279: Chapter 59 The Shifting Stars

Just as A Zi, knowing she was no match, was still prepared to clash head-on with Qiao Feng's Proud Dragon Repents, a hand rested on her shoulder from behind.

Then, that hand, carrying a gentle force, glided smoothly from her shoulder all the way down her arm to her palm.

A Zi suddenly felt her arm go numb, and the gathered Air-Splitting Palm power dissipated rapidly, yet she felt no discomfort at all.

The next second, she saw a familiar figure appear and immediately cried out in pleasant surprise, "Young Master Master!"

Meng Li did not respond; instead, he shifted his steps and flickered, blocking her path and directly facing the magnificent, translucent True Qi Dragon lunging before him.

A Zi's face instantly filled with fear, and she shouted, "Young Master Master, don't!"

Bao Butong, Feng Boe, and A Bi also showed expressions of alarm.

Seeing this, Qiao Feng was also startled and wanted to change his move, but he was powerless to do so.

The essence of "Proud Dragon Repents" lies in the word "repents," but it is not something one can repent at any time or place just by wanting to.

The timing was now lost; even though his Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms had reached the Transcendent level, he could not redirect this terrifying palm force that had escaped his control.

Under everyone's watchful eyes, the magnificent translucent True Qi Dragon slammed fiercely into Meng Li, but then something strange happened: the True Qi Dragon failed to budge Meng Li even an inch; instead, like a clay ox entering the sea, it vanished into his body.

Qiao Feng: "?"

The members of the Beggars Sect: "??"

The Jianghu onlookers: "???"

Bao Butong, Feng Boe: "??!!"

A Bi: "?!"

In the next instant, Meng Li's figure swayed, and a vast Aura erupted, manifesting an image of circling and twinkling stars around him. Within it, a great Dragon meandered under the guidance of the stars, its body rapidly shrinking as it was swallowed by them.

Then, Meng Li's body shook, and he reached out his hand to grasp.

In an instant, the vast phenomenon converged into the stars, and the stars shrank into Meng Li's hand.

Meng Li waved his hand.

The stars reappeared, transforming into a True Qi Dragon with an even grander Aura that roared into the air and charged straight at Qiao Feng.

Seeing this sight, the same four words popped into everyone's minds simultaneously—Shifting Stars!

Qiao Feng was inwardly astonished and hurried to use the move Proud Dragon Repents to counter it.

However, the Proud Dragon Repents he had just used against A Zi was already at full power; after being enhanced by Meng Li's profoundly skilled Shifting Stars and redirected back, its power was now thirty percent stronger.

Now he was responding in haste; though he wanted to use full power, he hadn't had time to build it up and fell short, only managing seventy or eighty percent.

Thus, when this Proud Dragon Repents was unleashed, the Dragon form it took seemed like a small dragon meeting a large one compared to the one Meng Li had redirected.

As the two clashed, the small dragon was instantly obliterated by the large one.

Immediately after, the large Dragon, with its remaining form and undiminished momentum, slammed into Qiao Feng.

Qiao Feng did not know Shifting Stars and could only exert force through his feet, using a rudimentary force-deflection technique to cope, but he only managed to dissipate twenty or thirty percent of the force. He was then sent flying back in a straight line by the fierce palm power contained in the Dragon's remnant, retreating over ten meters before stopping, leaving two deep furrows in the ground like a plow.

Then, Qiao Feng's body swayed, and he spat out a mouthful of blood.

Seeing this, the members of the Beggars Sect immediately called out "Sect Leader" in panic and ran over to support him.

But as soon as they approached, Qiao Feng wiped the blood from his mouth, raised his hand to stop them, and stood up on his own.

Immediately, Qiao Feng looked toward Meng Li and saw A Zi, A Bi, Feng Boe, and Bao Butong standing behind him, along with several more beautiful women, each with her own unique charm: Wang Yuyan, A Zhu, Mu Wanqing, Mei Jian, and Zhu Jian, who had come out with Meng Li.

This made Qiao Feng instantly realize who Meng Li was, and he immediately cupped his fists, saying, "Young Master Murong's Shifting Stars is indeed ingenious, truly worthy of the reputation 'returning a man's specialty back upon himself'."

