Beside the balcony.
Fang Ping gripped his saber hilt and adjusted his breathing.
His Mentality sensed two auras gradually approaching.
The next instant, he decided not to wait. If they clashed within the residential complex and the floors collapsed, there would hardly be any residents left alive.
‘Charge!’
This angry roar was not uttered out loud but within his heart, whereas he himself was like a rock devoid of life or aura. He launched himself through the balcony’s glass wall, shattering it, and attacked immediately!
A dazzling beam of light cut through the void and lit up the night!
The old assailant, who had just arrived, sensed the approaching gleam of the blade and his face instantly turned pale.
“Hel...”
Before he even had time to call for assistance, the gleaming blade sang through the air with a boom and fell upon him.
Bang!
The next instant, a massive explosion sounded midair.
The old man did not even have time to put up a defense; Fang Ping’s full-force attack sliced straight through him!
The moment the explosion sounded, Fang Ping also sensed acute danger approaching. He roared in fury and his entire body radiated golden light!
Boom!
The second Fang Ping charged out of the room, the middle-aged man, who had originally intended to launch a stealth attack, immediately made his move. He landed a blow on Fang Ping.
The Mentality Shields shattered instantly.
The blow penetrated straight through and struck Fang Ping on the chest, splitting his flesh apart.
Not all Rank-6 martial artists were the same after all!
Fang Ping had never engaged in combat with an actual Peak Rank-6 powerhouse, nor had he even been pursued by one.
He and Wang Jinyang had teamed up with other people to take down Rank-6 martial artists before. However, a Peak Rank-6 was a completely different matter.
Only when the Sanjiao Gates were sealed would someone be considered a Peak Rank-6. Only a powerhouse like that would execute this particular technique and go all out, unlike other regular Rank-6 martial artists with Sanjiao Gates that had not yet been sealed. Nobody would unleash their full power and open their Sanjiao Gates unless it was their last resort.
Bang!
Fang Ping’s flesh ripped apart, but he leveraged the force of his opponent’s attack to fly backward without delay.
The golden bones worked brilliantly; despite his torn flesh, Fang Ping’s bones were unscathed.
He did not spare a glance for the martial artist that he had cut down. That assailant was not too powerful; he was either dead or heavily injured and would be unable to resume fighting.
To be honest, this was not unexpected. With Fang Ping’s all-out stealth attack, the old assailant had had no time to respond. Now, as the gleam of the blade faded, only a bisected, decrepit corpse remained in mid-air. It fell to the ground instantly.
The old man’s eyes still looked dazed even in death.
Obviously, he had not expected to be cut down with one slash.
...
The middle-aged assailant’s expression turned ugly!
Even though he had often been dissatisfied with Protector Mei, sometimes even to the point of wanting to kill him, the old man had still been a Rank-6 powerhouse and his right-hand man.
The middle-aged man had certainly not expected Protector Mei to be killed by a single slash from Fang Ping during this initial encounter.
A faint feeling of terror crept into his heart. Fang Ping was very strong, even stronger than expected!
One slash and he had despatched a Rank-6!
Right now, however, the middle-aged man did not have the luxury of worrying.
He had not expected Fang Ping to be prepared for this.
The middle-aged man had no time to think at the moment. His target had not run away but had chosen to fight instead. Furthermore, Fang Ping had taken a blow to the chest; he was certainly not going anywhere!
The instant Fang Ping went flying backward, the middle-aged assailant immediately went after him.
Fang Ping continued to soar backward, heading out of the district.
Before he could make it much further, a Rank-6 aura rose from the outer area; another assailant was coming.
“Fang Ping, you can’t run now!”
The middle-aged man gave a low growl and sent another swift punch across the space separating them. There was an explosion in the air, followed by a flash of blood-red light.
“To hell with running—I’ll kill you!”
Fang Ping shouted in fury and his entire body glowed with golden light. Multiple energies, including Vitality Force and Celestiality, radiated from his saber.
At the moment he was caught in a pincer attack; the newcomer had already blocked his path.
Off to the side were other residential buildings. If he headed there, any fighting would cause massive casualties.
