Chapter 99. Quite Strong Looking

I stood at the edge and peered into the broken roof. Perhaps because he was rich, the space inside was vast and expansive.

"This isn't a house, it's a palace."

With his wealth, he could send assassins after me and recruit bodyguards by throwing money around for the fight against the Southern Heavenly Association, and his residence was this magnificent.

I show respect and admiration to merchants who earn their wealth through legitimate business, even if they aren't martial arts experts. However, the Black Sword Society is different.

These people have likely obtained their wealth by exploiting countless lives, money, and lives.

Thinking it was too spacious and nothing could be seen, a sword aura suddenly surged from under my feet.

Crack!

As I dodged the rising sword aura and moved to the edge of the roof, someone completely shattered the roof with a sword aura. The debris flew into the air, preventing the Black Sword Society's subordinates from approaching me.

I stood precariously at the edge, gauging the skills of the one below.

In the meantime, a red-clothed swordsman suddenly leaped into the air and stood at the edge of the roof, looking at me.

'Probably the head of the guards.'

He looked to be in his early thirties, with eyebrows that naturally arched upwards, giving him a fitting appearance for a tyrant. However, he seemed too young to be leading the Black Sword Society.

The red-clothed man asked me.

"Who sent you?"

Ironically, it was the same question I asked the first assassin I encountered. However, a black-clothed person usually doesn't find it worth responding to such a question.

"..."

Just then, flames soared high from the center of the Jiang residence. Nan Jialuo was wreaking havoc, setting fires. It seemed he had prepared firecrackers containing gunpowder, as explosions and flames erupted in various places, mixed with screams.

I watched the red-clothed man with a cold smile.

"..."

Normally, one would panic when their home is engulfed in flames, but the red-clothed man's expression remained unchanged. His calmness suggested that, with his wealth, such a house burning down was no big deal.

The Black Sword Society's martial artists below informed him of his identity.

"Chief, are you alright?"

Surprisingly, the red-clothed man, who held the position of chief, responded to his subordinates.

"Capture this one. We'll torture him to find out who sent him."

"Yes."

From the broken roof, the swordsmen leaped up. I slightly altered my voice and muttered.

"Capture me? With that skill?"

I looked at the half-dozen swordsmen and leaped down through the broken roof. After confirming that the swordsmen and the red-clothed man were following me, I leaped up again.

Back and forth, I excelled in lightness skills.

These foolish ones leaped down when I leaped down, and leaped up again when I leaped up. I swung Black Cat at the first one to leap up.

With a tearing sound, I sliced one swordsman in mid-air and immediately leaped back down into the spacious residence.

Looking at the roof...

This time, a brief silence fell.

Just now, one person died in a truly absurdly simple psychological battle.

Actually, to sow discord between the Southern Heavenly Association and the Black Sword Society, it would be best to set fires and destroy houses before fleeing.

However, since the Black Sword Society's leader hadn't appeared, it felt a bit unsatisfying. From the building's structure, it seemed the leader was in the deepest part of the first floor. I wanted to see what he looked like before leaving, so I drew a line on the floor with Black Cat and used the Earthquake Step to collapse it.

Boom!

The entire floor shook, creating an entrance to go down. I leaped to avoid the swords being thrust from above and deflected the incoming darts.

Clang!

The power in the darts was quite heavy, as if the ones below had consumed a large amount of medicinal herbs.

I retreated while keeping my eyes on the ceiling, kicked the door open, and moved, embedding Black Cat into the wall.

To prevent the blade from being damaged, I infused it with Flame Qi, destroying the Black Sword Society's residence. With Black Cat's sturdy blade and the infused Flame Qi, it was as easy as slicing paper.

There was no reason to hesitate in the enemy's territory.

I broke through the walls at will, slicing and stabbing as I moved.

When I emerged into the corridor, I deflected a sudden sword thrust with Black Cat, then used the Absorption Technique to pull the sword towards me, stabbing the man in the abdomen.

Pierce!

I grabbed the dead man's hair and threw him down the stairs. As the others ascended, they collided with the body.

Thud!

I wildly unleashed Dao Qi down the stairs. The body was torn apart by the Dao Qi, and the swordsmen who caught the body were also torn apart, as were those trying to flee.

In an instant, the stairs and the area below were drenched in blood and flesh.

I descended the blood-soaked stairs and briefly met the red-clothed man's eyes. He was still standing behind his subordinates.

"..."

The composed and cautious red-clothed man gave a calm order.

"Block the way from below."

The sound of footsteps continued as more troops came from below, and the red-clothed man asked me.

"Was it Sado Xing who sent you?"

Honestly, if I said Sado Xing sent me, he wouldn't believe it, so I remained silent.

At that moment, a deep voice came from below.

"Move aside."

A subordinate who had made a path for the approaching leader asked the red-clothed man.

"Chief, are you going to kill him?"

The red-clothed man, who was blocking me, replied.

"Capture him. It's fine to cut off his limbs."

"Yes."

The Black Sword Society's leader, who had arrived, was tall enough to reach the ceiling, and he raised his spear above his shoulder.

Seeing this, I raised my hands and said.

"I surrender. I can't beat a spear."

As I declared my surrender, I dropped Black Cat from my right hand, and just before it hit the ground, I kicked the hilt accurately, sending it flying to the leader.

