Chapter 44: Instant Kill—Ninefold Flash

Wang Er glanced at Wang Yi and said, “Senior brother, we’re too close to Yongzhou City. Let’s make this quick.”
Wang Yi nodded slightly. The two of them simultaneously reached into their Qiankun Bags and retrieved identical golden wheels. Wang Yi strapped his onto his right arm, Wang Er onto his left. Clearly, these were a pair of magical treasures meant to be used together.
“Go!” Wang Yi shouted. The two rushed forward, launching their attack on Shi Qi and the woman in black.
Shi Qi reacted instantly, pulling out the Biyun Umbrella from behind his back with a swift motion, stepping forward to meet the charge. At the same time, he called out, “Little thief, take one each!”
The woman in black snorted coldly. “Don’t call me little thief. I have a name! Call me Yuan Feixue!”
“Alright, little thief!”
As they exchanged barbs, Shi Qi and Wang Yi clashed in midair! The Biyun Umbrella and the golden wheel collided with a heavy crash.
Bang!
Shi Qi felt an immense force surge from the golden wheel, sending him tumbling backward through the air, flipping twice before landing on the ground.
“That golden wheel…” Shi Qi glanced at his umbrella, shocked to see a white mark slashed across the leaf by the wheel. “Could it be a high-grade magical treasure?”
Since acquiring the Biyun Umbrella, Shi Qi had never seen it blemished. Yet now, after a single blow from Wang Yi, it bore a scar. Though he could slowly repair it with true energy, the green glow of the umbrella now seemed far dimmer.
On the other side, Yuan Feixue had remained motionless, fingers forming a spell sign. Just as Wang Er’s golden wheel was about to strike her, she vanished in a phantom blur. Suddenly, dozens of Yuan Feixue’s images appeared around Wang Er, each one moving ceaselessly.
“More clones!” Wang Er growled in frustration.
Yuan Feixue’s cultivation was not high, only at the early Core Formation stage, but she possessed some secret method to conceal her presence. She was only discovered after stealing spiritual herbs from the Qingshan Sect’s medicine store.
Once discovered, Yuan Feixue fled at once, with Wang Yi and Wang Er in hot pursuit. However, her clones had left them dizzy and confused, unable to catch up—leading to the very moment she collided by chance with Shi Qi.
Yuan Feixue’s phantasmal clones circled, seeking an opening to strike.
Suddenly, a sharp whistling split the air—a short blade flew from Yuan Feixue’s hand, shooting straight for the back of Wang Er’s neck.
Wang Er reacted quickly. Hearing the sound, he spun around and raised his golden wheel in defense.
Clang!
The short blade struck the golden wheel and was immediately deflected, flipping through the air before returning to Yuan Feixue’s hand.
“Damn it!” Yuan Feixue cursed.
Though this short blade was a mid-grade magical treasure, she had only recently acquired it and reached only the first level of mastery. Combined with her phantom clone technique, it could be quite effective for surprise attacks, but its strength was insufficient to break through the golden wheel’s defense.
Meanwhile, on Shi Qi’s side:
Wang Yi, emboldened by his successful strike, pressed the attack, spinning his golden wheel and charging at Shi Qi once more.
Shi Qi put away the Biyun Umbrella and, with a sweep of his right hand, conjured an icy sword from water. He met the golden wheel head-on.
Clang!
The ice sword clashed with the golden wheel, but the wheel, dazzling and indestructible, sliced the sword in half. Shi Qi immediately conjured another sword in his left hand and continued the fight.
Crack, crack, crack!
The ice swords were shattered again and again, yet the demon core within Shi Qi spun rapidly, continually replenishing his supply of frigid true energy. The moment one sword broke, another formed in his hand. In just a few breaths, the two had already exchanged dozens of blows.
The golden wheel’s assault was fierce; Shi Qi fought while retreating, and wherever they passed, icy petals danced in the air.
Crack!

Once again, the ice sword shattered. Seizing the moment, Shi Qi kicked at the spinning surface of the golden wheel, using the momentum to hurl himself backward.
With a whoosh, Shi Qi shot into the air, body arched, right hand forming the character for eight, blue light blazing at his fingertips as he pointed down at Wang Yi below.
“Water Spirit Bullet!”
Boom!
From midair, Shi Qi unleashed a Water Spirit Bullet at Wang Yi.
Realizing the ferocity of the attack, Wang Yi hurriedly raised his golden wheel to block. The bullet struck the wheel directly, erupting in a surge of true energy and thick water vapor. Shi Qi used the recoil to somersault several times, landing steadily on one knee.
Moments later, the mist cleared. Wang Yi stood in place, golden wheel raised, knees bent, while the ground around him had been blasted into a deep crater by the Water Spirit Bullet’s force.
Wang Yi looked up in shock at Shi Qi, thinking, This boy’s cultivation is only at the early Core Formation stage, yet he’s so formidable. If I didn’t have this golden wheel, I’d be finished.
Meanwhile, Shi Qi marveled at the wheel’s incredible hardness.
Elsewhere, Su Xiaomu, who had just awakened from her haze, was gradually regaining clarity.
As soon as Su Xiaomu opened her eyes, she saw Shi Qi locked in battle with Wang Yi.