“Bastard!” Fang Ping roared. These fellows had absolutely no regard for others’ lives. They were definitely not from the pill and weapons manufacturing companies but the evil sects!
No matter how much the two companies hated him, they would not dare to do something like this. Every single martial artist would take them down if word got out!
Only martial artists from the evil sects would be so unscrupulous!
Fang Ping howled angrily; his saber sliced through the air again. Like lightning, the blade cut through the darkness and instantly collided with his opponent’s fist.
Once more a massive boom rocked the air, muffling the sound of all the fireworks and firecrackers in the areas nearby to the small district.
Fang Ping struck with his saber but was knocked back once more by an attack. Behind him, the Middle-stage Rank-6 martial artist silently charged forward, blade in hand, slashing at his target.
“Get lost!”
Fang Ping shouted angrily. He spun around and slashed back at the newcomer.
Clang clang clang...
Fang Ping was now was at full combat strength, and the glow radiating from his golden bones turned the dark sky golden.
The Chaos-vanquishing Saber sang through the air as swift as lightning and the flesh on Fang Ping’s hands tore yet again, leaving behind only shining bones.
Protector Zheng, the newcomer engaging in battle with Fang Ping, shifted his expression again. Three nether portals materialized above his head, one of them already completely sealed.
Once those portals appeared, Protector Zheng’s power increased tremendously. In the blink of an eye, he clashed blow after blow with Fang Ping dozens of times.
Sparks, blood-red light, and golden light repeatedly flashed between the two combatants.
Fang Ping slashed furiously several dozen times. Without a backward glance, he used the Midair Step immediately and tried to fly off.
Bam!
The middle-aged man appeared above his head and sent a suppressing punch down at him. “Try to run and I’ll wipe out Sun City!” He growled.
“I don’t care! Try if you dare!” Fang Ping growled back, retreating continuously the entire time.
Against one assailant, escape was possible. However, it was hard to break free when there were two surrounding him.
...
The sound of explosions rocked the air in a never-ending stream and the clashing of metal against metal sent shockwaves through the void.
Both Rank-6 powerhouses had unleashed their full powers, immediately causing tremendous pressure in their surroundings and creating chaos in the entire Scenic Lake Gardens district.
During the initial clash between Fang Ping and his assailants, the residents thought it was the sound of fireworks and did not give it much thought.
However, due to the continued skirmish between both sides in mid-air, people began to feel the mounting atmospheric pressure and started to panic.
Had this been a fight between Rank-7 martial artists, their Mentality clashes would have resulted in a great many deaths within the district.
On the floor of Fang Ping’s residential unit.
At present, the outer walls of the Fang residence were already cracked due to the aftermath of the shockwaves.
Amid this chaos, Wang Jinyang darted out in a flash. Very quickly, he sensed the Fang family’s whereabouts.
A second later, he appeared swiftly at the stairwell in front of them.
The moment he showed up, Fang Yuan threw a kick at him.
Wang Jinyang caught her ankle with one hand. “It’s me, Wang Jinyang. Fang Ping asked me to get you all to safety!” He growled softly.
Once she heard that, Fang Yuan pleaded immediately, “Save my brother!”
At this time, they could see what was happening outside through the stairwell window.
Right now, three shining shadowy figures could be seen shimmering in midair.
The golden light in the middle flickered from side to side, but it was unable to break out of the circle and constantly emitted piercingly bright flashes of blood-red light.
Wang Jinyang’s expression was grim. Fang Ping might be able to hold his own against that Middle-stage Rank-6 martial artist, but the Peak Rank-6 powerhouse was completely crushing him with his power.
A drawn-out fight would result in Fang Ping being unable to break free; he might even be killed.
Drawing a deep breath, Wang Jinyang did not waste time replying. He reached out and took hold of Fang Ping’s parents, one in each hand. Turning to look at Fang Yuan, he growled, “Hold on to me. I’ll come back after getting all of you out!”
Fang Yuan looked sidelong out the window, tears streaming down her face. Without a word, she hurriedly held on to Wang Jinyang.
Fang Mingrong remained silent. Li Yuying choked up, unable to speak at present.
Wang Jinyang did not delay any further. He grabbed Fang Ping’s parents and headed downstairs swiftly.
