Blade - Unbound

"Red Fist?" Yao San's eyes turned cold as he snorted. "So you're just an idiot."

He had originally been somewhat cautious. After all, Li Yan was the main figure among the opposing cultivators, and he had even managed to recruit powerful experts to aid him.

Li Hu had possessed neither that level of capability nor those connections back then. Obviously, Li Yan was definitely not as simple as the intelligence reports claimed. That was why, even with the jade disc protecting him, Yao San had resorted to some tricks.

Right from the start, he deliberately brought up old memories to lure Li Yan into a blade duel. Once Li Yan's weapon was destroyed, he would have no choice but to rely on his mystic arts.

Yao San had seen cultivators use their mystic arts before. He had even killed several himself. Now that they had already closed the distance, there was no spell that could be cast in time.

Ever since escaping death row with his life, although he had been forced to serve Xiong Baodong because of the poison controlling him, no one treasured his own life more than he did.

After all, only by staying alive would there be another opportunity to fight another day. However, Li Yan did not use a secret art at all. Instead, he simply assumed a boxing stance.

Yao San found it laughable and somewhat disappointing. Li Yan wasn't some grandmaster of boxing. Using bare fists against blades... How was that any different from courting death?

With that thought, Yao San no longer bothered talking. Hidden force exploded beneath his feet as both arms swung into motion. He intended to cut through the punches with overwhelming speed, and kill Li Yan instantly.

Li Yan also stepped forward. Hidden force likewise erupted from him. His throat, chest, and abdomen vibrated simultaneously as a chant burst forth like a peal of thunder.

“Hong!”

He caught Yao San completely off guard. Li Yan's chant was not yet powerful enough to injure people without assistance from his Thundercloud Divine Drum, but at such close range, it still shook Yao San's mind.

Thinking Li Yan had employed some mystic art, his blade hesitated for the briefest instant. At that very moment, Li Yan's fist technique changed. From the compact, tricky strikes of the Red Fist, it transformed into the broad, sweeping movements of Pigua Palm.

His right palm swept upward as Madam Li's words seemed to echo in his ears once more. "The sweeping strike embodies fire, surging upward like rising flames to shatter incoming chops!"

Yao San's blade descended, perfectly aligning his wrist with Li Yan's palm. Li Yan's timing was flawless as his palm struck Yao San's right wrist. Although the blade did not leave Yao San's hand, his arm was knocked into the sky.

Li Yan smoothly swept his left hand across to exploit the opening, a flash of steel gleaming within it.

Yao San sneered, Sleeve Blade?

He prepared to retreat while slashing upward. Li Hu's Sleeve Blade might frighten others, but not him. Its reputation merely forced people to stay on guard. Breaking the technique was simple.

However, before he could move, his entire body suddenly froze and fear filled his eyes. He felt an icy force pierce directly into his body as the rattling of chains echoed beside his ears. His consciousness immediately grew hazy.

In that smallest of moments, Li Yan's left palm made contact with his chest. With a casual flick, the jade disc of the Eight Trigrams hanging from Yao San's neck shattered simultaneously.

Li Yan let out a cold laugh before retreating rapidly.

He cupped his fists slightly and declared, "This is the Li Family's Sleeve Blade!"

Of course, that was no Sleeve Blade. He had simply unleashed the Soul-Hooking Chain at the very last moment. Once the Soul-Hooking Chain emerged, Yao San's soul had been instantly restrained.

Naturally, he had been paralyzed. Only then did Li Yan's so-called Sleeve Blade effortlessly pierce through his heart. As for the jade disc protecting Yao San... It worked well enough against spirits, but the Soul-Hooking Chain did not play by those rules.

The moment it entered the flesh, it directly locked onto one’s soul.

Sooner or later, Li Yan would have to reveal the Soul-Hooking Chain. However, rather than letting others speculate endlessly until they discovered its weaknesses, he preferred hiding it within the guise of the Sleeve Blade.

He had already tested it himself. Ordinary divine abilities could not detect it at all.

Now that his soul was no longer suppressed, Yao San's consciousness returned. Looking down at the blood gushing from the wound in his chest, his face filled with unwillingness.

Barely clinging to life, he gritted his teeth. "That wasn't the Sleeve Blade..."

Li Yan raised an eyebrow. Calmly, he replied, "Only those who survive have the right to speak. Didn't you say so yourself? I'm simply teaching you those words my father imparted to you one last time."

