Chapter 288

Even with two supreme martial artists, they stood no chance. Of course, both of them fell victim to a thoroughly cowardly ambush.

So, how could lackeys without any supreme level skills possibly stand against them?

At least there was the Fan Master, who could swing a weapon a bit.

The rest looked like they were brandishing clay figurines—two first-rate fighters among a bunch of second-rate ones. Should we even call them warriors?

That’s why people say the Fan Master is somewhat useful.

Got it. This guy’s level? Just above peak state.

It’s so boring I could just kill them all…

But since Seoliri asked me to capture them this time, I felt it was alright to spare the fun.

Not that I was bloodthirsty or anything.

“Isn’t this promise supposed to be unbreakable!?”

“What promise? Did we sign a ceasefire agreement or something? We returned the hostages, so we’ve kept all our promises.”

“What nonsense!”

Nonsense it certainly was.

Now that the hostage exchange was over, looking after the details of the hostages and negotiating terms falls under a sort of unspoken ceasefire agreement.

Yet, even honesty can deceive if one tries hard enough to fool others.

In fact, it’s easier to deceive because of honesty.

“Pointless chatter! Haha, it’s really funny! Those who’ve honed their martial arts are just flapping their tongues!”

If Qing were to call out a master from Huangjing looking to spar, they’d be flapping their tongues pretty seriously too—so fiercely that their tongues would wear out and become pointy.

But Qing was a newly minted supreme, while the Fan Master was in the late peak stage. Plus, they had two first-rate fighters and several second-rate lackeys with them.

If Qing opposed, they would have drawn swords, so I suppose this isn’t too unreasonable.

“Alright, I’m off! My Moonlight Sword! Hmm. Not like I’m starving or anything!”

With a somewhat lackluster battle cry, Qing stomped the ground.

The thick raindrops felt like needles against my face. No, it seemed like the rain was intensifying instead of stopping.

I had enough leisure to think about it, which meant Qing was significantly underestimating the enemy.

And justifiably so.

In a single exchange, the axe handle snapped in half, and in another, wham! A powerful strike from the Supreme Hand-to-Hand Combat landed deep in the lower abdomen, penetrating into the dantian, while the technique used by the Ten Thousand Demonic Arts immediately broke through the qi meridian.

From the perspective of his subordinates, it looked like the axe had been cut, and he had taken a solid hit to the belly, then just sat down, gasping for breath as if he couldn’t even breathe.

“Monster!”

Someone shouted that, and instantly, fear spread, causing everybody to turn their backs to Qing.

It was quite a sight to see a Young Master, who had been fighting for his life, suddenly bolt.

Qing gave his own nape a pat and realized, ah, I should’ve retrieved the lady’s hairpin first.

Ultimately, Qing took off running.

The bell kept ringing in the background, and he dashed, taking one down with his Qing sword and another with his Moonlight Sword (number 8), then using a fallen axe head for another one…

Damn, those two were just lucky.

When they all fled together, even a supreme couldn’t do anything about it.

Nobody’s mastered body duplication, so how could one person manage multiple paths?

Thus, the second-rate warriors were casually sliced, stabbed, smashed, and torn apart on the spot.

And then there was the Fan Master, two first-rate fighters, and one on the ground getting soaked…

What’s this? Did the Young Master’s blood just stop?

Oh boy, if I’m not careful, he might actually die?

With a gentle grip, Qing took the four limbs and grabbed two of their hair, dragging them along.

Anyway, my heart swelled with joy as I clutched three of the guys’ hair in one hand and dragged them with both hands.

Seoliri will surely be thrilled?

Much like how fathers come home with fried chicken for their families, it felt so satisfying.

But once I got back, Seoliri’s condition didn’t look so good.

She was lying down, drooping over, and when the thunderous footsteps of the Martial God echoed, she struggled to lift her eyelids, only to cough up rough, bloody phlegm afterward.

Qing gasped in shock, dropping the heads he was holding, and rushed over to Seoliri.

“Oh no! Miss Seol? Are you alright?”

“Yes.”

Mm. Looks like she’s fine.

