Urban Martial Saint

Below, Nalan Jingwei and the others were also frightened by this three-zhang Giant Sword, but at this moment, they had no time to think about anything else, and could only desperately channel their power into the Golden Lotus, preparing to fend off Fu Qingping’s attack.

Fu Qingping stood proudly and watched. When he saw that the Golden Lotus beside these people was no longer getting bigger, he gently waved his hand. The Giant Sword pierced the sky and descended directly, as if heavenly thunder was covering the top, slashing down towards the people below. The Giant Sword was about three zhang long, and its descending momentum was extremely strong, crashing down like a small mountain, blocking out the sky and the sun. Not to mention how powerful this Giant Sword was, just the momentum alone was enough to make people’s hearts leap.

The Giant Sword descended and ripped through the air, producing a sharp whistle. Almost in an instant, it had already slashed onto the Golden Lotus. The Golden Lotus was also large, and condensed the power of the group, surprisingly, managed to slightly slow the sword down. However, in a moment, the foremost Golden Lotus directly shattered, crushed mercilessly by the Giant Sword.

Of the three Golden Lotuses, the first broke, making Nalan Jingwei’s expression turn pale instantly. He let out a roar and exerted all his power into the remaining two Golden Lotuses, trying to resist the Giant Sword. But no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t stop the Giant Sword. The second Golden Lotus was also immediately breached. Only the third Golden Lotus remained, though it held back the Giant Sword. Yet, the powerful force crushed everyone, making it hard to breathe, as if a mountain was pressing down on them, causing their bones to creak — the pressure of the Giant Sword was imaginable.

”Hold on!” Nalan Jingwei almost gritted his teeth and roared this out, mustering all his strength, trying to use the last Golden Lotus to block the Giant Sword. But the result was disappointing; the last Golden Lotus didn’t hold for long and was directly shattered by the Giant Sword. The Giant Sword landed, enveloping everyone within it, followed by a thunderous crash as the Giant Sword struck the ground, creating a large pit about one zhang in diameter, where everyone fell.

The dust rose high, and even though Ye Qing was in a tree, he couldn’t see the situation in the pit. However, the power of Fu Qingping’s sword left him in awe. Although he didn’t know the current state in the pit, he could conclude that few people were likely to have survived. Fu Qingping’s sword was indeed terrifying to the extreme!

After a long time, the dust finally began to clear, and Ye Qing could finally see the situation in the pit. Inside were several people lying in disarray, clearly killed by the shock of the Giant Sword. Standing among them were three people, whom Ye Qing saw clearly were Nalan Jingwei, Executioner Scholar, and the Great Lord. It’s because their strength was the greatest that they preserved their lives, yet, they were all bleeding from the seven orifices, with their internal organs clearly heavily injured. As for the others, they’d all died here, unable to withstand Fu Qingping’s third sword!

After a moment of silence, Executioner Scholar suddenly looked at Nalan Jingwei and angrily shouted, ”Nalan Jingwei, if it weren’t for you gathering us together, my elder brother and second brother might not have died!”

The Great Lord also looked angrily at Nalan Jingwei. When the sword had fallen earlier, they had already understood Fu Qingping’s previous warning clearly. This sword concentrated its power, so the most concentrated power was on the Giant Sword. If the people had stood scattered, not in the path of the Giant Sword, they might not have been killed by its force. However, Nalan Jingwei had earlier suggested that they all gather together, using Step by Step Golden Lotus to block the sword, effectively summoning everyone under the Giant Sword, subjecting everyone to its full power. The outcome was predictable; apart from the three, the others died here.

If everyone had stood scattered, those near the outside might not have been struck down by the Giant Sword. However, standing so close led to this outcome. At this moment, they realized the truth of Fu Qingping’s warning. But realizing this now was too late!

”My master ancestor advised you not to stand so close together. You didn’t listen to my master ancestor’s words, and now you regret it, don’t you!” Ye Qing, standing in the tree, laughed loudly and shouted. Fu Qingping’s three swords had also thrilled him.

The Great Lord and Executioner Scholar both stared intently at Nalan Jingwei, whose expression turned extremely unpleasant. He originally intended to protect everyone with Step by Step Golden Lotus, firstly safeguarding everyone to preserve power, and secondly seizing the opportunity to win them over to help the Nalan family in the future. He hadn’t anticipated such a powerful move from Fu Qingping, which not only caused a significant loss but also resulted in the formation of two enemies. Judging by Executioner Scholar and the Great Lord’s demeanor, they were clearly ready to fight him desperately, causing him to panic inwardly.

”Senior Fu’s sword moves are indeed powerful!” Nalan Jingwei took a deep breath, ignoring the Great Lord and Executioner Scholar, and only stared at Fu Qingping, ”Senior Fu, we’ve already endured your three moves. Can we leave now?”

