Pei Xuanjing swung his sword, accompanied by wind and thunder. This embodied the warmth of spring, the violence of summer, the solemnity of autumn, and the chilling cold of winter.
"Kill!"
Gong Xingqiu's face was icy, as the curved blade danced like a silver snake in his hand, its light crisscrossing amidst the unrestrained blood qi. His figure shifted as if a ghost, a single man wielding a blade that seemed like a thousand, the glow of his blade pervading all surroundings.
Clashes happened one after another.
"Today, I will surely kill you!" Gong Xingqiu's cold face was filled with murderous intent.
He swung his curved blade once again, the already abundant blood qi within him boil over even more, giving his every swing strength surpassing those of the past by multiple times, seemingly infinite, and relentless.
"Nice!"
Pei Xuanjing roared in laughter. Such an opponent was indeed worthy of him putting forth his full power.
His move suddenly changed as if he was a drunkard – staggering footsteps, the long sword in his hand swinging towards the east and hitting towards the west, striking south and beating north. It seemed chaotic, yet was extraordinarily brilliant – he would appear suddenly and disappear quietly.
"Dharma Sword Skill!"
Seeing that Pei Xuanjing could make such a leisurely use of this Dharma Sword Skill, undoubtedly he had attained mastery.
Qingyang Zi was astonished in his heart, truly a peerless genius.
"Humph, is that all!"
Gong Xingqiu displayed utter fearlessness as he let out a long howl and lunged forward; his blade was like a roaming dragon, full of murderous intent.
He was also well aware of the subtleties of the Dharma Sword Skill, thus he very decisively abandoned his techniques and chose the most straightforward slashes, forcing Pei Xuanjing to defend.
"Heh, are you at your last gasp?" Pei Xuanjing scoffed.
He stepped forward, giving his sword's hilt a little shake, immediately stirring up a wave of cold light, with flowers of sword light strewn all over.
He then leaped into the air, looking down from a high position.
At that moment, his sword's technique changed once again. He turned around and slashed towards Gong Xingqiu.
The force of the downward strike was radiant and swift, filled with a chilling sword qi that could even freeze the marrow, the sharpness of the sword was terrifyingly unblockable!
Flying Immortal Outside the Sky!
Both man and sword appeared to have merged into one, the sword light was like a flying rainbow, directly aiming and striking, the sword light radiant and swift, applying all body strength onto it.
This move was not only the strongest sword technique, but also contained the ten elemental forces of extreme yang and extreme hardness.
"This sword technique is flawless and outstandingly brilliant," Qingyang Zi's face displayed even more astonishment due to Pei Xuanjing's moves.
Seeing such a free-spirited change in swordsmanship, Qingyang Zi knew in his heart that this was the peak pinnacle in martial arts, and it could be considered an unrivaled sword technique in the world.
"This move!"
Gong Xingqiu's facial expression dramatically changed, his pupils contracted as if he saw something unbelievable.
He only saw a slash of sword light flying diagonally, as swift as lightning, like a long rainbow across
une SKY.
Clang!
At that moment, Gong Xingqiu's solid true qi and vigorous blood qi were all of no use, effortlessly shattered by that single slash.
The curved blade in Gong Xingqiu's hand was cut into two by Pei Xuanjing's long sword.
The sword didn't stop its course and naturally downward, cutting through his clothing and leaving a deep bloodstain on his chest.
However, at this moment, the Flowing Flame Sword in Pei Xuanjing's hand also let out a mournful cry, the blade filled with tiny cracks.
Clearly, at this time, the Thousand Refinement Divine Weapon could no longer withstand the great power poured into it by Pei Xuanjing. After it cut Gong Xingqiu's curved blade, it finally gave way under the heavy burden.
Watching Gong Xingqiu's figure retreating, Pei Xuanjing threw out the Flowing Flame Sword and sheathed his long sword.
He moved a few steps, coming in front of Gong Xingqiu in the blink of an eye.
Giant Spirit Surpasses Mountains!
Without any hesitation, he slapped Gong Xianqiu.
There was no time to dodge, no chance to hide, and even less opportunity to deflect the hit.
In the end, he could only watch helplessly as this palm strike hit his body directly, unable to resist it in the slightest.
This palm strike caused his muscles and bones to shatter, his true qi to scatter, and his blood qi to dim.
The immense power was instantaneously transmitted throughout his entire body. He was smashed downward, his entire body embedded into the ground. A cloud of dust was stirred up in a radius of several ten meters with him at the center.
Such a violent palm strike made Gong Xingqiu suffer extreme pain, unable to suppress his screams.
His shattered muscles and bones broke through the skin. The internal organs were shocked out of place, and the thick, boiling blood all over his body spurted out of every orifice.
At the side, Du Chongyun's eyes almost burst out of his sockets, he couldn't help but shout out.
Their fight was too fierce, and it ended too suddenly.
Everything was beyond Du Chongyun's expectation. He never thought that Gong Xingqiu, facing a second-grade martial artist, would have virtually no power to resist.
