Chapter 23: The Beggar Boy

"Watch out!"

Just as Su Xin executed his Phantom Form technique, a figure from afar dashed rapidly into the battlefield. A hazy sword light, alarmingly fast, cut through the air.

The twin brothers’ eyes filled with terror as they realized they were far too slow to block this strike.

*Shing!*

The sword light first swept across the elder brother, his head sent flying instantly. As the light continued toward the younger brother, a massive, violent burst of energy surged forth, slamming into the blade and forcing it to slightly alter its trajectory.

*Rumble!*

Torn apart by the deflected light, the younger brother’s entire arm was severed. Had that blast of energy not appeared, it would have been his head instead.

"Another expert?" Su Xin frowned, his gaze shifting to the figure now standing beside the armless younger brother.

It was a bald, middle-aged man in robes. Judging by the strength of the energy just unleashed, his cultivation had clearly reached the peak of the Transformation Sea realm.

This time, the Liu Shui Gang had paid a heavy price to enlist the Pang family. Knowing the Su family would send someone, the Pang family had prepared to eliminate whoever arrived. Thus, they had dispatched not only three masters at the Great Accomplishment stage of the Transformation Sea but also this bald man to oversee the operation from the shadows.

"Damn it! I should have acted sooner." Pang Tieyun, the bald middle-aged man, stared at the twin brothers—one dead and one maimed—his face turning livid.

He knew the twins' strength well; together, they could hold their own against a peak Transformation Sea expert for a considerable time. He had assumed Su Xin was merely at the True Martial realm. Although Su Xin’s swordplay was refined, he had perceived it as purely defensive, never dreaming the young man could pose such a lethal threat. He had moved to intervene the moment he sensed danger, but he had only managed to save one, and even then, at the cost of an arm.

"The young master of the Su family," Pang Tieyun hissed, his eyes brimming with murderous intent as he glared at Su Xin. "To be so young and yet slay a Great Accomplishment level master with only True Martial cultivation... such a genius! Even losing one of our experts is a price worth paying if it means trading your life for his."

"Kill me? With your skills?" Su Xin scoffed.

"Humph!"

Pang Tieyun said no more, drawing his weapons: two massive crimson gold hammers. Each hammer weighed hundreds of pounds, yet he wielded them as if they were weightless.

*Boom!*

With a single stride that cracked the earth, Pang Tieyun materialized before Su Xin like lightning, his hammers spinning like dual firewheels.

"Eighteen Hammers of Mountain Crushing!"

Pang Tieyun’s face flushed red as he pushed his strength to the absolute limit.

*Boom! Boom! Boom!*

The crimson hammers smashed down frantically, the sheer force of each strike tearing through the air with deafening whistles. Su Xin, however, stood completely unfazed.

"Thunder and Fire Momentum!"

*Boom!*

Su Xin’s sword technique erupted. It was like a volcanic eruption, shaking the heavens; like a thunderbolt descending, capable of annihilating everything in its path. Once the Mountain and Sea Scroll reached the level of "momentum," every strike carried the terrifying power of thunder and fire.

He had only used a fraction of his bloodline power to slay the twins, but now, he instantly surged to seventy percent. Su Xin had long planned his usage of this power: fifty percent for ordinary battles, seventy percent for formidable opponents. As for the full hundred percent—unless it was a decisive battle of life and death, he would never unleash it all.

*Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!*

The thunder-and-fire sword light collided wildly with the crushing hammers. Every impact sent ripples through the surrounding space, the shockwaves so intense that nearby gang members who caught the edge of the blast were instantly sent flying, blood streaming from their seven orifices.

*Bang! Bang!*

After eighteen consecutive collisions, Pang Tieyun’s hammers finally faltered, and he was sent reeling backward, looking utterly wretched.

"A True Martial realm brat... he went head-to-head with my Eighteen Hammers of Mountain Crushing and I... I lost?" Pang Tieyun felt a sense of disbelief. He had just boasted about taking Su Xin’s life to compensate for the Pang family's loss, but now...

"As I thought!" A strange smile crept onto Su Xin’s face. "While I am only at the peak of the tenth stage of the True Martial realm, by using my bloodline heritage and seventy percent of my power, my strength reaches the Great Accomplishment—nearly the peak—of the Transformation Sea. Combined with my swordsmanship, an ordinary peak Transformation Sea expert is no match for me."

In terms of pure raw power, he was still slightly weaker than Pang Tieyun, but in technique and skill, he was vastly superior. Even in a direct collision, he had nothing to fear.

