Clang——
Inside the warehouse where rubble was falling like rain, a flash of cold light!
The moment Zhou Huaili crashed through the roof, Ye Jingtang stomped hard on the ground and leaped into the air. Holding a saber in his left hand, the silver blade unsheathed like a white rainbow piercing the sun and accurately struck the incoming sword edge.
Dong~
There was a clear and faint sound.
Accompanied by the sound of clothes being torn.
Zhou Huaili's swordsmanship was extremely sophisticated. While blocking with the side of his sword, the blade bent and sprang towards Ye Jingtang's shoulder, instantly slashing through the black robe.
This move could have severed the tendons and disabled Ye Jingtang's left arm.
But when the sword edge bounced up, what it brought out wasn't flesh and blood, but a silver soft armor that was unharmed!
Almost at the same time, the surging force contained in the long saber was transmitted to Zhou Huaili's body through his own sword.
Zhou Huaili was in mid-air with nowhere to gain leverage. With a body weighing over a hundred catties, how could he withstand Ye Jingtang's full burst of strength leaping from the ground? His figure was immediately sent bouncing upwards.
"Ha——"
Song Chi, who was falling, let out a fierce shout. With his elbow facing downwards, he delivered an extremely powerful elbow strike towards the back of Zhou Huaili's head, aiming to kill him with one blow.
But Zhou Huaili's swordsmanship was by no means overrated.
The long sword was smashed towards his body by Ye Jingtang's fiercely unleashed saber strike. Zhou Huaili directly used his arm to resist the blade.
Dong~
The sword blade bent and rebounded backwards around his body, almost forming a semi-arc, and accurately stabbed towards Song Chi's heart.
Song Chi's fighting style was fierce, and he dared to exchange injuries for injuries, but he definitely wouldn't do something as stupid as exchanging his life for injuries. Immediately, he moved his elbow aside and delivered a knee strike to Zhou Huaili's side waist.
Bang——
Although he had nowhere to gain leverage in mid-air, relying solely on the explosive power of his body, he still kicked Zhou Huaili sideways, crashing through the old wall of the warehouse.
Rumble——
Bricks and stones exploded!
Zhou Huaili was facing two opponents alone. Up to this point, he was still basically uninjured and even counterattacked with some fierce moves. However, he knew that if he continued to engage in a protracted battle, he would surely be at a disadvantage. The moment he broke through the wall, he wanted to flee towards the city.
But as soon as Zhou Huaili's feet landed on the riverbank, a sound came from behind:
Whoosh——
A violent saber wind crashed through the rain curtain, and the sound of breaking wind was almost shrill!
When he received the first saber strike just now, Zhou Huaili still had some doubts. But when this saber strike came at him with a terrifying momentum from behind, he could be certain that this was the Eight Steps Fierce Saber Technique that had disappeared from the martial arts world for thirty years!
If it were someone else, they would most likely be caught off guard by this saber strike.
But Zheng Feng was once one of the "Three Heroes of Yunze", and Zhou Huaili was from Zezhou. He was of the same generation as Zheng Feng and couldn't have never had a sparring match with him.
Although the saber momentum behind him was far more terrifying than Zheng Feng's, he, Zhou Huaili, was no longer the Zhou Huaili from his twenties.
As the saber strike approached, Zhou Huaili didn't even turn his head. He raised his left hand, and his right-hand long sword slapped towards his arm along the way.
Dong~
The sword blade bent in front of him and rebounded towards his back again. All the raindrops along the way were shattered into a white mist.
Ye Jingtang unleashed his full strength and slashed towards Zhou Huaili's left waist. He had already been on guard against the "Backstroke Sword". When the sword edge suddenly popped out from his left shoulder and directly stabbed towards his heart, it really startled him.
But when he saw that Zhou Huaili was stabbing towards his heart, Ye Jingtang ignored it and slashed down with all his might.
When Zhou Huaili struck with his sword, it arrived first despite being launched later. It stabbed at the position of Ye Jingtang's heart, which was a killing move. Even though Ye Jingtang was wearing a silver silk soft armor, he was confident that he could pierce through it.
But the indestructible green-edged sword, after piercing through the robe and the soft armor, hit something and couldn't penetrate any further, causing the sword edge to bend instantly.
Chacha——
The saber strike fell without any hesitation!
On Zhou Huaili, who was dodging sideways, a bloody gash instantly appeared under his left rib, and two of his ribs were directly broken!
"Ha——"
Song Chi had already rushed over in big strides. His figure was like a fierce tiger leaping out of the forest. When he was still three zhang (about 10 meters) away, he pounced forward and punched directly at Zhou Huaili's back, who was unsteady on his feet.
