Translator: Transn Editor: Transn

It looked like Wolf King’s right palm had slammed into Meng Qi’s left chest and snapped his ribs, dealing serious damage, but in actuality, it was more like someone had dropped a scalding hot sweet potato into his hands. The depression in Meng Qi’s muscles and the stickiness of his genuine Qi rendered Wolf King unable to pull his hand back or escape.

Under normal circumstances, Meng Qi would have been digging his own grave. In another breath, Wolf King’s grim genuine Qi could pierce right through his protective Hard Kung and shred his innards, guaranteeing his death.

However, time waits for no man. The same went for long sabers swinging down from above, and even more so for Five Thunder Bombardment of Sky!

Wolf King’s Vital Spirit was thoroughly shaken up by the fierce and unyielding thunder. Its roars overwhelmed his ears and the terrifying sensation made him involuntarily tremble. He knew that if he tried to take it head-on, he would suffer grievous injuries at best, and it was unlikely that he would survive Meng Qi’s following attacks.

To think that Meng Qi had such a petrifying attack!

No wonder he had not cared about hiding it or its consequences and was willing to use the “Killer Sword” that he had only used once since learning it.

That time, he had defeated an opponent that was more powerful than him. Using only the strength of the Four Apertures level, he had killed an experienced leader of a bunch of horse bandits.

With his left hand as the tip of his blade, Wolf King transformed into a ghastly sword and faced “Heaven Inflicted Pain” head-on.

As the sword swung out, the Wolf King, who was tall and skinny to begin with, looked like he shrunk a size down or had half of his flesh and blood sucked out of him by Old Zhong. He became even scrawnier and more shriveled up, and his naturally protruding eyes intensified his cold and murderous aura.

The heavens created countless things for the sake of man, yet man had never done anything in return. Die! Die! Die! Die! Die! Die! Die!

Killing intent shot into the sky and released a mighty roar. The compound near the patio where they stood was instantly devoid of all forms of vitality, and even the rodents hidden deep in underground holes were not spared.

“Boom!”

Sky Thunder guided the blade and a thick thunderbolt descended at an unthinkable speed. It was heavy and ferocious and it struck Wolf King with all its might.

“Boom! Boom! Boom! …” Five bolts of thunder struck one after the other. Ear-splitting rumbles rang out and large drops of rain pelted down with an angry buzz. They smashed against the bluestone path near the compound, creating a layer of white mist from the spray.

“Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!” “Heaven Inflicted Pain” clashed with Wolf King’s left hand, emitting five crisp and clear sounds. It did not sound like colliding metal, but rather a long spear striking a drum!

The Green Thunder dispersed and the lightning was strewn everywhere. Meng Qi felt his feet turn heavy and stumbled a few steps back. Every step left a deep footprint on the charred and wet bluestone path.

This time, his footprints were not as orderly as if they had been carved with a blade. Instead, they were focused on the middle and spread outwards in all directions. Wherever it passed, nothing lived.

Wolf King was thrown off his feet and flew backward. Bolts of thunder circled around his body, charring his skin a deathly grey. When his feet hit the ground, they dragged out a deep hole beneath them.

If not for the fact that the both of them were concentrating their powers, the nearby compounds would probably be unable to escape unscathed!

Wolf King’s left hand sagged at his side at an unnatural angle, evidently broken. Blood oozed out but was rapidly charred by the thunder and evaporated.

His killer sword was no trivial weapon, but he had been forced to use it. On top of that, he had no Precious Weapon and was still nursing an old wound, resulting in a major disadvantage.

There was a malicious glint in his eyes like that of an agitated wild wolf. With a flex of his right hand, he was prepared to strike again.

Meng Qi raised Flowing Fire with his left hand. Even before he had attacked, Wolf King already felt a stabbing pain at his mid-brows as his Vital Spirit shook in fear.

Watching the fairy-like Meng Qi and feeling his pure, swift and fierce swordwill, Wolf King held a frozen wide-eyed gaze. He was no longer able to judge just how much strength Meng Qi had left.

His body was burdened with serious injuries. If Meng Qi happened to be in a slightly better condition, his death was certain if things carried on the way they were. Moreover, with that big a commotion they had created just now, Misty Rain Mountain’s Exterior-level masters would have sensed their activity for sure. He Jiu and Gongyang Hao would definitely hurry over.

After a brief moment of contemplation, he, who had never been hit and always fled from the scene right away, arrived at a decision. He would take the opportunity to increase the distance between them so that Su Meng would have to close the gap before he could execute his Exterior-level ultimate move!

The right hand that Wolf King had stretched out slapped downward instead. The genuine Qi seemed to be elastic, propelling him into the air instead of smashing the bluestone path below. He launched himself into the compound beside them in a strange manner.

“You treacherous fool, how dare you try to run!” Meng Qi bellowed.

He gripped his sword and saber in his left and right hands, drenched in blood from head to toe. His commanding presence invoked fear as he appeared to be about to give chase.

