Chapter 61

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"Kill!"

Chen Qinglong had already reached the Qi Transformation Realm. He wielded a long saber, swinging it like a gust of wind, with an incomparably fierce saber technique.

A faint green aura appeared on the long saber, a characteristic of the Qi Transformation Realm where the internal qi breaks through the body and manifests externally. This green aura enveloped the blade, its luster flowing, making an ordinary long saber seem like a divine weapon, extremely sharp.

Amidst the shouts, Chen Qinglong was like a wolf among sheep, his long saber thrusting, deflecting, slashing, and chopping, each move lethal. There was no match for him. Several soldiers thrust their long spears at him, but the blade came down, the green light shimmering, slicing through like a ribbon, forming a saber qi that cut the spears and their owners in half, blood flowing.

Blood splattered onto Chen Qinglong's body and face, matching his fierce and terrifying expression, making him seem like a demon crawling out of a pile of corpses. His momentum was overwhelming, scaring the soldiers blocking him into constant retreat, afraid to step forward.

Seeing their leader so powerful, Chen Qinglong's subordinates were elated, their morale soaring. They wielded their weapons, roaring as they charged at Shen Faxing's soldiers, like fierce tigers, their attacks becoming even more ruthless.

Many of Shen Faxing's soldiers were recruited from refugees and bandits, lacking combat skills. They could fight well when things were going their way, but once they encountered strong resistance, their morale plummeted, and they would immediately collapse.

Chen Qinglong and his subordinates were all seasoned veterans. To be spies arranged by Du Fawei in the Central Plains, each of them was highly skilled. Once their blood was up, each became a fierce wolf, showing no mercy in killing. After a brief exchange, Shen Faxing sensed something was wrong.

"Where did these people come from?"

Seeing Chen Qinglong cutting through the soldiers, the scholar in blue was greatly alarmed, his brows twitching.

Shen Faxing, holding a curved saber, his face dark, his eagle-like eyes flashing with cold light, stared at Chen Qinglong, who was wielding the long saber, and said in a low, stern voice, "He is one of Du Fawei's men, using the saber technique that Du Fawei's personal guards all know. Old grudges are hard to forget. Even here, that old fox Du Fawei won't let me go?"

The scholar was greatly alarmed upon hearing this. He knew about the past enmity between Shen Faxing and Du Fawei. Years ago, they had fought for control of southern Jiang, being mortal enemies. Another reason was that both had once been interested in the same woman.

However, Du Fawei had already entered Chang'an, and his ambition to conquer the world had been dulled by women. The scholar shook his head and said, "My lord, it shouldn't be Du Fawei sending people to kill you. He has no reason to do so."

Staring at Chen Qinglong and his men, who were holding out, Shen Faxing's dark face looked even more terrifying in the firelight. He clenched his teeth and shouted, "Kill! A hundred gold for each head!"

"My lord?" The scholar looked at Shen Faxing, somewhat surprised and puzzled. At this moment, there was no need to continue the hard fight.

Shen Faxing drew his curved saber, his somewhat hunched body straightening. He stared at Chen Qinglong and said, "All I have today is thanks to Du Fawei. He took my territory and the one I loved. I kept retreating, and now I have nothing left!"

At this moment, Shen Faxing was like a lone wolf on the grasslands, licking his wounds, his gaze cold and fierce.

"I have nowhere to retreat. A man born into this world cannot live in such a wretched way. I, Shen Faxing, may not be a hero, but I am not a coward. If I retreat from Du Fawei's men today, that old fox in Chang'an will laugh at me."

Holding his curved saber, Shen Faxing recalled the glory of his uprising years ago, when he had tens of thousands of elite soldiers, ruling as a king. Back then, he was one of the great warlords vying for control of this land, facing opponents like Li Yuan, Yuwen Huaji, and Dou Jianxiong. Now, he was like a stray dog, fleeing in fear, with no peace.

Had he really fallen so low that he no longer had the courage to face a strong enemy?

"You go. You've been with me for so long, and I know you have ambitions. Now that the Li Tang dynasty has unified, you can change your name and still achieve your goals. Following me, you will have no future."

Shen Faxing gave the scholar a final look, pulled the reins, and slapped the horse's rump. The black-maned horse neighed, and Shen Faxing, holding his curved saber, galloped away.

"Kill!"

Ning Wuxie wielded a long saber. Due to his cultivation method, he could not practice martial arts, so he used ordinary techniques. However, with his powerful spiritual awareness, even ordinary techniques burst with terrifying power.

The strong sense of danger and formidable predictive ability of the demon race allowed Ning Wuxie to foresee his opponent's next move and react accordingly. For beasts, this was an instinct, like a person instinctively trembling when they see something terrifying.

A dozen riders surrounded Ning Wuxie and Ning Wushuang. These men, as Shen Faxing's personal guards, were skilled in martial arts. Even so, they still lost four or five men to the Ning brothers. Shen Faxing's generous rewards made their attacks even more ruthless. Without using demon qi, Ning Wuxie could only retreat step by step.

Qi is the fundamental difference between cultivators and ordinary people. Even without using qi, Yan Chixia could still fight Ning Bo to a draw.

Chen Qinglong's long saber deflected the thrusting spears. Shen Faxing's generous rewards also boosted the combat power of these ordinary soldiers. Even rabbits, when cornered, will bite, let alone humans?

Each man, eyes red with rage, fought to the death. Under such pressure, some of Chen Qinglong's subordinates died, and he himself also had several wounds, breathing heavily. Suddenly, a loud shout came from behind, and a fierce saber light sliced toward him like a ribbon.

Clang...

The long saber blocked the attack, and the terrifying force of the collision caused metal to clash, sparks flying. Shen Faxing, using the momentum of his horse and his own burst of strength, slashed down, directly knocking Chen Qinglong away.

Shen Faxing's curved saber was heavy and wide, with a blood groove on the back, resembling a crescent moon. Combined with horseback combat, its killing power was astonishing. The previous strike had at least a thousand pounds of force, enough to knock Chen Qinglong, who was caught off guard, away.

Falling to the ground, Chen Qinglong, without time to recover, rolled several times to avoid the thrusting spears. He leaped up and looked at Shen Faxing on the black-maned horse, mocking, "Shen Faxing, I didn't expect you to only know how to ambush?"

"Victory and defeat are determined by fate. Didn't Du Fawei also ambush me back then? Kill..."

Shen Faxing spurred his horse forward again, the crescent moon-like curved saber flashing with cold light, slicing toward Chen Qinglong's neck like a ball of light.

"Get down!"

Chen Qinglong, focusing his qi in his dantian, stared intently at the black-maned horse charging like a thunderbolt. At the moment the curved saber came down, his eyes lit up, and his long saber flashed like a shooting star.

"Thud..."

Blood splattered, and a large horse head flew up. The black-maned horse galloped a few steps and then collapsed. Shen Faxing's body twisted in mid-air, displaying his lightness skills, and the curved saber came down again at Chen Qinglong.

In the moment of life and death, the faces, breathing, and movements of both men were infinitely slowed in each other's eyes.

Thud... Whoosh...

At the moment a human head flew up, an iron arrow shot out of the darkness, piercing Chen Qinglong's shoulder. He grunted and retreated three steps, looking in the direction the arrow came from. A figure in blue rode a horse and galloped away.

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