Chapter 46: The Intercepted Kill

Early the next morning, Ling Chi sat in his room leafing through the Strange Chronicles of Mountains and Rivers given to him by Wu Wei. The book described mountain spirits, river monsters, demons and ghosts, as well as heavenly treasures and earthly wonders, all of which broadened his horizons immensely. Unfortunately, he found no mention of the origin of the legless divine bird he had encountered; the northwest, impoverished as it was, had little opportunity to see many of these treasures, so he simply committed them to memory, resolving to seek them out when his martial prowess advanced further.

Afterwards, he bade farewell to Cao Huba and Cao Bianjiao. Having been away for quite some time, it was high time he returned to Willow Town.
“I’ll come find you at Willow Town in a few days,” said Cao Bianjiao. “You can help me practice my boxing again, and I’ll bring you the cultivation manual.”
The manual Cao Bianjiao had sought still hadn’t arrived, and Ling Chi was unwilling to wait idly; a speed-based technique was merely a finishing touch for him.
“No problem, just come to Willow Town directly,” Ling Chi replied with a sly curve of his lips, welcoming him to hell.

It was his first visit to the prefecture, so naturally he had to bring something back for everyone. He went shopping in the town: tea leaves for his master, beauty pills for his mistress, cultivation elixirs for the five senior disciples, and a pile of trinkets for Xiao Rui.

Ling Chi wore a bamboo hat, twin blades at his waist, riding the great black horse at a leisurely pace. With an extra hundred-plus pounds on its back, the horse was uncomfortable, so Ling Chi continually nourished its flesh and bloodline with spiritual energy, stimulating its cells to regenerate and awaken a second vitality.

The great black horse trotted lazily, Ling Chi rising and falling atop its back, already entering a state of cultivation. Seeing its rider silent, the horse vented by suddenly galloping a few steps.

Ling Chi’s eyes snapped open and, drawing the Evil Slayer, he cleaved forward.

“Clang!”

An iron arrow was cut in half, yet still its momentum persisted, only to be caught by Ling Chi gripping the arrowhead.

“An ambush? You’re certainly confident,” Ling Chi said, sending the great black horse away and striding towards the woods.

His steps quickened, and by the time he reached the edge of the forest, he was a blur, charging forward to kill.

Arrows and spears flew at him; he dodged what he could, and took the rest head-on. His skin turned golden, lightning flickered in his eyes, his inner sea of energy roared, thunder surged throughout his body, and his divine sense enveloped a radius of over twenty yards.

Ahead, a squad lay in ambush, all clad in heavy armor—soldiers to the last. Ling Chi grinned, wondering if they’d brought coffins for themselves.

He accelerated, not waiting for them to speak, and drew his blade to strike.

[Grand Yi Tribulation Blade: Shake the Mountains and Startle the Tiger]

A silver blade arc swept through a dozen trees and landed on a soldier at the edge, splitting him in two, spilling red and green viscera across the ground.

He plunged straight into the encirclement, wasting not a word, his Evil Slayer sending heads rolling, all the while his eyes searched for the squad’s leader.

The squad numbered around a hundred, clad in heavy armor, their various units cooperating seamlessly: shield and blade soldiers in front, spearmen behind, archers and crossbowmen at the rear. Most had reached the fourth or fifth stage of vein-opening; the rare eighth or ninth were the formation’s lynchpins.

Perhaps they’d planned in advance, for they all simultaneously formed a killing array to encircle Ling Chi.

No words were exchanged; upon meeting, it was a fight to the death, their moves vicious. The soldiers fought mostly with tactics that traded their lives for injury, leaving Ling Chi little room to defend.

But Ling Chi, true to his character, decided that if he couldn’t defend, he’d simply not bother—relying only on his golden body to protect his skin.

He unleashed his full power, the sea of thunder slowly spinning, drawing spiritual energy from dozens of miles around, thunder suffusing a ten-yard radius.

The majesty of the purple-gold thunder rolled forth, anyone below the sea of energy who touched it died or was wounded; only the killing array could withstand it.

Several bolts, thick as water barrels, flashed brilliantly, snaking across the battlefield, consuming the formation’s energy.

Ling Chi darted and twisted, blade flashing.

[Grand Yi Tribulation Blade: Overlord Raises the Banner]

Evil Slayer, held high in both hands and crackling with thunder, smashed down upon a ten-man squad’s killing array.

The formation shattered instantly, its focal point suffering backlash. Ling Chi immediately plunged into the crowd, thunder and blade weaving, limbs and heads flying—within moments, all ten fell.

He moved to the next array, but was blocked by a squat, burly man with a bristling beard leading the formation—the only one present at the Sea of Energy stage, perhaps the third or fourth layer.

In terms of spiritual energy reserves, Ling Chi feared no one. Without hesitation, he swung his blade, thunder crackling against the killing array.

The bristly-bearded man’s great spear danced furiously, and the shield and blade soldiers and archers behind him attacked in concert, yet they could not suppress Ling Chi.

The bearded man grew furious, his movements quickening, his spear leaving a deep gash on Ling Chi’s arm. Pale golden blood flowed along his skin, but Ling Chi seemed oblivious.

The other soldiers quickly closed in, the formation before him unbroken, with enemies coming from behind. Ling Chi’s temper flared, his eyes shifting from thunderous glow to blazing scarlet.

He exhaled deeply, and the power of extreme yang erupted from the center of his sea of energy, coursing down his legs and stomping the ground. The mountains and woods shook, extreme yang enveloped every killing array, increasing the soldiers’ pressure.

Ling Chi seized the moment to attack fiercely, gathering thunder around him and pouring it in a torrent upon the array before him.

“Crack!”

You bastard, the turtle shell’s broken now. Ling Chi charged without hesitation at the bristly-bearded man.

The bearded man’s heart pounded like a drum. He forced out a mouthful of blood, spraying it onto his spear, which instantly burst forth with crimson light, confronting Ling Chi.

The heavy spearhead exuded a sharp aura, carving lines of white across Ling Chi’s skin.

Thunder surged around Ling Chi, reaching its zenith. He inhaled deeply.

[Hum]

A small dragon of thunder fog burst forth, its thunderous roar spreading across hundreds of meters, causing all who heard it to cry out in agony.

The bristly-bearded man, caught off guard, suffered a soul-shattering strike from the Hum character, his head spinning with dizziness.

Ling Chi stepped forward, Evil Slayer ablaze with blade light, slashing diagonally at his neck. Blood sprayed skyward, and the bristly-bearded man’s head flew.

“Master Xu!”

“Centurion!”

Voices echoed around, the first spoken words since the battle began.

Ling Chi had no time to spare a glance, immediately charging at the remaining soldiers. Without their killing array’s protection, the soldiers were like lambs awaiting slaughter.

Ten killing arrays formed from more than a hundred soldiers were shattered one by one by Ling Chi. Some soldiers, driven to despair, raised their weapons hoping for mutual destruction.

Ling Chi ignored them, focusing first on those who resisted fiercely. With their leader slain, the biggest effect was a collapse in morale; some had already begun planning to escape.

Ling Chi’s figure, accompanied by thunder, flashed across the battlefield, harvesting the lives of those fleeing.

The hunted soldiers, seeing escape was impossible, were gradually roused to ferocity, determined to fight like cornered beasts.

A group of twenty or so formed a circle, reestablishing an array; their desperation forced them to break through their limits, some even advancing in cultivation on the spot.

Ling Chi could only marvel at the sight—who was the protagonist here? Sudden breakthroughs in the heat of battle—shouldn’t such things happen to the main character?