A Martial Odyssey

Chapter 4: The Battle at Mt. Heavenly

At the lofty peaks of the Heavenly Mountains, more than fifty pugilists from different sects and clans had gathered. There were sect emblems and heraldries of all kinds. After many difficulties, they had gathered together and there seemed to be an uneasy alliance if it exists at all.

Their goals were identical and it was the Eternal Ice Palace.

Unfortunately, to reach this point, there been many bloody encounters and only the fittest of the remnants survived. And these pugilists knew it and were wary of one another.

A yellow dressed maiden in a veil was standing loftily alone. From her visible eyes and enthralling confident posture, everyone was guessing that her beauty must be extraordinary. No one knew who she really was and quite a few pugilists had tried to hook up to her and they got more than what they had asked for.

One of them was Young Master Qiu Wufeng the Windless Swordsman. Who had never heard of the Windless Swordsman? He was in his early thirties yet he was now ranked as one of the four most prominent young men of the martial fraternity.

Of course this had to do with the fact that his father was the Master of the Qiu Martial Clan. The Qiu Aristocracy Clan had been recognized as one of the four most powerful martial clans in the fraternity.

Naturally, the other three renowned young men of the martial fraternity were also from renowned aristocracy or major orthodox clans of the martial fraternity.

They were Gongsun Jing the Benevolent from the Gongsun Aristocracy Clan, Zuo Tianyi the Heartless Sword from the Infinity Sword Clan and Nangong Le the Joyous from the Nangong Aristocracy Clan.

As for Young Master Qiu, his Silence Swordplay was one of the most feared swordplay in the martial fraternity, able to come in any direction without a slight movement; his swordplay was silent and windless!

Not only that, in his company today were three equally formidable exponents; Ye Lu the Lightning God, Qiao Feng the Shadow Kicker and Lu Baiyun the Heartless Scholar!

Ye Lu the Lightning God and Qiao Feng the Shadow Kicker were old men who had found fame a long time ago. That they chose to be in the company of Young Master Qiu Wufeng was proof of his clan prestige and renowned.

Lu Baiyun the Heartless Scholar was in his early forties. Even though he was younger than the Lightning God and the Shadow Kicker, he was a prominent swordsman even at the age of eighteen when he defeated the clan protg master of the Ironclad Clan, one of the seven major orthodox clans.

Young Master Qiu Wufeng approached the yellow dressed maiden and greeted her, "I am Qiu Wufeng the Windless Swordsman. Maiden, may I have the honor of knowing your name?"

What followed was a slap across his face! It happened so fast that he could not react!

The yellow dressed maiden said softly, "If you do not want further humiliation, I suggest you move away from me."

Young Master Qiu Wufeng was stunned. He was a handsome and dashing man. Few women could ever resist him, let alone embarrassed him like that! And he showed his displeasure with his eyes! He swore that he would make her pay!

But the Heartless Scholar stepped in and said, "Maiden, you have offended our young master. Do you think you can get away with this so easily?"

The yellow dressed maiden hummed coldly and she seemed that she did not care.

There was strong malevolent aura coming from the Lightning God and the Shadow Kicker as well. No matter who offended any one of them, it was not an easy matter to get away scotch free. Much less the three of them at the same time!

The Heartless Scholar laughed, "Either you apologize to our young master and accompany him for a few days or you be terribly sorry."

The yellow dressed maiden looked at the Heartless Scholar in his eyes and said, "What if I don't?"

The Heartless Scholar said sternly, "Then forgives me for what I will do next!"

All of a sudden, he was interrupted by a laughter that came from the Clan Chief of the Six Rivers, Long Wudi. "You are a renowned figure in the martial fraternity. If this matter gets out that you uses your martial skills to harass a young lass, won't you be a laughing stock? I am not worry about you but for the repute of the Qiu Clan!"

Even though Long Wudi might not be able to defeat the Heartless Scholar, what he said was like an arrow piercing through the heart.

Young Master Qiu thundered sternly, "Let's us go!"

A young man from among the pugilists laughed coldly, "To think that the reputable Qiu Martial Clan is also interested in the treasures of the Eternal Ice Palace. What laudable action. He is also a womanizer"

But before he could finish, the Heartless Scholar had sprint next to him and given him two tight slaps!

