“Junior Hero Su, did you find anything? Who is the murderer?” Huang Huafeng, Xiao Liang, and Sha Wanhao, seeing Meng Qi take a step back, hurriedly asked for the result.
Duan Rui especially had eyes full of expectation, hoping Meng Qi would clear his name and restore his innocence.
Meng Qi said solemnly, “It indeed is Duan Rui.”
“What…?” Duan Rui exclaimed in shock, filled with undisguised disappointment and anger. Even the ‘Crazy Saber,’ who claimed to be a righteous hero, had framed him?
“You vile scoundrel!” Huang Huafeng could no longer contain himself. His palms lunged forward like venomous dragons emerging from their den, rushing toward Duan Rui. “Return my father’s life!”
“For Master’s revenge!” Xiao Liang and several elders attacked as well.
Duan Rui’s eyes blazed with fire. On his slightly youthful and stubborn face appeared an almost frenzied expression:
“You framed me! You are trying to destroy me!”
He stepped forward, his left palm leading while his right palm pushed sideways. He executed the “Five Animal Palms,” the foundational technique of the Ju Hua Sect, yet the force was tremendous, the surging energy overwhelming. With a pull and a push, he sent several martial artists at the sixth and seventh aperture levels stumbling backward, exposing countless openings—as if turning the ordinary into the extraordinary.
“You framed me! You destroyed me!” Duan Rui did not evade but advanced instead, his thunderous shout resembling a fierce tiger.
Although every move he made was ordinary and common, in his hands, they always seemed perfectly executed, returning to simplicity with a pure and powerful force. He overwhelmed seven or eight Ju Hua Sect martial artists, forcing them into a pitiful state.
The Ju Hua Sect had no martial artists at the eighth or ninth levels. Facing the terrifying Duan Rui, they could only form a formation to resist and cried out for help, hoping the senior elders and junior heroes would intervene.
Sha Wanhao stared in shock. Duan Rui had only joined the Ju Hua Sect two years ago—before that, he was just a beggar with rudimentary martial arts skills. Yet now, he had reached the fourth aperture level, with combat prowess that could rival even the more formidable eighth aperture martial artists!
Except for Meng Qi and Qi Zhengyan, the other elders and constables were stunned. Earlier, they had heard rumors that Duan Rui had fought his way out of the Ju Hua Sect, but they dismissed it as exaggerated nonsense. Although the Ju Hua Sect had declined since its third generation, with each successive generation producing fewer talented disciples and no great masters emerging, it still remained a formidable force. Even without eighth or ninth-aperture masters, there were still many martial artists at the sixth and seventh-aperture levels—enough to overwhelm an elephant. Yet the rumors turned out to be true. Duan Rui, who had only practiced martial arts for two or three years, had become this terrifying!
Wang, the official from the Six Gates Bureau, promptly stood up to fulfill his duty. He stepped into the Bagua formation and approached Duan Rui. Despite being only at the eighth aperture level, he dared not let his guard down in the face of Duan Rui’s displayed strength.
Duan Rui seemed to have eyes behind his head. As Wang approached, he suddenly kicked backward with a heavy, refined force, like a leg technique master with over a decade of training.
Wang slashed sideways at the ankle. Upon contact, he suddenly felt as if struck by lightning, retreating three steps while his face turned from black to pale.
Seeing the danger, the three elders Sha Wanhao, Lin Baozhi, and Dou Wutong joined forces to attack.
Among them, Lin Baozhi possessed the highest strength, having unlocked all nine orifices. He slightly restrained himself, valuing his reputation.
“You framed me!” Duan Rui clenched his teeth. With two consecutive palm strikes, he forced Huang Huafeng and others into a defensive stance. Then, he spun in place, leaping into the air. His legs launched a series of kicks, the sound like thunderclaps.
