Chapter 38. Think after you act (2)

"Die! Die! Dieee!!"

Thud!

How fiercely she beat him, the sound of her hitting him was so rhythmic that it almost sounded cheerful.

Madong Pil became anxious.

"Master!"

Murmur.

"Get out of the way!"

Thud!

Madong Pil sent another member of the Devilish Gang flying.

The Devilish Gang members, taken aback, reignited their killing intent. It was almost an instinctive reaction.

Madong Pil foamed at the mouth.

"You lunatics! Back off! This isn't the time for us to fight each other!"

"What is this kid talking about!"

I really feel like I'm going to lose it. How can they be so simple?

"If our leader dies!"

This was the statement that would shock the Devilish Gang members.

Crack!

Madong Pil, cutting through the sea of people, instantly rushed into the kitchen.

"Ah!"

Just then, Weihong Lian, who had been beaten to a pulp, gritted her teeth and swung her leg.

Thud!

Xueliang's body staggered.

But that was all. Even in the chaos, she had put as much internal energy as possible into that strike, but it wasn't enough to make Xueliang retreat. If she had been in her right mind, she wouldn't have been hit at all.

Xueliang swung his leg.

Crack!

Blood spurted from Weihong Lian's mouth.

It was a merciless kick. If she hadn't instinctively turned her head, her teeth and jawbone would have been shattered.

Weihong Lian felt a sudden surge of clarity.

'I'm going to die!'

She had intended to half-kill this guy but never really wanted to kill him. It wasn't a matter that could be resolved by her life alone.

But this guy was different.

Until now, he had only received her martial arts, but now he was genuinely trying to kill her, and with his bare hands.

"Ah!"

Rumble!

In an instant, the Qingxian Martial Art burned even more intensely.

She wasn't afraid that he was trying to kill her. She had been in too many life-and-death battles to be scared.

Instead, it made her stronger.

When she realized he was serious, her madness was overlaid with a fighting spirit.

Boom!

Xueliang took two steps back. Weihong Lian had unleashed the Devilish God Fist (狂魔神拳) she had created herself.

But even as she punched his chest, she couldn't help but be surprised.

'Is that all?'

She didn't think this one move would knock him down, but she expected it to cause some internal injuries.

Xueliang growled.

"You're dead!"

Thud! Boom!

"Ugh!"

It was the same punch, but the power was different. Weihong Lian was slammed into the wall, breaking all the kitchen utensils.

Blood gushed out of her mouth. Her head was dizzy, and her vision was spinning.

This brute, who only had raw strength?!

Thud!

Xueliang's body staggered again. He had been hit on the collarbone by Weihong Lian's hand blade.

But that was all. A strike that would have shattered the collarbone and ribs of even a decent martial artist only made Xueliang stagger for a moment.

Xueliang smiled.

A bright smile that showed all his teeth made Weihong Lian involuntarily flinch.

"...Crazy."

Under normal circumstances, she might have sneered, "That guy is really tough," but now she couldn't. She realized that her opponent was just as crazy as she was.

"I am the Devilish Gang Leader, you crazy bastard!"

Boom!

The two of them resumed their fierce exchange.

Madong Pil, who had been standing there for quite a while, couldn't dare to stop them. He looked around and then out of the kitchen.

The Devilish Gang members were staring at him blankly.

'...Damn it.'

They were not the kind of people who would be swayed by common sense. If he suggested they stop together, they would just tilt their heads in confusion.

'What should I do?'

He didn't mind getting hurt. If he could stop Master, spitting out blood would be nothing.

The real problem was that he couldn't stop them even if he tried.

'That's what happened before.'

In the Bamboo Forest, when Madong Pil tried to kill the Cheng brothers, he almost died.

Xueliang, who had just returned after cleanly dealing with three of them, showed what being crazy really meant. The five Cheng brothers he was fighting at the time were reduced to nothing, not even leaving bones.

Of course, Xueliang wasn't in great shape either.

'What should I do? What should I do?'

Crack!

"Ahhh!"

