Chapter 204 - 126: Mansion Lord (Part 2)
Every time he faced a powerful foe, his Nine Shocking God Sabers would progress.
’Perhaps this trial will be the key to unlocking the fourth saber art.’
But before he could land a decisive blow, Shi Pingzhang’s figure blurred. He shot into the air, attempting to escape.
Huang Xuan’s expression changed.
"Damn it! He’s seen through the Array’s flaw."
"We can’t let him escape the Array!"
But by the time he’d said it, Shi Pingzhang had already soared back over the crowd. He was just about to land and make a run for it.
Just then, a burly figure soared through the air, landing squarely in his path to intercept him.
Shi Pingzhang looked up and roared in fury.
"GET OUT OF MY WAY!!!"
His voice was laced with the unholy power of his Inner Strength. The newcomer’s mind reeled from a deafening roar, leaving him dazed and disoriented.
He bit down hard on the tip of his tongue. The sharp pain jolted him back to his senses. His eyes flew open, and he swept his hands in an arc before thrusting them forward viciously.
"Go back!"
’Go back? As if.’
Shi Pingzhang had been taking a beating this entire time. Only now did he see a sliver of hope, a chance to escape death’s door.
He roared and thrust out a palm of his own.
The moment the three palms met, both men shuddered violently.
A brutal shockwave erupted from the point of impact, sweeping out in all directions.
The members of the five great sword sects with weaker Inner Energy were knocked off their feet, collapsing to the ground.
Others who tried to stand and help found themselves swaying unsteadily.
Meanwhile, Shi Pingzhang felt as if he had been struck by two great mountains.
The force was crushing, nearly irresistible.
If not for his unholy power bolstering him, he would have been overwhelmed instantly.
But even with his unholy power, his opponent’s force came in wave after relentless wave. After withstanding eight consecutive surges of power, he could hold on no longer. His entire body was flung backward, hurtling directly toward Jiang Ran.
Cheng Tianyang flipped and landed, staggering back several steps before spitting out a mouthful of blood.
’What kind of monster is he?’
’Even this gravely injured, he still forced my Ninefold Shocking Mountain Palm to its eighth level and managed to wound me in the process.’
’If he were at his peak... all of us, the disciples of the five sects and myself included, would have stood no chance. Slaughtering us all would have only been a matter of time.’
’If Jiang Ran wasn’t here, this would have been a true catastrophe.’
And Cheng Tianyang wasn’t the only one stationed outside the array.
Li Tianxin, Luo Qingyi, Zhang Zhihua, and the others were also scattered around the perimeter. This was another layer of insurance Jiang Ran had arranged to ensure Shi Pingzhang could not escape.
When Cheng Tianyang looked up again, he saw that Jiang Ran had, at some point, lowered his saber and was now standing with one hand gripping its hilt.
As Shi Pingzhang’s body hurtled helplessly toward him, a flash of golden light glinted from Jiang Ran’s hand.
SHKT!
With another soft sound, a huge gash was instantly torn open across Shi Pingzhang’s chest, sending a spray of blood into the air.
Shi Pingzhang grunted. He suddenly felt a tight grip on his head. Looking up, he found that he had fallen sideways into Jiang Ran’s grasp, his head now held firmly in one of Jiang Ran’s hands.
Their eyes met. Jiang Ran beamed, his smile radiant.
The next moment, his scalp tightened as Jiang Ran swung him through the air.
His body cut an arc through the air before slamming viciously into the ground.
BOOM!!!
The violent impact resounded in all directions, kicking up a storm of dust and rock. A large crater had been smashed into the ground!
Lying in the crater, Shi Pingzhang could no longer move.
He struggled to look up at Jiang Ran, his eyes holding surprisingly little resentment. He opened his mouth to speak, but only blood gurgled out.
That final slam from Jiang Ran had been truly devastating.
Nearly every bone in his body was shattered, his internal organs pulverized.
WHOOSH! WHOOSH! WHOOSH!
The disciples of the five sects now surrounded the shallow crater, their swords all pointed at Shi Pingzhang within.
Huang Xuan spoke.
"Shi Pingzhang, you once went on a rampage in Li Country, slaughtering the people of Yuanding City."
"To end up like this today... it is divine justice. You have gotten what you deserve."
A corner of Shi Pingzhang’s mouth twitched into a sneer.
"The five great sword sects... Just a bunch of hypocrites chasing fame..."
"If this brat hadn’t... appeared out of nowhere, all of you... you would have been nothing but putty in my hands, to be molded and crushed at my whim."
"You... you don’t have the right to stand here and lecture me... you didn’t defeat me through your own strength."
"You were just... lucky..."
He finished, his gaze shifting to Jiang Ran.
"So cunning, so calculating... Even with martial prowess greater than my own, you still... still refused to take any risks..."
"Who... are you?"
Jiang Ran smiled at the question.
"An Assassin."
"Huh?"
Huang Xuan, Ling Buyi, Gu Huai’kong, Su Wanyi, and Cheng Tianyang all turned to stare at Jiang Ran in disbelief.
’An Assassin?’
Even Ruan Yuqing arched a fine brow, finding it hard to believe.
’With his level of skill and cunning, he could be anything... why be an Assassin?’
Shi Pingzhang nearly choked, stunned for a long moment.
"So... your scheme... against me... it was all... for the bounty? For the silver?"
"Precisely."
Jiang Ran nodded, but after a glance at the members of the five great sword sects, he added a line.
"And also for the greater good of the martial world!"
The crowd immediately nodded in approval.
Only Li Tianxin, standing outside the crowd, rolled his eyes dramatically.
’He felt he had Jiang Ran figured out completely.’
’The man’s actions sometimes appeared chivalrous, but he always had an ulterior motive.’
’And that motive was trading people for silver.’
’It just so happened that the people he captured were all villains.’
’Which made him look like a good guy.’
’But in terms of methods, he was completely unscrupulous, utterly ruthless in the extreme.’
’And yet these so-called followers of the Path of Chivalry actually believed his bullshit.’