Inside the Mountain God Temple, the wind and rain swayed, and the bonfire was reduced to only a few glowing embers.
Ning Huaiyuan and Yue Pingshan stood beneath the statue of the Mountain God, both looking somewhat dazed. Only the disheveled little beggar, dripping with water, walked over step by step.
Muddy footprints from bare feet were left on the blue brick floor of the Mountain God Temple.
He looked to be only seventeen or eighteen years old, with a thin frame, clothes in tatters, and hair wet and messy. His face was covered in dry and wet patches, and he looked just like a little beggar, making it impossible to see his true appearance.
Only then did Yue Pingshan react. Although he was certain to die, he did not want any other innocent people to die on the spot here.
Therefore, he shouted to the little beggar, "Run!"
The little beggar did not react, but Ning Huaiyuan sneered. Among the three, his attire was most similar to the little beggar's, making them look like a large and a small beggar. However, he sneered and swung his sword at the beggar who had rashly walked into this place of life and death.
His heart was firm and ruthless; he could even kill his own fellow disciples with whom he lived and worked, so why would he hesitate to kill this poor, disheveled beggar he had met by chance?
Just like Yue Pingshan, his External Release of True Qi manifested as Sword Qi, enough to behead an enemy from three zhang away.
With one strike of the sword, a subtle, transparent ripple in the air formed before his Sword Edge, slicing through the night wind laden with rain as it struck toward the little beggar.
However, the little beggar seemed completely unaware, continuing to step forward. He pointed at Ning Huaiyuan and said, "Who are you trying to scare with that sword? I'm not afraid of you. Killing people requires paying with your life. If you don't stop immediately, I will report you to the authorities, and you will surely be sentenced to beheading in public."
The little beggar's voice was hoarse; it did not sound like that of a seventeen or eighteen-year-old, but rather like the mature voice of a forty or fifty-year-old.
Ning Huaiyuan's Sword Qi seemed to vanish without a trace the moment it touched him, not even cutting a single strand of hair.
Yue Pingshan and Ning Huaiyuan were both stunned. The little beggar had clearly used no Martial Arts, so how could he neutralize Ning Huaiyuan's Sword Qi? However, Ning Huaiyuan's shock lasted only a moment. His thoughts were clear: he had originally intended to kill Yue Pingshan, take his wealth and secret manuals, and then destroy the evidence. Now that this little beggar had stumbled upon them, it was merely a matter of killing one more person to silence them; he would not hesitate.
It was just that the previous strike had been a sure hit, so how had the opponent avoided it?
Ning Huaiyuan was cautious by nature. In this situation, he weighed the pros and cons in an instant. The top priority was to kill Yue Pingshan. It would be better to kill this little beggar of unknown origin who had come to spoil the fun, but if he could not succeed immediately, the greater threat, Yue Pingshan, should remain the priority.
So, after his mind was made up, Ning Huaiyuan ignored the little beggar and delivered a move, Phoenix Arrives in Auspicious Sign, toward Yue Pingshan.
Yue Pingshan and Ning Huaiyuan were fellow disciples and often sparred. Phoenix Arrives in Auspicious Sign was a lethal move of the Mount Hua Three Immortals Sword, faster and more fierce than the Return Home, Here I Come move Yue Pingshan had used to deter the beggars earlier. If he had a sword in his hand, Yue Pingshan would have had three ways to counter it. But now, he had no sword, his bare palms had not reached the level of Indestructible Vajra Body, and he had not mastered any Invisible Sword Qi. However, thanks to the little beggar's interruption, he had not been completely unprepared. He stood with his back against the blue brick wall of the Mountain God Temple, circulating his True Qi throughout his body. Although his hands were bare, they became as hard as iron and stone when infused with True Qi. They could not clash with a sharp sword, but he could dig into the brick wall behind him as if it were soft soil. In an instant, he dug out a large piece of brick and stone. Seeing the opponent's incoming move, he unexpectedly flung it, hitting Ning Huaiyuan head-on.
The fling contained the crushed brick dust and rotten mud he had pinched in his hands.
The throw was the large piece of blue brick he had dug out from the wall.
The technique used was the Hidden Weapon method of the "Green Pine Welcoming Guests" taught by Mount Hua. Both the dust and the brick were infused with True Qi. This adaptability truly exhausted all of Yue Pingshan's lifelong learning and his ability to react to the situation.
Ning Huaiyuan flicked his wrist, and the blue brick was sliced into several pieces before him. His Soft Sword danced like a silver snake, but no matter how high his sword technique or how strong his Internal Energy, he could not block all the brick fragments that formed a curtain, and his figure paused for a moment.
Yue Pingshan seized this opportunity. He had been forced into a dead end by Ning Huaiyuan with no room to maneuver, but now, seeing a glimmer of hope, his figure shot out like an arrow toward the open temple door. As long as he could get out of the Mountain God Temple, relying on his Lightness Skill and the cold, rainy wind, he would at least have no problem escaping.
His footsteps were light, his figure like an arrow, and in the blink of an eye, he had dashed out a zhang. Seeing the little beggar still standing there in a daze, a sense of compassion arose in his heart. Knowing the boy would surely die if he stayed, he grabbed the boy's shoulder, intending to take him along.
Although he wouldn't necessarily run away with him, he could at least throw the little beggar out once they were outside. Ning Huaiyuan would likely be in a hurry to chase him and wouldn't stop to kill anyone else. Even if he did stop to kill, Yue Pingshan would have used that time to run even further. In any case, it was a fair trade.
This thought flashed like lightning, but the moment he grabbed the little beggar's shoulder, he felt a numbness in his waist eye. His entire body instantly lost its strength and collapsed. He lost control of his body and balance in the air, falling to the ground. Due to momentum, he slid another zhang toward the temple door. Seeing the path to survival right in front of him, he could no longer crawl up.
Yue Pingshan lay on the ground, struggling to lift his head to look back at Ning Huaiyuan, while reaching out to touch his waist eye, only to find a silver needle as thin as an ox hair.
His whole body instantly turned cold, and he trembled as he said, "Cold Soul Silver Needle? Are you from the Luo Cult?"
"Senior Brother, you are joking." Ning Huaiyuan stood where he was and smiled calmly. Although he had been caught off guard by Yue Pingshan earlier, he had actually gone along with the plan, firing the needle at the opponent's back while watching him flee.
This Cold Soul Silver Needle was as thin as an ox hair and made no sound when fired. How could he have dodged it while fleeing? Furthermore, the Cold Soul Silver Needle caused instant numbness upon contact, leaving him at the mercy of others.
However, the little beggar was still standing there in a daze. Everything that had just happened seemed to have scared him silly, to the point where he no longer said anything funny, and had even forgotten to turn and run.
But Ning Huaiyuan now held the victory. He looked at the little beggar who had almost ruined his plans, tilted his head, and smiled: "Is Big Brother's Martial Arts very powerful?"
"Do you want to learn?"
Saying this, he stepped forward and used Yue Pingshan's Yinghuo Sword to stab toward the little beggar's chest.
Since the Sword Qi had no effect on him earlier, this time he would simply poke a transparent hole through him.
Ning Huaiyuan thought to himself.
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