Chapter 180: Guess What I've Caught!

Gulu gulu...

A carriage quietly drove into Songhe Bay; the guards patrolling near the residence merely asked a few questions before letting it pass to continue their patrol.

Inside the cramped carriage, Xie Jinhuan was stuffed into a black sack; with no lamp or fire, his eyes could see nothing, but his ears kept listening and calculating, confirming he had now arrived at Songhe Bay.

Of the two thugs who had captured him, one sat by the carriage window checking the outside situation, while the other drove from the outside.

There were still people moving about outside; judging by their positions, they must be sentries, all carrying blades and weapons.

When he handed the Zheng Zheng Lun Jian to Bing Tuozi, A Piao had already possessed a ghost and was now also helping scout the surroundings.

The big Bing Tuozi might be too far away to track clearly, but she was definitely following behind.

Xie Jinhuan slowed his breath as if completely unconscious; as they drew closer to the bandits' den, a small sense of smugness arose in his heart: 'Is that all? I thought it would be much harder to find...'

But very soon, he noticed something was wrong!

"Whoa..."

The carriage entered the building and stopped.

Then the figure sitting by the carriage window first probed his condition through the sack, then hoisted the sack onto his shoulder.

Xie Jinhuan's body jolted and swayed; within moments he arrived deep inside the building, where he could hear two people speaking not far away; the surrounding qi was converging toward the sound, indicating they were practicing cultivation; judging by the range, their strength was no small matter.

And indeed, events unfolded exactly as he had expected, with the Ghost Wife's warning reaching his ear:

"Trouble! One is a Rank 1 early-stage ghost cultivator, the other is He Man, the Crown Prince's Steward; his background is unclear; you seem to have walked straight into their lair."

Damn it?

Xie Jinhuan frowned, thinking silently that things were dire.

According to the official account, the Blood Demon Core was forged for He Man, so anyone needing such an item must be a half-step to Super Rank demon path cultivator, far more formidable even than He Guozhang!

He was mid-stage Rank 2; while he felt confident against a Rank 1 ghost cultivator, a half-demon like the Wild Boar Spirit, who possessed innate divine arts and was half-step to Super Rank, could probably take down three of him.

Bing Tuozi's poison had only been neutralized by ten percent; even if she acted at any cost, she could at most eliminate the ghost cultivator in an instant, after which the two of them would be slaughtered without mercy.

On this mission, he had originally thought he would encounter at most elite foes like Tai Shu Dan or He Hai, and for safety's sake, had brought Bing Tuozi along.

Instead, he ran straight into two lord-level big monsters, and he had sneaked up right in front of them unarmed—wasn't that asking for death?

Sensing the situation was unfavorable, Xie Jinhuan concealed all his aura and waited silently for an opportunity to escape.

Meanwhile, the yellow-robed Monk carrying him, with a hint of seeking praise and presenting a treasure, spoke up:

"Blood Elder, guess what I've caught?"

The two people sitting in the room were clearly puzzled as well:

"Did you catch a witch?"

"Not a witch, but a promising seedling; this vessel's appearance is absolutely perfect; Blood Elder will surely like it..."

Rustle rustle~

Amidst the conversation, the rope above the sack was untied, and then the sack was pulled down.

Hoo~

The dim yellow light inside the room fell upon his face.

Upon seeing the poisonous rat they had captured, Blood Elder Three found his features well-proportioned and his expression cold; he was quite surprised and initially rose to examine him.

But He Man, sitting beside him, suddenly had his pupils shake violently, his expression turned horrifying, and he let out an incredulous, furious curse:

"Are you damn blind?!"

"Ah?"

The two thugs who had presented the treasure froze in expression.

Blood Elder Three also turned his gaze, looking slightly puzzled.

Though Xie Jinhuan was no less terrified than He Man, at this moment he certainly could not show cowardice; he silently opened his eyes, his gaze fixing upon He Man:

"Master Lu truly foresees events like a god! Does Young Master He have anything else to instruct?"

As soon as he finished speaking, the tea house fell into dead silence!

Upon hearing 'Master Lu', Blood Elder Three's mind was struck with horror; he retreated cautiously, scanning the surrounding buildings.