Meng Li smiled and said, "Sect Leader Qiao's Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms is also peerlessly fierce; in terms of power, it can be considered number one among palm techniques."

Qiao Feng was somewhat surprised.

Although he felt the Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms was powerful, he had never thought he would receive the evaluation of "number one palm technique."

"Young Master Murong overpraises me."

Meng Li didn't follow up but asked directly, "Sect Leader Qiao, your persistence in seeing me surely wasn't just for a single answer, was it?"

Qiao Feng coughed twice and replied, "Young Master Murong's Martial Arts are superb; to kill Vice Leader Ma..."

"Sect Leader, you are mistaken!" Just as Qiao Feng began, Quan Guanqing jumped out to interrupt, continuing, "This Murong Fu just used 'returning a man's specialty back upon himself,' proving he uses this technique habitually. This only increases the suspicion that he used it to murder Vice Leader Ma."

Hearing this, Qiao Feng frowned.

Bao Butong was furious and was about to retort, but he was silenced by a look from Meng Li.

A Zi was the same.

Then, Meng Li asked Qiao Feng, "And this is?"

"Beggars Sect Elder Quan Guanqing," Qiao Feng replied in a muffled voice, his expression looking a bit displeased.

Meng Li nodded, then extended a finger and pointed at Quan Guanqing from a distance.

Qiao Feng immediately felt something was wrong and instinctively tried to intervene, but due to his injuries, his movements were slow.

With a whiz and a thud, a small hole was instantly pierced into Quan Guanqing's chest. Only when the blood began to flow did he feel the pain and let out a miserable howl.

Qiao Feng hurried over to check the situation, acting to seal several acupoints around the wound to help stop the bleeding.

Once the situation stabilized, he asked Meng Li angrily, "Young Master Murong, what is the meaning of this?"

The surrounding members of the Beggars Sect also showed angry expressions.

Meng Li didn't care at all and said airily, "It doesn't mean much; I'm just using facts to tell this Elder Quan a few things."

"First, just because I used Shifting Stars doesn't mean I only know Shifting Stars."

"Second, I don't like killing, but that doesn't mean I won't. If I wanted to kill him, I would only need to move a finger—one move would suffice."

"Third, if your strength isn't up to par, it's best not to butt in when people with stronger Martial Arts than you are talking."

Having said that, he changed the subject: "As for whether I killed Ma Dayuan, I believe you already have the answer in your heart, Sect Leader Qiao. But since this matter involves me and we've met today, I might as well say a few more words."

"I've heard a bit about the circumstances of Ma Dayuan's death."

"He died from the Throat-Locking Technique, and the location of death was his own home."

"Combining these two points already draws a circle, narrowing the culprit down to a very small range. Yet you actually went outside that circle to look for the killer? Truly laughable."

As soon as these words were spoken, the expressions of the Beggars Sect members changed instantly.

Qiao Feng no longer cared about pursuing the matter of Quan Guanqing's injury and hurriedly asked in a deep voice, "Young Master Murong, what do you mean by this?"

A Zi said with her hands on her hips, "You still don't understand? My Young Master Master means that the man named Ma was very likely killed by one of your own people from the Beggars Sect."

"Nonsense!"

"Little girl, cease your reckless talk!"

...

As soon as A Zi finished speaking, several Elders of the Beggars Sect became indignant and began to berate her one after another.

Had they not seen A Zi's Martial Arts and known they couldn't win, they would likely have attacked.

Qiao Feng raised his hand, silencing their words.

Then, with a firm expression, he said, "All who enter the Beggars Sect are brothers, and Vice Leader Ma was deeply beloved. There is absolutely no possibility that the killer is a Disciple of the Beggars Sect."

Seeing this, Meng Li shook his head. "In that case, further words are useless."

After saying that, he turned and walked back.

Bao Butong and Feng Boe stepped forward at the right time to see the guests out: "Sect Leader Qiao, everyone, please leave."

Seeing this, Qiao Feng had no choice but to lead his people away. After walking a few steps, he noticed Duan Yu standing still, staring straight toward Canhe Village, and couldn't help but feel puzzled.

"Brother Duan, what are you looking at?"

Duan Yu replied instinctively, "Looking at the Fairy."

Qiao Feng: "..."