Chapter 146: The Death of Wang Qiyi (Part Two)

A six-story building might not seem extremely tall, yet it stands over twenty meters high. For a cultivator to leap down from such a height would mean either death or severe injury, unless they were a mighty practitioner at the Golden Core stage.

Seeing Xiao Cheng jump from the rooftop without the slightest hesitation, Fang Yujia parted her lips, intending to cry out, but swallowed the words back.

*My brother-in-law must know what he is doing. I must trust him,* Fang Yujia told herself, suppressing her anxiety.

The next moment, she watched as Xiao Cheng drifted gracefully down from the sixth floor. In one hand he held a gleaming, frost-bright Azure Edge Sword, while the other was formed into a sword finger. His dark robes fluttered in the wind, truly capturing the ethereal charm of an immortal swordsman riding the gale.

Fang Yujia stared wide-eyed at Xiao Cheng, as a random phrase floated into her mind—"a jade tree facing the wind"—even though her brother-in-law's features were merely passable and had nothing whatsoever to do with such praise.

Xiao Cheng narrowed his eyes slightly, locking his divine sense entirely onto Wang Qiyi. He felt the lightness of his body and listened to the whistling wind rushing past his ears. As his true qi circulated through his entire body according to the grand heavenly cycle, a surge of abundant strength welled up within him.

He had no fear of being dashed to pieces. Forget a six-story building; he could leap from Mount Everest itself and come to no harm. Even without the Feather-Light Technique, he possessed the Earth-Escaping Technique to dissolve the impact of any collision.

Drifting effortlessly before Wang Qiyi, he thrust forward mid-air. *Hum—* The Azure Edge Sword emitted a crisp, clear chime.

Clearly, Wang Qiyi had not anticipated that Xiao Cheng could float down and close the distance so rapidly.

Seeing the Azure Edge Sword thrusting straight toward him, Wang Qiyi wore a solemn expression. The last time he pursued Xiao Cheng, this very sword had shattered his flying sword, and he knew well that its sharpness was no ordinary weapon.

Wang Qiyi retreated hastily, employing some unknown footwork that made his movements erratic and elusive. As he fell back, he rapidly formed hand seals.

With a low shout of "Yin-Yang Seal," two streams of Qi—one black, one white—materialized between his hands. With a sweeping slap of his palms, the twin streams lunged fiercely at Xiao Cheng.

Having learned his lesson from the previous encounter with the flying sword, he dared not use his own flying sword in front of Xiao Cheng under any circumstances.

Seeing the two streams of Qi hurtling toward him, Xiao Cheng tapped his toes lightly against the ground, slipped cleanly between them, and continued his sword form unhindered, pressing his attack toward Wang Qiyi.

Wang Qiyi’s previous internal injuries had yet to heal, and deprived of his flying sword, his combat power was heavily compromised. Thus, Xiao Cheng held no fear of him whatsoever.

Though he was currently only at the seventh tier of the Condensation realm, he possessed strength comparable to the peak of Condensation.

*Clang!* Despite Wang Qiyi’s desperate dodge, Xiao Cheng’s sword struck him, though it merely tore his garments. Protected by his innate true qi, Wang Qiyi was invulnerable to ordinary blades.

Wang Qiyi was shaken to his core. Since when had Xiao Cheng possessed such prowess? He was actually able to match him blow for blow. The last time they met, Xiao Cheng had only been at the peak of Foundation Establishment, yet now he wielded the strength of a peak Condensation practitioner. How could his progress possibly be so terrifyingly swift?

Wang Qiyi had no time for reflection; he immediately lashed out with a palm strike toward Xiao Cheng’s chest.

Xiao Cheng met the blow with a palm of his own. With a sharp crack, their palms collided, generating a visible shockwave that rippled outward.

Wang Qiyi frowned, taken aback by the tyrannical nature of Xiao Cheng’s true qi. Had he been in peak condition, he could have easily suppressed it, but right now, his true qi was operating at barely fifty percent of its former strength.

The two palms touched and instantly separated, both men flying backward from the recoil.

Xiao Cheng had not escaped unscathed either. After all, Wang Qiyi was an Innate master; even with his power discounted, brute-forcing true qi against him still put Xiao Cheng at a disadvantage.

"Young master, you truly astonish me. To think you have already attained such strength! Yet there is one thing I fail to understand: through all these years in the family, I have earned my share of credit even if I lacked grand achievements, and I have never wronged you. Why are you so bent on my death?"

Catching sight of the black mark on Xiao Cheng’s arm, Wang Qiyi's mind raced. He probed now, testing whether Xiao Cheng had discovered his true identity. If so, he would have no choice but to eliminate Xiao Cheng today.

"Why do I want you dead? For what you have done, killing you ten thousand times over would still not appease my hatred!" Xiao Cheng declared, resuming his assault as he slashed his sword toward Wang Qiyi once more.

Wang Qiyi’s expression shifted uncertainly. It appeared Xiao Cheng knew a great deal—he might even have uncovered his true identity. A murderous intent surged within him.

