Chapter 6
Fan Wuyi lunged.
His body moved in a blur, the aura of a late stage Qi Condensation expert flaring and his killing intent spiked through the roof.
But Liang didn't flinch.
CLANG!
In a single swift motion, he pulled the spear from his back and twisted it diagonally, the rosewood shaft intercepting the blow. A shockwave exploded from the point of impact, kicking up dust and pebbles around them.
The crowd whispered again.
"Isn't that a rose wood shaft"
"That's spirit, beast-forged steel…"
"Where did he even get that?"
"Wasn't he broke like last week?!"
Jia Zhelan's lips parted slightly. Her bloodied fingers clutched Liang's robe tighter. "Where'd he find that weapon?"
Fan Wuyi growled. "Where'd a loser like you find a spear like that?!"
Liang didn't answer. He simply spun the weapon once and stepped forward.
Fan surged forward again, summoning a gust of wind around his feet and vanishing in a blur. It was a wind technique called, The Wind Skimming Step.
Liang turned with it.
The butt of his spear cracked out sideways.
CRACK!
Fan's jaw snapped to the side, blood and a tooth flying out with the impact.
Fan Wuyi stumbled, but not for long. His qi ignited violently now, his veins bulging, his skin flickering with pale runes.
"Now you really want to die" he roared, slashing a dagger down toward Liang's shoulder.
Liang stepped inside the arc.
And stabbed.
"Piercing Lotus Awakens."
The spear tip spun like a blooming petal, then snapped forward.
SHLUNK!
The spear stabbed clean through Fan's right thigh. Blood gushed in a thick spurt like a geyser, staining the cobblestone red. Fan howled, dropping to one knee.
Liang ripped the spear out sideways with a SSHRRIP!, carving a jagged, bloody path along Fan's leg. The torn muscle was exposed for all to see.
Fan Wuyi shrieked, but then…
He clutched the bleeding wound, directing the flow of qi into it, and launched upward like a rabid beast. His eyes were bloodshot, his killing intent now feral. Almost beastlike.
He roared and slammed his palm down.
BAM!
Liang's body smashed into the dirt. His shoulder screamed in pain as the ground formed a crater beneath him. All the air was knocked out of his lungs. He gasped for air.
"Liang Chen!" someone in the crowd yelled.
Fan Wuyi jumped back, panting, then laughed.
"See? Trash will always be trash. Regardless of looks"
But as the smoke cleared…
Liang Chen was still standing.
Blood trickled from his lip. His robes were torn and tattered. His hand trembled.
But his silver-grey eyes were still locked on Fan Wuyi. He was calm, composed and relaxed. His opponent was agitated and a look of panic crept across Wuyi's face.
"You're the one bleeding." Liang Chen said.
Fan looked down and realized the stab wound hadn't clotted. Liang's qi-infused strike had severed the veins deep inside. His leg wasn't healing properly.
Fan's expression twisted.
"Fine. You want real pain?"
He unsheathed the saber at his hip. It was a medium length blade. It was curved, and engraved with glowing blue characters. It was a spirit weapon.
He fed his qi into it. The blade hissed, then roared to life, its edge surrounded in an aura of elemental wind.
Fan's killing intent surged. His intention wasn't just to prove a point anymore. His intention was to kill Liang Chen.
Liang's spear tip dropped to the ground.
His body shifted into a mixture of stances, his current stance and a stance he remembered from the previous timeline. His left hand low, right hand high, the shaft angled across his chest like a coiled snake.
"Try me."
Fan Wuyi flew at him.
Their weapons clashed in an orchestral symphony. Each strike was like a piece in an orchestra.
CLANG! CLANG! SCHINK!
Liang twisted, parried, and danced. Fan's saber slashed his arm, blood spilled, but Liang didn't stop.
He spun low, swept the spear behind Fan's ankle.
WHUMP!
Fan fell.
And then Liang moved.
"Piercing Lotus Blossoms."
He thrust the spear down, straight through Fan's shoulder.
CRUNCH!
The sound of shattering bone.
Fan screamed. The scream cut through the courtyard like a blade.
But Liang didn't stop.
Matter of fact, Liang Chen was only getting started.
He looked down at the mess he had created, there was blood everywhere on the floor. Fan Wuyi writhed, trying to crawl away, one arm dragging uselessly and limp behind him.
"You think this is over?" Fan spat, blood leaking from his lips. "You think…"
SHLICK!
Liang spun his spear around and brought it down. The strike was precise and clean.
Fan Wuyi's right hand, his weapon-wielding hand was completely severed. It flew in an arc, trailing blood before landing with a SPLAT! on the stone floor.
Gasps exploded from the watching crowd. Some turned away. Others couldn't look away.
Fan Wuyi stared at his severed hand for a brief moment as if he couldn't quite believe what he was seeing. Then he let out a blood-curling scream.
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
Fan Wuyi howled, cradling his stump and staring at it with disbelief.
Liang bent down, calmly picked up the hand. The fingers were still twitching slightly. He looked at it for a second.
Then he looked at Fan.
"I told you this would be the last thing you'd see before you die," Liang Chen said, waving the severed arm at Fan Wuyi's face.
Then Liang Chen slapped him.
WHAP!
The slap echoed throughout the entire courtyard.
Liang Chen slapped Fan Wuyi with his own severed hand.
Fan Wuyi collapsed unconscious from the sheer shock of it.
The courtyard was as silent as a graveyard, not even the wind dared to move.
Then…
DING!
A familiar chime echoed through his head.
[Quest Completed.
[Slap the Bastard Who Slapped You. Objective: Slap the person who disrespected you]
Rewards:
+15 Contribution Points, +1 Grade 1 herb(Moonlight aniseed)
[Item Unlocked: Fan Wuyi's Spirit Saber – "Whispering Gale"]
[Title Unlocked: "Petal of Spite"]
Title Effect of the Petal of Spite: For every enemy who once betrayed you, your combat effectiveness increases by 5% when facing them directly.
Additionally, slaying a betrayer grants an additional reward multiplier from the system.
Liang blinked.
"Huh," he muttered under his breath, "that's new."
He straightened up, stepping over Fan Wuyi's twitching body like it was something disgusting and repulsive, and looked around the stunned courtyard.
Not a single person met his eyes. They were all looking away now.
All of them were cowards.
Except for a single person.
"Liang…" a soft voice called out.
He turned.
Jia Zhelan stood shakily, bruised and bleeding, her left cheek swollen, one arm hanging limp.
Liang's expression softened when he saw her sorry state. He walked toward her, his spear clicking softly against the stone tiles with each step. Then, wordlessly, he slipped her arm over his shoulder.
"Let's go," he said gently.
She flinched at first, then leaned into him. For the first time in hours, her eyes stopped shaking.
He walked her slowly across the courtyard, past the whispering disciples, past the watching elders, past the puddle of Fan Wuyi's blood.