Yao San desperately wanted to say something else, but his consciousness rapidly faded. With a heavy thud, he collapsed onto the ground, never to move again.

Only then did Li Yan turn around. He picked up the already twisted Guanshan blade, and cursed under his breath. He caught sight of the pair of blades lying on the ground before casually picking them up and carrying them away.

The material of those blades was extraordinary. If they were reforged, they would certainly make an excellent weapon. As for the shattered jade disc, he did not even spare it a glance.

Just as Red Yaksha had said, some things, no matter whether one picked them up or bought them, or even if they literally fell from the heavens, as long as their original owner still lived, one would never possess them peacefully.

That had always been the way of things. Xiong Baodong had valued that jade pendant immensely. It was his greatest weapon against cultivators. Had Li Yan taken it, Xiong Baodong would have surely gathered his men and relentlessly demanded its return.

It was better to destroy it, and make the man swallow the loss in silence.

In the distance, Steward Lu looked utterly incredulous. "He won?!"

He had never imagined the victory would come so swiftly and cleanly.

Beside him, Tie Shigu was equally curious. "Oh? How did he win?"

He knew exactly who Yao San was. Though merely at the peak of the Dark Jin Realm, his bladesmanship was sharp. Combined with his treacherous and ruthless nature, countless martial artists of the same level had died to his blades.

Furthermore, he had also possessed Xiong Baodong's personal protective treasure. There should have been no way for a special mystic art to kill him. Among everyone present, only Steward Lu had been able to see the battle clearly. Naturally, everyone turned to him for an explanation.

Steward Lu himself looked puzzled. "It seemed that Little Brother Li used the short blade in his left hand. It was so incredibly fast that Yao San simply couldn't dodge it."

"It's the Sleeve Blade!" Sha Lifei immediately shouted in excitement. "That's Li Hu's ultimate technique! Back in the day, Li Hu's Sleeve Blade shook all of Guanzhong. Haven't you people heard of it?"

Steward Lu blinked before slowly shaking his head. His knowledge lay in the mystic path. He knew little of the jianghu.

Tie Shigu, however, looked utterly unconvinced. "The Sleeve Blade?"

He naturally knew exactly what the Sleeve Blade was.

Sha Lifei nodded with absolute certainty. "That's right. Li Yan's Sleeve Blade is equally as amazing!"

Meanwhile, across the field, Xiong Baodong's face had become incomparably gloomy. Turning to one of his men, he quietly ordered, "Go. Retrieve it."

One of the men immediately departed. "Yes."

At the same time, Li Yan also returned.

Seeing the pair of blades in Li Yan's hands, Xiong Baodong narrowed his eyes. "Brat. You can keep the blades, but where's my treasure?"

Li Yan feigned confusion. "What treasure?"

"The jade pendant." Xiong Baodong growled softly, "The Evil-Suppressing Eight Trigram Jade. If you dare take it, don't even think about leaving today."

"Oh..." Li Yan revealed a look of shock before sighing regretfully. "Yao San's blade techniques were simply too fast. When we crossed blades, the thing shattered."

"What?! It's broken?!"

Xiong Baodong abruptly strode forward several steps as killing intent erupted from his eyes. Previously, he had merely been trading insults. But the moment true anger overtook him, he resembled a gigantic bear emerging from its cave.

His savage aura crashed over everyone.

"Xiong Baodong, what are you trying to do?!" Tie Shigu roared as he stepped directly in front of Li Yan and yelled, "Damn it! This was a duel! Blades have no eyes! Didn't you see how many spiritual artifacts were destroyed tonight? Should they have been dodging them on purpose? Who the hell do you think you are?!"

Xiong Baodong was just about to respond when his entire body suddenly stiffened.

The wind howled through the snow. Torches started to flicker, their light casting dancing shadows across the snowy ground. Everything appeared perfectly normal. Yet Xiong Baodong distinctly felt an icy killing intent settling upon him.

At the same time, the pungent scent of blood spread through the air.

Li Yan's nose twitched as a smile appeared on his face. "Senior. The ritual duel has already been won. I'm terribly sorry to have made you come all this way for nothing."

A figure suddenly emerged from the darkness behind Xiong Baodong. It was as though he had stepped directly out of the shadows cast by the Fire Bear Gang.

Clad entirely in black robes and wearing a blood-red mask, his longsword still dripped with fresh blood.

He resembled a ghost wandering through the night.

Shing! Shing! Shing!

"Who are you?!"

"Protect the chief!"

