The Sword of the Setting Sun over the Long River

"Kill"

Jiang Yun leaped down from the tree, emitting a low growl from his mouth. The sword light of the Sword Technique flashed in the air, swift and ephemeral. Before the person arrived, the sword had already reached its destination.

A martial artist at the fourth level of Qi Martial Realm was swiftly struck by the sharp sword light, and his head flew up instantly. Before he could react, his body and head were separated, completely detached.

Jiang Yun sheathed his sword, and his plain clothes were already stained red with fresh blood. He squatted down and searched the corpse, only finding some useless silver tickets. Jiang Yun, feeling a bit disappointed, hastily dealt with the body.

It had already been the third day since entering the dense forest. In these three days, there had been continuous reinforcements from the Xiao family. This group was already the seventh wave of people Jiang Yun ambushed. Despite Jiang Yun's exquisite Four Elephant Steps and ruthless and swift Sword Technique, he had still suffered some significant injuries. His left arm and back had been roughly bandaged.

However, with effort comes reward. After killing these few people, Jiang Yun found four Body Refining Pills from their bodies, in addition to the one he had previously. He now had a total of five Body Refining Pills on him. Actually, these martial artists also had several martial skills and techniques, but in Jiang Yun's eyes, they were not worth mentioning.

Throwing the corpse into a nearby small river, Jiang Yun quickly left the area, not daring to stay any longer. Over the course of these three days, the number of people in the dense forest had increased. In just one morning, Jiang Yun encountered two groups of people. Although he killed them both with surprise attacks, it consumed a great deal of spiritual energy and inner strength.

Despite the profoundness of Sword Technique and Four Elephant Steps, they also required a substantial amount of inner strength.

However, this time, as Jiang Yun had just walked less than a hundred meters away from the scene, he furrowed his brows and stopped in his tracks. It was because a martial artist with thick eyebrows and big eyes, dressed in black, was blocking his way. The martial artist emitted a heavy aura and carried a thick-backed knife, appearing to have a higher cultivation level than the previous few people.

"Fourth level of Qi Martial Realm?" Jiang Yun narrowed his eyes, secretly amazed by this person's strength.

The black-clad martial artist, standing like a spear in the middle of the road, expressionless, glanced at Jiang Yun and said, "Are you Jiang Yun?"

"Yes," Jiang Yun nodded.

Upon hearing Jiang Yun's admission, the black-clad martial artist's eyes pierced through Jiang Yun like knives. He took the thick-backed knife off his back, ready to strike and kill at any moment.

"You killed Xiao Kuan? Were you also the one who killed my brothers?" Although he already knew that a significant number of his brothers had been lost in this operation, the black-clad martial artist still found it hard to believe as he looked at Jiang Yun, whose cultivation level was merely at the fourth level of Body Martial Realm.

"Yes," Jiang Yun felt a surge of battle intent within him. This opponent, much stronger than the previous ones, stimulated the warrior's heart within Jiang Yun.

"I'm Xiao Da," the black-clad martial artist said, immediately making his move. With a single slash of the thick-backed knife, a faint blade aura revealed Xiao Da's eighth level of Qi Martial Realm strength.

Jiang Yun urged his inner strength and used the Four Elephant Steps to dodge left and right. When Xiao Da made his move, Jiang Yun already realized that it was merely a probing attack. Even so, he took the shortest route in a straight line.

Xiao Da's pupils contracted, surprised by Jiang Yun's exquisite footwork. Although he had left some strength in that attack, under the activation of his eighth level of Qi Martial Realm's spiritual power, the knife's momentum was fierce, and its speed was extremely fast.

To his astonishment, Jiang Yun managed to dodge the strike. Xiao Da's heart sank, acknowledging that Jiang Yun had many means to kill so many of the Xiao family's dead soldiers. It wasn't solely relying on surprise attacks to win.

Although surprised by Jiang Yun's footwork, Xiao Da wasn't too worried. He understood that without the advantage of surprise attacks, his seventh level of Qi Martial Realm strength would absolutely overpower Jiang Yun. The difference of a major realm between martial artists couldn't be compensated by footwork advantages.

Jiang Yun was also amazed by Xiao Da's strength, but now that it had come to this point and facing Xiao Da's fierce knife techniques, he had to make a move.

In fact, the essence of the Sword Technique lies in concealing, the sword's intention brewing before drawing it from the sheath. But now there was no time for Jiang Yun to conceal his sword. Xiao Da's strikes came one after another, and he had no choice but to make a move.

