Chapter 1 The Righteous Hero

Chen Daxia; his name really was Chen Daxia.

Well, it was a fitting name, indeed.

Though their acquaintance was brief, and though the man intended to kill him,

Zheng Fan still had to admit that the plain-looking fellow before him,

possessed a guileless and simple demeanor that evoked the image of Guo Daxia.

Despite the impending sword strike, Zheng Fan couldn't shake the feeling that he was the villain about to be slain by a righteous embodiment of justice.

Xue San slightly bent his knees and with a flip of his small hands, two military daggers appeared in his palms.

On ordinary days, Liang Cheng drilled the troops, Blind Bei handled accounts and blueprints, Si Niang trained the Red Turbans, Fan Li chopped wood and carried bricks, and A Ming was the target of his lord's arrows;

Xue San, meanwhile, fully utilized his "dwarf" talents,

tinkering with concealed weapons and small arms whenever he had free time. Heaven knew how many gadgets he had stashed on his small frame.

Xu Wenzu was free to leave, and it seemed Chen Daxia was serious about letting him go, not just teasing.

But Xue San and Blind Bei couldn't leave.

Fan Li, in his naivete, had once suggested, "If we *kachak* the master, wouldn't we gain great freedom?"

Potentially breaking free from restrictions, regaining full strength, and instantly reaching the pinnacle of life;

However, according to Murphy's Law,

the most likely outcome was that all seven of them would be erased together because of the master's death, suffering a collective demise.

There was only one Zheng Fan, and only one life for him. You couldn't kill him like you'd kill a fish, just to see what happens. Experimentation was out of the question!

No matter how much they calculated, no matter how much they deduced, as long as there was a sliver of possibility, then for the Seven Demon Kings involved, the so-called probability boiled down to only two possibilities: 0 and 1.

They harbored no thoughts of侥幸 (jiao xing -侥幸 means fortune or fluke in this context).

For Blind Bei and Xue San, they weren't fearless of death, but they feared dying confused and ridiculed even more.

Only cowards would entrust their fate to destiny and providence; only the lowly would hope for a tiny stroke of fortune.

A true Demon King should bravely face their own life.

It sounded a bit chuuni, but that was because most people were just saying it.

At that moment, Xue San moved.

The master had to be saved for last. If the master charged forward with a "Wula!" and got instantly killed, he and Blind Bei would suffer the same frustration.

Blind Bei's abilities certainly weren't suited for leading the charge, so Xue San was clear on what he needed to do.

Xue San's figure darted toward Chen Daxia with extreme speed. Xue San understood that he was likely facing a fifth-rank sword cultivator in this world.

The military daggers were thrust forward.

This didn't mean Xue San's movements were slow, but that everything in this world was relative. In the face of Chen Daxia's sword, Xue San's military daggers seemed to be delivered in slow motion.

"Clang!"

The two military daggers were caught on the sword. Xue San didn't even see Chen Daxia's movements clearly.

Their eyes met,

Chen Daxia's gaze remained pure and calm.

This wasn't an act. Chen Daxia showed no pretense whatsoever; he was like the laws carved on a stone tablet, every action measured and precise.

The sword turned,

and a surge of immense power followed,

"Bang!"

Xue San was sent flying backward.

He landed on his feet, but seeing that the force applied to him hadn't dissipated, Xue San simply started rolling on the ground.

He rolled straight behind Zheng Fan, breaking floor tiles along the way with "clatter-clatter" sounds. After stopping, Xue San immediately stood up again, despite his bruised and swollen face.

Fighting wasn't a talent show.

Xue San could have stood his ground earlier, but the undissipated force would have injured his internal organs, and he would likely have coughed up several mouthfuls of blood.

That kind of scene usually only appeared in dramas, as if they were willing to get hurt just to save face.

Xue San didn't care about face. He'd rather look a bit worse by rolling and falling to dissipate the force, even if it meant appearing disheveled, as long as he saved enough energy for a second charge.

"You are an excellent assassin, better than all of them."

Chen Daxia said so.

By "them," he meant the assassins who had come to kill Zheng Fan earlier.

Hearing this, Xue San revealed a bruised and swollen smile,

and said:

"You know, if Grandaddy here hadn't lost his strength, I'd be the one saying to you: You are an excellent swordsman."