His swiftness skill was so astonishing that more than half of the pugilists could not help but gasped in awe of it!

The Heartless Scholars said, "Know this, our young master had originally wanted to visit the Emerald Mistress to receive her instructions and to pay her a visit! This is a small lesson for insulting our young master!"

All of a sudden, an old man attacked the Heartless Scholar with his fists.

The Heartless Scholar was startled by the windforce of the fists as he quickly stepped aside.

The Heartless Scholar could not recognize him and he asked, "Senior, who you are?"

The old man laughed, "I have long retired from the pugilistic fraternity. However, I am not afraid to say that I intend to demolish the Eternal Ice Palace on my own!"

Quite a few pugilists from the crowd laughed at his boast.

The Lightning-God sighed, "Maybe we shouldn't be here. Only Tian Kui is able to execute the Beholder Hands and pushed back the Heartless Scholar with a single strike."

The faces of the pugilists turned ashen at the mention of Tian Kui.

Tian Kui was the number one heretic exponent ten years ago. The bloodshed that he had caused were too numerous to be counted. During his time, there were three more powerful major orthodox clans, the Divine Sword, the Hexagon Spear and the Hyperion Clan. These clans had since been completely annihilated by him.

It was said that ten years ago, he took his rampage to the Eternal Ice Palace. But no one knew the result of that secret duel with the Emerald Mistress.

Everyone assumed that he had lost and had been killed! But it seemed otherwise now.

Tian Kui laughed, "I must be getting old. Even a junior can avoid my strike so easily!"

The Heartless Scholar pay respectfully with his hands and said, "That is because Senior, you have stayed your hand or else I will not even have the chance to back off."

Tian Kui roared with laughter, "Good! At least you respect your elder. I am actually spoiling for a fight." It was true. When he saw the Heartless Scholar displaying his martial skills, he had the interest to spar with him.

The Heartless Scholar turned ashen, "Senior, you."

Tian Kui pointed at the Lightning God and the Shadow Kicker, "You and you, all of you can fight me at the same time. I want to see if my martial skills have any improvements"

But before he could finish, he had suddenly frozen.

Everyone looked in the direction that he was looking at and caught sight of two strangers walking towards them.

One was a young man. He was handsome and had a refine and noble air. The other was a young maiden with long black flowing hair. She was so beautiful that she was like a heavenly fairy that had decided to grace the mortal realm. When she saw the pugilists and smiled slightly, all the pugilists' heart skipped a beat and thought, "Did she just smile at me?"

When the yellow dressed maiden saw Yi Ping, her heart too skipped a beat as she thought, "Why is he here? And why is he with her?" That day after they had met, she had secretly stayed away from his view and saw him burying the villainous bandit king. She had observed him for a while before she left. With his martial abilities, she had doubted he could even cross the lofty peaks of the Heavenly Mountains. She had never been moved by a man before and was constantly worried if he could survive the trek. But now when she saw him, she was comforted but she was also none the pleased. That was because

Tian Kui was shaking all over. Why was he trembling? Was it because he was trembling with joy and moved by the sight of this heavenly maiden?

Quite a few pugilists immediately thought that even though Tian Kui was old enough to be her grandfather, he was still a lecher after all.

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Tian Kui looked at Shui Yixian and asked, "Is that really you?"

Shui Yixian alluring eyes looked at Tian Kui and said softly, "Yes I am!"

Everyone was taken aback. Was Tian Kui acquainted with her?

Tian Kui trembled uncontrollably, "All these years, you have not changed. I have grown even older. Since then, I have trained my martial skills non-stop. I practiced twelve hours daily and now my level of martial expertise has reached a level that even you could not have imagined!"

Tian Kui paused for a while before saying, "I have come for you. Today no matter what, I have to take you for my wife and if you lost to me, you must come with me!"

Ten years ago, Tian Kui had challenged the Celestial Fairy and he was soundly defeated by her. His spirits was crushed and since then, he had trained every single day, hoping to meet her again and to defeat her!

He had never seen any maiden as elegant and noble as her. It was love at first sight. When he was defeated by her, he was thoroughly shamed. Unable to cope with the defeat, he thought of ending his own life. But when he thought that he might still have a chance, he resolved to train his martial abilities to perfection so that he could once again challenge her and win her heart.