Seeing the severely injured Gong Xingqiu on the verge of death, a sorrow rose from Du Chongyun's heart, not merely because one shared the same plight.
He worried about his own fate, now Gong Xingqiu was dead. And if the young man make his move again, he would undoubtedly die.
However, he was entangled with the old eunuch and could do nothing.
The sky changed color, the autumn wind started to blow, and the leaves began to dance.
Ignoring Du Chongyun's voice, Pei Xuanjing merely cast his gaze lightly over Gong Xingqiu.
From Gong Xingqiu's arrogance when he made his first appearance to the severely wounded and dying state today, all of this happened in just a brief moment.
The dying Gong Xingqiu fiercely stared at Pei Xuanjing, opened his mouth as if trying to say something, but couldn't say anything.
Pei Xuanjing seemed to understand what the other party meant, and he said faintly, "I am Pei Xuanjing."
After hearing those words, Gong Xingqiu's eyes widened as if to imprint his face upon his memory, his shaking hands struggled as if he wanted to grab hold of something.
Suddenly, Gong Xingqiu's struggling hands paused, and fell powerlessly.
From this point, Mire Sect's deputy sect leader, first-grade martial artist Gong Xingqiu, died at the hands of the second-grade martial artist, Pei Xuanjing.
Pei Xuanjing watched as the first-grade martial artist died under his own hands. After a while, he raised his head and shifted his gaze towards the Mire Sect's elder, Du Chongyun.
Du Chongyun, as he was engaging in combat with the old eunuch, felt the gaze of Pei Xuanjing. He immediately felt a chill in his heart and his face changed color.
"Would you need assistance, Eunuch Gong?" Pei Xuanjing didn't immediately join in, but asked instead.
The old eunuch had no qualms about ganging up on someone. Hearing Pei Xuanjing's question, of course, he would not refuse: "Thank you, sir."
"Old wretch, you have no shame!" Du Chongyun cursed.
He could barely handle one old eunuch, let alone adding such a merciless opponent. He was undoubtedly going to die.
Unfortunately, his cursing had no effect as Pei Xuanjing said to Qingyang Zi, "May I borrow your sword, Lord Headmaster?"
"It would be an honor!" Qingyang Zi said with a smile.
Witnessing a first-grade martial artist die under Pei Xuanjing's hands, Qingyang Zi naturally wouldn't continue to regard the youth in front of him as a junior, even if his age truly made him his junior.
Without any hesitation or holding back, Pei Xuanjing immediately used Flying Immortal Outside the Sky toward Du Chongyun.
Seeing this, Du Chongyun's face turned into a deathly gray, as if he fell into an ice cellar!
"I am grateful for your help, Mr. Pei." The Old Eunuch spoke with soft humbleness, smiling at Pei Xuanjing.
Pei Xuanjing returned the smile modestly, "Your excellency is too kind."
It could be said that the moment Pei Xuanjing and the Old Eunuch struck together against Du
Chongyun, the outcome was determined, and the Mire Sect's assassination would end in failure.
Not to mention the loss of their ordinary disciples, but the death of two first-grade martial artists, two second-class martial artists, and seven third-grade pseudo masters alone had cost the Mire Sect a heavy loss, which was almost half of their renowned experts.
However, their side also suffered considerable losses in this assassination attempt. The Xuanwu, one of the four leaders of the Brocade Guards, died in battle. Also, one master and one pseudo master from the Dong Factory and one pseudo master from the Xi Factory were all slain.
As for the remaining experts, although they did not lose their lives, they were all somewhat injured. For instance, Qingyang Zi was heavily injured by Du Chongyang, a first-grade martial artist. Though his foundation was not damaged, he undoubtedly lost much of his fighting force.
As for those third-grade and below members of the Brocade Guards who were injured, their number was considerable, and many even lost their lives.
On the other hand, Lin Qingyi was rather fortunate this time. Not only was he unscathed from the assassination attempt, but he also had an epiphany about the true essence of martial arts while fighting a master martial artist alongside another.
After experiencing this mighty storm, even if the emperor was safe and sound and had not been harmed at all, it was clear that the idea of his tour was interrupted.
When news of the attempted assassination on the emperor reached Tiandu, those in charge there immediately made the decision that the emperor's tour could no longer go on and intended to put a stop to it.
With his officials unanimously opposing his decision, even the emperor could not act wantonly and obstinately as he pleased. He was also aware that his guards were wounded and couldn't support his endeavor any longer.
However, the emperor wasn't willing to return to Tiandu so easily, so he headed to Xuanfu Town, one of the important towns instead.
When they saw the emperor stop touring and enter the military stronghold of Xuanfu Town, which guaranteed his security to a large extent, the court officials could only compromise despite some minor objections.
After the emperor entered Xuanfu Town, the local governor and commander took responsibility for external security, so Pei Xuanjing and his men didn't need to remain as vigilant as before. Their task had become much easier.
After surviving the assassination attempt and personally beheading a first-grade martial artist, Pei Xuanjing naturally solidified his supreme reputation.
