Chapter Twelve: Initial Victory

  Zhang Ping, who felt that his skills had greatly improved, decided to go and probe Xie Yanke's bottom line first. After all, knowing oneself and the enemy can win every battle without danger.

  So, Zhang Ping went to Motian Cliff for several nights in a row. Unfortunately, Xie Yank and the little beggar went to bed too early and only did some simple morning exercises when they got up. Zhang Ping was busy for several days but didn't get any useful information. On the contrary, after washing and dressing up, the little beggar gave him a familiar feeling between his eyebrows, which made Zhang Ping very puzzled.

  So he prepared to try directly, because he felt that even if he couldn't defeat the opponent, it would be easy for him to escape safely. Moreover, since the opponent had lived on the cliff for many years, he needed to find an opportunity for him to come down the mountain.

  After a month of waiting, Xie Yanke finally took the little beggar down the mountain to buy daily necessities. Zhang Ping was still sighing, why not at night? That way, his soul would be out, and his vision would be super good. (Nonsense, who goes out late at night to buy things)

  Zhang Ping checked the equipment and traps around the wooden house, just in case he couldn't defeat them, so he could use the traps to turn things around.

  When Xie Yanke and the little beggar returned to the forest with their purchases, Zhang Ping suddenly killed from the side. Only to see Zhang Ping's hand holding the Qingming sword, like a whip, instantly stabbing towards Xie Yanke's chest. This move had no subtle changes, only one word, fast.

  Xie Yanke, who was suddenly attacked, did not disappoint as the master of Xuan Tie Command for many years. At the critical moment, he did not retreat but instead advanced, dodging to the side and launching a virtual palm attack at Zhang Ping's face door. If Zhang Ping had used his sword to defend himself, Xie Yanke could have taken advantage of the situation to display his divine finger technique. However, another advantage of Zhang Ping's dual use came into play. Facing Xie Yanke's virtual palm, Zhang Ping's sword momentum did not change, and with a swift movement, he launched a White Crane Pointing Head attack at Xie Yanke's palm heart.

  Zhang Ping surprisingly used both sword and claw techniques in battle without any internal force backlash, causing Xie Yanke to pause for a moment. Zhang Ping didn't care about Xie Yanke's brief hesitation and swiftly attacked Xie Yanke's neck with his sword. Taking advantage of Xie Yanke's sidestep, he turned the blade and cut off Xie Yanke's bundle.

  Looking at the black and white twin swords falling from the package, Zhang Ping did not rush to grab them, which would make his back open to Xie Yankui. So, Zhang Ping changed his left hand from claw to palm, gathered his inner strength and launched a simple tiger pounce attack towards Xie Yankui's face.

  Facing this overwhelming palm, Xie Yanku immediately gathered his internal energy and launched a not-yet-complete Bi Qingqing Palm. However, the imagined internal energy showdown did not materialize, as Zhang Ping's palm force retreated upon contact with Xie Yanku's palm force.

  Taking advantage of Xie Yanke's momentum, Zhang Ping retreated and swung his black and white swords in a flash, disappearing into the forest after a few ups and downs.

  Xie Yan's heart was furious, he had never suffered such a great loss since he set out on his own. Moreover, looking at the other's physique, he was just a young man, and if word got out, where would he put his face in the Jianghu?

  Take another look at this little doll that's always by your side, Xie Yanke feels like he's been unlucky lately. Maybe he's provoked something unclean (although I can say I'm a ghost, but I'm hygienic, Zhang Ping protested) should we catch a Taoist priest or a monk to perform some rituals? (No need to look for one, I am the Taoist priest, Zhang Ping smiled slyly)

  So smooth to retrieve the black and white twin swords, Zhang Ping was excited and even a little unbelievable. With the black and white twin swords, Zhang Ping ran wildly for half an hour before stopping. In less than a year, he had gained so much, far beyond his expectations. Therefore, Zhang Ping decided to return to Shangqing Temple first.

  At night, using his soul to scout ahead, he discovered that Xie Yan Ke was indeed staying at the back of the cliff. Zhang Ping returned to the wooden house, packed up some things and rode on a small donkey to start his own "journey home".

  Half a month later, Zhang Ping lay on his back on the small donkey on the official road, thinking in his heart and estimating that he would be able to return to Shangqing Temple in about three days. This time, he brought back a rare secret book and a pair of black and white swords, and Master will surely praise himself.

  "Halt"

  Zhang Ping's wonderful fantasy was shattered by a loud roar, and suddenly he couldn't catch his breath.

  "Which blind fool dares to disturb me, thinking my sword is not sharp or your head is too hard?" Zhang Ping, who still considered himself a young master, shouted in exasperation.

  As they spoke, Zhang Ping sat up and turned his head to look back. He saw seven men with unimpressive physiques holding knives, axes, forks, clubs and other cruel weapons, staring at him with ferocious faces.