Seeing his own thugs had actually carried Xie Jinhuan straight into their secret base, with figures like Lu Wu Zhen and Monk Wuxin and other Super Rank big shots apparently following behind, He Man felt only that his life was over and that the Northwest Branch Hall were all fools.

But since Xie Jinhuan dared to come alone to this meeting, there must be a crowd of bodyguards outside; He Man sat on the bed, daring not to move rashly, his eyes dark and gloomy:

"Since the demon path cultivator has appeared, I knew this day would come. Originally, I had thought to rise again using the remaining men at hand, slaughter the entire lineage of the Qian Emperor, and avenge the extermination of my family; now it seems there is no chance..."

Xie Jinhuan slowly rose from the sack, pretending to admire the courtyard where no fewer than twenty demon bandits had gathered, and walked toward the terrace:

"The imperial court never expected that after wiping out the entire He family, so many escaped fish would remain. If there are other demon bandits, let them come out directly; this will save Master Lu from having to patrol everywhere and waste everyone's time..."

He Man was currently transferring command with personnel from the Northwest Branch; the most powerful people in this current stronghold were only himself and Blood Elder Three, and even the two of them combined could not withstand a single slap from Lu Wu Zhen.

A demon path cultivator had no chance of leniency through confession; to avoid exposing more top secrets of the sect, He Man understood that now he could only do as his grandfather had done: launch a full-scale assault on Xie Jinhuan; even if he could not kill him, he could be silenced by the rescue forces to prevent being captured and interrogated for information.

Even though Blood Elder Three was a ghost cultivator capable of rebirth by borrowing a shell, under the Zhang Sect's guardianship, he knew there was absolutely no path to survival; risking his life to drag one person down with him was his only choice!

Then the two of them damn well attacked!

Boom—

With his back to the two, Xie Jinhuan walked boldly onto the building's terrace, bluffing with empty words to create an opportunity to escape.

But perhaps he acted too convincingly, scaring the two bastards behind him into not wanting to live, and they both erupted simultaneously!

Blood Elder Three specialized in the Five Elements Fire Art; clasping his hands together, a swirling ball of flame erupted between his palms; the room instantly heated up as if plunged into a red inferno; the curtains quickly turned scorched yellow; then he pushed both palms forward, and it was like a fire dragon exhaling breath, with towering flames sweeping over the buildings ahead.

He Man, swift as a thunderbolt, erupted upward; his hands covered with claw gauntlets shining with silver light, he thrust forward with full force before Blood Elder Three could act, aiming to grab Xie Jinhuan's back.

Such a fierce, death-defying, rapid combined attack; if Lu Wu Zhen were nearby, to prevent Xie Jinhuan from being instantly killed, he would undoubtedly strike from an extremely long distance, instantly blasting the two demon bandits into a mist of blood!

Outside the courtyard, the sound of sword humming indeed appeared!

Whoosh—

He Man knew he would soon turn into blood under that terrifying heavenly might; his single claw was only a few feet from Xie Jinhuan's back, yet a life review flashed through his mind.

Blood Third Elder was the same.

But...

Boom—

As the two attacked simultaneously, Xie Jinhuan's entire body qi mechanism began to circulate wildly, forming an impenetrable tornado that swept away the towering heat waves with its raging force.

At the same time, his feet rooted to the earth, his posture steady as a coiled dragon across a ridge, relying on the Ice Soul Armor and the Jin Guang Spell to withstand a half-step to Super Rank's life-risking strike, so he could fly out over half a li to escape.

As a result of this clash, both sides immediately sensed something was wrong!

He Man launched a fierce attack first; his right claw, trailing silver light, struck like a sudden raptor, its sharp talons scraping the air mid-flight to emit a piercing shriek, directly piercing through the protective aura that surged like a waterfall, and stabbing into Xie Jinhuan's back.

Xie Jinhuan's cloak shattered, revealing the soft armor beneath that shimmered with a metallic luster; under the heavy impact, sparks flew from the soft armor, yet it was not pierced, and the life-saving Jin Guang Spell did not even trigger due to insufficient damage!

