Every living being has a different Life Level, and the Life Energy Field they emit varies in intensity.
This particular Life Energy Field was immensely powerful.
The Blood Slaves and even the Lower-Rank Black Blood Species werenât even a tenth of its strength in comparison.
And its target was clearly Hu Qi.
Strangely, however, Hu Qi felt a vague sense of familiarity from this person. He guessed it must be an acquaintance of his.
Before long, a slender, saber-wielding figure appeared at the end of the street.
Golden hair stirred gently in the air, flickering like a golden flame.p>Wine-red eyes, cold and sharp, looked as if they could pierce through anything.
He saw Helinta walking slowly toward him.
Hu Qi showed no surprise. His eyes swept over Helinta, sizing her up.
He noticed that her aura was several times stronger than before, and the stench of the Black Blood Species seemed even thicker.
It was also mixed with a heavy, bloody scent.
"Who are you? With your level of power, you canât be a nobody. Yet Iâve never seen you before."
Helinta spoke calmly, a trace of confusion in her eyes. She clearly didnât recognize the disguised Hu Qi.
If he were an ordinary Secret Martial Artist, it wouldnât have mattered.
But the aura radiating from Hu Qi was, at the very least, at the Qi Blood Soul Level.
âA practitioner of the Martial Arts Family Realm... There arenât many of them in the entire Federation, yet I have no memory of him.â
"Who I am isnât important."
Hu Qi chuckled softly.
His voice was somewhat deep, different from his usual tone.
His gaze was fixed on Helinta.
"Whatâs important is that with Anshan City in this state, you, the second disciple of the Shexin Sect, arenât protecting the citizens. Instead, youâre ambushing a good person like me whoâs ridding the city of a menace. What are you trying to do?"
Hearing this, the slight furrow in Helintaâs brow smoothed out.
She muttered to herself,
"Youâre right! Thatâs not important at all!"
As the words fell, she dropped into a low stance and broke into a run, her long saber dragging on the ground and kicking up dazzling sparks.
She was so fast that with her hair flying behind her, she looked like a blinding, golden meteor.
CLANG!
In an instant, their long sabers clashed.
Sparks flew, illuminating their equally cold, calm faces.
Flashes of Sword Light erupted as they struck and then abruptly separated.
Their figures crossed and collided, moving so fast they became afterimages, almost impossible for the naked eye to follow.
All that could be heard was a series of dull, continuous impacts, like thunderclaps on a clear day, rumbling on and on.
Glass cracked, eardrums tingled, and chests tightened, making it hard to breathe.
Nearby civilians turned pale with fright, huddling and trembling inside their homes.
Outside, on the street, the air vibrated. The gray fog was torn apart by the Sword Light, churning like a tide.
Qi Blood True Strength, so dense it was almost tangible, raged through the air, kicking up fierce gales.
Anything caught in the shockwaveâbe it cars, walls, or tall buildingsâwas torn with cracks by the nearly-physical Sword Energy.
"Youâre strong. What Sword Technique do you practice?"
Seeing that she couldnât take down Hu Qi, a strange look flashed across Helintaâs face.
After receiving power from that entity, even though she hadnât broken through to the level of Qi Dao Grandmaster and was still just a Martial Arts Family practitioner, she could easily slaughter other Secret Martial Artists of the same rank.
She had even killed Jiang Zuo, a Qi Dao Grandmaster.
Although Jiang Zuo had been severely injured, his combat strength greatly diminished, and looked like he could die at any moment, the power he possessed was still far beyond what a Martial Arts Family practitioner could handle.
After all, a starved camel is still bigger than a horse. Their Life Levels were on completely different planes.
Yet, though she had paid a price, she still managed to kill him. This was more than enough proof of her strength.
This was also why she hadnât hesitated to attack Hu Qi, even after sensing how powerful he was.
But she never expected things to develop so far beyond her predictions.
Not only was her opponentâs strength nearly equal to her own, but in terms of Sword Technique alone, he was even a level above her.
What confused her even more was that his Sword Technique felt familiar.
As for Helintaâs question,
Hu Qi couldnât be bothered to answer.
Because the Seven Evils Saber was a perfected version of the Ghost Slaying Saber.
It was only natural that there were some similarities between the two.
So it was normal for Helinta to sense it.
"Demon Slaying One Slash!"
Seeing Hu Qi ignore her,
Helinta didnât press the issue.
The light from the red long saber in her hand flared, and she clashed with Hu Qi once more.
Terrifying Qi Blood True Strength surged and raged, colliding and wrestling through their crossed blades.
Under this pressure, the concrete ground beneath Hu Qiâs feet seemed unable to bear the strain, and several frightening cracks spiderwebbed outwards.
"Itâs useless. Die!"
Helintaâs long hair whipped about as her sharp, wine-red eyes locked onto Hu Qi. She spoke, emphasizing each word,
"If this is all you have, then compared to me... youâre still too weak!"
With every word she spoke, the power in her arms intensified, and her aura grew more terrifying and oppressive.
Under this ferocious power, fine cracks began to appear on Hu Qiâs long saber where it met his opponentâs blade.
It looked as if it would shatter in the next moment.
"Is that so? What gave you that delusion? You know, I havenât even started trying yet!"
However, her response was a cold smile on Hu Qiâs face.
As he spoke, the Qi Blood True Strength in his body suddenly contracted, compressed, and converged toward his Essence Element Divine Treasure.
THUMP, THUMP, THUMP!
The heart enveloped by the Essence Element Divine Treasure suddenly began to beat, like a great sun releasing terrifying heat.
The surrounding air currents gathered and were sucked into his nose and mouth. His chest swelled rapidly, as if being inflated.
Seeing this, Helintaâs expression changed. A bad feeling welled up inside her.
Before she could react,
ROAR!
The next moment, the air trembled violently, and the surrounding gray fog began to boil like scalding water.
Hu Qi opened his mouth and spat out a thick pillar of white light.
Because they were less than a meter apart, and their long sabers were locked in a contest of strength,
she had no time to dodge.
The white light, carrying a devastating impact, slammed directly into Helintaâs face.
The Breath of Thunder. A typical Martial Arts Family practitioner could also master this technique after reaching Qi Blood Soul Condensation.
However, the techniqueâs effectiveness was closely related to the Martial Artistâs physical fortitude, the strength of their lungs, and the density of their Qi Blood True Strength.
Therefore, its power varied greatly from one Martial Arts Family practitioner to another.
But for the most part, this technique was used against weaker enemies or as a surprise attack.
No one would use it in a duel against an expert of the same level, as that would be tantamount to asking for humiliation; it would be utterly useless.
But Hu Qiâs Breath of Thunder was clearly different.
The moment it struck Helintaâs face, she let out a muffled grunt, as if she had been hit by a mortar shell.
Her entire body was sent flying backward, smashing violently into a distant shop and kicking up a huge cloud of dust.