In no time, he had brought them all out of the district. “Run, run as far away as you can!” he shouted.
After speaking, Wang Jinyang took off and flew towards the sky. While still in midair, he had already drawn his longbow and channeled Bone Marrow Force from his body into it. A thick, long blood-red arrow materialized instantly at the bowstring. Immediately, he sent the arrow winging through the air towards the Middle-stage Rank-6 powerhouse.
Fang Ping, injured and bleeding in midair, was in no condition to observe niceties at Wang Jinyang’s assistance. “Can you delay the tougher one?” He yelled.
“30 seconds!”
“Alright!”
Fang Ping let out an angry roar and a large burst of Celestiality exploded suddenly, knocking the Peak Rank-6 powerhouse back a short distance.
Wang Jinyang’s speed was almost at its peak; he blocked his opponent swiftly.
The middle-aged man looked at him with emotionless eyes and growled coldly, “Wang Jinyang, you’re asking to die!”
Wang Jinyang did not bother to reply. In a split second, he had withdrawn his bow and pulled out a saber. Bone Marrow Force flowed from his body again and the blood-red energy blade immediately sliced down!
Bam!
Angered beyond measure, the middle-aged assailant uttered a low growl and threw a vicious punch!
Clang!
A loud ringing sound emanated from the impact and the saber trembled. The flesh of Wang Jinyang’s arm split apart instantly and the rich blood-red energy from his body dimmed considerably.
...
On the other side.
After leaving Wang Jinyang to deal with the Peak Rank-6 powerhouse, Fang Ping turned his attention from them. 30 seconds; Wang Jinyang had guaranteed that. Before then, Fang Ping did not need to bother about them!
“You wish to kill me?” Protector Zheng asked coldly.
“I must kill you!”
Fang Ping was furious. These people had ambushed him; if he had not detected them earlier, his family would have been in trouble.
Before he even finished speaking, the Celestiality on Fang Ping’s saber had already fully condensed.
As for himself, the flesh on his body was splitting and rupturing continuously. However, Fang Ping could care less about any injuries now. He had to rid the world of people like these no matter how high the cost!
Swoosh!
As soon as the Celestiality condensed fully, Fang Ping attacked with his saber.
Protector Zheng wore a grim expression, but he did not fear Fang Ping. The slash was powerful, but right now he was fully prepared. His main purpose was to hold back the young man. If Fang Ping thought he could kill him...well, he could dream on!
The next instant, Protector Zheng vanished.
Fang Ping did not seem surprised when that happened. A glint of ferocity appeared in his eyes!
Boom!
The invisible explosion was so strong, it sent shockwaves through the air.
Unseen waves of force rippled through the sky and the ground.
Some of the surrounding trees were hit by the shockwaves and disintegrated instantly.
“Aaagh!”
There was a scream and Protector Zheng—who had just vanished—shuddered and reappeared in his original spot.
As for Fang Ping, his seven openings were bleeding profusely.
This was Mentality self-detonation!
He had self-detonated a large amount of Mentality in that instant.
It was more than he had ever detonated before!
At present Fang Ping was slightly befuddled but he did not hesitate. As soon as his opponent materialized, Fang Ping charged forward with his saber. This time, the golden light radiating from the bones in his entire body shone at its brightest!
“Go to hell!”
Fang Ping roared, his blade slicing down.
Protector Zheng’s seven openings were also bleeding profusely, his head nearly crushed by the blast.
However, with the threat of instant death looming over him, he overcame the piercing pain in his head and swung his own blade!
Clang!
There was a loud ringing sound and Protector Zheng fell downwards.
Upon seeing him fall, Fang Ping gritted his teeth and his Mentality recovered instantly. He snarled again and triggered another explosion at once.
This time, both their bodies trembled violently and plummeted down from midair.
Fang Ping kept slashing furiously until the flesh on his entire body was torn apart and the crystalline organs were clearly visible.
“Die!” Fang Ping roared. A large amount of blood spurted out of his mouth, aimed straight at his opponent’s head.
Protector Zheng’s face was bleeding copiously. Upon seeing his opponent’s action, he became more ruthless. In midair, one of the half-sealed Sanjiao Gates above his head suddenly opened!
