Chapter 34

Gao Shou (3)

"You're a funny guy. To dare speak such words in my presence."

Tou Gui's lips curled upward.

Zheng Yanxin paid no heed and continued to advance, not stopping for a moment.

He had heard of Tou Gui before. They said he was a master of Golden Thread Technique.

His nickname did not mean he fought like a possessed man. It meant he stole like a ghost, hence the name Tou Gui.

"Do you know the meaning of my nickname?"

Tou Gui asked with a smile.

He must be a braggart, Zheng Yanxin thought.

Despite the narrowing distance, Zheng Yanxin did not respond, but Tou Gui's chatter did not cease.

"I take anything, hence the name Tou Gui (Thief Ghost). I even took the dazed eyes of your senior brother."

"Senior brother?"

The man laughed heartily at Zheng Yanxin's question.

"Not a senior brother, I suppose. Isn't the Yibei Sect a rootless faction? You can't even call your teacher 'teacher.' The same goes for Ma Guangyizhu, who taught you. That dullard is probably wandering aimlessly in the mountains."

"What's your purpose? Didn't you take the Zisodan?"

Zheng Yanxin asked, pausing briefly. They were now within striking distance.

About five steps away. He could even see the calluses on Tou Gui's hand, which repeatedly clenched and unclenched.

A single leap would be enough to split the man's body and still have strength to spare.

"The head of the man you can't call your senior brother. The Qingyan Demon Sword's eye."

A wave of energy flowed from the empty end of Tou Gui's left sleeve. It was a baffling move for Zheng Yanxin.

"Would you risk the early return of the Huashan Sword Festival and the leader?"

"You don't understand the significance of a martial artist's hands. Fine, you seemed quite promising, but you're no different from the foolish ones."

This time, Tou Gui took a step forward.

It seemed he was unwilling to yield the Qingming's neck to anyone else.

The aura he exuded was far from ordinary. He could likely exchange a few moves with a Blue Rank expert.

Whoosh!

Zheng Yanxin focused his mind on the already activated Zhengjia Donggong. The incantations of the Guanghua Sword Technique began to unravel from his head. Simultaneously, a surge of true qi sprouted from his palm like the rising sun.

There was no need to wait. Zheng Yanxin immediately raised the Yibei Sword. A faint light followed the blade.

Swoosh!

The sword strike missed. It was the first time since the creation of the sword technique.

Tou Gui's footwork was truly ghostly, as his nickname suggested. His movements were incredibly swift as he lunged forward.

His extended hand twisted like a snake, accompanied by a sinister flow of energy.

It seemed to wrap around Zheng Yanxin's sword-holding hand.

'Golden Thread Technique. Quite refined.'

Zheng Yanxin observed Tou Gui's technique.

The history of the Golden Thread Technique, which involved internal energy, was long. It was originally a martial art created by a general from an ancient fallen kingdom.

It had been passed down from soldiers to constables, to the Imperial Guard, and finally to the martial world.

All its principles revolved around subduing the opponent's arm to leave them defenseless.

Even with the development of true qi manipulation, its core principles remained unchanged.

Crack!

Zheng Yanxin twisted his body, ducked, and pushed forward.

A common technique seen in back alleys, a shoulder strike.

A short gust of wind swept from his entire body.

The spiral shockwave generated by his movement destroyed any chance of being caught.

The spiral technique of the Shihua Wujigong, combined with Qingming's teachings, narrowed Tou Gui's eyes as he stepped back.

"An ethnic technique? No, it's a new martial art, merely similar in form."

"You talk too much."

"I've investigated you."

Tou Gui continued.

"The Blood Flame Sect is a formidable force. They respond appropriately to potential threats. They send assassins and dig into the past. I uncovered everything. That you're from the Zheng family, which was wiped out in Xinye County, Henan. The Haomen Sect suffered and revealed the information."

"..."

"Child of the Zheng family. You buried your retainers on the back mountain. What has become of that place now? You've made a significant enemy of the Blood Flame Sect."

"What?"

"You took the head of the Blood Flame Sect's sword? They wouldn't just leave your hometown alone. They dug up the mountain and burned it to the ground."

Zheng Yanxin gripped his sword tighter. He thought of the servant who used to call him for breakfast every morning.

