A shrill scream pierced the night. Fengzi stumbled back, snapping the dead branch of a withered tree three steps away.
The half-hidden moonlight revealed his twisted face. The hand that had once pierced bluestone with the Phoenix Beak Fist was now curled at a grotesque angle, a splinter of white bone jutting out from his ring finger.
Dark red Blood Beads trickled down his twisted fingertips, dripping onto the snow and blooming like blood-red plum blossoms.
Xu Yunfan glanced down at the few bloodstains on his lapel and frowned slightly. This was the first set of clothes he’d bought for himself. He rembered how the Relic Shell of that suspected True Immortal had almost been pilfered along with the furs.
The screams finally drew Uncle Jin’s party.
The sound of hurried footsteps swept over from the snow-covered hill ahead, and seven dark figures swooped onto it like night owls.
Uncle Jin, running at the forefront, held a Nine-Ring Saber with a gilded beast-head handguard that humd and vibrated. Under the moonlight, the engraved beast pattern on its blade seed to flow with strange golden threads.
"Stop!"
Amidst the thunderous, explosive shout, the entire withered forest instantly shed countless snowflakes. The long saber was drawn from its sheath, its nine golden rings vibrating with a soul-shaking hum.
The blade flashed like a river of gold flowing in reverse. In the darkness, the Golden Saber shone with a brilliant light, tearing through the silent night. The wind howled as the blade danced like a dragon. Even before it arrived, the sheer force of its edge made Xu Yunfan’s pupils contract.
He subconsciously pushed his Copper Body Skill to its peak. His Blood Qi surged, and his skin took on a bronze sheen, yet the oncoming Gang Wind still made the hairs on his body stand on end.
His heart skipped a beat.
’This saber... it’s no Mortal Weapon.’
Xu Yunfan had no ti to exert force with his fingers. Instead, he grabbed the man’s head with a reverse grip and, like a club, swung Fengzi’s entire body to et the Golden Saber.
Before Xu Yunfan could tighten his grip, he felt Fengzi’s head tremble violently in his palm.
’Still resisting?’
His five fingers were like iron, clamping down on Fengzi’s skull. He swung the seven-foot-tall man through the air like a human weapon, sending him whistling straight into the path of the Golden Saber’s edge.
Seeing this, Uncle Jin naturally didn’t dare to bring his saber down. When the blade was just half an inch from Fengzi’s throat, he forcefully diverted it.
The Nine-Ring Saber scraped past the hostage’s shoulder blade, slicing off a piece of his blood-stained lapel.
With its montum unchecked, the long saber flung up a great spray of snow and mud, which scattered all around like a goddess scattering flowers.
With a flick of his wrist, he spun the Golden Saber, twisted his stance, and pivoted on his feet. He completed a full turn to dissipate the force of his blow, then took a step back.
The entire sequence was fluid and effortless, demonstrating masterful control.
Xu Yunfan’s eyes lit up, and he couldn’t help but praise, "He can even recall the force of a committed blow."
He asked,
"Great Mastery of Bones and Sinews, a Second Level Martial Artist?"
Xu Yunfan watched Uncle Jin, who stood not far away with his long saber pointed diagonally at the ground. His eyes narrowed slightly, and his body beca still as a statue, his breathing nearly inaudible.
He glanced at the Flying Leg information prompt that floated into his field of vision.
’You have engaged a powerful foe and used the Flying Leg technique, activating your core muscle groups to amplify your speed. Your Flying Leg Skill Level has increased.’
Just now, in the snowy woods by the stone bridge, fighting those Iron-faced n hadn’t produced a single prompt about his Skill Level increasing.
’It seems it only works against opponents of a similar level.’
’His thoughts raced. The opponent was gathering his strength. If I relax for even a mont, I’ll face an earth-shattering strike.’
Hearing Xu Yunfan’s cool assessnt, Uncle Jin’s gaze sharpened. He could clearly see Xu Yunfan’s bulging muscles, crisscrossed by veins that writhed like countless nacing blue serpents.
