A Night of Slaughter in the Pouring Rain!

*Rumble...* Thunder echoed across heaven and earth, and lightning illuminated the night sky. As Lu Changsheng's voice fell, silence descended inside and outside the ruined temple, leaving only the roar of the pouring rain. "Let him in." After a long pause, a gruff voice called out from within the temple. The two bandits outside exchanged glances. In the end, both stepped aside in unspoken agreement, clearing a path. Lu Changsheng lifted his foot and crossed the threshold into the ruined temple. He was soaked through, rainwater dripping from his bamboo hat and clothes onto the floor. His shoes pressed into the stone, leaving behind damp footprints. Lu Changsheng looked up. Seated upon a crumbling deity statue inside the temple, he saw a burly man. The man was built like a bear, clutching a broadsaber like a door plank, his qi and blood surging violently. There had been a touch of chill outside, but inside the temple, swept by the heat wave radiating from the man's qi and blood, the air felt stiflingly warm. The Blade-Trailing Heavenly King, Li Ji! Lu Changsheng had been hiding in the shadows earlier and had witnessed everything in the temple, so he naturally knew the burly man's identity. Li Ji sat astride the statue with bold swagger, his eyes as wide as bronze bells fixed on Lu Changsheng. He sneered, "As you can see, friend, a slaughter just took place in this temple, and many people died. And we are certainly no saints. Do you still dare rest your feet here?" Corpses littered the floor. There had not even been time to wash away the bloodstains, and a thick stench of blood hung heavy in the air. Lu Changsheng replied indifferently, "Why wouldn't I dare? Your killing is your business. My resting is mine. Neither affects the other." Li Ji tightened his grip on his saber, then rose abruptly to his feet. His towering frame radiated immense pressure. He chuckled coldly. "Heh, you put on quite a convincing act. Speak. Which line of enemies are you from, daring to come alone before this Heavenly King?" Li Ji was no fool. Traveling through the night, resting his feet—this was not the desolate wilderness; this was Nanyang City. Inns abounded in Nanyang City. In rain this heavy, did anyone truly need to take shelter in a ruined temple? Could there really be such a coincidence? Evidently, this black-robed man had come for him. Lu Changsheng offered no answer, meeting him with silence. "No matter. Whichever enemy you are, since you've come before me to court death, this Heavenly King will grant your wish. Slaughter him!" At Li Ji's command, his subordinates drew their weapons one after another. "Boy, die!" Several of Li Ji's men brandished their weapons and closed in with cruel grins. One step, two steps, three steps! Suddenly, Lu Changsheng moved. *Whoosh!* The moment he shifted, he blurred like a phantom. In the blink of an eye, Lu Changsheng vanished from everyone's sight. No, he had not truly vanished—he was simply too fast. Lu Changsheng shot forward, appearing before one of the bandits in an instant. "Watch out, fall back!" someone cried in alarm. Unfortunately, it was already too late. *Slash!* Flashes of white light gleamed and vanished in an instant. Immediately following, the bandits closest to Lu Changsheng clutched their necks desperately and collapsed to the floor with dull thuds. Their bodies twitched uncontrollably, eyes bulging wide in absolute horror. Blood spurted wildly from their throats, impossible to stem. "Impudent dog! You dare commit murder before this Heavenly King?" Li Ji surged forward in fury, his qi and blood boiling as his murderous intent rose to the heavens. Swinging the door-sized broadsaber in his hand, he leapt into the air, cleaving down at Lu Changsheng from above. "Mountain-Cleaving Saber, Triple Slash!" Carrying Li Ji's terrifying strength, the heavy blade stirred up howling gusts with a single cleave. Lu Changsheng instantly felt his body stiffen slightly, as though bearing an immense pressure. Li Ji possessed innate divine strength; paired with his peak Refining Organs cultivation, he was virtually invincible among those in the Refining Organs realm. As long as an expert of the Divine Strength Realm did not appear, Li Ji feared no one. Yet Lu Changsheng's mind remained completely calm. In the next moment, the qi and blood within his body detonated. *Boom!