The Fire Bear Gang members were thoroughly alarmed, drawing weapons one after another. However, the shadow paid no attention whatsoever to the blades surrounding him.

He merely spoke coldly. "Something unexpected happened, and I couldn't restrain myself. That's why I arrived late."

Beside him, Xiong Baodong's eyelids twitched violently as the hairs on his back all stood on end.

He was already secretly circulating hidden force through his body, and every muscle tightened until it resembled forged steel. Having spent so many years in Chang'an, it was the first time he had ever encountered such a terrifying killer!

Li Yan could smell the extremely unstable aura emanating from the newcomer, and guessed there was probably something wrong with the man's cultivation technique.

Thus he said apologetically, "It was my oversight, Senior. The matter here has already been settled. Please return and rest. I'll personally visit another day to thank you properly."

The man in black nodded. "Mhm.",

He vanished into the darkness, along with his aura. Only the faint scent of blood quickly drifted away into the distance.

Steward Lu had been staring in astonishment the entire time. "That was an escape technique..."

Only then did he swallow hard. "I'm afraid... That gentleman isn't from Chang'an, is he?"

How would Li Yan know? He simply pretended not to hear.

Across from them, Xiong Baodong also let out a long breath even though his expression remained ugly. Without another word, he turned and left.

"Return the item. For today's affair, the Fire Bear Gang admits defeat."

Naturally, Liu Wenchen did not dare disobey. He immediately removed a long, wrapped bundle from his back and threw it over.

"The item's inside. From now on, we owe each other nothing."

Having said that, he immediately turned around and hurried after Xiong Baodong.

Watching the group disappear into the snowy distance, Sha Lifei muttered, "Damn it! That old bastard is slippery as hell. He'll definitely cause trouble again someday."

Tie Shigu slowly shook his head. "Don't worry. He won't dare do it openly."

He looked meaningfully at Li Yan. "Little Brother Li, I've already informed Old Man Zhang. He'll naturally report tonight's events to the president of the Divine Fist Association. Xiong Baodong still doesn't dare tear away all pretenses.

"Until certain matters are settled, whoever starts a major conflict first will only bring trouble upon themselves."

Li Yan immediately understood. "Senior, I understand."

The current president of the Chang'an Divine Fist Society also bore the surname Li. Not the Li that was the same as Li Yan, but the Li of Minister Li Siyuan.

Furthermore, there was still something strange about the ritual duel. Feng Feiyan was an undercover agent of the Military Surveillance Department, yet she had seemed excessively enthusiastic about this duel. It was probably about more than just her friendship with Red Yaksha...

The Fire Bear Gang had openly harbored so many evil cultivators, yet the Enforcement Hall had done nothing? Earlier, when Shen Sanyou had appeared, those words he spoke almost seemed intent on warning the Shang Mountain lineage...

Thinking further ahead, Li Yan gazed toward the ancient city shrouded within the wind and snow.

The waters of Chang'an run very deep indeed.

***

The next day, at Lanling Street, within the Li Residence.

Li Shiqing gaily strode into the courtyard. Stroking his beard, he laughed as he addressed Madam Li, "Hahaha! We won! My dear, there's no need to worry. That boy fought a ritual duel last night and won three consecutive matches. The Fire Bear Gang admitted defeat and retreated."

Madam Li was watering the flowers. "Oh."

Upon hearing the news, she merely nodded calmly. "In the jianghu, victory and defeat never truly end. As long as he's alive, that's enough. Now that I’ve finally accepted a disciple, if someone beat him to death, there wouldn't be a thing I could do.

"Oh yes. You rarely interact with the mystic path. How did you hear about it?"

Li Shiqing smiled. "It spread throughout Chang'an first thing this morning. People were already talking about it in every teahouse and tavern. The Fire Bear Gang has oppressed people for years. Now that they've suffered a defeat... The common folk are all applauding. Your disciple has already become famous!"

Unexpectedly, Madam Li frowned. She slowly set down the watering can before shaking her head. "Famous? They're simply roasting him over an open fire.

"The jianghu is dangerous. There will surely be those harboring ill intentions."

Li Shiqing laughed. "My dear, you needn't worry. I've studied the boy's face. His fate is exceptionally resilient. In the end, the ones who'll suffer are most likely everyone else.

"This should be considered a joyous occasion. We ought to raise a cup and–"

Seeing Madam Li's face darken, Li Shiqing hurriedly changed his words. "Haha... I was only joking. Don't take it seriously."