"You wanted to kill me just now?" Su Xin’s eyes grew cold. "Now, let’s see who kills whom!"

Su Xin prepared to advance. With his current strength, alternating between the Thunder-Fire Scroll and the Phantom Form, he had every chance to finish Pang Tieyun off.

But just then—

"You lot... you’re too noisy!"

*Whoosh!*

A brilliant, gorgeous streak of blade light suddenly cut through a corner of the street. It swept across the area, instantly covering a radius of tens of meters. Within that space, where many gang members had been locked in combat, bodies were now being sliced in half. In the blink of an eye, no one remained standing except for the wielder of that blade.

"Good heavens!"

"This is..."

The chaotic, frantic battlefield ground to a complete halt. Without receiving any orders, the gang members stopped their slaughter, staring in shock and terror at the corner where the light had originated. Even Su Xin and Pang Tieyun couldn't help but look.

There, the "beggar" who had been half-lying against the wall had stood up. He lifted his head, revealing a startlingly young face—no older than Su Xin’s. The slovenly beggar-boy rested his long blade on his shoulder, grinning to reveal a row of white teeth. Yet, his smile made the surrounding gang members shudder.

"A master! A true expert!"

"An expert ten, maybe a hundred times stronger than this bald Pang man!"

Su Xin’s gaze turned sharp. He had noticed the beggar-boy earlier and found him odd, but the sheer brilliance of the blade light just now made even his heart tremble.

Under everyone’s gaze, the beggar-boy ignored the common fighters and strolled toward Su Xin and Pang Tieyun.

"Hey, baldy," the boy said, glancing at Pang Tieyun. "You’re at the peak of the Transformation Sea, and so am I. Come on, give me your best shot."

The boy revealed his own cultivation—indeed, he was at the peak of the Transformation Sea, identical to Pang Tieyun. But his spiritual aura was far more profound; clearly, he practiced a unique technique that allowed his energy to erupt with power far beyond his peers.

"Sir, you are not with the Su family, nor the Heiyan Gang. We have no quarrel, there is no need—" Pang Tieyun did not want to fight. To be honest, he had been terrified by that single strike; he lacked the courage to engage.

Before he could finish, the boy frowned and snapped, "I told you to attack! Why are you babbling?"

Pang Tieyun’s face turned grim. Realizing there was no other way, he braced himself and charged.

*Boom!*

Pang Tieyun swung his crimson hammers with all his might, unleashing a formidable, crushing force. The boy, however, simply frowned.

"Clumsy. All form, no substance. Nothing but brute strength." The boy sounded disdainful as he swung his blade.

*Whoosh!*

It was another brilliant, dazzling strike, like a light skiff gliding through the void.

*Splorch!*

The crimson gold hammers were sliced in half, and the blade cut cleanly through Pang Tieyun from top to bottom. He didn't even have time to scream before he was dead.

"Trash." The boy complained grumpily. "Can't even take a casual strike from me. What absolute trash."

The surrounding gang members and high-level experts were paralyzed with shock. One strike—a casual strike—and a peer-level master was dead?

The boy’s gaze then drifted lazily toward Su Xin.

Su Xin grew tense, his inner guard raised to the maximum. This boy was terrifyingly strong, but more importantly, he was utterly reckless. He wasn't part of either gang; he had just stumbled into the fray and slaughtered dozens of people, including Pang Tieyun, despite having no grudge against them. He was a lunatic. Su Xin had no doubt that the boy might turn his blade on him next.

"Don't be nervous." Seeming to sense Su Xin’s wariness, the boy grinned. "That bald guy was just too weak. He disappointed me, so I killed him. But you’re different. Your cultivation is low, but your swordplay is incredibly high. If I’m not mistaken, that was the Beicang Sword Technique, wasn't it?"

"Yes," Su Xin nodded. He was wary, but not afraid. If the boy truly tried to kill him, he would not hesitate to use the Divine Annihilation forbidden technique. Once activated, his combat power would skyrocket to the Void-Breaking realm, and it would be the boy who would have to worry about surviving.

"I knew it!" The boy’s eyes lit up with excitement. "The recognized number one sword technique of the Tianyan Dynasty! For two years, I’ve traveled the world, crossing eighty-six counties, fighting countless experts, including many masters of the blade. Yet, you are the first person I’ve encountered who can actually execute the Beicang Sword Technique!"

"Come! Show me your swordsmanship! Let’s see if your Beicang technique is truly superior, or if my blade style takes the crown!"