Whoosh!
The saber light shone, like a silver moonbeam pouring down.
With this determined strike, Fu Yuanming's face was filled with extreme ruthlessness.
Beneath the saber light, Chen Ping'an's back seemed to have eyes, his body twisting and turning, narrowly avoiding it.
Fu Yuanming's expression froze, and he cried out in surprise.
"How is that possible!"
Chen Ping'an twisted his body, quickly widening the distance between them.
"I was expecting you!"
At this moment, the clothes on his back were torn. Although the saber itself did not touch him, its surrounding sharpness still cut through his clothes.
Whoosh!
Fu Yuanming changed his steps and flashed forward.
He simply didn't believe that Chen Ping'an could truly dodge that strike. He only attributed it to his preparedness and luck.
He truly didn't believe in such evil!
As a seasoned master of the Inner Qi Realm's first level, he couldn't possibly be unable to deal with a mere Qi Blood Realm brat!
Chen Ping'an placed Mu Wanjun's body on the ground and advanced instead of retreating.
Fu Yuanming had not expected Chen Ping'an to react in such a way.
"Seeking death!"
He slashed down with his saber!
The Demon Subduing Saber Art he practiced was most fearless in head-on assaults.
The eighteen strikes of the Demon Subduing Saber Art, each slash overlapping the last, eventually forming a saber momentum and sound wave of unimaginable power.
Eight Steps Catching Cicadas!
Chen Ping'an delivered a kick, directly hitting Fu Yuanming's saber.
The power of the Major Achievement-level Eight Steps Catching Cicadas was absolutely extraordinary!
Clang!
The immense force caused the saber to vibrate wildly!
"No, impossible!"
Fu Yuanming's face was filled with disbelief.
Wasn't he in the Qi Blood Sixth Stage? How could he be so strong!
One kick blocked his saber strike.
But at this point, he could no longer retreat.
Without the slightest hesitation, Fu Yuanming unleashed his trump card.
Demon Subduing Tiger Subduing!
This was the most powerful strike in the Demon Subduing Saber Art. However, to execute this strike, a massive amount of Internal Energy was required.
Even as a seasoned Inner Qi master of the first level, he could only manage to unleash one such strike.
With this strike, saber shadows filled the sky, and Evil Qi rushed forth.
Almost at the same time, Chen Ping'an's saber was already out of its sheath.
"A mere grain of rice dares to shine?"
Gale Quick Saber Slash!
Some say that among all martial arts, only speed is supreme!
Regarding this view, opinions vary widely.
But at this moment, Chen Ping'an was going to tell him that he was right.
I will break all techniques with one saber!
Chen Ping'an's saber strike suddenly accelerated mid-way, turning into a strange arc. It struck Fu Yuanming's neck before he could react.
Fu Yuanming only felt his head lighten, and then his entire body flew up.
The next moment, his vision spun, and he only saw a headless corpse.
Am I... dead?
Fu Yuanming's ruthlessness still lingered on his face as his head rolled to the ground with a thud.
With endless shock and fear, Fu Yuanming's consciousness plunged into boundless darkness.
Fu Yuanming, Deputy Total Affairs Office of Nancheng Suppression Office, dead!
Although Fu Yuanming's head was severed by Chen Ping'an, his saber strike still fell fiercely.
At this moment, Iron Cloth, Thirteen Taibao Horizontal Training, and Golden Bell Cover were all pushed to their limits by Chen Ping'an.
"I'll take it!"
Clang!
Like the clash of metal.
Fu Yuanming's saber strike landed heavily on Chen Ping'an's shoulder.
Although this strike was formidable, it was ultimately blocked by Chen Ping'an.
"Hiss!"
Chen Ping'an couldn't help but gasp.
So painful!
This, this, this!
Such a fierce strike, he must have broken skin!
To be honest, Fu Yuanming's trump card, Demon Subduing Tiger Subduing, was indeed powerful in theory.
