Chapter 45 Zhao Family Assassins Ambush? They're All Freebies!

Three waves of killing intent descended simultaneously.

Lin Chen did not look back.

After his Breakthrough to Blood Refining Realm Perfection, his blood was as thick and dense as lead and mercury.

Every inch of his skin had become a sensor for detecting external movements.

The positions, speeds, and angles of the three points of attack...

Before the short blades even touched the fabric of his official uniform, a clear image of them had already formed in his mind.

His right foot stomped heavily onto the muddy ground.

The sole of his boot crushed a piece of wolf bone as he twisted his body half a position to the left.

The short blade aimed at the center of his back grazed the leather outer armor on his right ribs, its tip drawing a spark against the surface.

The blade aimed at his left ribs fell into the empty space where he had been standing half a breath ago.

Only the one aimed at the back of his neck had the most tricky angle and the fastest speed.

As Lin Chen twisted his body, he drew his saber with a backhand motion, the scabbard emitting a crisp metallic ring.

The back of the blade parried the side of the short blade perfectly, forcibly pushing the attack's trajectory three inches away.

The short blade veered off sharply, its tip brushing past his ear and cutting off a few strands of hair.

The first round of the three Death Warriorss' sneak attack had completely failed.

Lin Chen turned around, stood firm facing the three of them, and held his long saber across his front.

The rainwater remaining on the blade's surface was vibrated into a fine mist by his True Qi.

Three gaunt figures in night-traveling clothes spread out, surrounding him tightly in the center.

They wore faceless iron masks, with only two small holes for their eyes.

Three pairs of eyes hid behind the holes, radiating a coldness devoid of warmth.

Lin Chen had already gauged the strength of these three the moment he twisted his body.

All were at the Blood Refining Realm Late Stage.

The one on the left had the most hurried breathing, and his wrist would tremble slightly when he struck; his foundation was not solid.

The one on the right had steady breathing; it was he who had delivered that trickiest strike earlier.

The one standing directly in front was the quietest of the three Death Warriorss.

His breathing was very slow and his heartbeat was dull; he sounded very stable.

"He actually dodged our combined killing Move."

The Death Warriors on the right spoke, his voice dry and raspy.

The Death Warriors directly in front, called Shadow Seven, tilted his head, his gaze lingering on Lin Chen for a few seconds through the eye holes.

"The potency of the beast-luring incense is enough to drive dozens of Blood-Marked Wolves and a wolf king to surround and kill an ordinary Blood Refining Realm Late Stage Martial Artist."

"Even if you aren't dead, you should have exhausted your True Qi and have no strength left to resist."

Shadow Seven's voice was even hoarser than the other two Death Warriorss.

"The Family Head instructed that you be allowed to leave some last words."

Lin Chen pressed the tip of his blade down half an inch. Rainwater flowed along the blood groove to the tip, condensing into droplets and falling.

"Did Zhao Tingyuan send you to collect the wolves' corpses?"

Shadow Seven did not deny this.

"Naturally, we are here to collect your corpse."

"Luring the wolf pack to surround and kill you while we clean up the aftermath. If the wolves couldn't kill you, then we would deliver the finishing blow."

He changed his grip on the poisoned short blade, flipping the edge upward.

"These are the Family Head's original words."

Lin Chen's thumb slowly traced a circle around the cloth wrapping on his saber's hilt.

"Just the three of you dare to come and deliver the finishing blow?"

"It is enough to kill you."

Shadow Seven answered in a cold voice.

"You have exhausted at least seventy percent of your True Qi. How many times can you dodge the three of us working together?"

Lin Chen laughed aloud.

His laughter fell into the rain and was swallowed completely by the sound of the downpour before it could travel far.

"Strike early, and perhaps when you go down below, you'll still be in time to reunite with the people from the County Magistrate's office."

Shadow Seven paused before spitting out these words.

The smile on Lin Chen's face vanished instantly.

Magistrate Pei Qingxue's side had likely already been attacked.

Time was short; he had to end this battle quickly and rush back to the county town as soon as possible.

