19: Chapter 19 The Hunt

Blood Hand appeared silently by Li Changsheng's side and struck out with a palm!

Before the palm wind even reached him, a cold, bloody Aura rushed at his face!

Blood Fiend Palm!

Li Changsheng's heart tightened.

This palm strike could not be met head-on!

He shifted his footwork, his figure doubling back like a ghost, somehow managing to circle behind Blood Hand in the blink of an eye!

But Blood Hand reacted extremely quickly, turning back with another palm strike!

The two exchanged over ten moves in an instant.

Blood Hand's palm techniques were bizarre and sinister, specifically targeting vital Meridians; Li Changsheng used the Spirit Ape Fist Intent to maneuver, searching for a weakness.

"This person's palm technique..."

"Comes from the same source as that Blood Fiend Sect Disciple!"

Li Changsheng realized.

He intentionally feigned a weakness, leaving his chest wide open.

Blood Hand indeed fell for the trap, pressing a palm forward!

At the very moment the palm wind touched his body, the Spirit Ape True Qi within Li Changsheng's body suddenly erupted!

The endless True Qi formed a vortex in front of his chest, neutralizing more than half of the Blood Fiend Palm's power!

Simultaneously, he pointed a finger out, hitting Blood Hand's Laogong Acupoint right in the center of his palm!

"Ah—!"

Blood Hand screamed as his entire arm instantly turned blue-black, the power of the Blood Fiend Palm rebounding upon him!

"Returning your own technique back to you."

Li Changsheng said coldly.

"Your Blood Fiend Palm is still far from being mastered."

Blood Hand stumbled back, blood seeping from beneath his black robes; he was clearly severely injured.

In just a short moment, two of the five were incapacitated, and one was injured!

"Fatty, let's go together!"

A ruthless look flashed in Lone Wolf's eyes.

"Use that move!"

Fatty nodded, and together with Lone Wolf, they pincer-attacked from the left and right!

Their Auras merged, faintly forming a combined attack formation!

Li Changsheng's expression turned solemn.

These two had clearly worked together for years; one hard and one soft, one fast and one slow, they were extremely difficult to deal with.

He fought while retreating, his mind calculating rapidly.

Although the Spirit Ape Health-Preserving Technique's True Qi was long-lasting, fighting several people in a row consumed a lot of it; while the Iron Casting Body Refining Technique was powerful, it wasn't invincible.

He had to end this quickly!

"Kid, give me your life!"

Lone Wolf's blade light was like a waterfall, and Fatty's giant axe was like thunder, sealing off all room for evasion!

At this critical juncture, Li Changsheng did something that caught everyone by surprise—

He grabbed a handful of gravel and scattered it into the air!

Infused with True Qi, the gravel shot toward the two like hidden weapons!

Lone Wolf and Fatty were forced to distract themselves to block!

In that momentary delay, Li Changsheng moved!

He didn't attack the two of them, but instead lunged toward the Scholar who had been roaming the periphery!

A feint!

"Not good!"

The Scholar was greatly alarmed, snapping open his folding fan to shoot out several poisoned needles!

Li Changsheng didn't dodge, taking the poisoned needles with his left arm while his right hand clamped onto the Scholar's throat like an iron pincer!

"Let him go!"

Lone Wolf roared.

"Let him go?"

Li Changsheng sneered, exerting force with his hand.

*Crack*.

The Scholar's neck bone snapped, his head lolled to the side, and he moved no more.

"Second Brother!"

Fatty's eyes nearly split from rage as his giant axe swung down madly!

"I'll let him go for you then!"

Li Changsheng pushed the Scholar's corpse forward, blocking the path of the axe.

Simultaneously, he closed the distance and slammed a fist into Fatty's heart!

This punch condensed the endurance of the Spirit Ape True Qi, the ferocity of the Iron Casting Body, and the agility of the Spirit Ape Fist Intent; it was the true Spirit Ape Iron Casting Power!

*Pfft—*

Fatty spat out a mouthful of blood mixed with organ fragments, the giant axe slipped from his hand, and he crashed to the ground.

Of the five, only Lone Wolf remained!

"Ahhh—!"

Lone Wolf went mad, his single eye bloodshot.

"I want you dead!"

He burned his essence blood, his Aura surging as he briefly broke through to the Houtian Ninth Level!

His great saber transformed into a bloody blade-glow, sweeping toward Li Changsheng!

This was a life-risking strike!

Li Changsheng's expression was more solemn than ever before.

If he couldn't block this blade, he would be heavily injured if not dead!

But he did not retreat.

In his mind, his father's dying wish, the Family's future, his own path of martial arts...

Everything flashed by.

"I cannot die here."

[Life-and-death crisis encountered, triggering the hidden characteristic of the Dao of Longevity, potential stimulated.]

