Chapter 333: Beating Them at Their Own Game

“Clip-clop, clip-clop, clip-clop!” As Meng Qi rode his steed down the street, he was brimming with questions, very much different from his outward carefree appearance.

To think he had encountered assassins from Unrelenting Tower!

After he had silently parted ways with Qi Zhengyan, he had constantly changed his appearance and his routes in case someone was following him. There were numerous paths that led to Shaolin Temple and the world was such a big place full of all sorts of people. He was also in disguise using Eight Nine Mysteries and other relevant materials. How would they have been able to find him if there had not been someone tailing him right from the start!

So how had the assassins from Unrelenting Tower been able to stop him?

To be honest, Meng Qi had not been caught completely off guard at the appearance of the assassins. It was just that he had thought the encounter would be like in his plans, and not a sudden one like that.

He knew that the closer he got to Shaolin Temple, the fewer roads he could choose from and the greater the possibility of being discovered. If the monk behind it all had terrifying power, he would definitely be intercepted or encounter assassins when he neared Mount Liantai where Shaolin Temple was. Given his current reputation, the weakest opponent would be at least on the level of Half-step Exterior Scenery, and had already broken through the Heaven-man Connection or had mystical powers. They would not send weaker Half-step Exterior Scenery-level ones who had achieved their strength forcibly through elixirs and whatnot.

Since the mastermind was unwilling to reveal himself, there was a very high chance that he would not cast his net yet, but seek the help of assassins. That way, even if they failed, he would not leave any clues that could lead to him.

Meng Qi considered the danger of the final part of his journey. He decided to use his rewards and half a year’s salary to request for the protection of “second young master Tang” from Six Fan School!

His excuse was that he and second young master Tang were teaming up to defeat Unrelenting Tower of the Nine Evil Paths, with one of them working in the open and the other, in secret!

Once he had entered Qin prefecture and neared Shaolin Temple, Meng Qi would put on his human skin mask and transform himself into second young master Tang, Tang Jing. Then he would discreetly ask Six Fan School’s Slivery-badge Arresters to quietly follow him while he acted as bait to draw the Unrelenting Tower assassins out. At that point in time, no matter who the mastermind sent to attack him, they would all be treated as assassins from Unrelenting Tower and would be killed or captured by Six Fan School’s Exterior-level arresters.

As such, Meng Qi could borrow Six Fan School’s power to defeat his enemies without exposing his true identity or his Secret-searching Nark identity. The monk mastermind would not dare to brashly act after that!

This was the key point he had learned about setups from Master Wang and Jiang Hengchuan: Concealing one’s identity!

However, why had he already encountered Unrelenting Tower’s assassins even before he had transformed into second young master Tang and entered Qin prefecture?

First of all, it was impossible that the assassins had mistaken him for someone else. Even if they knew he was “second young master Tang”, how could they so coincidentally stop him in Dragon-rocky City after he had changed his appearance and his route?

This was the biggest question in Meng Qi’s heart.

He crossed Dragon-rocky Mount and entered the boundary of Qin prefecture. Shaolin Temple sat upon Mount Liantai in the Northern part of Qin prefecture. He was not too far from it, but there were still many roads he could take to get there…

More than a month had passed and Senior Brother Qi could no longer hide the fact that Meng Qi was no longer with him. Any sharp person would be able to tell that “Killing Blade” Su Meng had left…

If the monk mastermind had reacted because of this…

Meng Qi was suddenly startled as if he had understood something.

Providential Sight and Omniscient Hearing!

The Heavenly Knowing in the legends was not referring to any imaginary folklore, but the very obstacle right before his eyes!

It seemed that the mastermind’s strength was even greater than that of the Peerless Master Pro he had imagined!

Their attempt to conceal the truth in River East had failed. He was not too far from Mount Liantai, and on top of that, he had left may items back in Shaolin Temple. Providential Sight and Omniscient Hearing might not be unable to get rid of the interference and pick out the right path from the two or three roads available. Then the mastermind had gotten his subordinates to plant the assassins from Unrelenting Tower there!

If that was the case, then there should not have been only assassins of that level from before. There should have been at least a better assassin!