Seoliri is the type of person who would insist that she’s not okay if she wasn’t. Though, it was kind of pathetic given how incompetent she is.

Nonetheless, Qing felt relieved.

“No, Miss Seol. What happened to you? You couldn’t defeat just a few bandits, and this is how you look?”

At that, Seoliri’s forehead bulged with veins.

“There was a peak state fighter among them!”

“But he was just a peak state fighter.”

“I’m just in the lower stage.”

“Ah.”

Qing understood now.

She wasn’t as capable as he thought.

It made sense why she never showed up at the Undercover Martial Arts Contest.

After all, how could she appear before people with such pathetic skills at initial peak state?

Still, at the initial peak stage, how could she not handle just one peak state and a couple of first-rate fighters, plus several second-rate and miscellaneous?

If it were me, I would have ambushed that Fan Master first, smashed his skull, and dealt with the rest afterward.

“Alright. I brought you some limbs, nicely prepared for cooking. There’s the Fan Master too.”

At that, it seemed Seoliri was trembling, trying to get up.

Then, perhaps giving up, she flipped over and tried to stand, but lost her balance and fell a couple of times.

Watching her desperate attempts, Qing thought.

Tsk. What a pathetic sight.

Anyone would think she had just survived a match with a supreme.

Even if she couldn’t stabilize herself, she seemed to squirm around like a worm, so it didn’t look like she was severely injured.

Finally, he thought, ‘Ah. I guess it’s over.’ and felt totally drained, but once the excitement of the battle faded, he felt pinches and stings all over.

Qing wondered what was going on that he was rubbing his thigh, only to see blood on his hands and muttered.

“Oh. I’m bleeding…”

His self-defense had its limits.

In terms of having a body fortified by techniques, only elite guards of the Golden Guards could withstand such attacks and remain fine.

But Qing had surpassed humanity, even if he hadn’t transcended it.

His muscles and bones were intact, but they didn’t protect his skin, meaning those attacks he’d taken directly during ambushes had managed to slice his skin.

It wasn’t that serious, just some cuts, but still.

Yet Qing hadn’t carelessly thrown his body into danger just to see how tough he was.

He knew fighting multiple opponents, including a supreme, in a fair fight would have put him at risk if he hadn’t taken down the head first.

It was one thing to face one supreme as a one-on-one matchup, but while surrounded by flailing swords, taking on a supreme is something even a godlike figure couldn’t withstand without injury.

So, ending up with a few cuts and securing his heart was quite a miraculous exchange.

By defeating the enemy leader, he successfully disrupted the whole enemy force. Had they genuinely fought, he would’ve expected to lose more than just a few cuts, perhaps even a limb.

Be it now or then, Qing’s specialty was in underhanded fights. If you analyze his overwhelming appearance closely, you’ll see it all came down to ambushing or putting his opponents in situations so dire they lost all sense of rationality.

“Ow, that stings.”

There were two cuts on his thigh, one on his waist, and a few more burning along his back.

Will this leave a scar…?

Well, even if it does leave scars, it’s fine as long as I apply some medicine, but I bet Master would be furious if he saw this.

Indeed, if Seomun Sulin found out about these glorious wounds, she wouldn’t hesitate to drop the most powerful strike of all: a neutron bomb.

But right now, Seomun Sulin was just waiting back at the Divine Maiden Sect for her disciple to return.

If only Tang Nan-ah had been among them, she would’ve nagged, “You’ll get yourself killed! Why do you keep getting yourself hurt?” while ensuring rigorous care.

Yet all he had was a useless bunch that couldn’t even wipe their mouths clean over food.

In fact, she was in worse shape than Qing, lying around groaning.

But at least her will to fight was commendable.

“Cough.”

Struggling to crawl along, she grabbed the Fan Master’s arm and after some grunting, she swung the frozen guy’s arm down, smashing it into ice shards.

“Ah! Wheeze—”

Seoliri stuffed pieces of ice into the Fan Master’s mouth, who had been screaming, and he hurriedly tried pushing them out, making uncomfortable sounds.

Wow! Shattered into pieces! Human bingsu! Self-serving!