The Emperor not only granted him an audience but also bestowed upon him a generous reward. When he learnt that Pei Xuanjing's divine weapon was damaged in the battle, he promised to give him an even better one as compensation.
Unfortunately, all these rewards and compensation from the Emperor can only be fulfilled after returning to Tiandu. For Pei Xuanjing, this is providing a solution far beyond his immediate needs.
The divine weapons forged by experts like Qian Lian are rare, but there are still numerous indomitable-class divine weapons in Xuanfu Town.
Having seen Pei Xuanjing's ability, Jiang Bin was even more eager to gain his favor. Immediately upon reaching Xuanfu, he procured an indomitable-class sword for Pei Xuanjing to use temporarily.
Jiang Bin wasn't the only one trying to win over Pei Xuanjing. Zhang Yong, the director of Dong Factory, and Gu Dayong, the director of Xi Factory, also presented him with an indomitable-class sword as a token of gratitude for his rescue.
Having received gifts from the three, Pei Xuanjing accepted them brazenly but remained non-committal about their attempts to win him over.
Now, he was standing at the top level of the Great Ming, giving him the privilege to abstain from taking sides for the time being.
Pei Xuanjing stood atop a nameless hill, holding his hands behind his back. Facing the cool autumn breeze, his robe was fluttering in the wind.
He took in the whole view of Xuanfu City, producing a feeling of insignificance in the grand scheme of things.
"Master Pei!"
Jiang Bin came up the hill in his regular attire and stood behind Pei Xuanjing.
Lin Qingyi led a few of the Brocade Guards, also dressed in regular attire, and guarded them from several hundred feet away.
"Why is Mr. Jiang being so formal? You may address me as usual," said Pei Xuanjing nonchalantly. Then he turned around and spoke heartily, "I never realized that such a magnificent scene is withheld by this hilly region. So engrossed, I've kept Mr. Jiang waiting."
"In that case, Mr. Pei, there's no need to refer to me as Mr. Jiang in the future. I am older than you by a few years. If you don't mind, we can address each other as brothers." Jiang Bin said with a smile.
Pei Xuanjing laughed heartily, "Brother Jiang."
A glint of joy flashed in Jiang Bin's eyes. He sighed, "Mr. Pei, you're too modest. There's nothing wrong with becoming absorbed in such a beautiful view."
He took a few steps forward, and they stood side by side, facing the autumn breeze, and taking in the beautiful mountains and rivers.
"I wonder what Brother Jiang had in mind when he invited me today." Pei Xuanjing looked into the distance and spoke lightly.
He was actually in the middle of his cultivation at home when he received a message from Lin Qingyi that Jiang Bin had invited him to meet.
Moreover, instead of meeting in Xuanfu City, they came to this unnamed hill.
Pei Xuanjing remembered that he had received so many benefits from others. It wouldn't be right to immediately discard the relationship, so he agreed to the invitation.
Jiang Bin waved his hand and took out a letter from his bosom, "There's no rush. Look at this first, brother."
Pei Xuanjing, puzzled, took the letter and unfolded it to read.
After a while, a hint of coldness appeared at the corners of Pei Xuanjing's mouth, and a brief flash of murderous intent emanated from him before quickly disappearing.
"It's actually him. I really didn't expect it. Is this information from the underworld?" He asked, his tone filled with surprise.
The information in the letter was none other than the clues related to Pei Xuanjing's previous assassination attempt and the recent assassination of the Emperor.
According to the clues obtained by Jiang Bin, the mastermind behind these was a big figure in the Brocade Guards, his direct superior, the Emperor's trusted aide, and the commander of the Brocade Guards, Qian Ning.
Even though they already knew that someone in the Brocade Guards was colluding with the underworld Mire Sect, this person held a high-ranking position. But no one had thought that it would be Qian Ning.
Jiang Bin nodded and said, "In addition to this, there is also information from undercover agents within the Mire Sect."
When he first received this news, Jiang Bin was even more shocked than Pei Xuanjing.
Although the two were rivals, they were both trusted by the Emperor, and he never expected that Qian Ning would dare to undertake such actions.
Hearing Jiang Bin'S words, Pei Xuanjing nodded in agreement.
With the power of the Brocade Guards, it was impossible not to infiltrate a force like Mire Sect.
However, what he did not know was that in order to obtain these pieces of information, the undercover agents of the Brocade Guards suffered heavy losses, almost all of them exposed and uprooted by the Mire Sect.
However, being able to obtain such important information, it was worth it for Jiang Bin.
"Does Brother Jiang have any reservations?" Pei Xuanjing asked in confusion.
In his view, since the identity of the other party had been confirmed, all they had to do was to follow the clues to the end.
Considering Jiang Bin's status, once he submitted this information to the Emperor, even if it may not immediately result in charges, it should be enough to sow a seed of doubt in the Emperor's heart.
Other officials might have reservations, but for the eunuchs, all their privileges depended on the trust of the Emperor. Once they lost his trust, they would lose everything. Jiang Bin let out a bitter laugh: "Things are not as simple as they seem.."