Wandering Swordsman |

Before she finished speaking, Wei Honglian glanced at him, her eyes darting around as if she were not paying attention.

That one glance was like a poisonous orchid exhaling its fragrance under the moonlight, or a phantom rising from a deep pool.

Fu Jiang felt a jolt in his heart, his mind buzzing like thunder, and countless illusions appeared before his eyes—a red lotus dancing lightly, a fragrant breeze caressing his face, she reaching out her hand to him, her fingertips like blood… He involuntarily staggered forward half a step, a look of infatuation on his face, murmuring, “Little beauty…”

Upon hearing this, a cold glint flashed in Situ Changkong's eyes!

He had already suppressed his raging anger, only wanting to kill Fu Sheng and settle the blood feud.

But Fu Jiang dared to insult Wei Honglian in public—this was not only disrespectful, but also a trampling on his dignity and a desecration of their journey together!

"You're courting death!" Situ Changkong roared, his voice like that of a wild beast, shaking the copper bells at the gate and even causing the mountain wind to pause!

In an instant, he moved like lightning, his toes barely touching the ground, and the bluestone beneath his feet shattered with a "crack," spiderweb-like cracks spreading like angry snakes.

His black robes fluttered like the wings of a black crow, tearing through the twilight; though the true energy in his palms was not fully unleashed, it already contained the three layers of internal strength from the initial formation of the "Divine Martial Return to Truth Technique"—pure and ethereal like the wind of heaven, cold and formless like a spring, and transforming into rain as if dispelling evil—the three forces merged into a mountain-shattering force that returned to simplicity and truth, aiming straight for Fu Sheng's throat!

This strike is not for victory, but for killing!

Fu Sheng's pupils contracted sharply, and he instinctively blocked with his arm. At the same time, his left palm reached out like a tiger's claw and gripped Situ Changkong's pulse point.

The two clashed instantly, their fists and palms tearing through the air, their internal energy surging like a tide, causing the withered leaves in front of the village to swirl and dust to fly.

Fu Sheng's palm technique is fierce and domineering, each move deadly, with a gust of wind like a knife; while Situ Changkong uses the "Divine Martial Return to Truth Technique" to activate his internal energy. His moves seem plain and unremarkable, without any fancy afterimages or thunderous momentum, but each palm strike is like a mountain pressing down, and each finger strike is like a river flowing backward, concealing the power to collapse mountains and split the earth.

A hundred moves pass in the blink of an eye.

The two figures moved with lightning speed, their fists and palms clashing like the clang of metal on metal, the sound so loud it hurt the eardrums of those around them. They fought to a standstill, evenly matched!

Fu Sheng grew increasingly astonished as the battle progressed, a storm raging in his heart: "How...how can this kid possess such profound internal energy?! The martial arts of Jing Tian Pavilion aren't this formidable!!"

Little did he know that Situ Changkong had already severed ties with the past and rebuilt his martial arts based on the three ultimate techniques. Although he could only master the "Divine Martial Return to Truth Technique" to a basic level and could hardly make further progress, he had already begun to glimpse the wondrous realm of "Three Qi Returning to One." His internal energy was not only undamaged, but was even more condensed, purer, and more ruthless than before!

At that very moment—

A crimson shadow swept across the battlefield like a ghost, silent and still, like a phantom under the moon.

With a light tap of her fingertips, Wei Honglian sent a wisp of invisible and colorless poison into Fu Sheng's "Fengfu" acupoint on the back of his neck. The poison was made by her using a secret method; it was odorless and traceless, yet it could instantly disrupt the meridians and stagnate the true qi.

Fu Sheng was exerting all his internal energy when he suddenly felt a numbness in the back of his neck, as if he had been pierced by an ice needle. His internal energy suddenly became disordered, his moves faltered, and his chest was wide open!

"Now!" Situ Changkong's eyes flashed with murderous intent, like a cold star exploding.

He clasped his hands together and thrust them out—three colors of true energy intertwined and spun in his palms. Suddenly, the three forces merged into one, transforming into a spiraling energy that was barely visible to the naked eye, like a dragon swirling through his chest!

"boom!"

A muffled thud, like thunder striking a deep pool.

Fu Sheng felt as if he had been struck by a massive hammer blow to the chest; the sound of his bones shattering was clearly audible, his ribs were broken, and his internal organs were displaced.

His eyes were wide open, filled with disbelief and horror, and blood gushed from his mouth and nose, staining his brocade robe red.

He staggered back several steps, each step leaving a bloody mark on the ground, before finally collapsing to the ground with a thud, raising a cloud of dust, and falling silent.