Boom—

Using the "Coiled Dragon Across the Ridge" stance to support the soft armor, Xie Jinhuan converted the thrust, which carried the brute force of demonic energy, into a pushing sensation across his entire back; his whole body shot out of the terrace like a cannonball!

Meanwhile, the towering flames swept over the entire tea house, instantly turning the terrace and the two minions into ash, even exploding the pool water outside and sending a pillar of white mist shooting into the sky.

Xie Jinhuan, realizing He Man's palm strike had not shattered the soft armor, was momentarily stunned.

And He Man, failing to break the defense and instead knocking Xie Jinhuan away, thought there was no further chance to strike, standing still as if in a revolving lantern show.

But then he noticed the sword light shooting from afar was not so fast as to be unreactable, and he too was stunned, quickly crossing his arms to block in front of him.

Boom—

Under the terrifying qi mechanism of the three-foot sword, He Man's figure instantly vanished from his spot, crashing through the wall behind him.

Blood Third Elder also flew backward, landing near the retreating He Man:

"It's not Lu Wu Zhen?"

After He Man stopped, he quickly scanned his body to see if any limbs were missing.

Finding his arms covered in fresh blood and his chest injured by the supreme yang sword qi, though not fatal, he immediately glared in anger:

"Cunning brat, you scared the hell out of me!"

Xie Jinhuan landed at the same time on a wall dozens of zhang away, looking with bare hands toward the two figures at the other end of the mansion:

"You damn ones scared me too! The Blood Hua Yao Dan wasn't refined for He Man; there's someone else behind this!"

Hush—

Before the words had fully left his mouth, Nangong Ye, dressed in a black skirt, had already landed nearby, tossing her weapon to Xie Jinhuan:

"I'll deal with the ghost cultivator; you deal with He Man."

Xie Jinhuan took the weapon and handed over the Zheng Zheng Lun Jian:

"Can you handle it?"

Fearing Xie Jinhuan couldn't win with just one weapon, Nangong Ye did not take it:

"Killing this ghost cultivator is no problem. Go."

With that, she leaped over the courtyard, pressing down on the two.

Seeing the two preparing to pursue, He Man immediately turned and fled toward the riverbank.

Blood Third Elder was a ghost cultivator; since these two had not yet entered Super Rank, they could not completely kill him. He immediately gritted his teeth, leaped into the air, his body wrapped in raging flames like a fireball crashing toward the two, attempting to block one to give He Man a chance to escape.

But Xie Jinhuan did not want to let either escape; his figure moved like a black lightning bolt, circling around the side of the mansion, casually killing two or three demon bandits who failed to dodge in time, and pursued He Man from behind.

Nangong Ye faced Blood Third Elder directly, seemingly dodging fire techniques by jumping left and right, exchanging small thunder strikes with her fists and palms, but as soon as Xie Jinhuan chased out of the mansion and darted into the outer bamboo forest, her figure suspended in the air, and her right hand lightly hooked.

Whoosh—

The pendant sword embedded in the ruins immediately transformed into a flying shuttle and rushed over.

Blood Third Elder realized the woman in black was pretending to be weak while hiding her strength; his face changed drastically, and thick black mist erupted from his body, obscuring his entire form.

He barely avoided the flying sword attacking from behind, but ahead, the voice already rang out:

"Nine Heavens Great Yang, Five Elements Transform and Birth, Earth Fiends Draw Thunder, Soaring Dragon Subdues Form... Urgent as the Law Command!"

Nangong Ye caught the pendant sword and formed the Thunder Seal; brilliant lightning surged from the sword body, like a thunder dragon as thick as a water bucket breaking through the sky, instantly turning the entire mansion into broad daylight!

Boom—

Blood Third Elder barely managed any effective countermeasure before the thunder dragon struck his chest and abdomen, turning his entire body into a charred black mass in mid-air, crashing into the pavilion lake!

The dozen or so guards and minions nearby, who had originally intended to join the ghost envoy in a pincer attack, were so terrified by this sight that their liver and gallbladders seemed to crack, and they fled in all directions.

Nangong Ye had not yet fully crossed into Super Rank, making it difficult to capture the temporary vessel left by the ghost cultivator nearby through the afterglow of her divine soul; she immediately raised her sword, dragging the Lei Guang, and flashed at light speed between the mansions.

