Chapter 796

She raised her hand and slashed down, severing the mountain finger's throat with a single sword stroke.

The Yidaida master Shan Zhi perished here due to his selfishness and short-sightedness.

The woman flicked her wrist lightly, retracting the long sword into her sleeve.

Seeing Shan Zhi dead beyond any doubt, she hurried toward Fu Qingzhu.

"Master Fu, Master Fu."

Supporting Fu Qingzhu, she whispered several calls into his ear.

But Fu Qingzhu remained motionless, as if his injuries were too grave to awaken.

Clap! Clap!

At that moment, applause rang out.

From deep within the forest, a figure emerged.

"What kind of Men Sect is Tianshan Sect? This Tianpu Sword Art is indeed impressive."

"But Miss, by aiding a wanted criminal of the court and killing Shan Zhi, you've put Tianshan Sect right on the fire!"

Although Tianshan Sect has branches across the Nine Provinces and is one of the Mingmenzheng Sects,

its reputation has always been rather mediocre.

For no outstanding master has ever emerged from any of the Tianshan Sect branches across the land.

"Shi Lang?"

Seeing the figure emerge from the forest, the woman slowly lowered Fu Qingzhu and drew the long sword from her sleeve.

Crouching on the ground, sword in hand, she named the intruder's identity in one sentence.

"Correct!"

The man was none other than Shi Lang, one of the Twelve Gate Generals who had ambushed Fu Qingzhu.

He seemed utterly indifferent to the death of his fellow sect member Shan Zhi.

With a mocking expression, he asked the woman,

"If you know I'm Shi Lang, then you must also know he's Shan Zhi.

But what is your name? Does Tianshan Sect intend to defy the court?"

The Great Qing's Tianshan Sect is in fact extremely obscure.

At least, no Tianshan Sect master has ever been heard of in the Great Qing Wu Lin.

Shi Lang said this because, after deep thought, he still couldn't recall any renowned master from Tianshan Sect.

"My name doesn't matter! But you follow Feng Huo Liancheng, aiding evil and oppressing the innocent.

Today, I shall represent all the wrongfully slain comrades and civilians and send you to hell!"

The moment "hell" left her lips, the woman's aura shifted; she flicked her sword and lunged at Shi Lang.

Her sword techniques were bizarrely uncanny—even a master like Shan Zhi, caught off guard, fell to her blade.

But the opponent she now faced was Shi Lang!

Shi Lang was not only exceptionally cunning, but crucially, his weapon of choice was the hook!

Hooks adorned his hands, hooks were on his feet, and even his wrist guards concealed hidden hooks!

No one knew how many hooks he concealed across his entire body.

Earlier, Fu Qingzhu was ambushed and gravely wounded—partly because Shi Lang was cunning, but mostly because his hooks were insidiously deadly.

Thus, Shi Lang's Wu Gong may rival Shan Zhi's.

But in close-quarters, short-range combat, he surpasses Shan Zhi.

Moreover, during her battle with Shan Zhi, the woman had fully displayed the Tianpu Sword Art and exposed the unique properties of her long sword.

In essence, most of her cards had already been revealed to Shi Lang.

Thus, knowing both himself and his opponent, and possessing far superior cultivation, Shi Lang fought with greater ease than Shan Zhi had.

Not only did he block her bizarre sword strikes one after another, but after she activated her sword's special traits, he also evaded several lethal strikes.

Shi Lang was utterly delighted!

He had deliberately not stopped Fu Qingzhu's escape because he knew that, even gravely wounded, Shan Zhi would never let go of the reward for capturing him.

But he also knew Fu Qingzhu was a master even Feng Huo Liancheng had to tread carefully with.

So he deliberately stayed hidden, ignored Shan Zhi, and let the fool chase after him recklessly.

Once Shan Zhi gave chase, Shi Lang trailed behind him.

And sure enough, seeing Shan Zhi get ambushed and killed by this sudden woman, he uncovered her true strengths.

Now that Shan Zhi was dead, this woman—her cards exposed—was at his mercy.

If he killed this woman and took Fu Qingzhu's head,

his reward would be guaranteed.

As for Shan Zhi's death? What did that matter to him?

Among the Twelve Gate Generals, rivalries ran deep.

Now, Shi Lang showed not the slightest carelessness, constantly circling and feinting against the woman.

Though her cultivation was low, her Tianpu Sword Art, combined with her long sword's ability to change blade direction at will,

greatly amplified the art's power.

Even Shi Lang could not subdue her quickly.

Unless he disregarded all caution and seized an opportunity to crush her with his Qi advantage.

Their clash grew faster and faster, yet the woman knew her weakness.

She consistently relied on her sword art and the sword's unique traits, denying Shi Lang any chance for direct confrontation.

In just over a dozen moves of the Heavenly Water Sword Art, the unusual long sword gave rise to countless variations.

The two had fought from the Mountain Point death stance until now, at least a hundred moves beyond.

Shi Lang was also beginning to lose his composure—if word got out that he had struggled so long against a top-tier fighter.

If it spread, even Fenghuo Liancheng and the Twelve Gate Generals would look down on him.

At that moment, he let out a sharp cry, ready to seize the opening in the woman's sword technique and strike.

"Whoosh… whoosh…"

A swift sound of tearing air came from behind Shi Lang.

"Someone else!"

Shi Lang's inner alarm surged—he could feel the hidden attacker's strength surpassed his own.

His escape routes and shifting trajectories were nearly all sealed off by the attacker.

After a moment's thought, he could only dodge vital points and let the attacker pierce his arm.

Only then did he get the chance to turn and see who it was.

"Hearing Fu Qingzhu? How is it you?"

Seeing the attacker clearly, Shi Lang was stunned beyond measure.

Wasn't Hearing Fu Qingzhu severely wounded and unconscious?

Whether during the fight between Mountain Point and the woman, or the woman's calls at his ear,

Hearing Fu Qingzhu had shown no reaction at all, utterly motionless.

Precisely because Mountain Point had "confirmed" it, Shi Lang had not checked on Hearing Fu Qingzhu immediately.

Who would have thought that now, Hearing Fu Qingzhu had seized the opportunity and struck successfully?

I had pretended to be an innocent passerby and ambushed Hearing Fu Qingzhu.

Is this karma returning in kind?

"Shi Lang, let you taste what it's like to be ambushed!"

Hearing Fu Qingzhu had once been a great Confucian scholar, most upright and calm.

Now he was a demon of slaughter, unleashing lethal sword techniques one after another, leaving Shi Lang barely able to defend.

His blade brimmed with Grand Master-level true qi, pouring forth like water without cost toward Shi Lang.

Within a few strikes, Shi Lang groaned in agony, his internal organs feeling grievously injured.

Unfortunately, misfortune never comes alone—the woman on Shi Lang's other side also refused to relent.

Instead, with Hearing Fu Qingzhu on one side and her on the other, they relentlessly attacked Shi Lang with the strange Heavenly Water Sword Art.