Now Yue Buqun didn’t have any chance of a surprise attack.

There are a total of fifteen masked enemies, three of which had been wounded by the Yue couple. Among the three wounded, one had a serious injury – his arm was cut off. The other two only had injuries on their legs, nothing too serious, and each held a waterproof lantern and kept swearing at Yue Buqun wildly.

From their accents, Yue Buqun could tell that they came from different regions. The Kung Fu skills they demonstrated also consisted of many different styles. Obviously they weren’t apprentices from the same school. But during the fight, they had good understanding of each other and attacked with precision and synchronization. It didn’t seem that they had just ganged up together recently. Where on earth were they from? He pondered but couldn’t find an answer. And the most unusual part of this whole thing was that since all fifteen of them had elite fighting skills, as one with a good deal of knowledge of the Martial World, he shouldn’t have failed to recognize at least some of them, yet he had no clue whatsoever. He was sure that none of these enemies had ever engaged in a fight with him before or had grudges against him. Could it be true that they came to give trouble to the Huashan Sword School because they were really after the Evil-Resisting Sword Manuscript?

He pondered and pondered, yet never slowing down with his hands. He used the Divine Art of the Violet Twilight to its extreme, and the tip of his sword shined dimly. After exchanging over another dozen moves, another enemy got stabbed in the shoulder and had to drop his iron staff. One of the enemies standing outside of the attacking circle sprang forward and took over the attacking position. This man held a knife with a saw shaped blade. The knife looked very heavy, and close to the tip of the knife, the blade curved into the shape of a hook. The man tried again and again to lock Yue’s sword with the hook. But Yue Buqun had plenty of inner strength. It seemed as if the longer the fight lasted, the more energetic he appeared to be. Suddenly he struck a back palm, which landed squarely on one enemy’s chest and broke the man’s two ribs. The steel cane in the man’s hands was also knocked down by the shock. But the man turned out to be extremely ferocious. The great pain from his broken ribs provoked his fury. He dived down and had Yue Buqun’s left leg in his arms. Astounded, Yue Buqun swung his sword and chopped down at the man’s back, but two knifes reached forward simultaneously and blocked the chop. Not able to chop down using his long sword, Yue Buqun kicked toward the enemy’s head with his right foot. That man was an expert in grappling. Reaching out with his right arm, he hooked Yue Buqun’s right leg as well. Then he rolled forward. Although Yue Buqun had excellent Kung Fu skills, he could no longer keep his balance and fell down on the ground. Instantly, knife, short spear, meteor hammer, long sword, and other various weapons all aimed right at his vital parts such as head, face, throat, and chest. Yue Buqun heaved a deep sigh and let go of his sword. Closing his eyes in despair, he waited for the deathblow. Then he felt some heavy blows to his waist, rib cage, throat, and chest. The enemy had sealed several of his pressure points with heavy jabs.

Two masked men propped him up as an old voice spoke out, “Gentleman Sword Mr. Yue certainly has brilliant Kung Fu skills. You have a well-deserved reputation. We ganged up on you, fifteen against one, yet were only able to subdue you after getting four or five of us wounded. Hmm, that is very admirable! If I had to fight you one on one, I am sure I would lose to you. But when you look at it a different way, we have fifteen, but you have over twenty people. Your Huashan Sword School still has more bodies and better odds here. Tonight we won the battle with few against many and completely defeated the Huashan Sword School. I have to say that the victory didn’t come easy. What do you guys think?”

“Most definitely! It wasn’t an easy victory for sure!” The rest of the masked men agreed in unison.

“Mr. Yue,” the old man continued, “we really have no grudge against you. We made bold and offended you only because we want to borrow the Evil-Resisting Sword Manuscript and check it out. This manuscript didn’t belong to your Huashan Sword School before. When you used all your ingenuity and managed to take in Lin Family’s young boy from the Fortune Prestige Escort House as your apprentice, it was obvious that you were really after that sword manuscript. What you did is truly sneaky. When fellow martial friends heard about this, all were quite mad at you. I am giving you a valuable advice here. Why don’t you give it up?”

Yue Buqun was infuriated. “Humph, I am already in your hands. Go ahead and give me a quick end. Why waste your time with rubbish? Everyone in the Martial World knows my reputation. You can easily kill me, but if you want to ruin my reputation, humph! Dream on!”

