A person sacrifices himself to become a saint in a chaotic world of martial arts.

Ning Yuechan was in a low mood, with an unyielding melancholy between her brows.

She had already packed her bags and was preparing to go to Fengshan County to take up her post when an urgent report came from her family—a heretic from the Reincarnation Sect had escaped to this place.

She had no choice but to urgently send a letter to the county's garrison command requesting assistance, while she herself remained in Fenjiang County to secretly investigate.

But to his utter surprise, before his reinforcements even arrived, he found himself unexpectedly running into this group of desperate criminals.

Fenjiang County is a remote and sparsely populated area, with very few martial arts masters.

Aside from her special case, the highest cultivation level was only the fourth realm of martial arts.

Of course, if there are enough people to form a united front and encircle them, it is not impossible to fight.

But the most pressing issue right now is that she's been completely entangled with these four people, leaving her unable to spare any effort or even find a chance to call for help.

"Where did the night patrolmen from the Garrison Command go? How come no one noticed after all this fighting?"

Ning Yuechan gritted her teeth and thought to herself, her face appearing even paler in the moonlight.

brush--!

In a moment of distraction, the cold sickle had already slashed cunningly to his waist, tearing his clothes and opening his skin, and blood gushed out, blooming into a poignant red in the dim moonlight.

Ning Yuechan let out a muffled groan, immediately regaining her composure and enduring the burning pain in her waist. She swung her blade in a circular motion, parrying another slash that followed.

Bang bang bang!

The sounds of weapons clashing were as dense as a sudden downpour.

Yi Tianxing and his men's attacks grew increasingly frenzied, as if they were wolves that had caught a whiff of blood.

Ning Yuechan suffered several more wounds on her shoulders and legs, and the blood gradually soaked through her black clothes. Every movement brought her excruciating pain.

"When the sword is drawn, there is no self!"

A resolute glint flashed in Ning Yuechan's eyes, and she let out a low shout. Her true energy surged violently, faintly revealing a layer of almost tangible light—a sign that she was approaching the eighth realm of martial arts, the Qi Refining Realm!

This is a forbidden technique of the Ning family. Although it can instantly unleash potential, the consequences are extremely serious: at least ten days after the battle, the internal energy will be in complete disarray, leaving the person as a cripple.

But at this moment, this was her only chance to fight for a sliver of hope!

The moment the secret technique was unleashed, the expressions of the four people opposite them changed drastically.

"Hurry! Block her! Don't let her get out!"

Yi Tianxing shouted hoarsely, but he subtly took half a step back.

The three henchmen turned pale, but dared not disobey orders, and had no choice but to bite the bullet and meet them.

Whoosh-!

A blade flashed like a bolt of lightning across the sky, and the head of a man in black flew off, a pillar of blood shooting into the heavens.

The other two were so shocked that they stopped in their tracks, their eyes filled with intense fear.

Ning Yuechan's sword momentum had not waned, and she slashed again with a backhand!

Another person coughed up blood from his throat and staggered to the ground.

Finally, the man in black completely broke down, let out a strange cry, and turned to flee.

Ning Yuechan wouldn't let him escape; she flicked her wrist and raised her blade, about to cleave him in two—

laugh!

In the blink of an eye, Yi Tianxing lunged forward, his sickle hook piercing Ning Yuechan's back, forcing her to turn her blade around to save herself.

clang!

The clang of metal rang out as the two figures once again entangled in battle.

"Quick! Attack with me! Her secret technique won't last long!" Yi Tianxing's temple veins throbbed as he urged his remaining subordinates sharply.

The two attacked together, and although Ning Yuechan's sword light was bright, it gradually became sluggish.

After several rounds, she severed the black-clad man's right arm with a heavy slash, but she herself was also caught off guard by Yi Tianxing's scythe, which slashed her ribs, leaving her wound bleeding profusely.

