Killing Monks

The sword light was as cold as frost, yet incomparably sharp, slicing through the sky and heading straight for the leader of the men in black.

The leader of the men in black reacted extremely quickly, suddenly retreating, but the sword light was too fast!

"laugh!"

With a soft sound, a bloody gash appeared on his large, hardened hand.

Blood seeped out and dripped between his fingers.

The leader of the men in black looked down at his hands, his face showing astonishment.

His Nine Dragons Overlord Body was broken.

"Taiyin Sword Technique," he said in a deep voice, raising his eyes to look at the person holding the sword.

It was the swordsman who protected Lord Yin and his family.

He adopted a peculiar sword stance, with the tip of his sword pointing diagonally to the ground, and gripped the longsword with both hands.

The leader of the men in black looked at his bleeding hand, his muscles twitching as he forcefully squeezed the wound shut, stopping the bleeding.

But the sword mark is still there.

"Who exactly are you?" he stared at the sword-wielding man and couldn't help but ask again.

It's not unusual for someone with a military background to be skilled in the Thirteen Bodyguards' external martial arts.

However, the Taiyin Sword Technique was a unique skill created by Liu Yuan, the founding emperor of the Western Han Dynasty and the Taiyin Sword Saint. It was incomparably sharp and difficult to master. Even within the Western Han Dynasty itself, only a handful of people could truly master it.

How could a soldier from the Northern Zhou Dynasty know the Zhenguo Sword Technique of the Western Han Dynasty?

The man with the sword did not answer.

He simply raised his sword slowly, the tip trembling slightly, the sword light reflecting a cool halo on the blade.

"Ten swords," he said in a low voice, "the third sword."

"Ten swords?"

The leader of the men in black frowned, having no recollection of the name.

But he didn't have time to think about it.

Because the sword had already moved.

He roared, and his aura suddenly surged, with a faint layer of protective energy emanating from his body and enveloping him.

【Nine Dragons Overlord Body - Protective Aura】!

He had been suppressing his cultivation level to conceal his identity. Now, he couldn't care less.

The task is urgent.

Leave no one alive!

The two of them took action at the same time.

The sword light cascaded like moonlight, cold and deadly—the very essence of the third strike of the Taiyin Sword Technique. Wherever the sword's edge passed, even the air itself was cleaved into tiny cracks.

The force of the punches was like a mountain collapsing and the earth splitting, powerful and heavy, each punch carrying the power to split mountains and shatter rocks. Wherever the wind from the punches went, the ground cracked and fragments of stone flew everywhere.

"boom--!"

The shockwave from their collision knocked everything within a ten-foot radius to the ground.

The official road was cracked with deep ravines, and the trees along the roadside were snapped in half, their branches and leaves flying everywhere.

This is the true strength of a martial artist at the Earth Realm.

Guangyuan retreated far away, his chest rising and falling slightly. He looked in the direction where the two were fighting, then suddenly raised his hand and gently pressed it against the mirror on his chest.

Mirror of Observation.

The mirror surface was slightly cool, and a layer of invisible light faintly shimmered on it.

As the light swirled, the figures of several men in black clearly appeared on the mirror, including the leader who was locked in combat with the sword-wielding man.

In the distance, the black-clad men who were besieging the old man suddenly stopped.

Their eyes became unfocused, as if something had captured their attention. Something faint and elusive had silently crept into their hard-won hearts.

It was just a moment of stunned silence at first.

But when masters clash, a single moment is enough.

The old man seized the opportunity and viciously grabbed one of the men's throats with his claw. Although it couldn't break through the external martial arts technique, it still forced the man to stagger back three steps.

On Guangyuan's side, two men in black rushed over, but their punches and kicks were a beat slow, as if their limbs were not obeying their commands. They threw right punches when they were supposed to throw left punches.

He took a step forward, but actually took a step back.

How can you hit someone like that?

Guangyuan dodged to the side, then pressed a palm against the back of one of them, his insidious true energy penetrating the body.

