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Chapter 89: Chapter 73: The Kidney-Slicer’s Redemption (4)

The match had the crowd below gasping in amazement again and again.

If he wasn’t holding back,

he could not only slice off his opponent’s kidney but also carve out their heart, liver, spleen, and lungs.

The only flaw was that his True Qi was a bit weak. He wouldn’t stand a chance against a truly tough opponent.

But with a little training, he would absolutely be a top-tier assassin, or perhaps a top-tier spy.

Zhao Ci’s eyes were practically red with desire. This was clearly a seedling worth spending a fortune to cultivate.

But, just as he had expected,

Bao Longtao jumped out again. ”Brother, your skill with those Emei Needles is truly masterful! You must go easy on me later!”

Xiao Shenke’s expression stiffened. He was clearly wary of this man, but he still smiled and cupped his hands. ”Please, instruct me!”

Bao Longtao grinned and took his opening stance, waiting for Zhao Ci to strike the bell.

’The banquet is nearing its end. I’ve already beaten all the promising candidates into scrubs, so there’s no way Zhao Ci will pick them.’

’According to Zhao Yong, as soon as the banquet is over, the Ninth Prince’s Mansion will secretly approach these people, dangle the position of Mansion Official to keep them on the hook, and gift them some Qi Cultivation Pills. By the time Zhao Ci realizes what’s happened, it’ll be too late.’

’As for this Xiao Shenke... he’s a tricky one. Even if I use my real skills, it’ll be hard to make him look like a scrub.’

’So... I’ll just have to cripple him!’

DONG!

The bronze bell rang. Bao Longtao abandoned his previously simple and unadorned fighting style and charged brazenly at Xiao Shenke. His ferocious True Qi whipped against the faces of the onlookers, making them sting.

Everyone’s expression changed in unison. They hadn’t expected this man to be so fierce.

”Whoa!”

”So strong!”

”His attacks are so ferocious, how come earlier...”

”Could it be his previous opponents were just too weak?”

Xiao Shenke’s pupils contracted. He instinctively tried to dodge, but he never imagined the area was already filled with threads of True Qi that had leaked from Bao Longtao. Though he moved quickly, Bao Longtao easily tracked his trajectory.

A cold light flashed.

Bao Longtao’s Long Sword was already blocking Xiao Shenke’s escape path, waiting for him to run right onto the blade.

Xiao Shenke was horrified. He twisted his body into a bizarre angle, narrowly and precariously dodging the Sword Technique.

But a faint, bloody gash still appeared on his cheek.

He wasn’t just scrambling to evade, however.

As he dodged the blade, the Emei Needle in his hand shot toward Bao Longtao’s armpit.

But Bao Longtao’s reaction was just as fast. Other than a tear in the cloth of his sleeve, he was completely unharmed.

Xiao Shenke’s face was a little pale, but his gaze remained calm as he stared at his opponent, trying to find an opening. He truly had the composure of a master assassin.

On the high platform, Zhao Ci sighed inwardly. ’The difference in raw power is just too great. This Bao Longtao’s fundamentals are too solid. The strength of his True Qi and his physical body are on a completely different level.’

’This Xiao Shenke... he can’t win.’

Xiao Shenke suddenly shouted, ”Done with the act, Brother Bao? I wonder what your intentions were, defeating your opponents with such methods earlier?”

He had clearly recognized the gap in their strength and was attempting to use psychological warfare to disrupt Bao Longtao’s composure.

But unexpectedly, Bao Longtao completely ignored him, just spitting to the side. ”I have no damn idea what you’re talking about!”

Then, he attacked again.

Xiao Shenke cursed inwardly and sidestepped. This time, he anticipated that Bao Longtao could lock onto his escape route, so he wasn’t as flustered as before. His counterattack was also a bit more composed.

However, Bao Longtao’s reaction was not a bit slower than his.

The two clashed and separated in an instant. As before, neither was injured, but the shock from Bao Longtao’s True Qi left Xiao Shenke’s breathing slightly unsteady.

Soon, the two were locked in a fierce struggle. Xiao Shenke repeatedly tried to strike Bao Longtao’s vital points, but each attempt ended in failure. Instead, it just caused his own True Qi to deplete faster, and his attacks lost their initial sharpness.

Although they still seemed evenly matched, any discerning observer could tell that Xiao Shenke had no hope of winning.

