Chapter 248 - 246: The Eight Generals
In the small courtyard.
The young man in the green robe was fighting two against one. His Cultivation was slightly inferior, and he immediately found himself in a bitter struggle.
The man’s Broadsword was heavy and powerful. Every time he parried a blow, a numbing shock jolted his arm and his blood roiled in his chest.
The woman’s Short Sword, on the other hand, was unpredictable and treacherous, specifically targeting the gaps in his defense.
Within moments, several gashes were sliced open on his shoulder and arm. Blood soaked his green robe, and his situation grew perilous.
Just as the man’s Broadsword came cleaving down again with the force of wind and thunder, the green-robed young man’s Soft Sword was nearly knocked from his grasp, leaving his guard wide open.
The woman’s Short Sword was already lunging toward his back like a venomous snake.
"Watch out!"
Bi He cried out in alarm.
Zhou Qingyi’s eyes snapped open, a flicker of despair within them.
In the nick of time.
"Hmph!"
An icy snort echoed through the air.
A gray shadow appeared as if out of thin air.
It was Elder Zhan.
His movements, however, were as fast as lightning.
Facing the heavy, powerful Broadsword, his withered palm took on a metallic sheen as he slapped it directly against the blade.
CLANG!
The sound of clashing metal rang out.
The middle-aged man felt an irresistible force travel up the blade.
The webbing of his hand tore open, and the Broadsword was knocked from his grasp, flying through the air before embedding itself deep in the ground.
Elder Zhan didn’t stop, closing in on the woman like a phantom.
He formed a sword-finger, and though he moved second, he struck first, aiming for the spot between the woman’s eyebrows.
The force of the finger strike was so sharp that it made the spot between her eyebrows ache before it even connected. A chill of mortal terror shot through her.
Horrified, the woman found it was too late to bring her Short Sword back to defend herself.
PFFT!
The Finger Force pierced through her skull.
The light faded from the woman’s eyes in an instant as she crumpled to the ground.
Almost simultaneously, Elder Zhan spun around and kicked the middle-aged man, who had just lost his weapon, in the chest.
He was so fast the man had no time to react.
BANG!
The middle-aged man’s sternum shattered. He spat a mouthful of blood and was sent flying backward like a broken kite, crashing against the courtyard wall before sliding to the ground, lifeless.
From the moment the couple appeared to the moment Elder Zhan killed them, barely ten seconds had passed.
A dead silence fell over the courtyard, with only the thick stench of blood spreading through the air.
Without a glance at the corpses on the ground, Elder Zhan walked over to Zhou Qingyi. He gave the Refined Iron shackles a light pinch with his withered fingers.
With a CRACK, the shackles snapped in two.
He did the same for the other two, freeing them from their bonds.
"This place is dangerous. We shouldn’t linger."
Elder Zhan’s gaze swept over the shaken group, finally landing on the green-robed young man who had blood trickling from the corner of his mouth. "Yan Chen, go find a small boat..."
Before he could finish his sentence.
A sinister, chilling laugh suddenly echoed from the rooftop.
"Heh heh... I knew it. Those useless thugs from the Sun Family are good for nothing but botching things up. In the end, we brothers still have to clean up their mess for a simple silencing job."
Before the laughter faded, there were several loud BANGS as roof tiles went flying.
Six figures burst into the courtyard like phantoms, breaking through the roof and windows.
The newcomers moved with incredible speed, landing without a sound. In an instant, they had formed an encircling formation, trapping Elder Zhan, Zhou Qingyi, and the others in the center of the courtyard.
The six were dressed differently, but all of them radiated a powerful aura.
The leader, a man of about forty, wore a brocade robe and had a sinister face. A sharp light glinted in his eyes as they opened and closed, and his every movement exuded the aura of a Grandmaster.
The other five were not his equal, but their auras were only slightly weaker.
The sinister man’s gaze swept across the scene before locking onto Elder Zhan. A smirk played on his lips. "I didn’t expect the Zhou Family to have an old-timer like you. A pity. You’re old enough to be enjoying your retirement at home, but instead, you just had to come meddle in these muddy waters. Why bother?"