She rose to her feet, about to step forward, but suddenly stopped. She spread her hands before her, staring at them as if lost in thought.
Yuan Feixue, for her part, was growing increasingly anxious. Once her phantom clones dissipated, she knew she wouldn’t last even two rounds if she had to face Wang Er head-on.
Yuan Feixue was never a front-line fighter; she excelled at stealth and evasion, serving only to distract in a confrontation. Now, forced into a direct duel with Wang Er, she could only hold out for a few rounds.
Normally, she might have tried to escape, but the area was sealed by formation barriers—there was no way out.
Back with Shi Qi, Wang Yi burst from the ground with a sudden leap, golden wheel spinning wildly, slashing up at Shi Qi in midair.
Shi Qi gathered his true energy and struck the air with his palm.
“Binding Script—Imprison! Ice!”
Before him, a massive sphere of ice materialized out of thin air, enveloping Wang Yi and giving Shi Qi the chance to land safely.
Crack!
The ice sphere didn’t hold for long; Wang Yi cleaved it in half with a single swing of his golden wheel.
Shi Qi frowned. Though this man’s cultivation wasn’t the highest he had faced, the golden wheel in his hand rendered him nearly invincible. Shi Qi possessed a variety of magical techniques and a high margin for error, making him adept at control—but he lacked sufficient offensive power. Against brute force, all his trickery was rendered useless, leaving him on the defensive.
He thought, It seems my next goal, aside from forging a flying sword, is to find a way to enhance my offensive abilities.
The extreme cold of his ice techniques compensated somewhat for his lack of aggression, but ice magic was not inherently offensive—it was versatile and balanced, excelling at neither attack nor defense.
“Big brother!”
Shi Qi heard a voice behind him and turned to see Su Xiaomu.
He smiled. “Xiaomu, you’re awake. Stay back for now.”
Su Xiaomu pouted. “I’m not that fragile, you know. Don’t forget, I’m at the Jade Core stage! Big brother, you stay back—watch this!”
Shi Qi: “???”
Before he could react, the ground beneath Su Xiaomu flashed with green light, and she vanished on the spot.
Wang Yi, just freed from the ice sphere and preparing to strike again, suddenly saw a streak of green light flash before his eyes.
“What the—?” Wang Yi began, but abruptly felt a chill on his left arm. Looking down, he saw his sleeve had been slashed open and blood was pouring from a fresh wound!
Startled, Wang Yi staggered back, only to feel a sharp pain in his back—a second wound.
“Who’s there!” Wang Yi roared.
It was Su Xiaomu.
Since cultivating the Primordial Heart Sutra, Su Xiaomu had slowly mastered the art of controlling her true energy. When she awakened moments ago, she suddenly found new techniques imprinted in her mind and stood there dazed for a time before finally understanding:
It was her innate spiritual ability!
Su Xiaomu was a snow fox born of the world’s primal energies. From the moment of her hatching, her true energy had been inexhaustible, nearly reaching the Nascent Soul stage.
But she had no techniques, like someone with endless wealth but no idea how to spend it. The Primordial Heart Sutra that Shi Qi gave her helped her channel that energy, putting her on the proper path of cultivation.
Born of heaven and earth, Su Xiaomu had no use for mortal techniques; her most suitable and powerful skills were innate, within her own body.
The very move that had just wounded Wang Yi was one of them!
“Ninefold Flash Kill!”
Su Xiaomu could lock onto a target, channeling her true energy into her hands to form fox-like claws, launching nine consecutive strikes—each one more powerful than the last!
At this moment, even with his Celestial Eye, Shi Qi could only glimpse her afterimages.
True energy visibly shrouded Su Xiaomu’s hands, forming translucent fox claws around her delicate fingers.
“Three flashes!”
She darted at Wang Yi again. Before he could react, another wound opened on his right leg.
“Four flashes!”
This time, his abdomen.
“Five flashes!”
...
Wang Yi was now thoroughly shaken. His body was covered in wounds, and he still couldn’t see his attacker. In desperation, he reinforced his true energy and held the golden wheel before his chest, guarding his heart and throat, allowing Su Xiaomu to continue her assault.
“Nine flashes! Chain strike!”
In just a few breaths, Su Xiaomu’s Ninefold Flash Kill reached its final strike. She darted back and forth, leaving new wounds with each pass.
Swish!
With a final blow, Wang Yi failed to circulate his true energy in time; his left arm, left unguarded, was sliced clean off by Su Xiaomu’s claw!
“Aaah!” Wang Yi howled, clutching his golden wheel in his remaining hand.
For her last strike, Su Xiaomu brought her hands together, spinning rapidly as she charged straight at Wang Yi’s chest.
Wang Yi braced the golden wheel before his heart, just as Su Xiaomu’s final blow landed squarely on it.
Clang!
Again and again, her true energy claws hammered the golden wheel, each impact resounding with a mighty crash.
Wang Yi was forced backward by the tremendous shock transmitted through the wheel, his right arm screaming in agony, but he clung to the treasure—knowing that without it, his chest would have been pierced long ago.
Clang, clang…
Su Xiaomu’s onslaught gradually slowed. With her final strike, Wang Yi was sent flying, crashing heavily into the barrier of the formation and collapsing to the ground, motionless.