One Sword Cuts Through the Thirteen Riders!

Elder Chu was no ordinary figure. He was one of the White Demons—a member of the White Lotus Sect. Lately, Elder Chu had been egging on the Thirteen Desert Riders, trying to persuade them to raise the banner of rebellion. With the several hundred hardened bandits in this mountain stronghold, a single rallying call could easily draw together thousands of men. When the time came to attack Nanyang City, whether they managed to breach it or not, it would inevitably send shockwaves throughout the region. For Elder Chu, his mission would be complete the moment the Thirteen Desert Riders rose in revolt. *What an extraordinary individual!* *To possess such terrifying power before even reaching the Divine Strength Realm—once someone like that breaks through, how formidable will he become?* *Still, running into these thirteen freaks, he won’t escape death in the end. A pity…* Elder Chu shook his head. Naturally, he kept these thoughts to himself, uttering not a word. Several waves of martial artists who tore down the Righteous Heroes Notice had come to assassinate the Thirteen Desert Riders before, including more than a few at peak Refining Organs. Yet every last one had died. Rumors outside claimed the White Lotus Sect had aided the riders in killing those martial artists. But what was the truth? Elder Chu knew very well that he was merely an errand runner who relied on glib speech. In the White Lotus Sect, he was entirely dispensable. Coming here among the Thirteen Desert Riders, all he did was wag his tongue. Aside from his remarkably swift movement technique, making him an expert at fleeing, his skills were thoroughly mediocre. Let alone those martial artists at peak Refining Organs, even the earlier rout of the government army had little to do with the White Lotus Sect; it had all been due to the Thirteen Desert Riders' own sheer might. The martial prowess of the Thirteen Desert Riders was indeed at the Refining Organs level. However, they possessed a terrifying battle formation—one truly meant for charging and slaughtering amid thousands of soldiers. Donning heavy armor on the field, they were overwhelmingly invincible to an extreme degree. They were practically freaks! "Armor up!" the Thirteen Desert Riders barked coldly. At once, numerous bandits rushed forward and began fastening armor onto the thirteen men. By this point, Lu Changsheng had fully uprooted the towering tree. Its trunk was too thick for him to encircle with both arms, yet with the aid of his silken threads of qi and blood, he hoisted the massive tree onto his shoulder and hurled it with tremendous force toward the distant gates of the stronghold. The towering tree whistled through the air toward the camp. Lu Changsheng followed right behind; stamping his foot, he left a deep crater in the ground as his body vaulted into the air, leaping toward the stronghold under the cover of the airborne trunk. *Whiz, whiz, whiz!* Volley after volley of sharp arrows took flight, aimed straight for Lu Changsheng. Yet shielded by the heavy trunk, he let the rain of arrows pelt against the wood, unable to harm him in the slightest. *Boom!* Finally, the tree came crashing down, slamming brutally into the palisade of the mountain stronghold. The timber fence shattered to splinters, and several bandit archers were instantly crushed into pulp. But this was merely the beginning. Lu Changsheng dropped onto the ground. The qi and blood within him transformed into threads that rapidly enveloped the fallen trunk. Wrapping his arms around it, he hoisted the massive tree once more and swept it violently from left to right. *Rumble!* The trunk tore through the air with a deafening roar. Combined with its colossal weight and the explosive surge of Lu Changsheng's qi and blood, that sweeping blow was like an overwhelming tidal wave that nothing could withstand. The crude wooden fences of the stronghold gave way like flimsy paper, tearing apart and collapsing in an instant. Countless archers shrieked and scattered in wild panic, though far more were pulverized directly by the massive log. In a matter of moments, the stronghold's front gates ceased to exist. Severed limbs littered the blood-soaked dirt, surrounded by heaps of corpses and groaning, injured bandits. With a single strike, terror seized every bandit's heart! Never in their wildest imaginations had they thought anyone other than a Divine Strength Realm master could be this ferocious. Seeing that the archers were broken and scattered, Lu Changsheng set down the trunk. *Thud!* The tree struck the ground, gouging out a deep hollow. The dense silken threads of qi and blood covering its bark retracted back into his body. Although Lu Changsheng replenished his qi and blood rapidly, lifting such an immense tree had still consumed a fair portion of it. There was no need to be wasteful if he could help it. *Whoosh.