Pi Quan's Body Strike, Flying Leaves Piercing Blades

Lin Pingzhi's pupils contracted, his heart pounding like a war drum. This was the first time he had been pushed into a desperate situation right from the start, with blades flashing like a net around him, locking down every path of retreat.

His mind raced, calculating the distance and his enemies' moves, yet his body, which had been moving at high speed, suddenly came to a dead stop, as if time itself had frozen at this very moment. Before him, the three tachi-wielding warriors cut through the air by sheer momentum. The cold gleam of their blades brushed past Lin Pingzhi's vital points in a hair's breadth. The closest blade was a mere fist's width from his throat, its icy chill pressing directly against his neck.

Instant Stop!
In an instant, Lin Pingzhi's body anchored to the spot like a monolith, his breathing remaining as steady as ever. Although this technique was not a secret art, it required a robust physical constitution and meticulous control over one's Qi and blood.

Tai Yuan, watching from afar, saw everything clearly. He nodded slightly and praised in his heart, "Pingzhi has already begun to develop his own combat techniques." In Tai Yuan's eyes, combat was nothing more than making the appropriate response at the right moment. Even a simple tilt of the head or a turn of the body, if executed exquisitely, could make one applaud in admiration.

Swoosh! Swoosh!
A sharp tearing sound came from above as a warrior descended like a vulture from the air, his blade aiming straight for the crown of Lin Pingzhi's head. Though startled, Lin Pingzhi did not panic. His body suddenly twisted, and he slammed into the warrior on his left. His right hand shot out like lightning, grabbing the opponent's sword wrist, and with a reverse pull, he forced the tachi to clash with the blade of the airborne warrior.

"Clang!"
Steel clashed, sending sparks flying in all directions.
Lin Pingzhi took advantage of the momentum to duck, his physical strength instantly aligning like a surging river.

Pi Quan!
His elbow extended suddenly like a spring. The warrior whose wrist was grabbed felt his waist tighten as if struck by a heavy sledgehammer. Instantly, he went limp like a puppet with its strings cut, collapsing onto the ground, unable to stand again. Pi Quan was the very first fist technique Lin Pingzhi had learned, and it was also the one he had mastered most thoroughly.

The brilliance of Pi Quan lay in the essence of "Shen Da"—Body Strike. A true master of Pi Quan did not limit themselves to their fists; their entire body was a weapon, and every movement carried the weight of a thousand jun. In close-quarters combat, they only needed to lean in with the flow of momentum, unleashing their full power to throw their opponent off balance and force them into a retreat. When releasing power, they were not bound by fixed punches; every part of their body acted like a finely tuned, interconnected mechanism. Even the slightest twist of the body could draw power rooted in the soles of their feet, channeling it along their meridians all the way to their palms. In an instant, they could adapt to any change and neutralize the enemy's offensive one by one.

However, although Lin Pingzhi had undergone rigorous training, his cultivation was still lacking, and he had not yet pushed Pi Quan to the True Realm. Thus, the price he paid for killing one warrior was taking a slash himself. The blade swept across his left arm, instantly dyeing his sleeve crimson. Fortunately, the cut was shallow, injuring only the skin and not the tendons. This was still the result of his full effort to dodge; otherwise, he might have suffered a couple more wounds.

The pain did not make Lin Pingzhi back down. Instead, it was like a raging fire igniting deep within his heart, thoroughly unleashing the fierce courage hidden at the bottom of his soul. "Come!" With a furious roar, his fist struck first. The wind of his fist surged like a tide, sounding like sudden thunder. *When the heavens change, their majestic wrath is unleashed; the grim slaughter sweeps away all desolate air.*

. . .

"Pant! Pant! ——" Lin Pingzhi and the slender warrior stood back-to-back, their chests heaving violently, their breathing as heavy as bellows. Both of them were covered in wounds of various sizes, their clothes long soaked through with blood, making it impossible to tell whose was whose. On the ground around them lay seven or eight corpses of warriors, and the thick stench of blood permeated the air.

Three warriors still stood not far away, their eyes fierce like wolves as they stared intently at them, the tachi in their hands gleaming coldly, clearly searching for the best opportunity to strike.

