Chapter 121: Fierce Battle with Madam Qi, The Thick Earth Manual Unleashed, Kill

Chapter 121: Fierce Battle with Madam Qi, The Thick Earth Manual Unleashed, Kill

The last time Big Feng City was thrown into such chaos was during the Pure Land Sect’s rebellion. No one expected a similar catastrophe so soon.

The attack on the Chu Clan spread like wildfire through the city’s martial cultivator factions, igniting a storm of outrage. Especially shocking were the over a hundred bodies removed from Cai Manor—gruesome proof of bloodshed. The street where Cai Manor stood echoed with wails from morning to night.

Even after the City Authorities sent enforcers to suppress the unrest, crowds still gathered daily at Cai Manor’s gates, cursing and hurling accusations. The Hex Union and City Authorities scrambled to hunt the culprits, but their efforts bore little fruit. Big Feng City, once bustling, now simmered with disorder.

At a certain inn…

“You wouldn’t believe it,” a storyteller dramatized, “that night, Black-Cloaked Men descended like locusts, swarming Cai Manor so tightly not even air could escape!”

“They slashed through Cai Manor’s servants like a scythe through grass. Blood drenched the earth, corpses piled high—hell on earth!”

“And Cai Liuliu, the Hall Master! Truly a lone hero! He fought them fiercely, driving them back until they fled in disarray!”

“…Alas, even heroes fall. Now Cai Manor is a cursed, desolate place. Today, a servant claimed Master Cai has dismissed all staff. The once-mighty estate lies in ruin!”

The storyteller’s voice swelled with emotion, weaving a tale so vivid that listeners sat entranced, as if witnessing the tragedy firsthand.

In a corner of the inn…

A crone sipped her soup, listening intently—a hunched figure none would recognize as Madam Qi.

Since leaving Su Chen’s estate two days prior, she’d scoured the city for news, hearing eighteen versions of the attack. Though details varied, the core truth remained unchanged: The Black-Cloaked Men had struck both Cai Manor and the Chu Clan.

“These assailants,” she mused, “targeted the Chu Clan at Cai Manor, slaughtering them all. The same force is behind both attacks. Clearly, this is a plot to frame the Hex Union. Both sides have been played.”

The City Authorities and Hex Union had deployed countless agents to hunt the Black-Cloaked Men, yet found no trace—not even the bodies of Chuxiaoxiao and Chuyingying.

“Either these assassins are masters of erasing evidence, or they’re protected by untouchable power,” Madam Qi narrowed her eyes. “I suspect the latter. In all Big Feng City, only the Hong Clan could vanish so completely. But why? Killing Chuxiaoxiao and Chuyingying won’t undo the old pact between our clans. They underestimate the Chu Clan’s strength.”

Her family had warned her to wait for their arrival before acting. Yet with Chuxiaoxiao’s body still missing, she had no choice but to begin her search.

“Chuxiaoxiao’s corpse… I must find it. The Hong Clan likely hid it.”

Sliding a small wooden case open, she revealed a bee-like insect—her Fragrance Lure Insect, bred by the Hong Clan to track scents. Placing it on Chuyingying’s clothing, she waited until it buzzed eagerly. Sealing it in a scented tube, she released it. The insect darted skyward.

“It worked!” Madam Qi smirked, tailing the insect through winding streets.

…

Back at his estate, Su Chen returned after two days of surveillance. The moment he stepped inside, his jaw tightened. His traps—shattered.

“Someone was here,” he muttered, recalling how Chuxiaoxiao had left the mechanisms intact.

Slipping into his quarters, he found no intruder. “Time to move out tonight,” he resolved, packing silently.

…

Above the city, Madam Qi’s insect circled.

“How?” she frowned, staring at Chuxiaoxiao’s corpse in a ruined mansion. “The Black-Cloaked Men didn’t take the body… but who did?”

Snatching the insect, she reapplied it to Chuxiaoxiao’s robes. Moments later, it flapped anew.

Tracking it to a familiar district, her face darkened. “Ding Peng’s residence?” Recognition struck. “He buried the body in that broken courtyard! That brat dares defy me!”

Scaling the wall, she spotted Su Chen packing indoors.

“Who’s there?” Su Chen spun, sensing a chill.

Madam Qi stood in the courtyard, her gaze sharp as winter.

“You!” Su Chen stepped forward, voice hardening. “What brings you here?”

“Kill you!”

Madam Qi hissed through clenched teeth, her voice a low growl of fury. She stomped her foot, launching herself forward like a deathblow arrow.

Su Chen’s expression shifted slightly, but he didn’t hesitate. He struck immediately with a punch.

Bang!

Neither held back. Their fists collided with bone-rattling force, sending a violent shockwave rippling through the air around them.

Thud, thud, thud.

After their initial clash, both were forced backward. Su Chen stumbled ten steps, while Madam Qi retreated only seven.

Madam Qi made no effort to hide her murderous intent. Across the short distance between them, their gazes locked, the air thick with killing intent.

After a moment, Madam Qi’s voice cut through the silence, cold and sharp. “Tell me—who’s the real culprit behind this? Speak, and I’ll grant you a quick death. Refuse, and I’ll make you wish you were never born!”

“Screw that!” Su Chen roared, his face twisting with rage. He hadn’t even blamed the trio for trespassing, yet now they were accusing him? Did they think he was some pushover?

Their arrogance, their condescending attitude—it grated on him like nails on a chalkboard.

Now they dared threaten his life? Fine. Let them die first!

He’d just forged a new weapon. Time to test it—on this old wretch. Let her blood be its baptism!