Whoosh whoosh whoosh—

Seen from the sky, she was like an electric arc darting through the courtyard.

In the blink of an eye, over a dozen minions were beheaded under the lightning; when Nangong Ye landed, she coughed heavily, quickly swallowed the Soft Sister Powder, gritted her teeth, and pursued toward the riverbank...

—

Moonlight spilled over the black earth; the winding great river cutting across the plain flowed like a shimmering silver snake toward the massive, brightly lit city downstream.

In the forest by the riverbank, two afterimages moved like tigers and leopards through the woods, chasing at full speed with the momentum of thunder, kicking up flying sand and autumn leaves along the way, even attracting the attention of merchant ships on the river.

Boom boom boom—

He Man kicked back and forth between tree trunks, his whole body as light as a flying bird; occasionally glancing back, he checked if any Super Rank experts were pursuing.

Since childhood, the Mingshen Sect had planted the "Three Poisons" in the three He brothers; born as half-demon bodies, each possessed unique strengths.

He Hai was born with godly strength and nearly invincible defense; He Can had a pure yin body, with scales and even snake sheds, specializing in spells; He Man was a swift hawk, specializing in external martial arts.

If things had gone smoothly, once the three He brothers fully matured, they would be the "Three Immortals of the He Family"; with the three joining forces, they would be invincible. This was the He family's plan for the next hundred years—the Great Qian and even the cultivation Dao would belong to their He family.

Unfortunately, heaven did not grant man's wishes; He Can had poor bone structure and encountered a calamity, so he was abandoned; being deep within the Great Qian, it was difficult to gather vast resources of blood qi to supply the two brothers. To this day, only the eldest legitimate grandson, He Man, had climbed to Rank 1.

Since childhood, He Man had secretly studied the arts of a hundred schools of martial arts; combined with his innate half-demon body, there was no rival at his realm.

But the madman chasing behind him, over the past three years, spent the first year in ascetic practice to hone his worldly experience and will, the next two years fighting tens of thousands of times against top geniuses in history like the Dual Saints and Ye Ci to refine his techniques; plus, he had forged a non-human body and a pile of magical treasures by eating and taking, so there was no rival at his realm either.

The only gap was that Xie Jinhuan was half a rank weaker.

He Man fled at full speed across the river, his fear not of Xie Jinhuan behind him, but of the other accomplice, and even the possibility of a Jingcheng Super-Grade being drawn by the commotion.

Fortunately, the other accomplice was held back by Blood Third Brother and did not give chase.

Songhe Bay was a summer retreat; neither had employed any Yin-evil Blood Demon arts, making detection by the Imperial Astronomical Bureau difficult.

Relying on the gap in speed, Xie Jinhuan behind was gradually left over a hundred zhang behind, a distance almost impossible to close!

Knowing he had a way out, He Man held nothing back; black mist exploded from his body, and using the 'Xuanming Crow Transformation' technique, he began to squeeze his physique to its limit in a sprint, attempting to escape beyond the pursuer's line of sight!

But what he least expected was that the crude martial artist behind actually possessed a similar breakthrough divine ability to the 'Ten Thousand Li Divine Run Spell'!

Xie Jinhuan, his body steaming with sweat, pursued at full speed, pushing his velocity to the limit, but the target ahead was clearly a half-demon specializing in speed; initially he could keep tail, but as the other spat out a cuttlefish fart, the distance was rapidly pulled apart.

Realizing he was about to lose the target, Xie Jinhuan raised his Tiangang Mace mid-flight, his right foot stomping heavily on a poplar trunk as thick as two arms embracing:

Boom—

Without any gathering of Qi or pause, as his right foot stomped, the trunk trembled violently, shedding all autumn leaves.

Xie Jinhuan's form, like a sharp arrow shot from a bow as thick as two arms, tore through the air, dragging a tornado wrapped in boundless flying leaves, like a dragon breaking the sea, shattering large swaths of tree canopies along the way as he surged forward dozens of zhang.

Just as the Black Dragon's pillar charge reached the end of its strength, Xie Jinhuan stomped the trunk heavily once more, and the tornado rose again!

