Some distance away, Yue Kunchi was being completely outmatched by Ruan Hailou. Not only was Ruan Hailou a generation higher than him in seniority, but Yue Kunchi’s martial abilities were barely above average. He’d only been entrusted with managing sect affairs because Zhao Chiying was in seclusion. With his days bursting with myriad duties, he’d neglected his training more and more. Of course he was weaker than Ruan Hailou. In only a moment, he fell to the ground and coughed up blood, injured.
This time, Ruan Hailou had no intention of leaving him any room to escape. He lifted his palm, readying a killing blow.
The only two people on the scene still capable of fighting were Fan Yuanbai and Zhou Yexue, but they were occupied with Lu Feng. The remainder were only mediocre practitioners, incapable of coming to Yue Kunchi’s aid. So Shiwu braced himself and charged over to block the blow for Yue Kunchi.
Of course, Ruan Hailou didn’t take the boy seriously at all. With a cold laugh and a swing of his sleeve, he tossed Shiwu aside.
Shiwu yelped and fell backward. His sword clattered from his hand to the ground.
Shen Qiao heard the commotion. Even without turning his head, he knew what had happened. With a silent, disappointed sigh, he lamented that a grand sect like Bixia Sect had fallen to such a state. He swept aside Pu Anmi’s saber while turning back to save Yue Kunchi. With a burst of his sword qi, he dispersed Ruan Hailou’s palm blast. In a moment, it’d become Shen Qiao against both Pu Anmi and Ruan Hailou—one versus two.
Pu Anmi gave a mocking laugh. “Daoist Master Shen is truly too capable! Everything is up to you!”
Ever since Pu Anmi had seen that he couldn’t use Shen Qiao, he’d decided to kill him. Now that Ruan Hailou had joined him, he was under much less pressure, and he no longer hesitated—every slash of his saber was swung to kill. Eight blasts of qi surged from his saber toward Shen Qiao, powerful enough to overturn the mountains and oceans alike.
The bystanders only saw how Shen Qiao now had to handle both the impenetrable qi of Pu Anmi’s saber as well as Ruan Hailou’s fierce and billowing palm blasts. Outnumbered like this, no matter how powerful of a martial artist Shen Qiao was, it was likely to spread him completely thin—it’d be hard to keep up.
Shiwu’s heart had leapt into his throat. He didn’t dare make a sound, terrified of distracting Shen Qiao and disturbing his ability to judge by ear. His fists were tightly clenched, and he was soaked in sweat without his notice.
Shen Qiao struck with his sword.
The force of his slash was enough to sweep away everything before it. Where his blade fell, sword qi exploded outward, snow-white as it tore through the sky.
After this strike, he immediately retreated. With a tap of his toes, he soared through the air—this was Xuandu Mountain’s “A Rainbow Stretches Across the Heavens” executed to the utmost. A split second later, he vanished from everyone’s sight, and when he appeared again, it was behind Ruan Hailou. Pu Anmi’s saber fell to the ground, a long, bloody gash now scored into his wrist. Yet he didn’t even glance at the wound, his expression still full of disbelief, as if in utter denial that he’d lost.
Ruan Hailou was a little better off in comparison. He withdrew his palm quickly enough, and instead of wasting more time on Shen Qiao, he turned back to killing Yue Kunchi.
But Shen Qiao intervened again. Resentful anger filled Ruan Hailou’s heart, but all he could do was go on fighting Shen Qiao, fury written all over his face. “Do you know just how shameless and despicable Yue Kunchi’s shifu was? By helping him now, you’re only helping the wicked, refusing to tell black from white!”
“I don’t know the details of the quarrel between you, and I have no right to intervene,” Shen Qiao said severely. “But do you really believe that the Bixia Sect disciples whose corpses litter the ground should pay the price for your grudge?”
“Everyone in Bixia Sect owes me,” snarled Ruan Hailou. “I endured everything in silence for more than ten years. Hui Leshan is already dead, so what’s wrong with making his successors pay in his place?!”
Shen Qiao spoke no more.
If someone’s heart was steeped in hatred, no amount of explanation or advice they were offered would get through. Furthermore, Ruan Hailou had allied himself with the Khaganate and slaughtered almost everyone in Bixia Sect. It was obvious he had no desire to end things peacefully.
They exchanged blows, moving faster and faster. Although Ruan Hailou wasn’t well known in the martial arts circles of the Central Plains, he wasn’t someone easily dealt with. In his youth, he’d been the most talented disciple in Bixia Sect. Afterward, he left the sect for some reason and went to Goguryeo, then reestablished himself in Dongzhou Sect, rising to become one of their elders. He’d ascended to the ranks of first-rate martial experts.
Though Shen Qiao’s foundations had been rebuilt, it was impossible to return to his old level overnight. He only had a little over half the strength he’d held at his peak. But without the lingering poison and his old injuries, his movements became more deft and relaxed than ever, no longer tinged with the fear of future consequences.
The fight between the two blazed like fire on old tinder, leaving Shen Qiao with no attention left for anything else. Seeing this, Pu Anmi’s thoughts took a sudden turn. After briefly assessing the battle situation with narrowed eyes, he waited until Shen Qiao turned to deal with Ruan Hailou’s palm strike, then suddenly drew his saber and slashed at Shen Qiao’s back!
“Shen-shi!”
“Careful, Daoist Master Shen!”
There came a chorus of shouts—Yue Kunchi and Shiwu’s were among them. They’d been closely watching the battle, so naturally they both saw Pu Anmi strike.
Unfortunately, one of them was gravely injured, and the other lacked the skill to help. Shiwu even leapt up and ran over, but he was only a novice martial artist—how could he block Pu Anmi’s attack? The saber was already mere inches from Shen Qiao’s back!
A gust of cool wind blew in from whereabouts unknown, carrying a faint fragrance with it. Before Shiwu realized what was going on, he blinked and saw what looked like a bright blue sash floating by before his eyes.
Pu Anmi’s saber didn’t connect with Shen Qiao. Instead, it landed in a fair and slender hand. It looked like the newcomer had caught the blade barehanded, but there was actually a thin layer of true qi between hand and blade. A palm struck Pu Anmi’s body, sending him careening backward. The tiles beneath his feet splintered with his stumbling steps, the shards flying everywhere. He fell back and back until he reached the entranceway.
“Zhao Chiying?” Pu Anmi guessed the newcomer’s identity straight away.
“Yes,” the woman in blue said. She quickly lunged forward, pressing toward Pu Anmi with every step. A short moment later, she’d snatched away Pu Anmi’s saber and sealed his acupoints.
Zhao Chiying took a few more steps forward and helped Yue Kunchi off the ground. “Is Shixiong all right?” she asked in concern.
Yue Kunchi smiled bitterly. “I’m fine. But I was useless, and now all your work was for naught.”
Zhao Chiying shook her head but said no more. When she saw that Shen Qiao had a slight upper hand over Ruan Hailou, she stayed out of their fight, opting instead to bring Fan Yuanbai and Lu Feng’s battle to a close first.
Lu Feng and Ruan Hailou had been in secret communication for quite a while. Lu Feng’s help was one of the main reasons Ruan Hailou’s assault on Bixia Sect had gone so smoothly. He’d been in Bixia Sect for many years and had built up a group of loyal disciples. But after more than half a day of vicious fighting, he’d also suffered great losses. Now there were only a few people left still battling Fan Yuanbai and the rest. Even so, with the support of Dongzhou Sect and Pu Anmi, Lu Feng had been almost certain he could seize the position of Bixia Sect’s leader today as long as nothing went wrong.