Wuxia: Starting Off With 60 Years of Inner Strength

”Young Master Jiang!?”

Cheng Jimo, snatched from the jaws of death, was momentarily stunned.

While he was still dumbfounded, he saw Jiang Ran’s saber flash out in a series of strikes.

Jiang Ran’s nine saber strikes were sharp and fierce, while the palm technique seemed slow but was deceptively fast. In terms of pure Inner Strength, Jiang Ran had the upper hand, yet both their styles were exquisite.

They exchanged more than ten moves without making any contact.

But the shadowy palms couldn’t penetrate the saber’s light. With every passing moment of their struggle, the danger intensified.

Ultimately, she didn’t dare press the attack. With a flicker of her body, she retreated at an angle that defied all logic.

She looked up at Jiang Ran.

”What kind of saber technique is that?”

”Just a parlor trick, not worth mentioning.”

Jiang Ran flicked his saber, its blade pointing diagonally toward the ground. His expression was a little strange.

”You’re Shui Sanniang!?”

The person before him was indeed a woman. She looked to be in her thirties, with her hair in a married woman’s style, and a water-blue dress that accentuated her captivating figure.

Although her palm technique appeared gentle and slow, her beauty was truly stunning.

The corners of her eyes held both an endless charm and an indescribable sharpness.

The combination of the two created a dangerously alluring beauty.

Hearing Jiang Ran’s words, she gave a seductive smile.

”I didn’t realize my name was so famous.”

”A handsome young man like you is just my type. Why don’t we put the saber away and go play with something else?”

Jiang Ran ignored her and glanced at the man with the wooden staff.

”If she’s Shui Sanniang, then you must be Mu Silang?”

Shui Sanniang, Mu Silang.

Besides them, there were also Gold, Fire, and Earth.

These five people were known as the Five Directions Uncanny Guests.

The martial arts they cultivated were bizarre and strange, each drawing from one of the five elements.

When the five of them joined forces, they could form the Five Directions Five Elements Array, a formation where the five elements merged into endless variations.

The reason Jiang Ran suddenly seemed so knowledgeable was, of course, because he had seen the case files on these five at the Government Office.

There was a bounty of one thousand taels on each of their heads.

However, he had heard that they had left the Golden Cicada Dynasty some years ago due to some incident.

He never expected to run into them here in Cangzhou Prefecture.

’Maybe I should just stop sleeping at night,’ Jiang Ran suddenly thought. ’If I just wander the streets, I might stumble upon some good fortune.’

As he quickly reviewed what he knew about them in his mind, he heard Mu Silang sneer.

”None of your damn business!”

”Sanniang, this kid practices the Creation and Rectification Scripture. His Inner Strength is so profound it’s almost unbelievable... He’s a complete monster.”

”I don’t want to fight him. You should tone down your flirting, too. Let’s get out of here.”

”Fine.”

Shui Sanniang smiled and shot another glance at Jiang Ran.

”Since you insist on saving him, young man, how could I refuse?”

”I’ll let you have this one as a favor... Next time we meet, you’d better be a little gentler with me. No more playing with sabers and swords... How about we play with staffs and long spears instead?”

As she spoke, a saber strike was already upon her.

A strike sliced down through the air, cleaving Shui Sanniang in two!

But where she was split open, there wasn’t the slightest trace of blood.

Her figure dissipated in an instant...

Jiang Ran turned his head and saw that Shui Sanniang, at some unknown moment, was already standing beside Mu Silang.

He spun his saber, his killing intent flaring in an instant.

But a crack opened in the ground, and the two of them instantly vanished from sight.

Jiang Ran was slightly taken aback.

Although he knew from the case files that the martial arts of these five were extremely bizarre, bordering on Illusion Techniques...

...he was still caught off guard seeing it in person.

Listening intently, his heart suddenly stirred. He spun his saber and stabbed it straight into the ground!

SHHFFT! The saber plunged less than half a foot into the earth when he felt the resistance lighten, as if it had pierced an empty space. This was immediately followed by the sound of a blade sinking into flesh.