Dong——
The sound of a heavy punch hitting the flesh and the sound of the sword piercing through the flesh rang out simultaneously.
The rain curtain falling from the sky exploded on Zhou Huaili's back, and his entire body was sent flying forward, crashing into the stone platform by the river.
Bang——
Zhou Huaili's swordsmanship was quite excellent. If it were a one-on-one fight, Song Chi might not necessarily have the upper hand, and Ye Jingtang would definitely not be a match.
But facing two martial arts fanatics, one was covered in treasures and difficult to break through the defense, and the other was fearless of death and willing to exchange injuries. How could he deal with them with just one person and one sword?
Zhou Huaili crashed sideways into the stone platform and then fell onto the ground with flowing sewage. He spat out a mouthful of old blood from his teeth. Before he could push himself up from the ground, another saber strike without any gap fell again.
"Ha——"
Ye Jingtang was really furious today. At Zhou Manor, he was forced and threatened by Zhou Huaili's unreasonable arguments.
At that time, the situation wasn't right, and he couldn't cause a scene. Now that he had caught the opportunity, how could he leave this grudge overnight?
Ye Jingtang had no intention of holding back at all. He leaped into the air, spun around, and with a saber strike, he brought along the wind and rain in the sky and slashed towards Zhou Huaili, who was lying on the ground.
Whoosh——
Zhou Huaili knew how powerful the Eight Steps Fierce Saber Technique was. He directly used his left arm to resist the sword blade as a shield and blocked the saber edge.
Bang——
There was a loud explosion.
Waves were set off by the river, and the accumulated water on the riverbank was also lifted up by more than a foot.
All the old bricks and stones under Zhou Huaili's back were shattered, and his entire body was almost pushed into the ground by the saber strike.
There was a stone platform behind him, so it was impossible to move back. Rolling over and exposing his back would be courting death. So he could only flip over and bounce up.
But as soon as Zhou Huaili leaped up halfway, the fourth saber strike without any gap fell again!
"Ha——"
Ye Jingtang let out a fierce shout. His muscles bulged, and he held the saber with both hands above his head. Then he slashed down fiercely and struck the sword supported by the left arm again.
Clang——
Sparks flew in the rain curtain.
Zhou Huaili's sword didn't break, but his entire body sank another inch.
Clang——
Clang——
Clang——
Since the opponent had no room to move, Ye Jingtang no longer cared about the moves and just hacked downwards with the fourth saber strike.
With each saber strike, Zhou Huaili's body sank a little further.
The Eight Steps Fierce Saber Technique was too physically demanding. After just three saber strikes, Ye Jingtang's face was already flushed red, the veins on his forehead seemed about to burst, and his the area between the thumb and index finger was cracked open.
But as the one being hacked at, Zhou Huaili was in a much worse situation than Ye Jingtang!
The sword in his hand didn't break, but his left arm that was holding the sword was shaken into a fracture by the violent force. The raised arm gradually lowered inch by inch. As long as he couldn't hold on once, his head would surely be chopped off.
And even if he could hold on, it would be in vain.
Song Chi rushed to the front. He was forced by Ye Jingtang's crazy saber strikes and couldn't find an opportunity to strike. He was so anxious that he jumped around behind Ye Jingtang, wishing he could punch Ye Jingtang away and take over himself.
At this moment, it was already a sure-kill situation. Surprise and anger appeared in Zhou Huaili's eyes, and he angrily shouted:
"Stop!"
And from the distant night, a hurried shout also came:
"Spare his life under the saber!"
Ye Jingtang's saber strike landed. With his terrifying brute force, he pressed the saber firmly against Zhou Huaili's sword edge. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Chen Yuanqing, the Third Master, rushing over quickly, his face anxious and furious:
"What are you two doing?!"
Song Chi was covered in blood and had a very hot temper. He immediately replied:
"Beating this shameless bastard to death. What else could we be doing?"
Tap——
Chen Yuanqing landed nearby, anxious and angry:
"Zhou Chiyang is still alive. If you kill his brother, who will pay for this life?"
Zhou Huaili was pressed in the pit, and anger also appeared in his eyes:
"If you have the guts, do it! I'll trade my life for the entire Honghua Tower to be massacred. I won't feel the least bit at a loss. Let's see if you have the guts!"
Song Chi had always had a bad temper. Today, he had been humiliated at the Zhou family. When he encountered Zhou Huaili just now, he immediately had the intention to kill. He hit it off with Ye Jingtang and they attacked together.
Only now, after hearing Chen Yuanqing's words, did he remember that this shameless villain had a younger brother who ranked among the Eight Champions.