But when he had heard that she had passed away, he was so upset that he had to go to the Heavenly Mountains and had a look.

He had trembled uncontrollably because she was still alive! And he could still fulfill his desires that he had dreamed for every single night!

All of a sudden, Tian Kui roared aloud and he was filled with martial power. His shout was so terrifying that the pugilists were all forced to take a couple of steps back!

As soon as he had quieted down, he had suddenly attacked the heavenly maiden!

Everyone was stunned and confusion immediately broke out from among the pugilists! They had thought that Tian Kui and the heavenly maiden were acquaintances! They immediately feared for the heavenly maiden.

Every punch, every fist by Tian Kui had so much martial force that he could easily smash the rocks into powder!

But the heavenly maiden instead of dodging his attacks, received his attacks with her hands. She countered his fists with her palms and his palm with her fingers!

In that single moment, Tian Kui had struck at least twenty times and each blow of his could have incapacitated his target! But the heavenly maiden had countered all his blows and retaliated. She had struck Tian Kui on his head with her finger and she had struck her palm on his chest!

It happened so fast that most of the pugilists could only see Tian Kui flunking backwards and he had coughed out blood! There was a red mark on his forehead and his chest seemed to have been burnt by the heavenly maiden!

The result was a shocker as no one had expected Tian Kui to be beaten back in split second!

Tian Kui wiped the blood from his mouth as he got up, "This is not over yet. I have not yet used my best martial skills" However his voice was shaken. He had never expected himself to be beaten back in such an effortless manner! It was exactly what had happened ten years ago

Young Master Qiu Wufeng too, had been captivated by this heavenly maiden and was eager to be acquainted with her. Therefore he stepped in and asked Tian Kui, "Old Senior, surely there must be a misunderstanding here. Why are you attacking this maiden?"

Tian Kui laughed, "You still do not know who she is? All of you are here today to attack the Eternal Ice Palace and yet you do not know who she is? What a joke!"

Then he turned and said to Shui Yixian, "Only I am the exception!"

Qiu Wufeng asked, "Can Old Senior please enlighten us? I really do not know." He too, was curious about her.

Tian Kui laughed, "She is the Celestial Fairy! She is none other than the Emerald Mistress of the Eternal Ice Palace!"

Everyone was taken aback. How was it possible? She was supposed to be dead and she was supposed to be an old woman?

Shui Yixian smiled coldly at the pugilists, "That is right. Under the gaze of the Celestial Fairy" She paused and all of a sudden, there was a cold, malevolent killing aura that radiated in her presence as she said slowly, "Therewill benosurvivors!"

All of a sudden, she swung her sleeves and multiple secret projectiles flew in all directions! Those who were unable to dodge were either killed or maimed on the ground!

Young Master Qiu Wufeng had barely dodged her secret projectiles when the Lightning God and the Shadow Kicker sprint in front of him.

The Lightning God shouted to everyone, "If we don't fight her now, sooner or later, we'll be killed!" With that he raised his fists at the Celestial Fairy.

All of a sudden, the pugilists remembered the legend of the Eternal Ice Palace. The Celestial Fairy spared no one that dared to intrude upon her forbidden grounds. If they want to live, they had to fight! But some of the pugilists who had survived her secret projectiles were secretly waiting for the others to attack her while they seized the opportunity to run!

However, when Yi Ping saw the Lightning God and the Shadow Kicker approaching attack upon Shui Yixian, he stepped in and interrupted them!

The Shadow Kicker said to Yi Ping, "Outrageous! If I don't incapacitate you within ten moves, I am not the Shadow Kicker!"

The Lighting God said to Qiao Feng the Shadow Kicker, "You alone, is more than enough for this lad! I will go and help the Heartless Scholar!"

Shui Yixian hastily cried out to Yi Ping, "Ping'Er, be careful."

Even before she had barely finished speaking, she was attacked in all directions by the Heartless Scholar, Tian Kui, Long Wudi and the rest of the pugilists.

Only Young Master Qiu and the yellow dressed maiden did not make any move yet.

