Jianghu Demolition Squad

Martial Arts Competition Under The Heavens (Part Thirty One)

Hua Lian shouted, “Brother Qi, use the divine weapon!”

On their way here, Hua Lian and the other two had fought against the walking corpses. Fists and palms were ineffective against them, but the daggers forged by Qing Huan could kill them. Although they didn’t understand the reason, they believed that divine weapons could surely subdue evil.

Aside from Yu’er and the other five present, everyone else was stunned upon hearing this. Use divine weapons? Which divine weapon? Were they going to steal the Fenghou from Yan Jianyu’s hands?

Qi Tianzhu and the others immediately understood and didn’t hesitate to draw the dagger forged from Qing Huan.

In the dark night, the dagger’s cold light shone undiminished, piercing the vital points of the reanimated corpses and killing them as if they were living beings, stopping their movement altogether.

Seeing this, everyone’s morale soared.

Yu’er couldn’t fight, and among the group, Hao Yun had the highest martial arts skills. She called out, “Brother Hao Yun! Catch!”

Hearing the call, Hao Yun turned his head and saw a silver light flying towards him.

It turned out that Yu’er had thrown Shang Sheng to him. Hao Yun skillfully caught it with his zhanmadao, and with a swift flick, the blade felt incredibly sharp, its cold light lingering long after, easily slicing open a chest of a nearby corpse. Overjoyed, he shouted back, “Little girl, thank you!”

Tang Linzhi not only had the dagger ‘Yi Suan’ forged by Qing Huan but also the bow-sword Chini. She drew Chini to face the enemy and handed Yi Suan to Jiang Ying.

Jiang Ying took it and thanked her. The reanimated corpse stabbed by this dagger fell to the ground as if they were dead, proving more effective than swords.

Now equipped with the means to subdue the reanimated corpses, the group moved as fiercely as dragons diving into the sea, stirring up chaos. Within moments, seven or eight corpses lay motionless on the ground.

But there was no time for rest. Yan Jianyu, seeing the bow-sword in Tang Linzhi’s hands and unsure if it was Chini, kept his guard up, and the daggers in the hands of the seven also drew his attention.

In this world, there were only eight divine weapons, and he had never heard of one shaped like a dagger. Although he felt this group might be bluffing, he couldn’t help but be cautious, a stark contrast to his previous composure.

Yan Jianyu stepped to the side, and the seven walking corpses following him joined the battle. He wanted to end this quickly, without further delay.

Qi Tianzhu and Hao Yun, on the outer edges, were the first to engage these seven corpses.

After a single exchange, they knew that these seven were different from the previous ones. These seven were already skilled fighters in life, and now, as reanimated corpses, they were even more formidable and difficult to resist.

The two of them grew anxious. These corpses showed a style reminiscent of renowned martial artists, and they feared they might include acquaintances of the people behind them.

They tried to block them all, but these reanimated corpses were not afraid of injuries, and with other corpses interfering nearby, the two could only stop one each, allowing the remaining five to charge through.

It was quite a coincidence. The seven reanimated corpses under Yan Jianyu’s command were highly skilled, unlike ordinary corpses. If the young disciples of Xuhuai Valley and Qixian Palace were to face them, they would certainly be no match.

However, Qing Jiu’s group originally consisted of seven skilled individuals, and with Yang Chun added, it made eight.

Yang Chun had exceptional lightness skills, but his martial arts were not refined. He was also timid and cowardly, constantly dodging and could not be counted as a fighting force. Qing Jiu was absent, and Yu’er, was injured and unable to fight, leaving only five people. But with the addition of Jiang Ying and Hao Yun, they had just enough to face these seven reanimated corpses.

In jianghu, each of them was among the elite, with Hao Yun recognized as a Martial Champion. Although the reanimated corpses were formidable, they had divine weapons in hand. Even if they couldn’t defeat the corpses immediately, it would be easy to hold them off for a while.

However, Jian Ying barely had a moment’s encounter with a corpse before it slashed her shoulder with a sword and sent her flying into a stone lantern with a palm strike.

Jian Ying was positioned on the far left, next to Yan Li. Seeing her wounded, Yan Li didn’t even try to engage the reanimated corpse; she quickly leaped to Jian Ying’s side.

Yan Li was secretly shocked. She thought the corpse’s martial arts were extraordinary to have injured Jiang Ying in a single encounter.

But when Yan Li turned her attention to the corpse, she realized it wasn’t that the reanimated corpse was exceptionally skilled, but rather that Jian Ying had panicked, failing to guard and counter effectively.

