Chapter 43 - 42: Vast Sea Disciple

Chapter 43: Chapter 42: Vast Sea Disciple

Hearing Zheng Jun’s shout, Wang Lai froze for a moment before jumping up in fright. He looked nervously in the direction Zheng Jun’s blade was pointing. "Squad Leader, is it a remnant of the Qingshui Gang? I’ll go call for backup right now!"

Zheng Jun didn’t answer. Instead, the man drinking in the corner spoke up. "What Qingshui Gang? I am the ninth disciple of True Man Yuan Yi of the Vast Sea Sect. My surname is Bian, and my given name is Kuang."

With that, Bian Kuang stood up and casually lifted the Wide-Backed Saber leaning against the bench. "I heard that my seventh senior brother died in Black Mountain County," he said leisurely. "The sect sent me to see what exactly happened.

"At first, I didn’t believe it when they said he died at the hands of a Blood Refining Martial Artist. After I arrived, I heard something about you cleaving Zhang Qingyu in half with a saber, which made the rumors sound even more exaggerated. But seeing you in person today, I finally understand that a great reputation is never unearned."

The Vast Sea Sect had finally arrived. From the looks of it, he was a Qi Storage Martial Artist.

Hearing this, Zheng Jun’s eyes turned icy. Gripping his Ceremonial Saber, he completely ignored the man’s words and took a step forward. His internal organs surged with power all at once, and his bones and tendons vibrated, emitting the Tiger Leopard Thunder Sound.

With the bulging veins in his arms erupting with terrifying strength, Zheng Jun raised his blade and slashed down like crashing waves against the shore.

Watching Zheng Jun’s sweeping blade, a flash of disbelief crossed Bian Kuang’s eyes. He immediately raised his Wide-Backed Saber, using the Wave Overlapping Form to block.

Zheng Jun’s strike left him with absolutely no room to dodge or retreat.

Bian Kuang wondered how a Blood Refining Martial Artist could be this capable. He had never considered this possibility. He had come prepared, assuming that no matter how strong Zheng Jun was, he couldn’t possibly match a Qi Storage Martial Artist.

The battle records he had asked about earlier weren’t achieved by Zheng Jun alone. In a one-on-one fight, his performance should have been far inferior to that of someone in the Qi Storage Realm.

But Zheng Jun’s slash today made Bian Kuang’s heart leap into his throat. Even if this strike wasn’t at the Qi Storage Realm, it wasn’t far off. He couldn’t fathom how Zheng Jun could deliver a blow comparable to a Qi Storage Martial Artist’s nurtured True Qi using just Qi Blood Power. Was the man even human?

Even noble Crown Princes with True Monarch bloodlines or ancient dragon-spawned demon seeds were probably only at this level!

Gritting his teeth, a ruthless glint flashed in Bian Kuang’s eyes as he swung back at Zheng Jun. He thought, "I am a dignified Qi Storage Martial Artist! How can I lose to a mere Blood Refining Martial Artist in terms of raw strength?"

Trembling with rage, Bian Kuang channeled all his Qi and Blood. The True Qi stored within his Dantian spilled out madly as he slashed toward Zheng Jun, aiming straight for the neck to finish him in one blow.

Transitioning from the Wave Overlapping Form to the Wave-breaking Form in such a hurry was slightly awkward, even though Bian Kuang had mastered the Wave-Treading Blade Technique long ago. As a result of this brief stutter, he failed to lead with the edge of the blade, instead only slamming the back of the saber forward.

BOOM!

With a loud boom and the screech of clashing metal, Zheng Jun was swatted away by the sheer force of the Wide-Backed Saber. He crashed onto the neighboring table, stumbling a few steps before finally steadying himself.

Meanwhile, the webbing between Bian Kuang’s thumb and index finger had completely split open, bleeding profusely.

"Hiss..."

Bian Kuang stared at Zheng Jun, his eyes now filled with intense dread.

Horizontal Training! How could someone so young be skilled in Horizontal Training?

For a moment, Bian Kuang didn’t know what to say. His heart was already beating a hasty retreat.

The reason was simple: Zheng Jun’s performance was just too bizarre. He was clearly a commoner from a county town, so how could he pull out one trump card after another? Horizontal Training was the most time-consuming skill of all. At his age, unless he had been raised on medicinal diets since childhood, how could he possibly have achieved Great Success in Horizontal Training?

He wondered if he had found the wrong person.

While Bian Kuang was gripped by fear, Zheng Jun had already advanced with his saber. He let out a long, resounding whistle, unable to contain the exhilarating thrill in his heart.

Why? Because...

[Attacked. Hard Qi Skill repayment progress +85. Current repayment progress: 104/2500.]

He thought, "Just a single blow has increased my Hard Qi Skill repayment progress by so much! It seems I really need to find people to fight. Having those Black Officials hit me is far too slow!

"This Bian Kuang’s strength is far inferior to Zhang Qingyu and Tian Zhenyuan. He is barely a notch above Lou Wei, making him my absolute perfect opponent!