However, he did not step towards the compound. Instead, he suddenly vigilantly looked around and sternly called out,

“Who’s there! Show yourself!”

Wolf King flipped over the wall and slipped through the compound, speedily fleeing far away.

Meng Qi heaved a small sigh of relief. His bluff had actually worked!

Wolf King was severely injured, but Meng Qi had it tough as well. Using Dharmakaya moves and activating his Precious Weapons required an extraordinary amount of energy. Although after running the Sacrifice Formula, his genuine Qi and mental energy had been in abundance, and even strengthened, it was not on top of the amount he had left just because he had not previously expended all of it. Hence, under normal circumstances, executing such a powerful killer move after using the Sacrifice Formula meant that he could only use one more Exterior-level ultimate move, given his Eight Acupores level in the Eight Nine Mysteries.

However, he was not in any normal situation at that point in time. In order to create an opportunity for himself, he had had to intentionally take a hit to the chest, and had also consumed a large amount of energy to counter Wolf King’s murderous intent with his Eight Nine Mysteries and Golden Bell Shield.

As such, there was no way he would still be able to use an Exterior-level killer move. His mental energy was already being pushed to its breaking point. He could only count on his genuine Qi to return to its peak and blindly hack away. Had Wolf King gone after him again, it would have turned into a battle of endurance, just like when he had sparred with Wang Zai. The moves used in the latter half of the match determined the outcome. However, it was not just a spar, but a fight for his life now. Unless he had no choice, he would not want to drag things out to that extent lest unexpected changes popped up.

The good thing was that he was extremely familiar with “Heavenly Fairy”, resulting in a very decent imitation by his Eight Nine Mysteries. In addition, it did not expend much of his energy either. That was how he had managed to scare Wolf King away.

His cry of “treacherous fool, how dare you try to run” had been bait to make it seem like he was going to give chase. Then, he subsequently pretended that an enemy had surfaced and remained in the same spot with his guard up, ready to fight.

However, Meng Qi did not relax even after Wolf King had made his escape. He continued to let his “imposing manner” scale higher and higher while he scanned his surroundings as if there was a real enemy around.

This was his guess:

There were Exterior-level masters at Happycloud Heights, so Wolf King could not keep waiting outside forever. When he had challenged He Jiu the last time, the latter had tacitly acceded to it. Was he unafraid of being slain on the spot if he came back?

Hence, there could only be two reasons why he had been able to suddenly launch an attack. First, he had been roaming Misty Rain Mountain for a long while and spied on Happycloud Heights from time to time, and it just so happened that luck was on his side. However, he would have to be bearing a huge grudge for him to spy on the place while risking being caught by Exterior-level masters, given his usual style of quickly fleeing before he could be attacked.

Second, he was aware that the Crown Prince would be assaulted that day and the Exterior-level masters would be drawn away, and thus had lain in wait.

Meng Qi reflected on it and felt that he did not have any deep-seated enmity with Wolf King that would drive him to act as per reason one. Hence, he was more inclined towards the second reason. If that was the case, then Wolf King was blatantly colluding with “The Myths”. He had ambushed Meng Qi to vent his anger, whether it was on behalf of “The Myths” or under their orders.

In terms of the Ranking List of Young Masters, Wolf King was ranked fifth while he was sixth. They were similar in strength, so how positive could “The Myths” have been about “Wolf King” being able to get rid of him for sure?

Based on battle records alone and the level of strength they represented, even if he lost to the Wolf King by a little, there was still a large likelihood that he could make it out alive if he was ambushed.

Therefore, even if “The Myths” wanted to concentrate their resources on more important matters, they would have sent a lesser member to clean up the mess afterward. After Meng Qi was all battered and bruised from his battle with Wolf King, he could easily swoop in and cleanly finish the job.

The faint gold glow around Meng Qi dimmed further. Most of the blood on his body had been spewed from his own mouth. His chest had caved in a little and his ribs had snapped, but his imposing manner was still strong. His eyes were like a tiger’s as he scanned the surroundings, almost as if he were actually trying to find the assassin who was lying in wait to clean up the mess.

“I won’t drop my front even if it costs me my life. I’ll definitely scare you away!”

Just then, Meng Qi had another thought. If He Jiu and Wang Siyuan had not experienced a sudden increase in strength one after the other and caused the shaken-up Yan Chong, Liu Su and the others to lose their interest in sparring, he would probably have been waiting to be challenged by one of them right then. If there were any sudden turn of events then, he would not be short of any help.

Life was so unpredictable. The Party of Happycloud that should have been a series of enjoyable matches had turned into something like that!

“Thud!” A person flew over out of the blue and landed at Meng Qi’s feet.

His face was extremely pale and there were no signs of any external wounds on his body. When it hit the ground, it rolled a few times before coming to a stop, evidently dead.

Meng Qi had seen that man before. He had been among the people who had appeared at the Ying City martial arts gathering, and was apparently a somewhat renowned Enlightened Master Pro in Ying City.

