Volume One: A Beauty’s Bane Chapter 30: Counter-Kill

"Ha! You brat, you're at death's door, yet you have the audacity to bring out a broken sword to make a fool of yourself!"

"Go to hell! Go keep my second brother company on the road to the afterlife!"

"Thousand-Catty Blade!"

As the words left his lips, Yang Dahu raised his heavy broadsword high and brought it crashing down toward Jiang Hao’s head. The strike was as heavy as Mount Tai, fierce and overwhelming, leaving Jiang Hao with nowhere to flee.

"The Second Leader is truly going all out! To think he would unleash such a technique!"

"Indeed! This Tier 1 spell, the Thousand-Catty Blade, is the signature move that made the Second Leader famous. He must have mastered it to perfection by now!"

"It is said that this technique, named for its thousand-catty weight, contains unparalleled power and sharpness. The caster uses spiritual energy to condense the essence of heaven and earth, imbuing inanimate objects with invisible gravity. It strikes like a heavy hammer, possessing the force to shatter the very air!"

"Combined with the Second Leader’s two-star spiritual weapon, the Iron-Blood Saber, it is like adding wings to a tiger!"

"It seems that after this blow, that brat will surely be decapitated!"

The subordinates of the Wild Wolf Gang chattered incessantly, seemingly convinced that Jiang Hao was doomed under Yang Dahu’s blade. Even Ge Tianlang, who had been slightly worried, now wore a look of satisfaction, unable to help but praise: "My second brother's Iron-Blood Saber weighs three hundred and eighty catties, and the blade is forged with extreme toughness and sharpness!"

"Now, with the augmentation of the Thousand-Catty Blade, the saber in his hand has reached a full thousand catties in weight! Such mass is comparable to a heavy weapon among three-star, or even four-star, spiritual items!"

"This fellow is as good as dead. It can be considered avenging my third brother." Thinking of this, Ge Tianlang gently stroked his sparse beard.

"Zhu Xian Sword! Today, let me test your power!"

Jiang Hao shouted in his heart, rapidly circulating his spiritual energy, and without a moment's hesitation, he swung his sword directly to meet the incoming Yang Dahu.

"Clang!"

The Zhu Xian sword in Jiang Hao’s hand collided with Yang Dahu’s Iron-Blood Saber, producing a deafening roar!

"Snap!"

Before anyone could react, the next moment, the Iron-Blood Saber in Yang Dahu’s hand was severed in two by Jiang Hao’s strike.

"Clatter!" The upper half of the blade fell heavily to the ground, emitting a sharp, jarring sound.

"This... how is this possible?" Looking at the half-broken saber in his hand, Yang Dahu was stunned, his face full of disbelief.

"Mountain-Splitting Palm!"

Almost instantly, Jiang Hao channeled his spiritual energy and unleashed a palm strike, landing heavily on Yang Dahu’s head and sending him flying.

"Ah!"

"You..."

Suspended in mid-air, Yang Dahu let out a miserable scream before crashing to the ground. After spitting blood, he slowly stopped breathing. The transition from Jiang Hao blocking the attack to killing his opponent was so swift that everyone was left wide-eyed, unable to process that Yang Dahu had been slain on the spot.

"Cough!" Jiang Hao couldn't help but cough, his breath slightly ragged, though thankfully, he was otherwise unharmed.

***

"Swinging the Zhu Xian sword with one hand and immediately following up with the Mountain-Splitting Palm—the consumption is indeed not trivial."

After killing Yang Dahu, Jiang Hao hurriedly took two Spiritual Qi Pills from his Qiankun Ring and swallowed them to recover his depleted energy.

"Second Brother!"

"Yang Dahu! Wake up!"

Ge Tianlang, who had been calm and collected, suddenly lunged toward Yang Dahu. Witnessing the cooling corpse, he was overcome with grief! He never imagined that what was meant to be a simple kill mission would, in the blink of an eye, separate him from the brother he had lived alongside for years.

"My god! How is this possible! He actually killed the Second Leader!"

"That black sword in his hand is truly bizarre—it snapped the Second Leader's Iron-Blood Saber with a single strike!"

"Could this be his true strength?"

"It’s terrifying! If he can defeat the Second Leader, wouldn't we just be throwing our lives away if we go up there?"

In an instant, the Wild Wolf Gang subordinates began to retreat, their eyes filled with terror. Sensing the shift in atmosphere, Ge Tianlang quickly composed himself, stood up, and drew his own spiritual weapon—the Sky Wolf Spear—to face Jiang Hao.

"Brothers of the Wild Wolf Gang! The Second Leader was just careless; this brat isn't actually that strong!"

"I declare that whoever cuts off his head today shall be the new Second Leader of the Wild Wolf Gang! Furthermore, anyone who manages to wound him will be rewarded with ten thousand silver coins!"

One must admit, Ge Tianlang was deeply cunning. The situation, which had been crumbling like a landslide, stabilized as the men stopped their retreat at his incentive. The next moment, when the subordinates looked at Jiang Hao, their eyes burned with greed and excitement.

