Chapter 171: Heartless Kill

Chapter 171: Merciless Kill

"Whoosh..."

The cyan blade sliced through the air, producing a low, mournful hum as it thrust straight toward Little San's resolute face. A cyan glow shimmered along the blade, casting a greenish hue over the dried blood on Little San's lips and eyes. Set against his expression of unyielding resolve, it made his determination to seek death all the more apparent.

"Junior brother..."

Yan Feng's eyes welled with tears. Ever since they had set out from Qinglin Prefecture, Little San had been by his side. Later, they had ascended Mount Hua together as martial brothers, yet now, this was to be a permanent farewell.

"Eldest brother!"

A piercing cry suddenly rang out from behind the veranda.

A young girl dressed in dark cyan garments burst out from the house. Her long hair was disheveled, and a bright red handprint lingered on her pretty face. Rushing forward too quickly, the toe of her shoe caught on the threshold, and she stumbled, collapsing heavily onto the ground.

"Eldest brother!"

Lying prostrate on the ground, the girl raised her head and reached out toward Little San in the distance. Her fair face was filled with utter anguish, and her cries were pierced with grief.

...

Lost in deep thought, Jiang Yan's body suddenly shuddered. Roused by Little Si's piercing cries, he snapped out of his reverie.

"Halt."

Seeing the sharp sword descending toward the top of Little San's head, Jiang Yan frowned. Without a second thought, he extended his right hand. The spiritual power of the Great Perfection of Foundation Establishment surged from his body, and the cyan sword, which had been plummeting with terrifying momentum, seemed guided by an invisible force. With a flash of cyan light, it flew directly into Jiang Yan's outstretched palm.

*Clang.*

The sword in hand, Jiang Yan flicked his wrist, and the blade drove straight down into the bluestone well platform in the courtyard. Utilizing the momentum, the entire blade sank deep into the stone, leaving only the hilt outside, emitting a rapid, humming vibration.

"What is the meaning of this?" Jiang Yan's face was as cold as frost as he looked at Little San, who stood upright and resigned to death.

Seeing that her eldest brother was still alive, Little Si scrambled behind Little San and tightly embraced his back, her fair face streaming with tears. "Brother, brother... don't leave Si'er behind. Mom and Dad are gone; don't leave Si'er all alone..."

Little San's handsome face darkened. Though he had been bent on seeking death just moments ago, feeling his younger sister's embrace from behind and recalling that their parents were gone—and that his little sister had suffered such a heavy blow—he knew that if he were to perish now, she would surely not survive.

His heart softening, and facing Jiang Yan's stern reprimand, Little San's knees buckled. With a heavy thud, he dropped to his knees before Jiang Yan, prostrating himself and weeping bitterly. "Master, this disciple killed an enemy and brought a grave disaster upon our sect. Only by dying can this disciple avert the crisis facing the sect."

Jiang Yan shifted his gaze, cold light flashing in his eyes as he swept them over the weeping siblings, then over Yan Feng's red-rimmed eyes, and finally resting upon the displeased expression of Monk Wukong. In a voice steeped in biting frost, Jiang Yan said, "Little Monk Wukong, it has been many days, and your eloquence has grown. With a tongue like lotus blossoms, you manage to drive my disciple to his death without drawing a single sword, hmm?"

Monk Wukong's face darkened. Knowing Jiang Yan's temperament, he realized there was likely no amicable way to resolve the matter concerning Young Master Liang.

Holding his single-armed palm upright against his chest, Monk Wukong replied in a steady tone, "Though the death of Young Master Liang will not provoke the higher-ups of our HuaSheng Temple, the forces behind him are not something your Mount Hua sect can withstand, Ascetic. If you wish for the Mount Hua sect to endure, your disciple must appease us with his death. Furthermore..."

"Enough."

Jiang Yan coldly cut Monk Wukong off, his tone sharp and severe. "Little Monk Wukong, regardless of your original intent, driving my Mount Hua disciple to his death is completely unacceptable. Since the principal culprit has already been dealt with, today, out of respect for Kong Se, I shall spare the rest of you."