Ning Yuechan was breathing rapidly, her forehead was covered in cold sweat, and she was extremely anxious.

If reinforcements don't arrive soon, we may truly perish here today...

Boom!Boom!Boom!

Just then, a clear and urgent gong sound suddenly came from afar, rapidly approaching the alley!

"Oh no! It's the Zhenfu Division!"

Yi Tianxing's expression changed drastically, his eyes filled with resentment and rage.

"Damn it! Just one step away!"

His old wounds hadn't healed before he suffered new ones. He paid such a high price, and just when he was about to succeed, he failed at the last moment!

"Die!"

Yi Tianxing's face suddenly contorted, revealing a look of madness.

Ignoring his old meridian ailment, his inner energy surged like boiling water, and a chilling aura permeated the surroundings—he had also used a life-or-death secret technique!

May your wishes come true!

Although this technique can cause a short-term surge in true qi, its side effects are far greater than those of the Ning family's secret method; if one is not careful, the meridians will reverse.

He would never use this unless absolutely necessary.

"Go, kill that guy banging the gong! We can't let him attract more people!" Yi Tianxing roared at his wounded subordinate.

The man in black felt as if he had been granted a pardon upon hearing this—dealing with a mere county yamen runner was much easier than facing Ning Yuechan, a killing machine.

He endured the pain, gathered his strength, and leaped towards the direction of the gong.

Ning Yuechan was not about to let him leave, and she turned her blade to intercept him.

"Hmph! Your opponent is me!"

Yi Tianxing let out a sinister laugh, and his scythe drew out a sky full of pale blue arcs, like a poisonous net covering Ning Yuechan's vital points, forcing her to defend herself with all her might.

The two figures clashed once more, their lives hanging by a thread amidst the flashing blades and hooks.

Despite the excruciating pain in his shoulder, the man in black stumbled and rushed toward the source of the jarring gong.

Blood seeped from between his fingers, leaving intermittent dark red spots on the bluestone slab.

But after taking only a dozen or so steps, the urgent gong sound abruptly stopped.

The dark alley suddenly fell into a deathly silence, with only his own heavy, disordered breathing echoing in the air.

He stopped abruptly, leaning against the cold wall, his cloudy eyes scanning his surroundings with suspicion—on both sides were tightly closed, mottled doors and piles of clutter, and ahead the alleyway meandered into the deeper darkness, where was there any human figure?

He swallowed hard, suppressing his unease, and with one hand covering his wound and the other gripping his weapon tightly, he moved forward cautiously, step by step.

Ears pricked up to catch any subtle sound, eyes constantly scanning the dim light.

"Thump! Thump! Thump!"

The gong rang out again without warning, seemingly coming from deep within a side road on the left.

The man in black felt a chill run down his spine, gritted his teeth against the pain, and lunged in that direction once more.

Almost as soon as he started moving, the gong sound disappeared again, as if it had been abruptly cut off by an invisible hand.

The alleyway fell silent again, with only the sound of his staggering footsteps sounding particularly abrupt and jarring.

A moment later, the sound of gongs came from a completely opposite direction behind them.

The man in black stood frozen in place, his chest heaving violently with anger and frustration.

If he hadn't been seriously injured and slowed down, how could a martial artist at the Divine Strength Realm have been so easily toyed with by a mere street patrolman?

His teeth were clenched so hard they were practically spitting fire.

"Die!"

On the other side of the battle, the fight between Yi Tianxing and Ning Yuechan had reached a fever pitch.

After using the "Rotation of Wishes" secret technique, Yi Tianxing was surrounded by an unstable gray-black aura, and his aura surged, temporarily suppressing Ning Yuechan by one point.

He spotted an opening, a fierce glint flashed in his eyes, and the sickle in his hand moved like a venomous snake emerging from its hole, its blade gleaming with an eerie light, swiftly slicing towards Ning Yuechan's snow-white neck with a sharp whistling sound!