Boom boom boom—

He Man, fleeing ahead, suddenly felt a raging dragon-serpent appear behind him, flattening vast forests along its path, moving with a speed comparable to the flashing of the Ten Thousand Li Divine Run Spell, with almost no pause in between.

Using offensive killing moves as displacement to vent his fury like this, at most ten or so times, and Xie Jinhuan would drain his own Qi sea dry.

But with the distance between them over a hundred zhang, catching He Man clearly required fewer than ten such assaults; yet just as the fourth wind-breaking boom sounded, a terrifyingly oppressive pressure had already reached He Man's back.

Boom—

Realizing he could not outrun it, He Man gritted his teeth, stomped the trunk, and dodged to the side; the next instant, the trunk exploded under the Black Dragon's pillar charge, turning into a sky full of debris!

The raging dragon-serpent tore horizontally through the dim forest; Xie Jinhuan, halfway through, planted both feet on a trunk, turned at a right angle, and pursued the landed He Man once more.

He Man found the pursuer behind was gone; his eyes grew cold. Seeing the unstoppable tornado wrapped in flying leaves crashing toward him, he did not dodge immediately; instead, he lowered his body, extended his twin claws, and firmly held against those eyes rushing straight at him, and then:

Whoosh—

Xie Jinhuan, holding the mace, collided head-on; at a distance of over a zhang, there was no room to change tactics. The He Man ahead, coiled and ready, suddenly flashed left without warning!

Though the distance was extremely short, it perfectly avoided the mace heavy enough to shake mountains and topple cities; landing, his left leg exploded with force, and his whole body instantly rebounded. As they brushed past, he crashed into the tornado wrapped in flying leaves and broken wood, his muscles swelling, his flying elbow like a cannon hammer, striking squarely at the waist and abdomen.

Bang—

Xie Jinhuan, using the Black Dragon's pillar charge for a violent assault, had momentum too great to withdraw the mace mid-way; facing this strike, he could only block it hard with the Panlong Horizontal Ridge.

The result was his form being hit like a shell from the side, sliding horizontally through the air and snapping two tree trunks; the residual force of the Black Dragon's pillar charge plowed a groove two feet deep through the leaf-littered forest. From afar, it looked as if the dragon-serpent, mid-charge, had been knocked down by a single punch and thrown to the side.

Boom boom boom—

Xie Jinhuan's form had not yet stopped; he leaped up, and upon landing, shifted to a posture combining offense and defense with his left hand supporting the mace. His feet slid backward a distance, and his eyes showed surprise:

"Excellent skill! You seem to be the first person to break the 'Black Dragon's Pillar Charge' head-on."

He Man twisted his neck, lowered his body, and extended his twin claws, like a tiger or leopard coiled and ready:

"Barbarian moves; they can only bully outsiders to the Dao and Buddhism. Facing a proper martial artist, it's like a brute swinging a hammer. Is breaking the move really that hard?"

Xie Jinhuan used the heavy mace; his offensive moves were the 'three axes of horizontal sweep, vertical chop, and straight thrust,' plus throwing stones. It was essentially 'the heavy sword has no edge, great skill is unadorned.' If he could break the move, it must be that some aspect of his stats surpassed Xie Jinhuan's, not an overwhelming domination of technique.

Discovering that this half-demon on the other side actually practiced the Martial Way, and was a skilled practitioner with proper form, Xie Jinhuan thought for a moment, then drove the Tiangang Mace into the ground and unbuckled the Zhenglun Sword:

"The highest realm of the Martial Way is to train the body into a weapon of the human world: fists like hammers, arms like whips, elbows like knives, bones like steel, muscles and sinews like cotton. I have practiced quite a bit; it won't hurt to let you see."

Click...

With both weapons stuck in the ground, Xie Jinhuan simultaneously tore off his tattered cloak, revealing a sleeveless soft armor shimmering with metallic luster, and the perfect texture of his waist and abdominal muscles.

He Man frowned slightly: "You think going light will let you keep up with me?"

Xie Jinhuan, bare-handed, placed his left foot forward and right foot back, crossed his palms horizontally across the center gate. His form was like a drawn bow ready to snap, adopting a wide-open stance. Then he flipped his left hand flat and beckoned:

"Come."

