San Tian Liang Jiao

Chapter 1350 Jian Shen Smiles (11)

On the table, there was an oil lamp.

Although it was just a small flame, it was enough to illuminate this not-so-large guest room.

This cold night was destined to be sleepless.

Therefore, Duan Keyi had no intention of going to bed at all.

He sat at the table, closed his eyes, and regulated his breathing.

For a master of his level, this degree of rest was enough to restore the physical and mental strength he had expended during the day.

"Why bother making such a fuss to deal with an old man like me..."

Suddenly, he spoke those words.

Before the words had faded, he had already opened his eyes and reached for the sword on the table.

Almost at the same time as his hand grasped the scabbard, a burst of rapid sounds of "poof, poof, boom, boom" suddenly erupted around him.

That… was the sound of hidden weapons piercing through the window paper and wooden boards.

Not only the doors and windows, but even the walls, ceiling, and floor had hidden weapons penetrating them…

Faced with such an attack, dodging was utterly impossible; even if the person being attacked had a huge shield in their hand, they might not be able to guarantee being unscathed, let alone Duan Keyi, who only had a sword.

Fortunately, that was no ordinary sword.

This sword was named "Ban Xuan" (Half Mysterious), simply because some “Xuan Iron” was mixed in when it was forged.

Here, let's quote Mr. Jin Yong's description in *The Return of the Condor Heroes*—"This Xuan Iron is the most precious treasure in the world, and it is extremely difficult to obtain even a tael or two. If only half a liang or a few qian were added to ordinary knives, spears, swords, and halberds, ordinary iron would instantly become a sharp weapon."

Obviously, the Xuan Iron added to Sect Leader Duan's "Ban Xuan" was far more than "half a liang or a few qian"; although it was far from comparable to Yang Guo's Xuan Iron Heavy Sword, which was made of 100% Xuan Iron and weighed sixty-four jin, it was more than enough to deal with the situation at hand.

He saw Duan Keyi stomp on the ground with one foot, leap up, and quickly move his right wrist, with the sword light following lightly.

Relying on the magnetic properties of Xuan Iron, he used a seemingly simple revolving motion to block hundreds of hidden weapons shot from all directions.

Ta—

A moment later, Duan Keyi fell from mid-air, touching the ground with one foot.

That light landing sound had already told the people outside… that the target was still standing.

This was naturally not the result they wanted. The purpose of their coming today was to make Duan Keyi lie down forever.

Therefore, their offensive would not end.

Pa hua hua—

Immediately afterwards, there was a series of sounds of wooden boards breaking, instantly bringing out two agile figures.

These two people sprang out directly from under the floor, appearing precisely on Duan Keyi's sides, instantly forming a pincer attack on him.

And this… was clearly within Duan Keyi's expectations.

He knew very well that the sound he made when he landed would determine the enemy's direction and manner of intrusion.

So he drew his sword almost without thinking.

The first sword, directly cleaved at the top of the head of the person in front of him… That person jumped up from downstairs, thinking he could catch Duan Keyi off guard, but he didn't expect that he was the one who would be killed.

Although Ban Xuan was not comparable to the "Four Great Divine Weapons," it was by no means an ordinary object. Before the attacker could even let out a scream, his skull had been split open by the sword, and his entire head had been divided into two from top to bottom.

Blood splattered on Duan Keyi's face, but he didn't even blink his eyes. His hand was still very steady, very powerful…

Driven by this hand, Ban Xuan also turned its blade, drawing a semicircle beside him, and slashing horizontally at the attacker behind Duan Keyi.

Before the sword blade touched the person's body, Duan Keyi knew that the other party was bound to die.

Based on his years of experience and excellent hearing, Sect Leader Duan only needed to listen to the sound of the other party breaking through the floor to know the opponent's approximate figure, age, and internal energy cultivation; so he was sure that this person would never be able to withstand this sword.

And the fact was, as he expected…

The second attacker did react to Duan Keyi's sword move, he held up his blade to block this sword, and then, his blade broke, his arm broke, and his torso broke.

The internal energy gained from more than fifty years of hard work in Tongzigong (Boy's Practice) coupled with sword moves honed through thousands of trials would result in this against the blade style of a second-rate swordsman.

In the martial world, which doesn't pay much attention to fairness, only the four words "diligence and hard work" are the fairest.

Duan Keyi's talent was not considered high, and he had never had any absurd martial arts adventures (such as falling off a cliff and eating strange things to greatly increase his internal energy, meeting a reclusive master who taught him divine skills and poured all his strength into him, being forced to roll in the sheets with a beautiful master for some reason and obtaining all her skills, etc.), but he still became the Diancang Sect Leader and overlooked the martial world with the name "Cloud-Exploring Knight."

In fact, he had done things that many people had done, nothing more than "hard practice."

