Qianfeng’s roar exploded in his ear: "Open your eyes!"

"Look at this killing intent!"

Li Guanyi’s eyes widened. He saw the shattered mist of rain, the spy’s masked face, the bulging eyes and bloodshot veins beneath. He heard the roar, smelled the blood, the earthy stench of rain-soaked soil, and the foul odor from the spy’s mouth.

Facing this killing intent head-on.

Simultaneously, the current shifted—he crouched, assuming a resting stance, drawing the long blade back to his waist, evading the fatal thrust with footwork. His body coiled like a taut crossbow string. As the spy’s strike aged, his body snapped forward, both hands thrusting the blade straight ahead.

Yue Qianfeng’s voice detonated in his mind:

"Stab the King!" The long, dark blade was sharp—a masterpiece of Chen State craftsmen, capable of slicing through armor and flesh alike during a galloping charge. In that instant, the blade pierced armor, driving straight through the spy’s abdomen, organs, and flesh. Greenish bile and blood slid down the blade’s blood groove.

Li Guanyi’s body, driven by the current, twisted aside, avoiding the spy’s embrace. Both hands gripped the hilt, twisting violently and sweeping sideways with all his strength. The current erupted with ferocious intensity, mobilizing every muscle and tendon. The narrow blade tore through flesh, reappearing in the night, streaked with blood and green.

Accompanied by Yue Qianfeng’s roar, naming the technique:

"Kill the Emperor!"

The spy knew he hadn’t lost to this boy. Behind the child who had just begun his martial training stood a legendary general who had dominated battlefields for over a decade. With a final roar, he unleashed his last remaining internal Qi, punching straight for Li Guanyi’s face.

But Li Guanyi yanked back—his blade was too late to parry, so he reversed it, gripping the hilt’s base like a spear, jabbing upward into the spy’s wrist.

"Push the Mountain!"

He retreated immediately, the blade tip pressing into the ground. The warm current within him surged wildly. Yue Qianfeng’s lingering brutal force flowed rapidly, activating every tendon and muscle. In an instant, a flash of cold light erupted—the blade arced upward like frost and snow, using point and push to create distance.

He spun, both hands gripping the hilt, raising the long blade high.

Using the momentum of the spin, like a crescent moon, he abandoned defense and footwork, stepped forward with his right foot, striking the ground with a fist-like impact, his body lunging forward as if weightless—all his force concentrated on the blade, slashing down with crushing force.

"Final Technique: Slash the Heavenly Wolf!"

This brilliant streak of light severed the spy’s flesh, becoming the last light in his eyes—and cleaved through ten years of darkness in Li Guanyi’s heart.

Clang.

The blade’s tip pressed into the ground. The strike had been too forceful—it had embedded itself into the muddy earth of the rainy night. Li Guanyi gasped heavily in the rain, slowly loosening his grip. Yue Qianfeng’s internal force had dissipated, yet the memory of that sword form remained etched into his muscles, as if he had practiced it for years.

And within his meridians, the warm current had formed its own cycle, flowing gently.

Li Guanyi’s strength began recovering at an astonishing rate—far better than when he had dragged corpses earlier. He lowered his head, clenching his right hand, feeling that warm current, then stared at the Chen State spy before him, covered in blade wounds—the enemy of his Choudi , the nightmare of the past decade.

For a moment, he felt dazed, as if he had finally gained a solid footing on the earth.

Even with his temperament, he felt an urge to scream and weep.

"Well done."

Suddenly, a large hand pressed down on Li Guanyi’s head, ruffling his hair. Yue Qianfeng bent low, his Yuanbi extending, lifting the fallen spy, grinning as he seized the spy’s skull and slammed it hard onto the long blade stuck in the ground.

A sharp blade cry.

The blade’s back, though narrow, severed the spy’s neck.

He tossed it aside carelessly.

A severed head, gushing blood skyward.

The surrounding air reeked of killing and blood! The giant ruffled the boy’s hair, grinning: "Boy."

"Welcome to this chaotic world!"

(End of Chapter)