Weihong Lian screamed.

Her face was unrecognizable, and her body was drenched in blood. Her appearance was enough to make anyone shudder.

"You bastard, I'll really kill you!"

Rumble.

Madong Pil's face turned pale.

The killing intent emanating from Weihong Lian's body was on a different level. She had been pushed to the limit and had decided to kill her opponent.

Swoosh!

Weihong Lian drew the large, deformed sword on her back.

Madong Pil shouted.

"Devilish Gang Leader!"

"Aaaah!"

Rumble!!

Weihong Lian swung her sword.

Flash!

A blue sword aura, which seemed almost gentle, flew in a crescent shape.

Xueliang's eyes widened.

The blue sword aura, which shot at him like a flash of light, was at a higher level than the sword aura Madong Pil had used in the Bamboo Forest. It was the realm of Heart-Intent Chasing Sword (心意逐劍).

'Impressive.'

Xueliang wasn't as crazy as Madong Pil feared.

Or rather, he was at first, but not now.

If the madness he had shown at the beginning had continued, they wouldn't be exchanging blows like this. He would have buried her on the spot.

Of course, the killing intent he was showing now wasn't genuine either.

'Ah, but there is a bit of genuine intent.'

Thinking about the possibility that Jinhuo might have been injured by the palm strike, his blood pressure rose sharply.

'Anyway...'

Even though the sword aura was coming at him at a high speed, he had time to think. This was thanks to the second form of the Thousand Heavens Six Passes, the Supreme Observation (超考觀).

Supreme Observation is something that can't be attempted by those who haven't cultivated the Upper Dantian. The reason is that opening the Supreme Observation drastically increases the speed of thought.

If the Supreme Observation is opened without cultivating the Upper Dantian, the brain turns to mush before one can take a breath. It is ten times more dangerous than the New Observation (初新觀), which is the second form.

Xueliang looked directly into Weihong Lian's eyes.

In the illusion of a slowed-down world, the intense gaze of the Devilish Gang Leader was clearly visible.

The Dark Shadow True Martial Art's Devilish Eyes (魔眼) settled over the Supreme Observation.

'Anger, anxiety, confusion, stubbornness...'

The emotions and state of her opponent were read quickly.

'Competitiveness, sense of defeat, recognition... recognition?'

Yes, recognition?

'Oh? Look at this.'

Her face, twisted with anger, malice, and madness, showed a hint of diminished pride.

Xueliang smiled.

It was a genuine smile of a martial artist, not a mocking one.

His left foot stomped the ground.

Boom!

A powerful force rose from the ground, passing through the Lower and Middle Dantians to the Upper Dantian.

The blue sword aura was now right in front of him.

Xueliang reached out his hand towards the sword aura. It was a gesture that looked almost wistful, as if trying to grab someone.

And...

"...?"

The sword aura disappeared without a trace.

Weihong Lian's eyes widened.

"...What?"

How did this happen? He just reached out his hand, and the Blue Wing Sword Aura (青翼劍氣) vanished?

"Ouch, that stings."

Xueliang shook his hand. A red mark appeared on his palm where the sword aura had been extinguished.

"Did you break through the Steel Wall Hand (鋼壁手)? Impressive."

The Steel Wall Hand is a hand technique of the Supreme Heaven Skill that maximizes hidden force, the opposite of the explosive force of the Hidden Force Technique (暗勁).

Even with his vigorous Dark Shadow True Martial Art, he left a mark, which meant Weihong Lian's insight was greater than Xueliang had thought.

Weihong Lian's face contorted even more. She was already bruised and swollen everywhere.

"Th...This..."

She wanted to curse, but no words came out.

This was a martial art on a different level from what they had exchanged before. She thought they were climbing the same hill, but it turned out he was walking the eight ridges of Mount Tai.

Rumble.

Her fist clenched, and the sticky blood-colored martial aura turned into a fiery, brilliant aura.

"Quite impressive, but that's as far as it goes."

"Grind."

"I'll give you a chance to catch your breath."