"A Second Level Martial Artist with Great Mastery of Tendons and Skin. Quite a rare sight in a Northern Border Town."
Xu Yunfan didn’t reply. His gaze shifted, examining the Golden Saber in Uncle Jin’s hand, which resembled a Yanling Saber.
The entire blade had an elegant curve that extended gently from the hilt to the tip. The curvature was perfect, making it extrely suitable for slashing.
A glint in his eye, Xu Yunfan’s raised arm seed cast from steel. No matter how Fengzi struggled in his grasp, his arm remained perfectly still.
Uncle Jin took in this scene. ’He knew then that this man was no ordinary Second Level Martial Artist.’
’Fengzi had attacked a vital point, yet the man hadn’t even batted an eye. He was a practitioner of the extrely rare Cross Training Skill.’
’If not for the Golden Saber in my own hands, which the man didn’t dare to block head-on, Fengzi’s head would have already been crushed.’
He held his saber upright, cupped his hands, and said in a low voice, "Friend, there is no grievance between us. Why has it co to this? This young man was only out gathering firewood. Firewood is all he had on his mind."
Seeing Xu Yunfan remain silent, he continued, "We are rchants from the Chi Family of Qingzhou Prefecture City Changgu. We’re here to sell silks and fabrics from Changgu and buy so of Jiyun Mountain’s unique delicacies to take back. We have no intention of lingering. You can rest assured, sir."
Upon hearing this, Xu Yunfan stared at Uncle Jin for a long while. His gaze was so intense it made the man’s hair stand on end, filling him with a sense that this would not end well.
Xu Yunfan casually tossed Fengzi aside.
"I was here first. If there’s nothing else, please don’t cross this line."
Fengzi scrambled and crawled, his face pale as he rushed to Uncle Jin’s side. He looked at Xu Yunfan with terror and fear. He had just walked through the gates of hell. If Uncle Jin hadn’t intervened in ti, his soul would have nearly ascended to the heavens when Xu Yunfan’s large hand had clamped down on his head.
"My thanks!"
Uncle Jin cupped his hands again, did not linger, and pulled Fengzi away at a quick pace.
Xu Yunfan stood there for a long ti before he slowly began to gather firewood. He lit a fire and slowly burned the blood-stained black clothes he was wearing.
He wasn’t a ruthless man. The other party had repeatedly backed down and made their peaceful intentions clear. Xu Yunfan understood they were simply innocents.
...
...
"Elder Gong, will it heal?"
Fengzi’s cold sweat soaked through three layers of linen cloth. The wooden wedge clenched between his teeth snapped in two.
"Endure it!"
Elder Gong’s snow-white eyebrows shot up. His Eagle Claw-like hand pressed down on the Sanyinjiao acupoint on Fengzi’s wrist, while the tip of a silver forceps extracted a rice-sized bone fragnt from the mangled wound.
"You’re lucky you ran into ."
Elder Gong snorted lightly as he carefully picked out the bone shards from the wound with the forceps, poured on a special Secret dicine, and ticulously wrapped it with gauze.
"If it were anyone else, forget being crippled—you’d never practice martial arts again."
When Fengzi heard this, the weight on his heart was lifted. He let out a long breath and turned his head, his face a mask of misery.
"Uncle Jin!"
Hearing him, Uncle Jin just shook his head slightly.
"Focus on recovering for now. This matter... this matter must be considered carefully. That man’s strength is not trivial. Besides, we were also at fault for being rash. This matter..."
Uncle Jin sighed and shook his head slightly again.
"If not for this Broken Iron Saber in my hand, our entire caravan would have had a hard ti leaving in one piece today."
Fengzi fell silent at his words, his body only trembling from ti to ti as he let Elder Gong bandage his wound.
Not far away, behind a large tree, Xu Yunfan stood quietly. He heard them stop discussing the matter, their conversation replaced by the occasional pained groan as the injury was disturbed.
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