SS CH55

Lu Mingyuan was the final personal disciple under Ruan Feiyu’s tutelage. Having been brilliant and diligent since childhood, he attained fame as a youth. His Benlei Palm—the Benlei (Benlei means “running thunder”) Palm—had inherited the true lineage of his master, and no peer within Sanmei Academy could compare to him. Unfortunately, his personality leaned toward a pedantic stiffness from over-studying poetry and classics. Though his scholarship and martial arts were flawless in every aspect, he lacked the capacity for adaptability. As a result, the “Luanyu Qi” (Luanyu Qi means “scattered rain chess”) concealed weapon technique—a method by which the Southern Confucian scholar Ruan Feiyu was renowned throughout the world—was less effective in Lu Mingyuan’s hands than tossing a handful of iron beans. Consequently, he abandoned any thought of learning concealed weapons, opting instead to pair a white paper fan with his palm strikes, punches, and footwork, embodying a state of being as still as a virgin and as swift as an escaping hare.

The moment his words fell, his foot kicked off the ground, launching him forward like an arrow released from a bowstring. The white paper fan in his hand transformed into a streak of snow-white flowing light. The instant he planted his feet, he struck out seven consecutive times against Boss He, as rapid as a peal of thunder.

Qin Lanchang saw the exchanges with absolute clarity. Lu Mingyuan fought to restrain rather than to kill; his strikes carried no murderous intent, which inherently should have restricted his movements. Yet, his execution was crisp and agile. Within a fraction of a second, he locked onto his opponent’s open vulnerabilities, showing unmatched speed in both reaction and form, with every single move testifying to his profound internal cultivation.

She gasped inwardly at the sight, thinking, It looks like this bookworm didn’t eat eight more years of rice than me for nothing.

Even as this thought crossed her mind, she did not dare lose her focus. Right at that moment, she saw Boss He take a step backward.

With just a single step, he evaded the seven acupuncture point strikes Lu Mingyuan had aimed at his vulnerabilities. A man so short, fat, and heavy managed to shift his form like a moving shadow within that single stride. Lu Mingyuan felt his vision blur, and the chime of a bell rang in his ear.

The bell chime was close at hand!

Lu Mingyuan’s expression shifted drastically as the Mingfeng Halberd lunged directly at his face within that same stride. This single movement both widened the distance between the two and seized an opening to threaten his life. The crescent blade tore through the wind and pierced the rain, glinting like celestial light, arriving beside his neck in that split second!

Not daring to treat the attack lightly, Lu Mingyuan raised his white paper fan vertically to block. A surge of immense force traveled down the weapon, numbing the web of his thumb. He immediately let go of his grip, riding the momentum to lean backward, narrowly dodging beneath the tip of the halberd as the fierce wind sliced a lock of his hair. Lu Mingyuan launched a kick upward, striking the shaft of the halberd.

He channeled eighty percent of his strength into this kick. Although he successfully forced the halberd shaft upward, his right leg went numb for a brief moment. Seizing this opportunity, Lu Mingyuan advanced instead of retreating. His white paper fan unfurled against the wind, resembling a heavenly blade carrying a flying rainbow as it slashed toward Boss He’s face.

The Mingfeng Halberd was heavy and powerful, but once a long weapon was breached at close quarters, it could no longer be wielded effectively.

Lu Mingyuan had calculated an excellent strategy.

Yet, in that exact instant, Ruan Feiyu barked out, “Retreat!”

Before Lu Mingyuan could even react, a sharp screech of grinding metal rang out. The long shaft of the halberd actually separated from the middle, revealing a hidden chain concealed inside. Pulled back by Boss He, the chain whipped around, sending the halberd tip lashing back in a counterattack!

The bells chimed with increasing urgency. Boss He’s heavy body spun nimbly on the spot, evading the fan strike aimed at his face, while the chain whirled around into a streak of cold light. The razor-sharp halberd tip followed the momentum, arriving beside Lu Mingyuan’s head in the blink of an eye, poised to slit his throat and seal his death!

Qin Lanchang’s sword had already left its scabbard, but she wasn’t fast enough.

Fortunately, there was someone else who struck even faster.

A single pebble shot out like lightning from Ruan Feiyu’s hand. Traversing the tyrannical, fierce wind at an incredibly deceptive angle, it arrived ahead of the attack, piercing clean through Boss He’s arm that held the halberd!

The pebble was barely larger than a field bean, and its edges weren’t particularly sharp. Yet, after tearing through flesh and bone, its momentum remained unspent as it shot another three zhang out, embedding itself deep into a tree trunk.

It was too fast—so fast that neither Lu Mingyuan nor Qin Lanchang could see it clearly, and so fast that Boss He didn’t even feel the pain immediately.

However, the force in his hand slackened, causing the halberd shaft to sink downward. The halberd tip that was originally meant to slit Lu Mingyuan’s throat dropped along with the momentum, slicing a shallow bloody furrow across his right shoulder. Still shaken, Lu Mingyuan felt his belt grabbed by a rushing Qin Lanchang, who dragged and hauled him back out of harm’s way.