“He didn’t leave? He’s a lesser member of the ‘The Myths’? Who did this?” Meng Qi was more surprised than delighted. The situation was turning weirder and weirder.

There was a blur before his eyes and another figure appeared in front of him. It was a tall middle-aged man wrapped in a black robe. He had short and thick hair, a beard, a black eye patch over his left eye, and a long and narrow, evil-looking Horseman Sabre at his waist.

Meng Qi’s pupils dramatically constricted as he murmured, “Ze Luoju…”

“Evil Blade of Immensity Sea” Ze Luoju! He was an expert of the Exterior, a Top Class Master Pro, and the disciple of the Crying Elder. It was Ze Luoju, the one who had destroyed his own lair!

He had actually chased his way to the Central Plains?

Faced with an Exterior-level master, the cogwheels in Meng Qi’s head began rapidly spinning as he tried to find a way out.

Should he stall for time since Gongyang Hao and He Jiu would return soon?

Should he hope that there were “The Immortals” members in Ying City who would go over to take a look after discovering “The Myths'” appearance?

“You are very good.” Ze Luoju’s voice was deep and sonorous, but he sounded extremely strange speaking in the Great Jin Dynasty’s official tongue. “Originally, when you fled to the Central Plains, I had given up chasing after you. After all, your tracks would be difficult to find, and there are many who would love to see me dead. Who knew that you are simply too outstanding, improving your strength by leaps and bounds and making it into the top 20 of the Ranking List of Young Masters. Your reputation spread to the desert, and I had no choice but to pay attention to you. If you reach the Exterior level, I won’t be able to have a good night’s sleep.”

It seemed like he wanted to explain the entire cause-and-effect situation, which suited Meng Qi just fine. The more he blabbered and dragged it out, the better!

Ze Luoju stared at Meng Qi with a deep and frosty look. He spoke with indifference as he said, “You don’t have to wish that they’ll hurry back. As an Exterior-level master myself, do you think I’m unable to have a good grasp of timing?”

“The reason why I’m saying so much is that you’ll die with a lingering grievance, and I may reap your excellent soul.”

“If your whereabouts had been unknown, I would not have been able to do much either. I’m not familiar with this place, so even if I’m on the Exterior level, I wouldn’t be able to hunt you down. Unfortunately, you wanted to attend this Party of Happycloud, and thus I came to Ying City directly to wait for you. At first, I had hoped that I could just sit and watch as they killed you. That way, I wouldn’t have to fear that ‘Surpassing’ of Xuan Bei’s Bald Ass. But who knew they were so useless, and I still have to kill you myself in the end.”

Ze Luoju was of course happy if he did not have to do anything, because no matter how careful he was, there was still a possibility of being found by Xuan Bei via his Providential Sight and other Buddhism Heavenly Knowing skills. It was better for him to watch Wolf King’s ambush and hope that they would accomplish their task. Then the matter would be resolved and he could have a peace of mind.

As the head of a group of horse bandits that swept over the desert and a real Heterodox Demon, Ze Luoju had always been resolute and decisive. He would attempt to nip any problems in the bud at the first sign of trouble, unless the cost of doing so was too heavy.

Moreover, when he attacked, he called forth extremely powerful Thunderclaps that wiped out the enemy in one fell swoop with its tremendous strength!

Meng Qi narrowed his eyes. He prepared to run the Sacrifice Formula again, because he was going to drag Ze Luoju down with him even if it killed him. At the same time, he racked his brains for any treasures or secrets that would pique Ze Luoju’s interest so he could stall for more time.

“Alright, let’s stop here,” announced Ze Luoju. The activity on Misty Rain Mountain in the distance had vanished. He wondered if The Myths had succeeded, or if one or two of them had been defeated…

He was just about to unsheath his sword and end Meng Qi, locking his soul inside his evil blade, when their surroundings suddenly became very serene and unrestrained. White lotuses began falling from the sky, emanating a refreshing fragrance and exuding a pure and holy feeling.

“The world of mortals is like a prison; all living beings are in suffering. The wheel of reincarnation never ends; suffering is endless. Have mercy on my people; the Gods are dawning on us. Ajati Matriarch, Vacuum Hometown…”

The young girl’s white robes were like snow. She was exquisite and witty, reciting holy words while she stepped on the lotus flowers, descending them like stairs from the emptiness behind the two. She looked sacred, graceful, and was full of compassion.

Her solemn appearance was abruptly broken by a captivating smile as she said,

“If you want to kill my husband, you’ll have to ask me first.”

“What the hell!” Demoness Gu had also reached the Exterior level already? Meng Qi was slightly surprised. Then he suddenly recalled something.

“No wonder she was able to hear my conversation with Senior Brother Qi even though we were using Secret Voice-sending!”

When she had said that Exterior-level masters could hear them but had never mentioned that she herself could not, they had been misled to believe she possessed some kind of skill.

So the truth was that she had already attained the Exterior level!

The demoness really knew how to intermingle truths with lies. She was amazing at deceiving others!