"Heh heh..."

The handsome Xun Ri suddenly threw his head back and laughed aloud, his tone dripping with mockery. Halfway through his laughter, Xun Ri abruptly whipped his head around, pointing an accusing finger at Jiang Yan and sneering, "What kind of arrogant thing are you to talk about sparing us? Hahaha, sparing us! If that wretch Little San had died, so be it. But since he lives—a disciple's fault reflects upon his master. Since the disciple killed Young Master Liang, it is as good as you, his master, doing the deed. Pay with your life!"

With a sharp roar, Xun Ri and Yun Fei sprang out from left and right. Golden radiance transformed in their hands into two glittering swords, which they hurled directly at Jiang Yan.

"The Wuwu Fist: Falling Wood and Whispering Winds."

Jiang Yan frowned. It appeared these two intended to kill him within a couple of moves.

This technique, *Falling Wood and Whispering Winds*, was a wide-area lethal combat method belonging to the HuaSheng Temple's peerless art, the Wuwu Fist. If executed by a Nascent Soul cultivator, it could theoretically obliterate dozens of cultivators at the Great Perfection of Foundation Establishment in a single breath. When fighting peers, although the destructive power of this Wuwu Fist stance was not overwhelmingly vast, this specific move served as the prelude to an even more terrifying technique—the *Merciless Kill*. The *Merciless Kill* possessed immense destructive power; not only could it crush enemies of the same tier, but against anyone within the same major realm, it could practically execute them in an instant.

Jiang Yan held Yun Ying in his arms. The airflow stirred by the *Falling Wood and Whispering Winds* fluttered the hem of Yun Ying's dress and ruffled the fabric of Jiang Yan's robes. A smug smile tugged at the corner of Jiang Yan's mouth; he thought to himself that since the two of them had struck first, even when little monk Kong Se arrived later, he could not accuse Jiang Yan of bullying juniors.

A trace of smugness crossed Xun Ri's face. Relying on his coordination with Yun Fei, they had ambushed and killed countless cultivators at the Great Perfection of Foundation Establishment using this *Merciless Kill*. *You arrogant little sect master, in a moment I'll have you kneeling in a pool of blood at your own doorway to teach you not to provoke this young master again.*

Moving at high speed, Xun Ri and Yun Fei exchanged a glance. With tacit coordination, they simultaneously raised their palms, and the golden spiritual energy gathered around their bodies suddenly surged into the air. Following the trajectory of their palms, the energy rapidly rose until it reached a height of about two people, where it abruptly paused and exploded in mid-air.

"Boom! Boom..."

Accompanied by two spiritual explosions, thick, concentrated golden spiritual energy plunged straight down from the sky like winter snowflakes, enveloping Jiang Yan, who stood with Yun Ying in his arms.

"Giggle..."

Yun Ying's slightly childish laughter suddenly rang out from Jiang Yan's embrace. Her finely sculpted little face bore a bright smile as she crispily said, "Eldest Senior Brother, the golden snowflakes are so pretty."

Before her voice had even faded, Yun Ying raised her fair, porcelain-like hand, igniting a pale cyan glow. Then, she pushed her small hand upward, and the cyan light flared brilliantly, instantly enveloping Jiang Yan and the little girl.

The descending torrent of golden snowflakes abruptly halted. Swept by the cyan spiritual power, they vanished cleanly in an instant, just like snow meeting the warm sun.

Seeing that flash of cyan radiance, Monk Wukong—who had been watching with half-closed, gentle eyes—narrowed them sharply. A look of shock surfaced in his pupils. That was the *Cyan Sun Melting Snow*, a technique only executable by Foundation Establishment cultivators. For a mere little girl at the Ascetic's side to already be a Foundation Establishment cultivator was astonishing enough; furthermore, judging by the might of the girl's Green Wood Spirit-Transforming Art, it was not inferior to the combined assault of Young Masters Xun and Yun—even if the two young masters had not exerted their full strength since this was merely the opening stance of the *Falling Wood and Whispering Winds*.

