Tang Lici flicked his sleeve, sending forth a gust of forceful wind that pushed the two strange figures back a step each. "Wei Beiyin!" The man leisurely watching the spectacle behind him was none other than Wei Beiyin. "I've heard these leather-winged men are quite different from ordinary people—utterly obedient, only capable of roaring, neither speaking nor thinking. I wonder if your world-renowned sound assassination will still be effective against such creatures? Hahaha..." Wei Beiyin toyed with his rusted short knife between his fingers. "That night in Camellia Prison, I simply couldn't forget Young Master Tang. Truly, I must thank you for the lesson..." he said with a sinister tone. "I've spent seven days in seclusion, mastering a new internal technique that can seal the seven orifices. I'd love to test it against you—let's see whether your sound assassination or my new skill prevails!"
As Wei Beiyin spoke, two more leather-winged men suddenly appeared beside Tang Lici. The four looked identical, all roaring with inhuman strength. Each was a first-class martial artist clad in peculiar armor. Without a weapon in hand, subduing them in a single move would be no easy feat. In an instant, Tang Lici was surrounded, his white robes fluttering as shreds of fabric drifted into the air like fragments of moonlight before gently settling to the ground.
"Hahaha... Dissolute Shop has trained these leather-winged men for a full decade! Ten years of effort just to kill you—even if all four of these pigs die here today, it’ll be worth it!" Wei Beiyin laughed wildly at the sight of the floating white shreds. His short knife gleamed, swift as an arrow—no, swifter than the arrow’s very tip—and before the blink of an eye, it was already at Tang Lici’s heart! He meant to pierce straight through him!
With a sharp clang, something shot from Tang Lici’s sleeve, sparks flying as it parried Wei Beiyin’s strike. In the next instant, it slashed horizontally, thrust straight, flicked, and jabbed—each movement wounding the four leather-winged men, forcing them to stagger back several steps. A faint smile played on Tang Lici’s lips, while Wei Beiyin’s fury burned hotter. The copper flute in Tang Lici’s hand—with just this flute, he could stand unrivaled among the greatest!
Consumed by envy and malice, Wei Beiyin roared, "Imperial Palace Splits the Heavens!"—the most devastating move of his Thirteen Movements of the Short Sword. The blade’s light carved through the air like a master carpenter meticulously sculpting a grand palace, an illusion of divine craftsmanship, a mirage-like slash aimed straight at Tang Lici’s chest.
Another crisp clang rang out. Wei Beiyin’s strike, with its phantom-like afterimages, suddenly met resistance—half the blade snapped off mid-swing, flying backward past his face before embedding itself with a thud into a tree by the roadside. He froze for a moment before realizing his knife had broken mid-strike! When had Tang Lici blocked it? Why had it shattered? He hadn’t even noticed!
In that moment of stunned hesitation, the four leather-winged men howled in agony, collapsing with broken limbs—all felled by Tang Lici’s single copper flute.
What kind of martial art was this? The Skill Exchange Great Art was truly miraculous, capable of achieving feats bordering on the divine... Yet, instead of despair, Wei Beiyin felt a surge of wild excitement—if he could obtain the Rebirth Scroll, if he could master this skill, with his foundation, he would surely become invincible! But before he could claim that invincibility, no matter the means, he had to kill Tang Lici first...
Just then, Tang Lici swayed slightly, taking a step back as he pressed a hand to his abdomen.He still wore a faint smile, but in Wei Beiyin's eyes, it was entirely different now! "Hahahaha..." Wei Beiyin threw his head back in wild laughter. "Five enemies wounded in a single move! Young Master Tang, under heaven, there is likely no one else who could sever my blade with one strike and incapacitate those four in the same breath! What ruthless hands! What masterful skill! But as they say, one cannot eat two buns in a single bite. Wounding five foes in one move—surely the backlash isn't pleasant for you either? Why push yourself so hard... You're injured as well. Hand over the Green Charm obediently today, and I'll grant you a swift death. Otherwise—" His voice turned sinister, "I'll drag you back, carve you into pieces, and ferment you in a medicinal brew to drink!"
The corner of Tang Lici's lips curled slightly. The bloodied copper flute in his hand dripped crimson—one drop, two... With a swish, a dagger plunged into his side. The blade flashed, executing five seamless transformations in an instant: a horizontal slash, an oblique stab, a pinpoint thrust, a downward chop, and an outward flick. The air howled as the fallen leather-winged men staggered back to their feet, bellowing as they charged with raised blades.
Blades flickered; figures streaked like rainbows.
A soft "snap" echoed.
An arrow cut through the night sky—black, silent, like a bird returning at dusk.
No sound accompanied its flight, only the splatter of blood in the darkness.
Wei Beiyin roared with laughter. "Hahaha... Didn't expect that, did you? Tonight, for the Green Charm, we—" His words cut off abruptly with a dull "thud" as he collapsed forward, a pool of blood spreading beneath him. Four consecutive thumps followed as the leather-winged men behind him fell once more. This time, all five lay still on the ground. The imperial road, far from the palace, was drenched in blood. A pristine white embroidered pearl cloud shoe stepped onto the crimson stain. The night breeze stirred, lifting a tangled lock of Wei Beiyin's hair to coil around the sole of that shoe. The foot lifted slightly, then pressed down, grinding the hair and blood beneath it.
"I told you..." The man who crushed Wei Beiyin's hair underfoot spoke with his back to the tree from which the hidden arrows had come, his tone calm, almost gentle. "I am the best in the world."
Leaves rustled in the wind. In that fleeting moment, the figures in the tree behind him had vanished.
The enemies were gone. Tang Lici stood quietly amid the corpses littering the road. A black arrow, tipped with poison, protruded from his left shoulder. Yet even after being struck, he had pierced Wei Beiyin's heart in one move and severed the necks of the four leather-winged men in the next.
His white robes bore only faint splatters of blood. The gentle breeze still carried his elegance and grace.
He pulled the arrow from his back, wiped the blood from his copper flute against Wei Beiyin's body, and slowly walked away along the path he had come.
OpenNovel