Chapter 82: Chapter 82: Seeking the ‘Tao’ in the Sword
Inside the private room, a flash of the blade, and Li Fei suddenly drew his sword and slashed at Zhang Mingze!
The meticulous are often unable to act freely, as the former requires restraint while the latter demands indulgence.
To live freely, one might even need to break all rules and shackles!
Li Fei’s personality and his life goals were at odds, which had been his dilemma.
And now with this slash toward Tiger Saber Gang’s strategist Zhang Mingze, Li Fei declared his answer:
Acting cautiously was just a means, living freely was the outcome he desired.
The former was technique, while the latter was principle.
He didn’t rush into action immediately but took his time to cultivate, strengthening the Steel Armor Implant and advancing the Myriad Blood Pearl to the next level, making full preparations before acting.
This was Li Fei’s “technique.”
Knowing that continuing to feign compliance with the Tiger Saber Gang was the safer and more prudent approach, he chose to irrevocably break with them in the most resolute way possible at this moment.
This was Li Fei’s “principle.”
The “principle” sought was on the blade!
This sudden strike caught Zhang Mingze completely off guard.
He had brought extra guards today and had even called on Zong Guang, a swordsmanship expert from the gang, to stand by—just in case.
But Li Fei initially offered to leave and then refused to continue the deal of killing officials for the Tiger Saber Gang; everything appeared normal, which totally dispelled Zhang Mingze’s suspicions.
He never expected Li Fei to turn on him so suddenly.
The distance between them was less than three meters; Li Fei stepped forward in an instant, drawing his sword.
As the words “Your life” were spoken, the blade had already touched the hair on Zhang Mingze’s forehead!
At this critical moment of life and death, the gang’s strategist displayed a speed and strength that belied his scholarly demeanor.
He quickly lifted his right arm to block the incoming blade while leaning his body backward.
The blade slashed through Zhang Mingze’s sleeve, revealing a dark green leather jacket underneath with white patterns.
The blade failed to cut through the leather jacket, and Li Fei immediately deduced from the touch that Zhang Mingze was wearing Third Level Protective Clothing!
Not only that, Zhang Mingze was also a concealed martial artist!
Tiger Saber Gang was most famous for its “intellect” — “intellect” being Zhang Mingze, and “strength” being the gang leader, Yu Hu.
Zhang Mingze had always presented himself as a strategist, only engaging in covert actions and never openly fighting, which is why no one knew he was actually a formidable martial artist.
However, Zhang Mingze, despite his deep concealment, still underestimated the power that Li Fei unleashed.
This slash by Li Fei was directly powered by “Blood Rage,” and it was the kind of “Blood Rage” that consumed 5 Blood Souls at once!
With the Steel Armor Implant further enhanced, approaching the Body Breaking Middle Stage, the maximum number of Blood Souls Li Fei’s body could endure also increased to five.
As there were guards outside the door and a swordsman expert inside, Li Fei struck with full power.
The “Blood Rage” produced by 5 Blood Souls was no weaker than Ling Yong at his peak!
The blade slash hit Zhang Mingze’s right arm; although it didn’t cut through his protective clothing, the tremendous force still forcefully smashed down his raised right arm, exposing his vulnerable points.
A flash of blood, Zhang Mingze’s black-rimmed glasses were cut in half and flew off, his right eye grazed by the tip of the blade, slicing open the eyeball, instantly blood gushed forth!
Zhang Mingze screamed in agony, instinctively covered his eye with his hand, and retreated backward.
A crisp sound of unsheathing a sword drowned out Zhang Mingze’s screams. Standing in the corner, Zong Guang made his move, drawing his sword in an instant and thrusting fiercely towards Li Fei.
His sword momentum was as fast as lightning, and there were actual sparks of electricity on the blade!
Zong Guang was a famously skilled swordsman in Xing City, a Martial Artist at the peak of the Body Breaking Stage, already at the point where he needed life-and-death challenges to Breakthrough.
He had previously competed in three public matches, winning all three, thus becoming famous in Xing City and even deemed the strongest Body Breaking Stage Martial Artist in the region!
