King of Hundred Victories Saber

He let out a cold laugh, his voice like a night owl’s cry: ”Listen well, you little whelps! Within a hundred miles of the Helan Mountain Range, every blade of grass and every tree belongs to my Nine Flags Gang. Whoever trespasses today has but one road before him—death!”

Before his words had faded, three burly men with purple-tinted cheeks spread out in the shape of a Three Talents Array, encircling them. The skull patterns on the steel knives at their waists seemed like living things, exhaling icy breath, glimmering a ghastly blue beneath the snow’s sheen.

Guo Xiangyu’s dark brows were usually like fresh ink upon a new moon, yet now they knit into a sharp sword peak, as if to cleave apart all the arrogance of the Nine Flags Gang.

Her apricot eyes, gentle and liquid by nature, at this moment gleamed with a frosty, cutting light. The slight lift at the outer corners carried a hidden edge, like a poisoned Hidden Weapon, locking deathly tight upon the old man’s every move across from her. The shadows her lashes cast beneath her eyes trembled with the flow of her gaze, like the wings of a butterfly that concealed a killing stroke.

The cold curve at her lips grew ever more grim and chilling; in her dimples sloshed scorn and anger, like ice crystals congealed in the depth of winter, radiating a chill that kept all at a thousand miles’ remove. Her jade-like nose flared faintly; even her breathing carried a murderous austerity. Her fair cheeks flushed with anger, yet not an ounce of her heroic spirit was diminished—rather, it lent her beauty an added trace of ferocity and edge.

As her wide sleeves brushed across the Mutton Fat Jade Pendant before her chest, her fingertips tightened ever so slightly, the knuckles paling with a faint bluish white, as though all her burning fury had been condensed into that small span of space. At the instant the bamboo blade left its sheath, her jade hand clenched around the hilt, the veins at her wrist faintly standing out, yet steady as a boulder. The muscles of her forearm tautened, revealing a sense of strength utterly at odds with her delicate outward form. Her figure leaned forward a fraction, like a leopard coiled to spring; every fibre of her being transmitted vigilance and the will to battle. Her hair, dishevelled yet still valiant, whipped wildly in the fierce wind, like blood-red mandalas blooming upon a field of snow—terrifyingly beautiful, and perilous to the extreme.

Her apricot eyes widened as she thundered: ”What twisted theory, to seize mountains and rivers as your own! Is your ancestral creed nothing more than ’claim every treasure land you see’? This heaven-bestowed Helan Xue and Qinxi Spring—do they bear the seal of your Nine Flags Gang? Beneath the vast, bright firmament, how can vermin like you be allowed to turn black to white!”

Her words rang clear, sparking echoes across the snowy plain.

Shi Feiyang stood with hands clasped behind his back, his dark cloak billowing like a sail in the fierce wind. As True Qi coursed through his body, frost flowers actually formed in a circle upon the snow at his feet.

His gaze, deep as an abyss, swept across the crowd. His voice boomed like a great bell, each word weighing a thousand catties: ”Heaven and earth and all things therein are not private property. You lot set yourselves up as mountain kings, plundering merchants and slaughtering innocents—have you ever once considered the two characters ’chivalrous justice’? In the rivers and mountains of our Great Ming, how could the likes of you be tolerated to defile them!”

With that, he pressed his palm lightly upon the Celestial Frost Blade. The dragons etched upon the sheath suddenly flared to light, and a faint dragon’s roar could be heard.

With a sudden bellow, an ancient pine three zhang away exploded apart, its broken surface smooth and flat as a mirror, the piled snow blasting outward in a thunderous spray.

This display of peerless Divine Skill made the faces of all the Nine Flags Gang men change abruptly, and the weapons in their hands trembled despite themselves.

The old man’s pupils shrank; his steel knife had slid half an inch from its sheath before he forcibly halted it. Yet his face squeezed out a savage grin: ”Boy, do you know who this old man is?”

Shi Feiyang threw back his head in laughter, his voice shaking the four quarters. His fluttering robes radiated the bearing of a king. He chanted in ringing tones: ”Desolate smoke over the great desert—who dares ask of a hero’s gallant soul? Celestial Frost Blade, dragon’s roar and tiger’s bellow, a breath that swallows mountains whole. Iron bones of chivalry uphold the Way, a crimson heart blazing, attested by stars and moon. Though the road ahead be layered with ten thousand storms, still I face Heaven’s Gate! The common folk’s suffering knots my heart; every injustice, my hand shall judge. See where the banners point—demons and ghouls all are crushed. Though blood shall soak the rivers and mountains, I’ll never regret; what need have I to speak of a name etched in history’s scroll? When another year comes, and I reclaim the sundered realm, still I shall face Heaven’s Gate!” With a stance of towering pride, inviolable in his dignity, he recited the self-composed poem ”Man Jiang Hong: Aspiration of the Gallant Knight,” like great bells and massive chimes resounding, its echoes lingering long between the ridges of the Helan Mountain Range.

Guo Xiangyu flicked her jade hand; the bamboo blade leapt from its sheath, a flash of icy light: ”Nine Flags Gang or whatever you call yourselves—disturbing the refined pleasure of me and the young master? Even if you were the Heavenly King himself, you’d pay the price!” Her stance was proud and straight, like a plum blossom in the snow, brimming with the will to fight.

At that moment, a burly man bent to murmur into the old man’s ear: ”Reporting to Hall Master, the appointed time is drawing near; that old ghost should be arriving soon. This blind brat...” The old man raised his hand to cut him off, narrowing his eyes, a sinister gleam flickering in his hawk-like gaze: ”Not yet. I see this boy stands like a deep pool and towering peak, his spirit and bearing contained within—he might well be an Inner Family expert. Look at his extraordinary presence; perhaps he’s a helper invited by Jin Ya. We must first probe his depths.”

Though these words were spoken softly, they fell clearly into Shi Feiyang’s ears. His heart turned cold as he thought, his countenance growing all the more severe: ”So there truly is a life-and-death appointment—this Nine Flags Gang is no benevolent lot. If my Heroic Sakura Association is to gain a foothold here, we must first uproot these pests!”

Yet while the men of the Nine Flags Gang whispered amongst themselves, they were unaware that not a single syllable escaped Shi Feiyang’s ears.

A battle to shake the heavens was already on the verge of erupting.

The burly man, however, scoffed: ”With Jin Ya’s standing, why would he need to hire help? And even if he did, he wouldn’t pick such a green brat.” Another chimed in: ”Within ten li of this deer field, we’ve laid both overt stakes and hidden posts thick as brush. How did they even get in?”

The old man nodded slightly: ”Precisely because of that, we must be all the more wary. See how this boy’s momentum is vast and mighty; in every gesture there’s a sovereign air. He might be a top-tier master. We must not underestimate him, lest we ruin the grand affair!”

After a brief moment, the old man let out a sinister chuckle, then donned a smiling, genial face: ”Since you are unwilling to reveal your name, this old relic, ’Soul Hooker’ Li Qi, will not press the matter. However, there is an important business to settle within the Nine Banner Deer Field today. I must request that you, sir, temporarily step aside.”

Though his words sounded courteous, his eyes hid murderous intent. Moreover, he declared his own name, hoping that his fiendish Jianghu nickname would scare Shi Feiyang into backing off.