53: Kill the Ninth Rank! Save Ming Qingcheng!

Chapter 53: Slaying a Ninth-Rank Middle-Tier! Rescuing Ming Qingcheng!

The Twelve Connected Fortresses of Jiangnan and Related Waterways.

This name is the official name of the Jiangnan Water Fortress. It’s unknown why the water bandits chose such a formal name.

The water fortress mainly made its living on the spiderweb-like waterways of Jiangnan. Passenger and cargo transport, and the delivery of imperial edicts, all had to consider the water fortress’s wishes.

The clandestine private salt and horse-selling businesses even more so required the protection of the water fortress, and protection fees were, of course, mandatory.

Later, Xia Qifei even established connections with the government, becoming adept in both legitimate and illicit dealings, gradually legitimizing his operations, which shows that Xia Qifei was indeed a talented individual.

Hearing Xing Yusen’s reverse threat, these water bandits instantly flew into a rage.

This was their territory, the Jiangnan Water Fortress, and someone dared to be so arrogant.

“Board the ship!”

With a command from a ship of the water fortress, several grappling hooks were immediately latched onto Li Chang'an’s ship’s gunwale.

Watching the water bandits gradually approach, Xing Yusen sneered, “Come on! Come let this master chop you down!”

Xing Yusen, who originated as the Chief Constable of the Ministry of Justice, had captured countless bandits and brigands and didn't put a few patrolling petty thieves in his eyes at all.

A total of six petty thieves successfully boarded Li Chang'an’s ship.

After boarding the deck, they were met with the various weapons of the Shadow Guard. The thieves were all cut down before they even saw the main target.

The captive said tremblingly to Xing Yusen, “Great Hero, actually, you didn’t have to kill them. I sit on the fifth chair in the fortress, and they are very afraid of me.”

Xing Yusen said with a cold face, “Less nonsense. Killing a few petty thieves is all for the sake of the common people!”

The captive respectfully said, “Your Excellency is of noble character. This humble one deserves to die.”

Under the guidance of the captive, the Fifth Master, the twelve successfully landed on the island where the water fortress was located.

Because of this captive’s status within the water fortress, the group directly and openly passed through several layers of the water fortress’s defenses.

It wasn’t impossible to just kill their way in, but if the fortress leader and the Old Guardian escaped in the process, it would only complicate matters.

After a large group of people entered the main hall, they saw several individuals who looked like leaders discussing something.

One of the big men saw the Fifth Master and immediately shouted, “Fifth Brother, you’re finally back!”

“Has the Life-Snatching Scholar been killed? And who are these people you brought?”

Before the Fifth Master could answer, Zhao Gao’s figure suddenly flashed in place, then appeared before that person!

Zhao Gao, a Ninth-Rank Peak expert, ambushing an Eighth-Rank Lower Martial Artist, was simply effortless.

By the time that Martial Artist discovered Zhao Gao, his heart had already been brutally ripped out by Zhao Gao.

Immediately after, Li Chang'an used his Qinggong, leaping out of the courtyard and heading towards the back mountain.

He wanted to practice with that Ninth-Rank Middle-tier Old Guardian. It was not easy to find a Ninth-Rank opponent.

The Old Guardian’s residence had been clearly described by the Fifth Master of the water fortress, and Li Chang'an quickly found that small courtyard.

Li Chang'an stood on the roof of the small courtyard. The Old Guardian inside was completely unaware. Li Chang'an shot out a Sword Qi, directly tearing off a large section of the roof!

The Old Guardian, who had been completely unaware, was still injured in the lower abdomen by the Sword Qi despite his full effort to dodge.

“Who’s there!”

“True Qi externalization? Could it be a Great Grandmaster in person!”

The Ninth-Rank Old Guardian’s voice was filled with terror!

He had been quietly regulating his breath and Cultivating when he suddenly felt a vast surge of externalized True Qi!

The Old Guardian, who was over sixty years old, clutched his bleeding lower abdomen with one hand and held a gleaming ring-pommel saber with the other.

The Old Guardian had an Eighth-Rank Martial Dao talent, but this fellow was an old stubborn individual unwilling to submit to the imperial court, the kind who would rather die as a water bandit.

In the original timeline, after Fan Xian subdued the Jiangnan Water Fortress, because this old fellow was so unyielding, he directly ordered Shadow to kill him.

If the Old Guardian was too old and still so stubborn, Li Chang'an had already decided to simply kill him and be done with it.

Li Chang'an was not disguised at night, and the Old Guardian was clearly startled by Li Chang'an’s youth.

“Your Excellency is not from the Jiangnan Road. It’s impossible for there to be such a young Ninth-Rank expert in Jiangnan Road. Who exactly are you?”

Li Chang'an said coldly, “A Ninth-Rank is considered someone. I’ll let you die understanding. We are here by imperial decree to suppress Martial Artists!”

Hearing “by imperial decree to suppress Martial Artists,” the Old Guardian suddenly laughed, “So it’s an expert from Qing Kingdom’s Prince Yong's Residence. No wonder you possess such divine Martial Arts!”

