Chapter 47: Reduced to Ashes

’A Resentful Soul? Give me a break!’

’I still smashed it to bits with one elbow!’

Han Yuan’s qi and blood surged. His body burned like a furnace, and his expression was savage and ferocious, like a wrathful Arhat.

Butcher Jiang’s head, twisted and cracked from the blow, gaped open into a monstrous maw. It revealed rows of dense, white teeth, sharp as a dog’s fangs, as it lunged for Han Yuan’s head.

Han Yuan grinned. The muscles of his left arm swelled, coiling like dragons and snakes, as he slammed his fist into Butcher Jiang’s chest.

It was like a mountain-shattering hammer striking a boulder.

BOOM!

A terrifying shockwave blasted outward, scattering a large swath of the mist.

Butcher Jiang’s chest was incredibly tough, yet the punch caved it in, forcing him back several steps.

Han Yuan charged forward with a savage grin. Gripping his Cold Blade with both hands, he channeled his qi and blood and unleashed a flurry of rapid strikes.

SCREECH SCREECH SCREECH~~

The cries of countless raptors seemed to tear through the night sky.

The flashes of his blade were terrifyingly dense, shredding the surrounding mist and air currents.

Butcher Jiang, as ferocious as a wild beast, swung his Bone-Cutting Saber with tremendous force.

It felt no pain and feared no death, fighting with a suicidal desperation.

But Han Yuan’s Qi Power was simply too astonishing. The creature’s desperation was useless as Han Yuan’s blade light continuously sliced its body to pieces.

Chunks of rotting flesh flew everywhere.

Any plant life splattered with this flesh instantly withered and died.

"Die!"

Han Yuan roared, swinging his saber with both hands. All the Power in his body erupted in that single instant!

The Cold Blade became a vicious arc of light, cleanly severing Butcher Jiang’s neck.

In the instant the creature’s head flew into the air,

Han Yuan launched himself into the air and brought his blade down in a powerful leaping slash.

"Thousand Falcons Streaming Light Sky Slash!"

Like a raptor diving through the sky, his speed was blinding.

It was like a bolt of moonlight crashing down.

The Cold Blade, sharp enough to cut through iron as if it were mud and empowered by Breaking the Sky, seemed to tear the night sky asunder.

Carried by the force of his descent, he brutally cleaved Butcher Jiang’s head in two.

Yet, at that very moment, Butcher Jiang’s headless corpse still swung its Bone-Cutting Saber at Han Yuan.

But without a head, its strength and speed were greatly diminished.

Han Yuan snorted. The Cold Blade flashed out, a deadly gleam of frigid light.

Arms, legs, torso...

Han Yuan dismembered Butcher Jiang’s entire body.

But the limbs continued to wriggle grotesquely.

Even the two halves of the head Han Yuan had split were squirming.

Hearing the fighting stop, Wang Dahua and the others rushed over from a distance. The sight of the wriggling limbs on the ground made their skin crawl.

"Get me some firewood."

Han Yuan’s voice was cold.

From his last experience on Great Tiger Mountain, he knew that fire was the bane of these Evil Spirits.

Hearing Han Yuan’s icy voice, Wang Dahua and the others snapped back to reality and turned to find firewood.

Soon, a roaring fire was burning by the river.

Han Yuan threw all of Butcher Jiang’s body parts into the flames.

"AHHH!!!"

Vicious screams even continued to echo from within the flames.

’Still screaming this loud when you’re about to die.’

The screaming irritated Han Yuan, and he bellowed.

"Pour oil on it!"

Immediately, Wang Dahua and his men added more wood and doused it with oil.

The fire instantly roared with greater intensity.

Wisps of foul, black smoke rose from the inferno.

A long time later, the fire died down. Butcher Jiang’s remains had been burned to nothing.

Seeing Butcher Jiang reduced to ash, Wang Dahua and his men finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Of course, their awe and fear of Han Yuan had also deepened.

This was a malevolent ghost that had drowned, turned into an Evil Spirit, and slaughtered many people.

