None of them expected that this woman, who only looked like a Foundation Establishment cultivator, would dare to strike first, let alone unleash such a vicious killing move right from the start!
The smug mockery on Sun Lie's face froze instantly, replaced by sheer horror. With a startled roar, fire-element spiritual power erupted from his body. His crimson longsword swung up across his chest in a desperate block.
Chi!
But the sharp finger wind didn't clash directly with the blade. Right before contact, it split into two streams. One shot straight for his face, the other curved around the edge of the sword and stabbed toward his wrist. A wave of deadly danger clawed up his spine. Sun Lie twisted frantically, jerking his head aside while snapping his wrist to deflect.
Pfft!
Blood sprayed out. He barely dodged a lethal strike to his face, but his cheek was carved open to the bone, searing pain burning through his nerves. Even worse, an icy aura poured into his meridians through the wound, chilling him to the core. His spiritual power stuttered, breaking his rhythm entirely.
The other strand of finger wind, though partially deflected, still slammed against his wrist, splitting the skin of his tiger's mouth wide open and nearly sending his sword flying.
"Sun Lie!"
Zhao Qian's furious cry rang out. He had already pulled out a pair of short daggers, their edges glinting with a sinister blue light. With a flick of his wrist, both daggers darted for Xie Zhaolin's ribs.
The sharp hum of the blades cut through the air. They'd clearly been laced with deadly poison.
The two men moved with practiced coordination, one defending while the other struck, instantly surrounding Xie Zhaolin in a pincer attack.
From upstairs and down, the crowd gasped in shock. No one had imagined that this seemingly ordinary woman would be so fierce, so terrifyingly strong that she wounded Sun Lie, who was infamous for his ferocity, in just one exchange!
Yet even when trapped between Zhao Qian's poisonous strikes, her eyes stayed cold and steady, without the slightest trace of panic. Her toes tapped lightly on the floor, sending her figure gliding back just enough for the daggers to graze past her sleeve instead of her flesh.
Zhao Qian's face darkened. The more he fought, the more alarmed he felt. Every strike of his daggers sank into emptiness as if slashing mist, while her seemingly simple counters kept throwing his balance into chaos and making his blood churn.
It had all happened too fast. From the moment Xie Zhaolin attacked to the moment both men were thrown off, it was no more than the blink of an eye.
Sun Lie staggered back, shock and fury twisting his expression. Zhao Qian's grip on his daggers tightened unconsciously, his face pale.
Something was wrong with this woman. Very wrong.
They weren't fools. Both had roamed Tianxing City for years and knew how to judge people. To nearly cripple Sun Lie in a single move, this was no ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivator. She had to be a core disciple of some great sect out on tempering, or worse, an old monster hiding her true cultivation.
Run!
The thought hit both of them at once. For a scrap of resources and a bit of pride, tangling with this kind of person wasn't worth it at all.
Sun Lie even shifted slightly, ready to spit out a few words and smooth things over.
But then—
From the second floor corridor, a jeering voice rang out, eager to fan the flames. "Yo! Zhao Qian, Sun Lie! Already backing down? A single finger from a young lady scared you witless? How're you gonna survive in Tianxing City like this? Hahaha!"
Another voice chimed in with mockery, "Weren't you tough just now? Where's all that bravado when you were robbing people?"
"Tsk, tsk, looks like from now on we'll have to take the long way around whenever we see this fairy!"
These bottom-feeder cultivators thrived on stirring chaos. Nothing made them happier than seeing a fight spiral out of control. Every word landed like a stinging slap across Zhao Qian and Sun Lie's faces.
Their retreat froze mid-step. Their expressions twisted blue and pale in turn. If they backed down now, their reputations would be ruined. In Tianxing City, they'd become the butt of every joke. How would they still recruit underlings? How would they still snatch resources?
They were stuck riding a tiger they couldn't get off.
Ruthlessness flashed in Zhao Qian's eyes. Through clenched teeth, he sent a voice transmission, "Fuck! We can't back off. Go all in! No matter how strange she is, she's still just Foundation Establishment. If we fight together, we can take her down. Once we kill her, we'll get back everything we just lost!"
Sun Lie's eyes flared with murderous intent. If she really was from some powerful sect, then her storage pouch would be overflowing with treasures. He nodded sharply, his killing intent boiling over.
Their escape had been cut off by the jeering crowd. They had no choice but to throw everything into the fight.
"Bitch! Die!"
Sun Lie ignored his internal injuries, roaring as fire-element power poured wildly into his longsword. The weapon burst into a towering arc of flame as he hacked down with brutal force. At the same time, Zhao Qian snarled and swept his daggers, leaving streaks of ghostly blue shadows. He sealed every possible escape route and aimed for her vital points.
The crowd didn't try to stop them. On the contrary, their cheers and jeers rose louder, as if watching beasts tearing each other apart in an arena.
Xie Zhaolin's gaze turned to ice. She'd already planned to finish these two scheming bastards, but the mocking, bloodthirsty cheers around her filled her with a disgust that sank to her bones.
Since they loved watching a show so much...
She'd let them watch to their heart's content.
Her body blurred forward instead of retreating, cutting straight into the heart of their fiercest attacks.
Zhao Qian and Sun Lie's dread only deepened. No matter how they struck, it was like striking at shadows, while every casual counter of hers pinpointed the flaws in their spiritual power flow and shattered their technique transitions.
That crushing sense of helplessness, of being read like an open book, nearly broke their minds.
But they had underestimated her... and overestimated themselves.
At the exact instant their focus faltered, Xie Zhaolin flipped her right hand, her finger stabbing straight for the weak point in Sun Lie's exposed chest. Her left hand pressed down, unleashing invisible force that crashed straight into Zhao Qian's Primordial Soul.
Zhao Qian's sea of consciousness quaked violently. His vision went black, his body freezing for just an instant.
"No—!"
Sun Lie's pupils contracted in terror. He tried to bring his sword back in defense, but he couldn't keep up with her speed.
Puchi!
Her fingertip pierced through his protective spiritual light and sank into his heart. Her condensed power detonated inside his chest.
Sun Lie's body jerked violently. His mouth opened but no sound came out. His eyes dimmed as he collapsed backward with a heavy thud.
Almost at the same time, Zhao Qian regained control, only to see Sun Lie's corpse hit the floor.
And then he met Xie Zhaolin's chilling gaze.
A shrill scream ripped from his throat. Pride, resources, reputation—he didn't care about any of it anymore. He spun to flee.
But it was already far too late.
Her strike landed first.
"Ugh!" Zhao Qian vomited a spray of blood as his body flew like a broken kite, slamming hard against the ground. He twitched twice before lying completely still.
The entire tavern hall fell silent. Every jeer and every laugh cut off as if strangled.