Based on his observations of the strength and cooperation of the four assassins from before, he could tell that they were Golden-level killers from Unrelenting Tower, and thus there would not be many of them. Faced with their death trap, there was a very high chance of defeat, even if one was among the top 30 on the Ranking List of Young Masters. Unless they possessed certain attributes, like any special skills, or the ability to project one’s will outwards, keep a clear soul and feel one’s surroundings and the flow of genuine Qi around them. Something with a similar effect such as the Heaven-man Connection and realm of Oneness of Heaven and Men would also increase their chance of survival.

However, he had an outstanding reputation. Having gone through several major battles, many people were aware of his extraordinary mental energy. He even had to be careful and gradual in hiding it from the Ranking List of Young Masters. Now that he was also on its eleventh spot, the first person right after the top ten, such a setup was clearly insufficient to deal with him!

With the professionalism of an organization like Unrelenting Tower, they would not make the mistake of underestimating their opponents!

Unless, unless the four assassins from before had been planted there to verify his strength. They were supposed to make him let his guard down and relax for a brief period of time, creating an opportunity for the real assassins to strike!

They had come after him one by one. Courage and strength waned after the second strike and would be exhausted by the third. The horse trader’s attack right after the crowd had relaxed and thought everything was over appeared to make it even more certain that the death trap was over. He had already made it through the final fatal blow, so why would he think that there would be one more attack while he was on his horse?

Countless thoughts surfaced in Meng Qi’s mind. He felt his heart suddenly squeeze. He did not sense any changes with the will he had projected outwards, but he could feel an extreme danger in his soul, comparable to the time when he had first run into the Wolf King!

He did not think twice. His genuine Qi exploded against the horse beneath his hips, throwing him into the air.

Right then, the black shadow cast by man and horse leaped up. It seemed to have come alive, dark and devoid of any light. The long sword with a deep blue sheen it was holding stabbed right through the horse’s belly and its back. Its tip was pointed right at Meng Qi’s pubic region.

Had Meng Qi been half a beat slower, he would have been skewered through his pubic region up to his guts. That was the weak point of Golden Bell Shield and Eight Nine Mysteries!

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To be able to hide in the shadows or transform himself into one, the attacker had to at least be on the level of Half-step Exterior Scenery or was a Red-stair assassin!

The assassin did not stop. The black shadow was like a spear, piercing through the horse’s body in an instant. Blood and flesh spattered everywhere as the horse collapsed with a mournful cry. The blood stains and smidges of flesh looked like flowers blooming on the ground.

Completely free of any blood spatters, the black shadow’s deep blue sword chased after Meng Qi. It swung from bottom up, still aimed at Meng Qi’s pubic region, so fast that there were almost residual shadows of it.

Thanks to the horse’s sacrifice, Meng Qi had had a moment to catch his breath. Even if he did not have the time to activate his Purple Thunder Force, he could strike at full force.

He cleaved his long saber downward. It was surprisingly slow, but every single variation it contained was so rapid that it was impossible to notice and difficult to tell. It made use of the slowness to hold all those variations and enveloped the nearby area with just a single strike. No matter where one tried to run to, it would be difficult to escape his blow.

A slow saber, but a swift sword. The two formed an odd yet beautiful scene.

“Clang! Clang! Clang!” Variations continued to appear as the saber and sword clashed over and over again. The long sword seemed to be influenced by the saber and became weighed down by many fetters. Its speed began to decrease.

Borrowing the clashing force, Meng Qi twisted his body mid-air and landed on the limestone pavement. The frightening genuine Qi coming from the long sword was transferred to his feet in a few steps.

This genuine Qi was fine as silk, soft and unbroken and all-pervasive. Eight Nine Mysteries blocked a part of it, while the Immortal Pressing Art dissolved another part of it. However, it had yet to completely disappear, so Meng Qi had no choice but to shift it outside his body.

Meng Qi shifted his feet back and the limestone appeared fine. Then the winter wind blew and they suddenly turned into tiny crumbs dancing in the breeze.

If Eight Nine Mysteries had not altered the meridians in his body, Meng Qi would probably have suffered internal injuries even if he could disperse the force from blocking!

Similarly, the black shadow borrowed the momentum to descend. It pressed itself against the ground in a thin layer and “flowed” towards Meng Qi at great speed. Its long sword did not leak a single trace of genuine Qi.

