With the Blade

However, matters of probability often aren’t that accurate.

Relying on the power of Evil Qi, this "Iron Spear Cuts Water" indeed blasted open the Dock Fortress’s defenses, but the defenders inside the Dock Fortress weren’t pushovers either—it’s said the eldest son of the Dock Fortress’s main family had returned from the Capital City of Jiankang, and not only was he well-versed in literature, but had also mastered a set of martial arts.

Ordinary martial arts alone naturally wouldn’t restrain a master of Evil Qi.

But the martial arts he learned weren’t ordinary at all.

"One Sword Covers the Sky!"

Amid a loud shout, "Iron Spear Cuts Water," who had already unleashed Evil Qi, had half his body split open at the scene.

And the one who unleashed this sword was only the eldest son of the Dock Fortress’s main family, who was merely at the level of Evil Qi entering his body.

As the master of Evil Qi fell, the battle was no longer one-sided; what should have been a lightning-fast ambush battle instead turned into a bloody street fight, with both sides, consisting of those merely at the level of Evil Qi entering their bodies, and even ordinary people who couldn’t handle Evil Qi well, greeting each other with swords and spears. Blood and corpses quickly covered the ground.

And this also directly benefitted the lurking yellow sparrow, the bandit leader who had been roaming around Bozhou.

As both sides fought, it was exactly the right time for this bandit leader to lead his men to take advantage, and although his team didn’t have much combat power, both opponents were at their wit’s end, and had little ability to resist him—yet this didn’t mean he encountered no resistance. In fact, he faced the most dangerous resistance.

Because that eldest son of the Dock Fortress’s main family wasn’t dead yet.

"One Sword Covers the Sky!"

Seeing new bandits rushing over, the eldest son didn’t even think twice before thrusting his sword forward.

This sword strike nearly scared the bandit leader to death.

He had just seen the master unleashing Evil Qi die with his own eyes, so who knew why someone merely at the Evil Qi entering phase could unleash such an attack—but at the brink of life and death, he had no capacity to think much. He could only use his most instinctive way to save his own life.

"Aaaaaaahhhhh——"

Faced with the loud shout of the eldest son, this bandit leader also shouted desperately, trying to use this to boost his momentum.

"Giant Axe Opening Heaven!"

Indeed, faced with the terrifying power of that One Sword Covers the Sky, he shouted out with the biggest voice what he wanted to do.

He actually succeeded.

That axe seemed to have really split the sky open, and also split the body of that eldest son. It was at that moment that this bandit leader reaped the bounty—but compared to the spoils of robbery, what he valued more was the effect brought by this axe strike.

Knowing full well that he had been exposed to Evil Qi for some time, he naturally understood some of the rules of Evil Qi, such as how an Evil Qi entering body is bound to lose to Evil Qi externalization. Achieving Evil Qi externalization already made him as brave as those heroes from legendary tales.

But now, he, merely at the Evil Qi entering phase, had the power to counter Evil Qi externalization.

Or more accurately, not just Evil Qi externalization.

"I can defeat everything!"

In that moment, the bandit leader was so confident.

"Heck, I might even be able to storm into the Imperial City of Jiankang and pull that little emperor off his throne so I can sit there!"

Like most people who have just gained power, they always feel they’re unique and extraordinary—this made Du Chengfeng, from his bystander perspective, have a hard time looking at it, as every time he saw similar scenes, they reminded him of his own past.

Outwardly, he never showed arrogance, but privately—for instance, at midnight under his covers—he occasionally indulged in small moments of self-satisfaction.

Thinking back now, it was all black history, all records of shame. It was just sheer luck that the enemies he encountered were mostly defeated by him; otherwise, back then, when he had just gained power, should he have faced a strong enemy he couldn’t possibly overcome, he would’ve lost all face.

Just like in the records of that big axe, akin to what this bandit leader experienced.

Clearly, this bandit leader wasn’t as fortunate as Du Chengfeng. Just when he had gained power, he encountered a formidable foe—none other than Jiang Wenyuan, who was leading the charge against bandits in Bozhou. He was an old acquaintance of Du Chengfeng from his days as a constable, and this acquaintance almost immediately found the location of this bandit leader.

And then...

"Cross Slash Technique."

Two iron rulers performed one intersecting slash, turning half of the bandits into broken corpses.

As for the other half... they fled quickly, abandoning their comrades.

As for the bandit leader wielding a massive axe, he didn’t dare stop for even a moment, and at this point, he finally understood what it meant that there’s always someone stronger—sure enough, his Giant Axe Opening Heaven might be powerful, but faced against those sinister and chilly crossfire lances, it somewhat fell short.

Because of this, the bandit leader escaped all the way out of Bozhou.

On his journey, he encountered more and more experts. Of course, these weren’t the Evil Qi masters of old; they were experts, like him, proficient in one specific technique—those who couldn’t learn these new techniques perished in disputes with these new-generation experts. Just like himself, this bandit leader had slain three Evil Qi externalization masters, considerably boosting his confidence.

"Perhaps I’m not that weak after all?"

After using his Giant Axe Opening Heaven to hack down the third Evil Qi externalization master, the bandit leader suddenly had a realization.

"Maybe I just need some time to further enhance my strength."

With this thought, the bandit leader led his team westward, training while journeying, and moving away from Jiankang’s Capital City, which was relatively more chaotic and prone to looting.

Indeed, he achieved some success; at least when facing that god of death wielding Sword Qi, he truly managed to slice him down with one axe.

Not until that figure bearing a broadsword descended from the sky did he retain any confidence.

"Giant Axe Opening Heaven!"

The bandit leader shouted, swinging his axe.

He felt like his entire being was set ablaze.

...

...

...

"Indeed, set on fire."

Snapping out from whetting his blade, Du Chengfeng recalled the sensation of being enveloped in flames, acknowledging that he didn’t quite control the intensity well this time.

The result being the axe handle nearly cracked; this wasn’t the effect he desired—a truly precise intensity would burn the bandit leader while leaving the weapon in his hand unscathed, a testament to perfect control.

"Ah, there’s still practice needed."

Du Chengfeng expressed a sentiment identical to that bandit leader’s.

This is also the second reason he doesn’t sharpen his blades often, as every time he finishes, he’s somewhat affected, though as his mindset has grown more stable, the effect has diminished, but diminished doesn’t mean nonexistent, and it’s a sensation he rather dislikes.

As though living someone else’s life and becoming another person.

However, this experience isn’t solely negative; just as now, having personally lived through the life of this axe’s holder, the bandit leader, he could glean information that he himself couldn’t normally obtain.

"Hundred Weapons Chart... and new techniques."

Du Chengfeng furrowed his brow slightly.

Although these two matters seemed insignificant, he couldn’t shake the feeling that they might lead to more troublesome events.

Unrelated to judgment, it was purely intuition.

Yet compared to the former, the latter, the new techniques, was indeed quite the head-scratcher.

"And... even familiar faces have learned it."

Du Chengfeng gazed into the distance.

At that moment, he felt that perhaps making a trip to the Imperial City of Jiankang seemed rather fitting.