The two fought back and forth. Ming Zhantian's stone-encrusted hands slowly shed their rocky layers, and the Yao Dong Duo Jie rejoiced, "He's exhausted!"
Ming Zhantian flung off his hands, shedding the broken stones. "Stones, come!"
The surrounding rocks reattached to his hands, forming new stone fists. The Yao Dong Duo Jie's jaws dropped in astonishment.
After several rounds, Ming Zhantian's stone fists remained incredibly hard, while the swords of the Yao Dong Duo Jie were already riddled with pits, turning from sharp blades into jagged scrap metal.
They directly discarded their ruined swords, intending to fight Ming Zhantian with just their bare fists. Ultimately, it was their miscalculation. Ming Zhantian gave them no chance. The moment they dropped their swords, he landed a punch on each of their chests!
The stone fists struck them. The stone surface of Ming Zhantian's fists shattered, and the Yao Dong Duo Jie coughed up blood, rolled their eyes, and never rose again.
He collected the duo's renowned weapons, along with twenty thousand Shenwu coins and the Immortal Binding Rope from their storage bags, and immediately rushed towards Baishui River.
As expected of a serial killer, upon arrival, he already smelled blood. A female corpse lay nearby.
Further ahead, by the river, someone had lit a bonfire. Ming Zhantian never imagined the killer wouldn't flee after committing the murder.
As he approached the bonfire, suddenly, a blade slashed at him from behind!
It was merely a flash of cold green light. Ming Zhantian quickly dodged, but the killing blow was yet to come. Immediately after, another cold green light, laced with flames, flew towards him!
Ming Zhantian somersaulted, narrowly avoiding it, but some of his hair was singed. After all, everyone has hair...
Danger loomed. Those first two strikes were merely feints; the true killing blow was yet to come!
Ming Zhantian sensed the peril. "Two blades?" Before he could steady himself, two swords crossed like a pair of large scissors, slashing towards his neck!
Ming Zhantian quickly shouted, "Water!"
A stream of water rose from the river, covering one of his fists. He quickly blocked the pincer attack of the incoming blades. The twin swords were held at bay by the water layer around his fist, unable to penetrate even an inch.
The attacker then swung their blades horizontally. Ming Zhantian's fist struck them away, but the tip of a blade grazed his neck, breaking the skin slightly.
Ming Zhantian got a clear look at his attacker: an old woman dressed in a "Torrential Pear Blossom" outfit, wielding twin water and fire blades.
Ming Zhantian asked, "Are you the serial killer, Guang Ling Suzuki?"
Guang Ling Suzuki licked the bloodied tip of her blade. "You, merely at the first layer of Qi cultivation, dare to capture me? How laughable. I'll give you a chance to escape. Start running now, and I'll give you five minutes."
Ming Zhantian asked, "Is that female corpse over there yours?"
Guang Ling Suzuki sneered maliciously. "She glanced at me in the crowd."
Ming Zhantian sighed. "You killed her just for looking at you?"
Guang Ling Suzuki snorted coldly. "There are so many people. Why did she alone look at me? She deserved to die."
Ming Zhantian shook his head. "Serial killer, surrender, and spare yourself physical pain."
Guang Ling Suzuki chuckled coldly. "With just you? You refuse the path to heaven and barge into the gates of hell?"
"Water! Fire!" Ming Zhantian controlled fire with his left hand and water with his right. Using the principles of water countering fire and fire countering water, he neutralized her twin water and fire blades.
Guang Ling Suzuki was shocked. "How... is it possible! I, a majestic ninth-layer Qi cultivator, am being defeated by a mere first-layer Qi cultivator like you?!"
Ming Zhantian didn't waste words with her. "Water manipulation! Fire manipulation!"
To Guang Ling Suzuki's astonishment, water and fire merged, enveloping her entire body and burning off her clothes and hair.
"Ahhh! I hate you!" Guang Ling Suzuki was stripped bare, her hair gone, her clothes gone, and her body still dripping wet. She looked like a naked, destitute wanderer.
Ming Zhantian bound her like a zongzi with the Immortal Binding Rope, stuffed her mouth with a stinky sock, then produced a sack and put her inside, hoisting her onto his shoulder.
He collected the thirty thousand Shenwu coins from her storage bag and then sped back to the Bounty Pavilion in Huayang City.
It was already the third night. Despite rushing, he still made it on time. Ming Zhantian threw the sack on the ground and presented the renowned swords from the Yao Dong Duo Jie to complete his mission.