But his competitive spirit had clearly been ignited. He didn’t want to lose the chance to enter the Tenth Prince’s Mansion because of this one defeat.

’Even if I lose, I have to lose with style.’ So he gritted his teeth and held on, hoping to force an opening from Bao Longtao.

But against Bao Longtao’s solid fundamentals, he just couldn’t find an opportunity.

”Hiss! Both of these brothers are so strong!”

”If I were fighting Brother Xiao, he’d probably slit my throat in less than ten moves.”

”If this Brother Pang were on a battlefield, he’d definitely be a weapon of mass destruction.”

”These two are probably destined to stay in the Tenth Prince’s Mansion as Mansion Officials.”

”Their strength speaks for itself. No point in being jealous!”

The murmurs of discussion were not quiet, but Xiao Shenke couldn’t hear a word. He just stared intently at Bao Longtao’s every move. Despite his prolonged, unsuccessful attacks, he didn’t grow frustrated, but his stamina was beginning to fail.

But just then,

Providence rewarded the diligent.

Bao Longtao wasn’t watching his feet and accidentally stepped on a stone tile that had been split by an ax-wielder earlier. He couldn’t help but stumble.

’Here it is!’

Xiao Shenke’s eyes lit up. With a twist, the Emei Needle in his left hand thrust toward Bao Longtao’s throat. He knew Bao Longtao could surely dodge by leaning back, but doing so would make him temporarily lose his balance; he would need to use his right hand to steady himself.

Therefore, as his left hand struck, he had already thrown the Emei Needle from his right hand toward the ground. Based on his calculation of the ricochet angle, it would absolutely pierce Bao Longtao’s right palm.

However,

things did not go as he expected.

Bao Longtao didn’t lean back to dodge. Instead, his figure abruptly dodged to the left.

That wasn’t the movement of someone who had stumbled.

’It’s a trap!’

Xiao Shenke was horrified. By the time he realized it, the Emei Needle from his right hand was already gone, and Bao Longtao’s Long Sword was slashing toward his now-empty right hand. He was like a sitting duck, with nothing left to even block.

’The sword is too fast!’

’I can’t dodge it.’

’This right hand... it’s gone!’

For an instant, Xiao Shenke’s mind went blank. He never thought he’d be set up like this.

’It’s over!’

The people below were also stunned by this sudden turn of events. They couldn’t believe Bao Longtao would feign an opening like that, and that his follow-up attack was so vicious.

It all happened so fast they didn’t even have time to cry out in alarm.

Some had even closed their eyes, afraid to witness the fall of a generational talent.

”Stop!”

Bao Longtao heard Zhao Ci’s shout.

But he had no intention of stopping. The entire point of this strike was to cripple Xiao Shenke. Why would he spare him?

As for an explanation?

”Swords and blades have no eyes” would be his explanation!

Seeing the edge of his sword getting closer and closer to Xiao Shenke’s wrist, the corners of his mouth couldn’t help but curl up slightly, as if he could already see a future where he was highly valued by Zhao Yong.

But in the next moment,

SWISH!

The sound of something slicing through the air came from the distance, growing closer.

CLANG!

The metallic ringing was incredibly piercing.

Bao Longtao only felt a violent tremor in the web of his hand, and his Long Sword was immediately knocked from his grasp.

The body of the sword was pinned firmly to the floorboards by a long spear.

’That strength...’

Bao Longtao’s eyes widened. Although his Long Sword couldn’t be called a famous blade, it was still forged by his family’s master craftsman using Celestial Resilient Gold fused with Profound Iron. The blade was incredibly tough, yet now it had been bent and driven into the stone slab by the spear.

’What kind of demonic strength is that?’

’My sword was so fast.’

’Yet he still hit it so easily!’

’Could it be that he saw through my Sword Techniques long ago?’

Bao Longtao was stunned for a moment. He looked up, following the shaft of the spear embedded in the stone.

His gaze met the cold, stern eyes of Zhao Ci.

A hint of killing intent flickered in Zhao Ci’s eyes. He leaned forward slightly, his hands gripping the railing as he looked down on Bao Longtao. His tone was chilling as he said, ”This Prince told you to stop. Are you deaf?”

~~~~

Fifty-two thousand words, complete.

I counted, and it’s twelve Chapters, not thirteen (I suck at math), but the fifty-two thousand word count is correct.

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Also, from now on, I’ll average ten thousand words a day. Sometimes more, sometimes less, but the average will definitely be over ten thousand.

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