Rustle rustle rustle~...

Silence fell over the forest, leaving only the autumn wind sweeping over the messy fallen leaves, with moonlight like frost sprinkled on the heads of the two facing each other.

He Man studied the stance as steady as a rock; all stray thoughts were cast aside from his mind, every thought focused entirely on his opponent. After a moment of eye contact, his shoulders and back lowered slightly, and he exhaled a cloud of turbid breath:

"Hah..."

Boom—

Then the fallen-leaf forest exploded with vibration without warning; as mud and earth sprayed into the air, only two black earth pits remained in the original spot!

Both erupted simultaneously, indistinguishable in timing. He Man, with terrifying speed, attacked the center gate head-on, his twin claws dragging silver light under the moon, appearing to clash head-to-head.

But when the distance between them closed to over a zhang, his form flashed sideways half a zhang without warning, while simultaneously his right foot exerted force and his shoulder and back slammed hard against the opponent!

Such a change of move at such a short distance, with both of their explosive speeds, made it impossible to dodge; a close-range hard clash left no method to gain an advantage by breaking the move.

But Xie Jinhuan did not choose to dodge; instead, he charged, using the Panlong Horizontal Ridge to support his physique, and collided with He Man's shoulder and back using the same move.

Bang—

The black earth and fallen leaves at the point of impact were swept up in a layer!

He Man, specializing in speed, was less brutish than his younger brother He Hai; under the impact, he slid backward, barely stopping. Xie Jinhuan, like a wild dragon unbridled, pressed down again, took a large step forward, and drove a single-arm heart-elbow straight at the heart gate!

Discovering He Man's backward speed was too fast for the elbow strike to reach, his right arm instantly snapped straight, his fist sweeping toward the chest and abdomen, followed by a snapping finger connecting to a inch-fist!

Bang bang—

These two strikes, generated instantly, could not carry great power, but the change of move was so fast He Man's brain couldn't keep up; it was purely for showing off.

He Man's chest took the double hit, and his form immediately slid backward a short distance, crashing into a tree trunk.

Bang~

Rustle rustle rustle...

Countless fallen leaves rained down.

Xie Jinhuan instantly extended his attack range to the limit; his arms ached from the stretch, yet his expression remained normal, and he beckoned again:

"Come, continue."

"Haa..."

He Man crossed his iron claws, flexed his fingers twice without speaking, then slammed his shoulders and back against the tree trunk, propelling his entire body forward again. In a blink, he closed the distance to over a zhang. His right foot shifted slightly as his body tilted left, but halfway through, his form suddenly snapped into a spear. His claws joined like a white ape holding a peach, striking straight at Xie Jinhuan's jaw.

Boom—

A fluid motion hiding reality within emptiness, moving at inhuman speed. Even with his estimate, Xie Jinhuan's limbs struggled to keep up, yet he still leaned back, blocking with his left arm while his right fist attacked the face from below.

But He Man was too fast and incredibly light. His hands reversed and clamped, grabbing the raised left arm, lifting his entire body straight up, vaulting over Xie Jinhuan's position, landing behind him to execute a full-force back throw:

"Hah—!"

Amidst the explosive shout, iron claws pierced Xie Jinhuan's left arm flesh. Under the immense force, his entire body was nearly swung in a circle and smashed toward the ground!

Yet upon landing, Xie Jinhuan still supported his form with both feet, straightened his body, and drove a headbutt into He Man's chest and abdomen.

Thud—

This strike was powerful and heavy, instantly shattering the few remaining tattered robes on He Man's body, revealing soft armor almost identical to his own.

Without the support of a Body-Invulnerability Divine Art, He Man's chest and abdomen caved in slightly. He let out a muffled groan as his entire body was knocked sideways in mid-air.

Even so, He Man still did not release the iron claws. His left hand, like a nail driven into Xie Jinhuan's left arm, pulled back in the instant of being knocked sideways. His right arm swung wide in an uppercut, striking the unprotected face.

This blow landed before Xie Jinhuan's headbutt could connect, catching him before he had stabilized his stance.

Xie Jinhuan's right foot had just grounded his body when the heavy fist arrived. He barely managed to raise his hand in haste, blocking the fist with his palm.

