Chapter 33: Killing the Saint of Thieves

“Clang!”

At this critical moment, a metallic string sound suddenly rang out. Zuo Qianqian, who had been looked down upon and ignored by Situ Nan, finally pulled the trigger of her first Thousand-Mechanism Crossbow. The sharp arrow released from the string rose like a flashing star, piercing the air swiftly and creating a sharp, shrill whistle.

Situ Nan had experienced countless battles of all sizes in his life and was a Holy Rank power house with exceptionally keen divine perception. The moment the string sounded, he moved, dragging his severely injured body and shaking his figure to dodge the sharp arrow.

However, that final palm strike from the Ice Sword Saint, infused with all his Fighting Qi, had inflicted him with severe injuries and severed his vitality. The only thing keeping him from falling was the vast Nether Fighting Qi within his body and his tenacious life force. In that brief instant, a flaw naturally appeared.

Lei Qing instantly captured this opportunity, gripping the Ice Soul Sword and burning his Thunder Fighting Qi to the extreme. He lunged forward and leaped high into the air. The Ice Soul Sword, radiating cold light, transformed into a startling thunderbolt. Amidst the sizzling thunder light and rumbling thunder sound, it slashed downward. The sword light surged and twisted, resembling a bolt of lightning.

The “Thunderbolt from a Clear Sky,” the fourth form of the Heavenly Thunder Combat Code, was originally a blade technique. However, using it with a sword did not diminish its power at all. This move was domineering and ferocious, placing all its power on offense, carrying a tragic momentum of going forward without retreat, where either the enemy died or I perished.

Under normal circumstances, someone at Lei Qing’s level, no matter how desperate, would not have been taken seriously by Situ Nan. But at this moment, he felt a majestic pressure rushing towards him. But how could one judge a severely wounded beast by ordinary standards? Situ Nan simply shook his figure slightly, sneered, blocked with one hand, and pushed another palm towards Lei Qing.

Riiiip!

Without a doubt, Lei Qing’s sword slash severed Situ Nan’s arm. However, at the same time, he was hit on the shoulder by Situ Nan’s palm. Crack, his shoulder blade broke and he flew backward, crashing into a pile of scattered pebbles. Dark and lingering Nether Fighting Qi drilled into his body like maggots sticking to bones, eroding his meridians and flesh.

Fortunately, Situ Nan was already at the end of his rope. Having suffered multiple severe injuries and consumed a lot of Fighting Qi in battles up to now, his power was likely less than thirty percent of his full strength. And Lei Qing had also dodged his vital points at the last moment. Although this hit was very fierce, his life was not in danger.

Situ Nan was indeed formidable. Even with his hand severed by the Ice Soul Sword, it was like a dry branch cut off his body, not shedding a single drop of blood. Clearly, he had circulated his Fighting Qi to seal the wound’s blood vessels.

Whoosh~ Another sharp arrow crit sound rang out. This time, Situ Nan was truly on the verge of exhaustion. No matter how strong he was, he was ultimately still human. Setting aside the various crippling and fatal injuries, the Ice Fighting Qi invading his body acting up was enough for him to suffer.

Thud, the sharp arrow nailed three inches into his chest. The power of the Thousand-Mechanism Crossbow could penetrate stone. The impact force made Situ Nan stagger backward a step, but he still stood firm, his vicious eyes seeming to contain anger, unwillingness, disappointment, disbelief, and even a hint of relief.

Whoosh, the string of another Thousand-Mechanism Crossbow sounded. This time, the sharp arrow directly inserted into Situ Nan’s throat. After a muffled groan, Situ Nan fell straight forward, landing on the crushed pebbles formed by the perennial washing of the mountain stream.

Apparently, Zuo Qianqian was careful and cautious, fearing that Situ Nan was not dead after the previous shot, so she fired another arrow to finish him off. It showed that although Zuo Qianqian was young, her mind was very mature and steady. Only after seeing Situ Nan truly fall did she panic and drop the Thousand-Mechanism Crossbow, stumbling and crawling forward to support Lei Qing’s upper body, her face extremely pale as she called out: “Brother Lei, are you okay?”

