After the Great Dao Died

Chen Lingxi fell silent.

He used this brief confrontation to secretly regulate his breathing, slowly suppressing the churning qi and blood in his body.

But his eyes remained nailed to Qiu Chihu’s saber-gripping right hand, not daring to look away for even a moment.

Qiu Chihu frowned, his expression turning increasingly grave.

The killing move of the Gold-Illuminating Blade Technique had failed to take down this official bondservant. If he dragged this out and his blade momentum waned, it would only give the boy a chance to catch his breath.

Moreover, that wisp of azure edge gave him a faint, ominous premonition.

He drove the Gold-Illuminating Blade Technique with every ounce of his strength. His blade momentum grew heavier, the golden light on the steel surging with every slash.

This slave won’t last much longer.

Qiu Chihu sneered inwardly.

At this moment, however, Chen Lingxi pushed the Concealed Edge Method to its absolute limit.The azure qi in his dantian was wrapped tight by an extremely thin and resilient barrier, his bodily qi and blood restrained until they were virtually nonexistent!

From the outside, he looked like nothing more than a dying man whose qi and blood were completely exhausted.

The silver-white radiance of the Silver Bone Realm had dimmed to near invisibility, and the Mountain-Collapsing Force over his fists was as thin as paper. Every punch he threw looked like a desperate struggle to hold on.

Qiu Chihu slashed with his blade, and Chen Lingxi raised an arm to block.

The blade struck the light shield, shattering it on impact. Chen Lingxi let out a muffled grunt and staggered back. His right arm hung limply, his fingers involuntarily unclenching, and his whole being appeared to be on the verge of total collapse.

A flash of viciousness crossed Qiu Chihu’s eyes.

His slashes came faster and faster. Chen Lingxi retreated again and again, struggling to parry left and right, cutting an utterly wretched figure.

Every step back was a stagger, every block an extreme strain!

But of this wretched display, only thirty percent was real; the remaining seventy percent was just an act.

He was waiting for a flaw to appear in Qiu Chihu’s blade momentum.

Chen Lingxi blocked five more slashes.

Qiu Chihu’s patience finally ran out.

He suddenly changed his stance. Gripping the blade with both hands, the silver bones throughout his body rang in unison. Silver marrow qi and blood erupted from all his bones simultaneously, pushing his Bone-Piercing Force to its absolute limit.

The silver patterns on the blade abruptly lit up, shifting from silver-white to pale gold, then from pale gold to a blazing white, before finally settling into an almost transparent, heart-palpitating pale golden glow.

The killing move of the Gold-Illuminating Blade Technique reappeared.

This strike was heavier, faster, and more absolute than the last.

The blade light was like a setting sun sinking into an abyss, plunging the world into darkness. Only that smear of gold remained, so intense it seemed intent on burning Chen Lingxi and the ground beneath his feet to ashes.

This was exactly the moment Chen Lingxi had been waiting for!

Qiu Chihu’s blade momentum had peaked. The pale golden light on the blade shone at its absolute brightest, the tip angling slightly upward before hacking straight down at his head.

This strike could no longer be pulled back!

The pressure of the blade wind bore down, blowing the stray hairs on Chen Lingxi’s forehead straight up. The skin on his face rippled under the sheer force of the gale.

I just need to chop down, and this slave will be split in two!

Murderous intent flared darkly in Qiu Chihu’s eyes...

However...

Chen Lingxi’s figure shot forward like an arrow released from a bow. Instead of retreating, he advanced, crashing straight into that blade light!

A trace of surprise flashed through Qiu Chihu’s eyes.

Had this official bondservant gone mad?

Mad?

Yet, Chen Lingxi’s gaze remained utterly calm.

In that split second when the blade was less than three inches from the center of Chen Lingxi’s brow...

He suddenly opened his mouth and spat out a streak of purple light!

Purple True Precious Qi!

The purple light was as fine as a cow’s hair, but it shone so brightly it blinded the eyes.

The moment it left his body, the world abruptly dimmed.

Its sharpness made one’s scalp tingle.

It tore through the air, leaving countless dense, fine ripples in its wake.

It passed through the blade light like a red-hot steel needle piercing a thin sheet of paper—silent and completely unhindered.

Before it, the golden gleam of the Gold-Illuminating Blade Technique was so fragile it couldn’t withstand a single blow.

Qiu Chihu’s pupils violently contracted, his body hair standing on end!

He saw that streak of purple light. He wanted to dodge—but it was already too late.

His blade momentum was at its peak. Every ounce of his qi and blood, all his silver marrow, and all his Bone-Piercing Force had been poured into this strike.

The momentum was set; like a fired arrow or spilled water, it was impossible to take back.

He couldn’t avoid it!

Snick!

In a mere instant!

The purple light sank into his chest, passed straight through his body, and shot out his back, bringing with it a fine mist of blood.

Qiu Chihu’s entire body shuddered.

That blade strike halted right there in midair.

The pale golden light on the blade flickered violently a few times before extinguishing with a hiss, like a candle snuffed out by the wind.

The silver patterns dimmed, and the blade returned to its original silver-white. Then, it slipped through his slackened fingers. Point facing down, it plunged into the yellow dirt, its hilt still trembling slightly.

Qiu Chihu looked down at his own chest.

A finger-thick hole had appeared there, piercing straight from his chest through his back. Its edges were as smooth as a mirror.

No blood gushed out, because wherever the purple light had passed, the blood vessels had been seared shut by the intense heat, leaving behind only a clean, see-through hole.

The hole was located just above his heart, barely half an inch from its apex.