The entire room fell silent.

Even the wind stopped, as if heaven and earth held their breath, not daring to disturb the final chapter of this blood debt.

The elite warriors of Qilin Village, who had been laughing and joking just moments before, now stood frozen in place like clay sculptures, forgetting even to breathe.

The once arrogant chieftain Fu Sheng was reduced to a corpse lying at the gate of the stronghold within a hundred moves! Their eyes no longer held contempt, only fear remained, as if the person before them was not flesh and blood, but Xie Ming reincarnated.

Fu Jiang was completely stunned, his face as pale as paper.

He stared at his father's fallen body, his chest heaving violently, his legs going weak, and he almost collapsed to his knees.

Just moments ago, he was consumed by lust, deluding himself into taking the woman in red as his concubine, but now he didn't even have the courage to look her in the eye—the woman still stood quietly like a lotus, her lips slightly upturned, her eyes sparkling with a half-smile, as if what had just killed him invisibly was not poison, but his own greed.

And Situ Changkong—no, at this moment, he was no longer the Situ Changkong who had been taken as a disciple by Situ Dengfeng. He looked down at Fu Sheng's corpse, his eyes devoid of sorrow or joy, only a cold sense of relief, like the moon reflected in a cold pool, clear and ruthless.

The Xie family's blood debt will be repaid in blood today!

The mountain wind rose again, swirling up the blood-stained dust and withered leaves, hovering low in front of the village gate, as if heaven and earth were sighing softly for this belated reckoning.

He slowly raised his head, his gaze as cold as ice, sweeping over Fu Sheng's corpse. His voice, deep yet resonant like a bell tolling through the heavens, echoed throughout the entire arena:

"I am Situ Changkong!"

Each word was deliberate and deliberate, as if carved from stone with a knife.

"My surname is Xie—Xie Changkong. I am the grandson of Xie Feng, the former leader of Qilin Village, and the only surviving member of the Xie family bloodline. I believe some of you know my identity!"

As soon as he finished speaking, he turned around abruptly, his gaze sharp as torches, sweeping over the entire Qilin Village crowd who were frozen in fear. His voice boomed like thunder:

"From this day forward, Qilin Village belongs to the Xie family once more!"

His tone was calm, yet carried an undeniable authority: "Those who wish to stay will serve me as their master and together preserve our ancestral heritage; those who wish to leave, I will not stop them, they may go as they please."

No one dared to speak out.

Even the wind dared not blow anymore.

Everyone lowered their heads, none daring to meet his gaze. That figure in black seemed to have become one with the spirit of Qilin Village—he had not come for revenge, but to reclaim what was rightfully his.

That night, thirty-six eternal lamps were lit in the main hall of Qilin Village, their flames like tears, illuminating the century-old dust of the ancestral hall.

Xie Changkong personally retrieved the remains of his parents and grandfather from a hidden stone cave in the back mountain, wrapped their bones in white silk, and buried them in the center of the Xie family ancestral tomb. He burned three sticks of incense, the smoke rising straight to the heavens; he kowtowed nine times, his forehead touching the ground, his blood staining the blue bricks.

Subsequently, he set up an altar in the ancestral hall, on which the ancestral tablets of the Xie family were enshrined, and the incense was relit, with candlelight as bright as day.

"Today," his voice was deep and firm, echoing between the beams and pillars of the ancestral hall, "I, Xie Changkong, return to my original surname, inherit the ancestral will, and take charge of Qilin Village!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the incense suddenly lit up, and the thirty-six ever-burning lamps trembled in unison, their flames rising an inch or so, and the blue smoke, like a dragon, spiraled straight up to the dome.

It was as if the spirits of the Xie family's ancestors in heaven had finally seen their bloodline return and wept with joy.

From that moment on, the martial world would never see "Situ Changkong" again—the boy who was adopted, protected, and given the name of hope by Jingtian Pavilion had vanished with the wind. Only Xie Changkong, the leader of Qilin Village, remained to avenge the old grudges with blood.

However, at that moment, a crimson shadow silently swept into the ancestral hall, without a sound, like a blood moon falling to earth.

Wei Honglian walked slowly, her long, blood-red lotus dress trailing behind the blue bricks, untouched by a speck of dust. Her expression was unusually solemn, her eyes like deep pools as she looked directly at Xie Changkong: "Brother Changkong! I just interrogated Fu Jiang, and he revealed some important information."

Xie Changkong turned around, his brows furrowing slightly: "What did he say?"

Wei Honglian paused, her voice extremely low, yet each word sharp as a needle: "He said... you have an older sister."