Pierce!

The fiercely flying Black Cat deeply embedded itself in the chest of the man who was about to throw his spear.

At the same time, I pushed the walls on both sides of the stairs with my hands, leaped down, and clung to the falling leader's body, pulling out Black Cat and grabbing the spear with my left hand.

I then swung the spear and Black Cat simultaneously, forcing the enemies to retreat.

Black Cat emitted a sword wind, and I cut the approaching enemies by spinning and swinging the spear. As soon as I reached the first floor, I put away Black Cat and looked around with the spear in my right hand.

Outside, the flames were spreading, and explosions continued.

'Impressive. Nan Jialuo...'

Originally, the more mischievous one is, the better they are at playing with fire. Nan Jialuo was likely setting fires, fighting, and killing while fleeing.

As the leader of the Southern Ming Society, he should be capable of such actions.

Holding the heavy spear in my hand, I recalled old memories. I had killed many with an unbreakable belief.

I cut down the approaching Black Sword Society martial artists with the spear, pondering the sowing of discord and retreat, and then escaped outside, stopping in the center.

The subordinates split to the left and right, and the red-clothed man appeared, still composed.

"You don't seem like an assassin. Who are you?"

I gazed into the inner part of the first floor, lost in old memories. I saw a shadow walking out and heard a low voice.

"Chief, is it Sado Xing?"

The red-clothed man replied.

"No, a few rats have entered."

"Hmm..."

I threw the spear towards the source of the voice.

Whoosh!

The red-clothed man reflexively turned to avoid it, and the spear rushed straight ahead. At that moment, the spear, which had passed through a translucent foot, stopped in mid-air with a thud. Though not clearly visible, the sudden silence explained the situation.

The Black Sword Society's leader had caught the spear with his bare hands.

I was impressed.

'Not bad.'

To catch a spear infused with Wood Qi so easily...

Actually, as the leader of the Black Sword Society, he should be capable of such a feat. However, I pretended to be greatly surprised, looking ahead, and then turned and leaped into the air.

As if to express that my prediction was completely wrong through a performance art with my entire body.

At the same time, those chasing me fiercely followed and leaped into the air.

I spun my body in the air and drew Black Cat, slicing through the air.

Whoosh!

The lower halves of four or five people were severed, followed by terrifying screams. I easily climbed the wall, dodged the incoming darts, and retreated. Thanks to the Rooster Qi, I could distinguish the sound of the wind and dodge without looking.

The Black Sword Society's leader would have to use his full lightness skills to chase me. However, this wealthy man remained still like the king on a chessboard.

As I increased my lightness skills, Nan Jialuo suddenly appeared from the darkness and followed me.

We confirmed each other's gaze and used our lightness skills to race through the darkness.

The gap between us and the pursuers gradually widened, and soon the Black Sword Society's martial artists were out of sight. Feeling a bit disappointed that they gave up so early, we moved through the darkness.

* * *

"Those experts over there can't be all of them, right?"

In response to my question, Nan Jialuo, sitting on the base of a cut tree, removed his mask and replied.

"The Black Blood Hall, Black Death Corps, Iron Spear Hall, merchant guilds, escort agencies, and battlefields are all under their control, so they can't be all here. If all these people gather to attack the Southern Heavenly Association, the casualties on both sides will be enormous. With the hired bodyguards, their forces have likely increased."

"Did you burn a lot?"

"More than twenty houses. They'll have a tough night. Should we join the Southern Heavenly Association immediately, or keep watching the Black Sword Society here?"

Before coming here, I had divided my forces and temporarily left Nan Lianfeng to the Southern Heavenly Association.

I listened to the surroundings for a moment and whispered to Nan Jialuo.

"Black South, put on the mask."

"..."

Nan Jialuo hastily covered his face with the mask, not understanding why. We fled into the low mountains and rested in an open field. After a while, a faint, artificial sound came from a considerable distance.

I asked Nan Jialuo.

"Strange. Is the Black Sword Society's leader much stronger than you?"

Nan Jialuo nodded and replied in a bitter tone.

"Probably... that's the case."

"Since it would be strange to wait together, go ahead. If I'm late, go to the inn we were at earlier."

I put my finger to my lips, signaling not to respond, and nodded. Nan Jialuo then silently disappeared into the darkness.

I looked at the direction I had come from with a puzzled expression.

The branches around me swayed, and a middle-aged man I had never seen before lightly landed from the air.

He had a long beard and approached with his hands behind his back, saying.

"Did you think you could escape?"

What was that composure?

Was it because my performance was convincing?

Or because the Black Sword Society's leader was more skilled than the martial world knew?

Or because I looked like a foolish black-clothed person? Listening carefully, it seemed only the Black Sword Society's leader had used his lightness skills to catch up to me, as the surroundings were very quiet.

In the open field under the moonlight, a one-on-one situation I enjoyed unfolded, making me feel strange.

'What a surprise.'

An unexpected big catch was flapping in front of me. Moreover, he didn't look like someone who would die easily, making me increasingly satisfied.

I crossed my arms and stood up, addressing the man I presumed to be the Black Sword Society's leader in a solemn tone.

"Come on. You look quite strong, baldy."

"..."