The slender warrior tilted his head slightly, his voice raspy but carrying a hint of apology: "Brother, thank you for your aid. It was Shinta who dragged you into this. It seems you and I will journey to the Yellow Springs together today."

Lin Pingzhi curled his lips, revealing a weary but firm smile: "So your name is Shinta. I am Lin Pingzhi. However, I don't think we will die here today."

Shinta was stunned. He was about to ask, but as he turned his head, he agitated his wounds, causing the corners of his mouth to twitch in pain. Suppressing the pain, he asked in a low voice: "Things have come to this, does Brother Pingzhi still have the strength to fight?" In his view, both of them were heavily injured and their physical strength was nearly depleted. He truly could not see any possibility of a turnaround.

Lin Pingzhi shook his head. He knew his master was definitely watching him from nearby. His master would never watch him die. He just didn't know if his performance today would satisfy his master.

A perfect opportunity!
At this very moment, the three warriors keenly seized upon Lin Pingzhi's lapse of focus. A ruthless gleam flashed in their eyes. Grasping this fleeting window, they suddenly drew their blades and slashed downward!

"Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!"
The blade light flashed like lightning, its cold gleam menacing.
However, just as the blades were about to reach Lin Pingzhi and the slender warrior, a streak of emerald green suddenly flashed across everyone's vision.

"Clang! Clang! Clang!"
Three crisp clangs rang out. The tachi of the three warriors suddenly changed direction, plunging straight into each other's bodies!

"Uh..."
One of the warriors, not yet dead, stared blankly as his blade pierced the chest of the companion on his left, while the blade piercing his own body belonged to the companion on his right. Meanwhile, the blade of the warrior on the left had precisely pierced the throat of the warrior on the right. The three of them bizarrely formed a triangular formation, impaling one another as blood gushed out.

What was even more shocking was that a thin leaf was embedded in each katana. Those soft leaves had actually pierced through the hard steel blades, with half of the leaf body protruding from the other side of the blade.

"How is this possible?"
With a series of thuds, all three warriors collapsed to the ground.
Shinta and Lin Pingzhi also witnessed this scene.

Lin Pingzhi knew Tai Yuan had intervened, so he remained perfectly calm. In his view, wasn't it perfectly normal for his master to be able to pluck leaves and harm people? But the slender warrior looked as if he had seen a ghost, staring intently at the green leaves embedded in the tachi. A soft, delicate leaf could actually pierce through hard swords? What realm was this? A Kenhao? Or a Great Kenhao?

"See, didn't I say we would be fine?" Lin Pingzhi's voice snapped Shinta out of his daze.
"Could it be that Brother Pingzhi knows this expert?"

Lin Pingzhi raised his head proudly, but because he pulled on his wounds, he sucked in a breath of cold air, grimacing as he said, "Yes... my master has made his move."
The slender warrior's shock turned into deep respect: "So it is Brother Pingzhi's master!" To have such a powerful master protecting him was undoubtedly a great blessing.

"Indeed..." Lin Pingzhi tilted his head. "Ah, my master is here."
Hearing that the expert had appeared, the slender warrior likewise turned his head.
With this single turn, their fates were bound together.

Under the bright daylight, as the sunlight scattered down, a figure descended gracefully like a Flying Fairy from Beyond the Heavens. The slender warrior recognized that the clothes this person wore belonged to what was called a Daoist priest. He stepped on the void, as if the gentle breeze was willing to serve as his staircase. One step, one zhang, descending ten steps.

As the figure drew near, the warrior felt the other's gaze was as deep as an abyss, like the eternally unchanging starry sky, and he could not help but feel deep reverence. The slender warrior could not find the right words to describe it; he only felt that the person before him seemed to merge with heaven and earth, observing as a bystander.

While he was in a daze, the Daoist's gaze swept over gently, and he softly uttered two words: "Sleep."
The slender warrior felt a gentle power envelop his entire body. His eyelids instantly grew as heavy as lead, and his consciousness gradually blurred. Before he could react, he fell into boundless darkness.