Chapter 102: Chapter 101: Defeating a Celestial Level Again

PFFT!

The moment the blade touched the soft bundle of blankets, the man in black knew he’d been had. ’I can’t believe that young man is so vigilant. Just from that one glance during the day, he set a trap for me tonight?’

The man in black’s reaction was undeniably fast. A Celestial Level Martial Artist assassinating an unknown boy was already overkill, but his power was undeniable!

The first strike having missed, the man in black swung his blade back, slashing behind him!

At that exact moment, the man in black felt a bone-chilling coldness rise up his spine... It was killing intent!

"Hah!"

The man in black let out a sharp cry as a brilliant red light erupted from his body. He poured all of his Primordial Power into the strike, convinced that even if a massive boulder... or a block of steel were behind him...

...it would be sliced in two!

This was a matter of faith, but more so, one of confidence! The confidence of a Celestial Level Martial Artist in his own strength!

BANG!

The powerful Sword Qi blasted the wall of the small inn to smithereens. Hu was staying in that room, and the Hunter’s reactions were extremely sharp. He rolled directly onto the floor, his large blade already in hand.

The ferocious Sword Qi showed no sign of weakening, blasting through seven or eight more walls and reducing them to rubble!

With a single strike, the man in black had destroyed half the inn!

A Celestial Level Martial Artist... was truly this formidable!

And yet, his blade had hit nothing but air!

The man in black felt his legs go numb. His expression changed instantly, his pupils contracting as his eyes filled with terror. He had overcommitted to his last move and it was too late to pull back. In that split second, all he could do was pour all the Primordial Power in his body into his legs. He formed an extremely durable Protective Gang Qi. It was already difficult for ordinary blades to harm the body of a Celestial Level Martial Artist, let alone one who had concentrated all his Primordial Power to defend a single spot.

’Kid, you think you can hurt me like this? You’re too naive! You’ve completely underestimated the power of a Celestial Level Martial Artist!’

As this thought crossed his mind, the man in black flicked his wrist. His thin, narrow blade flashed with a blinding light as he swept it viciously toward the ground.

All of this happened in the blink of an eye.

But in the next moment, the supremely confident man in black suddenly felt the numbness in his legs intensify. It seemed... there was also a slight itching sensation.

Instinctively, he felt that something was wrong.

Just then, a loud CRASH echoed from the floor. The man in black’s third strike... had missed again!

The small inn was only one story high, so the man in black’s strike blasted a large crater in the ground, but Qin Li seemed to have vanished completely!

Or perhaps, Qin Li had anticipated his every reaction before he even made a move! And based on those reactions, he’d made corresponding preparations, forcing the man in black to react in various ways in an instant... The man in black considered this possibility and cold sweat immediately dripped down his back.

At that moment, the bed Qin Li had been sleeping in suddenly exploded!

Qin Li’s body had been hidden all along, pressed against the far side underneath the bed! If the man in black’s previous strike had connected, he would have definitely sliced the hidden Qin Li in two!

But any assassin, especially an outstanding one, knows the principle of striking once and retreating a thousand li if they miss. Although this man in black wasn’t an assassin, he understood the same logic. How could he have imagined that someone would be so bold as to hide under the bed? Wasn’t... wasn’t he afraid that his opponent might be a reckless fool who would just chop down with a real strike?

As the bed exploded, a faint blue light flickered around Qin Li’s body. A silent, traceless Sword Qi shot toward the man in black’s heart!

"Go to hell!" Qin Li roared!

The man in black’s eyes nearly split with rage, and he felt the urge to vomit blood. Never in his life had he encountered an Earth Level Martial Artist who was so arrogant! So brazen!

He had forgotten: how could a normal Earth Level Martial Artist have tricked him? How could one make killing intent appear behind him? And how could one possibly have the guts to face a Celestial Level expert head-on!

The man in black lifted his leg to take a step, gathering his Primordial Power as he prepared to cut down this insolent whelp, but he suddenly let out a bloodcurdling scream!

"ARGH!"

The earth-shattering cry tore through the night sky, traveling a great distance.

Although the small town was bustling, it was now the dead of night. His scream must have woken countless people from their pleasant dreams. However, the powerful aura of the Celestial Level Martial Artist was so terrifying that all the dogs in town trembled in fear, not daring to make a sound!

Two streams of blood gushed from the man in black’s lower legs. Everything below his knees had been severed by Qin Li’s sword!

And yet, the man in black hadn’t even realized it at first!

Just how sharp must the sword be, and how fast the strike, for someone not to even notice their legs had been cut off?

Caught completely off guard, the man in black collapsed to the ground with a THUD. Qin Li’s sword was now pointed directly at his throat. The grim Sword Qi was ice-cold. The thin, not-so-tall figure stood like the Death God himself, silently watching the man in black before speaking in a frosty voice, "Is the throat of a Celestial Level Martial Artist just as tough?"

"Hiss!"

