Chapter Thirty-Four: Strength

"Ah! I'm going to kill you!" Wang Qingxuan shouted, charging at Wang Hongbo, but Qin Yi grabbed him by the arm and pulled him back.

"Master, survival comes first—revenge can wait for another day!" Qin Yi dragged Wang Qingxuan away in a desperate flight.

"Don't stop me! I must cleanse the sect!" Wang Qingxuan's eyes burned red with fury, teetering on the edge of rage, not realizing how Qin Yi could possibly muster such strength to drag him along.

"Heh, none of you are getting away!" Xue Yinhou burst from the woods, leaping like a golden roc soaring toward Qin Yi and Wang Qingxuan.

Meanwhile, Pang Shaozheng had, at some point, appeared among the crowd, ruthlessly hunting down several of the senior uncles.

The whole situation erupted into utter chaos.

Arrows whistled from the forest; most disciples of the Azure Micro Palace fell before they even reached the tree line. Those whose martial prowess allowed them to enter were quickly surrounded and slain by soldiers of the County Guard who lay in wait.

Guo Lin, who had earlier led fifty soldiers away, returned and blocked the path ahead. The road behind was sealed off by more than a hundred soldiers.

They were trapped—like dumplings in a pot.

"Kill them—leave no one alive!"

It was a massacre, hopelessly one-sided.

Dragged down by Qin Yi, Wang Qingxuan saw Xue Yinhou approaching. He realized he'd missed his chance to purge the sect. Unwilling to waste another moment, he put his head down and fled.

Arrows flew toward Qin Yi and Wang Qingxuan as they ran. Qin Yi twisted aside, dodging deftly. Wang Qingxuan, with the prowess of a fifth-level master, managed to evade the less concentrated barrage.

"Into the woods!" Qin Yi plunged in first.

Screams echoed; the ambushers hidden in this patch of woods were dispatched by him in an instant.

When Wang Qingxuan followed and saw the bodies lying on the ground, he gasped inwardly: "Isn't my disciple only at the second level? How can he be so fierce?"

He dispatched several foes in moments, and his speed seemed even greater than Wang Qingxuan's own.

But now was not the time for questions—the two pressed deeper into the woods.

"Do you think you can escape?" Xue Yinhou had already closed in, lunging toward them.

"Die!"

"Qin Yi, you run! I'll hold him off. Remember to avenge me one day!" Wang Qingxuan, resolved to die, turned and threw his full strength into a collision with Xue Yinhou.

He knew Xue Yinhou was a seventh-level master. If he didn't act, both would perish.

Bang!

A dull thunderclap sounded. The tremendous impact sent Wang Qingxuan flying into a tree, then crashing to the ground.

Blood sprayed from his mouth; his vitality drained away.

He had bought them but a single second.

"Master, are you alright?" Qin Yi glanced toward Wang Qingxuan, who lay battered in the distance.

"Cough... I'm not dead yet, but... we'll both be finished today!" Wang Qingxuan's face was twisted with hatred.

"Heh heh, then I'll send you on your way!" Xue Yinhou sneered, darting at Qin Yi.

"Die!"

No sooner had the words left his mouth than Xue Yinhou transformed into a venomous serpent, appearing suddenly before Qin Yi.

He raised his fist high and brought it crashing down toward Qin Yi's head.

But—where was he?

A strange sensation surged in Xue Yinhou's heart.

Behind him, a sharp whistling cut the air.

"Not good!" His heart clenched.

"Cloud Step!"

In a flash, Xue Yinhou unleashed his secret movement technique, barely dodging a lethal blow.

Where he’d stood, Qin Yi now stood, as if he’d materialized there.

"Such speed!" Xue Yinhou’s expression grew grave.

He had underestimated this young man—nearly fallen prey to the wolf in sheep's clothing.

"Your speed is impressive too," Qin Yi grinned.

Wang Qingxuan, lying on the ground, was dumbfounded—his disciple must already be at the sixth or seventh level, surely? To force a seventh-level master to use a secret technique to dodge!

And just now Qin Yi had dragged him away—the strength...

"Are you truly a disciple of the Azure Micro Palace? That meager sect could never produce a young expert like you!" Xue Yinhou eyed him warily.

He couldn’t gauge the youth’s true strength, but his speed made Xue Yinhou’s scalp tingle.

"Guess," Qin Yi stepped forward, taking the initiative.

"Fivefold Force!"

In Xue Yinhou’s sight, his opponent blurred into a shadow, arriving in an instant.

They exchanged five or six rapid blows, fists colliding, then separated.

"So your strength isn't quite at the sixth level—using secret techniques, you only approach the seventh. You're fast, but that's all!" Xue Yinhou judged, feeling Qin Yi’s power.

His opponent was only quick.

"This time, it's my turn!"

"Cloud Step!" Xue Yinhou stepped forward, earth spraying, bounding like a leopard at Qin Yi.

In one stride, he crossed five meters—so fast that Wang Qingxuan watching from the sidelines could hardly react.

"Mountain Crusher!"

He unleashed a heavy punch, thunderous in force.

Xue Yinhou’s speed was formidable, but Qin Yi was even faster.

"Shift!"

Qin Yi vanished from Xue Yinhou’s sight.

"Flash Step! Fivefold Force!"

As Xue Yinhou’s Mountain Crusher struck nothing but air, Qin Yi’s fist slammed into his back.

Thud!

The force drove Xue Yinhou forward.

"You’re wearing inner armor!" Qin Yi felt the pain in his fist, surprised.

A moment later, Qin Yi struck again.

As he prepared to land a second blow, Xue Yinhou, just rising from the ground, rolled aside like a donkey, using Cloud Step to widen the gap.

Now he had lost all confidence in killing his opponent.

Though his rival’s strength wasn’t quite at the seventh level, his speed was monstrous—was it eighth-level speed? Had he cultivated movement techniques beyond the seventh level?

And just how many arts had Qin Yi mastered to the limit, how many secret techniques?

Xue Yinhou prided himself on his talent; at over forty, he’d mastered two martial arts to their peak and developed secret techniques—yet this young man...

A monster!

Even without secret movement techniques, Qin Yi’s speed was a torment; when he used them, Xue Yinhou could barely keep up.

"It seems the previous palace master must have cultivated two movement arts. A seventh-level master with only one movement skill has a fatal flaw in my eyes," Qin Yi murmured, vanishing once more.

"Flash Step, Shift, Fivefold Force!"

In the blink of an eye, the shadow in Xue Yinhou's vision vanished.

In a life-or-death moment, Xue Yinhou spun, launching his fists like cannonballs.

Qin Yi slipped past the deadly pincer attack with strange agility.

"Your neck is unprotected!"

Bang—crack!

Xue Yinhou’s neck twisted into a grotesque shape; he collapsed as his arms were still drawing back from the punch.

"So, I’ve become this strong already!"