544 A Confused Battle of Life and Death (1/2)
Venerable Lord Ice's target was not actually Hong Zhan but someone else several dozen feet away from him.
The target was someone experienced who reacted immediately once he was attacked. With a roar, he advanced instead of avoiding, pouncing forward in spite of the current, while the crimson saber in his hands countered the attack accompanied by the harsh sounds of the wind.
Unfortunately for him, his opponent was Venerable Lord Ice, one of the Four Seasons Tower's Five Venerable Lords. No matter how swift his reflexes were or how much effort he expended in the attack, how could he hope to be an equal opponent to Venerable Lord Ice?
Boom!
Just as the ice dagger came into contact with the crimson saber, it crushed the saber blade and went right for the man.
Everyone watching saw how the target's entire being was utterly shattered. His bones fell, scattered on the ground piece by piece, becoming nothing more than a pile of minced meat!
Although there was technically no torment or suffering in this method of death, the victim of it was not much better off anyway.
The atmosphere fell into an eerie pin-drop silence.
Hong Zhan's hand crept towards the grip of his saber, his gaze rested on Venerable Lord Ice's face like a sharp blade; he spoke gently, ”Are you the Four Seasons Tower's Venerable Lord Ice?”
The ice dagger storm was a well-known trick of Venerable Lord Ice. Seeing this trick greet the world, if Hong Zhan, being one of the top assassin organization's leaders, could not recognize it, he should consider quitting from the martial world.
Venerable Lord Ice rose, ice and frost surrounding him, as he bolted towards Hong Zhan, chuckling weirdly as he approached, ”Hong Zhan, I've long heard that you're one of the few rare martial world experts, top six in the assassin ranking. Now that there's a chance for me today, I can experience it for myself – to see if a ranked assassin is more formidable or if the Four Seasons Tower's Venerable Lord is stronger!”
Hong Zhan waved his silver blade, pulling a curtain of glittering silver light, it looked as if the Milky Way itself had fallen from the sky. With a loud clang, he crushed all of Venerable Lord Ice's ice daggers and hollered, ”Is this Mr. Nian's order?”
His strike was controlled with precision. Not only did his action halt Venerable Lord Ice's advance but he had also showcased his ability perfectly without hurting Venerable Lord Ice, obviously intending for the latter to retreat in a timely fashion.
The Four Seasons Tower's fame was overwhelming and there was also the precedence of the Concourse of the Underworld being targeted prior. Even for Hong Zhan, he was reluctant to make such an unrivaled enemy; by reserving himself in his strike, there was already an indication that he intended to admit inferiority and refusal to avenge his killer's sudden demise by Venerable Lord Ice.
Venerable Lord Ice chuckled and suddenly spat, chiding, ”Hong Zhan, you're scared? Are you actually afraid? The so-called martial world fame is exaggerated then, the rumor of you exceeding expectations is only a joke!”
Hong Zhan sucked in a deep breath. Despite his calm stance, he still had some temper in him; what was more, he was a notable character who could shake the martial underworld with a stomp of his foot! If he were to surrender to this mocking, how could he dominate others in the future?
”Venerable Lord Ice, you've killed my man! You have to know, the debt of blood is paid by blood. This is how karma works!” he said in a chilling voice.
Venerable Lord Ice's ice daggers soared again as he laughed. ”But would you dare kill me? Even if I kill everyone around you, so what? Would you dare to retaliate? If you kill me, the entire Hall of Crimson Blade will have to be buried with me!”
”What's more, you and your insignificant tricks are not even worthy of speaking to me!”
Ice daggers danced, Venerable Lord Ice soared as if riding clouds; he attacked ferociously without any defense, going all out in this battle as he embroiled all five men of the Hall of Crimson Blade into his attacking range, each one of his strikes was brutal and with the intent to kill.
Clang, clang, clang!
Hong Zhan, who was in the lead, countered thrice continuously and blocked Venerable Lord Ice's first three attacks head-on. He was about to speak again. With a strong cultivation base and capability of a first-rate expert, one could already assess what was going on during this exchange. Hong Zhan was actually reserving his force in the strikes – if Venerable Lord Ice was prudent, he should know to retreat instead of attack, to stop right away and even consider leaving so as to not aggravate the situation even more.