The Implant Zong Guang used was the “Thunder Feather” of the Second Grade medium type, an Implant with a mutant thunder attribute, not among the traditional Five Elements.
Implants with a mutant attribute were usually very powerful, granting Martial Artists a significant advantage within the same realm, but the downside was that upon entering the Tao Foundation Stage, it was challenging to find other Implants that matched, making it several times harder to cultivate to the Martial Arts Foundation than with the traditional Five Elements Implants.
Initially, Zong Guang could have chosen a normal Five Elements Attribute Implant, but he opted for the mutant “Thunder Feather” because he was well aware that, given his talent and family background, the likelihood of entering the Tao Foundation Stage in his lifetime was minuscule, let alone cultivating to the Martial Arts Foundation and achieving a premier realm.
Thus, he resolutely chose “Thunder Feather,” seeking merely four words in this life—Unbeatable in the Same Realm!
With the power of the mutant “Thunder Feather” Implant and his extraordinary swordsmanship, Zong Guang indeed had the credentials to pursue these four words.
At this moment, with a thrust of his sword towards Li Fei, the distance between them seemed nonexistent, the sword light reaching Li Fei in an instant.
Li Fei swung his blade in the Rolling Thunder Style to block this thrust.
His Rolling Thunder Style had already reached a high level of mastery, each slash thunderous, capable of shaking off an opponent’s blade and even causing it to fly from their grasp.
However, the moment the sword and blade collided, Zong Guang’s wrist vibrated, his sword trembled and dispersed the force.
The next second, a dazzling bolt of electricity burst from Zong Guang’s sword, and a powerful current followed Li Fei’s steel knife striking his arm!
This was the extraordinary ability of “Thunder Feather”—Thunder Strike.
The method of implanting “Thunder Feather” was similar to “Steel Armor,” both implanted beneath the skin, allowing Zong Guang’s skin to emit electricity!
At this moment, he concentrated all the electric energy in his palm, then released it through the sword in his hand, his most commonly used lethal move.
A streak of black appeared on the blade of the steel knife, the wooden handle cracked, emitting white smoke, and giving off a scorched smell.
However, after the electric current struck Li Fei’s arm, he remained entirely unaffected, his right hand continuing to block Zong Guang’s sword while he stepped forward, pursuing the retreating Zhang Mingze.
The electric current, which could instantly knock down an ordinary person, only made his arm feel numb, as if stung by a bee.
Li Fei quickly caught up with the retreating Zhang Mingze, dropped the briefcase holding the Protective Clothing, and struck forward with his left hand, imprinting a heavy palm on Zhang Mingze’s chest.
As it hit, a substantial amount of Blood Evil Qi surged out of Li Fei’s palm!
The Third Level Protective Clothing blocked some of the Blood Evil Qi, but some still managed to enter Zhang Mingze’s body through the Protective Clothing.
Zhang Mingze was sent flying by Li Fei’s palm, spewing fresh blood and heavily crashing into the wall of the private room, his life and death unknown.
Actually, this Strategist was not unprepared.
With Third Level Protective Clothing and his own considerable strength, plus a swordsman deemed ‘Unbeatable in the Same Realm’ as his Guard, several Martial Artists outside the private room, and being in Qingyuan Fist Village where help would swiftly arrive if anyone dared to cause trouble, Zhang Mingze felt entirely confident of his safety.
Even against a Martial Master in the Innate Qi Stage, Zhang Mingze thought his personal safety was undoubtedly secure.
However, his caution seemed insignificant when facing things beyond his understanding.
After striking successfully, Li Fei immediately picked up the briefcase he had thrown on the ground and, without looking back, rushed towards a nearby window.
The guards outside heard the noise and rushed in, Zong Guang seized the opportunity and thrust his sword into Li Fei’s back!
This thrust pierced right through the iron plate of Li Fei’s Anti-stabbing Clothes, and a powerful current struck Li Fei.
Li Fei felt his body go numb, but his actions were not delayed in the slightest; leveraging the force from his back, he propelled forward, smashing through the window and rushing out.
Zong Guang was both shocked and furious, glancing at the fallen Zhang Mingze,
“Protect the Master well!”
Then he too leaped out of the window.
I request a monthly ticket.