Chen Daxia remained unmoved, simply saying calmly:

"I only kill Zheng Fan. Next time, I won't hold back."

"Tch, does Grandaddy need you to hold back? What are you pretending for? Don't think Grandaddy doesn't know how smug you feel saying that!"

Chen Daxia shook his head slightly,

and said:

"I don't like killing people. Killing people is wrong."

"Grandaddy won't even ask you why you still want to kill my master, because Grandaddy knows you'll answer: Because some problems can only be solved by killing."

Chen Daxia, upon hearing this,

slightly opened his mouth,

and said:

"I'm very satisfied with your answer. Can I borrow it next time someone asks me that question?"

"............" Xue San.

"Use it, go ahead and use it. The copyright fee is during Qingming Festival. Just burn more paper money."

Blind Bei took two steps forward, extending his hands from his pockets and opening them in front of him.

Chen Daxia's gaze fell upon Blind Bei,

and he said:

"You are special, but you are not suited for fighting."

"Mm."

Blind Bei admitted it,

then closed his eyes, which looked the same whether open or closed.

An invisible aura began to swirl around him. This was... a mental storm.

Chen Daxia, holding his sword, began to walk towards Blind Bei. As the distance between them narrowed, Blind Bei suddenly clenched his fists.

"Buzz!"

A powerful mental force swept towards Chen Daxia!

Chen Daxia's figure wavered slightly, but he continued to walk towards Blind Bei.

Sweat began to appear on Blind Bei's face.

Chen Daxia continued to walk forward as he spoke:

"I seem to feel countless eyes staring at me. What are they looking for?"

Blind Bei, with his eyes closed, replied:

"The cracks in your soul."

Everyone has cracks in their heart. This could be a childhood trauma, a sad event, or even a joyful event. As long as something can stir ripples in your soul, then it can be exploited, controlled, used as a breakthrough point, amplified, and embellished.

The existence of mentalists

specializes in the proverb: "A thousand-mile dam is destroyed by an anthill!"

Chen Daxia continued to walk forward, and at the same time, continued to ask:

"So, have you found them?"

Blind Bei shook his head,

and said:

"No."

"Oh, is that so."

Chen Daxia's tone remained calm.

Blind Bei sighed,

and said:

"I thought you were pretending before..."

"And now?"

"You're not pretending; you're really an idiot."

Blind Bei was helpless because he had encountered... a person without any cracks in his heart. In more colloquial terms, a pure heart.

This guy wasn't putting on an act; he was genuinely lacking in common sense.

"What does 'really an idiot' mean?"

After Chen Daxia asked this question, without waiting for Blind Bei to answer,

he said with some regret:

"It's too late. The steps have arrived."

Chen Daxia raised his sword.

"Rise!"

Silver needles suddenly floated out from under Blind Bei's clothes, suspended in front of him, controlled by his mental power.

"Go!"

A rain of silver needles shot towards Chen Daxia.

Chen Daxia's sword

came down,

a milky white sword qi appeared,

instantly shattering Blind Bei's silver needles.

Blind Bei pressed down with both hands,

the veins on his neck bulging,

The floor tiles on the first floor of the post station were lifted, only to be swept away by the sword qi the next moment.

Blind Bei then condensed his mental power in front of himself, forming a protective shield, but the sword qi, weakened twice, still shattered the shield in an instant.

"Pfft..."

A wound appeared on Blind Bei's body, running from his left shoulder to his lower right hip.

"Thump..."

Blind Bei knelt on one knee, supporting himself with his hands on the ground.

Earlier, if he hadn't been wearing a golden silk soft armor under his clothes, he might have been cut in half.

The so-called golden silk soft armor was something that Zheng Fan had specially asked Si Niang to weave. It was a small matter for Si Niang, so she not only wove one for Zheng Fan but also wove one for everyone else.

"Blind man!"

Zheng Fan ran to Blind Bei's side and squatted down.

Earlier, Blind Bei had used mental power to tell him to strike last, never to strike first, so Zheng Fan did as he was told.

Chen Daxia stood up straight, began to adjust his breathing, and said:

"I am adjusting my breath. You can come and ambush me now."

"............" Xue San.

Damn you, do I have no face!

But there was no choice. Xue San could already see that Blind Bei had been defeated, so he had to step up next; otherwise, would he let their master go?