The next moment, a huge amount of energy surged through. His lethargy vanished and most of his wounds healed in the blink of an eye. His gaze was clear and no longer dazed.
Spurred on by additional reserves of energy as a result of his recovery, Protector Zheng swung his blade and chopped Fang Ping’s Blood Arrow into pieces.
Despite recovering from most of his injuries, Protector Zheng’s gaze was still baleful.
Sealing the Sanjiao Gates was an arduous process.
He had already completely sealed the first Gate and had almost achieved the same with the second. In another two years, he would have completed the full sealing to become an Upper-stage Rank 6.
Now, however, in the face of a Rank-5 martial artist’s assault, he had no choice but to destroy his Gate by opening the second one.
Currently, as far as levels were concerned, he had already fallen from a Rank-6 senior to a mere beginner.
It had taken him 6 years to reach this stage!
Fang Ping had completely ruined his 6 years of hard training!
However, his hatred paled in comparison to Fang Ping’s own.
30 seconds was almost over!
If he did not get rid of this fellow quickly, Wang Jinyang might not be able to hold up.
As an Early-stage Rank-5, Wang Jinyang was expending life force every second by fighting a Peak Rank-6 powerhouse.
The instant Protector Zheng destroyed his Sanjiao Gate, Fang Ping shouted in a rage, “You fellows have forced me to do this!”
Before he finished shouting, the flesh of his face suddenly split apart.
The next moment, Fang Ping’s entire head radiated intense light. Alongside the golden flashes from his head, brilliant light flared from the rest of his bones once again.
At this very second, Fang Ping had instantly honed the three remaining pieces of his skull.
Of course, this did not come without a cost.
The reason he had refused to hone them so far was that he felt his body would be unable to withstand the complete activation of golden bones.
What followed next was not unexpected; the moment his skull emitted that bright light, Fang Ping’s remaining flesh continued to rupture.
Within his body, the crystalline organs were cracking.
Simultaneously, Fang Ping radiated a force so powerful that the assailant attacking Wang Jinyang some distance away had an immediate change of expression.
“Golden bones!”
Disbelief flashed through the middle-aged assassin’s eyes. Before this, Fang Ping had indeed radiated some golden light. However, they were mere flashes and had not felt like the oppressive power from a golden-body powerhouse.
The bones of a golden-body powerhouse were different from folks like Fang Ping and Li Hansong.
Now, Fang Ping was emitting the same kind of force—that same feeling of pressure!
This pressure could only come from a Rank-8!
Fang Ping had no time to pay attention to his assailant’s comment. He roared in agony; this pain felt much worse than any previous bone-honing!
With his flesh constantly rupturing, no amount of Vitality Force would be enough to mend them. His internal organs were also slowly being torn apart; he felt as if he might explode immediately.
However, since he had been able to endure such bone-honing, Fang Ping firmly believed he would not die!
The moment he fully activated his golden bones, the resultant pressure kept forcing Protector Zheng downward.
Despite fully recovering from his injuries, Protector Zheng’s face showed the first signs of fear.
With no way to take Fang Ping down, he immediately turned around and tried to flee!
“I will kill you!”
Fang Ping could hardly shout now. His voice was hoarse and completely constricted.
As soon as he uttered those words, his Celestiality and Golden Bone Force fused in the Chaos-vanquishing Saber, making it even more powerful an instant later. With an angry roar, Fang Ping slashed at the retreating assailant!
Boom boom boom!
As the saber came down, the air burst apart and large sparks flew everywhere.
On the ground, a slash mark measuring hundreds of meters long appeared instantly. The trees and buildings on either side were shattered
Fang Ping cared little about collateral damage now.
This slash was aimed outside of the small district.
Beyond the district were roads. Traffic was heavy on regular days, but with today being Chinese New Year’s Eve, there was barely anyone to be seen on the road.
Even though the district’s residents were scared to death, only a handful of people were fast enough to catch what was happening. Most of the residents had not even stepped out of their front doors in time to see the swift skirmish of both combatants.
Fang Ping’s slash reduced everything in its path to smithereens.
