x
Santou stood frozen, clutching his eyebrow-height staff with trembling hands.
Lin Hongshui—the Guillotine—gaped, his eyes fixed on the severed head still rolling across the ground. Slowly, he turned his gaze to Lu Sheng, who stood utterly still, as if in a trance.
A bleak autumn wind stirred the dust at their feet.
For a long moment, no one spoke.
Lu Sheng hadn’t expected it to be so effortless. The arrogant man from moments before hadn’t even managed to dodge a single probing strike.
Santou was paralyzed, his legs beginning to shake.
And Lin Hongshui still couldn’t believe what he had seen—that ruthless, flawless blade had been wielded by Lu Sheng, a boy barely old enough to grow stubble.
“Good, good, good!”9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡngU9S73cfo
Lin Hongshui suddenly broke into laughter, the sound sharp and twisted with menace.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy0nRKcTCDA
“Another one’s looking for—”
Puff!
Steel flashed.
This time, it was Santou.
Lu Sheng’s figure blurred through the air, and a fresh jet of blood burst forth.
Santou’s head hit the ground, rolled a few times, and finally came to a stop beside a blackened heap of debris.
Lu Sheng calmly flicked his blade, sending blood flying from its edge.
A strange fire stirred in his chest—faint, but boiling hot.
“This is killing… this is what it means to be a swordsman! The kind who draws their blade at the slightest provocation!”
He gripped the weapon tighter. The silver-white blade, no longer than a forearm, felt like the most loyal companion he’d ever known.
A wave of unfamiliarity crept over him. Somehow, he felt like he’d stepped into the pages of the martial arts novels he had once devoured—except now, he was the one holding the sword.
That boiling fire deep within refused to settle.
“Come on! Either kill me, or end up like the two pieces of trash on the ground!”
Lu Sheng liked this feeling. His eyes reddened with excitement. He licked his dry lips and began walking toward Lin Hongshui, one deliberate step at a time.
"You bastard!!"
Lin Hongshui's face darkened with rage. Gripping his thick-backed machete in both hands, he stormed toward Lu Sheng.
Chi!
The silver swallow flashed once more—Lu Sheng struck with a swift slash.
Though Swallow Chasing Wind Blade was only an entry-level technique, it became formidable under the foundation of Black Tiger Saber Techniques mastery.
Clang!
But Lin Hongshui blocked it cleanly.
"I know this move... Swallow Chasing Water, Swallow Chasing Wind Blade..." he sneered, grinning fiercely. "I nearly killed the man who created this sword style. And you? You're just a little brat!"
With a roar, he pushed against Lu Sheng’s long blade and twisted his machete upward. With a powerful surge of strength, he slashed diagonally from bottom to top.
This was the Water-Splashing Style—a signature opening move in his Wind-Splashing Blade technique. It was a brutal test: the opponent either dodged it or was forced to clash head-on.
Lu Sheng jumped aside, narrowly avoiding the strike. Without losing momentum, he countered with another flurry of Swallow Chasing Wind techniques, putting all his strength behind each stroke.
The two clashed in the center of the backyard, blades flashing and ringing with steel.
Lin Hongshui’s weapon was massive, every swing like a sledgehammer. Even a glancing blow could leave one’s arms numb.
Lu Sheng’s blade was lighter, but faster. His endurance held steady, and time and again, he used the sharp arcs of the Swallow Chasing Wind Blade to disrupt Lin Hongshui’s momentum, deflecting attacks and probing for openings.
Both men moved with terrifying speed—far beyond anything Second or Santou had shown.
Yet for them, this pace was nothing unusual.
Lu Sheng unleashed dozens of Chasing Wind strikes in rapid succession, but still, he couldn’t gain the upper hand.
Lin Hongshui remained solid, his strength undiminished, every counterstrike crashing down with crushing force.
Lin Hongshui was still brimming with strength, every swing of his blade heavy with deadly force.
Ding ding!
Their swords clashed twice more in rapid succession.