“You dare!” Madam Qi’s face contorted with rage, her wrinkles deepening with fury. With a sharp shing, Su Chen unsheathed his Steel Saber. The air itself seemed to shudder at the blade’s emergence.

He gripped the weapon, his eyes blazing like lightning, and lunged forward in a whirlwind of motion.

Madam Qi’s expression hardened. She swung her arms, unleashing a surge of Vital Force. The once-withered skin of her arms flushed crimson as if flames danced beneath them.

Crash! Crash! Crash!

The Steel Saber met her arms—more precisely, the Vital Force coursing through them. The Thick Earth Vital Force clinging to his blade clashed with the Separate Fire Vital Force blazing on her limbs. The moment they collided, the very fabric of space seemed to recoil.

“What?!” Madam Qi’s face paled as the Vital Force surged into her.

Though faint, the energy carried an imperial dominance, an unyielding authority that swept into her body and stripped her of control over her own Vital Force. For a fleeting moment, her power faltered.

Su Chen seized the opening. He abruptly released the Steel Saber and caught it with his other hand.

As Madam Qi’s eyes widened in confusion, a dazzling arc of steel erupted from his sleeve. Like a mountain collapsing or a tidal wave cresting, the blade carved through the air with a deafening roar.

“Danger!”

A piercing whistle heralded a surge of lethal intent. Madam Qi’s pupils contracted, panic flooding her. She abandoned efforts to reclaim her Vital Force, raising her arms instead. Their crimson glow flared, even her fine hairs alight with fiery energy.

Boom!

Su Chen’s Third Layer Draw Cut Art slashed down like lightning, colliding with her arms in an explosion of thunderclaps that rang in their ears. Both fighters gritted their teeth, their eyes blazing with savage determination.

“Hah!” Su Chen’s face twisted into a savage grin as Madam Qi blocked his attack with her bare arms.

With a sharp cry, he roared and gripped the hilt with both hands. His Vital Force surged like a tidal wave into the Steel Saber, crashing relentlessly against her bones.

Crack!

A faint snap echoed from Madam Qi’s flesh. Pain lanced through her body like electric shocks, intensifying with every heartbeat. Cracks spiderwebbed across her bone, spreading rapidly until it seemed a mere breeze would shatter it into dust.

The agony surged, wave after wave, numbing her senses. With a scream, she staggered backward, collapsing to her knees.

Plop! Plop!

Madam Qi stood motionless, her hunched frame now even more stooped. A gaping wound split her arm, bone visible through the torn flesh. The bone itself was fractured, its cracks held together only by sinew. Even a slight tremor would reduce it to shards.

The injury to her flesh was minor, but the bone’s torment left her trembling—no ordinary pain, but a thousand knives carving her alive.

“This ends now!” Su Chen snarled. He lunged again, the Crane Feather Saber gleaming. Though the blade was forged from superior steel, it bore only shallow marks from its clash with Madam Qi’s bone-hard limbs.

Though the Draw Cut Art had failed to kill her, his ambush had crippled her. Now Su Chen’s advantage was undeniable.

But as he moved in for the kill, Madam Qi suddenly produced a pill from her robes and swallowed it whole.

Before Su Chen could ponder its effects, her aura exploded outward, surging with renewed vigor. Her clouded eyes sharpened, her aged form seeming to reverse decades in an instant.

“Your death comes first!” Her voice boomed, a nightmare given form.

She launched herself forward, a blur of motion leaving a faint afterimage. In a blink, she stood before Su Chen.

He recoiled in shock, hastily raising the Crane Feather Saber to block. Vital Force surged across his skin in a defensive layer—though vast, it drained quickly under the strain.

Madam Qi cared nothing for his defenses. Her pupils burned with fury. She had no time to waste—this fight had to end now.

Boom!

Her flaming palm struck the blade, hissing like water on hot iron. The Steel Saber’s edge melted slightly, glowing with molten heat.

Su Chen recoiled, his heart pounding. If that strike landed on his body, even his Vital Force might not save him.

“Let’s see how long you can hold!” Madam Qi sneered, her shock at Su Chen’s resilience barely masked. That palm strike could shatter a Bone Tempering expert’s defense—yet this Visceral Reformation cultivator had blocked it!

No matter. One strike failed? Another would follow. One arm was enough to end him.

She pressed forward relentlessly, her flaming limb striking like a viper. Left, right, up, down—Su Chen found himself on the defensive, his blade marred with over a dozen scorch marks. The metal steamed, its once-pristine surface now pockmarked and rough, like Madam Qi’s weathered face.

Su Chen gritted his teeth, retreating until there was nowhere left to go. With a sudden burst of strength, he swung the Steel Saber in a desperate arc. The blow landed harmlessly.

But he hadn’t aimed to strike. As Madam Qi deflected the attack, Su Chen released the blade entirely, sidestepping her assault. With a flick of his wrist, he raised his Steel Saber high. The blade caught the sunlight, blazing like a falling star.

With a roar, he unleashed his Iron Shirt Vital Force, Xuanyuan Vital Force, Firecloud Vital Force, and Thick Earth Vital Force in a fourfold surge. The energies crashed into each other like tidal waves, merging into a cataclysmic force that tore through the air.

“No!” Madam Qi screamed, her face freezing in horror.

The blade’s final arc seared into her vision—a brilliant, blinding slash, the last thing she’d ever see.

With a single strike, her arm shattered, her head flew skyward, blood sprayed in a crimson arc, and her body crumpled to the ground.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end