Normally, without reaching the Exo-Scenery level, special techniques, or sufficient strength, martial artists would always keep their feet grounded during combat. Once airborne, they would easily be exploited, as it was difficult to change techniques mid-air. However, Duan Rui’s leg movements seemed as if practiced for years, with minimal openings. He appeared capable of using his opponents’ blocks to regain momentum and switch techniques seamlessly, a true master of leg techniques.
Dou Wutong wielded twin judge pens, while Sha Wanhao’s swordplay was exquisite, either poking or slashing toward Duan Rui’s legs.
With two loud slaps, Duan Rui kicked the judge pens and sword blade, using the momentum to propel himself higher. He suddenly leaped onto the beam, aiming to escape the hall. It seemed he wasn’t reckless, unwilling to be surrounded.
After blocking Duan Rui’s attack, Dou Wutong and Sha Wanhao each took a step back, their expressions changing a few times before returning to normal, but they were too late to pursue.
Lin Baozhi, slightly behind, leaped up upon seeing this, like a hawk swooping down on a rabbit, rushing toward Duan Rui on the beam.
At that moment, Duan Rui suddenly performed a thousand-jin drop, landing directly on the ground and rushing toward the main gate. It turned out he had been feigning earlier, deceiving the strongest Lin Baozhi and seizing the chance to escape!
However, his gaze suddenly froze. The “Crazy Saber” Su Meng, dressed in black, stood at the entrance, as if he had known all along that Duan Rui would escape this way!
His sword and saber were strapped to his back. His hands hung loosely, not holding any weapon, waiting leisurely and casually as if he were a great demon blocking Duan Rui’s escape.
“I’ll fight!” Reputation precedes reality. Duan Rui dared not slacken, gritting his teeth. He clenched his right fist and struck with all his might.
That punch was incredibly powerful, its force so immense that even the surrounding wind seemed to vanish, as if the very air had been shattered.
Meng Qi flicked a finger. His fingertip continuously trembled, encompassing all variations with a single deviation. He displayed countless afterimages, a mixture of real and false, impossible to distinguish. Without discerning them, one could not block this finger strike.
Duan Rui was skilled, capable of transforming the mundane into the miraculous. However, ultimately inexperienced, he failed to perceive the subtlety. Meng Qi’s fingertip grazed Duan’s fist, instantly causing a numbing sensation to surge up his arm, which became swollen and painful.
But Duan Rui did not give up. He used the moment of contact to send out his true qi.
Meng Qi sensed that Duan Rui’s strength was formidable, nearly on par with his own when he had reached the fourth aperture level while practicing the Eight-Nine Internal Cultivation Art. Unexpectedly, beneath the pure internal energy lurked threads of sinister and poisonous qi, attempting to invade his body, damaging his meridians and organs, and inflicting various injuries.
So this was how Wang, Sha, and Dou had been defeated!
Meng Qi remained composed and unshaken. He actively dispersed his true qi, converting it into death energy while simultaneously neutralizing the toxic qi. Then, he transformed death into life, his true qi surging forward and rushing into Duan Rui’s body, sealing his acupoints before he could react.
With one finger strike and four fingers spread, Meng Qi grasped Duan Rui’s right fist, capturing him effortlessly. The entire process was so smooth that Sha Wanhao, Huang Huafeng, and others looked at each other in astonishment. They had struggled in vain to capture Duan Rui, yet to the “Crazy Saber” Su Meng, Duan Rui couldn’t even withstand a single finger strike, not even worthy of drawing Meng Qi’s sword or saber!
How vast was the gap in their martial prowess?
Both were at the Qi-opening stage, and Su Meng was supposedly only at the seventh or eighth Qi level. How could he be this powerful?
They couldn’t help but feel the bitterness of being outclassed.
Earlier, when the Black Butterfly had been captured by Su Meng, they hadn’t witnessed it firsthand. They merely thought his reputation was well-earned. Now, however, their inner frustration, helplessness, and sighs were unstoppable.
Meng Qi did not revel in their changed gazes but slightly furrowed his brow, pondering his own concerns.