Seeing this, He Man prepared to follow up with a flying knee to the jaw once his hands were restricted, finishing off Xie Jinhuan, who could no longer possibly have a third hand to protect his center.

But what he least expected was that his fully explosive uppercut struck the palm directly, nearly instantly cracking the flesh of Xie Jinhuan's hand.

Then, qi energy erupted. Visible ripples appeared on the flesh of Xie Jinhuan's muscular right arm, instantly transmitting to his locked left arm, and then:

Boom—

Without any sign of exertion, a surge of qi energy burst from He Man's locked left arm.

The barbaric fist force poured relentlessly onto the completely unprepared left arm, instantly snapping the left hand open. It smashed backward into his own chest, and the residual force sent his entire body spinning left in mid-air.

Xie Jinhuan gripped He Man's right fist tight. As his opponent lost balance, Xie Jinhuan straightened his right leg and drove a knee strike with the momentum of a charging thunderbolt straight into the ribs.

Thud!

He Man's body spun sideways in mid-air, his right arm trapped in Xie Jinhuan's palm, leaving no possibility of defense below.

Under the heavy blow, the soft armor reduced the qi force somewhat, but a crisp "Crack—" echoed from within the chest cavity. The knee strike shattered his ribs, sending his entire body flying upward.

Xie Jinhuan gave no chance to recover. After the knee strike sent his opponent flying, he leaped violently into the air, spun mid-flight, and delivered a heavy whip kick like a wild dragon sweeping its tail, aiming for He Man's head:

Snap—

The whip kick broke the air with an explosive report.

He Man's internal organs shook violently. Before he could stabilize his viscera, a strike capable of shattering a skull arrived before his face. He could only hastily raise his arms.

But a pure martial artist of the Second-Tier-Half, fully exploding his body's inertia driven by qi energy to the extreme, delivered a calf strike against the raised arms. The force was greater than being struck by a fully swung Tian Gang Mace, the only difference being that the calf was not as indestructible as the Tian Gang Mace.

He Man's claws came with arm guards, but the high-quality armor plates caved in under the heavy whip kick. The ulna of his forearm snapped instantly. The hastily raised arms could not support the barbaric force; the whip kick pressed his arm down and still smashed into his face, and then:

Boom—

Rattle-rattle-rattle...

His body, leaping through the air, was whipped out like by a dragon's tail. It flew sideways, chopping down several tree trunks, and flew over twenty zhang before crashing into the fallen-leaf forest. It plowed a groove several zhang long into the black earth, finally colliding with a tree trunk before barely stopping his form.

Rustle-rustle-rustle...

The tree trunks trembled, and withered yellow leaves fell like flying snow.

"Cough—!"

He Man's face was covered in blood. After a moment of daze, he gritted his teeth and propped his body up, mobilizing blood qi throughout his body to try and heal his arm injuries. But ahead, a roar sounded:

Boom—

Looking up, he saw a spinning heavy mace, like a flying wheel under the moon, tearing through the black earth along its path, already arriving before him!

Boom!

He Man's eyes widened in horror. He hurriedly raised both hands, but the heavy mace, striking his scarred arms, snapped off his forearms along with the iron claws!

The residual force smashed into his chest and abdomen. The high-quality soft armor instantly caved in. Though his internal organs did not explode, a jet of blood sprayed from his mouth and nose. His entire body was knocked backward again, breaking a tree trunk, and he slid several zhang upon landing.

Crack—

Rattle-rattle-rattle...

As his form stopped, the fallen-leaf forest fell completely silent, save for a faint, muffled cough:

"Cough... cough..."

Xie Jinhuan waited a moment. Seeing the demon bandit could not get up, he glanced at the five bloody holes in his left arm, then pulled the Zheng Zheng Lun Jian from the ground and walked toward the fallen figure...

——

A bit slow, truly sorry or2!

(Added after the text below; does not count toward points.)

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There was a small bug earlier. The rumor stated Xie Jinhuan was Guo Empress Dowager's beloved friend before she entered the palace, but the timeline didn't match, so the three characters "before entering the palace" were deleted.

(End of this chapter)