Chapter 124: The Unexpected Will
Chapter 124: The Unexpected Will
Qin Li could feel the immense, wild killing intent from far away. This man, he thought, truly lived by the warrior’s code!
Cold Ping’s killing intent was startlingly pure, devoid of distracting emotions or hidden thoughts. Qin Li knew Cold Ping couldn’t be ignorant of the Crown Prince abandoning him. Yet, moments before this clash to the death, he still maintained such focused ferocity. At the very least, it showed Cold Ping was first and foremost a martial artist, before any other allegiance or agenda!
His Innate Purple Qi granted him exceptional sensitivity to emotional fluctuations and Prime Force movements. Though Qin Li himself had reached the Heavenly Rank, he suspected even masters of the Heaven-Breaking Realm lacked Spiritual Sense as potent as his.
Seeing this confrontation unfold, the gang bosses of Azure Dragon City instantly retreated to the sides. The members of the Great Green Gang also scattered far back, clearing a wide open space for the two fighters.
The area surrounding the Great Green Gang’s main headquarters was mostly barren wasteland, desolate save for the single road cutting through it.
“Qin Li! Today is the day we settle it. Only one walks away!” Cold Ping slowly drew his flaming sword. Made from unknown red metal, the blade pulsed with heat, resembling searing fire. The temperature around them noticeably rose the moment it left its scabbard.
Qin Li gave a faint smile, his tone calm. “Indeed. You die.”
“Ha! We’ll see about that!” Cold Ping laughed loudly, then suddenly declared, “But before we fight, I have something to say!”
Qin Li nodded slightly. “I grant you time for your final words.”
Unfazed, Cold Ping roared, his voice carrying across the field. “Today! Before all the major outfits of Azure Dragon City! I, Leng Ping, settle a personal grudge with Marquis Qin, Qin Li!”
Personal grudge?
Instantly, murmurs rose. Wasn’t it about the feud between the Great Green Gang and the Marquis? How did it suddenly become ‘personal’?
Many eyes fixed on Leng Ping, expressions shifting as they watched this sovereign of Azure Dragon City’s underworld.
“This declaration likely puzzles you,” Leng Ping declared. “But it doesn’t matter! You don’t need to understand. Just bear witness. Leng Ping has lived openly throughout his life! Though I ruled the shadows, I never abused the weak or oppressed the common folk! My word is iron! My grudge with the Marquis arose because I, Leng Ping, was tricked by treacherous men into sending my sworn brother to assassinate him. Instead, my brother was slain by the Marquis. The world of warriors is like this! What I do, I answer for! No one else bears my burden! This has nothing to do with the Great Green Gang! Tonight, I avenge my brother, Swiftblade Sun Liu! If I, by chance, slay the Marquis, he will be laid to rest with full honors! His dependents will become Retainers of the Great Green Gang!”
His words left many bewildered. Eliminating survivors was simple wisdom. Yet Leng Ping had framed this purely as a warrior’s feud. What was his goal?
Among the crowd, agents sent by the Crown Prince, hidden amongst the gang members, also watched Cold Ping in utter confusion.
Then, they saw a cold, fierce smile twist Leng Ping’s lips as he continued. “If… I, Cold Ping… fall today… First, I implore the Marquis, in his great mercy, to spare my family. They shall swear an oath, forbidden for all time from seeking vengeance against the Marquis! Should they defy this oath, may ten thousand arrows pierce their hearts! Second! If I fall…” Cold Ping’s face suddenly contorted into an extremely twisted, almost grotesque smile. “The Great Green Gang… from this moment… will obey the commands of Marquis Qin!”
Boom!
Like a boulder dropped into still water!
Including Qin Li, almost everyone froze, petrified. Expressions of shock and disbelief filled faces. Was this real? Could their ears be trusted?
He… he intended to hand over… his immense gang empire… directly to his enemy?
Gods above! Was he utterly insane? Lost his mind?!
Cold Ping threw back his head and roared with laughter. Turning sharply towards the mourning hall behind him, he bellowed, “Brothers! Will you follow my final order?”
“We will!”
Over two thousand hardened warriors of the Great Green Gang thundered their reply, though many choked back tears.
These were his true brothers, the loyal backbone forged through years of battle! Swiftblade Sun Liu and the forty-five brothers of the Warblade Hall were among them… but by his own error, they had gone ahead. If I die today, I join you! If the Marquis falls, your vengeance is served, and you rest in peace! So, brothers… fear not! You are not alone!
Cold Ping turned back to the hall and spoke softly, yet with cold command. “You understand.”
A long silence stretched from the hall. Finally, a weary, elderly voice sighed. “Dragon Head, why this despair? Victory or defeat remains unknown…”
“I ask only this: Should I fall, what will you do?” Cold Ping demanded sharply, cutting through the hesitation.
“No hesitation! We follow the Dragon Head’s will!” several voices from within answered instantly, deliberately avoiding the ominous word “final wish.”
Upon hearing Cold Ping’s pronouncement, select faces in the crowd went grey with horror. They shoved their way out of the throng and fled in panic.
Cold Ping saw them go, and his booming laughter returned, echoing with fierce pride. “HAHAHA! The greatest pride of Leng Ping’s life… was winning brothers like you! Even death is worth it!”