Lu Sheng’s foot landed on a brittle wooden board—crack!—and he stumbled, momentarily losing his balance.
Lin Hongshui’s eyes lit up with murderous intent. He raised his machete high and hurled himself forward with all his might.
"Die!"
He was ready to split this arrogant brat in two. This boy had actually dared to kill Ertou and Santou right in front of him!
If he didn’t take revenge now, who would ever dare stand beside him again?
The machete came down from above, vibrating with a strange hum as it cleaved toward Lu Sheng’s head.
This was the core of the Whirlwind Blade Technique: special force techniques that amplified a strike’s destructive power.
And with Lin Hongshui’s already monstrous strength, the blade now carried a terrifying weight.
The machete was about to crash into Lu Sheng's skull—
Whoosh!
In that instant, Lu Sheng’s body straightened and rooted itself to the ground. The long sword in his hand began to hum, vibrating intensely—then let out a low, indistinct whistle.
Roar!!!
A tiger’s roar—fierce and wild—shook the air.
Lu Sheng’s eyes turned red. He had unleashed Tiger’s Wrath, the explosive finisher of the Black Tiger Saber Techniques technique.
His blade surged upward with terrifying speed and power, slamming into Lin Hongshui’s arms just as they came down. The force of the strike was faster and heavier than even the machete’s arc.
"You dare!!"
A roar came suddenly from beyond the yard.
A blur of black shadows flew toward them—ding!—slamming into the side of Lu Sheng’s blade.
It was a handful of gray-white stones.
A second warrior leapt into the yard, a thick-backed machete in his hand. Two deep, crossed scars stretched from his forehead to his chin, giving him a fearsome appearance.
"Brother!!"
Lin Hongshui had been shaken by the tiger’s roar—his mind stalled, his reaction slowed.
Lu Sheng’s strike had come within a hair of severing his arms.
Only now did he manage to pull his machete back. Huge beads of cold sweat poured down his face—he’d been truly terrified.
"This kid’s using the Black Tiger Sword Technique—he’s not easy to deal with! Someone’s coming. Let’s finish him together!" Lin Shuanghuo glanced at the two corpses on the ground, his expression hardening.
"Okay!"
The two brothers split and charged at Lu Sheng from both sides.
But Lu Sheng remained calm. He met them head-on, unleashing the Black Tiger Sword Technique with full force. The strikes, empowered by Tiger’s Might, were far heavier than anything from the Swallow Chasing Wind Sword.
The fully awakened Black Tiger Sword Technique was terrifying in its strength. Each time Lu Sheng slashed, he anticipated the enemies’ movements, aiming precisely for vital points they had no choice but to guard.
Within seconds, he had used Tiger’s Might seventeen times in a row.
Chi chi chi chi!
Blades screamed through the air as the courtyard echoed with violent clashes.
Despite their combined effort, the brothers could only just keep up. Their swordplay couldn’t withstand a direct clash with Lu Sheng’s blade. Every time they tried to complete a strike, they were forced to retreat and defend instead.
Half an incense stick’s time passed. Lin Shuanghuo began to falter.
Seizing a brief opening while his brother held Lu Sheng off, he stepped back and yanked a paper packet from his coat.
With a flick of his arm, he hurled it at Lu Sheng’s face.
"Die!"
Puff!
Lu Sheng’s blade instantly shredded the packet—but inside was lime powder, and it exploded into a white cloud.
Startled, Lu Sheng instinctively held his breath and squeezed his eyes shut.
There was no time to retreat. Without hesitation, he unleashed his final move—Tiger’s Roar—and launched a blind, furious assault.
Roar!!!
Another bestial roar shook the yard.
Clang! Clang!
This time, Lu Sheng couldn’t avoid the incoming blades. His sword collided head-on with both machetes.
Crack!
His blade snapped cleanly in half, the broken piece spinning through the air before embedding itself deep in the ground.
But Tiger’s Roar was the fiercest move of the Black Tiger Saber Techniques Technique. Its overwhelming force shook both brothers, forcing them back as their machetes quivered under the impact.