Earlier, he had deliberately left his words incomplete, wanting to observe Duan Rui’s moves to identify his martial arts.
From the ability to transform the mundane into the miraculous, Duan Rui might indeed have practiced the first volume of the “Yi Jin Jing,” one of the martial arts manuals that Master Zhen Chang had stolen and accidentally kicked off the cliff behind the mountain when Meng Qi and his junior apprentice brother discovered him.
But where did the sinister qi come from?
The “Yi Jin Jing” could improve innate talent and elevate the quality of martial arts practiced, transforming the mundane into the miraculous. It wasn’t a technique for cultivating true qi itself. Could it be that Duan Rui’s original martial art was a demonic technique, enhanced by the “Yi Jin Jing”?
Was this demonic technique taught by his so-called adoptive father?
Was Duan Rui’s “split personality” related to this?
Was his adoptive father truly mad or merely pretending?
Suppressing these doubts, Meng Qi looked at Duan Rui’s defiant and resentful gaze and Huang Huafeng’s eagerness to avenge his father. He said solemnly, “The murderer is Duan Rui, but also not Duan Rui.”
“Eh?” Everyone, including Duan Rui himself, looked puzzled.
Meng Qi explained, “I suspect Duan Rui suffers from soul separation syndrome or the legendary dual soul within one body. The one who killed your sect leader was another hidden ‘him’ within Duan Rui.”
In this world, cases of soul separation and dual souls existed. Meng Qi didn’t need to elaborate further; Wang, Sha Wanhao, and others naturally understood his meaning.
“Really?” Huang Huafeng said, his expression complicated. “But even if he has soul separation, he still must pay for the murder!”
“What is soul separation?” Duan Rui asked, confused.
Meng Qi thought for a moment and said, “It means there’s a demon inside you. Occasionally, it controls you, making you do things you normally wouldn’t. When you regain consciousness, you have no memory of what happened. Think carefully. Have you ever encountered similar situations where things around you changed mysteriously?”
Duan Rui’s condition was relatively mild. If the two souls or personalities could freely communicate and switch, he would be considered a late-stage severe patient, like Gu Xiaosang.
Duan Rui’s face changed dramatically. After a long silence, he said, “Yes. When I was a beggar, if someone bullied me, I would find their corpse nearby the next day…”
“Master Su, Master Su, save me! I don’t want to be controlled by the demon!”
He begged desperately.
Others remained silent, except for Huang Huafeng, who anxiously said, “Junior Hero Su, a murderer must pay with his life. My father cannot die in vain!”
Duan Rui turned to Huang Huafeng, “Fifth Senior Brother, whether controlled by the demon or not, since this incident started with me, I must take responsibility. After removing the demon and returning to normal, you can do with me as you please.”
He had a simple belief, unwilling to die with the demon, fearing it might haunt him in the next life.
Huang Huafeng, Xiao Liang, and others fell silent, hesitating. Revenge would bring satisfaction, but if they allowed Duan Rui to redeem himself, gaining such a powerful ally might be more beneficial for the sect…
“Deal with the demon first. If it cannot be removed, then kill both together,” Huang Huafeng gritted his teeth. “Also, we must invite a renowned physician to confirm it is indeed soul separation.”
They couldn’t just accept whatever the “Crazy Saber” Su Meng said.
Constable Wang stepped forward, “Junior Hero Su, Duan Rui harbors a ‘demon,’ making him extremely dangerous. He cannot be left free. He must be imprisoned. If you wish to try helping him, you may do so in the prison.”
“Fine.” Meng Qi had no intention of curing soul separation. He only wanted a quiet place to interrogate Duan Rui, to find out if he had indeed practiced the “Yi Jin Jing” and where his demonic technique originated.
Duan Rui, in a daze, had no objection to this arrangement.
Tai Sui Yellow Amulet Paper FuLu Taoist Love Talisman Traditional Chinese Spiritual Charm Attracting Love Protecting Marriage