Rumble, rumble...!
Thunder rolled across heaven and earth, lightning flashing through the night sky.
Following Lu Changsheng's words, silence fell over the temple grounds.
Eventually, a rough voice sounded from within. "Let him in."
The two bandits at the entrance exchanged a glance, then stepped aside in unison, leaving a path open.
Lu Changsheng stepped forward, rain dripping from his conical straw hat and soaked robe. He left a trail of wet footprints in his wake.
When he lifted his head, he saw a man seated atop a broken statue. The bear-like figure gripped a saber as broad as a door plank, his blood qi surging like a ferocious tide. Though the air outside was cold, the heat from the man's blood qi rendered the atmosphere stifling.
The Saber-Dragging Heavenly King, Li Ji!
Lu Changsheng had watched from the shadows earlier, so he knew exactly who that burly man was.
Li Ji sat broad and unrestrained upon the statue, his copper eyes fixed on Lu Changsheng. He gave a cold laugh and said, "You’ve seen it yourself. This temple has just witnessed a slaughter. Many have died here. And we are hardly good men ourselves. Do you still dare rest here?"
Indeed, the ground was littered with corpses. The blood had yet to dry, its stench hanging thick in the air.
Lu Changsheng answered evenly, "Why wouldn’t I dare? You kill as you please, I rest as I please. Neither should interfere with the other."
Li Ji tightened his grip on his saber as he rose to his feet. His towering frame was overwhelmingly imposing.
"Hah, you put on quite the act. Tell me, who sent you here? What gives you the courage to stand before me, the Saber-Dragging Heavenly King, alone?"
Li Ji was no fool. It made no sense to travel at night through this area and seek shelter in a derelict temple. This was Nanyang City, not some desolate wilderness; there were plenty of inns out there. On such a stormy night, who would choose to rest in ruins? No, the man in black had clearly come for him.
Lu Changsheng made no response, gazing at Li Ji in silence.
"Forget it. Who you are is of no consequence. Since you have come before me seeking that, I shall grant you just that," Li Ji declared coldly. He then turned to his men. "Kill him!"
They promptly drew their weapons.
"You're done, brat!"
Several of Li Ji's men closed in on the lone figure, wicked grins on their faces.
Whoosh!
Lu Changsheng moved, his figure blurring like a shadow breaking from stillness. He vanished before the bandits' eyes and, in the blink of an eye, had already crossed the distance, standing directly before one of them.
"Shit, fall back!" someone cried out in alarm, but the warning came too late.
Several streaks of white light flickered.
In the next moment, the bandits nearest Lu Changsheng clutched their throats, blood spraying between their fingers. They hit the ground hard and convulsed, eyes bulging wide with terror. No matter how tightly they pressed, they couldn’t close their gaping wounds.
"How dare you! You dare shed blood before this Heavenly King?"
Li Ji shot to his feet, his blood qi raging like a storm, surging with killing intent. He raised his massive saber, leapt into the air, and hacked down at Lu Changsheng with crushing force.
"Mountain-Cleaving Saber, Triple Slash!"
The saber swept downward, carrying Li Ji's terrifying strength. The slash split the air into howling gales, its pressure bearing down on Lu Changsheng until he faltered. He felt like an invisible weight was crushing him.
Li Ji possessed innate divine strength. Combined with his mastery of the Organ Refinement Stage, it made him a nearly unstoppable force. Unless a Divine Strength Realm expert appeared in his way, he had nothing to fear.
However, Lu Changsheng's expression remained calm. As if to respond to the fierce attack, his blood qi erupted.
Boom!
The torrent of blood qi bathed the entire temple in a crimson glow. Even Li Ji’s earlier surge paled in comparison to Lu Changsheng's eruption.
"Such blood qi... How is it possible?" Li Ji’s heart trembled, his eyes flickering with disbelief.
Lu Changsheng paid no mind to his foe's reaction. His surge of blood qi had instantly dispelled the force pressing down on him. As before, his silhouette flickered, and he vanished from sight.
Clang!
Li Ji's saber crashed into the ground, carving a deep fissure across the floor. By the time the strike had landed, Lu Changsheng was already behind him.
Voosh!
Li Ji promptly picked up his saber and spun around, swinging viciously in wild arcs. The blade tore through the air with the weight of a collapsing mountain. A mere graze would have been enough to kill.
And yet, he couldn't so much as touch the hem of Lu Changsheng's robe.
"Damn it! Quit running and fight me, if you have the guts!" Li Ji bellowed, his enraged voice echoing through the temple.
Regardless, Lu Changsheng didn't answer his provocation.
"Quick, everyone, move! Surround him!" Li Ji commanded.
At once, all the bandits sprang into motion, quickly encircling Lu Changsheng as they tightened the ring around him.
"Hehe, let's see where you run this time," Li Ji sneered, lifting his saber high. Just as he prepared to bring it crashing down, Lu Changsheng made his move.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!
Lu Changsheng's figure blurred like a phantom, his dagger cutting with the faintest stroke.
Fwshh...!
Jets of blood sprayed as Li Ji’s men clutched their throats and collapsed one after another.
"What?!"
Li Ji felt like his very heart and guts had been shattered. Before Lu Changsheng, his men were nothing but lambs for the slaughter, utterly powerless to resist.
In the martial world, speed reigned supreme! Every time Lu Changsheng vanished, another bandit fell into a pool of blood. Even the other Organ Refinement martial artist among the bandits lasted no more than a handful of exchanges before Lu Changsheng's dagger cut into his throat.
No one below the Divine Strength Realm could withstand the edge of a blade, no matter how tempered their body was.
"Arghhh! I'll kill you!" Li Ji roared like a madman, swinging his big saber as his blood qi erupted in a storm that shook the temple to its foundations. Still, his fierce attacks were futile; he simply couldn't touch Lu Changsheng.
"Your turn." Lu Changsheng came back into sight, his murderous gaze fixed on Li Ji. He had already recognized the mark of Old Wen's death. The crushing palm strike that had shattered his organs could only belong to Li Ji.
Whoosh!
Lu Changsheng lunged straight at Li Ji.
"Good! Take my Thirteen Wild Slashes!" Li Ji shouted, his eyes ferocious yet calculating. His earlier outburst had been nothing but an act, a trap to lure Lu Changsheng closer. This was the moment he had been waiting for.
However, Lu Changsheng did not hesitate. He unleashed the full power of his blood qi, pushing his speed to the extreme as he circled Li Ji and thrust his dagger relentlessly.
Li Ji spun his large saber in wide arcs, forming an impenetrable wall of steel. Sharp metallic clangs filled the temple as Lu Changsheng's dagger clashed repeatedly against the saber.
Whoosh!
Suddenly, Lu Changsheng withdrew, retreating three zhang away and standing still.
Bang!
Li Ji's chest heaved violently as he planted his saber into the ground and laughed. "Hahaha! No matter how fast you are, you can't break through my Thirteen Wild Slashes!"
Lu Changsheng said nothing.
Then, Li Ji noticed Zheng Renxin and the others from Miaoshou Garden staring at him, their gazes filled with shock and pity. A sense of unease struck him, and he jerked his head downward.
Drip, drip.
Blood had soaked the ground beneath his feet—his blood. Before he knew it, his garments had turned a deep crimson. A sharp pain shot through his neck. He instinctively brought his hand to where it hurt; it was wet.
"You..." Li Ji pointed at Lu Changsheng, his face contorted with shock and rage. He couldn't accept what had just happened.
Thud!
However, his massive frame soon crashed to the ground, his eyes quickly losing their light.
And just like that, the Saber-Dragging Heavenly King had fallen within the derelict temple!