Top-Tier Perception Starts From Basic Fist Techniques-Chapter 51: Lu Changshengs Sword is Faster!

As one of the strongest martial artists in Nanyang Prefecture, Zhao Qilei rarely drew his saber. To him, only a few were worthy of his blade, and those who were always ended up wounded or dead.

Zhao Qilei swung his saber at Li Hongzhuang, and just as he expected, she couldn’t block his strike. Though both were Organ Refinement martial artists, the difference in strength between them was vast. To Zhao Qilei, Li Hongzhuang was no different from the Bone Tempering or Blood Strengthening opponents he had faced before. One clean strike was all it would take to bring her down.

Just as Zhao Qilei’s blade was about to strike Li Hongzhuang, a sudden wave of terror surged through him. He focused his senses and finally caught a faint gust of wind sweeping past him.

Whoosh!

Zhao Qilei quickly shifted his blade and slashed to the side instead. As the saber cut through the air, his eye caught a glimpse of a faint strand of red light flashing past him—blood qi?

Crrr!

He sliced the red light in two, but part of it still grazed the back of his hand, carving a long gash that began bleeding at once.

Zhao Qilei ignored his wound. His eyes remained fixed on the direction beside him.

"Blood qi to sword... You can transform blood qi into a sword! In all of the jianghu, I've never seen anyone capable of projecting blood qi externally and transforming it into a sword. May I know your name, sir?" Zhao Qilei tensed all over as he realized he was faced with a dangerous enemy.

From the darkness of the night, a figure slowly stepped into view.

"Li Hongzhuang, I didn’t expect you to be in trouble again."

He was none other than Lu Changsheng.

Li Hongzhuang’s eyes snapped open. The familiar voice she had longed to hear echoed in her ears. "It's really you..." she whispered, her voice trembling with excitement. The sight of Lu Changsheng's familiar silhouette put her heart at ease.

"Hmph! Sir, are you ignoring me?" Zhao Qilei frowned at Lu Changsheng.

This man in black didn't even look at him, as if he wasn't there at all. This sheer disregard for him made Zhao Qilei furious. He had always carried himself with pride, certain that even among the Zhao Clan's seven sons, none could stand above him. But now this stranger dared ignore him as if he were nothing?

Li Hongzhuang bit her lip. "That’s Zhao Qilei, one of the Zhao Clan's seven sons. They call him the Fiery Saber," she explained. "His saber is known for its speed and power. Below the Divine Strength Realm, no one in Nanyang can stand against him. Be careful."

Li Hongzhuang couldn't shake her worry. Zhao Qilei's reputation was unmatched; not even the combined fame of his six brothers could surpass his. He was one of the best Organ Refinement martial artists and had slain many other supreme Organ Refinement martial artists. Lu Changsheng was strong, but Li Hongzhuang wasn't sure if he could really stand against Zhao Qilei.

"So you're the Fiery Saber..." Lu Changsheng remarked, finally locking eyes with Zhao Qilei.

"Who exactly are you, sir?" Zhao Qilei asked coldly, "With strength like yours, you must be a known figure in the jianghu."

"You know who I am," Lu Changsheng replied, gripping his shortsword. "You've been looking for me all this time, have you not?"

Seeing the shortsword, Zhao Qilei's eyes widened in realization. "So it's you!"

He had been searching for the swordsman who had killed a Zhao Clan martial artist, and now this man was standing before him.

Zhao Qilei thought back on how Lu Changsheng had transformed his blood qi into a sword earlier, and instead of fear, he felt excitement. It had been a long time since he had met a worthy opponent.

Below the Divine Strength Realm, he had almost come to believe he was invincible. But when he saw the wounds on the Zhao Clan's martial artist's body, he realized the killer’s swordsmanship was faster than anything he had ever seen. That sparked his interest.

"Your sword is fast," Zhao Qilei said, his eyes gleaming fiercely. "But my saber isn't slow either. Let's see which is faster now." His aura continued to rise, his killing intent sharpening as though he himself had turned into a blade.

Seeing this, Lu Changsheng stayed calm. He had faced many supreme martial artists at the peak of the Organ Refinement Stage before—figures like the Saber-Dragging Heavenly King, Li Ji; the Ghost Mask, Chen Sanjiu; and the Left Envoy of the Myriad Poison Cult, Zhao Xing. They were all powerful martial artists of the Divine Strength Realm, yet each of them had been defeated by Lu Changsheng.

Perhaps today, the Fiery Saber, Zhao Qilei would also be added to that list. When it came to speed, whether it was saber or sword, few could rival Lu Changsheng.

"As you wish," Lu Changsheng's hand closed around his sword hilt and drew it out at once—no sound, no glint of the blade, not even a trace of its shadow on the ground.

At that moment, Zhao Qilei struck. His saber moved even faster than when he had attacked Li Hongzhuang earlier. From where she stood, Li Hongzhuang could only catch a faint shimmer, as the blade flashed once and was gone in an instant. She couldn’t imagine anyone managing to parry such a fast strike.

Lu Changsheng didn't even move to block; he shifted his body ever so slightly. Li Hongzhuang could still make out the faint blur of Zhao Qilei's saber, but Lu Changsheng's sword was faster than her eyes could follow. Even though she paid close attention, she still couldn't tell whether he had even struck.

Crrrr!

A faint sound broke the tense silence. Zhao Qilei's saber stopped just three inches from Lu Changsheng's chest. Those three inches felt like an unbridgeable gulf and Zhao Qilei couldn't push any further, and his eyes widened as that realization set in.

"I started training with the saber when I was six, and I first killed when I was ten. I mastered speed techniques at thirteen, and by eighteen, my name was known throughout Nanyang Prefecture. At twenty-eight, I practiced Organ Refinement, and below the Divine Strength Realm, no one in Nanyang Prefecture could match me. I have never seen someone capable of wielding the blade faster than me... until today. I am forced to admit that your sword is faster than mine."

There was no fear or regret in his eyes, only slight surprise followed by calm acceptance. He had finally witnessed a strike faster than his own. Even if he trained for another hundred years, he knew he could never reach that speed.

Crrrr!

A thin crimson line spread around Zhao Qilei's neck. A moment later, blood sprayed out.

With a heavy thud, the man known as the Fiery Saber, once unmatched across Nanyang, collapsed lifeless to the ground. For Zhao Qilei, chasing the fastest strike, whether by saber or sword, had been the purpose of his life. To die beneath a faster blade was perhaps the most fitting end he could have asked for.

Li Hongzhuang stood frozen. She couldn't believe what she was seeing.

"Is Zhao Qilei... dead?" she murmured, her eyes fixed on the pool of blood spreading beneath him. 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

Zhao Qilei's defeat was bound to be shocking for people like Li Hongzhuang, but for Lu Changsheng, this was nothing remarkable. The sword in his hand had already claimed the lives of countless supreme Organ Refinement martial artists. To him, the Fiery Saber, Zhao Qilei, was just another easy opponent.

Lu Changsheng crouched beside Zhao Qilei's body and searched through his belongings. As one of the Zhao Clan’s seven sons, he thought Zhao Qilei might have some martial art manuals, maybe even one of the Divine Strength Realm, but all he found was a few pieces of broken silver taels.

Lu Changsheng stood and turned to Li Hongzhuang. "You left Nanyang Prefecture. Why did you come back?" he asked.

Li Hongzhuang's eyes lingered on Zhao Qilei's corpse, a faint spark flickering within them. When she looked back at Lu Changsheng, that spark flared into a steady flame, seemingly fueled by anger.