117: Deadly Strike

The battle took a sharp turn for the worse, reaching the brink of collapse.

Zhao Mang's left arm was heavily injured, blood soaking half his robes, and his strength was greatly diminished. Facing Sasaki, who acted like a mad demon with every strike being a life-risking move, he could only barely hold on, fighting while retreating. Spotting an opening, he scooped up the heavily injured and immobile Steward Liu, using his movement technique to retreat rapidly. He dodged a vicious horizontal slash from Sasaki and temporarily escaped the core of the battle, but he was no longer able to stop Sasaki's rampage.

Elsewhere, Ji Ruxue pulled Xiao Chun along, pushing her movement technique to its limit as they fled for their lives through the rubble and burning ruins. Sasaki followed like a maggot on a bone, never letting up. Wherever he passed, Saber Qi crisscrossed. The coalition Martial Artists who tried to block him, whether they were Grand Martial Masters or Martial Masters, were no match for a single blow. They were cut down like straw, and in an instant, over twenty people had perished! Blood stained the soil of Black Reef Island.

The fight between Mace and another deputy leader of the Wokou had also reached a critical moment. Her shoulder had been sliced open by the opponent's strange saber technique, leaving a deep wound that showed the bone. Drenched in blood and with her Qi in disarray, she was forced to pull back from her opponent, temporarily withdrawing from the fight with a look of utter grimness.

"Damn it... are we really going to fall here?" Mace looked at the chaotic, collapsing battlefield, a surge of despair rising in her heart. She glimpsed Qin Feng coughing blood on the ground in the distance, then saw Ji Ruxue and Xiao Chun being frantically hunted. Gritting her teeth, she thought, "Hell, this is a huge loss! I'm pulling out first..."

Just as she felt the urge to retreat and prepared to call her remaining subordinates to flee this meat grinder—

"Cough, cough..." Qin Feng struggled to prop himself up from the base of a rock wall, coughing up another mouthful of stagnant blood. He watched the slaughtering Sasaki, the endangered Ji Ruxue and Xiao Chun, and the heavily injured Zhao Mang and Steward Liu. A flash of determination crossed his eyes.

He couldn't hold back anymore!

He suddenly pulled a jade bottle from the deepest part of his Storage Pouch and poured out a dragon-eye-sized, entirely crimson Medicinal Pill with twisted pill patterns on its surface—a qi burst pill! This was his trump card for saving his life, capable of forcibly stimulating potential and greatly increasing strength in a very short time. However, the side effects were immense; after the medicinal effect wore off, he would fall into a long period of weakness and might even damage his Foundation!

But at this moment, there was no other choice!

"Gulp!" Qin Feng swallowed the qi burst pill without hesitation!

The pill melted as soon as it entered his stomach, and a violent, scorching energy, like a volcanic eruption, instantly exploded within his body! A tearing pain shot through his Meridians, but in response, his originally withered aura soared wildly like a rocket!

Late-stage Grand Martial Master Peak! Half-Step Martial King! He even faintly touched the barrier of the Martial King realm!

"Buzz—!"

The Sword Heart deep in his consciousness seemed stimulated by this violent power, throbbing violently at an unprecedented frequency. An incomparably pure and sharp Sword Intent radiated from his body, as if his entire being had transformed into an unsheathed sharp sword!

"Hundred Flowers Soul Burial!"

Qin Feng let out a long cry that shook the surroundings! Holding the qingming sword, which already had faint cracks, he performed the strongest and final move of the Hundred Flowers Sword Technique! This move required the use of blood essence and Divine Soul as a catalyst to condense a lifetime of Sword Intent; it was a life-risking sword technique that harmed both the enemy and the user!

In an instant, countless flowers condensed from Sword Qi seemed to bloom around him simultaneously, dazzlingly beautiful yet carrying the deathly aura of withering and annihilation! All the petals and sword light finally converged into a refined, poignant sword rainbow that seemed capable of cutting through everything. Like a meteor chasing the moon, it shot straight toward Sasaki, who was hunting Ji Ruxue and the other.