A tall, skinny man beside him cackled. "Second Brother, why waste your breath on this old fossil? Let’s just get rid of him and kill that little wench. Then this job will be done."
Elder Zhan’s expression turned grim.
’They have a Grandmaster!’
He shielded Zhou Qingyi behind him and shouted in a low voice, "Who are you? What grudge do you hold against the Zhou Family that you would go so far as to try and wipe us out?"
"A grudge?"
The man called Second Brother sneered. "The whole world is driven by profit. If you have to blame someone, blame the Zhou Family for not knowing its place. You got in someone’s way, and possessing something valuable is a crime in itself. Why ask a question you already know the answer to, old man?"
Just then, Zhou Qingyi, who had been silent and numb as if she’d lost her soul, suddenly lifted her head.
She stared daggers at a pale-faced man beside Second Brother, her eyes blazing with bone-deep hatred. Her voice was shrill with agitation. "It’s you! Elder Zhan, it’s them! They were the ones who posed as the Textile Bureau and tricked me into signing that blank contract! It was them!"
Her accusation was like lighting a powder keg.
"Kill them! Leave no one alive!"
Having been exposed in public, killing intent surged in Second Brother’s eyes.
Without another word, he let out a low growl and was the first to move, pouncing on Elder Zhan like a goshawk on a rabbit.
He thrust a palm forward, the Palm Wind bone-chillingly sharp and carrying the faint sound of wind and thunder.
At his command, the other five drew their weapons and attacked Elder Zhan in perfect coordination, launching a fierce assault from all sides.
Flashes of blades, shadows of swords, Palm Wind, and fist strikes instantly enveloped all of Elder Zhan’s vital points.
"Yan Chen, protect the young lady!"
Elder Zhan’s hair and beard flew out as he unleashed the full power of his Grandmaster Cultivation. His withered body seemed to contain a terrifying strength.
His palms flew, his Palm Wind as mighty as a mountain. With his power alone, he managed to withstand the combined assault of all six attackers.
BANG!
CRACK!
For a moment, the courtyard filled with the sound of clashing Qi Strength, a rapid-fire series of explosions.
The green bricks on the ground shattered and dust flew everywhere. Nearby clay pots and bamboo fences were caught in the overflowing shockwaves of Gang Qi and burst apart.
The aftershocks of the battle nearly demolished the entire inn courtyard.
Although Elder Zhan was fighting six against one, he showed no clear signs of losing. Instead, relying on his pure Cultivation and vast experience, he fought them to a standstill.
In the heat of battle, the unexpected happened.
"Sun Yizhou," who had been cowering in a corner by the gate, seemingly scared stiff, suddenly had a vicious and cunning glint flash in his eyes.
He moved like a startled rabbit, his body shooting forward. His target, however, was not anyone in the main battle, but the heavily injured young man in the green robe.
"Yan Chen, watch out!"
Elder Zhan caught the movement out of the corner of his eye and cried out in alarm.
But he was currently tied down by the others and couldn’t possibly get back in time to help.
The palm strike Sun Yizhou had been preparing for some time landed squarely on the back of the green-robed young man.
PFFT!
Caught completely off guard, the young man convulsed. He sprayed a mouthful of blood and pitched forward like a broken kite, grievously wounded in an instant.
Having succeeded with one strike, Sun Yizhou didn’t pause for a moment, his figure darting forward like a bolt of lightning.
A short, gleaming dagger had appeared in his hand at some point, and he pressed it against Zhou Qingyi’s pale neck with lightning speed.
"Stop, old man! Or I’ll kill her right now!"
Sun Yizhou’s blade pressed against Zhou Qingyi’s skin, drawing a thin line of blood.
"Qingyi!"
Elder Zhan’s Heart Spirit was thrown into chaos.
In a battle between masters, a single moment decides everything.
"Haha! Well done, Old Six!"
A sharp glint flashed in the eyes of Second Brother, who had been clashing with him head-on. How could he possibly miss such a golden opportunity?