As the sword was drawn, the sword light instantly collided with the blade aura in mid-air.

The sword and the knife clashed, and the sword light scattered with a single strike, creating a gust of wind where their energies met.

Jiang Yun felt the profound spiritual energy from Xiao Da transmitted along the sword, and he was forced to retreat rapidly. He only stopped when his heels hit a tree root.

"Indeed, the gap is still too wide." Jiang Yun clenched his right arm with his left hand, steadying the hand holding the sword, and inwardly sighed.

Xiao Da, observing Jiang Yun's retreating figure, grew even more cautious. Not only did Jiang Yun possess mysterious footwork, but his swordsmanship was also formidable. Just now, he could only see the sword light and couldn't discern when the sword was actually drawn. Although Xiao Da's strike was only half of his full strength, he had expected Jiang Yun, at the fourth level of Body Martial Realm, to be unable to withstand it. However, Jiang Yun only retreated a few steps and stabilized himself.

Xiao Da had no choice but to reassess Jiang Yun. He was far more formidable than what his superficial fourth level of Body Martial Realm strength implied. As he gripped the handle of his knife again, Xiao Da already regarded Jiang Yun as an opponent of the same level.

Jiang Yun was forced back by Xiao Da's strike, but his fighting spirit soared even higher. When he raised his head again to face Xiao Da, his aura had changed. He no longer concealed his strength within the sheath.

Xiao Da's heart trembled as he witnessed Jiang Yun's sudden surge in momentum. Jiang Yun took the initiative to strike first, and with each blow, Xiao Da grew increasingly shocked. He felt as though Jiang Yun carried a vast desert-like aura with his sword.

Driven by his inner power, Jiang Yun's sword light shimmered and transformed in the air. The sword light was sometimes straight, sometimes circular, sometimes direct, sometimes sideways, sometimes rigid, and sometimes gentle. It contained an infinite variety despite consisting of only two moves. Jiang Yun wielded it effortlessly, yet its power was unmatched.

Facing Jiang Yun's endless onslaught of sword techniques, Xiao Da sighed deeply at the profoundness of Jiang Yun's swordsmanship. Initially, when he clashed his broad-back knife with Jiang Yun's sword, he could momentarily stall Jiang Yun's sword momentum. However, as time passed, he realized that Jiang Yun showed no signs of exhaustion. On the contrary, Xiao Da found it increasingly difficult to withstand the clashes between their weapons.

Xiao Da's eyes lit up as he watched Jiang Yun's figure soar into the air. The sword light carried a momentum resembling a thousand horses charging from the desert, descending from above to strike Xiao Da.

Xiao Da swiftly activated the spiritual energy of his eighth level of Lingwu Realm, unleashing his full strength as he raised his knife to meet Jiang Yun's sword. However, in Xiao Da's heart, an unprecedented worry emerged—could he withstand Jiang Yun's sword?

At the moment of collision between the sword light and Xiao Da's broad-back knife, he felt the overwhelming aura contained within Jiang Yun's strike.

"Crack!"

Xiao Da's knife broke into two pieces, and the sword light descended from above. Just before his death, Xiao Da asked a question, "What sword technique is this?"

"The Long River Setting Sun Sword," Jiang Yun replied.

After speaking, Xiao Da's body split in half, falling to both sides simultaneously. Witnessing Xiao Da's final demise, Jiang Yun immediately slumped beside his corpse, feeling utterly weak and powerless. The long sword dropped to the ground, and he lacked the strength to pick it up.

Although the Long River Setting Sun Sword was much more powerful than the Sword Technique, it required an immense amount of inner strength. After executing the sword technique, Jiang Yun's dantian was completely depleted.

Jiang Yun sat cross-legged in place and began practicing the Bone Refining Scripture, circulating his energy. After more than ten minutes, he finally regained a trace of inner strength, ceased his cultivation, stood up despite his extreme physical weakness, and immediately left without even bothering to handle the corpse.

An hour later, a middle-aged man in his forties emerged from thin air at the location of Xiao Da's corpse. With a gloomy expression, he investigated the scene and angrily slapped a nearby large tree. The tree shattered under the force of his palm. If Jiang Yun were present, he would surely be astonished, as this man possessed at least the strength of a Yuanwu Realm martial artist.

After venting his anger, the middle-aged man noticed the bloodstains on the ground. He sneered and said, "Let's see how you can escape from the palm of my hand."