The rapid blood loss made the man in black dizzy, and the intense pain was agonizing!

"If you’re going to kill me, just do it! Make it quick!"

The man in black’s voice was hoarse; he didn’t sound young.

The fight had lasted only a moment, but the damage was immense. Fortunately, there were no casualties. Hu and the others rushed over, while the innkeeper was so scared he didn’t even dare to show his face.

"Since when is life so easy?" Qin Li sneered. "You, a Celestial Level Martial Artist, come here to assassinate me. If you succeed, you get to walk away free. If you fail, you get to demand a quick death? Hmph, you seem to think you’ve got all the advantages! What kind of Martial World hero are you pretending to be!"

Pfft!

Hu and the others, who had just arrived, nearly choked with laughter when they heard Qin Li’s words. ’You call *that* having the advantage?’ they thought. Still, they were all deeply shocked that this man in black was a Celestial Level Martial Artist. Their gazes toward Qin Li grew complicated before finally settling on sincere admiration.

Just last year, he was a weak, dependent illegitimate son. A year later, he could single-handedly deal with a Celestial Level Martial Artist with ease. Anyone would find that shocking.

In reality, Hu and the others were overestimating Qin Li somewhat. Qin Li’s current strength was undeniable, but killing a Celestial Level Martial Artist was not as easy as it seemed. In this case, his Innate Purple Qi, which produced no Primordial Power fluctuations, and his Unparalleled Divine Sword, Blood Drinking, had given Qin Li a massive advantage!

Without either one, it would have been impossible for Qin Li to subdue a Celestial Level Martial Artist so easily!

"So what do you want? To torture me? I’m not afraid! I’ve killed countless people in my life with cruel methods you can’t even imagine, kid! I advise you to just kill me with one strike, then flee to the ends of the earth! Hmph, Mangdang Mountain has never failed to hunt down its targets! Your entire family will die with me!"

The man in black unleashed his baleful aura. Hu and the others couldn’t withstand the pressure from a Celestial Level expert and fell back one after another.

"A bunch of nobodies want to watch me die? Get..."

Before the man in black could fully release his aura, Qin Li gently tapped his throat with the sword, instantly dissipating his momentum. The word "Get" was only half-spoken; the rest was swallowed back down.

"You think you’re so great?" Qin Li said lightly, though inwardly he was thirty percent surprised and seventy percent perplexed. ’So this man in black wasn’t sent by the Crown Prince, but by the group that wiped out the Qin Family! I wonder how they found me.’

Qin Li had never feared enemies, but he didn’t want to provoke enemies for no reason.

"I think you have the wrong person. I’m not from the Qin Family," Qin Li said coolly. "I won’t kill you today. Stay away from me in the future!"

The man in black sneered, "Anyone with the surname Qin must die!"

Qin Li’s eyes narrowed. He looked at the man in black and suddenly smiled. The man’s eyes filled with suspicion as he watched Qin Li.

"Little bastard, what are you smiling at?"

The smile on Qin Li’s face grew gentler. He looked at the man in black and said, "I’m smiling because you’re quite interesting. You’re at death’s door and you’re still trying to frame someone else. But you don’t seem to realize that I’m the master of that game! You think you can frame someone better than me? You’re not one of the people who destroyed the Qin Family at all! What bullshit Mangdang Mountain? To hell with that. Go on, admit it, you’re one of the Crown Prince’s men, aren’t you? I underestimated that spineless coward. I didn’t think he’d actually have the guts to send someone to assassinate me. But, just one of you... that son of a bitch really looks down on me, you know? He should’ve at least... sent two!"

"Little bastard, what Crown Prince? I don’t know him! Besides, if I hadn’t been careless, how could I have fallen for your tricks? Enough talk, just kill me if you have the guts!" the man in black shouted fiercely. "Otherwise, you’ll regret it!"

Pfft. Pfft.

Qin Li quickly tapped the man in black’s body twice with Blood Drinking. The man didn’t even have time to react. Seeing the sword move away from him, he struggled violently, his hand instinctively trying to swing his blade at Qin Li.

This was the instinct of a powerful Martial Artist!

But unexpectedly, a wave of weakness washed over him. The blade in his hand fell to the ground with a CLANG. The man’s face turned ashen, his lips trembled, and for the first time, a look of profound fear appeared in his eyes.

"Vessel-Cutting Skill! You actually know the Vessel-Cutting Skill!"

"What the hell is a Vessel-Cutting Skill? I have no idea what you’re talking about." Qin Li squatted down beside the man in black and pulled off his mask, revealing the face of a man in his fifties. He wasn’t as old as Qin Li had imagined. The man’s face was contorted in pain, making it look somewhat twisted.

"With such strong brows and big eyes, why do you like skulking around in the shadows?" Qin Li muttered, then shouted, "Watermelon, if you’re not dead, get over here! Search him, then try to get something out of him."

The man in black’s eyes flew wide open, his body surging with a monstrous hatred!