Swoosh.

The martial aura on Xueliang's hand disappeared, and the mark on his palm vanished.

"Do you want to turn yourself in for corruption?"

"..."

"Or do you want to be dragged away for disrespecting the Third Young Master, attempted murder, and spend the rest of your short thirty-year life in prison? Huh?"

"..."

"I know you can't match me, and I don't know which option is better, but I don't understand why you're hesitating."

"..."

"Ah, is it because you don't like being told what to do by some insignificant person?"

Swoosh.

Xueliang drew the sword from his waist.

It wasn't a rare new weapon, but it wasn't something any craftsman could make. Despite its simple appearance, the blade glowed with a precious light.

"I was a bit rude to the Devilish Gang Leader, who lives by pride. I was just toying with you with a question that already had an answer."

Swoosh.

The sword pointed at Weihong Lian.

Xueliang's eyes were serious.

"There's no need to say more. Let's end this."

Rumble!!

Weihong Lian's eyes widened.

The sword in Xueliang's hand was vibrating on its own. It wasn't reacting to the internal energy but seemed to be alive, emitting a clear resonance.

'Sword Resonance (刀鳴)!'

It's the same realm as the Sword Resonance (劍鳴) of swordsmen.

Only those who achieve perfect unity (合一) between the weapon (刀), body (身), and mind (心) and reach the optimal balance can produce this life resonance.

When everything becomes one, the sword gains a soul and sprouts its own will.

This proves that, through cultivation, one can reach the highest realm of swordsmanship, the Sword Mastery (御劍).

Swoosh.

The blade grew larger.

Although it didn't actually grow, Xueliang's figure was hidden behind the shape of the sword.

Weihong Lian's eyes wavered.

The madness that required someone to die to settle things had instantly disappeared.

'This is...'

A supreme level of body-sword unity (身刀合一) that can't be compared to any other peak martial artist.

Xueliang's eyes blazed.

"Go in peace."

Rumble!!

A giant blade charged at her like an illusion.

Right at that moment.

Clang.

The deformed sword fell to the ground, emitting a deep resonance.

Thud. Drip.

A stream of blood crossed Weihong Lian's forehead.

Weihong Lian wasn't surprised. In fact, she closed her eyes calmly.

And the tip of Xueliang's sword touched the end of her forehead.

Xueliang said coldly.

"Why didn't you dodge?"

"Because I couldn't."

"Did you accept death?"

"If I can't dodge, I have to die."

"So you let go of your sword?"

"I haven't lived a life where I can afford to regret. Like the many people who died by my hand, I will die by someone else's."

"Is today the day?"

"I don't know. Knowing wouldn't make a difference anyway."

Her words succinctly showed how she had lived.

Even if the Devilish God Sect was a bit inferior, it was still a martial arts organization. She was often looked down upon just because she was a woman.

She must have worked ten times harder than others to break through that prejudice.

Moreover, she was from a martial family that had opposed the Devilish God Sect. She had to struggle fiercely to survive.

Xueliang sheathed his sword.

Weihong Lian's eyes slowly opened.

Thud!

She fell into a corner of the kitchen. Xueliang had punched her.

"I'll consider this one punch as compensation for your disrespect and other minor offenses."

Weihong Lian touched her cheek, looking up at him.

"Just so you know, don't think I'll do what you want just because you showed me some mercy."

"You won't, you bitch."

"..."

"Would you expect a fish to be caught if I crushed the bait on the hook with my hand?"

"…What do you mean by that?"

"I don't know! Why am I going through all this trouble, even drawing my sword?"

Xueliang, grumbling, took out a gold pouch and placed it in the unconscious Dowei Jing's hand.

"I'm sorry. I don't know if you can hear me, but this should be enough for repairs."

He glanced at Weihong Lian.

Weihong Lian flinched.

"If you try to take this money, I'll break your head."

"Do you think I'm a back-alley thug? I won't take it."

"Judging by your actions, a thug would be a gentleman compared to you, you uneducated bitch."

Xueliang shouted.

"