* Lu Changsheng vaulted onto the fallen trunk and strode straight into the mountain stronghold. Surveying the unfolding scene, Elder Chu quietly took several steps back despite his confidence in the Thirteen Desert Riders, tucking himself away in an inconspicuous corner of the stronghold. If things took a bad turn, he would slip away without hesitation. He might be useless in battle, but when it came to running for his life, he was an expert! By now, the Thirteen Desert Riders had mounted their steeds. Their warhorses were exceptional beasts—tall, powerful chargers brimming with raw impact. Fully clad in armor, all thirteen men stood at the ready. When Lu Changsheng was thirty paces away, he halted. "Who goes there? The scimitars of our brothers do not slay nameless curs!" one of the riders demanded. "Zhuang Thirteen of Nanyang!" Lu Changsheng's booming voice rang out across the entire stronghold. He had given the matter thorough thought. As a martial artist, he could never truly detach himself from the jianghu, and the jianghu ran on fame and fortune. Since he had no wish to expose his true identity yet could not do without renown, he might as well adopt a pseudonym. He would make this false name echo across the martial world and forge an unshakeable reputation! And the first step toward that fame would begin with the Thirteen Desert Riders! *Zhuang Thirteen of Nanyang?* Elder Chu's thoughts stirred faintly. He had lived in hiding within Nanyang Prefecture for quite some time and knew the region inside out, yet he had never heard of any Zhuang Thirteen. Most likely, it was an alias! *Swish!* The next instant, Lu Changsheng moved. His movement technique was not particularly intricate, but it was purely, overwhelmingly fast. Like a springing tiger pouncing on its prey, he shot forward, bridging the thirty-pace gap in the blink of an eye. *Clang!* A flash of white gleamed as the short sword showed its lethal edge, arriving before the nearest rider almost instantly. Lu Changsheng had drawn his blade! With his Instant Kill Technique, his sword stayed sheathed until the moment of slaughter; once drawn, blood had to flow! Though the rider wore armor, it was merely iron plate with exposed joints and seams, unlike the full-body suit Zhao Xing had worn. For Lu Changsheng, a sliver of an opening was all he needed to run his blade through. The moment Lu Changsheng drew his sword, the Thirteen Desert Riders reacted as one. The qi and blood in all thirteen bodies erupted in unison. *Boom!* A torrential surge of qi and blood seamlessly fused together without the slightest discord, spreading outward like a colossal blood-red cloud that blanketed half the stronghold. "Slay!" The thirteen men bellowed in unison, and their collective terrifying power seemed to converge entirely onto one man. In that instant, Lu Changsheng felt as though he were facing not a single warrior, but all thirteen acting as a single entity. The curved scimitar slashed with the speed of lightning, rivaling his short sword in pace. Saber light clashed against sword gleam with neither pretense nor wasted motion, bearing nothing but lethal sharpness. All onlookers saw was a massive arc of crimson saber light collide violently with a blinding streak of white. *Crack!* A crisp metallic impact rang out. For the first time, Lu Changsheng's Instant Kill Technique failed to claim its target. Even during his fight with the armored Zhao Xing at the Xu Family Manor, it had merely been a matter of his short sword failing to pierce the heavy iron plating; Zhao Xing had been entirely unable to intercept his strike. Now, however, his Instant Kill Technique was stopped in its tracks. The blistering speed he took so much pride in had been matched. Moreover, reinforced by the combined qi and blood of thirteen men, the sheer force behind the blow was staggering. Lu Changsheng felt a massive, surging weight rebound through the curved blade. *Swish, swish, swish!* Lu Changsheng thrust his sword again and again. Fleeting afterimages of his blade blurred past faster than the eye could follow, leaving behind only the sharp sting of cutting intent. At the same time, the scimitars of the Thirteen Desert Riders turned into ribbons of bloody radiance, meeting Lu Changsheng's sword thrust for thrust. *Clang, clang, clang!* Blades struck in a rapid flurry of crisp rings. Lu Changsheng had no idea how many times he had struck, yet the riders' crimson arcs of steel managed to match every blow. This was truly the first time Lu Changsheng had encountered an evenly matched opponent. Even someone like 'Blazing Saber' Zhao Qilei had fallen far behind the speed of his sword. *Bang!* His blade met the scimitar once more, forcing Lu Changsheng to take a step back. For the first time, executing the Instant Kill Technique with everything he had resulted in him being driven rearward. He was genuinely taken aback. The Thirteen Desert Riders truly lived up to their reputation! Yet as startled as Lu Changsheng was, the riders were even more astonished. Riding south from the northern wastes, they had run rampant along their path, unmatched by anyone beneath the Divine Strength Realm. The coordinated assault the thirteen of them unleashed was an authentic battlefield formation, virtually unstoppable in open war. Even in a jianghu skirmish, their joint might had always trampled all opposition. To think that today, an individual could stand his ground against them when their power was combined as one! *A genius! A true genius!* *Beneath the Divine Strength Realm, there exists someone who can withstand the formation of the Thirteen Desert Riders?