"thump!"

The man in black collapsed to the ground, struggling to get up, but his limbs felt as limp as lead. The others were treated the same way by Guangyuan.

"You bald monk, what kind of sorcery is this?!"

"Monk!"

"Brother, this monk is strange!"

Several men in black lay on the ground, roaring angrily, but they couldn't get up no matter what they did.

This is Guangyuan's understanding of the "Drawing Demons and Contemplating the Mind Technique".

This technique was originally an evil method used in conjunction with the Mirror of Observation to "plant demons" and "manipulate" others. Guangyuan disliked manipulating other people's minds, so he took a different approach and used it only to interfere with, confuse, and create chaos.

The current situation is exactly what we need.

Over there, the leader of the men in black was locked in fierce combat with the Third Sword.

His fists were fierce and powerful, each strike heavy and forceful, but suddenly he felt a sense of disorientation, as if something was pulling at his mind.

His face flashed by in the Mirror of Observation.

In that instant of distraction, the third sword struck.

The sword light, like moonlight pouring down, slashed fiercely at his chest.

"laugh!"

Blood splattered everywhere.

The leader of the men in black grunted and staggered back several steps. He looked down at the deep, bone-revealing sword wound on his chest, his eyes filled with malice.

Something strange happened today.

The assessment of the enemy was flawed, and then that wicked monk caused trouble...

He took a deep breath, and suddenly a phantom dragon shadow appeared around him, swirling and coiling.

Immediately, a punch was unleashed, and a dragon's roar shook the heavens!

The third sword strike was parried horizontally, but the punch sent him staggering back more than ten steps.

Taking advantage of the moment, the leader of the men in black darted forward and appeared in front of the men lying on the ground. He grabbed two men, one in each hand, and with a stomp of his foot, lifted up two more.

"Walk!"

Without turning his head, he led a few men and disappeared into the mountains beside the distant official road.

The official road was in complete disarray.

The old man, leaning against the carriage, was panting heavily. The swordsman sheathed his sword and stared solemnly at the vanished figure of the leader of the men in black.

The young couple held their child tightly, trembling.

"Thank you so much..."

The old man turned around, looked at Guangyuan's strange attire—half monk, half layman—and bowed solemnly to him.

"...The master offered his help."

He was still breathing heavily, his chest heaving, yet his manners remained impeccable. The bearing of a high-ranking official was on full display at that moment.

Guangyuan returned the greeting.

He did not use the etiquette of a monk, but rather the fist-and-palm salute of a wandering swordsman.

He had figured it out. Coming into this world was nothing but a coincidence. There was no manipulation by Buddha, nor was there any arrangement of fate. He was just an ordinary person.

If that's the case, then there's no need to be a monk anymore.

He wants to go back to being an ordinary person.

"It is the duty to stand up for what is right when one sees injustice on the road."

"Monk, what courage!"

The swordsman who called himself the Third Swordsman walked over and looked Guangyuan up and down.

He could tell at a glance that Guangyuan's cultivation had not yet reached the Earth Realm.

With such cultivation, to still lend a helping hand when faced with a group of people—this courage deserves praise.

"This is my third sword." He clasped his hands in a fist salute.

"Guangyuan".

The old man stepped forward and cupped his hands in greeting: "I am Yin Ping."

He turned to the young couple and child: "This is my daughter, son-in-law, and grandson."

The couple quickly brought their child forward, thanking them repeatedly. The woman's eyes were still red, her voice trembled, and she could barely speak.

The child hid behind his mother, peeking out half his head and looking timidly at Guangyuan.

After expressing their gratitude, the group tidied up the messy carriage and continued on their way.

Guangyuan and Yinping walked side by side, while the Third Sword was at the front, alertly watching their surroundings.

After walking for a while, Guangyuan asked, "From what you just said, old man, those assassins seemed to be Imperial Guards?"

He paused.

"What did you do, old man, to incur such hatred from the Emperor of Great Zhou?"