The reanimated corpse in front of her bore the unmistakable face of her junior brother, Mo Chenggui.

Yan Li found it hard to accept, staring at the reanimated corpse, struggling even to swallow, her voice trembling as she barely managed to utter, “Junior Brother…”

The Four Auspicious Beasts of Wuwei Palace had been cultivating the Dao and learning the sword together in the palace since they were young. The four grew up together, as close as siblings.

Although Yan Li seemed cold on the surface, she valued relationships deeply.

To her, strangers were just passersby, but once someone entered her heart, they became family.

Now, seeing her junior brother in such a state, her heart was overwhelmed with grief.

Jiang Ying shook her head, unable to accept it, already choking back tears, “Junior Brother… I clearly saw him die… He was severely wounded but still fought off those attackers. The Gu worms… crawled all over his body… Senior Sister, we searched for his body for a long time but couldn’t find it. Why… why is he here…”

Jian Ying’s emotions were intense, and her words came out jumbled.

Yan Li could roughly understand. She took a deep breath, forcing herself to calm her mind.

Suddenly, the reanimated corpse attacked again, wielding a sword in the distinctive style of the Wuwei Palace.

Yan Li, using one hand to pull Jian Ying back and the other wielding her sword, parried the corpse’s attacks.

Recognizing the sword technique used by the reanimated corpse, Yan Li confirmed that it was indeed Mo Chenggui His expressionless face and the familiar scars on his pale purple skin further convinced her.

Even with her usually calm demeanor, Yan Li felt both anger and pain surge through her. With a sharp cry, she launched an attack at Mo Chenggui.

Initially, each of them was supposed to handle one reanimated corpse, but with Jian Ying injured, Yan Li now faced two alone.

Yan Li had already been wounded earlier, and now her wounds reopened, her arm smeared with fresh blood.

Mo Wen, who was closest to Yan Li noticed the strange state of the two and overheard their conversation. Understanding half of the situation, she turned to Yan Jianyu and exclaimed, “So, that group has already mastered turning corpses into the living dead!”

Yan Jianyu said, “Yes, their strength will be endless in the future. If they can capture Jie Qianchou today and refine him into a corpse puppet, who in the world could stand against them? You’re all foolish for still opposing them! If you know what’s good for you, give up your resistance. Perhaps then you can die a quicker death!” Yan Jianyu’s voice grew louder and more excited with each word, as if he could already see the entire wulin of Central Plains bowing at his feet, and he laughed heartily, looking up to the sky.

Mo Wen’s face remained expressionless, but her voice was as cold as ice. “How despicable you all are!”

She finally understood why Yan Jianyu was so fearless. The Miaojiang must have succeeded in their Gu refinement experiments, producing many corpse puppets.

Years ago, when the heroes of the wulin battled against Wu Chang and the others in the Miaojiang, many skilled fighters perished. These warriors were already highly skilled martial artists when they were alive. Now that they had been refined into corpse puppets, they were even more formidable. They felt no pain, never tired, and were difficult to stop.

Ordinary people were already at a physical disadvantage against them! Moreover, upon seeing these corpse puppets, many recognized them as their former comrades-at-arms—brothers from the same sect, their own kin, and even their lovers, disciples, and revered teachers. Now turned into walking corpses and enemies, the sight scattered their spirits and made unbearable pain clutch at their hearts. How could they continue to fight in such a state? This was exactly what Yan Li and Jian Ying were experiencing!

The advantage held by the gathered heroes of the Mingjian Manor was quickly diminishing, now turning into a disadvantage.

Mo Wen felt deeply that these people were deviously manipulative, playing such ruthless games with people’s hearts. Even with her normally good temper, she couldn’t help but feel a surge of anger.

Jiang Ying struggled to her feet, leaning on her sword. She pointed her blade at Yan Jianyu and shouted, “You traitorous scoundrel!”

 “You ungrateful, ambitious dog! Colluding with the evil people from Miaojiang, tormenting my senior brother, denying him peace even in death! You desecrated his body, refining him into this inhuman ghost to slaughter his own martial family! Do you have no conscience?”

“Under the heavens, anyone with a shred of morality left in their heart could never commit such a cruel and vicious act. You, all of you, deserve to be exterminated! Even if we all die today, there will be others in the jianghu who will come to eradicate you beasts and those demons from Miaojiang!”

Jiang Ying had always admired the righteous conduct of the Mingjian Manor. Now, seeing Yan Jianyu colluding with Wu Chang, betraying his sect and ancestors, she cursed him as a beast. Since Wu Chang and others often used people for their gu experiments, treating human lives as worthless, she likened them to evil demons from hell.