Madam Li gently shook her head. "Although I don't wish for our family to become entangled in jianghu disputes, if help is needed, we should still help.

"Where's Kongqing? Didn't he say he'd already found them a courtyard?"

Li Shiqing quickly replied, "I saw him just before coming in. He's probably gone to find them."

***

Outside the small courtyard of Phoenix Descent Inn.

Li Yan was somewhat surprised. "Brother Li, please come in..."

After the ritual duel the night before, he had assumed the first people to seek him out would be members of Chang'an's Five Guilds.

After all, according to custom, victory meant celebration. There would inevitably be banquets and new acquaintances among fellow jianghu figures, and perhaps even members of the mystic path.

Once that happened, his position in Chang'an would truly be established. After completing several more major commissions in spectacular fashion, he would be able to gain a firm foothold in the city.

Unexpectedly, it was Li Kongqing who had found him first. "No time to come inside, come with me."

Li Kongqing seemed rather anxious as he continued, "I've still got other business. While I still have a bit of free time, let's head to Pingkang Street."

Li Yan froze and stared at Li Kongqing in disbelief.

Beside him, Sha Lifei burst into laughter. "Young Master Li, It's still broad daylight. With only such a short amount of time, what exactly are you planning to do?"

"What are you people thinking?!" Li Kongqing glared at them, somewhat annoyed. "I've found you a house, and it's in Pingkang Street!"

***

The ancient courtyard lay deep within the compound, with its artificial hills blanketed with snow. Steam rose gently from the pond as several little birds flitted across the glazed tile rooftops.

Li Yan looked somewhat surprised. "This... This is the house you found for us?" x

It wasn't that the house was bad. Actually, it was quite the opposite. It was far too good. The residence itself stood within a quiet alley behind Pingkang Street. It consisted of two elegant courtyards laid one behind the other, complete with a pond and ornamental rock garden. Stepping out of the alley brought one directly into Chang'an's bustling Pingkang Street.

Given the amount of brothels, teahouses, taverns, and gambling dens that lined the streets, its location alone spoke volumes. To own such a tranquil residence amidst all that bustle, even a modest two-courtyard estate like that would cost far beyond anything they could imagine.

Not only Sha Lifei and Wang Daoxuan, even Li Yan shook his head. "Brother Li, we truly appreciate your kindness, but... we simply can't afford a place like this."

"You don't have to pay." A trace of pride appeared in Li Kongqing's eyes as he explained, "This residence has quite the history. The original site was once the mansion of the Tang dynasty's infamous Chancellor Li Linfu. Later, it was destroyed during the wars, leaving only ruins.

"Of course, these courtyards were rebuilt afterward. A wealthy merchant later gifted the estate to the Prince, but His Highness would never come to a place like this, so it sat empty for three or four years.

"I once heard one of the Prince's Manor stewards complaining that drunken jianghu folk often sneak in here at night. They even bring women from the brothels. In the end, he hired some caretakers but someone frightened them half to death by pretending to be ghosts in the middle of the night.

"It wasn't practical to station experts here permanently, so those jianghu ruffians only became bolder. It was utterly disgraceful. I've already spoken with the steward. As long as you can keep watch over the place and stop those jianghu fellows from bringing women here, tarnishing the Prince's Manor's reputation, you won't have to pay a single coin in rent until the estate is eventually given away."

Sha Lifei immediately began showering him with praise. "Young Master Li truly is remarkable! Don't worry. Forget people pretending to be ghosts. Even if real ghosts show up, we'll string them up and beat them! I guarantee no riffraff will ever get inside."

Li Kongqing smiled faintly before sighing. "What Young Brother Li said that day truly woke me up. If I lack the ability, then taking proper care of my family is enough. These past few days I've kept my opinions to myself, and it seems my position has been preserved.

"I still have matters to attend to. Let's chat another day."

With that, he cupped his fists and hurried away.

"Take care, Young Master Li!" Sha Lifei bowed repeatedly from behind him, grinning from ear to ear. "Another day, we'll treat you to the Calyx Pavilion!"

Li Kongqing stumbled, nearly falling flat on his face. He hurriedly waved both hands. "No, no! My mother keeps a very tight rein on me.

"My wife is virtuous, and my children are well-behaved. I wouldn't dare go!"

With that, he quickly disappeared into the distance.

Only then did Li Yan and the others turn to examine the courtyard. Rubbing his face, Sha Lifei grinned foolishly. "Daoist, hurry and cast a divination. Has Old Sha finally turned his luck around?"