“What’s so difficult about ruining your reputation?” a man in a mask said with loud laughter. “Your wife, daughter, and those female apprentices do not look bad at all. Why don’t we divide them up and make them our bitches? Ha-ha, Mr. Yue, you are going to be very famous in the Martial World indeed!”

The rest of the masked men all laughed out loud. The laughter was filled with evil. Yue Buqun trembled with rage.

Several men in mask pushed the bunch of male and female apprentices out of the monastery. All of them had their pressure points sealed. Some had blood all over their faces and some fell down immediately after they came out – obviously they had wounds on their legs or feet.

“Mr. Yue,” the old man with a mask spoke again, “you probably have somewhat figured out where we are from. We are no heroes from the righteous schools. There is really no restriction limiting what we can do or cannot do. Some of my buddies here are really fond of women. I am sure it wouldn’t look too good for you if some of them offended your respectful wife and daughter.”

“Fine! Fine! If you don’t believe me, go ahead and search us. See for yourself whether we have the Evil-Resisting Sword Manuscript or not,” Yue Buqun croaked.

“I’d suggest you give it out yourself. Once we start searching one by one and get to your woman and your daughter, it’s not going to be a pleasant scene,” a man behind a mask said with an evil grin.

“All the trouble started because of me, Lin Pingzhi,” Lin Pingzhi barked. “Listen up! Our Lin Family in Fujian didn’t have any Evil-Resisting Sword Manuscript at all! It’s up to you to believe it or not.” He picked up a steel cane from the ground and smacked it toward his own forehead. But since his pressure points on his arms were sealed, the smack was so weak that even though the cane hit his head, it only left a scratch on his skin with no blood coming out of it. But everyone understood his intention. He had intended to sacrifice his own life to prove that there wasn’t any sword manuscript that the Huashan Sword School ever got hold of.

“Young Master Lin, you are quite heroic.” The old man with a mask grinned. “We are friends of your deceased father. Yue Buqun murdered your father and took possession of your family’s Evil-Resisting Sword Manuscript, that’s why we are here to defend the victim against injustice. Your Master has a mere name of a gentleman, but not the reality of a gentleman. I think it would be better if you submit to me as your Master. I guarantee you that you will learn first-class Kung Fu that will enable you to sweep about in the Martial World at will.”

“My parents were murdered by Yu Canghai from the Qingcheng Sword School and Mu Gaofeng. What does it have anything to do with my Master? I am a proud apprentice of the Huashan Sword School. Did you expect me to incline to life instead of braving death in dangers like this?” Lin Pingzhi snarled.

“That’s right! Our Huashan Sword School….” Liang Fa also snarled.

“What about your Huashan Sword School?” a masked man yelled as he swung his knife forward and chopped Liang Fa’s head off. Blood gushed out like a fountain. Several Huashan apprentices screamed in terror.

Many thoughts tangled in Yue Buqun’s mind, but he still couldn’t figure out where these men had come from. According to what the old man had just said, perhaps they were bandits from the unorthodox side. Or maybe they were key figures of an evil clan. However, even if he didn’t know some of the renowned masters in the region, either on the orthodox side or the unorthodox side, he would have at least heard about them. There was no clan or gang that had so many elite fighters. That man chopped off Liang Fa’s head with no hesitation. The cruelty he put on display was exceptionally rare. When people engage in fights in the Martial World, it was usual that people got hurt or killed. But once one side took the other side prisoner, it was very seldom that one would cut someone’s head off so carelessly.

After killing Liang Fa with a casual chop, the man laughed wildly and walked next to Madam Yue. He chopped the bloodstained knife a couple of times in the air. The blade swished by Madam Yue’s head with a mere half foot.

“Don’t…don’t hurt my mother!” Yue Lingshan screamed before losing her consciousness.

Madam Yue was a brave woman and showed no fear. She actually wished that the man would kill her with a chop, thus avoiding any possible humiliation from them. So she snarled at him, “You damn coward. Go ahead and kill me if you’ve got any guts.”

Sound of hoof beats suddenly rose from the northeast corner. Dozens of horses galloped in their direction.

“Who are they? Go check them out?” the old man in the mask yelled.

“Got it!” two men in masks responded as they jumped on their horsebacks and dashed out

The sound of hoof beats came closer and closer, and then came the sounds of weapons clashing into each other. “Ouch!” someone cried out. Apparently the two masked men had gotten into a battle with the people coming and someone just got wounded.