"Are there actually Qi Storage Martial Artists at this level? Could this be the true average standard of a Qi Storage Martial Artist?!"

At this thought, Zheng Jun surged with excitement, his Qi and Blood rising uncontrollably. This majestic Qi and Blood almost seemed to materialize; to Bian Kuang’s eyes, it was as if he were staring at an erupting Melting Furnace.

Terrified by Zheng Jun’s long whistle, Bian Kuang immediately cupped his fists and said politely, "Squad Leader Zheng, my hands were simply itching for a fight. I only came to test the waters, I meant no ill will. Enemies should be resolved, not made. As for this matter..."

Bian Kuang thought, "What the hell am I even doing here? Why didn’t I ask my senior brother to come with me?"

He was already filled with regret. He had assumed his target was merely a slightly capable Blood Refining Martial Artist. Since he himself had been in the Qi Storage Realm for over a year, he had figured it would be easy to capture and kill him. Only after arriving did he realize that something was terribly wrong.

Bian Kuang felt that not only could he not take down Zheng Jun, but he might also end up injured. So what if his seventh senior brother, Lou Wei, was dead? The dead could not be resurrected. The departed were gone, and the living had to carry on. The dead were already dead, and the living still had to continue living.

Hearing Bian Kuang’s words, the corners of Zheng Jun’s mouth curled up slightly.

Zheng Jun thought, "A thousand words boil down to a single sentence: Sigh, can we just make peace?"

"So it was all a misunderstanding," Zheng Jun said slowly.

Hearing Zheng Jun’s response, Bian Kuang breathed a sigh of relief. He opened his mouth, just about to say something else, when he suddenly saw Zheng Jun channel all his Qi and Blood. The Ceremonial Saber was raised, instantly drawing a blade arc as it slashed right at him!

The speed was as fast as lightning!

"Crap!" Bian Kuang’s heart jolted. He frantically raised his blade to block.

CLANG!

The incoming Ceremonial Saber was deflected by his Wide-Backed Saber. However, to Bian Kuang’s horror, the tremendous force bounced right back after the initial recoil. Zheng Jun’s figure blurred as he delivered a second slash!

CRACK!

With one slash, Bian Kuang’s entire right arm was torn off!

"Ah!" Bian Kuang screamed in agony. His right arm, still gripping the Wide-Backed Saber, plummeted straight to the floor. In just a few breaths, the Qi Storage Realm martial artist Bian Kuang had been completely defeated by Zheng Jun.

Overwhelmed by the agonizing pain of his severed limb, Bian Kuang didn’t hesitate for a second. Forcing through the torment, his feet moved like the wind, skimming the ground like a dragonfly. In the blink of an eye, he threw himself through the window, executing the Wave-Treading Step as he fled for his life.

Standing in front of the window, Zheng Jun merely watched the frantically fleeing Bian Kuang without giving chase.

"Squad Leader! Squad Leader!" Wang Lai immediately rushed over and said excitedly, "Squad Leader, you are incredibly mighty! This Vast Sea Sect sure has a lot of nerve!"

Meanwhile, the Black Officials and constables upstairs heard the commotion and hurried down. Seeing the severed arm and the Wide-Backed Saber, they immediately understood what had happened.

"A scoundrel just tried to assassinate the Squad Leader! The thief has been injured by him! Apprehend the villain quickly, there will be a heavy re—"

Before Wang Lai could finish, Zheng Jun cut him off. "That man is a Qi Storage Martial Artist. Even with a severed arm, he’s exceptionally dangerous. There’s no need to pursue him."

Hearing Zheng Jun say this, Wang Lai instantly looked sheepish and backed down.

However, as Zheng Jun gazed in the direction Bian Kuang had fled, the corners of his mouth curled up slightly.

"This is like someone handing me a pillow right when I’m dozing off."

Zheng Jun sighed emotionally, feeling that Bian Kuang had arrived at the perfect time.

Today, the Qingshui Gang had committed treason. At the critical moment of their encirclement and suppression, an armed disciple of the Vast Sea Sect had appeared on the streets. Furthermore, he had attempted to assassinate Zheng Jun—the very man who had slain the Qingshui Gang Leader, Zhang Qingyu, during the raid!

He thought, "Your Vast Sea Sect might not have been involved in the case before, but you certainly are now!"

Normally, seeking revenge like Bian Kuang just did was fairly common in the Great Zhou Dynasty. As long as the assassination target wasn’t a ranked official, it would mostly be judged as a Jianghu matter.

But things were different now. This now involved suspected treason.

A major case of treason was an untouchable taboo across all dynasties!

He could only say that the Vast Sea Sect had severely miscalculated their timing.

Zheng Jun, who had been worrying about how to deal with an entire Sect, now had the perfect excuse.

Amidst these thoughts, Zheng Jun also thought to himself with a hint of regret, "It’s just a pity I didn’t get an advance on the Wave-Treading Saber. Otherwise, that brief exchange would have caused my repayment progress to skyrocket once again."