Stronger with Crimson Modifier

Chapter 135: Ingenious Takedown (Part 2)

Every living being has a different Life Level, and the Life Energy Field they emit varies in intensity.

This particular Life Energy Field was immensely powerful.

The Blood Slaves and even the Lower-Rank Black Blood Species weren’t even a tenth of its strength in comparison.

And its target was clearly Hu Qi.

Strangely, however, Hu Qi felt a vague sense of familiarity from this person. He guessed it must be an acquaintance of his.

Before long, a slender, saber-wielding figure appeared at the end of the street.

Golden hair stirred gently in the air, flickering like a golden flame.p>Wine-red eyes, cold and sharp, looked as if they could pierce through anything.

He saw Helinta walking slowly toward him.

Hu Qi showed no surprise. His eyes swept over Helinta, sizing her up.

He noticed that her aura was several times stronger than before, and the stench of the Black Blood Species seemed even thicker.

It was also mixed with a heavy, bloody scent.

"Who are you? With your level of power, you can’t be a nobody. Yet I’ve never seen you before."

Helinta spoke calmly, a trace of confusion in her eyes. She clearly didn’t recognize the disguised Hu Qi.

If he were an ordinary Secret Martial Artist, it wouldn’t have mattered.

But the aura radiating from Hu Qi was, at the very least, at the Qi Blood Soul Level.

’A practitioner of the Martial Arts Family Realm... There aren’t many of them in the entire Federation, yet I have no memory of him.’

"Who I am isn’t important."

Hu Qi chuckled softly.

His voice was somewhat deep, different from his usual tone.

His gaze was fixed on Helinta.

"What’s important is that with Anshan City in this state, you, the second disciple of the Shexin Sect, aren’t protecting the citizens. Instead, you’re ambushing a good person like me who’s ridding the city of a menace. What are you trying to do?"

Hearing this, the slight furrow in Helinta’s brow smoothed out.

She muttered to herself,

"You’re right! That’s not important at all!"

As the words fell, she dropped into a low stance and broke into a run, her long saber dragging on the ground and kicking up dazzling sparks.

She was so fast that with her hair flying behind her, she looked like a blinding, golden meteor.

CLANG!

In an instant, their long sabers clashed.

Sparks flew, illuminating their equally cold, calm faces.

Flashes of Sword Light erupted as they struck and then abruptly separated.

Their figures crossed and collided, moving so fast they became afterimages, almost impossible for the naked eye to follow.

All that could be heard was a series of dull, continuous impacts, like thunderclaps on a clear day, rumbling on and on.

Glass cracked, eardrums tingled, and chests tightened, making it hard to breathe.

Nearby civilians turned pale with fright, huddling and trembling inside their homes.

Outside, on the street, the air vibrated. The gray fog was torn apart by the Sword Light, churning like a tide.

Qi Blood True Strength, so dense it was almost tangible, raged through the air, kicking up fierce gales.

Anything caught in the shockwave—be it cars, walls, or tall buildings—was torn with cracks by the nearly-physical Sword Energy.

"You’re strong. What Sword Technique do you practice?"

Seeing that she couldn’t take down Hu Qi, a strange look flashed across Helinta’s face.

After receiving power from that entity, even though she hadn’t broken through to the level of Qi Dao Grandmaster and was still just a Martial Arts Family practitioner, she could easily slaughter other Secret Martial Artists of the same rank.

She had even killed Jiang Zuo, a Qi Dao Grandmaster.

Although Jiang Zuo had been severely injured, his combat strength greatly diminished, and looked like he could die at any moment, the power he possessed was still far beyond what a Martial Arts Family practitioner could handle.

After all, a starved camel is still bigger than a horse. Their Life Levels were on completely different planes.

Yet, though she had paid a price, she still managed to kill him. This was more than enough proof of her strength.

This was also why she hadn’t hesitated to attack Hu Qi, even after sensing how powerful he was.

But she never expected things to develop so far beyond her predictions.

Not only was her opponent’s strength nearly equal to her own, but in terms of Sword Technique alone, he was even a level above her.

What confused her even more was that his Sword Technique felt familiar.

As for Helinta’s question,

Hu Qi couldn’t be bothered to answer.

Because the Seven Evils Saber was a perfected version of the Ghost Slaying Saber.

It was only natural that there were some similarities between the two.

So it was normal for Helinta to sense it.

"Demon Slaying One Slash!"

Seeing Hu Qi ignore her,

Helinta didn’t press the issue.

The light from the red long saber in her hand flared, and she clashed with Hu Qi once more.

Terrifying Qi Blood True Strength surged and raged, colliding and wrestling through their crossed blades.

Under this pressure, the concrete ground beneath Hu Qi’s feet seemed unable to bear the strain, and several frightening cracks spiderwebbed outwards.

"It’s useless. Die!"

Helinta’s long hair whipped about as her sharp, wine-red eyes locked onto Hu Qi. She spoke, emphasizing each word,

"If this is all you have, then compared to me... you’re still too weak!"

With every word she spoke, the power in her arms intensified, and her aura grew more terrifying and oppressive.

Under this ferocious power, fine cracks began to appear on Hu Qi’s long saber where it met his opponent’s blade.

It looked as if it would shatter in the next moment.

"Is that so? What gave you that delusion? You know, I haven’t even started trying yet!"

However, her response was a cold smile on Hu Qi’s face.

As he spoke, the Qi Blood True Strength in his body suddenly contracted, compressed, and converged toward his Essence Element Divine Treasure.

THUMP, THUMP, THUMP!

The heart enveloped by the Essence Element Divine Treasure suddenly began to beat, like a great sun releasing terrifying heat.

The surrounding air currents gathered and were sucked into his nose and mouth. His chest swelled rapidly, as if being inflated.

Seeing this, Helinta’s expression changed. A bad feeling welled up inside her.

Before she could react,

ROAR!

The next moment, the air trembled violently, and the surrounding gray fog began to boil like scalding water.

Hu Qi opened his mouth and spat out a thick pillar of white light.

Because they were less than a meter apart, and their long sabers were locked in a contest of strength,

she had no time to dodge.

The white light, carrying a devastating impact, slammed directly into Helinta’s face.

The Breath of Thunder. A typical Martial Arts Family practitioner could also master this technique after reaching Qi Blood Soul Condensation.

However, the technique’s effectiveness was closely related to the Martial Artist’s physical fortitude, the strength of their lungs, and the density of their Qi Blood True Strength.

Therefore, its power varied greatly from one Martial Arts Family practitioner to another.

But for the most part, this technique was used against weaker enemies or as a surprise attack.

No one would use it in a duel against an expert of the same level, as that would be tantamount to asking for humiliation; it would be utterly useless.

But Hu Qi’s Breath of Thunder was clearly different.

The moment it struck Helinta’s face, she let out a muffled grunt, as if she had been hit by a mortar shell.

Her entire body was sent flying backward, smashing violently into a distant shop and kicking up a huge cloud of dust.