As the last defiant word rang out, his aura exploded to its zenith. Prime Force surged into the flaming sword, its fiery blade blazing brighter than ever. Cold Ping swung the sword, leaping into the air like a massive raptor diving straight at Qin Li! A scorching red Sword Qi erupted, slicing towards Qin Li!
Qin Li reacted instantly, flinging the scabbard of his own perfected sword at Cold Ping like a fired arrow! At the same moment, he swung his unsheathed blade, unleashing an enormous, transparent water dragon straight from the steel!
Fire and water erupted into collision!
A deafening BOOM sounded as the very air above them warped violently. An immense shockwave pulsed outwards, rippling through the surroundings.
Cold Ping batted the scabbard aside with his flaming sword and landed gracefully, instantly engaging Qin Li in furious combat!
While Qin Li knew Cold Ping’s bequest of the gang upon his own death likely hid ulterior motives, an undeniable respect stirred within him for this man. The reasons why didn’t require search. Cold Ping’s words today, his stance… they resonated fiercely with the man Qin Li had been in another life! A true warrior was ruthless, yes, but he also drew sharp lines around grudges and debts!
Qin Li understood the Crown Prince stood behind Great Green Gang. Cold Ping’s desperate move was clear: keep the gang from falling into the Crown Prince’s hands when he died. Bestowing it upon Qin Li? It was pure provocation, a challenge thrown down for Qin Li to clash openly against the Crown Prince! And the frustrating truth? Qin Li couldn’t refuse. His enmity with the Crown Prince ran deep regardless. But even without that, the sheer wealth a massive gang like this generated annually… Qin Li had a very good grasp of its staggering scale. Why did those powerful, hidden families and reclusive sects cultivate their own forces to secretly rule nations? It always circled back to the monumental profits!
Gold and silver coins held little allure for true cultivators on their path. But rare treasures? Materials for crafting legendary weapons? Those were completely inaccessible without vast wealth behind you!
Take that Ancient Alchemy Recipe in his possession. Its value was beyond measure! A single medicinal elixir from its pages wouldn’t just cause a stir in the Mortal World; even those ethereal, detached masters beyond the common realm would scramble for it! Yet the bitter irony? Qin Li and his allies couldn’t afford to concoct even one! Because… they simply lacked the financial strength!
Therefore, even if Cold Ping used this gambit as a classic “pass the deadly problem along” ploy to shove the Great Green Gang onto him… and even if Cold Ping hadn’t gifted it… Qin Li would have taken it anyway! That gang was fat prey he planned to devour long before this duel!
Anyone who dared snatch it from him? Would regret it bitterly!
Were it not for the depth of this blood feud, Qin Li might have truly hesitated to kill a man like Cold Ping—brave, capable, bearing his burdens with iron honor. Honestly, Cold Ping’s strength was considerable. Earth Rank, Eighth Tier? Certainly no average fighter! The Flaming Sword Combat Technique flowed from him with deadly grace, its movements ferociously sharp and lightning-quick! Against any opponent other than Qin Li, even a Ninth Tier Earth Rank Martial Artist might have fallen!
Each sword stroke radiated an oppressive, searing heat. A mere touch would scorch skin instantly! Even the hardened physique of a Heaven Rank Martial Artist couldn’t fully withstand that heat!
Yet, Qin Li didn’t rush to deliver the killing blow. Two main reasons held him back. First, unknown agents of the Crown Prince surely hid within the watching crowd. Revealing his full strength wasn’t wise. Second… the Combat Technique he’d performed earlier at the Martial Training Arena? That so-called “Furious Dragon Thirteen Strikes”? Utterly fabricated! There was no such ‘Thirteen Strikes’!
His Five Elements physique, however, was absolutely real. That Foundation Essentials text drilled into him since childhood formed its core. And his Innate Purple Qi differed vastly from the Prime Force within other cultivators. It was the universe’s purest essence, naturally possessing an unmatched affinity for the Five Elements!
Drawing upon the techniques and power contained in the “Nine Heavens and Ten Earths, I Am the Only Sovereign Combat Skill,” combined with his Five Elements foundation and the Innate Purple Qi, Qin Li instinctively created variations! He’d actually worried about lacking an opportunity to refine these impromptu techniques discreetly, avoiding suspicion about his core power source. Thus, Cold Ping, to Qin Li, became the perfect sparring partner—unwitting, yet ideal!
As their intense clash continued, Qin Li’s “Furious Dragon Strikes” grew progressively smoother, more fluid. Increasingly effortless.
Time’s up!
This clash could only have one survivor! Qin Li gave a cold snort. Furious Dragon Breaks the Surface!
The shimmering, nearly invisible water dragon unleashed by his sword doubled in size instantly—and its speed doubled too!
WHOOSH!
Like a comet, it tore through the air.
THUNK!
It pierced Cold Ping’s chest!
A look of sudden release washed over Leng Ping’s face. Weakly, he forced out words. “Marquis Qin… Promise me… Treat… my brothers… well.”
Qin Li nodded, his expression flat, showing no pity. A man like Cold Ping needed no sympathy.
And indeed, a serene, happy smile blossomed across Cold Ping’s face. In his fading vision, his beloved woman seemed to shimmer into view again. Her voice, sweet and clinging, whispered, “My Lord Cold… I’ll be waiting for you…”
Farewell… you wild, beautiful creature…