The Zhanma Sword

Unable to care about how the common people might escape, Mo Qingkuang just wanted to leave this troubled place as soon as possible. 

Even the embroidered balls wrapped with explosives, he didn't know where they came from, but he knew he couldn't pay any attention to it right now. 

Being able to save Han Yan'er at the risk of his own life was already very risky. 

His speed was extremely fast, and even carrying another person, he was still much faster than ordinary people. 

After a few leaps, he ran out of the street. 

Then he saw countless guards and soldiers pouring into the street where the explosion occurred. 

"Are you Mo Qingkuang?" Among the army, a middle-aged man in heavy armor and a burly stature stepped forward and asked. 

Mo Qingkuang looked at him with thick eyebrows and big eyes, finding some resemblance to Tang Yu. 

He nodded respectfully, "General, I am indeed Mo Qingkuang." 

Immediately, Mo Qingkuang saw the middle-aged general looking at him strangely. 

It was then that he noticed the princess was still on his shoulder, so he hurriedly put Han Yan'er down. 

Han Yan'er's cheeks were flushed, and her legs were a little weak. 

Of course, it wasn't because she was frightened by the sudden explosion, but because this was the first time in her life, she had such intimate contact with a man, making her shy. 

But knowing that now was not the time for romance, she coughed lightly, "Uncle Tang, any progress?" 

The middle-aged general respectfully clasped his fist and bowed his head, not daring to look up, "Greetings, Princess, the commander has already ordered the military to surround Chang'an Street. Regardless of their identities, we will search them one by one and not let a single one slip through!" 

"That's good, Uncle Tang, you've worked hard." Han Yan'er nodded. 

"The princess was ambushed under the protection of my men. I'm at fault. After this matter is resolved, I will personally take responsibility for my mistake." The middle-aged general bowed again. 

"Uncle Tang, you should hurry up and catch the assassin! Don't stay here to apologize to us." At this moment, Gu Hongyi, covered in blood and dirt, also rushed out and said weakly. 

"Is Hongyi okay?" 

"It's okay, Uncle, please go and do your duty. Don't worry about us youngsters." Gu Hongyi waved her hand and bowed. 

The middle-aged general led his men into Chang'an Street, while Mo Qingkuang, Han Yan'er, and Gu Hongyi chose to take a detour to the palace. 

Such a situation occurred during the street parade, and they, as the parties involved, had an obligation to report to the palace. 

*** 

"What luck, no one died." Just as the three were about to reach the palace, a gloomy voice came faintly. 

"Be careful!" Mo Qingkuang whispered, raising his hand to signal the two women to stop. 

They looked up, not far away, a person shrouded in a black robe was leaning on a sword while drinking. 

"I thought I didn't need to take action, but I didn't expect that this karma would be unavoidable," the black-robed person said lazily, as if not caring at all about Mo Qingkuang and the others. 

Mo Qingkuang looked around. Because of the explosion on Chang'an Street, the capital city was under martial law, and almost all the people had taken refuge in their homes. 

A large number of troops surrounded Chang'an Street, causing a few areas in the capital city to have weak defenses. 

The place where Mo Qingkuang and the others were blocked was one of them. 

It seemed that the other party was prepared, choosing to strike in a place with weak defenses. For the time being, there should be no reinforcements. 

Mo Qingkuang's heart sank, and he asked coldly, "Who are you, sir? I have no grudges or grievances with you. Why force a life-and-death confrontation?" 

The black-robed person sneered, "Dead men don't deserve to know my identity. Blame yourself for offending someone." 

With that, the black-robed person drew his long sword, swift as a startled swan, and the dark blue sword light emitted a chilling brilliance as it directly attacked Mo Qingkuang. 

"External release of True Qi! Grandmaster realm!" Mo Qingkuang was shocked. Regardless of whether he could protect Han Yan and the others, he used his full speed to dodge this strike from the Grandmaster realm. 

The Grandmaster realm was fundamentally different from the Martial Master realm. If Mo Qingkuang's speed could almost guarantee victory in the Martial Master realm, it was because in that realm, the true energy was attached to the body, greatly enhancing the martial artist's own attack and defense capabilities, but ultimately still relying on close combat. 

Compared to the Martial Master realm, the biggest difference in the Grandmaster realm was that true qi could be externally released. Although the attack power was slightly weakened, the attack range was longer and the coverage was greater, posing significant limitations to Mo Qingkuang's speed. 

The black-robed person stood still, and with such a casual strike, it made Mo Qingkuang quite troubled. 

The sword energy descended, almost invisible, and Mo Qingkuang could only rely on judging the changes in the air to dodge the direction of the sword energy. 

With a crisp sound, the sword qi that Mo Qingkuang barely dodged cut into the wall of a nearby house, leaving a deep sword mark. 

"Huh?" The black-robed person was surprised to see that Mo Qingkuang had avoided this seemingly inevitable strike. 

As far as he knew, Mo Qingkuang was just a Martial Master of the second rank, while he was a Grandmaster of the second rank. The two were separated by an entire major realm, so theoretically, a sword strike should be as easy as pie. 

Even though Mo Qingkuang was rumoured to be extremely fast, it was nothing to him. 

Unfortunately, he had underestimated Mo Qingkuang. Mo Qingkuang's speed, even if compared to the Grandmaster realm, was quite remarkable. 

In addition, he was skilled in speed and had excellent control over the flow of air, allowing him to sense and dodge the almost imperceptible sword energy. 

"It seems that I underestimated you!" The tone of the black-robed person's speech seemed to become more serious, and he slowly straightened up, assuming a starting posture with both hands holding the sword. 

To be honest, this posture was somewhat strange. This posture was generally used when wielding a large saber or a giant sword. 

However, he was holding a long sword in his hand, which was quite strange. 

But Han Yan, being knowledgeable and experienced, recognized the identity of the black-robed person: "Zhanma Sword! Are you Han Meng, the Zhanma Sword?" 

"Oh, Princess Han is indeed knowledgeable, actually recognizing my identity. Originally, I didn't want to involve you and bear the great crime of killing a princess," Han Meng said with a cold smile. 

"But who told you to not keep your mouth shut? Since you've exposed my identity, none of you three will survive today!" 

The Zhanma Sword is Han Meng's title. Originally a swordsman, Han Meng used heavy weapons like the Zhanma Blade, with its powerful and sweeping attacks. 

Opponents defeated by him often ended up smashed into minced meat by his several-hundred-pound Zhanma Blade. 

Therefore, he was often compared to a butcher with bloody methods. 

But Han Meng himself didn't dislike this title. He believed it was due to the weapon. Therefore, although he switched to a long sword later on, he still used the techniques of the Zhanma Blade. 

This could be considered a kind of talent. By applying the techniques of the Zhanma Blade to the long sword, although the fierceness was somewhat weakened, the ruthlessness was enhanced, and he himself had explored a new path. 

Under the long sword, all were beheaded! 

Earning the renowned title of the Zhanma Sword, he usually made a living by taking on assassination contracts.

***

More chapters coming today.