Fu Qingping reached out with his right hand, and the Qingping Sword on the ground instantly returned to his hand. Seeing Fu Qingping holding the sword, the expressions of the three changed. If Fu Qingping attacked at this moment, none of them could hope to leave alive.

Yet, Fu Qingping did not attack them. Instead, he returned the Qingping Sword to its scabbard, then turned and said, ”It seems my move still has flaws. Since you managed to save your lives, I will keep my word—go ahead!”

During Fu Qingping’s speech, he did not even glance at them, but simply walked towards Ye Qing holding the Qingping Sword.

Upon hearing Fu Qingping’s words, the three men, as if granted amnesty, turned and fled. Taking advantage of the distraction, Nalan Jingwei secretly slipped a piece of the Devouring Demon Flower into his mouth. He realized that the Executioner Scholar and the Great Lord beside him harbored no small hostility toward him, so he wanted to quickly recover from his injuries and regain his strength to escape, not daring to linger here. Otherwise, even if Fu Qingping didn’t kill him, he feared these two wouldn’t spare him.

Ye Qing watched from the tree as the three people left, feeling somewhat unwilling. These three were top-notch experts among peak masters and harbored malice, committing numerous evil deeds. This time, having finally caught the opportunity, he should have killed them outright. If they got away, who knows what they might do in the future? However, since Fu Qingping promised to let them go, Ye Qing couldn’t say anything, as he couldn’t let Fu Qingping break his word.

As Fu Qingping approached him, Ye Qing hurriedly slid down the tree trunk. Walking over to Fu Qingping, Ye Qing excitedly said, ”Grandmaster, what was that move you used just now? Its power was incredible.”

Fu Qingping casually slung the longsword across his back and said, ”That move is called ’Heavenly Punishment.’”

”Heavenly Punishment!” Ye Qing was astonished. How could this name be so similar to the Heavenly Punishment Sword of the Doomsday Sect?

He didn’t realize that after being taken out of the Doomsday Sect by Wuji, Fu Qingping also went there and encountered The Immortal Lord. After a battle with The Immortal Lord, Fu Qingping comprehended this swordsmanship move. Since it was realized at the Doomsday Sect, and the sect was renowned for the Heavenly Punishment Sword, he named the move ’Heavenly Punishment.’ However, apart from the similar name, it had no other connections to the Heavenly Punishment Sword.

Ye Qing asked, ”Grandmaster, have you broken through the pinnacle’s shackles and surpassed the pinnacle realm?”

”Not yet.” Fu Qingping took a deep breath, slowly shook his head, and said, ”I’m just short of a little bit, just a little bit, always unable to break through. I’ve comprehended so much, yet I simply can’t understand why I’m missing that little bit!”

”If you’ve not surpassed the pinnacle, then how is your combat power so strong?” Ye Qingqi asked in amazement.

Fu Qingping replied, ”My current realm is no longer within the scope of the pinnacle. However, I haven’t broken through the shackles of the pinnacle yet. So, my current situation is like having one foot already stepped into the realm beyond the pinnacle, while the other foot remains in the pinnacle. Therefore, my power now, although already surpassing the pinnacle, can continually enhance. If I were able to break through that final bit, I could thoroughly break through the pinnacle’s shackles and entirely surpass the pinnacle!”

”I see!” Ye Qing suddenly understood, feeling both awed by Fu Qingping’s strength and immensely pleased. With Fu Qingping’s strength improving so significantly, it was undoubtedly a good thing. At the very least, with Fu Qingping overseeing Shenchuan City, those petty villains wouldn’t dare to create trouble anymore.

Gazing at the Qingping Sword in Fu Qingping’s hand, Ye Qing suddenly remembered something and hurriedly said, ”Oh, Grandmaster, please wait for a moment. I’m going to retrieve something.”

Fu Qingping nodded, and Ye Qing quickly turned and ran to the vicinity of the battlefield, where he searched the surrounding area. Finally, in a patch of grass, he found a black box. Ye Qing hurriedly brought the box out. Upon opening it, a crimson glow shot skyward, the formidable sword qi even making Ye Qing’s heart skip a beat.

Fu Qingping watched as Ye Qing brought the box to his side, his brows slightly furrowed, and suddenly said, ”The Heavenly Punishment Sword?”

The box contained indeed the Heavenly Punishment Sword. Wuji had taken the Heavenly Punishment Sword and Ye Qing from Mount Duwang, and during the time at Mount Wendao, had given the sword to Ye Qing. While climbing the mountain, Ye Qing encountered people from the Church, and to protect the Heavenly Punishment Sword, he threw it down a cliff. Later, when he went down the mountain to search for the Heavenly Punishment Sword, the people of the Church found it first. Since then, the sword had been in the Church’s possession. However, the Church didn’t know what the sword truly was; they only knew it was a famed instrument with considerable power, and they didn’t know how to utilize the Heavenly Punishment Sword. So, they merely held onto it without truly employing its power.