The Yue Buqun couple and all the Huashan apprentices were overwhelmed in joy, knowing that the cavalry had arrived. In the dim light from the lanterns, they watched the forty or so riders gallop along the main road. Mud splashed high as the group approached them. Moments later, the riders arrived and reined in their horses outside the monastery. A man on horseback shouted.

“Oh, these are friends from the Huashan Sword School. Hey, isn’t that brother Yue?”

Yue Buqun looked following the origin of the voice. When his eyes stopped at the man’s face, he felt greatly embarrassed. The man was none other than the one who took the Five Mountains Command Flag up to Mount Huashan only several days ago, the Third Guardian of Songshan – Crane Hands Lu Bai. The man on his right was tall and chubby. Yue Buqun recognized him: he was the Second Guardian of Songshan – Tower Holding Palm Ding Mian. And the one on his left turned out to be the expelled Sword-Branch apprentice of the Huashan Sword School, Feng Buping. Many of the Taishan and Hengshan masters who had visited Mount Huashan several days ago were also among them only that this time there were even more people than the last time. Under the faint light from the waterproof lanterns, shadows loomed, and in the short time, Yue Buqun had a hard time making out the rest of the people.

“Brother Yue,” Lu Bai said, “you didn’t accept the Command Flag from Chief Zuo the other day, and Chief Zuo was a bit upset. That’s why he sent apprentice brother Ding and Tang together with me to visit Mount Huashan again with the Command Flag. We had no idea that we would meet you here late at night? What a surprise!”

Yue Buqun kept his silence and did not reply.

“So it is Hero Ding, Hero Lu, and Hero Tang from the Songshan Sword School. What an honor to meet you!” the old man in the mask said, cupping his hands.

“You flatter me. May I have the honor to hear your name? Why don’t you want to reveal your true identity?” The Seventh Guardian of Songshan, Tang Ying-E, asked.

“We are just a bunch of nobodies in the heterodox side,” the old man in the mask replied. “If we speak out our ugly bandit nicknames, it would only be an insult to all you great masters’ ears. Well, for the sake of you guys, we dare not show disrespect to Madam Yue and Miss Yue any more. But there is this one thing we’d like you to help uphold justice.”

“What is the matter? Why don’t you tell us about it?” Tang Ying-E suggested.

“Well, this Mister Yue Buqun here has a nickname called Gentleman Sword. We heard that he always talks about humanity, justice and virtues, and always abide by the rules of the Martial World. But what he has done recently seemed way off track. You must have heard that the Fortune Prestige Escort House in Fuzhou was wiped out and the Chief Master Lin Zhennan couple was murdered.”

“Yes. I heard that the Qingcheng Sword School in Szechwan did that,” Tang Ying-E responded.

The old man shook his head again and again. “That sure was the story floating around in the Martial World, but it wasn’t the truth. Let’s get to the bottom of this. Everyone knows that the Lin Family of the Fortune Prestige Escort House has the Evil-Resisting Sword Manuscript passed down from their ancestors, in which brilliant and profound sword art techniques were recorded. Once one masters the sword art, he would have no match in the entire world. The reason that the Lin Zhennan couple got murdered was because someone coveted the Evil-Resisting Sword Manuscript.”

“What about that?” Tang Ying-E asked.

“How exactly were the Lin Zhennan couple murdered and who did it? Outsiders wouldn’t have a clue on that. We heard that this Gentleman Sword secretly plotted some cunning schemes and fooled Lin Zhennan’s son into becoming a dead set apprentice of the Huashan Sword School. You see what I am saying? The sword manuscript of course was brought into the Huashan Sword School naturally. We thought about it and came to the conclusion that Yue Buqun was adept at scheming. He couldn’t get it by force, so he tried to get it by trickery. Think about it. How much experience can a young chap Lin have? After he joined the Huashan Sword School, for sure the old fox would play him like a dummy and have him present the Evil-Resisting Sword Manuscript to his Master of his own will.”

“But I am afraid that this is unlikely. The Huashan Sword School has brilliant sword art techniques of its own, and Mr. Yue’s Divine Art of the Violet Twilight is also a powerful and unique Kung Fu in the Martial World – one of the best Qi-Gong techniques as a matter of fact. Why would he lust for sword art techniques in other style?” Tang Ying-E commented.

