C13 The Sword Was Without Fault(part I)

Chu Haoyun withdrew the green blade from Chen Hu's back with deliberate slowness and cast an indifferent glance at the group in the distance, their shock and fury palpable. He advanced with measured steps and inquired in a resonant tone, "Where's Brother Qin?"

"Excellent! You impudent boy, you've truly enraged me," Hee Zhanpeng said, his face darkening as the corner of his mouth twitched involuntarily. He hadn't anticipated Chu Haoyun's audacity to commit murder right before his eyes. Lin Beikong, standing to the side, squinted his eyes, a hint of mockery flickering across his expression.

With a subtle lift of his chin, Hee Zhanpeng signaled the three behind him, Ning Chen and his companions, to close in, encircling Chu Haoyun. Perched atop a large rock, Hee Zhanpeng looked down imperiously and declared, "Hand over the Celestial Key and kneel to acknowledge your wrongdoing, and I might allow you to see another day."

"I've yet to lay eyes on Brother Qin! If you release him, what harm is there in giving you the Celestial Key?" Chu Haoyun's gaze was icy, sharp as a blade. In a swift motion, the intricately crafted Celestial Key materialized in his palm.

At the sight of the key, Hee Zhanpeng and Lin Beikong's eyes gleamed with greed. They whispered to themselves, convinced that the Celestial Key—and the entry it represented—would be theirs.

"Wang Yue!" Hee Zhanpeng called out. The man beside Ning Chen nodded, understanding the command, and dragged the unconscious Qin Bing from amidst the scattered rocks.

Chu Haoyun's pupils narrowed at the sight of Qin Bing, his murderous intent surging. Qin Bing's severed arm was still bleeding, and the loss of his right arm—the one he wielded his sword with—was as good as a death sentence for a warrior, a fate more agonizing than death itself.

Chu Haoyun closed the distance quickly, halting abruptly when he was a mere twenty paces away. Across from him, Hee Zhanpeng's sneer spread; Chu Haoyun had walked right into the trap, surrounded by Ning Chen and his allies. A cruel curve played across Hee Zhanpeng's stern features as he nonchalantly kicked Qin Bing towards Chu Haoyun like one would a soccer ball.

"Killing such a worthless creature would only sully my hands. I'll return him to you, haha!" Hee Zhanpeng thought, smug in his belief that Chu Haoyun's escape was impossible. To offer hope only to dash it was, in his mind, the ultimate punishment.

"Bastard!" Chu Haoyun bellowed as he caught Qin Bing, who had been hurled toward him.

He could immediately tell that Hee Zhanpeng's kick had shattered several of Qin Bing's ribs. The excruciating pain twisted the unconscious man's face into a grimace.

"Seize the Celestial Key!" Chu Haoyun commanded as he caught Qin Bing, seizing the moment to defend against Ning Chen and the others as Hee Zhanpeng saw his chance and shouted orders.

In a flash, three powerful gusts converged from different directions. Chu Haoyun, gripping Qin Bing with one hand, parried with the other. His blade deflected two assaults and quickly zeroed in on the attacker with the weaker offense. Better to break one finger than to injure ten, he thought as he activated Flash, his sword swiftly finding its mark at the adversary's throat.

A glint of cold steel was all the onlookers saw before Chu Haoyun's speed multiplied, leaving a trail of afterimages. In a heartbeat, he reappeared a dozen steps away, and the eighth-level Body Forging disciple in that direction collapsed, blood gushing from his neck and staining the dark brown rocks.

"How is this possible?" Ning Chen's pupils shrank. Just half a month ago, this kid could barely block his attacks, yet now he had slain a peer nearly equal in strength with a single stroke.

Hee Zhanpeng's brow furrowed, his stern visage growing even darker. Lin Beikong's eyes sparkled with intent as he rose to his feet, his dagger at the ready for action. A sense of urgency took hold of both men. They had initially dismissed Chen Yiming's death at Haoyun's hands as a fluke, attributing it to external factors. But witnessing the sheer velocity of that sword strike set off alarm bells.

