Chapter 174: Decisive Blow

Chapter 174: Decisive Blow

"Li Pin! Die!"

Upon witnessing this scene, Zhao Sha let out a thunderous roar. His qi and blood surged like a boiling volcano, erupting with overwhelming force.

He seemed to have activated some kind of secret art, forcing his qi and blood to surpass the limits of his physical body. He channeled this rapidly spinning qi and blood into his sword, bombarding Li Pin's sword with explosive force, wave after wave.

Battered by the relentless assault, Li Pin's sword was slowly being pushed back toward himself, closer and closer till it seemed as if Li Pin’s own sword was about to slice into him.

Li Pin growled, "You're not even a Martial Saint, yet you dare strike at me? Who gave you such courage!?"

His internal organs resonated in unison, causing his qi and blood to surge. A brand-new Force formed through the gaps in his lungs and pulsed through the intersecting blades.

The double-layered force!

Zhao Sha, bearing the brunt of the attack, felt as if he could barely hold onto his short sword. The qi and blood he had unleashed through his secret art were dissipated by the force of Li Pin's strike, causing its power to rapidly diminish.

Seizing this opportunity, Li Pin tightened his right hand's grip on Green Bird's wrist and jerked it with a sudden burst of strength.

Crack!

Green Bird's entire arm snapped and was twisted at an unnatural angle under the force.

The intense pain caused the Quasi-Martial Saint to lose her grip on the Emei Twin Dagger, allowing it to fall.

Almost simultaneously, Li Pin lifted his right foot and kicked out with lightning speed, striking the falling Emei Twin Dagger's hilt.

The force in his leg erupted.

The dagger, which had been falling, was propelled forward like an arrow released from a fully drawn bow under Li Pin's kick, shooting out at an incredible speed.

Whoosh!

The dagger whizzed through the air.

"No...."

Before the terror in the eyes of the top-tier expert, whose potential could have led her to become a future Martial Saint, could fade, the Emei Twin Dagger had already pierced through the air with a sharp whistle. It penetrated her chin at a thirty-five-degree upward angle, passing through her skull and emerging from the back of her head. An inch of the blade, trailing a mist of blood, was visible.

A wound such as this, piercing through the skull, left no chance at survival. No human, or even an Orc Warrior, could survive it.

Zhao Sha's eyes burst with rage. "Li Pin!"

Fueled by his secret art, Zhao Sha's qi and blood surged. His qi and blood seemed to resonate with his spirit and killing intent, amplifying his power and pushing his short sword to its limit. He bypassed the intercepting Lingfeng Sword and aimed straight for Li Pin's throat.

As the saying goes, "The shorter the blade, the deadlier it is." In close quarters, the short sword clearly had the advantage over the longer Lingfeng Sword.

But as Zhao Sha's sword, infused with pernicious aura, descended, Li Pin released his right hand’s grip on Green Bird's lifeless body. With his left hand, he swung the Lingfeng Sword horizontally to deflect the short sword, blocking the attack just inches away.

Simultaneously, his right hand snapped out abruptly. His muscles and bones resonated as force surged from his internal organs. He delivered a punch that struck the blade of the short sword dead-on.

Then, a surge of Force erupted!

The organs resonated with each other, and the Force, akin to the unity of the Five Elements, exploded with the swing.

Bang!

The shockwave exploded outward.

Driven by his mental spirit, this sword seemingly broke through the constraints of air and broke the sound barrier.

Bang!

The horrifying speed generated by the mass-energy effect caused Zhao Sha's head to explode like a watermelon struck by a sledgehammer the instant it was met by the long sword.

His headless body continued to sprint forward for a few more steps due to momentum, before finally... collapsing to the ground.

This once-arrogant Quasi-Martial Saint had died without leaving even a final word.

Li Pin slowed down. Giving his longsword a shake, he turned around and fixed his gaze on Poison Fang.

With the bloodstained sword in hand, Li Pin strode like a shooting star toward the struggling Poison Fang.

Poison Fang, whose chest had caved in from Li Pin's earlier strike, likely had several broken ribs piercing his internal organs. His combat strength had diminished to nearly nothing. Seeing Li Pin approaching, the horror in Poison Fang's eyes bolstered rapidly.

"Li Pin.... You can't kill me. We're both contestants in the World's Top Martial Competition. If you kill me, they will investigate, and you will be held accountable. The best outcome for you would be losing your qualifications and being sent to the front lines. It's not worth sacrificing such a bright future because of me...."

Poison Fang’s eyes were desperate. "I... I promise I won't mention today's events to anyone. I can even testify that Green Bird and Zhao Sha were killed by the Orc Warrior.... Besides... I'm willing to compensate you.... What do you want? Money! Property! Women! I can give it all to you...."

Li Pin remained expressionless, walking straight up to Poison Fang with his sword in hand.

The pernicious aura accumulated from slaying two Quasi-Martial Saints, combined with his current cold and unwavering demeanor, made his presence overwhelmingly terrifying.

"I...."

Seeing Li Pin remain unmoved, Poison Fang seemed to resign to fate. He let out a bitter laugh and stopped pleading. "I was a part-time bounty hunter for five years, always on the edge of danger. I never thought that I would meet my end, not from countless battles with ferocious beasts and demonic creatures or the World's Top Martial Competition, but in a feud among my own kind...."

Li Pin raised his sword...

"Haha... Li Pin... You think it's that easy to kill me? I've reached the peak of martial arts. Today, I'll use the life-and-death pressure you're putting on me to transcend and truly step into the Martial Saint realm..."

Poison Fang let out a loud laugh as his qi and blood surged, seemingly preparing for a final desperate counterattack. However...

Not everyone could easily enter the extreme transcendence state.

Without sufficient mental conviction or the determination to risk everything, taking this step was nothing more than a fool's dream. And Poison Fang, if he hadn't pleaded for his life and had instead immediately fought with everything he had after getting up, might have had a sliver of hope to break through into the Martial Saint realm. But unfortunately...

He hadn’t done so.

In the moment when Poison Fang's blood surged, Li Pin's sword flashed with lightning speed.

Poison Fang's eyes widened as he tried desperately to dodge.

"Li Pin!"

However, his injuries left him no chance at altering his fate, despite his will.

As soon as he moved, the pain quickly spread throughout his body, causing his movements to slow involuntarily.

In that brief moment when his movements slowed, the Lingfeng Sword instantly pierced through his throat.

Sizzle!

Thrust! Withdraw!

Fluid and seamless, a single, continuous motion.