[Extreme Epiphany: Part of the Spirit Ape Health-Preserving Technique has been comprehended, significant self-improvement. Reward: 5 Mental Energy points, 15 Mental Energy points remaining.]

The Spirit Ape Health-Preserving Technique was stimulated to its limit at this moment!

The insights and cultivation of the Spirit Ape Health-Preserving Technique over the past two days culminated in an outburst.

Suddenly, a surging wave of True Qi rushed forth, filling all the Meridians in his body.

Spirit Ape Health-Preserving Technique Third Level, Breakthrough!

Houtian Realm Ninth Level!

At the moment of life and death, the Spirit Ape Health-Preserving Technique broke through to the third level, forcibly driving his cultivation to also Breakthrough, reaching the Houtian Realm Ninth Level.

The hurried Breakthrough was not very stable, but it was enough!

"Slay!"

Lone Wolf's bloody blade-glow was already above his head!

Li Changsheng struck out with both fists, pushing the Spirit Ape Iron Casting Power to its Peak!

A faint green halo actually appeared on his fists.

That was a sign of Spirit Ape True Qi being projected externally!

Fist and blade collided once again!

This time, there was no loud bang, only a piercing sound of tearing.

The blade shattered.

The fist's momentum did not decrease, slamming into Lone Wolf's chest.

Lone Wolf flew backward, crashing into the canyon wall and slowly sliding down.

He looked down at the depression in his chest, his single eye full of disbelief.

"You... just who..."

Before he could finish, he breathed his last.

Silence returned to the canyon.

[Combat Improvement: Killed higher-Realm enemies in group combat. Reward: 5 Mental Energy points, 20 Mental Energy points remaining.]

The mist gradually dissipated, and sunlight spilled through the gap of the First Line of Heaven, illuminating the mess on the ground.

Li Changsheng stood in place, breathing heavily.

He was injured in many places, the spot on his left arm where the poisoned needles hit was already blue-black, and the True Qi in his body was almost exhausted.

But he had won.

Alone, he had annihilated the Blood Fang Squad.

On the cliff in the distance, Zhao Feng quietly ducked down, his hands trembling slightly.

Zhao Lei's face was pale.

"Big Brother, he... he killed five people at the Houtian Seventh Level or above..."

"Lone Wolf was even at the Eighth Level Peak..."

"More than that."

Zhao Feng's voice was dry.

"With that last punch, his True Qi was faintly projected externally..."

"He broke through to the Houtian Ninth Level!"

The two looked at each other, their eyes filled with horror.

A seventeen-year-old at the Houtian Ninth Level?

In the entire Qinghe Town, no such person had appeared in a hundred years!

"Quick, go back and report to Father."

Zhao Feng made a prompt decision.

"The plan must change."

"This youth... we can only befriend him; we must never be his enemy!"

The two hurried away, not daring to stay for a moment longer.

In the canyon, Li Changhu and the guards finally snapped out of their shock and rushed forward.

"Brother Changsheng!"

Li Changhu supported the swaying Li Changsheng.

"I'm fine."

Li Changsheng waved his hand, took out an antidote to swallow, and applied ointment to his left arm.

"Clean up the battlefield, take everything useful."

"Especially that one-eyed man's things, search them carefully."

"Yes!"

The guards began clearing the battlefield.

Li Changsheng walked over to Lone Wolf's body and indeed found a money pouch and several items.

The money pouch contained five hundred taels in banknotes and some loose silver, as well as a black token.

The front was engraved with 'Blood Fang', and the back had the number 'Seven'.

In addition, there was a thin booklet recording the Blood Fang Squad's past missions.

Li Changsheng flipped through it quickly, his gaze stopping on one page.

"March, Year 376 of the tianwu calendar, accepted a commission from Wang Minghao of the Wang Family, target Li Changsheng of the Li Family."

"Capture alive, reward five thousand taels; if dead, one thousand taels."

Note: Target may possess high-grade Cultivation Techniques, the employer specifically instructed to keep him alive for questioning."

Just as expected.

He put away the evidence and went to search the other bodies.

On Blood Hand's person, besides the usual items, he found a token similar to the one from the previous Blood Fiend Sect Disciple.

Only the number was different.

"Eighty-nine".

"Blood Fiend Sect Outer Sect Disciple..."

Li Changsheng's gaze was icy.

It seemed the Blood Fiend Sect's infiltration of Qinghe Town was deeper than imagined.

"Brother Changsheng, everything is cleared."

Li Changhu came over to report.

"How should we handle the five bodies?"

"Bury them on the spot."

Li Changsheng said.

"Keep this matter secret; to the outside world, just say we encountered mountain bandits."

"Understood."

The group continued forward, and by the time they walked out of the canyon, it was already noon.

The sun was brilliant, and a clear breeze brushed against their faces.