In front of the Hall of Holy Fire and Light, the two men exchanged blows, parrying and countering one another. Elder Qilin Lin Ping's saber flashed abruptly, his attacks fierce and relentless. Beneath the pitch-black night sky, the cold gleam of his blade streaked through the darkness like shooting stars. Lu Rou wielded a single staff, his attacks powerful and heavy. With his profound internal energy behind every strike, his staff techniques were forceful and vigorous. As he swung the staff, it whistled through the air, his body and weapon moving as one, his strength flowing all the way to the tip. The very air seemed to roar with the force of his blows.
At that moment, Lu Rou unleashed a move known as "Woodcutter Asking the Way," a technique designed specifically to attack the lower three areas of the body—the abdomen, groin, and legs. The areas above the abdomen were known as the upper three areas.
Lin Ping shouted, "Boy, I will show no mercy with my saber! Admit defeat quickly, and I may spare your life!"
In an instant, he raised his saber and swept it through the air. Blow after blow came crashing down toward Lu Rou's head, chest, and shoulders.
Lu Rou extended his staff and repeatedly knocked against the saber. One after another, the steel blade was deflected. Originally, Lu Rou had no desire to show off his martial prowess before the crowd, but today's circumstances were quite different. Elder Qilin Lin Ping was pressing him relentlessly. If Lu Rou did not reveal some of his true skill, Lin Ping might really believe that a branch-master of the Beggars' Sect was someone who could easily be bullied.
Lu Rou shouted, "Since Elder Lin insists on bestowing his skills upon me, I would be most discourteous to refuse. Very well, then—I shall have the honor of learning from you."
The two men then clashed with all their strength. Saber and staff collided repeatedly, producing a thunderous cacophony of metal. Suddenly, both men were thrown backward, each retreating five or six zhang.
Lin Ping said coldly, "Boy, your skills are impressive. Are you really nothing more than a branch-master of the Beggars' Sect?"
Lu Rou secretly despised Lin Ping. Although he had already taken over as the Beggars' Sect's leader, the news had not yet been announced to the martial world. Thus he replied, "I am merely a branch-master of the Beggars' Sect. Come on, make your move!"
Suddenly, Lin Ping shot upward like a bolt of lightning. His body moved as swiftly as a hawk diving from the sky. He plunged downward from above, thrusting his saber straight toward Lu Rou's Baihui acupoint at the crown of his head. The blade flashed several times before arriving in an instant.
Lu Rou's eyes gleamed brightly. Seeing Lin Ping leap into the air and attack from above, he remained completely calm. Gripping the Vajra Staff, he turned his body and shifted his position, his feet following the Seven-Star Step, making his movements and position impossible to predict.
Then, in a sudden motion, he flipped the Vajra Staff diagonally upward. The posture was exquisitely precise, almost flawless. His body moved together with the staff as he struck upward—a deadly counter designed specifically to deal with an opponent attacking from the sky.
The move was completely unexpected and astonishingly fast.
Suddenly, several sharp metallic clangs rang out. Lin Ping twisted through the air and sprang sideways as swiftly as a drifting breeze.
The spectators looked on and saw the two men standing about a zhang apart, one on each side. Lu Rou stood calmly with his staff in hand, his expression composed. Elder Qilin Lin Ping, however, had been frightened into a cold sweat by that single strike. The danger of the move had been extraordinary, and he could not discern the slightest clue as to what kind of staff technique Lu Rou had just employed.
Holding his saber horizontally across his chest, Lin Ping said coldly, "With that Dog-Beating Staff Technique of yours, I fear there are very few people in the martial world who would dare provoke you."
Lu Rou laughed heartily.
"I am nothing more than a branch-master of the Beggars' Sect!"
Lin Ping was determined not to concede defeat. He shouted, "Whether you are merely a branch-master or not, this battle must end with one of us victorious!"
Lu Rou replied, "There is no need for such formalities, Elder Lin. I have long heard that your Qilin Saber Technique is unparalleled in the martial world. Now that I have witnessed it for myself, I can see that its reputation is well deserved. Since we have crossed swords, there is no need for either of us to hold back. Let us simply determine the winner."
At these words, Lin Ping let out a cold snort. Lu Rou's words had clearly wounded his pride. His expression suddenly became ferocious. In a fury, his body sprang forward as though struck by lightning.