Qing’s eyes lit up at the unexpected spectacle.

Regardless, as Seoliri finally managed to shift her stance, she placed her hands on the bent leg, ready to strike back.

Wow, that’s ruthless.

Miss Seol definitely knows something.

You can’t be a warrior if you’re not a little tough, right? Yeah.

It seemed her grudge from getting picked on had pretty deep roots.

From the Fan Master’s perspective, it could seem unjust.

At least he was the one who told them not to use sharp weapons against the Young Master’s lady, so all that happened was he got kicked and hit with the back of axes, axe handles, and whatnot.

Otherwise, Seoliri would’ve already been a body rolling around.

That’s why a warrior must be tough.

If you spare someone too lightly, you end up with this kind of trouble.

The Fan Master couldn’t even focus on feeling wronged; he was too busy grappling with the shocking taste of his own self-made ice bingsu.

And so, there was only one guy left, barely able to puke after leaving behind nothing but a frozen shoulder joint and thigh.

“Ah. Miss Seol. That guy isn’t your enemy. Leave the Young Master alone.”

Seoliri was already heading toward the Young Master when Qing spoke to stop her.

Seoliri obediently changed direction, crawling along.

The other bandits were already dealt with, their limbs scattered chaotically.

As Seoliri approached on all fours, they merely twitched helplessly, screaming.

Well, let Seoliri have her fun.

“Well. Young Master.”

“Please, spare me! I’m begging you!”

“Not happening. If I let you go, you’ll just come back with your parents for revenge.”

“I swear, I won’t—”

“Oh please. How do you want to die? I can freeze you if you want. It looks clean, without any blood splatter.”

“Please! I’m begging you!”

“Mm.”

This isn’t the feeling I wanted.

Something should be heating up, stirring excitement in me as I desperately crave to see blood—it should be something I can’t hold back.

But… this is annoying…

Suddenly feeling bothered, Qing picked up the Young Master and hurled him toward a large puddle outside the roof.

Must’ve been pretty powerful because he soared in an arc and splashed down, with a broken bone poking out of his arm.

Seems like he was trying to scream.

But the sound of the heavy rain swallowed it whole.

I figured he’d die on his own, so I left him be.

Then next—

Seoliri went all out, smashing the Fan Master and two first-rate fighters’ limbs into ice, shattering them into bits.

“So are we not finishing this up?”

“No. We’re done already.”

“Oh. Natural thawing. It should melt quicker if we leave it outside, right?”

Seoliri nodded.

Qing then raised the pieces of the Fan Master.

Alright, aim well. Fire away!

The Fan Master’s body hit the Young Master’s, landing a blow only tears could contemplate.

Once Qing threw the other two down to hit the Young Master again, Seoliri just flopped down, defeated.

“Miss Seol? Are you okay?”

“Yes.”

“You can’t even sit up.”

“Yes.”

“Are you even listening to me?”

“Yes.”

Hmm. Is she fine…?

“Let’s not lounge around here. We should find a room to rest up. Hmm. We should head down soon. Okay?”

And then it hit Qing—

“Miss Seol. Just asking, but can you drive the carriage right now?”

“I can do it.”

Neither a yes nor a no, just a “I can do it.”

The will is commendable, but we’re in torrential rain down the mountain, and if we mess up, the carriage could tumble over.

“Ah. Thinking back, there should be bedding in the mountain lodge. Usually, bandits like these hoard the chiefs’ quarters quite terribly.”

Realizing that there was no need to hastily flee in this downpour, he wondered if anyone would come searching through the rain.

So, as Qing swooped Seoliri into his arms—

“Ngwah!”

A pretty harsh scream escaped as it seemed the pressure cut her waist in half.

“Miss Seol?”

“I’m fine, I’m fine.”

“Okay, just hang in there. Let’s see. Over there.”

In that moment—

Crash! Boom!

An indescribably massive noise echoed.

It wasn’t like thunder striking nearby or anything that would make your ears ring.

It was a sound that came from afar but was so powerful it vibrated up through the ground and into him.

Qing thought about it for a moment.

What the heck? Is it a landslide? Did a landslide just happen?

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