Only then did blood come spurting out from the punctured wound on Boss He’s arm, splattering onto the ground and quickly merging with the weeds and rotting soil.

Boss He’s face paled, yet no sign of pain showed on his features. He pressed a hidden mechanism, causing the chain to snap back inside, and the halberd shaft locked back together as it was before.

Switching hands to grip the Mingfeng Halberd, he said to Ruan Feiyu, “An intervention by Chancellor Ruan is indeed extraordinary. Is this… the ‘Luanyu Qi’?”

The drizzle in the sky grew heavier. Ruan Feiyu used a handkerchief to cover his mouth, coughing a few times like a dying invalid.

With his clothes and hair soaked by the rain, he appeared even more withered and gaunt, resembling an old beast stripped of its fur—bony and frail, yet showing no hunch in his spine.

He shook his head, stepping past Lu Mingyuan and Qin Lanchang. The handkerchief drifted from his palm, settling over the muddy ground. Ruan Feiyu offered a smile to Boss He, who stood two zhang away. “This is the true Luanyu Qi.”

Within the brief duration of those six words, his hands had already raised. His fingers, palms, wrists, and arms moved in rapid succession within the curtain of rain. No one could discern exactly how many times he had moved within the interval of those six words; his hands seemed to detach from skin, flesh, and bone at this moment, completely merging into the falling rain.

A single man with two hands managed to suspend the rain within half a foot around his body for the span of six breaths.

Boss He couldn’t see his movements clearly, yet he already felt a prickling sensation like thorns against his back. He whirled the Mingfeng Halberd like a full moon, tearing through the wind and rain to carve out a relatively safe perimeter of protection for himself.

But in the next instant, all three of them heard a strange noise.

Extremely light, extremely fast, and incredibly sharp, it sounded as though ten thousand arrows had been unleashed simultaneously, synchronized by an invisible force, locking down his paths of retreat from both front and back with no escape possible.

This entire space between heaven and earth was filled with falling rain; where else could he flee?

The chaotic raindrops around him were frozen into ice by a chilling internal energy within those six breaths. In a flash, they seized every opening, pelting against the Mingfeng Halberd in a continuous, deafening bang-bang-bang, as if struck by a sweeping deluge of iron lotus seeds. The force of the continuous ricochets battered against the hand holding the halberd, tearing through his meridians.

A chill gripped Boss He’s heart. He stomped his left foot onto the instep of his right foot, using the counter-force to launch his body upward into the air to escape the onslaught. At the same time, the Mingfeng Halberd split open once more, its chain extending to its absolute limit. Gripping the halberd shaft tightly with one hand, he forcefully twisted his body mid-air. Driven by the swinging momentum of the chain, the halberd tip transformed into a plunging moon, diving straight toward Ruan Feiyu!

This strike came with terrifying speed. Ruan Feiyu’s body swayed, and the halberd tip grazed past his form, slicing across his chest, tearing his clothing, and leaving a bloody gash!

In the next instant, Ruan Feiyu caught the chain with one hand. His gaunt body spun along with the momentum, dragging the halberd tip to wheel around and strike back toward Boss He’s face. Suspended mid-air with no point of leverage, Boss He could only retract his strength in panic, using the momentum of his descent to pull the halberd tip off course. Although he broke the lethal strike, he also spent his residual force, stumbling upon landing and failing to launch an immediate counterattack.

This brief moment of delay was more than enough for Ruan Feiyu.

He unfurled his left hand, revealing five thin shards of ice formed from the rainwater during the battle, barely the size and thickness of a fingernail.

Ice formed from rainwater was colorless and transparent; when flicked out within the vast curtain of rain, no one could possibly notice it.

His shoulder, chest, abdomen, leg, and hand were struck almost simultaneously, as the icy internal energy pierced through his bones and occupied his five major acupuncture points. The internal energy that was originally circulating through his meridians suddenly seized; a moment later, a violent, piercing pain erupted inside Boss He’s body. Blood spots surfaced one after another across his exposed skin, only to be quickly washed away by the rain!

Boss He instantly found the pain unbearable. Yet, gnawing his teeth, he refused to sit still and wait for death, nor would he retract his halberd to defend. Instead, his feet surged forward as the bells wailed dismally, and the Mingfeng Halberd transformed into a streak of cold light, piercing toward Ruan Feiyu’s chest!

This single thrust was incredibly swift and unstoppable. Forget a dying old man; even a man built like an iron tower would be pierced clean through his chest and hoisted aloft by this strike!

Ruan Feiyu merely stood on the spot, remaining completely motionless.

Rumors in the martial world claimed that “Luanyu Qi” was a superb concealed weapon technique that, when unleashed, resembled rain blanketing the sky, leaving a person with no hope of evasion.

The truth was indeed so, but not entirely.

Luanyu Qi was a concealed weapon technique, but it was also a type of concealed weapon itself. It could not only utilize common needles, nails, and stones, but could also transform water into needles, piercing through bone into flesh.