“I’m fine, I won’t die.” Seeing that Zuo Qianqian didn’t mess up at the last critical moment and, after he had risked his life and been injured, she still calmly shot Situ Nan twice with her crossbow, effectively taking down that terrifying Saint of Thieves, Lei Qing breathed a huge sigh of relief. At the same time, he secretly thought that Zuo Qianqian was indeed a born assassin. But as he spoke, he pulled the wound on his left shoulder, causing him to grimace in pain: “This Nether Fighting Qi is really annoying, so cold, so painful, so sinister.”

Zuo Qianqian was not an ignorant girl. Seeing that Lei Qing spoke clearly and judging by the location of the wound, it was obviously not a fatal injury. As for that palm strike and the Nether Fighting Qi invading his body, although it would make him suffer for a while, it was not something that couldn’t be resolved. Her tense heart also relaxed, and she pouted and complained: “Brother Lei, you are really something. At the last critical moment, how could you have drawn your sword and risked your life with him? Running to my side would have been the right move.”

“Hehe, I was in a rush back then and forgot.” Lei Qing chuckled, but quickly turned into a bitter smile due to the pain.

“I don’t think you forgot?” Zuo Qianqian huffed prettily, starting to skillfully help Lei Qing treat the wound while saying dissatisfied: “I think you were afraid of dragging me into the battle and getting killed or injured by Situ Nan. Brother Lei, you don’t trust me. I am a fighter too, I am your teammate, not your burden. If you had run towards me with him, because of the straight line formed between the shooting target’s direction and me, aiming would have been easy for me, and I would have had a high chance of bursting his head with one shot.”

“Ouch, ouch, gentle, gentle, little miss, you can’t abuse your power for personal revenge. Next time, next time I will absolutely trust you. It’s also because our Qianqian is pretty and cute, I was afraid that Situ Nan would hurt your face.” Lei Qing screamed in pain from her intentionally rough way of treating the wound. Secretly, he thought that although Zuo Qianqian was usually obedient and never arrogant, if she was angered, she would throw a big temper.

Actually, Lei Qing had no idea that this suffering wasn’t purely because of not trusting her. Previously, Lei Qing had been hugging and kissing closely with Leng Yuewu. Although she knew because of trust that Lei Qing was acting, it still made this little girl feel bitter inside. She and Lei Qing, although they had known each other for not even two months, had experienced quite a few things together. After experiencing her grandfather’s miserable death and helping to avenge him, all her hopes and thoughts had unconsciously been placed on Lei Qing.

Seeing Lei Qing beg for mercy and coax her sweet words, Zuo Qianqian happily smiled and carefully helped him treat the wound: “Then tell me, am I prettier, or that cold and fierce old woman from the Cold Moon Palace?”

“Joking, how can you compare?” Lei Qing looked shocked.

“What?” Zuo Qianqian raised her eyebrows, puckered her lips, and looked like she wanted to fly into a rage.

“Qianqian, don’t joke. Our Qianqian is the cutest and most beautiful girl on the entire continent. Why do you ask such a silly question?” Lei Qing looked perfectly reasonable, as if what Zuo Qianqian asked was so unbelievable.

Zuo Qianqian felt as sweet as honey in her heart after being coaxed. Just as she was about to speak, her corner of her eye caught Situ Nan, who was lying on the ground like a dead dog, moving. Her heart suddenly tightened, and she saw with shock that Situ Nan, who was presumed dead, suddenly erupted like a zombie, his wretched face extremely ferocious and vicious as he lunged forward, slamming a palm fiercely: “Boy, even if I die, I will take you down with me.” Because an arrow had pierced his throat, his voice was hoarse and leaked air when speaking.

Zuo Qianqian had originally been careful enough, but she had underestimated the terrifying life force of a Holy Rank powerhouse. People of the Holy Rank, although still within the human category, had a life force countless times stronger than ordinary people, which was difficult to judge by ordinary standards.

“Brother Lei, be careful.” In her desperation, Zuo Qianqian, her face pale, turned and threw herself on top of Lei Qing, blocking a palm strike with her back. Splash, blood sprayed out.

“Qianqian!” Seeing this, Lei Qing roared with grief and anger. Fortunately, the Ice Soul Sword in his right hand was still in his possession. Ignoring his own injuries, he surged up violently and swept his sword horizontally, directly slicing off Situ Nan’s head.

……