After the Great Dao died

Chapter 24 Killing Wang Kong

When Wang Kong stepped into Liujie Lane, the lane was unusually quiet.

He paused slightly, his narrow eyes scanning the alley.

nobody.

The two men he sent to guard this place have both disappeared without a trace.

Wang Kong frowned and looked around in the alley.

He reached out and stroked the Hetian jade at his waist, his fingertips sliding back and forth on the warm, smooth surface—a small gesture he only made when he was impatient.

There seemed to be no extra traces in the alley.

The two people seemed to have vanished into thin air.

"waste."

He muttered a curse under his breath, not loud, but it carried an barely suppressed anger.

He always handled the tasks assigned by Steward Zhao perfectly, without ever making a mistake.

Today is terrible; two grown men can't even keep an eye on a sickly government slave. Every time that man surnamed Chen goes to the government office to report, he always takes this alley, and he knows it by heart.

But now the official slave is nowhere to be seen, and those two idiots are nowhere to be found either.

"Could it be that the servant took a different route?"

He had some doubts, but then thought it was unlikely.

Since I can only leave the mansion once every two months, I should definitely visit my former residence.

Unless someone tipped them off.

Wang Kong frowned even more deeply. He cursed the two incompetent good-for-nothings in his heart, and then pondered how to explain to Steward Zhao when he got back, and how to find the whereabouts of the government slave.

He turned around, preparing to go back the way he came.

Just as he turned around—

A scorching wave of air exploded from behind him.

Wang Kong's pupils contracted sharply. Before he could even turn around, his body instinctively lunged forward.

But the shockwave came too fast; before he could even fully extend his lunge, a fist had already slammed into his back.

"Bang!"

The copper-like energy exploded on the surface of his fist, and the crimson aura, like molten iron, seeped into Wang Kong's back the instant it hit him.

Wang Kong grunted, staggering forward three or four steps from the punch. He felt a sweet taste in his throat and a metallic taste rose in his throat.

He spun around abruptly, his right hand already gripping the hilt of the short knife at his waist.

In the alley, Chen Lingxi stood a few steps away.

He was still wearing that indigo short coat, with hemp rope tied at the cuffs and a leather belt around his waist.

The morning light fell on his face, which was paler than a few days ago, but no longer a sickly pallor, but a jade-like, understated pallor.

He stood there, his breathing even, the crimson aura on his fist slowly receding.

"you--"

Before Wang Kong could speak, Chen Lingxi had already pounced on him.

This time he didn't use his fist, but instead used his fingers like a knife, aiming straight for Wang Kong's throat.

The copper molten energy condensed into a crimson stream at his fingertips, hissing and distorting the air in its path.

Before Wang Kong could think any further, his qi and blood suddenly erupted in his dantian.

A layer of crimson light emerged from his body, enveloping him from head to toe.

The light shield was not a thin membrane, but was woven from countless tiny, scale-like fiery red light spots, layer upon layer, so solid that it looked as if it were plated with red copper.

[Bronze Fire Armor!]

This is the mark of achieving the Great Perfection of the Copper Crimson Realm.

Chen Lingxi was deeply shaken.

Wang Kong had previously attacked him in the Hou Mansion Garden.

At that time, Chen Lingxi estimated that Wang Kong had at most entered the initial stage of the Bronze-Red Realm!

Unexpectedly, Wang Kong was able to skillfully use the Bronze Fire Armor!

"Was Wang Kong hiding his true strength that day?"

Chen Lingxi was suspicious, but her movements did not stop at all!

His finger knife struck the air armor, producing a dull thud.

The moment the crimson energy collided with the crimson light shield, sparks flew everywhere, and scorching waves of air parted to both sides, blowing the broken tiles on the ground into a chaotic mess.

The finger blade failed to penetrate, leaving only a shallow dent on the armor. The dent was quickly filled in by the surrounding light spots, restoring it to its original state.

Taking advantage of this moment, Wang Kong drew his short sword.

The blade is narrow and long with an extremely thick back. Faint red lines flow along the edge, clearly indicating that it is a weapon that has been nurtured with blood and qi for many years.

He slashed horizontally, the copper molten energy filling the blade, and the air was torn apart by the blade with a sharp whistling sound.

Chen Lingxi took a half step back, the blade grazing his chest and slicing off a section of the front of his short coat.

Wang Kong's first strike missed, but the second strike followed immediately, slashing down from above with great force, as if to split Chen Lingxi in two.

Chen Lingxi dodged to the side, the blade grazing his shoulder and striking the ground, leaving a white mark on the bluestone slab, sending fragments of stone flying.

"You lackey—"

Wang Kong had barely uttered a few words when Chen Lingxi's fist was already in front of his face.

He had no choice but to shut up and raise his knife to parry. As their fist and knife clashed, the force of the "Collapse Mountain" technique traveled through the blade to his arm, making his hand go numb and nearly causing him to drop the short knife.

The two exchanged blows, and in a short time they had already exchanged more than ten moves.

Wang Kong grew increasingly alarmed as the fight progressed.

This official slave was a pushover in front of him before, but that day he tested him in the back garden. The official slave could barely dodge twice and his forearm was fractured by the force of his punch.

But now, this official slave's blood and qi are so strong and his fists so powerful that they are in no way inferior to his, and even seem to be gaining the upper hand.