“You’ve come all the way to Jiangnan Road, causing heads to roll among the Jianghu, and I didn’t expect you’d still find this old man.”

Li Chang'an was somewhat surprised. Could this Old Guardian have some hidden identity? “Prince Yong's Residence does not accept surrender.”

The old man angrily said, “This general was born a person of the Great Xi and will die a ghost of the Great Xi. Surrendering to Qing Kingdom is absolutely impossible!”

The Xi Kingdom, a small country destroyed by Southern Qing a few years ago. No wonder this person was so stubborn; he was originally a general of the Xi Kingdom.

This was excellent. Killing him would be even more justified, and he could also acquire the precious Secret Manuals on him.

To Cultivate to Ninth-Rank, Martial Dao talent and treasured Secret Manuals are both indispensable.

“Pfft!”

As Li Chang'an spoke, another Sword Qi shot from his fingertip, piercing towards the Old Guardian’s head.

The Old Guardian’s movement technique was still decent, allowing him to dodge the vital spot, but the Sword Qi still sliced off one of his ears.

If the Six Meridian Divine Sword had reached Major Achievement, this Move would have been impossible to dodge.

The Old Guardian ignored the pain and swung his ring-pommel saber, closing in on Li Chang'an.

A Ninth-Rank Middle-tier expert was indeed extraordinary. Every Move was filled with immense True Qi and could not be underestimated.

Although the Old Guardian’s saber techniques were exquisitely subtle, Li Chang'an’s Tianshan Plum Hand was even more ingenious.

Supported by abundant Bei Ming True Energy, the Tianshan Plum Hand handled the sharp ring-pommel saber with ease!

After more than ten Moves, the Old Guardian, relying on the sharpness of his weapon, couldn’t gain any advantage, and he couldn’t help but feel inwardly shocked!

This Ninth-Rank Lower expert before him was not only excessively young, but his palm technique was also ever-changing!

After another ten Moves, Li Chang'an had already become familiar with the Old Guardian’s saber technique. His Moves suddenly changed, and his palm winds became exceptionally fierce.

“Bang!”

With a loud crash, Li Chang'an’s Yangge Tianjun Move directly sent the Old Guardian’s ring-pommel saber flying, and then six or seven consecutive palm strikes all hit his chest.

The Old Guardian coughed up blood and fell to the ground. Li Chang'an picked up the ring-pommel saber and cut off the Old Guardian’s head with one stroke.

Li Chang'an searched the Old Guardian’s body and indeed found a Secret Manual.

It was a yellowed, thread-bound book, with the words “Spring and Autumn” prominently written on the cover.

It turned out that the old fellow also read Spring and Autumn.

Li Chang'an glanced through it and found it was a Secret Manual called “Spring and Autumn Saber Technique.”

Li Chang'an carried the Old Guardian’s head back to the water fortress hall. On the table in the hall were neatly arranged the heads of several leaders.

Including the Old Guardian’s head, all the upper echelons of the Jiangnan Water Fortress had been purged, except for the Fifth Master, who had lost all his Martial Arts and was captured.

Li Chang'an threw the Old Guardian’s head to the Fifth Master. The Fifth Master caught it smoothly and placed it on the offering table.

Then, as previously agreed, the Fifth Master began to address the mid-level leaders who had just poured into the hall, still somewhat at a loss.

“The former Great Leader was narrow-minded and couldn’t tolerate heroes. Today he has been punished. From now on, this old man is in charge of the Jiangnan Water Fortress!”

Keeping the Fifth Master as a Puppet, and then gradually letting Xia Qifei take over, this was the plan Li Chang'an had formulated.

The mid-level leaders in the hall were also pragmatic; several immediately knelt down and paid homage.

“This younger brother is willing to serve Big Brother and will never have a second thought!”

The situation in the hall quickly stabilized. A few who were not convinced were directly cut down by the Shadow Guard.

The water fortress members dispersed. Several Shadow Guards and the new Great Leader went together to stabilize the morale of the fortress.

Subsequently, the remaining Shadow Guards brought the shirtless Xia Qifei into the main hall.

On his back, there were rows of neatly arranged scars from knife cuts and axe chops, as if they had been carved onto him.

Hearing footsteps, Xia Qifei turned around, his chest also covered in similar scars.

The knife and axe wounds were clearly inflicted while he was restrained and tortured, otherwise they wouldn’t be so uniform.

Li Chang'an now felt that Young Master Ming Qingda’s act of poking steel needles into fingers was merely a trifle.

The Ming Family of Jiangnan was truly incredibly perverse!

Name: Xia Qifei (Ming Qingcheng)

Age: 21

Realm: Seventh-Rank Lower

Talent: Martial Dao (Seventh-Rank), Command (Eighth-Rank), Networking (Seventh-Rank)

Ability: Command (Fourth-Rank), Networking (Fifth-Rank)

Emotion: 0