The Sword Saint Zhou Chiyang valued chivalry and righteousness. He indeed had a bad relationship with Zhou Huaili. Beating Zhou Huaili half to death might not draw his attention.
But if he really killed him, it would be a different matter.
For the revenge of killing a brother, if Zhou Chiyang ignored it, he would be seen as heartless and unrighteous. How could he still stand in the martial arts world in the future?
Song Chi wiped the rainwater off his face and realized that the situation was a bit difficult to deal with. He looked at Ye Jingtang:
"What should we do?"
Zhou Huaili knew that Honghua Tower didn't have the guts to kill him. He looked at Ye Jingtang with cold eyes:
"Do you really think you're invincible in the world? I'll let you hack at me today. If you have the guts..."
Puff——
The shining silver blade pressed against Zhou Huaili's chest slid upwards, directly piercing through his lower jaw and coming out from the top of his head. His words stopped abruptly.
The rainy night fell into silence!
Zhou Huaili looked at the young man in front of him in disbelief. His wide-open eyes were gradually stained red with blood, and the light in his eyes quickly faded.
"..."
Song Chi and Chen Yuanqing stood there, looking at Zhou Huaili, who died with his eyes open, their expressions dazed.
Chacha——
Ye Jingtang pulled out the saber, wiped the blood on the sleeve and wrist, put the saber back into the sheath with his backhand, and then wiped the rainwater off his face:
"Do you really think I don't dare to hack you..."
"..."
Song Chi stared with wide eyes. After being stunned for a while, he was anxious and angry:
"Jingtang, you..."
Chen Yuanqing's face turned pale. He looked at the completely dead body on the ground and angrily shouted:
"Song Chi! You brought Jingtang here and caused this trouble. You take responsibility for it yourself."
"How can I deal with Zhou Chiyang? ...Let's burn the body. No one saw it anyway!"
"Do you think the Zhou family is stupid? There was a conflict during the day, and you even threatened to massacre the entire Zhou family. Zhou Huaili died at night. Who else could have killed him?"
Song Chi wanted to say something, but looking at Chen Yuanqing's furious eyes, he fell silent.
Zhou Huaili suddenly died outside. Even a fool could guess that it was done by Honghua Tower.
If he took the blame, when Zhou Chiyang came looking for trouble, only he would die.
If he didn't take the blame, Ye Jingtang would have to. If Ye Jingtang died, Honghua Tower would be finished.
Chen Yuanqing looked at Ye Jingtang: "You go back quickly. Leave Qingyang with the leader immediately and pretend that you don't know about this matter. I'll send Song Chi back to Tiannan and hide in the official city for a while."
Ye Jingtang shook his head and said: "This matter can't be associated with Honghua Tower now. I'll find a way to deal with it."
"The person is already dead. How are you going to deal with it?"
Ye Jingtang picked up Zhou Huaili's body, threw it into the dock warehouse, found several barrels of oil and poured it on, and lit it with a fire starter to prevent people from seeing the punch marks on the skin.
Then Ye Jingtang took out the copper waist token of Jingwang Manor and nailed it to the wall with Zhou Huaili's sword.
When Song Chi saw the token of Jingwang Manor, his eyes lit up:
"The token of the Black Yamen... When the Zhou family sees this, they definitely won't act rashly. They'll have to figure out the intention of the imperial court first... But the Black Yamen won't take this blame. It will be exposed as soon as they ask..."
"Zhou Huaili disregarded the law and life. I saw injustice and drew my sword to help. It counts as doing a brave deed. I can explain it to Jingwang."
"Even if the Black Yamen takes the blame, the Zhou family can still find out who did it through their connections with the government. They will still come after you..."
"We'll worry about that when it happens. With this token here, at least they won't suspect Honghua Tower for the time being. As long as you give me some time, what can Zhou Chiyang do even if he comes?"
Chen Yuanqing thought this was the best solution for now. He turned around and left quickly:
"You go first. I'll go and inform the leader to leave immediately."
...
The fire gradually rose on the old dock, and voices could be heard faintly from a distance.
Ye Jingtang stood in front of the fire. When he saw the body gradually turning black, he turned around and jumped onto a small boat:
"Let's go."
Song Chi wiped the rainwater off his face, leaped onto the boat, pushed the boat away from the riverbank with a pole, and quickly rowed towards the Qingjiang River direction in the rain curtain. Along the way, he was still muttering:
"I shouldn't have gone out today. It was always Yuanqing who dragged me along before. You're so young, but why is your temper even more explosive than mine?"
"I showed my face. When I went in, I didn't plan to let Zhou Huaili leave alive. I had to kill him in the end."
"Sigh... We can't walk together in the future..."