Chapter 67: Blades Flashing, Swords Clashing—What Can You Do to Me?

Inside the carriage...

Pei Xueyan sat curled up in the corner, hugging her knees, her body trembling uncontrollably...

Never in her life had she felt such cold—a chill that pierced to the very bone. Nor had she ever felt so helpless, as if abandoned by the entire world...

Perhaps that old Daoist wasn’t a charlatan; perhaps she truly was an ill-starred bringer of misfortune; perhaps she should have accepted his offer and followed him into the deep mountains to cultivate...

Outside the carriage.

Liu Shen stood in the curtain of rain, knife in hand, facing the group from the Chiba Gang, who, though surrounding him, dared not advance beyond several yards. He glanced at the dim, lifeless sky from the corner of his eye and silently praised the fortune of this night rain...

The Chiba Gang men wielded blades and wore fierce expressions, but exchanged nervous glances, reluctant to move forward. They seemed to be waiting for someone to take the lead.

A rabble, nothing more!

“Cowards!” barked a minor leader from the crowd. “That brat’s killing technique has its limits. There’s more than a dozen of us—are we really afraid of one man?”

Liu Shen’s gaze shifted. Brandishing his knife, he charged straight at the group, slashing at the one who’d spoken...

The leader’s heart skipped a beat at the sight, but he gritted his teeth and met Liu Shen’s attack head-on. How dangerous could a newly advanced second-rank martial artist truly be?

A cold flash sliced through the rainy night, and two blades clashed with a shriek of metal against metal...

His guess proved right! Liu Shen had unleashed his “Life as Heaven and Earth” technique in his opening move, hoping to kill one as a show of force and intimidate the rest, building momentum...

This technique concentrated all essence, energy, and spirit into a single strike. Once used, it was nearly impossible to summon the will for a second attempt in a short time. Forcing it would drain Liu Shen’s strength and spirit in three uses at most, leaving him unconscious!

So he had to take out the perceptive one first!

At first, seeing Liu Shen advance with such ferocity, the Chiba Gang men instinctively stepped back...

But when they saw their comrade block Liu Shen’s attack, realizing he wasn’t as fearsome as imagined, they exchanged glances and surged forward, blades raised...

The leader parried Liu Shen’s slash, and as more closed in from either side, Liu Shen thrust his foot into a puddle, sending muddy water splattering out...

The man on the left, not yet upon Liu Shen, was blinded by the flying mud...

Liu Shen deflected the blade from the right, seized the attacker’s wrist with his free hand, twisted his waist, and hurled the man—blades and all—into the one blinded by mud.

Their blades collided; the blinded man was stabbed clean through by his own ally’s steel, and the attacker himself was cut down by Liu Shen’s knife—both perished on the spot.

Though Liu Shen’s cunning move claimed two lives, the others pressed in on him...

Especially that fierce-eyed leader, who, as Liu Shen twisted away, stabbed forward like a venomous snake, aiming for his lower back.

Blades and shadows rained down; Liu Shen’s brow throbbed, his eyes bloodshot. He could spare no thought for conserving his energy—twisting aside, narrowly dodging the blade, he swung his knife wide.

“Life as Heaven and Earth!!”

His furious roar thundered through the storm, a blade of icy light slashing out...

The leader and two others saw only a flash of white. Stunned, their eyes went blank as blood spurted from their necks like fountains.

Liu Shen had slain three in a single stroke. He dared not relax for a moment. As blades flashed toward him, he rolled aside, deflecting two more strikes with his knife...

Pinned to the ground by two blades, he saw, out of the corner of his eye, someone making for the carriage...

Danger loomed!

Veins bulged on Liu Shen’s forehead as he pried away the blades pinning him, braced himself, and kicked viciously at both attackers’ groins.

The two howled in agony, eyes reddened, clutching themselves and stumbling back, colliding with their own allies and buying Liu Shen precious time...

Seizing the moment, Liu Shen sprang to his feet. Seeing a cunning one already scrambling onto the carriage, he hurled his battered goose-winged blade with all his might!

The man, hearing the whistle of metal behind him, turned just in time to see the spinning steel loom large in his vision—

He had no time even to scream before the blade struck him in the neck.

A spray of blood splattered across the carriage curtain as his body tumbled lifelessly to the ground...

Liu Shen spotted a discarded blade near a corpse, flicked it up with his toe, and caught it as it spun through the air...

Even before entering the fray, he had been planning how to build his own momentum. By now, that force had reached its peak!

In this short time, seven or eight had died by his hand, including three second-rank martial artists!

Two others, grievously wounded, rolled on the ground in agony, out of the fight.

He finally understood what Yu Shan had meant the other day, when he said, “Courage comes first in martial arts,” and why he could single-handedly block the Chishui Gang’s stronghold in a frenzy of killing!

Courage comes first—if all his opponents were such gutless wretches, he could do the same!

With this realization, Liu Shen’s aura grew ever more overwhelming; every glance, every movement exuded a soul-shaking presence.

He had forced himself to use “Life as Heaven and Earth” a second time, and now his head throbbed as if a file were grinding within it, veins bulging at his temples.

Yet, seeing the rabble before him broken by fear, he betrayed not a hint of exhaustion.

“Cowards!”

Liu Shen grinned, blood and rainwater streaming down his cheeks—a wild, arrogant, almost demonic sight.

Recalling Old Song’s words—“When the enemy falters and I am bold, nothing can stand in my way”—he shouted at the terrified men, “Flashing blades and flying swords—what can you do to me!?”

With that, he surged forward, knife raised, charging once more into the crowd!

So fierce and unrestrained was his manner, it seemed he was the hunter, not the hunted!

Among the few Chiba Gang members left, two were still second-rank martial artists, but seeing Liu Shen’s wild advance, their hearts froze with terror—they had lost the will to fight.

Liu Shen tore into them like a wolf among sheep, slashing down all who opposed him—none could withstand even a single exchange!

Elsewhere...

Hu Da and Yu Shan had traded dozens of blows, with Hu Da now struggling to keep up, his defense faltering.

Seeing his own men slaughtered by a mere second-rank youth, Hu Da’s rage drove blood from his lips and regret twisted his guts.

He’d taken a job from Pei Yingli, knowing well it was against the code and could not be made public. To keep things quiet, he’d sent some men home early and, with the rain, there were even fewer left in the stronghold.

If all his men had been present, how could these two upstarts have run so wild?

He cursed his own greed and lack of judgment, as well as the two fearsome demons who had ruined his plans.

Now, the tide had turned completely; he was at a disadvantage. If he didn’t act, his life might end here.

Hu Da longed to escape and rally his men to reclaim the advantage.

But the fight was fierce, and Yu Shan clung to him like tar—he couldn’t break free, much less flee!

Desperate, Hu Da caught sight of the carriage and seized upon an idea...

He adjusted his position as they fought, then feigned an opening in his defense, exposing his center as he parried the coachman’s blade.

As expected, the coachman seized the chance and landed a heavy kick to his chest. Though blood welled up in Hu Da’s throat, he managed a sly smile!

Using the force of the blow, he spun around and launched himself toward the carriage!

Yu Shan’s face changed as he realized the ruse. Leaping after Hu Da, he shouted, “Liu Shen!!”

...