Yan Jianyu’s face grew uglier as Jiang Ying’s tirade continued.

Hao Yun shouted, “Well said! Cut him down!”

Although Hao Yun wanted to go and help, he was still unable to deal with the corpse in front of him and could only cheer them on.

The disciples of the Xuhuai Valley and the Qixian Palace all echoed in agreement, their morale boosting as they united in their anger against the enemy.

Yan Jianyu grew even more furious. Drawing his sword, Qiushui, whose brilliant, fearsome gleam intimidated all who saw it, he swung it towards Jian Ying.

Among the seven, Jiang Ying and Yan Li were already injured, making their position the easiest to break through. Yan Jianyu aimed to eliminate these two first, then take Yu’er’s life, and finally teach the rest a lesson.

Seeing this, Hua Lian quickly called out a warning, “Swindler, that sword is a divine weapon. Don’t try to block it directly!”

Yan Li’s heart tightened. Ignoring the sword slashing towards her from Mo Chenggui, she took a sword strike to her shoulder and withdrew, rushing towards Jiang Ying.

The sword technique Yan Jianyu used, the Mingjian Manor style, focused on aggressive attacks. Wielding the Qiushui Sword, its power was doubled.

Jian Ying, though stronger in internal energy than Yan Jianyu, was slowed down by her injuries. Unable to dodge in time, she met his attack with her sword.

When their swords clashed, Jian Ying’s hand was jolted, her sword instantly breaking.

Yan Jianyu’s Qiushui continued its relentless advance. Yan Li arrived just in time, thrusting her sword sideways to intercept, pushing Qiushui’s blade away with the tip of her sword.

Yan Jianyu retracted his sword and spun, launching another attack. This strike was incredibly fast, aimed directly at Yan Li’s wounded shoulder.

Before he could close in, Yan Jianyu sensed a sudden gust behind him and hurriedly dodged to the side. Glancing back, he could see the tail end of a long whip.

Someone had tried to strike him with a whip from behind, and fortunately, his quick reflexes allowed him to dodge it.

Just as Yan Jianyu was trying to see who it was, he felt a chilling presence. Raising his sword to meet the attack, there was a clanging sound, and he felt an overwhelming force push him back, forcing him to retreat a considerable distance.

Once he regained his footing and focused his eyes, he saw the figure before him: tall and imposing in shining silver armor, with a long spear that was now positioned in front of Yan Li, defending her. It was Si Yu, a general under the City Lord of Jile City.

Hua Lian also recognized the one wielding the whip—it was a woman he had once crossed swords with in the Jile City. Hidden in the shadows were several other figures, all exuding calm, powerful auras, undoubtedly people from the Jiley City.

Hua Lian felt a sigh of relief in his heart. Even though Yan Li and the City Lord had their differences, the City Lord was not as detestable as Yan Jianyu. No matter their reasons for being here, dying at the hands of someone from the Jile City seemed more palatable than dying at the hands of Yan Jianyu.

Jian Ying, due to her grudge concerning Yan Li’s issues with Jile City, had no good feelings towards them. Despite seeing Si Yu intervene to save them, she couldn’t help but scoff, “What are you doing here, taking advantage of the situation?”

Si Yu glanced at Jiang Ying and said to Yan Li, “The City Lord sent us to protect Lady Yan Li.”

Jiang Ying snapped, “My senior sister doesn’t need her meddling, and she can keep her fake concern!”

Si Yu said, “The City Lord sent us to protect Lady Yan Li, not you,” implying that Jiang Ying had no say in this matter.

Jiang Ying said, “You…”

Yan Li asked indifferently, “Where is she?”

Si Yu planted his spear, Chuanyun, into the ground and said, “The City Lord said if Lady Yan Li does not wish to see her, she would not come to meet for now.”

Jiang Ying muttered, “What trick is she playing now…”

Yan Li frowned slightly and remained silent for a moment before saying, “You can go back. We don’t need you here.”

However, Si Yu said, “The City Lord’s orders are difficult to disobey, and moreover…”

Si Yu glanced at the reanimated corpse of Mo Chenggui, and said coldly, “Lady Yan Li does not seem to be in a position to refuse our help at the moment.”

Yan Li remained silent.

Si Yu continued, “If Lady Yan Li cannot bring herself to strike, allow this subordinate to assist.”

Without waiting for Yan Li’s response, Si Yu brandished Chuanyun. The long spear soared like a silver dragon, attacking Mo Chenggui.