Yet Han Yuan had hacked it to pieces and burned it to ash.

In other words, the malevolent ghost wasn’t nearly as terrifying as Han Yuan.

Just then, a ray of sunlight fell on the riverbank.

After a whole night’s ordeal, dawn had unknowingly broken.

Yang Sen arrived with some Government Officials to survey the scene.

When they heard that Han Yuan had burned the Evil Spirit to ash, their faces filled with horror.

"Go collect the monks’ bodies and burn them."

Han Yuan instructed Yang Sen.

He was worried that since the monks had died violently, they too might transform into Evil Spirits.

"I understand, sir." Yang Sen nodded hastily.

Han Yuan then took his leave.

He hadn’t slept all night and was heading home to rest.

After washing away the stench of blood and gore, he returned to his room and replayed the previous night’s battle in his mind.

’Compared to normal people, these Evil Spirits don’t have as many vital weaknesses.’

’But the head is still a fatal weakness. If I encounter another one, I should aim for the head.’

Han Yuan continued to analyze the fight.

An Evil Spirit had appeared right inside the city this time. He would likely encounter more. By understanding their characteristics now, he wouldn’t be caught off guard later.

’And physical attacks seem... somewhat ineffective against Evil Spirits.’

’If I broke through to the Inner Breath Realm and developed even a sliver of Inner Breath, I could probably inflict much more damage.’

In the fight last night, even though Han Yuan had cut Butcher Jiang into several pieces, he had no way to truly kill it. In the end, he had to resort to fire.

This proved that while vigorous qi and blood could intimidate Evil Spirits, it couldn’t kill them.

Perhaps things would be different once he reached the Inner Breath Realm.

’I can’t afford to slack off, then.’

’I need to master the Arhat Iron Cloth Shirt to the Perfection realm as quickly as possible.’

’And then I need to find an Inner Breath Technique.’

Han Yuan’s brow furrowed at the thought.

In a small place like Qingshui County, Body Tempering Martial Artist was the limit. Inner Breath Techniques weren’t circulated here; he’d have to ask someone to make inquiries.

Moreover, Han Yuan was thinking even further ahead.

Besides an Inner Breath Technique, he also needed a stronger Blade Technique, Fist Technique, and Horizontal Training Technique.

After all, an Inner Breath Technique is a Training Method.

No matter how powerful one’s Inner Breath was, without the proper Martial Arts to channel it, its full power could never be unleashed.

This was the limitation of being in Qingshui County.

The thought of leaving Qingshui County began to form in Han Yuan’s mind.

But now wasn’t the time.

He needed to earn more money, and he still had to master his Arhat Iron Cloth Shirt to the Perfection realm.

And finally, he had to decide where to go.

These matters could not be rushed.

Han Yuan pushed the thoughts aside and went to bed.

The battle with Butcher Jiang had consumed a great deal of his Qi Power, and he was truly exhausted.

.....

News that Han Yuan had slain the culprit behind the bloody massacres spread like wildfire through Qingshui County.

The Government Office, of course, didn’t report that it was the work of an Evil Spirit, claiming only that the killer was a deranged madman.

But word eventually leaked out, and many of the common folk couldn’t tell fact from fiction.

Regardless, Han Yuan’s fearsome reputation spread even wider.

His title as the "God of Slaughter" was now set in stone.

Later, some "genius" hired an artist to paint a portrait of Han Yuan, which they then posted on their front door, claiming it would ward off evil spirits!

This act immediately sparked a trend among the populace.

Everyone in Qingshui County knew of Han Yuan’s bloodthirsty nature. They figured that hanging his portrait on their doors might actually be enough to make malevolent ghosts think twice.

After solving the case, Han Yuan’s life returned to normal.

He spent his days diligently practicing the Arhat Iron Cloth Shirt.

When he heard about it from Wang Changbai, he didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

But there was no malice in their actions... so he couldn’t bring himself to interfere. He could only pretend he didn’t know.

Qingshui County finally returned to its former peaceful days.