In short, he and Blind Bei just wanted to have their fun before their master was killed.

Xue San charged towards Chen Daxia, and another dagger appeared in his hand.

Chen Daxia just watched Xue San charge towards him, the sword in his hand emitting a soft hum.

The distance between them narrowed again.

Xue San's dagger stabbed forward. When an assassin had no choice but to stand under the lamplight and duel his opponent, he often seemed pale and helpless, even possessing a unique sense of tragedy.

But there was nothing he could do.

The dagger and the sword collided again. It all seemed like a repeat of what had happened earlier.

However, this time, when the force from the sword came, Xue San lowered himself a step earlier.

But the force on Chen Daxia's sword changed direction at this moment and began to smash downwards.

The force was applied to Xue San, and Xue San's figure accelerated downwards.

At this moment,

Blind Bei, who was prostrate on the ground next to Zheng Fan in a miserable state, suddenly trembled, and two streaks of blood flowed from his empty eyes.

"Buzz!"

The falling Xue San was forcibly pushed to the side of Chen Daxia's body by his telekinetic power.

Chen Daxia's eyes narrowed, and the sword in his hand followed the trend downwards.

Xue San didn't dodge, he merely contracted his bones and curled up into a ball. This time, the shrinking was even more extreme than when he escaped from the zither string net earlier. As a result, the tip of the sword failed to pierce Xue San's body and missed.

But Chen Daxia raised his leg at this moment,

as if preparing to kick a soccer ball,

and kicked Xue San.

But Xue San opened his mouth at this moment.

"Bang!"

Xue San was kicked away, smashing directly into a pillar of the post station. The pillar was dented inward, and a series of bone-cracking sounds came from Xue San's body.

After landing, his body lay sprawled out, his face covered in blood, barely drawing breath.

Chen Daxia's gaze fell on Zheng Fan,

and he said:

"You have two, very good servants."

Zheng Fan ignored Chen Daxia and instead looked at Blind Bei beside him,

"Now, can I go?"

Blind Bei knelt on the ground with his head lowered, nodded, and then rested his forehead on the floor tiles.

"Actually, we could have attacked together just now."

Zheng Fan really didn't understand why he had been asked to watch from the sidelines earlier. Although he was only a ninth-rank martial artist, he could unleash the power of the Demonic Pill.

If the three of them attacked together... though it didn't seem like they would have much of a chance of winning,

but it was better than taking turns to be solved one by one, right?

Chen Daxia, holding his sword, walked towards Zheng Fan.

He came here to kill Zheng Fan.

Zheng Fan took a deep breath and stood up straight.

Honestly,

this was the strongest opponent he had encountered since he woke up.

In the past, whether he was scheming against people or wiping out their entire families, there was always a sense of "cat and mouse" involved, very leisurely, and he could even pursue a sense of beauty.

But when he became the mouse, he really hated that feeling.

Moreover, Zheng Fan had a vague feeling that tonight's events were not so simple.

Zheng Fan placed his left hand on his chest, where a stone lay quietly.

"Er..."

Suddenly,

Chen Daxia's body paused,

and his footsteps faltered,

He lowered his head in confusion,

The tip of the sword

had cut open his trouser leg,

He discovered that his calf was already a patch of cyan-black, and this blackness was spreading at a speed visible to the naked eye.

"Hehehe... hehehe..."

Blind Bei, whose forehead was resting on the floor tiles, began to laugh.

"Jie Jie... Jie Jie..."

To the side, Xue San, sprawled on the ground with his bloodied and mangled face, was also laughing.

"Ptooey..."

Several broken teeth, along with a pool of blood, were spat out of Xue San's mouth.

Stuck in these broken teeth were several silver needles!

Earlier, before Xue San was kicked out like a ball, when he opened his mouth, the silver needles hidden in his teeth happened to pierce Chen Daxia's flesh.

The silver needles

were coated with zombie essence blood that he had bothered Liang Cheng for half a month to obtain,

The effects of this corpse poison

were definitely terrifying!

"Jie Jie... Jie Jie..."

Xue San, already paralyzed like a dead dog, still used his last bit of strength to speak,

Even if I die, even if I'm going to be thrown into a coffin, I'll still insist on finishing this act:

"You grandson... Grandaddy is going to teach you today... what... what is called... a treacherous martial world!"