"Zhu Xian Sword, let us fight to our hearts' content today!"

Jiang Hao gripped the sword, its edge gleaming with cold light, as if harboring endless rage and determination. Facing the ravenous pack of enemies, his gaze was like a torch, fearless.

"Come!" Jiang Hao shouted in a low voice, his tone like thunder, shaking the soul of everyone present.

"Brothers! Kill him and avenge the Second Leader!"

At Ge Tianlang's command, the Wild Wolf Gang members surged forward like a tide, attempting to surround Jiang Hao. However, Jiang Hao moved like a gale; amidst the flashing sword light, he transformed into an intangible whirlwind. His swordplay was fluid and natural, like a swimming dragon weaving through the crowd, leaving blood splattered wherever he passed.

One subordinate lunged forward with his blade, but Jiang Hao dodged nimbly and swung his sword in a swift arc, cutting directly across the man’s throat. The man didn't even have time to react before the Zhu Xian sword finished him; blood erupted like a fountain, staining the surrounding earth.

More enemies flooded toward Jiang Hao, but he remained agile, his sword strikes like rainbows, moving like an invincible master. Every strike was fatal. In an instant, several men were cut down, their screams echoing one after another, the air thick with the pungent stench of blood.

In less time than it takes to brew a cup of tea, more than half of the Wild Wolf Gang were dead. The survivors were jolted from their greed, terror beginning to show on their faces.

"Just a mere brat—I don't believe I can't subdue him!" Seeing this, Ge Tianlang burned with secret rage and decided to strike personally.

***

Ge Tianlang roared, gripping his Sky Wolf Spear, and bore down on Jiang Hao, intent on killing him in one blow. However, Jiang Hao had already sensed his approach, sneering coldly as his sword momentum intensified, rising to meet him.

"Brat, this Ge Tianlang is at the mid-stage of the Spirit Spring Realm. You must kill him quickly; do not give him any chance to breathe! Otherwise, it will turn into a grueling battle!" Feng Ling'er warned coldly.

"Master, I understand!" Jiang Hao’s voice was like a cold blade, merciless: "Caiyun, Brother Jiang Hao will avenge your Uncle Tang now!"

The two stood face to face, sword and spear clashing, instantly erupting with an earth-shaking sound.

Jiang Hao channeled all his spiritual energy, his sword like a rainbow, pressing hard against Ge Tianlang. Although Ge Tianlang was the leader of the Wild Wolf Gang and also at the mid-stage of the Spirit Spring Realm, he found himself overwhelmed under Jiang Hao's sword pressure.

Strike after strike, Jiang Hao's swordplay was like an invisible flood, forcing Ge Tianlang to retreat. Ge Tianlang was panicked, attempting to counterattack, but found himself unable to breathe under the pressure.

"Die!" Jiang Hao roared. With a flash of the blade, he instantly severed the Sky Wolf Spear in Ge Tianlang's hand and thrust forward directly into his heart.

If Jiang Hao had been able to snap Yang Dahu's saber earlier, Ge Tianlang hadn't cared much. But now, seeing his own Sky Wolf Spear broken, Ge Tianlang was struck with terror. One had to know that the Sky Wolf Spear was a genuine two-star spiritual weapon, and a high-quality one at that!

"What terrifying sword momentum!" Despair flashed in Ge Tianlang's eyes. Even if he wanted to cast a spell now, it seemed too late.

Seeing this, Ge Tianlang didn't even bother with the broken spear in his hand, throwing it to the ground and attempting to dodge, but there was nowhere left to run!

Finally, under that strike, his body collapsed, blood spraying wildly as he lay gasping his last.

"You... how is it possible..." Ge Tianlang muttered to himself, his eyes filled with disbelief, before falling into an endless darkness.

"Pfft!"

Immediately after, Jiang Hao fell onto one knee, gripping the Zhu Xian sword. The web of his hand had already split, blood seeping from his palm and sliding down the blade. Clearly, the battle with Ge Tianlang had exhausted every ounce of his spiritual energy. From start to finish, he had relied on the might of the Zhu Xian sword, never giving Ge Tianlang a chance to counter.

Having killed Ge Tianlang, Jiang Hao was now at the end of his rope.

"The First Leader is dead too!"

Someone in the crowd screamed, and the remaining Wild Wolf Gang members scattered like birds and beasts. Even though the young man before them was exhausted and could seemingly be killed by anyone, no one dared to step forward. To save their lives, they scrambled toward the alley exit.

"Master, I truly cannot swing the sword anymore," Jiang Hao said with difficulty, watching the fleeing men. He knew that if he let these people go, that Prince would surely know he hadn't perished and would inevitably send even more killers.

"Brat, I wasn't planning on relying solely on you anyway," Feng Ling'er said faintly. "But you performed quite well in today's battle!"

As the words faded, several balls of red flame appeared before Jiang Hao, and in a flash of lightning, they shot rapidly toward the fleeing men.

"Ah! Ah..."

In an instant, the small alley was filled with screams!