The great saber whistled through the air. A flash of steel appeared, and the blade seemed to move like electricity. The technique was subtle and exceedingly profound. A series of sharp swish, swish sounds rang out as the saber thrust straight forward. The blade moved with astonishing speed, twisting and whirling through the air.
In a single breath, Lin Ping unleashed sixteen consecutive strikes.
On the darkened square, the crowd roared with excitement. Saber and staff collided again and again, sending sparks flying like stars.
Lu Rou whirled the Vajra Staff, blocking and deflecting attacks from left and right. Suddenly, his body was sent flying backward. He twisted through the air in a sideways somersault, while Lin Ping pursued him relentlessly.
Lin Ping unleashed a move known as "Blades of Blood and Shadows," one of the supreme techniques of the Qilin Saber Art. He struck from left and right, thrusting and hooking with his blade.
Seeing the great saber flashing violently before him, Lu Rou thrust the Vajra Staff forward like lightning.
Lin Ping pulled his right leg backward and made a feint toward Lu Rou's face, only to suddenly redirect the blade toward his chest.
Lu Rou turned his shoulder and blocked the strike with his staff. Taking advantage of the momentum, he spun around and thrust the staff forward.
Lin Ping raised his saber to block and then leaped backward more than a zhang, but the tip of Lu Rou's staff continued to pursue him relentlessly.
Lin Ping used the force of the staff to launch himself four zhang into the air. He changed direction in midair and dived downward once more, slashing at Lu Rou.
Lu Rou swept his staff horizontally.
Clang!
Lin Ping borrowed the force of the collision and leaped another two zhang into the air. He twisted in midair, turned sideways, and slashed his saber toward the back of Lu Rou's head.
The danger was extreme.
Lu Rou suddenly rotated the shaft of his staff.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
The metallic clashes rang out without pause.
One retreated while the other advanced; one attacked from the left while the other countered from the right.
With a mighty shout, Lu Rou launched a series of sweeping and thrusting attacks. A flash of green light appeared as he swept aside Lin Ping's defense and thrust toward his abdomen.
This was one of the deadly techniques of the Dog-Beating Staff Technique—"Strike the Dog's Back at an Angle."
The Vajra Staff in Lu Rou's hands spun like a whirlwind. He raised it and unleashed a furious barrage of strikes, each one flowing into the next like water pouring across the earth.
The attacks came as swiftly as lightning.
Lin Ping heard the wind roaring from the staff and saw every strike clearly. Although he repeatedly raised his saber to block, he was forced into desperate evasions. Every blow from Lu Rou's staff carried tremendous weight and power. Lin Ping struggled to withstand them and hurriedly retreated.
But it was already too late.
Lu Rou unleashed another technique, "Dog-Beating While Walking."
In an instant, the Vajra Staff came down like a torrential rain.
How could Lin Ping possibly withstand it?
With a sharp crack, Lu Rou smashed Lin Ping's saber into two pieces.
The staff then slammed into Lin Ping's abdomen.
Lin Ping let out a terrible scream.
At the same moment, Lu Rou's Vajra Staff recoiled and instantly came back around, striking with the speed of lightning and the force of thunder.
Another scream rang out.
The staff crashed into Lin Ping's back once more.
With another agonized cry, Elder Qilin Lin Ping was swept several zhang through the air by the force of the blow. He crashed heavily to the ground and lay there, unable to rise.
Lu Rou stood there with overwhelming momentum. He thrust the Vajra Staff into the ground, driving it a full three inches into the earth.
Beggars' Sect Leader Fei Jin then walked out from among the crowd and called loudly:
"Our branch-master of the Beggars' Sect may be a little young, and perhaps he had the advantage of youth. His victory today was merely a fortunate one. I wonder if there is any other expert from the Jiuxiao Palace who would care to step forward and offer him a lesson?"
Lord Jiuxiao Long Zhentian had turned ashen. He remained silent, deep in thought.
The Beggars' Sect truly deserves its reputation as the greatest martial sect under heaven. Even a mere branch-master possesses such astonishing skill. I fear that even the Heaven-and-Earth Left Protector Li Han or the Heaven-and-Earth Right Protector Ling Yun would be unable to defeat him alone.
Long Zhentian frowned and was just about to speak when the Heaven-and-Earth Left Protector Li Han and Heaven-and-Earth Right Protector Ling Yun had already stepped forward together.
Both Li Han and Ling Yun had spent many years roaming the martial world and had seen countless masters and battles. How could they not realize that either of them, fighting alone, would probably be no match for this supposedly "mere" branch-master of the Beggars' Sect?