Chen Ping's Sword

"Alright, I promise you."

Chen Ping’s heart trembled.

Zuo Duanshou, how should I put it? Although his actions can be somewhat reckless, deep down, he is a trustworthy partner who values loyalty and righteousness.

Ever since he called me "Seventh Brother," he has never cut corners on anything I’ve asked him to do.

He trains diligently, seldom speaks, and sometimes when he gets up late at night to train, you can feel him tossing and turning, unable to sleep.

Chen Ping knew this guy was blaming himself.

Blaming himself for not protecting his little sister, which led to her being kidnapped and ultimately not being rescued.

This time, Chen Ping intended to counterattack and dismantle the Chizi Hall of the Seven-Colored Hall.

If anyone is the happiest, it must be Zuo Duanshou.

He’s been running around tirelessly, like a mad dog, chasing Zhuang Hongyi from the east of the city to the west, and then to the north, straight to her lair.

Chen Ping didn’t understand why Zhuang Hongyi would burn down her own lair and the women she had abducted, but he knew that in such a situation, Zuo Duanshou could only choose death.

Regardless of strength, in this situation, he wasn’t allowed to back down.

The last plea was both a concern and a release.

How could Chen Ping bear to let him down?

Zhuang Hongyi, strangely, did not rush to escape.

She stood at a distance, Inner Qi circulating through her whole body, mockingly watching Chen Ping.

She seemed to appreciate his torment.

The fire was growing bigger and bigger; are you here to save people or to kill me?

Every moment delayed meant a few more people would be burned to death.

The screams inside the house were growing quieter, accompanied by heart-wrenching coughs.

Chen Ping put down Zuo Duanshou and coldly sneered, "How long do you think you can stop me?"

Clang...

The green tiles underfoot turned to powder, and his body transformed into six illusions, flashing right before Zhuang Hongyi.

"The same old trick, will it work?"

Zhuang Hongyi had already leaped into the air when Chen Ping gathered his strength for a sprint.

She knew that in a head-on confrontation, this young-looking boy opposite had an astonishing short sprint speed, though he ultimately practiced Qi Blood Martial Arts, not Lightweight Skill.

In the city, especially amidst closely packed houses, she could easily escape by leaping high and low, unlike the difficult escape in the open wilderness last night.

When Chen Ping drew his sword and charged, she even had time to smile, her figure tracing a swift and graceful arc like a cloud, landing on the treetop.

With just a touch of the branch, she would leverage herself out of the courtyard.

’Wait, why are there six illusions.’

In an instant, a hint of unease flashed through Zhuang Hongyi’s mind.

During the two consecutive confrontations last night, she had witnessed several instances of him using the Seven Stars Step.

With the Illusory Seven Forms, deceiving the eyes while being extremely agile and quick.

The key was the seven figures.

So, where’s the other one?

At this thought,

It became apparent under the osmanthus tree, where there was originally no one, a figure appeared amidst a swirling breeze.

Faint and indistinct, neither the person nor the sword was clear.

Only the piercing whistle of the sword swept past, slicing a jujube tree into three segments, which fell and flew across.

While the spot she intended to land was now empty.

"Clear Wind Shadowless Sword."

Zhuang Hongyi finally understood where the missing illusion went.

The seven illusions of the Seven Stars Step were all present actually.

It’s just that one of them was the true body.

And Chen Ping’s true body, utilizing Clear Wind Shadowless Swordsmanship, merged with the wind to become shadowless, deceiving the visual and sensory perception, creating an illusion of temporary disappearance.

He had already calculated that if Zhuang Hongyi tried to escape, she would definitely rely on her Lightweight Skill.

If she managed to leap first into the air, he wouldn’t be able to catch up no matter what.

He might surpass Zhuang Hongyi in combat power, but ultimately, there was a gap in their Realms. Qi Blood Martial Artists in the earlier stages indeed lacked the ability to leap high and move light as a feather, appearing somewhat clumsy.

Differences in Martial Cultivation aren’t altered by personal will.

Therefore, to capture an opponent without the will to fight, he naturally had to think of a way.

And he calculated that no matter how powerful Zhuang Hongyi’s Lightweight Skill was, she couldn’t fly over the courtyard, more than twenty zhang away, without leverage.

She certainly needed a point to leverage her leap.

As long as he accurately determined her point of leverage,

he could catch her.

And what could be a better point in the courtyard than this osmanthus tree.

"Come down."

Chen Ping swung his sword horizontally, cutting the tree, leaping into the air, with his left hand in an eagle claw stance, bones lengthening with cracking sounds, like an agile monkey reaching out, already catching Zhuang Hongyi’s embroidered shoe.

With a slight shake of the wrist, the power was unleashed.

Crack...

Zhuang Hongyi’s left foot was crushed, and the next moment, a wave-like force transmitted, bending her body mid-air like a bow, smashing down heavily.

Boom...

Zhuang Hongyi screamed, crashing to the ground.

Smoke and dust billowed.

A cascade of bone-cracking sounds echoed.

Her body lay limply like a puddle of mud.

Her Qi Mechanism scattered, her face pale.

Her glance at Chen Ping filled with despair.

Chen Ping didn’t spare another look at her, he knew the weight of his hand.

Zhuang Hongyi was utterly finished, and even if the world’s best physician were summoned to heal her, it would take three to five years to recover from these injuries.

Without pausing, he grabbed two sheets hanging on a line nearby, wrapped them around his body, picked up a water bucket, and doused himself from head to foot.

Then, without a sound, he charged into the blazing fire.

Breaking open the heavy wooden door, his senses opened, feeling the faint coughs and groans, Chen Ping didn’t bother to distinguish who they were.

As long as there was movement, as long as there was breathing, he grabbed them.

His form flitted like the wind through the house, breaking through wood and stone tables.

Soon, he was carrying one on his shoulder, holding one under each arm, and cradling one in his arms, delving through waves of fire to emerge into the courtyard.

Looking up, another group arrived at the gate of Mingfeng Pavilion.

This time, their attire was quite conspicuous.

Black attire with red jackets, swords at their waists.

He didn’t waste time figuring out who they were, just shouted, "Save people, get water."

Then turned back and dashed into the fire again.

After four or five trips, Chen Ping finally emerged with a little girl, gazing back at the fire scene and sighing deeply.

Human effort sometimes comes to an end.

No matter how fast he was, five girls were still burned to death inside.

Maybe it was bad luck; by the time Chen Ping found them, their faces were already unrecognizable from burns, further crushed by fallen beams, leaving no chance of rescue.

"Brother..."

The little girl in his arms finally caught her breath, and amidst her soot-black face, a trace of joy for escaping death formed. Suddenly, her eyes froze; she saw Zuo Duanshou and screamed, opening her mouth to cry loudly.

"Xiaoyuang."

Chen Ping was startled, placing the little girl before Zuo Duanshou, watching the siblings embrace tightly, seeing Zuo Duanshou’s relieved smile and then his head slowly droop, moving no more...

Having just parted from life, another separation by death.

Chen Ping looked up to the sky and sighed long and deeply.

In the past life, perhaps there were many injustices, constantly encountering people and things that felt wrong.

But it was never as blood-soaked as this world before his eyes.

Perhaps the truth of the world is often very cruel. From the moment of birth, some people are wolves, while it’s fated for others to be sheep...

With the world about to descend into chaos, how many could he, alone, save?