"Fall back! Cut off his retreat," Hee Zhanpeng commanded, advancing with a chilling and deadly presence that rippled through the air, weighing heavily on the heart. Ning Chen felt a surge of relief that he hadn't faced Chu Haoyun alone; otherwise, he might have ended up like his fallen comrade. The two retreated, effectively blocking Chu Haoyun's path of escape.

"Kid, you've done well. To kill a peer in a single move is impressive. If I hadn't seen it myself, I'd say you were relying on that speed technique, right? But remember, even with that, you're nothing but an ant in the eyes of a true master," Hee Zhanpeng said, his tone dark. He recognized that Chu Haoyun's strength was at the eighth level of Body Forging and that it was this uncanny speed that had allowed him to eliminate his comrade.

Chu Haoyun's eyes shimmered with a piercing chill as he sensed Qin Bing's weakening state. The excessive blood loss had plunged him into a prolonged coma. Without timely medical attention, the consequences would be far graver than mere incapacitation.

Hee Zhanpeng exerted immense pressure on him. As Chu Haoyun stepped forward, he detected a faint ripple of cosmic energy. At the pinnacle of the ninth level of Body Forging, Hee Zhanpeng was on the cusp of the Returning to Origin Stage, a realm that would allow him to harness his physical strength to its fullest and potentially draw upon the cosmic energy itself.

Chu Haoyun's gaze briefly met Lin Beikong's, who had been observing the battle with detached interest. Taking a deep breath, Chu Haoyun retorted with a cold laugh, "Don't act so superior. You're nothing but an ant who hasn't even reached the Returning to Origin Stage. What makes you think you can scoff at me?"

"Big talk for someone so outmatched! Today, I'll spare your life out of respect for Brother Lin, but I will break both your arms," Hee Zhanpeng declared, his steps halting as a fierce glint sparked in his eyes. With a piercing roar, he spread his arms wide, charging at Chu Haoyun with the ferocity of an Azure Roc unfurling its wings.

"Against the boss's Azure Roc Skill, all attempts at speed are futile," Ning Chen sneered, relishing the impending clash.

Human martial arts are often inspired by the natural world, with many techniques originating from the Fellbeasts. Hee Zhanpeng's Azure Roc Skill, a premium Yellow Level skill, was adapted from the formidable Azure Roc Fellbeast. In terms of speed, it was unmatched.

Chu Haoyun's vision blurred as Hee Zhanpeng closed in swiftly. His hand transformed into a blade, slicing through the air with lethal precision. The atmosphere vibrated with the force of the elementary force, tearing through the silence with a screeching howl. Instinctively, Chu Haoyun unleashed the Thunderbolt Swordsmanship.

Yet, as the sword's light flashed, Hee Zhanpeng parried with a dagger in his other hand, continuing his relentless assault. His true target was Qin Bing, whom Chu Haoyun was holding. Cursing under his breath, Chu Haoyun sidestepped, pulling Qin Bing out of the blade's path. In the nick of time, he activated the Flash, narrowly evading to a spot several meters to the side.

"Uh!" Although Chu Haoyun narrowly avoided Hee Zhanpeng's hand blade, he immediately felt an invisible force surge into his body, causing a slight numbness in his left shoulder and making Qin Bing drop to the ground. Before he could react further, Hee Zhanpeng's spectral figure reappeared before his eyes.

The dagger glinted with a chilling light, tracing a perilous arc. Chu Haoyun's eyes gleamed with a frosty light as he executed Flash, unleashing a triple burst of explosive power in an instant.

"Buzz!" The clash of weapons was overwhelmed by a dull thud of impact. Hee Zhanpeng's icy gaze flickered as an immense force from the dagger jolted through him, splitting his palm and causing blood to spurt, nearly forcing the dagger from his grasp.

Feeling the force reverberate, Hee Zhanpeng sensed an urgent warning within. His body, swift as a roc in flight, retreated rapidly, covering dozens of meters.

Seizing the moment, Chu Haoyun harnessed the purple elementary force within him to neutralize the threat to his left arm. With a firm grip of his left hand and a surge of elementary force, he experienced an overwhelming sensation. This was the first time he had channeled the elementary force in combat.