With the Blade

Jiang Wenyuan and Shan Bing could confirm that their westward journey this time was extremely secretive.

But even if they acted alone, secrecy was futile. Being listed on the Hundred Weapons Chart already meant that they could not completely hide their whereabouts. In fact, three days after they disappeared, people already realized that two Commander-level experts had left Jiankang City. After some busybodies spent hundreds of coins to gather information, it quickly became known that they had been seen with the old eunuch.

Even the city gate they had exited was discovered, proving once again that Jiankang City’s secrecy measures were as worthless as ever.

So, while they were being chased all over the place by the local influential families of Songzhou, news about the two of them had already spread.

Strictly speaking, this news traveled faster than the two of them could run.

Fortunately, it still took some time for such high-level information to reach the patrolling soldiers, which allowed Jiang Wenyuan and Shan Bing to luckily acquire some basic food and water just as they were leaving Songzhou—but clearly, this luck wouldn’t last forever, as the soldiers needed to return to the city to change shifts.

Returning to Dengzhou City, receiving new orders, they naturally realized something was amiss, especially when recalling how Jiang Wenyuan and Shan Bing had fooled them right in front of their eyes. The fury of those soldiers who had seen them was at its peak.

So they stationed themselves at a few city gates of Dengzhou City, scrutinizing the passing pedestrians all day long, vowing to teach these two frauds a lesson.

Of course, they were just a few ordinary soldiers, no match for someone with externalized Evil Qi like Shan Bing or Jiang Wenyuan. However, they didn’t need to take action themselves; they only had to identify the targets.

As for taking action...

"It’s up to you guys! Get them!"

A few gatekeeping soldiers quickly retreated, bringing out two men from behind.

But upon seeing whom the soldiers had brought out, Shan Bing, who had been on high alert, nearly burst into laughter.

The reason was none other than that the two men were disabled.

One had his left leg amputated at the root, could only walk with crutches, and the other lacked a right hand, replaced with an iron hook. The one with the missing leg had a bewildered expression, completely deaf to any sound, while the one missing a hand kept his eyes tightly shut, and even when open, no pupil could be seen, indicating he was blind.

Of course, Shan Bing had no prejudice against the disabled, having seen many who persevered despite their physical shortcomings. But that was a different kind of resilience, and when it came to fighting, could a one-legged deaf person and a one-handed blind person really be contenders?

"...Shan Bing, we have to fight for our lives."

Just as Shan Bing was about to say something, Jiang Wenyuan’s face beside him had already turned completely dark.

"It’s Tian Can Di Que. How could they emerge from here?"

"Tian Can Di Que... Wait? Are you saying Tian Can Di Que?"

About to speak, Shan Bing was momentarily left speechless.

Tian Can Di Que, respectively ranked seventeenth and eighteenth on the Hundred Weapons Chart, were two brothers sharing a name, so no one really knew what weapons they used. After all, those who faced them ended up in pieces, their bones crushed to dust.

Obviously, compared to other experts on the Hundred Weapons Chart, the Tian Can Di Que brothers were far more brutal and vicious, sounding like Evil Qi maniacs compared to the rational ones who sought strength.

Once, Shan Bing had only heard of their name, and he once believed the brothers’ madness was due to Evil Qi affecting their brains. But now, he realized the real issue.

The two brothers were actually disabled.

Their physical disabilities made them far weaker than the average person, so to ensure their survival, they had to be fiercer than anyone else, using the most brutal and vicious methods of killing to stay alive.

"No way..."

Taking a deep breath, Shan Bing raised his large shield.

At this moment, he already had a vague feeling that this could indeed be the most terrifying battle he had ever fought in his life.

And reality proved his intuition correct.

"Boom—"

In an instant, Shan Bing, who had raised his large shield, was sent flying by the crutch.

The other iron hook viciously slammed into the pair of raised iron rulers.

Just one exchange was enough to clearly show the disparity between the two sides.

Indeed, fate may have stripped much from these two brothers, but this loss, in turn, endowed them with strength beyond the reach of ordinary people—especially when paired with weapons that suited them, amplifying that strength to an incredible degree.

"Why does this limping one’s strength seem so immense!"

Shan Bing, behind the large shield, was dumbfounded, encountering such a powerful opponent for the first time—normally, when he raised his large shield, even attacks from those who were encased in Evil Qi could be withstood. Yet, facing a hobbling one-legged person, he felt as if he were like a pig bladder ball being kicked all over, unable to stand his ground.

How could this be possible? Was this truly solely an issue of raw strength?

"No!"

Shan Bing’s face suddenly changed.

"There’s something wrong with this cripple’s crutch!"

Meanwhile, Jiang Wenyuan, on the other side, was faring far worse in the battle. The blind man with no right hand seemed to see nothing yet could always pinpoint Jiang Wenyuan’s position first. His steel hook was soul-sucking; just with a few clashes, he managed to chip Jiang Wenyuan’s iron rulers.