Meng Qi had already firmed his legs in position. He wielded “Heaven Inflicted Pain” and the silvery color leaped up. Its Knife energy formed a thin mist, shining like the light from ten thousand houses.

There was dead silence. Utter dead silence. There was no activity at all.

Meng Qi was surprised. This was his first time using the Ananda Oath-breaking Bladesmanship, yet there was unexpectedly no response at all. His opponent was like a dead person!

Did the opponent possess unique skills or did he use drugs to forcibly suppress his emotions?

“Something’s wrong!” Meng Qi suddenly came to his senses and pounced forward without hesitation.

At that exact moment, the black shadow before him slowly turned transparent. It vanished, but it was actually an illusion! No wonder the Ananda Oath-breaking Bladesmanship had been ineffective!

On the other hand, the shadow beneath his feet came to life all of a sudden. Its long sword swung aslant at Meng Qi’s pubic region.

Meng Qi was fortunately half a step ahead. He did not stop and directly swung his long saber towards the back, fortified with genuine Qi and mental energy. The saber was his eyes, his hands, and an extension of his physical body. He used it to sense his surroundings and observe the black shadow and his sword.

“Heaven Inflicted Pain” glided along a mystical path and struck the long sword with a resounding clang, as if it had been waiting for this encounter for long.

The feminine and gentle genuine Qi invaded his body. Eight Nine Mysteries’ pale golden glow spread over Meng Qi’s body and the Immortal Pressing Art ran within him. They worked to either block or defend against the Qi. Meng Qi’s feet got heavier. They crushed a few limestones underfoot. A stream of blood trickled out of the corner of his mouth.

At that point in time, the street was in a frenzy. The brave men who had been moved by Meng Qi’s words hurried over, several of them hailing from the city’s aristocratic families. The black shadow paused, then leaped into the dark shadows of the city gate’s archway and disappeared without a trace.

If it had been blocked and Dragon-rocky City’s powerful individuals had been drawn over, there would have been no way out for him. He was adept at assassinating, not close fights.

The winter sunlight scattered on the muddy ground. Everything was bright and beautiful and it felt warm and languid. The events that had just happened went by so quickly that it felt just like a dream.

Meng Qi reflected on the battle. He had a rough feeling of that assassin’s strength–a Red-stair assassin on the level of Half-step Exterior Scenery. However, it was probably a Half-step Exterior Scenery that had been attained through a forced breakthrough or extensive doping. Based on his strength and genuine Qi, the difference in their strength did not exceed a realm. Yet his magical Half-step Exterior Scenery was completely in line with his assassin identity, like he had intentionally adjusted his gains to make them compatible. If Meng Qi solely based his judgment on the assassination, then the assassin was no worse than most of those on the Half-step Exterior Scenery level.

It was terrifying!

However, what was even more terrifying was that this was probably only the beginning. The monk mastermind was not trying to challenge Meng Qi, but to kill him. If he had enlisted the help of Unrelenting Tower, then there was a huge likelihood that the Red-stair assassin would soon be followed by Orange-stair or Exterior-level assassins to rapidly eliminate any lurking dangers. If not for the fact that the mastermind had yet to correctly identify the route he was taking, he probably would already have encountered them just now…

The good thing was that although his plan had been disrupted, he could still beat them at their own game. Unrelenting Tower’s assassins were public enemies that could be killed on sight. Six Fan School’s powerful individuals and some of the Exterior-level experts definitely would not ignore their presence. It was the perfect opportunity to spread this news and make them hide themselves around him so they could capture the assassins. That would force Unrelenting Tower’s assassins into carefully thinking before they acted!

As long as he had crossed Dragon-rocky Mount and entered Qin prefecture, he was close to Shaolin Temple. At that point in time, he would blow the matter up and hopefully his Master would hear of it and come to get him. Widely spread information was impossible to suppress by the mastermind!

Meng Qi loudly chuckled and shouted,

“An assassin from Unrelenting Tower appeared and I forced it to retreat! Our rewards are right around the corner, so if you have faith in your strength, then please quietly follow me!”

With that, he turned around and headed for the archway of the city gate. He took slow strides and acted like he was waiting for a powerful expert to appear, but maintained his distance from the disorderly crowd in case an assassin was mingling amongst them.

Ten miles away from the city was Dragon-rocky Mount.