The purple light had shredded a small portion of his stomach, brushed past the edge of his heart, and taken away a thumb-sized chunk of cardiac muscle.

That piece of muscle was nowhere to be found; it had been ground to dust by the purple light, dissipating into the air.

He staggered back two steps. Each footfall was incredibly heavy, like a drunkard desperately trying to maintain his balance.

His right hand instinctively reached for his chest, as if wanting to cover the hole, but his fingers only met the smooth edge.

He looked down at his fingers rubbing back and forth along the edge of the hole. An extremely complex expression surfaced on his face.

It was terror.

And disbelief.

Along with a faint, indescribable trace of bewilderment.

He was of exceedingly noble birth! His father was a third-rank official in the current dynasty, holding the vital command of the Capital Guards!

He had practiced martial arts since childhood, established his foundation at seven, entered the Iron Body realm at twelve, the Bronze-Red realm at sixteen, and stepped into Silver Bone Great Completion at twenty-one!

He had practiced the Gold-Illuminating Blade Technique for fifteen years and nourished this Gold-Slaughtering Precious Saber for eight.

Among his peers, he rarely met his match.

Even those old fogeys at Silver Bone Consummation couldn’t gain the upper hand against his blade.

But today, he had actually been reduced to this state by an official bondservant of a marquis estate—a lowly servant who didn’t even own his freedom?

”Who... exactly are you...?” He looked up at Chen Lingxi. His lips parted twice before he managed to squeeze out the words.

His voice no longer possessed its earlier composure. It was broken and disjointed, like a punctured bellows.

With every word he spoke, a fine mist of blood sprayed from the hole in his chest.

Chen Lingxi did not answer.

Qiu Chihu reached out, seemingly trying to grab hold of something.

His hand grasped wildly at the air a couple of times. His fingers closed, but grabbed nothing but empty space.

The luster had already vanished from his face, leaving only an ashen, deathly pallor.

His body swayed twice before falling straight backward.

His spine crashed into the yellow dirt with a heavy, dull thud, kicking up a cloud of dust!

Lying on the ground, Qiu Chihu gasped for air as the life began to drain from his body.

Even more terrifyingly, that official bondservant was right beside him!

”You...” Qiu Chihu began, his voice trembling, stripped of its former calm and arrogance. ”You wouldn’t dare kill me.”

Chen Lingxi did not answer. He merely stood over him, looking down.

”My father is Qiu Huai, Commander of the Capital Guards.” Qiu Chihu’s breathing grew more and more rapid. ”His Highness the Crown Prince... is waiting right outside this treasure. If you kill me, walking out of here will be a dead end.”

Chen Lingxi’s expression remained unmoved.

Qiu Chihu likely thought of his family background and the Crown Prince waiting outside this Beast-Fighting Palace.

The spark in his eyes brightened a fraction, like a drowning man clutching at a piece of driftwood.

He forced the corners of his mouth up, seemingly trying to display his usual bright smile, but the smile froze halfway, twisting into an incredibly bizarre, almost sycophantic fawning.

”You... you can leave here with me.” His voice turned rushed, laced with an irrepressible urgency. ”The Crown Prince loves talent. If you can beat me, it means you’re stronger than I am. The Crown Prince will definitely give you an important position. I will also absolutely never seek revenge against you. We’ll just treat today’s matter as a sparring session.

”You’re the winner, I’m the loser, and we’ll let it end at that! Under the Crown Prince’s command, there will be plenty of opportunities for us to work together in the future.”

He spoke earnestly, his tone even carrying a hint of heartfelt sincerity.

Yet, the moment his words fell, an extremely subtle, microscopic glint flashed from the depths of his pupils.

That glint was killing intent.

Buried so deep and hidden so cleverly, it was almost completely masked by the earnestness of his words and the brightness of his smile.

If Chen Lingxi had not lived two lives, having seen enough backstabbing ploys in the business world of his previous life, he probably wouldn’t have caught that fleeting glint of cold light at all.

Chen Lingxi’s face remained unchanged.

Like hell he believed Qiu Chihu’s words.

This man, Qiu Chihu, had run rampant in the capital for over a decade. He used human bones for flower arrangements and took pleasure in torture.

How could a petty, vindictive person like him ever easily let go of the grudge of having his chest pierced?

Therefore...

Chen Lingxi leaned down and pulled out the precious saber planted in the yellow dirt.

The blade felt heavy in his hand. The silver patterns on it were completely dull, but the edge was still menacingly sharp, radiating a bone-chilling cold.

Gripping the saber, he straightened back up.

Watching his actions, the spark in Qiu Chihu’s eyes trembled violently.

He opened his mouth, seemingly wanting to say something else.

Perhaps he wanted to add more bargaining chips, perhaps he wanted to bring up an even more prominent name, or perhaps he purely wanted to throw out a few harsh words to bolster his courage.

But his lips moved a few times, and not a single word came out.

Because Chen Lingxi had already raised the saber.

”You—” The terror in Qiu Chihu’s eyes finally overpowered his innate arrogance.

He desperately tried to prop himself up, his left hand scrabbling wildly at the ground. His fingernails plowed five deep furrows into the yellow dirt, but he was completely oblivious to the mud caked beneath them.

”You can’t...”

”I don’t like people looking at my teeth.”

Chen Lingxi’s hand rose and fell; the saber light flashed.

Qiu Chihu’s voice came to an abrupt halt. His head tumbled from his neck, rolled twice across the yellow dirt, and came to a stop facing the sky.

Those eyes were still wide open, staring motionlessly at the jade bottle in the sky, watching the purple light cascading down like a waterfall.