  Upon hearing Zhang Ping's words, six of them burst out laughing. Only the leader, a more robust man, furrowed his brow and then clasped his fists together to ask: "I don't know where the young Daoist is cultivating, but we are underlings of Sun Dadao, the master of Baiyan Stockade in Qing Mountain. Today, our underling was ignorant and offended the young Daoist, please forgive us."

  As soon as he heard this, Zhang Ping realized that he had encountered a scam. But wait, where was the promised "This mountain is mine to open, this tree is mine to plant"? Where were the two goods that were supposed to be under his command? Where was the heroic rescue of the beauty?

  Returning to the normal track, Zhang Ping had also hastily reviewed his knowledge of the Jianghu before leaving. He understood that at this time, the other party seemed harmless, but as soon as he showed a bit of cowardice or discovered that he didn't have any solid skills or backing, haha, the other party would immediately put on an act of "the mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind".

  However, Zhang Ping is now a small expert after all. The strong and the weak have completely different views on each other. In order to add some fun to his own journey, Zhang Ping decided to tease them.

  "What's it to you whether it's White Stronghold or Black Stronghold? I'm going to be the next super master of Upper Clear View, so all of you should scram and not delay my journey."

  Heaven and earth are just, Zhang Ping's words are all true. This big green mountain white rock village Sun Dada Zhang Ping has never heard of it, at first glance, it is just an ordinary mountain bandit. And with Zhang Ping's current strength, he can make Mo Tian Ju Shi Xie Yan Ke suffer a loss, which is absolutely considered to be the next generation of super masters under the Upper Clear View.

  However, the leader of the opposing group thought otherwise. "Damn it, this little rabbit must be a rich young master. Having heard of the reputation of Shang Qing Guan, he sneaked out of his house alone, carrying three swords and thinking he's a great hero. And which great hero carries three swords? Heroes aren't really three-headed and six-armed. I thought it was a disciple of some sect traveling, but it turned out to be a big fat sheep."

  At this thought, the leader of the robbers' face was instantly replaced with a ferocious expression. He let out a loud roar: "Get him! Kill that little rabbit. His family might have some money and connections, so be quick and clean about it, don't let anyone find out and bring in the authorities."

  It has to be said that these bandits are well-disciplined and meticulously planned. The six little rascals charged forward from the front, wielding various weapons, while two more suddenly appeared behind Zhang Ping to prevent him from turning around and escaping.

  Unfortunately, they miscalculated one of the most important things. They thought they were a pack of wolves hunting rabbits, but in reality, they were just chickens trying to catch eagles.

  When the six men rushed to Zhang Ping's front, the Qingming sword behind Zhang Ping suddenly came out of its scabbard. A "Cloud Mountain Pine Shadow" strike was launched, and the sword light seemed like a pine tree shadow that flashed by in an instant in the mountain cloud mist. In an instant, it swept across the necks of the six men. Immediately afterwards, Zhang Ping's sword tip rose, and a thug's steel knife flew straight to the back of the leading bandit's heart.

  Immediately afterwards, Zhang Ping's feet lightly touched the ground and he instantly flew towards the two henchmen behind him. The two henchmen saw that things were not going well for them, and as soon as they turned around to run, Zhang Ping caught up with them and killed them with one sword and one palm.

  Zhang Ping, who had just killed two men, walked calmly to the front of the two men and kicked them. He scolded, "You blind things, dare to come and find trouble with me." Suddenly, he kicked one of the henchmen's short knife. The short knife was like a strong bow shooting out a sharp sword, piercing the heart of a henchman hiding in a nearby forest.

  Zhang Ping walked over and said to the thug who was supposed to be hiding in the dark: "You're a clever guy, but wild fires can't burn everything, and spring breezes bring new life." After that, he added another sword to the man's neck. Then, Zhang Ping jumped onto the top of a nearby tall tree, confirmed that there were no more fish escaping from the net, before going back to add one more sword to each of the remaining corpses' necks, and then rode off on his little donkey.

  At night, Zhang Ping stayed in an inn in a small town and couldn't help but feel like vomiting again. Maybe it was because of the second murder, he had been feeling sick all day but hadn't vomited yet. Zhang Ping thought that maybe one day, he would become numb to killing people. But on this Jianghu, if you don't kill others, others will kill you, and this is probably where the phrase "being at the mercy of others" comes from.

  On the official road, a group of bandit-like people were examining the ten corpses. "Third Master, all of them were killed with one move, and they all had an extra sword in their throat. Obviously, they were killed by a master who has been traveling on the rivers and lakes for many years. This Liu Youcai is usually quite clever when doing things, but why was he so blind today?" A burly man reported to a scholar-like person after carefully examining the corpses.

  "Alright, there are many people in the martial arts world with eccentric temperaments, and maybe we'll encounter a master who doesn't look impressive. Alright, hurry up and collect the bodies, tomorrow let our brothers rest in peace. From now on, be more careful when recruiting disciples, so as not to lose lives like Da Liu did." The scholar-like third master ordered after hearing the big man's analysis.