The old man smirked. “Hero Tang, you really are gauging the heart of a rascal with your own decent measures. What kind of brilliant sword art does Yue Buqun have? After the Sword-Branch and the Qi-Branch of the Huashan Sword School broke up, the Qi-Branch seized control of Mount Huashan. They only emphasized on working with their inner energy. Their sword skills are so ordinary and naïve. People in the Martial World respected the reputation of the Huashan Sword School and mistakenly thought that they actually have some true skills. But the truth is…a-ha, ha-ha….”

He paused for a second with a sneer, and then continued. “Logically speaking, since Yue Buqun is the Head Master of the Huashan Sword School, his mastery of sword skills shouldn’t have been ordinary. But you have all seen with your own eyes that he was taken prisoner by us, a bunch of no names. We used neither poison, nor projectiles, and we didn’t have overwhelming numbers. We relied on our true skills to take care of the Huashan Sword School masters and apprentices. We won the battle the hard way fair and square. From that you probably can figure out yourself how good their Kung Fu skills are. But of course Yue Buqun knew his own limitation. That’s why he wants to get hold of the Evil-Resisting Sword Manuscript quickly so he could study the great sword arts and not make a fool out of himself in critical moments, so he wouldn’t be carrying a fame that’s untrue.”

“Your words are certainly convincing.” Tang Ying-E nodded.

“We are just a group of nobodies. In the eyes of great masters like you, our level of Kung Fu skills isn’t even worth a laugh. We dare not hanker after for the Evil-Resisting Sword Manuscript. However, for the last ten years or so, thanks to Chief Master Lin of the Fortune Prestige Escort House who actually thought we were worth of something and kept sending us precious gifts. So when his escort wagons passed by our territory, none of us would touch it for the sake of good relationship. Recently, when we heard that Chief Master Lin ended up dead and his family ruined all because of that sword art manuscript, we couldn’t help but feel very irritated. It has really aroused public indignation. That’s why’ve decided to make Yue Buqun pay for this.”

He paused for a moment and cast a glance at the group still on horsebacks before continuing, “All of you here, who have just arrived, are renowned heroes and masters in the Marital World. And among you, there are also reputable senior masters from the Five Mountains Sword Alliance, to which the Huashan Sword School belongs as a member school. We here resort to your judgment on this matter, and whatever you decide, we will comply.”

“Brother, that’s very kind of you. We really appreciate it. Apprentice brother Ding and Lu, what do you think we should do?” Tang Ying-E asked.

“Chief Zuo has said before, that the Head Master post of the Huashan Sword School should have belonged to Master Feng. Since Yue Buqun committed such despicable and brazen act today, we should just let Master Feng purify the Huashan Sword School, himself!” Ding Mian replied.

Everyone on horsebacks agreed in unison, “Hero Ding has judged it so fair and clear. This is the internal affair of the Huashan Sword School, so naturally the Head Master of the Huashan Sword School himself should handle it. It would also save us from being accused of poking our noses into other people’s business by fellow martial friends.”

Feng Buping dismounted from his horse and bowed to everyone.

“I am very grateful for the due respect you have shown here. Ever since Yue Buqun usurped the Head Master post of our school, cries of discontent rise all the way up to heaven, and the reputation of our school had reached its ultimate low. And now he has sunk so low to commit the many wild things: killing one’s father, seizing his sword art manuscript, and coercing him into becoming an apprentice. I am a man with no great virtue or abilities, and would have never been worth of the Huashan Sword School Head Master post, but I value the hardship the many past masters of the Huashan Sword School had to go through in order to uphold the reputation of our school, and I simply can not bear to watch our Huashan Sword School reduced to rubble in the hands of Yue Buqun, the unworthy apprentice. That’s why I will have to undertake to do the difficult job as best as I can. Friends, will you please keep offering me advice and supervision as time goes on?” He bowed again.

The rain had not fully stopped and had turned into a light shower by then. Seven or eight of the riders had lit their torches. The fire from the torches shined upon Feng Buping’s face, which looked immensely contented.

“Yue Buqun is guilty of the most heinous crimes, which are too severe for any clemency,” Feng Buping went on. “We must follow the school rules and execute him on sight! Apprentice brother Cong, go ahead and execute the traitors, the Yue Buqun couple, to purify our Huashan Sword School.”

“Got it!” a man in his fifties responded as he drew his blade and walked by Yue Buqun. “Yue Buqun, you corrupted our school; today is your judgment day!” He grinned hideously.