He took advantage of the opening, and a palm strike, charged with his full power, landed squarely on Elder Zhan’s back as he hastily tried to defend himself.
BANG!
With a dull thud, Elder Zhan felt as if he’d been struck by a heavy hammer. His Protective Gang Qi instantly shattered.
A jet of blood sprayed from his mouth as he staggered forward, his aura instantly weakening. He had clearly suffered a serious internal injury.
"Elder Zhan!"
Zhou Qingyi let out a desperate cry.
"Hahaha! Let’s see you survive this, you old bastard!"
Second Brother, pressing his advantage, followed up like a lightning bolt. His five fingers formed a claw, aimed directly at the Celestial Spirit of the fallen Elder Zhan.
He intended to finish off the Grandmaster for good.
The cold blade pressed against Zhou Qingyi’s neck, and the chill of death made her body go rigid. Her eyes filled with despair.
In that desperate, hopeless moment...
HUMMM!
A streak of black light tore through the void, descending from the heavens above.
It had no earth-shattering momentum, but it carried a bone-chilling, soul-freezing majesty that instantly drowned out all the shouts, laughter, and cries.
The Qiankun Ruyi Staff let out a low hum and transformed into a streak of black light too fast for the naked eye to follow. As if teleporting, it shot unerringly toward "Sun Yizhou’s" head.
Its speed surpassed the limits of what the naked eye could perceive.
"What?"
Sun Yizhou was scared out of his wits.
Before the staff even arrived, the incomparably sharp wind it generated felt like it was tearing his skin apart.
He had no time to think. His survival instincts screamed at him to retreat explosively backward.
But it was too late.
Although he avoided being pierced through, the incomparably sharp wind from the staff swept across his chest and abdomen as if it were solid.
PFFT!
Old Six felt an irresistible force slam into him. He didn’t know how many ribs he’d broken, but it felt like all his internal organs had been displaced.
He sprayed a mouthful of blood and was sent flying backward like a broken sack, crashing heavily to the ground.
A figure in a blue shirt appeared out of thin air, materializing without a sound.
It was Chen Li.
He didn’t linger. With a swing of his Qiankun Ruyi Staff, he charged toward the six people fighting Elder Zhan.
A vast and majestic domain’s pressure swept over the entire courtyard like a tidal wave.
The Qiankun Qi Roaming Dragon True Intent Domain.
The air within a radius of several dozen feet seemed to freeze solid.
Pure qi rose and turbid qi sank. Faintly, Dragon-shaped Qi Strength could be seen rampaging and roaring within the domain.
Within the domain, Chen Li was the master.
"A Void Transformation Grandmaster..."
Second Brother’s face changed dramatically.
The other five also knew this was a life-or-death moment. They roared, unleashing their full power and ultimate techniques. A storm of flashing blades, sword shadows, Palm Wind, and Finger Strength rained down on Chen Li.
However, under the suppression of the True Intent Domain, the speed and power of their attacks were greatly reduced.
Wielding the Qiankun Ruyi Staff, Chen Li’s figure moved like a wandering dragon, weaving effortlessly through the six-man siege.
Within the domain, "Heaven’s Killing Intent" manifested.
Countless invisible streams of Staff Intent condensed from the void, crashing down on the men like a torrential rain.
The staff’s afterimages were like mountains, each strike containing the terrifying power to shatter mountains and split stone, yet possessing the fluid precision of a wandering dragon.
PFFT!
"Ahhh..."
Amidst the flurry of staff afterimages, explosions and screams rang out one after another.
In just a few breaths’ time, the five Inner Mansion Pass experts were struck by the staff’s afterimages one by one, sent flying like broken kites.
With tendons torn and bones broken, spraying blood, they crashed heavily to the ground, all grievously injured and out of the fight.
The power Chen Li displayed as a Void Transformation Grandmaster was completely overwhelming.
"Big Sister, if you don’t make a move, we’re all going to die here!"
Second Brother, unable to hold on his own, was sent reeling by one of Chen Li’s strikes. His blood roiled, the webbing of his hand tore open, and he couldn’t help but scream.