It seemed he needed to increase his strength once again.

"System, deduce the Jueying Seven-Kill Blade!"

[Consuming 5,000 points to deduce Jueying Seven-Kill Blade to Perfection!]

[Beginning deduction]

A blue light screen unfolded in his vision, and a scorching current of Qi surged from his Dantian, pouring down his right arm directly into his five fingers.

The seven killing Moves of the Jueying Seven-Kill Blade circulated at high speed in his mind.

Every power node was polished to be incomparably smooth, and there was no longer the slightest hesitation in the connection between Moves.

The heat gathered at his fingertips, and Lin Chen's consciousness sank into a vast, boundless Void Realm.

In the Void Realm, a shadow holding a saber slowly struck out a blow toward him.

This strike was silent and soundless; there was no fierce wind, nor any surging airwaves.

Yet Lin Chen saw clearly that wherever the blade's edge passed, even the air actively parted to both sides.

This was a yielding that only occurred when power reached the extreme.

The shadow slowly dissipated, and a line of blue text floated up.

[Jueying Seven-Kill Blade deduced to Major Achievement Perfection!]

[Host has comprehended high-level Saber Intent: Void-Splitting!]

[Passive: When striking, the blade edge carries an invisible splitting force, which can weaken the opponent's defense and protective True Qi by thirty percent.]

[Active: Can perform a charged strike. The longer it is charged, the stronger the power. Limited to one use per day.]

Lin Chen's consciousness snapped back to reality, cold rainwater slapping against his face.

He looked down at his right hand. As his fingers opened and closed, the surrounding air emitted a faint hum.

This was the power of the Void-Splitting Blade Stance.

It was purer and more lethal than the Destruction Blade Stance he had comprehended before.

The point total on the System panel was rapidly flickering and changing.

[Current System accumulated total points: 2,700.]

Lin Chen retracted his long saber to his right waist and stepped forward half a step with his left foot, the sole of his boot grinding into the wet, soft mud.

In his Dantian Qi Sea, the heavy blood and Qi that had just broken through to Blood Refining Realm Perfection were churning and surging.

The three Death Warriorss had no idea that he had already completed a cultivation Breakthrough after killing the wolf king.

The intelligence in their hands was still stuck at the stage where he was in the Blood Refining Realm Late Stage.

For them, this was a fatal misjudgment sufficient to cost them their lives.

Lin Chen gripped the saber hilt firmly.

The Qi Circulation route of the Jueying Seven-Kill Blade rotated through his Meridians, smoother than any time before.

Before the saber even left its scabbard, a piercing Aura had already spread out ahead of it.

Shadow Seven's body suddenly stiffened. He held his short blade, aiming the edge dead at Lin Chen.

But his wrist began to tremble uncontrollably.

This was the instinctive fear born in a living being when facing a lethal threat.

"Attack."

Shadow Seven forcibly squeezed two words out of his throat.

He knew in his heart that if they didn't strike now, the gap in their Aura would only grow wider and wider.

The three Death Warriorss erupted into an attack simultaneously.

Shadow Seven charged straight from the front.

His short blade thrust out three tricky trajectories, pointing toward Lin Chen's throat, heart, and Dantian respectively.

The angle of every strike was calculated extremely accurately, sealing off all space for Lin Chen to dodge.

The Death Warriors on the left circled to Lin Chen's side-rear, his short blade thrusting toward a gap in the armor on his waist and ribs.

The one on the right leaped from above, using the rain to mask his landing point, his short blade splitting straight down from above the head.

The three formed a pincer formation, trapping Lin Chen in the middle.

Three attacks descended upon Lin Chen's sides at once.

Lin Chen drew his saber.

The first Move of the Jueying Seven-Kill Blade, with the enhancement of the Void-Splitting Blade Stance, was completely transformed.

A cold blade light suddenly flicked upward from below.

The blade's Aura formed an invisible wall.

This first strike after reaching Perfection in his Saber Intent turned the concentrated killing intent into tangible pressure.