Yue Buqun heaved a deep sigh. “I see! Your Sword-Branch plotted this entire deadly trap so you can take over the Head Master post. Cong Buqi, if you kill me today, when your time comes, how are you going to face the many past masters of our Huashan Sword School in the underworld?”

“He who commits much wickedness brings death upon himself. You have committed so many crimes. Even if I don’t kill you, someone else will. But that wouldn’t be satisfactory at all, would it?” Cong Buqi smirked.

“Save your breath, apprentice brother Cong. Start the execution.” Feng Buping yelled.

“Yes,” Cong Buqi replied. He raised his long sword high and then retracted his elbow, getting ready for the deathblow. The blazing fire from the torches illuminated onto the naked blade of the sword and painted it red and green.

“Hold it!” Madam Yue suddenly shouted out. “Where is the Evil-Resisting Sword Manuscript then? To accuse one of stealing, at least you have to show the stolen goods as evidence. Do you think you can just convince everyone by making slanderous accusations?”

“That’s right!” Cong Buqi replied. He took several steps toward Madam Yue with a wicked grin. “That Evil-Resisting Sword Manuscript is most likely hidden on you. I’d better do a body search so you won’t accuse us of making slanderous accusations.” He reached his left hand out toward Madam Yue’s bosom.

Madam Yue had been wounded in the legs and two of her pressure points were also sealed. She watched Cong Buqi’s big ugly hand reaching toward her, yet couldn’t move an inch. It would be a horrendous disgrace for her if his finger touched her skin. In tremendous despair, she shouted out loud, “Apprentice brother Ding from Songshan Sword School!”

“What?” Ding Mian asked, not expecting a call from Madam Yue at all.

“Your apprentice brother Chief Zuo is the chief of the Five Mountains Sword Alliance, and sets a good example for everyone in the Martial World. Our Huashan Sword School also relies upon his leadership. How would you explain to him if you let this blatant scoundrel disgrace a woman?” Madam Yue challenged.

“Well….” Ding Mian pondered and did not answer.

“That crook was telling a bold lie when he said that they didn’t win with overwhelming numbers,” Madam Yue said. “And as regards to these two traitors of the Huashan Sword School, if any one of them can defeat my husband on his own in a fair fight, we will give up the post of Head Master with all respects and no complaints. Otherwise, you will never get the recognition from the thousands of fellow martial people.”

At the last word, she spat at Cong Buqi’s face, all of a sudden. Since Cong Buqi was right next to her, and Madam Yue’s action took him by a complete surprise, he couldn’t move out of the way in time. The spit hit him right between his eyes.

“Damn you!” Cong Buqi cursed angrily.

“Listen up, you traitors! Your Sword-Branch only has low-grade Kung Fu. It doesn’t require my husband. Even I, a woman, can kill you as easy as flipping my hand if I hadn’t fallen a prey of a plot and had my pressure points sealed!” Madam Yue mocked furiously.

“Fine!” Ding Mian made his decision. He gave his black horse a light spur. The horse walked forward and circled behind Madam Yue. Turning his horsewhip around, he bent down slightly and poked it out. The shaft of the whip jabbed at three different pressure points on Madam Yue’s back. A shock ran through Madam Yue’s body as the two sealed pressure points were released.

As soon as Madam Yue gained control of her limbs again, she knew that Dian Mian intended to let her have a duel with Cong Buqi. The result of the duel would not only make a difference between life and death for the Yue family of three, it would also decide the ultimate fate of the entire Huashan School. If she could defeat Cong Buqi, it probably wouldn’t turn danger into safety, but at least it would be a turn for the better. If she lost the duel, then there would be no hope. She grabbed her long sword, which was knocked down earlier, off the ground, and held it across her chest in a stance. But her left leg suddenly gave out on her. She almost had to kneel down on her knees. The wounds on her legs were too severe, and as soon as she tried to use her legs, she found that they lacked enough strength to support her.

“You said you are only a woman. And now you are pretending to have injuries with your legs. Why are we having this sword contest at all? There’s no glory in beating you!” Cong Buqi burst into loud laughter.

Madam Yue wanted no more words from him. “Here it comes!” she yelled and shot out three thrusts in tremendous speed. She had attached her inner strength to the blade. The sword whistled as it stabbed forward. Out of the three thrusts, each thrust went faster than the previous one and all were aimed at her opponent’s vital parts.

“Nice!” Cong Buqi yelled as he took two steps back.