However, Demon Subduing Tiger Subduing normally required the preceding groundwork of the Demon Subduing Saber Art, with one strike after another, overlapping and accumulating power. Only by suddenly unleashing Demon Subduing Tiger Subduing with the final strike could its power be maximized.
But Fu Yuanming didn't have the opportunity to do so. His saber momentum had barely begun when it was forcefully disrupted by Chen Ping'an.
Furthermore, there was a significant Realm difference between the two. If it were unleashed with the martial Dao Realm of the Inner Qi Second Level, Chen Ping'an would still be wary.
But unleashed with the Realm of the Inner Qi First Level!?
It was just so-so!
One must know that with Perfection-level Iron Cloth, Perfection-level Thirteen Taibao Horizontal Training, Major Achievement-level Golden Bell Cover, and the perfect Breakthrough from the System panel, Chen Ping'an's defense had already reached an extremely terrifying level.
If his Golden Bell Cover could advance further, directly resisting a strike from the Inner Qi Third Level would be no exaggeration!
"You had a path to Heaven but chose not to walk it; you threw yourself into Hell where there was no gate!"
Chen Ping'an said this with a seemingly cold expression, then immediately broke character and bent down to search for spoils of war.
Compared to Mai Xiongbo, Fu Yuanming was undoubtedly much richer. Several silver notes with a face value of a thousand taels, and some scattered trinkets.
All these items were collected by Chen Ping'an one by one.
As expected of the Deputy Total Affairs Office of the Zhenfu Division, he was indeed wealthy; he carried so much on him!
In comparison, Mai Xiongbo was undoubtedly a complete pauper!
However, on second thought, that's not entirely true!
Truly valuable things would still be carried close by!
Chen Ping'an thought of the item hidden in Mai Xiongbo's skin behind his neck.
After searching the corpse, Chen Ping'an followed suit and used a flint to burn Fu Yuanming's body.
Watching the flames gradually rise, Chen Ping'an's heart was filled with joy.
From Zuo Wumei to Fu Yuanming, his net worth had unknowingly approached ten thousand taels of silver in this back-and-forth.
Indeed, as the old saying goes, killing and arson bring wealth!
Besides the items on his person, Fu Yuanming also had another good item. That was the saber that had fallen to the ground.
The blade of this saber had clear patterns, subtly exuding a chilling aura, and possessed the power to cut hair with a mere breath!
It was undoubtedly a top-quality sharp weapon!
In terms of value and material, it was far superior to Chen Ping'an's hundred pattern blade.
Chen Ping'an hesitated for a moment, then ultimately gave up the idea of taking this saber.
This saber, being Fu Yuanming's personal weapon, was far too conspicuous!
If he brazenly took it, he would be practically telling everyone that he was the one who killed Fu Yuanming!
However...
Not being able to take it was one thing, but hiding the saber was another.
Chen Ping'an looked around and saw an old locust tree not far away.
He moved swiftly and soon reached the base of the old locust tree. With a light tap of his toes, his entire body shot into the air. With one arm, he embraced the tree and climbed to its top.
He chose a densely leafed spot and directly plunged the saber into it.
This was the quickest way he could think of to hide the saber at this stage.
From the time the Devil cultists started causing trouble until now, the situation in Nancheng was probably about to calm down.
He didn't have that much time to waste anymore.
Chen Ping'an gently released his hand, and his body landed steadily on the ground.
What needed to be done has been done!
Whether this saber could be kept now was simply up to fate!
By the time Chen Ping'an returned to Mu Wanjun's side, Fu Yuanming's corpse was already mostly burned.
Chen Ping'an still wanted to wait until the body turned to ash before dealing with the loose ends. But at this moment, faint sounds were already coming from the nearby street.
"No time!"
Chen Ping'an made a decisive decision without any hesitation, immediately picked up Mu Wanjun, and headed in the opposite direction.
Not cleanly dealing with the loose ends was ultimately just a small point of suspicion. But if someone witnessed him having been there, that would be far more than just a small point of suspicion.
Chen Ping'an was clear about what was more important.