The aftershock had crushed the ground and split the roads. The shops opposite had also collapsed. Fang Ping had no way of knowing if there were any people in there as the building interiors were dark. Besides, he had other things to worry about now.
If he did not manage to kill his opponent and both assailants launched a collective counter-attack, neither he nor Wang Jinyang would make it out alive.
“No!”
Protector Zheng, who had retreated a fair distance away, felt the strike approaching behind him. Feeling the flesh on his back actually tearing from the incoming attack even though it was still far away, he let out a roar of horror and anger.
At this moment, it was all or nothing for Protector Zheng!
Boom!
With a loud crack, the first Sanjiao Gate—the one that was completed sealed—broke open instantly.
This time, it did not matter if he dropped down to the level of a Rank-6 beginner, as long as he survived.
The moment his last Gate opened, immeasurable energies between heaven and earth surged into him.
As he retreated, Protector Zheng shielded himself with layers of Vitality Force.
However, his Vitality Force defenses simply could not withstand the swiftness or the destructive force of Fang Ping’s attack.
In what seemed like only a blink of the eye, the saber slash had entirely overwhelmed Protector Zheng!
Boom!
The sound of explosions rang out repeatedly.
Right now Fang Ping was no longer a golden man, but a bloody one. The flesh on his entire body was ripped and torn, and the flesh on his arms was in tatters.
Bursts of blood-red Vitality Force constantly surged out of thin air to mend his wounds, but Fang Ping’s flesh seemed unable to grow back.
He clenched his teeth, ignored it, and descended immediately via Midair Step to the spot where his slash had landed.
Protector Zheng had not been killed by that single strike. Despite having been practically cut in two, he had survived.
The rancor in his eyes reached its peak upon seeing Fang Ping flying over.
Fang Ping did not care what Protector Zheng thought. These people had come to kill him first, yet this assassin still had the cheek to blame him for it!
Just as Protector Zheng struggled to lift his blade to attack, Fang Ping raised his saber and sent it slicing down!
Thud!
A severed head dropped to the ground.
Without so much as a backward glance, Fang Ping quickly rose back into the air. Before he had even reached the original battleground, a figure flew towards him, blood smearing the air copiously in a thick trail.
Fang Ping’s expression changed and he hurriedly grabbed hold of Wang Jinyang.
Wang Jinyang’s face was extremely pale now. There was a large hole in his chest and his internal organs were clearly visible. A great many of them had been shattered.
“Fortunately, I didn’t fail you!”
Wang Jinyang forced a smile. 30 seconds had passed from the time he joined the battle until Fang Ping had killed Protector Zheng.
“I never expected that both of you would exceed my expectations!”
Before Wang Jinyang could finish, the middle-aged assailant was already approaching them with the Midair Step. His body bore traces of light injury, most of them trivial.
He honestly had not expected something like this to happen, or rather, he had not dared to consider the possibility.
A Peak Rank-6, a middle-stage Rank-6, and an early-stage Rank-6—with such combined power, they could even go up against a powerhouse with Mentality-Vitality Fusion.
Today was supposed to be the easy task of eliminating a Rank-5.
Of course, Wang Jinyang had joined the battle, but both these youngsters were merely Rank-5 martial artists.
However, the ones who ended up dying first were not the two of them, but his own Rank-6 subordinates instead. Protector Zheng, especially, could not even be considered his subordinate anymore; he was an experienced senior within the Middle-stage Rank-6 martial artists.
“Such prodigious warriors...what a shame!”
The middle-aged man’s eyes were cold. This time, even if he killed these two, there would be punishment awaiting him when he returned.
Sacrificing the lives of two Rank-6 powerhouses in vain was the ultimate disgrace!
As soon as the man finished speaking, he immediately sent a blood-red punch in the survivors’ direction.
Fang Ping held onto the critically injured Wang Jinyang and swiftly made his escape towards the suburbs.
If they continued fighting here, the district would be doomed.
The punch landed where they were just a moment ago, blasting a crater in the ground.
As Fang Ping and Wang Jinyang fled, the middle-aged man did not delay. He rose into the air and gave chase.
Both his targets were spent. They could not hold on much longer.