Book 13: Chapter 5

Wu Ping drew his sword and a.s.sumed a defensive stance as soon as the blackout happened. The reason behind the sibling’s quarrel was perceptively less dangerous than whatever could happen with zero visibility. As soon as he was on guard, he felt a strong draft edging toward him. Whichever brother it was, one of them had started pre-emptively swinging in case the other had a hidden weapon.

Giving Wu Ping a sword was the equivalent of handing him a short ruler. Jiang Chen still chose him, nevertheless, because he was truly competent. As soon as one of the brothers accidentally clashed with him, they immediately recognised they had the wrong target due to his distinct style.

The brothers could’ve stopped now, but it became a case of, “What if I stop and he doesn’t?” As a result, neither of them were willing to be first to stop. Consequently, Wu Ping had to deflect their attacks, which only made it apparent to him that they were out for each other’s lives. The three of them weren’t buddies or in a hierarchal situation, yet here he was getting caught up in their fight because they couldn’t do their jobs right. Irate over the fate, Wu Ping started to extend his shots. Suffice, he had an enormous reach advantage with his sword over the brothers’ bare hands, yet the two didn’t lose.

“Five Dragons Fight for the Crown, Sirius Fake Shot, Body and Essence Fusion…”

There was no telling who was reciting the lines that might’ve been martial arts techniques or a secret code. Wu Ping had it worst for he was already confused as it was upon arrival. He had no clue the captive had come to and hadn’t heard his voice. Accordingly, he a.s.sumed it was one of the brothers trying to distract him, impelling him to be more cautious.

The Yan brothers understood what the captive was trying to tell them. Yan Jibei had been thinking about the contents of the page Jiang Chen gave them even while answering nature’s calls. He, therefore, remembered the parts that the captive recited, except, prior to now, he didn’t know when to apply the teachings. Once Yan Jibei performed the three moves in the very order recited, he noticed the output of his attacks rose notably. What Yan Jibei lacked in skill and physical prowess, he made up for with ruthless aggression.

Although he could comprehend things to a deeper degree and was presently more advanced, Yan Jiangnan struggled to find answers. Despite not changing his techniques, Yan Jibei’s sudden increase in power, in addition to the intent with which he utilised the same techniques, put Yan Jiangnan into a state no different to covering up.

Yan Jibei started snickering, feinted, then followed up with his masked attack, slamming a hand flush onto Yan Jiangnan’s chest. Yan Jibei moved to follow up, only for Wu Ping’s sword to force him to retreat two steps. Learning to counter his brother was one thing, but countering Wu Ping’s swordplay was an entirely different beast.

Wu Ping, oblivious to the change in the status quo, only wanted to get out without any damage, not to earn bragging rights for killing the brothers.

Frustrated with Wu Ping’s obstructions, Yan Jibei thundered, “I’ll kill you first!”

As a result of this decision, Yan Jibei gave himself two opponents to tackle simultaneously. Wu Ping concealed Yan Jiangnan’s attacks with his swordplay, making it impossible for Yan Jibei to defend against Yan Jiangnan’s attacks. Within their forty exchanges, Yan Jibei had been cut seven times and was bleeding; however, he had no time to wipe his wounds.

Knowing the match had been decided, Wu Ping decided to perform a full sword flower, then stepped back and held his hands up in salute. “Brother Yan, this one means no ill will towards you. It was you two who dragged him in. Why are you two fighting? This one c-, wh-! Brother Yan!”

“Brother Yan” referred to Yan Jiangnan this time.

Whilst Wu Ping stepped back, Yan Jiangnan continued forward, uncorking a seven-hit combo that drilled straight into his brother, generating loud sounds and sparks of blood as if he was a breaking punching bag. For whatever reason, Yan Jiangnan wouldn’t stop his a.s.sault, shocking even Wu Ping.

No matter what compelled them to fight so violently with their own biological brother, Wu Ping felt they owed Jiang Chen an explanation, so he went to light up the candles. Next second, he spun back and thrust as he picked up on a presence, only to catch thin air. He was still trying to catch up when he felt a jolt of pain at the bottom of his jaw! Next, he was forced up onto the wall with heavy impact. Wu Ping could tell it was some metal object that stabbed through from below at an angle he couldn’t defend against, and it was still forcing its way into his body.

While Wu Ping could sense the presence of the a.s.sailant posterior to him, he couldn’t see who it was. Whoever it was had a lot of strength in their arms, although not exactly praiseworthy, but there was definitely a way to beat them. Problem was, the fact that Wu Ping was struck at a vital played with his head. Desperate as the feeling of death felt closer than ever, he extended both arms behind him as hard as he could several times.

The a.s.sailant had physical strength but undeveloped internal energy, so he managed to reduce the pressure on him. Most likely, he already broke a bone or two. Alas, the a.s.sailant, as if they were an anaconda trying to find the finish, refused to back down. Wu Ping could feel his life fading away notwithstanding his efforts.

The only person who could see who the a.s.sailant was Yan Jiangnan, who was on the floor due to his broken back.

Yan Jiangnan: Weren’t his arm and leg tendons destroyed?!