But not everyone can add the prerequisite of "persistence" in front of these two words, nor can everyone maintain this kind of hard work for fifty years, even after becoming famous and becoming the sect leader.

Chi—

Just as Duan Keyi solved the second person, a sudden change occurred!

At that moment, a sharp steel nail suddenly protruded from under the floor, piercing right through the sole of Duan Keyi's supporting foot.

He immediately cursed inwardly, it seemed… that the opponent's intelligence and viciousness exceeded his expectations.

When he was hit, Duan Keyi realized belatedly that not only the previous volley of hidden weapons, but even the lives of those two attackers… were also a cover.

The truly deadly blow was this steel nail.

"I advise you not to move again." After this blow succeeded, a rough voice rang out from outside the door, "That will only make the poison take effect faster."

These words did not cause Duan Keyi to have too much emotional fluctuation. The slightly numb pain in his foot had already told him the fact that this steel nail was poisoned.

Zhi—

Soon, the speaker pushed open the door, which had been riddled with hidden weapons.

In his hand, he carried a lantern, and the light of the lantern illuminated the dark room (the oil lamp in the room had been extinguished in the previous volley of hidden weapons), and also illuminated his face.

That was a burly middle-aged man, like a human-shaped iron tower; his chiseled features and figure matched his voice very well.

"Tu Ji…" Duan Keyi looked at the man and said coldly, "Duan was not aware… that the Mad Tiger Gang's skills in attacking from ambush are so outstanding."

Duan Keyi obviously knew the other party. The person who came was the leader of the Mad Tiger Gang, Tu Ji, known as the "Tiger-Faced Arhat."

"Heh heh…" Tu Ji sneered, "That's right, precisely because it's outstanding… no one knows."

This made a lot of sense. Dead people have no way to talk nonsense everywhere.

"What a pity…" Duan Keyi said, "Compared to this kind of death, I would rather die under the 'Arhat Tiger-Fighting Palm'."

"You don't have to use this method to provoke me." The smile on Tu Ji's face was still there, "I know what you're planning… I won't fall for it." He paused and continued, "Sect Leader Duan, you and I both know very well… Since I chose this method to deal with you, it shows that I have already admitted that your martial arts are higher than mine; I can even frankly tell you that even if I practice for another ten or eight years, I am not confident that I can beat you as you are now."

Hearing this, Duan Keyi's heart sank. He knew that the plan to lure the other party in front of him was impossible to achieve: "Hmph… You are very self-aware."

"That's right… If I didn't have this bit of self-awareness, I would have died countless times already." Tu Ji's tone had a bit of an attitude of not being ashamed but rather proud.

Moreover… when he said this, he was also standing motionless at the door, not taking half a step forward, making it clear that he would not give the other party any chance for a desperate counterattack.

"Duan Keyi, you are a master, and also a righteous and upright hero.

"So, you have the right to be arrogant.

"But… you also have the obligation to pay the price for this arrogance.

"Tonight is when you pay the price."

As he spoke, the smile on Tu Ji's face disappeared, and his voice became colder and colder: "Don't worry about those Diancang disciples you brought, they are already waiting for you on the road to the Yellow Springs."

Duan Keyi's face was livid. Anger accelerated his heartbeat and pulse, and also accelerated the speed at which the poison took effect in his body.

"You, Tu… one day…" Sect Leader Duan still wanted to leave his last words.

But Tu Ji interrupted him with a cold face: "I know… die a horrible death, I've heard these words too many times, but the people who said these words are all dead, and I'm still alive, living better than all of them."

After saying that, he slowly retreated a few steps. Until this last moment, he did not turn his back on his opponent, nor did he reveal the slightest flaw.

"Brothers, send Sect Leader Duan on his way!"

As Tu Ji gave the order, another round of hidden weapons arrived, but this time… Duan Keyi didn't even have the strength to lift his sword.

…………

At the same time, inside Wang Qiong's mansion.

In this darkest moment before dawn, a figure silently walked out of his room and stood in the empty courtyard.

He just stood there, standing in the pitch-black darkness, without saying a word.

A moment later, a point of light suddenly appeared less than ten meters away from him.

At the light, there were two people, a man and a woman.

The man was looking at him with a smile on his face, while the woman was holding a strangely shaped lantern with a blank expression.

"Heh… this gentleman, you're up so early." Feng Bujue greeted the other party with a smile.

Cheng Wei stood there, his cold eyes staring fixedly at the two people in front of him, without responding.

"We are here to visit Wang Qiong, Boss Wang. I wonder… if you can report it?" Brother Jue continued as if nothing had happened, and unceremoniously made a request.

After another five or six seconds of silence, Cheng Wei finally spoke, "Who are you?"

He asked this question not because he was really going to report for these two people; Cheng Wei just wanted to know… where did these two people who knocked down all the sentries around the mansion and successfully stepped into the courtyard… actually come from?