Seeing their technique shattered by a little girl, Xun Ri and Yun Fei were inwardly astonished, but they did not dwell on it. *Even if you are at the Great Perfection of Foundation Establishment, you cannot block this Merciless Kill today.*

Both men slammed their feet hard against the ground simultaneously, their bodies spinning rapidly upward into the air like two pillars of black smoke. Reaching mid-air, their momentum paused simultaneously, and brilliant golden radiance erupted from their bodies as an icy, bone-chilling cold instantly permeated the entire courtyard.

The *Merciless Kill* had not yet been unleashed, but its momentum was already formed...

Monk Kong Se, standing on the ground, watched the two blooming lotuses of golden light in the sky. The light in his eyes flickered through several changes before he finally muttered a low chant of Amitabha Buddha, took a few steps back, and refused to look at the bone-chilling murderous intent hanging in the air any longer.

Holding Yun Ying in his arms, Jiang Yan was covered from head to toe by a radiant, crystalline green light. The protective spiritual armor on his body had been triggered by the *Merciless Kill*, automatically activating its defensive talisman array. A flicker of appreciative amusement crossed Jiang Yan's narrowed eyes. Though these two were pampered scions, this *Merciless Kill* truly showcased the grand demeanor of a major sect like the HuaSheng Temple; once unleashed among peers, it was virtually invincible.

Jiang Yan silently admitted that even he could not withstand this *Merciless Kill*. Although he was at the peak of the Great Perfection of Foundation Establishment, judging merely by the frigid, austere killing intent radiating from the sky, he knew he could not stop a fully unleashed *Merciless Kill*.

The golden light in mid-air flared violently, and an even more dazzling radiance erupted behind Xun Ri and Yun Fei. All the spiritual energy required to launch the *Merciless Kill* began to condense around their bodies. While fierce and invincible, the cost of executing the technique was quite exorbitant, nearly draining the majority of their spiritual reserves.

As the radiance intensified, an increasingly grim and killing aura swept across the courtyard, no longer confined to Jiang Yan alone. The biting coldness completely enveloped the entire compound.

Jiang Yan's narrowed eyes suddenly flashed brightly. *Now is the moment.* As their spiritual energies intertwined and their auras transitioned, this was the final window to break the *Merciless Kill*.

"Buzz, buzz..."

The character for 'wood' inscribed on the center of his forehead glowed faintly. Arrows formed from spiritual consciousness rapidly took shape beside Jiang Yan, and countless divine consciousness tips sliced through the air, producing piercing, high-pitched whistling sounds as they materialized around him. Because the sounds of his spiritual consciousness slicing through the air were so dense and rapid, there was almost no gap between them, causing the continuous whistling to merge into a single, drawn-out, sharp tone that echoed endlessly within the small courtyard.

Yan Feng gently pulled Little San and his sister, retreating with the three of them into a corner of the courtyard. Having witnessed their master execute divine consciousness techniques many times, they were well aware of the terrifying power behind Jiang Yan's divine sense. Thus, their immediate reaction upon seeing him employ this technique was to back away.

Startled by the drawn-out, piercing whine, Monk Wukong cast a slightly embarrassed look toward Jiang Yan, whose forehead was glowing. His eyes were filled with utter astonishment. Such densely packed acoustic vibrations generated by divine consciousness slicing the air could only be produced by a Tier 2 Talisman Master! Yet, Tier 2 Talisman Masters supposedly only appeared within Tier 6 minor realms. To think that in this backwater Tianyue Realm, a Tier 2 Talisman Master actually existed...