"You are still too green! Let me show you what true ability really is!" Wang Qiyi laughed coldly. Since the intent to kill was already set, there was no need to hold back.

Previously, he had to consider the intentions of Xiao Fusheng and the attitude of his superiors, but now those constraints were entirely gone.

With a sudden shudder of his entire body, Wang Qiyi unleashed some secret technique. His aura skyrocketed violently, and in an instant, every stone and pebble around him floated into the air.

"Hmph, ignorant whelp!" Wang Qiyi muttered, bringing his hands together. All the stones and gravel merged into a single mass, which then hurtled toward Xiao Cheng in a devastating, overwhelming barrage.

The debris traveled at terrifying speed, akin to artillery shells and bullets. To be struck by them would undoubtedly result in being riddled with countless holes. In his eyes, this technique was an infallible fatal blow against Condensation-stage cultivators, who lacked the protection of innate true qi.

Xiao Cheng let out a cold snort and formed a hand seal with his left hand. This technique was utterly useless against him; all Daoist arts in the world ultimately fell within the scope of the Five Elements.

Every single stone and pebble passed through Xiao Cheng’s body as if it possessed no weight at all, leaving him completely unharmed and unimpeded.

Wang Qiyi’s expression froze. The scene before him was as if the debris had merely passed through a holographic projection of Xiao Cheng. How had Xiao Cheng accomplished this? How could he possibly evade such an art?

Without breaking his momentum, Xiao Cheng thrust his sword toward Wang Qiyi mid-air.

*Thud!* A dull impact echoed as the blade pierced Wang Qiyi’s flesh, but after sinking barely two centimeters, it could advance no further.

Xiao Cheng frowned. Innate true qi protection was indeed troublesome; even the specially forged Azure Edge Sword was rendered helpless.

Wang Qiyi grinned grimly. Imagining he could kill him with mere peak Condensation strength was sheer delusion; it had barely even breached his protective true qi.

Having failed to land a decisive blow, Xiao Cheng refused to press the engagement and instantly retreated.

Wang Qiyi quickly wove a complex hand sign, and immediately, a phantom golden hand manifested in the void. This golden hand was far more solid than the one Leng Yuchan had previously summoned, measuring roughly five meters across.

The moment the golden palm appeared, it bolted after Xiao Cheng to crush him.

"Another Vajra Lifting-Sky Hand?" Xiao Cheng retreated swiftly. To take the full force of this giant hand would undoubtedly spell trouble. The version Wang Qiyi now wielded was far more ferocious than the one Leng Yuchan had used.

"To think you even recognize this art! Die!" At Wang Qiyi’s mental command, the golden palm descended toward Xiao Cheng without hesitation.

*Boom!*

A deafening crash shook the area. Shattered rocks filled the air, gravel flew in all directions, and the ground instantly collapsed into a massive crater.

"Hmph! Serves you right for knowing too much! So young, yet utterly ignorant of the vastness of heaven and earth!" Wang Qiyi muttered scornfully to himself.

"Xiao Cheng—!" In the distance, Fang Yujia and Zhuo Qinglian cried out in alarm almost simultaneously as they witnessed the scene.

From afar, they could feel the terrifying might of that palm strike, which had caved the ground into a deep pit. Since Xiao Cheng was made of mere flesh and blood, how could he possibly survive?

Fang Yujia immediately made to rush forward, but Zhuo Qinglian stopped her.

"Look!" Zhuo Qinglian motioned for her to watch. Fang Yujia looked over and let out a long breath of relief.

*Boom, boom, boom, boom!*

Driven by frenzy and a sense of liberation, Wang Qiyi continuously pounded the cratered earth with the giant golden hand, unleashing wave after wave of thunderous explosions. With Xiao Cheng dead, he would no longer need to toil away as a beast of burden for the Xiao family; he couldn't be blamed for this.

Amidst his frantic assault, Wang Qiyi suddenly heard a familiar voice behind him. His face drained of color, as if he had run into a ghost. Whirling around, he saw Xiao Cheng standing right behind him, completely unscathed.

*How did he pull this off?*

Not giving Wang Qiyi a moment to recover his shock, Xiao Cheng thrust out his sword, aiming straight for Wang Qiyi’s vulnerable flank.

*Swish!* Putting his all into the strike, the blade drove four centimeters into Wang Qiyi’s flesh, but once again halted.

Wounded, Wang Qiyi leaped backward, putting distance between them.

"You truly amaze me. But do you really think I had no trump card left? Hmph!" Wang Qiyi glanced toward the spot where Zhuo Qinglian and Fang Yujia stood, a cruel smile twisting his lips.

Xiao Cheng followed his gaze and saw a pale blue flying sword hovering just ten centimeters from Fang Yujia’s brow, exuding a biting, chilling aura.

So that was it. While Wang Qiyi dared not use the flying sword against him, he was using it to hold Fang Yujia hostage and coerce him. A cunning scheme indeed.

"Xiao Cheng, don't worry about me!" Fang Yujia stared unflinchingly at the flying sword inches from her forehead, shouting fearlessly.