Jiang Ran circulated his internal breath and abruptly pulled the saber out.

He heard the RUMBLE of shattering earth, and there on his blade was an impaled man.

The man had a stocky build, short and stout.

He wore earth-colored clothes and had a pair of rather exaggerated hooks for hands.

At this moment, his shoulder was pierced through by Jiang Ran’s saber. His claws gripped the blade tightly, his face contorted in a ferocious snarl.

”I’ll kill you!!!”

With a furious roar, he tried to shatter Jiang Ran’s saber with his claws.

Jiang Ran instantly knew who this was...

Tu Wulang!

The fifth-ranked of the Five Directions Uncanny Guests. The martial art he cultivated was related to earth, and he excelled at fighting from concealment underground.

Furthermore, it was said that as long as his feet were on the ground, he had the strength to move mountains.

Jiang Ran didn’t know if this was true or not, and he had no desire to find out.

He simply circulated his Creation True Qi, and the saber blade instantly let out a HUM.

When Tu Wulang’s claws came down, not only did they fail to damage the blade in the slightest, but they were also repelled by the vibration from Jiang Ran’s Creation True Qi. His arms flew back involuntarily, allowing Jiang Ran’s saber to pierce even deeper.

Tu Wulang screamed in pain. Jiang Ran was about to twist the blade and slice the man in two.

But he felt an ominous rush of wind from behind. He turned to see Shui Sanniang’s palm strike was already right in front of him.

It was a sneak attack, a desperate, all-or-nothing gamble, and it was fast.

With no time to do anything else, Jiang Ran met it with a palm strike of his own.

As their palms connected, Cheng Jimo’s voice finally cried out, a moment too late:

”Be careful!”

Jiang Ran looked up at Shui Sanniang and felt the immense power in her palm, like a torrent of muddy waves, one after another, endless and overwhelming.

But Jiang Ran just smiled. He stomped his foot on the ground, and with a BOOM...

...circulating the internal breath of his Creation and Rectification Scripture, True Qi burst forth.

This Qi swirled, a balance of yin and yang. When the torrent of muddy waves met it, it was like a trickling stream, utterly powerless.

Swept up by Jiang Ran’s Creation True Qi, the entire force was reversed and thrown back.

Shui Sanniang’s expression changed. She knew something was wrong, but it was too late to retreat.

She was sent flying back by Jiang Ran’s Creation True Qi. Her body twisted and turned several times in mid-air, truly formless like water, yet she couldn’t disperse the force of the blow.

At the critical moment, a figure leaped into the air and appeared behind her.

The two of them collided with a dull THUD.

”Silang...”

Shui Sanniang turned her head.

Mu Silang glanced at Jiang Ran and the impaled Tu Wulang, then gritted his teeth.

”Go!!!”

The two of them had planned it out. With Jiang Ran occupied by Tu Wulang, Shui Sanniang would launch a sneak attack from behind. Whether it succeeded or not, it would at least distract Jiang Ran.

This would create an opening for Mu Silang to kill Jiang Ran with an aerial strike.

But they never expected Jiang Ran to block Shui Sanniang’s palm strike, let alone for her to be so utterly defeated by a single touch.

What was the point of another sneak attack now?

Jiang Ran might be tied up with Tu Wulang, but that wasn’t an invitation for them to come and die one by one.

Tu Wulang was beyond saving. If they got caught as well, there would be no one left to avenge him.

Therefore, the moment Mu Silang shouted ”Go,” the two of them turned and fled without a second glance.

Jiang Ran’s brow furrowed. He didn’t want to let them get away.

But this Tu Wulang impaled on his saber was no ordinary person; he was still trying to get his feet back on the ground.

He sighed and filtered through the three prompts that had appeared before him.

He selected the [Apprehend Tu Wulang] mission and accepted it.

Then, he channeled his Creation and Rectification Scripture, unleashing the power of his nine saber strikes all at once.

Amidst the flashing saber light, a sound like tearing silk—SHLICK SHLICK—rang out. The Tu Wulang hanging from his blade was diced into pieces by the saber’s energy.