* *Even among the top talents in our sect, no one beneath Divine Strength possesses such combat strength. Unless he is one of those legendary martial artists who undergoes marrow transformation and blood exchange before even reaching the Divine Strength Realm…* Elder Chu wore a look of utter shock. But upon further thought, he shook his head. How hard was it to achieve marrow transformation and blood exchange before the Divine Strength Realm? Such prodigies had indeed appeared in the history of the White Lotus Sect, but they were once-in-a-century figures, emerging perhaps once every few hundred years. How could someone in a mere Nanyang Prefecture—an obscure nobody in the martial world—have accomplished that? By now, genuine fury had been stoked in the Thirteen Desert Riders; it had been a very long time since they had needed to go all out. The thirteen men shifted into an offensive vanguard. This was an outright cavalry charge formation, and once in motion, it was unstoppable. "Charge!" Their qi and blood remained bound as a singular tide. Hooves kicked up dust as their powerful warhorses bolted forward, charging with monstrous ferocity toward Lu Changsheng. Even the thunder of hooves beat in exact unison, demonstrating their flawless coordination. From afar, they resembled an immense blood-red mountain cresting into an overwhelming wave. This was no longer just about speed; it carried crushing weight, momentum, and terror. Even Lu Changsheng felt a faint prick of apprehension. "What a formation! What a charge!" "Too bad you aren't the only ones with qi and blood!" Lu Changsheng held back no longer. The qi and blood inside him detonated. *Boom!* His entire frame shuddered as thunderous rumbles echoed within his body. He had already undergone marrow transformation and blood exchange. Even before his marrow was transformed, his qi and blood were tenfold that of an ordinary Refining Organs martial artist. Now that the transformation was complete, his reserves were so vast that not even Lu Changsheng himself could measure them. He only knew that the power within him was boundless and had never once been pushed to its limits. Now, Lu Changsheng ignited every scrap of qi and blood in his body. A faint pillar of crimson energy seemed to soar straight into the air, instantly dyeing the heavens above in a swath of blood-red. At the same time, his eyes took on a deep crimson hue. An inexhaustible well of power surged through his veins, gathering with every heartbeat. Lu Changsheng lowered the short sword in his grip and clenched his fist instead. The Thirteen Desert Riders closed the distance in a breath, bearing down on him so closely that their steeds were about to crush him beneath their weight. Lu Changsheng brought his fist down, slamming it savagely into the earth. *Boom!* The blow fell like an earth dragon overturning beneath the ground. The entire stronghold shuddered violently. Because of the distance, the peripheral camp suffered little real damage, but the Thirteen Desert Riders right in front of him bore the full brunt of the shockwave. Their warhorses had been meticulously chosen and bred for immense strength, yet the moment Lu Changsheng's fist rattled the ground, the concussive force snapped their forelegs like twigs. It was as though a horrific, crushing energy had erupted upward into their hooves. Shrill neighs cut through the air as the warhorses collapsed, bucking and crashing to the earth beyond anything the riders could control. With that sudden upheaval, their unified battle formation collapsed in an instant. In the same breath, Lu Changsheng's fingers closed around his short sword once more. His form dissolved into an afterimage, streaking through the Thirteen Desert Riders in a single flicker. *Swoosh!* A flash of white light flared. Lu Changsheng was already standing behind the riders. He did not even turn around, standing silently with his drawn sword, droplets of scarlet blood dripping steadily from the tip of the blade. Silence fell. The entire stronghold went utterly still, so quiet that a falling needle might have been heard. The sudden turnaround caught everyone off guard. The Thirteen Desert Riders lay motionless across the dirt, devoid of all movement, their life force completely extinguished. Dead! The feared Thirteen Desert Riders were dead, just like that! A moment earlier, they had clearly maintained the upper hand, charging forward with crushing momentum that seemed poised to slaughter 'Zhuang Thirteen.' Yet in the blink of an eye, they were dead. They had not even uttered a dying scream before collapsing into thirteen cold corpses. There were many martial artists gathered in the stronghold, but hardly any of them had managed to see what had just happened. Elder Chu, however, had seen every bit of it. His face darkened, eyes brimming with grave solemnity. He had seen it clearly enough: that punch Zhuang Thirteen drove into the ground hadn't shaken the earth through brute strength alone, but through an extraordinarily advanced jarring force. Capitalizing on the moment the warhorses collapsed and the riders' battle formation disintegrated, Zhuang Thirteen had struck with a lightning-fast sword. Unadorned, ruthless, and precise, the blow pierced the fatal points of all thirteen riders in a single, fluid pass. One sword had cut through all thirteen riders! It was a sword technique made purely for slaughter!