This sword was fast! Fierce! Decisive! It contained all of Qin Feng's power after consuming the qi burst pill and the ultimate sharpness bursting from his Sword Heart!

Sasaki had just shattered a large obstructing rock with a saber strike and was about to continue the pursuit when he suddenly felt the terrifying Sword Intent and fatal crisis coming from behind! His hair stood on end, and for the first time, a look of shock appeared on his furious face!

"Baka! Two-Sword Style: Ghost Fang Rip!"

He spun around abruptly, gripping that Top-grade Profound Rank Katana with both hands. He poured his Martial King True Essence into it without reservation. The blade erupted with a piercing blood-red light as he slashed out two massive blood-colored saber beams in a cross, like the fangs of an evil ghost, meeting that poignant sword rainbow!

This was his trump card technique!

"Boom—!!!!!!!"

The sword rainbow and saber beams collided violently in mid-air!

It was like a thunderclap from a clear sky! A violent energy shockwave suddenly spread out in a ring, scraping the ground three feet deep. Several Wokou and coalition Martial Artists nearby were sent flying, spitting blood, and some were even torn to pieces by the scattered Sword Qi and saber beams!

The stalemate lasted only an instant!

"Crack... Crack-crack-crack..."

First faint, then dense sounds of shattering rang out!

Under everyone's unbelievable gazes, the qingming sword in Qin Feng's hand and Sasaki's Top-grade Profound Rank Katana actually became covered in spiderweb-like cracks simultaneously because they couldn't withstand the collision of these two extreme forces!

The next moment!

"Bang!!!"

The two high-quality Top-grade Profound Rank weapons completely shattered at the same time! They turned into countless fragments, flying in all directions like fireworks!

"What?!"

Sasaki was dumbfounded, looking at his beloved sword, of which only the hilt remained. He simply couldn't believe his eyes! His saber... had shattered?!

Qin Feng's tiger's mouth also split open, blood flowing freely. The power brought by the qi burst pill receded like a tide, and a strong sense of weakness and backlash hit him, making his vision go dark, nearly causing him to collapse.

But this sudden turn of events created a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for the coalition!

"Now is the time! Everyone, attack together!" someone roared hoarsely with all their might.

The remaining coalition Martial Artists, as well as Mace, who had just forced her opponent back, all saw red. Seizing the moment when Sasaki's weapon was shattered and his mind was in shock, they surged forward like a tide! Sabers, spears, swords, halberds, even fists and stones—every usable weapon and attack poured down on Sasaki like a rainstorm!

Meanwhile, a cold light flashed in Ji Ruxue's eyes. Enduring the internal injuries from the previous Saber Qi shockwaves, her figure blended into the shadows of the chaotic crowd like a ghost. She tightly gripped the poisoned dagger, searching for the opportunity for a fatal strike.

Although Sasaki had lost his weapon, his Early Stage Martial King strength remained. His protective True Essence erupted, blowing away several nearby Martial Artists. However, his mind was in disarray, and without his handy weapon, his strength was greatly compromised.

Just as he swung his palm to send a Green Fish Bandits leader flying, a cold light that almost merged with the shadows appeared silently in his blind spot like a venomous snake. At an extremely tricky angle, it precisely stabbed toward the side-rear of his neck, which was slightly weakened due to the eruption of True Essence!

It was Ji Ruxue! She had seized this fleeting opportunity!

Sasaki sensed the danger and jerked his head around, but it was already half a step too late!

"Puchi—!"

The poisoned dagger stabbed into his carotid artery without any resistance!

Sasaki's body suddenly stiffened, his eyes instantly bulging, filled with endless shock, anger, and resentment. He wanted to roar, but could only make a sound of leaking air. The poison spread rapidly through his blood, and his skin was instantly covered in an eerie bluish-black layer.

"You..." He stared fixedly at Ji Ruxue, who emerged from the shadows. Finally, his massive body crashed heavily to the ground like a collapsing golden mountain, kicking up a cloud of dust.

The notoriously infamous Wokou leader, Early Stage Martial King Peak Sasaki Taro, had perished!