Chapter 54: The Final Battle
Amidst the howling wind, Gu Zhan leapt down from the low building, both hands gripping the saber hilt. That strike pierced through the night sky, leaving a distinct hue amidst the snowy night.
As that saber fell,
Yao Chen’s eyes narrowed slightly.
"Only First Grade!"
In that instant, his heart surged; shock mingled with a sense of reassurance!
Only First Grade, nothing more!
In that moment, a faint luminous glow spread from his palm—this was Innate True Qi, or one could call it Innate Gang Qi.
He struck directly at Gu Zhan with his palm,
Of course, he had no intention of meeting that saber with his bare flesh; even as an Innate Martial Artist, even as confidence settled in his heart—"even a lion uses its full strength to hunt a rabbit"—he wouldn’t underestimate this Martial Artist who looked so young, younger than even his own son.
That hand, tinged with a red glow, agile as a block of iron newly forged, grazed lightly against the blade of Gu Zhan’s Horizontal Saber, slashing toward him.
The crimson palm sent sparks flying from the Horizontal Saber,
with the grand force of the palm, slashing diagonally.
A massive sense of crisis rose in Gu Zhan’s heart. He pressed his foot down, swiftly retreated one step, then swung the Horizontal Saber like wind and rain. In the darkness, a series of piercing metallic clashes resounded, and with every gust of fierce wind, the fiery sparks became dazzling lines, blooming as tiny fireworks that illuminated the battlefield brighter than before.
Just like that, the two exchanged blows for a brief moment,
but even in that brief span, they’d already fought dozens of rounds.
Gu Zhan’s saber was fast,
yet Yao Chen’s palm technique was extremely intricate, and the majestic True Qi of an Innate Martial Artist could suppress Gu Zhan despite wielding no weapon.
"Stop stalling!"
Meanwhile, in another part of the battlefield, Luo Bingsheng and the Luo Family Patriarch Luo Fang had fallen into a fierce struggle. Previously, with the two of them joining forces against Gu Chuan, they were completely outmatched; now, with Gu Chuan having suffered severe injuries, their numbers were reduced, and Gu Chuan had the aid of the Embroidered Uniform Guard. Their situation was dire, peril around every corner.
Yao Chen noticed their predicament, and at once stopped wasting words.
"After all, just a First Grade!"
Yao Chen steeled his heart, both palms pushing forward; immense True Qi manifested in the air, forming a giant palm imprint two feet long, which struck horizontally straight at Gu Zhan.
Only First Grade in the end,
After this brief exchange, he’d confirmed it—Gu Zhan was indeed only a First Grade Martial Artist, able to contend with him only due to his weapon and that mysterious qinggong.
Yet, ultimately lacking true strength,
Once he’d probed Gu Zhan’s capabilities, there was no need to waste more time. This palm would finish the fight.
As expected,
This palm truly could end the battle,
With one forceful push,
The refined True Qi palm imprint shone suddenly bright,
With a crisp crack,
The blade in Gu Zhan’s hand shattered, its fragments like large snowflakes in the night, scattering glinting shards through the swirling snow, dispersing in all directions.
But immediately afterward,
He thrust both fleshy palms forward,
That True Qi palm imprint finished the fight; with this strike, he intended to end the life of this First Grade Martial Artist.
An immense, powerful surge of True Qi, tracing an invisible path, stirred countless snowflakes, rising from the darkness, piercing the air and slamming toward Gu Zhan’s chest,
This palm,
was an Innate Martial Artist’s strike.
Gu Zhan gripped the broken saber, swinging it in a slash.
His eyes fogged with blood haze, pupils burning with hatred, so much so that even the snow around warped and grew thin under that venomous intent.
In that moment,
Yao Chen’s eyelid twitched violently,
Such fierce saber intent, such deep hatred,
That was his immediate sensation.
Strange as it seemed,
He could actually feel hatred,
No,
This is... Saber Qi!
Suddenly, a brilliant beam shot from the depths of the snowy night,
A black ray, refracted from the blade of the broken saber, burst forth in dazzling brilliance,
That streak of black light,
coalesced into a saber shadow,
and came slashing down.
"Pfft"
The broken saber cleaved into Yao Chen’s palm, shearing off his hand entirely. Blood sprayed, before he could scream, the heavy blade struck from above, hacking into his chest cavity, forcing blood and flesh out across the blade.
At that instant, Yao Chen finally let out a miserable howl,
Still filled with shock and unwillingness in his eyes,
He truly found it hard to accept,
He had faced the foe head-on, and lost—to a First Grade Martial Artist.
As he collapsed in that moment,
He suddenly realized, in a daze, that he’d underestimated the enemy after all. Though he tried hard to avoid that error, in the end, he still did.
From the very beginning, their first encounter,
The opponent swapped arrow for sword,
He had underestimated him. After confirming his foe was "just" a First Grade, he grew even more careless.
Facing the enemy, the foe feigned weakness,
Step by step made him lower his guard,
Then,
At the final moment, delivered a fatal strike,
Perhaps, the defeat wasn’t undeserved!
"Boom"
Yao Chen’s corpse crashed heavily to the ground.
That scene stunned Luo Bingsheng and the others still locked in battle.
Especially Luo Bingsheng. He knew Gu Zhan. He’d witnessed how Gu Zhan had risen step by step from an unremarkable Small Banner to this moment,
He had misjudged Gu Zhan many times,
He had grown to respect this unexpected upstart,
But now,
He realized that still, he hadn’t given him enough credit!
"Brother Gu, beautifully done!"
Gu Chuan laughed aloud, his longsword growing even more ferocious.
And the death of Yao Chen,
immediately shattered the resolve of Luo Bingsheng and Luo Fang for one last fight; they both knew the tide had turned.
The two exchanged a glance,
and in tacit agreement, feigned an attack on Gu Chuan before instantly scattering in opposite directions to flee.
"Trying to run!"
Gu Chuan snorted coldly. Yao Chen’s death had already foreshadowed this scene; he turned his sword in reverse, stabbing it through Luo Fang’s back, the blade piercing his chest. With a swift pull, he hurled the sword after Luo Bingsheng escaping in the other direction.
"Pfft,"
The longsword pierced through Luo Bingsheng, blood spraying as his thigh buckled, and he collapsed to the ground, struggling to get up.
He seemed to age ten years in an instant.
But he was an Innate Martial Artist; even impaled by the sword, as long as his heart wasn’t struck, he could still hang on.
He quickly pulled the longsword out and threw it to the ground, still running at speed.
Just then,
Through swirling snowflakes, Gu Zhan, gripping the broken saber, descended from above, blocking Luo Bingsheng’s escape route.
"Gu Zhan!"
Luo Bingsheng’s face was pale. He said, "You’re not like Gu Chuan—he can act recklessly and walk away no matter the trouble, but you? Are you really going to sever yourself from Linjiang County? No matter your loyalty, to Gu Chuan you’re just a dog to be tossed aside at any time. Let me go—don’t go too far. Leave yourself a way out, you..."
"Pfft"
A streak of saber light sliced through the night sky,
Gu Zhan stepped forward, brushing past Luo Bingsheng, the broken saber slitting his throat.
Blood sprayed forth,
Luo Bingsheng’s eyes filled with unwillingness as he slowly fell.
Gu Zhan’s face was expressionless. He said, "But you all never gave me a way out, either!"