His father, who acknowledged him as a son in his final years, and the retainers who kept their distance, all came to mind with a mix of love and hate.

"You. With black hair, you don't look like a sect member. Are you a disciple?"

"You think all Blood Flame Sect martial artists practice the Blood Technique. You're indeed new to the martial world."

"Indeed."

It didn't matter what technique the man had learned; he was going to die anyway, Zheng Yanxin muttered.

He gathered his energy again. True qi circulated through the eight extraordinary meridians in his body.

With the overlapping principles of the Shijigong, the intensity of the energy waves began to fluctuate.

The senses of martial artists facing a life-or-death battle transcend the ordinary.

They say one can feel the opponent's heart closer than a lover's. Tou Gui's lips twisted upward.

"Will a brat like you kill me? I'll bury you with the remaining eye of the Qingyan Demon Sword."

The moment Tou Gui mentioned Qingming's eye, Zheng Yanxin's thoughts entered a different realm.

'When do martial artists despair?'

The first would be when their sect master or senior brothers die, or when they themselves face death.

The second would be when they can no longer practice martial arts.

Then, what would shock martial artists obsessed with martial arts to the same degree?

Losing limbs was not enough. Revenge. The desire for survival was the next strongest emotion.

"Huff!"

Tou Gui exhaled sharply. At the same time, his mysterious footwork unfolded again.

The hand that could steal everything in the world unleashed the refined principles of the Golden Thread Technique.

Zheng Yanxin took a step and moved his right hand, which held the sword.

Like a lightning bolt extinguishing, the Yibei Sword returned to its scabbard. Simultaneously, he faced the enemy with bare hands.

He extended his right hand. It looked identical to Tou Gui's Golden Thread Technique.

Tou Gui's face, which had smirked in arrogance, was obscured.

Zheng Yanxin's hand shadow created a strange afterimage.

It was a small movement. A single gesture deflected Tou Gui's Golden Thread Technique.

"......!"

The trajectory was clearly in the realm of advanced martial arts. The technique itself was a level higher.

Late but first (後發先制). Zheng Yanxin's slower hand caught the enemy's wrist first.

At the same time, the immense strength of the Zhengjia Donggong exerted its power. It had been a long time since it was used.

The crushing grip completely immobilized the opponent's movement. It was so effective that point striking was unnecessary.

"You, how can you—!"

Cold sweat formed on Tou Gui's face.

He seemed unable to even think of kicking. It was as if he had never been at ease.

"I think this is better. Your technique wasn't that refined."

Zheng Yanxin said indifferently.

Tou Gui's face was close to panic, tinged with fear.

He had seen his unique martial art bloom in the hands of his enemy.

"Want to know the incantations?"

Tou Gui flinched at the low question. This time, Zheng Yanxin laughed.

Of course, he wouldn't tell. The man's face gradually changed, from longing to despair.

Zheng Yanxin stole and shattered the man's life.

'This is it.'

He had discovered his own method to send the martial artists of the Sima Sect to hell.

The martial arts of the martial world were also called accumulated merit (積功). It meant the life itself, built over a long time of practice.

It was enough to negate that.

He just needed to display the man's martial art in a better form, right in front of him.

The wrist of Tou Gui, held in Zheng Yanxin's right hand, shattered.

Swoosh.

While listening to the man's scream, Zheng Yanxin drew the Yibei Sword with his left hand from his waist.

* * *

Holding Tou Gui's head, he returned to the inn.

There were other Blood Flame Sect experts who had attacked the inn with Tou Gui, but they had already been dealt with.

Ma Jin had returned and defeated the Blood Flame Sect group with the Huashan Sect experts.

Ma Guangyizhu, except for Zheng Yanxin, had also participated in the battle. Ma Jin said he had watched Zheng Yanxin's fight from the window.

"You... "

The scar on Ma Jin's face twitched continuously.

He opened his mouth a few times as if he had seen something he shouldn't have, then sighed.

Zheng Yanxin ignored his uncle's complex expression.

"I have accumulated a lot of merit. Please record it properly."

He said, holding out Tou Gui's head. In his other hand, he held a box he had taken from the man's possession.

Inside the small box was a medicinal pill with an unfamiliar energy.

Zisodan. In terms of rank