"What can you do now without a sword? Go to hell!! Hahaha!"
Lin Shuanghuo burst into triumphant laughter.
A swordsman without a sword—he was nothing now. Just a pig waiting to be butchered. The balance of power had tilted decisively.
He was just about to raise his blade and finish Lu Sheng off—
Bang! Bang!
Suddenly, two heavy palm strikes rang out.
Lin Shuanghuo’s eyes widened in shock as Lu Sheng closed in like a thunderclap, his palms crashing into Lin Hongshui’s chest with crushing force.
Clang!
The machete slipped from Lin Hongshui’s hands and clattered to the ground. He stumbled back two steps, clutching his chest, mouth agape in silent disbelief.
"Big… Brother… run… quickly!"
Puff!
Blood gushed from Lin Hongshui’s mouth. His body collapsed backward, lifeless.
By now, Lu Sheng’s blood was boiling. Something in him had shifted. With Heart-Rending Palm footwork, he slipped past the falling corpse and lunged at Lin Shuanghuo, who stood only a few steps away.
Lin Shuanghuo snapped out of his stupor, bellowing as he swung his blade—
But it was too late.
The shock of seeing his brother die had frozen him for a fraction too long. And that moment was all Lu Sheng needed.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Three palm strikes landed in the blink of an eye, crashing into Lin Shuanghuo’s chest and lower abdomen like lightning.
The force of the Heart-Rending Palm didn’t just bruise the flesh—it drilled straight into the organs beneath.
Lin Shuanghuo’s face turned bright red. He stumbled backward, then dropped to his knees.
He tried to speak, eyes locked on Lu Sheng, but blood gushed from his mouth before any words could form.
Puff!
He collapsed forward with a dull thud—and moved no more.
Lu Sheng let out a low, breathless laugh. Just twice.
"Two Tongli-level experts… Must be the Ghost-Headed Blade and the Guillotine Blade that Uncle Zhao talked about from his youth. Never thought they'd die by my hand today."
Lu Sheng stood among the fallen bodies, heart pounding, blood still surging through his veins.
"So this is the Tongyi-Unity of Intent-level Uncle Zhao mentioned… Could it be the same 'Harmony of Heart and Technique' that Master Zhang Xun once taught me?"
If Tongli was about mastering and unleashing most of the body’s strength, then Tongyi was something deeper—where sight, thought, breath, and awareness converged into every movement. It was an all-encompassing focus, a harmony between mind and muscle.
Compared to Tongli, Tongyi demanded even greater control over every fiber of the body. Lu Sheng recalled a study back on Earth: if a human could truly utilize every muscle fiber in perfect unison, even an ordinary person could produce several tons of force.
That was the theoretical limit.9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡf7MQbo4PVF
The joints, bones, and natural inhibitors of the body made it impossible in reality. But Tongyi... Tongyi seemed like a step toward that unreachable peak.
He took a slow breath and began searching the corpses of Lin Shuanghuo and Lin Hongshui.
From their waist pouches, he retrieved a thick stack of silver notes—large bills, each worth a hundred taels. He didn’t bother counting. With practiced motion, he stuffed them into his own pouch.
Then he found something more intriguing: a torn, black leather-bound booklet, strange in texture, its material unfamiliar. Lin Shuanghuo had kept it close to his body—it had to be important.
Lu Sheng left the rest of the clutter untouched. He stood in the middle of the blood-stained yard, letting the silence settle in as he caught his breath.
He was hurt. Badly, if he was honest.
The battle with two Tongli experts had taken its toll. Both brothers had been born with unnatural strength, and their Whirlwind Sword Technique only amplified the weight and power of their strikes.
During their final clash, Lu Sheng had felt something tear in his right arm. His heel throbbed with every shift in stance—too many explosive bursts, too fast.
His shoulders ached with a deep, twisting pain from that last desperate exchange. He didn’t know if a bone had cracked, but it felt like something inside had bent past its limit.
ns216.73.216.94da2