Normally, Madam Yue would have charged forward immediately following the attack, but she was afraid to take any risks with her weak legs and stood still instead.

Cong Buqi stepped forward again and started his own attack. Three loud rings echoed as flickers scattered in all directions. Those were three vicious thrusts, indeed. Madam Yue parried them one by one and immediately turned the third block into an attacking stance and stabbed at the enemy’s lower abdomen.

Yue Buqun stood by the side and watched his wife fighting the tough opponent with wounded legs. Cong Buqi’s sword techniques appeared to be delicate and exquisite. Compared to Madam Yue’s techniques, they had way more clever variations. After exchanging ten moves or so, Madam Yue started to lose the agility and speed with her sword moves in her lower body. The Qi-Branch of the Huashan Sword School was good at overcoming the enemy with resourceful inner energy, but since Madam Yue had a hard time controlling her breathing after the injuries, her sword moves gradually lost the initiatives and became restricted by Cong Buqi’s moves. Yue Buqun was greatly worried, and he became even more concerned when he saw his wife accelerate her techniques.

“The Sword-Branch is better with their sword techniques, yet you are countering his sword techniques with your own. Countering the enemy’s strong points with one’s shortcomings would only lead to a defeat,” he thought aloud.

Madam Yue also knew the fundamental ideas here within, but because the wounds on her legs were too severe, and in addition, her pressure points were sealed right after she inflicted the wounds, she was never able to tend the wounds; even now the wounds were still bleeding, how could she have gathered her inner energy to counter the attacks? At the moment, it was only her determination that had kept her going, and although her sword moves never slowed down, the strength in each move had started to decrease quickly. After another ten moves or so, Cong Buqi had detected Madam Yue’s weak point. While feeling much delighted, he was in no rush for a quick win, and made sure he was putting up a good defense.

Linghu Chong was also watching the fight. Seeing that Cong Buqi’s moves all focused on techniques, not strengths, completely different from what his Master had taught him, he thought to himself, “No wonder our school was divided into the Qi-Branch and the Sword-Branch. The two branches’ Kung Fu styles are indeed opposite of each other.”

He slowly struggled to get back on his feet. Reaching out around him, he found a long sword on the ground. “Our school has really suffered a crushing defeat today!” he thought. “But I will not allow the stainless reputation of Master-Wife and apprentice sister get ruined by those scoundrels. It seems that Master-Wife is no match for that man. Later I will have to kill Master-Wife and apprentice sister and then cut my own throat to preserve the reputation of our Huashan Sword School.”

Madam Yue’s sword moves became more and more disorganized. Suddenly, she turned her sword in blazing speed and thrust it out with a loud whoosh. This was none other than that proud move of hers – “Unrivaled and Unmatched, The Thrust of Ning.” The thrust carried great momentum. Regardless of Madam Yue’s severe injures, it still looked utterly majestic.

Cong Buqi was astounded. He leapt back in a great hurry and luckily was able to dodge away from it. If Madam Yue’s legs had been fine and that she followed the momentum with another attack, the enemy would have no chance of surviving, but all she could do was to hold her sword like a cane to keep her balance and wheezing like mad, her face completely pale.

“What’s the matter, Madam Yue? Have you finally used up all your strength? Can I search you now?” Cong Buqi grinned evilly as he stepped closer and closer toward Madam Yue, his left hand opening wide, high in the air.

Madam Yue wanted to raise her sword and thrust forward, but it seemed as if her arm had weighed ten thousand pounds by then; she could no longer move her arm.

“Hold it!” Linghu Chong yelled as he walked by Madam Yue’s side. “Master-Wife!” he called out and was ready to thrust his sword out to take away her life, thus saving her from any disgraceful humiliation.

“Good child!” Madam Yue nodded, her eyes filled with satisfaction. With all her strength exhausted, she could no longer keep herself in a standing position, and collapsed down onto the muddy ground.

“Get lost!” Cong Buqi yelled out while pricking his sword tip toward Linghu Chong’s throat.

Linghu Chong knew too well that he had no strength left with his arms. If he reached his sword out to block, his sword would be instantly knocked out of his grip. So seeing that the sword tip came toward his throat, without much thinking, he also thrust his sword toward Cong Buqi’s throat – a move that would end in a common ruin for both of them. His thrust was not specifically quick, but the positioning was simply dazzling – it was none other than the “Sword-breaking Stance” out of the Dugu Nine Swords.

Cong Buqi was st