Wherever the blade edge passed, raindrops were cut, mud was split, and even the air seemed to come to a brief standstill.

Shadow Seven's triple thrust happened to collide with this strike.

The first short blade snapped on the spot, and the second was directly knocked flying far away.

The third short blade, along with the five fingers holding it, was sliced away from the wrist by the blade's Aura.

Shadow Seven groaned as a large spray of fresh blood erupted from his severed right wrist.

Lin Chen's footsteps did not stop for a moment.

His body leaned forward, and after the saber flicked up, he flipped the blade edge with the momentum.

The third Move swept out horizontally from the side, the blade edge carrying an airwave like a tiger's roar as it cut toward the Death Warriors pouncing from the left.

That Death Warriors hurriedly raised his short blade to his chest, trying to parry.

The fine steel long saber directly severed the short blade, its remaining momentum undiminished as it cut from the opponent's left shoulder all the way to his right ribs.

The night-traveling clothes were sliced open by the blade.

Flesh and bone were simultaneously cut clean through.

The corpse fell in two halves, internal organs mixing with rainwater as they spilled across the ground.

The Death Warriors leaping from above watched with eyes wide in horror; the short blade in his hand had already split down to less than a foot above Lin Chen's head.

He couldn't stop his momentum and could only bite the bullet and chop down.

Lin Chen didn't look up and directly reached out with his left hand.

His five fingers perfectly caught the wrist of the man holding the short blade.

The power of Blood Refining Realm Perfection was fully poured into his fingers.

The Death Warriors's wrist bone was directly crushed, the short blade slipping from his hand and falling toward the ground.

Lin Chen's right hand followed up with the long saber, piercing the opponent's lower jaw from below and coming straight out through the crown of his head.

He pulled the blade out of the corpse, and the body flipped half a circle in the air before crashing into a muddy pit full of bone fragments.

In just two breaths' time.

The Death Warriorss on the left and right were killed on the spot.

[Slayed a Zhao Family Death Warriors, eliminated an assassin targeting a court official! Merit judgment: Excellent! Points +500!]

[Slayed a Zhao Family Death Warriors, eliminated an assassin targeting a court official! Merit judgment: Excellent! Points +500!]

Shadow Seven clutched his severed wrist tightly, blood continuously gushing from between his fingers.

He retreated five steps until his back slammed heavily into a broken fence post.

He stared fixedly at Lin Chen, and in the eye holes behind the iron mask, the emotion of fear finally appeared.

"You aren't at the Blood Refining Realm Late Stage, you've broken through!"

"You are right."

Lin Chen walked toward him step by step, carrying his dripping long saber.

Shadow Seven did not beg for mercy.

He didn't even plan to run away.

The Zhao family's Death Warriorss never had the options of begging for mercy or running away.

He used his remaining left hand to pick up the broken short blade and launched a final strike toward Lin Chen.

This thrust carried the resolve to die, but in Lin Chen's eyes, it was as slow as a snail's crawl.

The long saber in Lin Chen's hand fell.

The iron mask on Shadow Seven's face was split directly in two.

Behind the mask was an expressionless, gaunt face.

A saber mark extended from the center of his forehead all the way to his chin.

His body slowly collapsed, crashing into the muddy water, and there was no more movement.

[Slayed a Zhao Family Death Warriors, eliminated an assassin targeting a court official! Merit judgment: Excellent! Points +500!]

[Current System accumulated total points: 4,200.]

Lin Chen returned his long saber to its scabbard.

The rain did not lessen in the slightest, and a cold wind blew through the pile of wolf corpses, hitting his icy face.

He looked up toward the direction of Qingxi County town.

Under the pitch-black night sky, the outline of the county town was hidden at the furthest edge of the rain curtain.

He set off, running at full speed toward the county town.

Activating the Divine Movement Step to its full potential, his figure pulled a long black afterimage across the muddy dirt road.

At the same time, he began the charge for his Void-Splitting Blade Stance, Saber Intent slowly condensing within his body.