Beneath this curtain of rain, if one encountered the Luanyu Qi, how could there be any talk of victory?

The halberd tip arrived in a flash, reaching the front of Ruan Feiyu’s chest, requiring a mere fraction of an inch to pierce his flesh.

Unfortunately, Boss He could not achieve it.

A body of flesh and blood serves as a chessboard, while the extraordinary meridians serve as the paths across it. The Luanyu Qi had penetrated his bones and blood, scattered like stars across a board, acting like a toxic hand gripping his vital points. The freezing internal energy, which had split into numerous fragments, surged into his body along with the raindrops, erupting in an instant!

His meridians felt as though they were locked in ice. Stripped of any residual strength, his knees buckled, and he dropped straight down into a rigid kneel.

Right at that moment, Ruan Feiyu moved.

With his thumb tucked into his palm and his four fingers pressed together, he brought his hand down toward Boss He’s head with the force of a crashing thunderbolt!

If this palm strike landed squarely, even if Boss He survived, he would be a broken invalid for the rest of his life.

Despair finally surfaced within Boss He’s eyes.

In the next instant, a streak of flowing light reflected within his gaze.

Qin Lanchang’s sword, which had been gathering momentum for a long time, was finally unleashed. Her stature was petite; if she raised her arm to lift the sword, she would inherently lose her leverage. Thus, she thrust forward smoothly, interposing her blade perfectly between the descending palm and the head. The edge of her sword flipped upward; if Ruan Feiyu brought his palm down, he would end up severing his own hand!

Ruan Feiyu seemed to have anticipated her move long ago. In the hair’s breadth between the strikes, his palm froze mid-air, shifting from a palm strike into a claw to lock onto the long sword in her hand. Qin Lanchang was one who knew when to hold on and when to let go; she cleanly abandoned her sword on the spot, raising her head to lock eyes with Ruan Feiyu. Even with the latter’s extraordinary strength of mind, he fell into a daze for a fraction of a breath.

Qin Lanchang knew her own limits. Her meager internal cultivation could not compare to her uncle’s; her Soul Capturing Technique had little effect on the Southern Confucian scholar, capable of dazing him for less than a single breath at most. Therefore, within this split second, Qin Lanchang snatched the Mingfeng Halberd from Boss He’s hand with one turn, raised her leg, channeled every ounce of her strength, and kicked the kneeling man away.

Whether Ruan Feiyu couldn’t be bothered to lower himself to her level or held reservations regarding Chu Xiwei and Ye Fusheng, he did not seize the opportunity to strike. Dragging the long halberd that stood taller than herself, Qin Lanchang retreated, her fingers fumbling over the shaft until she located the mechanism. She detached the section housing the hidden chain along with the halberd tip; the long weapon instantly shortened by a quarter, transforming into an unremarkable-looking staff. Holding it in her hand, it still felt heavy, but it was manageable enough to wield.

Lu Mingyuan was astonished. “Qin…”

“Mingyuan, step down.” Ruan Feiyu held Lu Mingyuan back, offering a faint smile to Qin Lanchang. “Miss Qin, what is the meaning of this?”

The response he received was a staff strike directly to his face.

Planting one foot firmly while swinging her other leg around, the long staff in her hand swept out smoothly, aiming straight for Ruan Feiyu’s face.

Without moving his feet, Ruan Feiyu swayed his upper body to evade the strike. His withered left hand snaked forward like a serpent, preparing to twist and wrench the staff from her grasp.

Yet, Qin Lanchang advanced instead of retreating. Gathering her strength into a single point, she delivered a rapid tap and a sharp vibration with her staff, managing to close the distance to Ruan Feiyu within a split second.

She had practiced martial arts for nine years. Her lightness skills were average, and her proficiency with swords and whips was equally ordinary. Only this single martial technique was the one she knew best.

Unfortunately, she had never dared to use it lightly until now, when its sharp edge was fully revealed.

Following the long staff, her form pressed forward step by step. In the blink of an eye, she unleashed three offenses and four defenses. Though her experience and strength were lacking, her moves flowed in a continuous, unbroken chain, resembling a swift dragon darting forward, circling and winding as it locked onto the open vulnerabilities before Ruan Feiyu’s torso. The latter’s gaze focused as he finally stepped back, retreating rapidly. The long staff wheeled downward, pursuing his footsteps with thirteen consecutive strikes, piercing thirteen hollow pits into the ground!

Lu Mingyuan had never seen such a staff technique—or rather, this wasn’t a staff technique at all!

The expression within Boss He’s eyes underwent a monumental shift as he cried out in a cracked voice, “The Suolong Spear!”

With a muffled thud, Ruan Feiyu raised his foot, stepping firmly onto one end of the long staff. Looking at the young girl whose beautiful face was frozen with cold fury, he asked softly, “You are…”

“My surname is Qin,” Qin Lanchang stated, raising her eyes to glare at him as she pronounced each word distinctly. “The ‘Qin’ of the Northern Hero, Qin Hebai!”