He is a master of copper red!

What alarmed him even more was the slave's boxing skills.

He recognized the Seven Forms of Ceasefire; it was a poorly written, incomplete version of the martial arts manual that no one in the training hall paid attention to, and it was difficult to learn and master.

But in the hands of this government slave, the crude boxing technique was somehow imbued with a sense of refinement.

Every punch was perfectly timed, not too much or too little force, as if the punch was leading the person rather than the person throwing the punch.

And then there's that mountain-shattering force.

This is the signature skill of Jiang Yuan, a guest elder of the West Courtyard. Only someone with perfected Silver Bone can master the Collapsing Mountain Force to its highest level.

This lackey has only been following Jiang Yuan for a few days, yet he's already able to integrate the Mountain-Crushing Force into his fist techniques, controlling it with complete ease?

After exchanging seven or eight more moves, Wang Kong gradually regained his composure from his initial shock.

After all, he was a master of the Great Perfection of the Bronze-Red Realm, protected by the Bronze-Fire Qi Armor. When Chen Lingxi's fist struck him, six or seven tenths of its force was neutralized by the armor, and the remaining three or four tenths could no longer harm his bones and muscles.

His swordsmanship was fierce and powerful, each strike heavier than the last. Although Chen Lingxi dodged each strike, he still forced his opponent to retreat frequently.

"Is that all you've got?" Wang Kong sneered, but his hands moved swiftly, each strike faster than the last. "You think you can turn things around after following Jiang Yuan for a few days? A government slave is still a government slave; you can't make a living off him."

Chen Lingxi did not answer, but calmly responded.

He knew in his heart that with his minor mastery of the Copper Crimson Qi and his Mountain-Crushing Force alone, he really couldn't break through Wang Kong's Copper Fire Qi Armor.

The armor was as solid as real bronze armor. When he punched it, his joints ached from the impact, but he couldn't do anything to the opponent.

But he wasn't in a hurry.

He is waiting.

Waiting for the right opportunity.

Seeing that Chen Lingxi's attacks were gradually slowing down, Wang Kong assumed that he had exhausted his strength and felt much more at ease, so he became even more fierce with his sword.

He slashed at the empty air, then spun around, raising the blade upwards towards Chen Lingxi's lower abdomen.

Chen Ling did not back down this time.

He stepped forward to meet the blade, and his right fist slammed out.

This punch was different from the previous ones.

Not only was there a crimson flame of copper molten metal on his fist, but also an extremely thin, almost invisible blue light that silently extended from his fingertips.

The green light was so fine, as thin as a silkworm thread, that it was completely indistinguishable from the crimson flames.

Wang Kong's sword slashed down.

At the same time, Chen Lingxi suddenly crouched down, barely dodging the knife, and slammed her fist into Wang Kong's bronze fire armor on his chest.

The crimson flames collided with the crimson light shield, bursting into a blinding burst of fire.

Then, the blue light moved.

It pierced the copper fire armor silently, like a needle.

The solid aura that had blocked Chen Lingxi's punches for more than ten moves was easily pierced by this thin blue light, like a sheet of paper.

The blue light pierced through the armor and entered Wang Kong's chest.

Wang Kong froze.

He looked down and saw a tiny hole, no bigger than a pinhead, on the armor on his chest, from which wisps of crimson mist were leaking out.

The pores were rapidly expanding, and the surrounding sparks were peeling off piece by piece, causing the copper fire armor to dissipate at a visible speed.

"you--"

He looked up at Chen Lingxi.

Chen Lingxi swung his right fist again.

This time, there was no copper molten energy, nor any blue light; it was just a clean and crisp "Collapse Mountain Force" that landed solidly on Wang Kong's right shoulder joint, where he was holding the knife.

"Click."

The sound of bones breaking was extremely crisp!

Wang Kong's right arm hung limply, the short knife slipped from his hand and fell to the ground, bouncing twice with a clang.

Before he could even scream, Chen Lingxi's left fist arrived, also a powerful strike, hitting his right elbow joint.

All three joints were shattered, with only skin and flesh connecting them, hanging like a tattered sack on his side.

Wang Kong finally let out a miserable scream.

He staggered backward, pressing his left hand against the severed part of his right arm, blood gushing from between his fingers, staining his dark blue silk robe a deep purple.

The color drained from his face, and his narrow eyes were filled with horror and disbelief.

"You..." His voice trembled, "How could you... You're just a government slave... What right do you have...?"

Chen Lingxi did not answer.

They headed only towards Wang Kong.

Wang Kong retreated, his back slamming against the earthen wall of the alley, with nowhere left to go.

He watched Chen Lingxi approach step by step. There was no murderous intent or even anger in her dark eyes, only a calm and almost indifferent scrutiny.

"The medicine Zhao Yong gave us to test," Chen Lingxi said, her voice soft but each word clear: "What kind of medicine is it?"

Wang Kong's lips trembled twice, but he did not answer.

Chen Lingxi stretched out his right hand, and the copper molten energy lit up again, making Wang Kong's face turn slightly red.

Wang Kong's teeth were chattering: "Dragon-Attracting Powder...that medicine is called Dragon-Attracting Powder...it's in my belt."

"Dragon-Inducing Powder," Chen Lingxi repeated the name. "What is it used for?"