Sun Ling and Liang Peng huddled beneath the veranda. As they looked up at Xun Ri and Yun Fei in mid-air, their eyes were brimming with envy. Among Tier 2 techniques at the HuaSheng Temple, this *Merciless Kill* easily ranked near the top. Disciples capable of mastering this technique were universally those with exceptional talent and deep backgrounds. The late Young Master Liang, despite having a father who was the master of a Tier 6 minor realm, had still been denied the chance to learn it.

"Wu..."

High in the air, from within the rotating dual lotuses of golden light, the exceptionally calm voices of Xun Ri and Yun Fei rang out. Through their cries, it sounded as though the two were enduring excruciating pain, struggling mightily to suppress their emotions.

"Qing..."

Following the elongated cry, the two figures enveloped in golden light continued to suppress their emotions before shouting this second syllable.

The *Merciless Kill* possessed formidable power, but the price for that power was a prolonged casting time. During the process, the caster had to endure immense agony, using their voice as a guide to channel the full destructive force of the technique. In other words, only after the two of them shouted the name of the *Merciless Kill* would its devastating power pour down from the sky like a flash flood.

"Buzz, buzz..."

As Jiang Yan's divine consciousness deployed densely above the heads of Xun Ri and Yun Fei, his spiritual technique finally completed its arrangement. He awaited only the moment they shouted the final character—the exact window when their internal spiritual power burst forth from their bodies—so his divine sense could cascade down, blasting them out of the sky and shattering the *Merciless Kill*.

"Kill..."

The final syllable finally escaped their lips. Through the thick golden light surrounding their bodies, Xun Ri gazed down at Jiang Yan, who stood composedly on the ground. Triumphant brilliance danced in his eyes; once again, another expert was about to fall to the joint attack of himself and young Yun Fei.

Yet, seeing the utter indifference on Jiang Yan's face, Xun Ri's heart skipped a beat with a sudden jolt. *Death is imminent—why is this arrogant brat so calm? Could it be that he still has some trick up his sleeve...?*

"Heh heh, that brat is a dead man." Beneath the veranda, Liang Peng, who had worn a miserable expression all this while, finally changed his face. A smug look bloomed across his features as he pointed toward Xun Ri and Yun Fei in the sky, excitedly saying to Sun Ling beside him, "Look, look! That's the *Merciless Kill* of our HuaSheng Temple, the most lethal technique among Tier 2 arts! This thing can kill enemies across realms!"

Sun Ling's brow remained furrowed. He felt somewhat perplexed by Liang Peng's excitement; his own family background was similar to Young Master Liang's, and he hadn't managed to learn the *Merciless Kill* either. Sun Ling had no real concept of whether the technique was powerful or not, and facing Liang Peng—who also couldn't use it—he couldn't understand why this fellow was getting so thrilled.

"Crack, snap..."

A loud, piercing sonic boom exploded in mid-air.

Liang Peng turned his head in confusion. The ultimate move of the *Merciless Kill* didn't sound like this, did it? Had the two senior brothers invented some novel way to unleash the technique? Raising his head in puzzlement, Liang Peng saw two bright golden clouds suddenly burst apart in mid-air, followed by two shooting stars that tore through the firmament and smashed directly into the roof behind where they stood.

"Crash..."

"Boom..."

Blasted flying by Jiang Yan, Xun Ri and Yun Fei plummeted one after the other, crashing through the roof and slamming violently into the ground. The impact caused the earth to shudder, making Wusheng and the others sway unsteadily on their feet.

"Bang..."

Two muffled spiritual explosions echoed almost simultaneously within the nearly collapsed building.

*Crash.*

Chunks of dirt rained down from the veranda roof, pelting Sun Ling and Liang Peng on the head. One lump even fell straight into Liang Peng's mouth, prompting a frantic bout of spitting and coughing.

"Crash..."

A brilliant wave of golden light suddenly erupted from the room behind them. The light seemed overwhelmingly powerful; upon hitting the brick wall, it blasted a massive hole straight through it.

"Crash..."

The already precarious room finally collapsed. The walls buckled, the roof caved in, and a billowing cloud of dust filled the sky...