* A surging wave of qi and blood erupted in an instant, and the entire ruined temple seemed bathed in a crimson glow. Even the qi and blood Li Ji had unleashed moments ago seemed vastly inferior to what Lu Changsheng unleashed now. "Such qi and blood... How is this possible?" Li Ji's heart trembled. Yet Lu Changsheng paid no heed to Li Ji's shock. Once he unleashed his qi and blood, the pressure Li Ji had exerted on him dissolved completely. With a slight sway of his body, he vanished without a trace. *Boom!* Li Ji's saber struck the ground, cleaving a deep fissure into the stone. Yet Lu Changsheng was already behind him. *Boom! Boom! Boom!* Li Ji whirled his broadsaber in wide, sweeping arcs, wildly hacking toward Lu Changsheng's figure. Every slash was devastatingly heavy and terrifying. Never mind taking a direct hit—even if grazed or brushed by it, Lu Changsheng would surely die! Yet Li Ji could not touch even the corner of Lu Changsheng's clothes. "Damn you! Stand and fight if you have the guts!" Li Ji roared again and again. It was useless; Lu Changsheng simply refused to engage him head-on. "Quick, everyone move together! Surround him for me!" Li Ji bellowed to his subordinates. At once, all the bandits sprang into action, quickly encircling Lu Changsheng and steadily tightening the cordon. "Heh heh, let's see where you run this time!" Li Ji gave a sinister grin. Just as he prepared to swing his heavy blade and smash Lu Changsheng into meat paste, Lu Changsheng moved. *Swish! Swish! Swish!* Lu Changsheng moved like a phantom, the dagger in his hand tracing mere light strokes. *Slash! Slash! Slash!* Streams of blood sprayed outward. One by one, Li Ji's men clutched their throats and collapsed to the floor. "What?!" Li Ji was scared out of his wits. Before Lu Changsheng, his men were like lambs to the slaughter, completely powerless to resist. In all the martial arts under heaven, only speed was unbreakable! Whenever Lu Changsheng's figure flashed, a bandit collapsed in a pool of blood. Even the other Refining Organs martial artist among the bandits lasted merely three to five exchanges before Lu Changsheng slit his throat with a single stroke. Beneath the Divine Strength Realm, no matter how thoroughly the body was tempered, it could not withstand the cut of a sharp blade. "Ahhh! I'll kill you!" Li Ji seemed mad. He swung his broadsaber wildly, his qi and blood erupting with abandon until the entire ruined temple seemed on the verge of collapsing. Yet it did not trouble Lu Changsheng in the least. "Your turn." Lu Changsheng revealed his figure. His gaze was fixed on Li Ji, brimming with killing intent. From the look of Old Wen's wounds, he had clearly been killed by an overwhelmingly heavy palm strike. Only Li Ji, with his innate divine strength, possessed such terrifying power. *Whoosh!* With a flicker of movement, Lu Changsheng charged straight toward Li Ji. "Come on then! Thirteen Chaotic Wind Slashes!" A cold glint flashed through Li Ji's eyes. His frantic madness just now had all been an act—all for this very moment! Yet Lu Changsheng did not hesitate in the slightest. Erupting with nearly all his qi and blood, his speed reached its absolute limit as he circled Li Ji, his dagger stabbing out in a frenzy. Li Ji whirled his door-sized broadsaber in broad arcs, wielding it so tightly that not a gust of wind could pass through, like an impenetrable wall. Countless times, Lu Changsheng's dagger struck Li Ji's broadsaber. *Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!* The clashes of dagger against saber rang out in crisp, rapid bursts. *Whoosh!* Suddenly, Lu Changsheng fell back thirty feet and stood quietly in place. *Thud.* Li Ji's chest heaved violently. Resting his broadsaber on the ground, he roared with laughter. "Hahaha! No matter how fast you are, how could you ever break through my Thirteen Chaotic Wind Slashes?" Lu Changsheng, however, said nothing. Li Ji noticed Zheng Renxin and the others from Miaoshou Garden nearby staring at him with expressions of shock and pity. Li Ji abruptly looked down. *Drip, drop. Drip, drop.* Without him realizing it, drops of blood had been dripping from his body onto the ground. The clothes on Li Ji's body were already soaked a bloody crimson. His neck felt slightly sore. He couldn't help reaching up to touch it, only to find his hand covered in crimson blood. "You..." Li Ji pointed a trembling finger at Lu Changsheng, his face filled with unwillingness, shock, and fury. *Thud!* Towering like an iron pagoda, Li Ji's massive body fell stiffly to the ground. His eyes gradually lost focus until all light faded completely from them. The Blade-Trailing Heavenly King had died inside the ruined temple!