Qiao Feng the Shadow Kicker was renowned for his powerful shadow kicks. He gave Yi Ping a series of kicks with in one continuous attack. Yi Ping had never seen so many kicks moving so fast in his life before. He tried to parry with his sword but he could not avoid the many kicks that struck him on his forearms and legs.

Qiao Feng was kicking relentlessly. He knew that no one could survive his powerful kicks if they kept defending. They would only get themselves seriously injured and had their strength quickly drained away!

Yi Ping barely avoided having his face smashed by Qiao Feng's kick. Yi Ping was already fighting frantically while Qiao Feng was relaxed and it only appeared that he had kicked five times.

Qiao Feng said, "This is the sixth move!"

Yi Ping was faltering and he could felt his strength draining away. Yet at the same time he was wholly fascinated by the martial abilities of Qiao Feng.

All of a sudden, Yi Ping started to display the Shadow Kicks too as he kicked back at Qiao Feng!

Qiao Feng was momentarily stunned, "Where did you learn that?"

Yi Ping hummed coldly, "I just learnt it!"

Qiao Feng shouted angrily, "That is impossible!" He was now kicking faster and faster, even displaying several secret kick techniques that hid a kick within a kick. In an outburst of few strokes, he had unleashed dozens of shadow kicks!

But Yi Ping heart was pounding as he got more and more fascinated with the Shadow Kicks Skill. He had never known a renowned master and much less had the personal experience of witnessing an epitome upper martial skill like the renowned Shadow Kick! Unconsciously, he had begun to practice the Shadow Kick as though someone had just been instructing him!

Yi Ping began to kick more and more furiously, improvising the Shadow Kicks as he got along.

Qiao Feng was now breaking into cold sweat even in the cold weather. He had expended a huge amount of martial power and was surprised that an inexperienced pugilist like Yi Ping could hold on for so long and was even matching his kick with a kick, with some moves that were even better than his own!

Before long, Qiao Feng legs were hurting! He could not believe that this young man could even match his decades of dedicated martial foundation! Moreover, how was it possible for this lad to know the Shadow Kick Skill? Even an experienced pugilist could not kick as well as him; much less repeat the kicking feat of his shadow kicks!

Qiao Feng said suddenly, "The Mirror Reflection Skill? You are using the Mirror Reflection Skill?!"

The Mirror Reflection Skill was a skill that could replicate the martial skills of others according to the rumors of the fraternity.

But Yi Ping was not listening.

Yi Ping eyes were glowing as he looked intently at Qiao Feng's kicks! A normal young man would have fallen long ago even if he could parry a kick from Qiao Feng! But Yi Ping was so fascinated with the Shadow Kick Skill that every conscious of his was in it.

So engross was he that he was not aware that he was in pain; nor was he aware that with his present fortitude and martial limitations, he could not possible accomplish these kicks without practicing. Because he was not thinking, he had done the impossible and transcends his limits.

And of course, this had to do with the fact that Yi Ping had a natural ability to memorize any moves. Indeed, most of his martial moves that he had picked up were from looking at the fights of others.

This had also to do with the superb martial instructions received from Shui Yixian while in the cave and he was also somewhat protected by the Icy Heavenly Tears coupled with his natural flair for enduring pain.

Shui Yixian had said, "A fist for a fist, a kick for a kick. That is basic martial basis. Fighting is about dismantling stroke for stroke until you can find a solution to completely overcome your opponent. When an opponent attacks, they will expose themselves to opening. Most pugilists in the martial fraternity are more eager to prove their martial superiority by attacking. Adopting defense is also the best offense to defeat these opponents."

She added, "I am going to teach you the intricate formula of the Listening Rhythm. This will allows you to follow the breathing and movements of your opponents much easier."

Shui Yixian was delighted that Yi Ping was able to learn the Listening Rhythm without any trouble. Normally, this skill requires years to master and perfect

Yi Ping did not know how to overcome Qiao Feng. Instead of utilizing the Listening Rhythm Skill to follow the moves of the opponent and awaited an opportunity to attack, Yi Ping used his natural flair for memorizing to kick back at Qiao Feng.

If Qiao Feng was not so powerful, Yi Ping would never be forced to the desperate act of pushing his own limitations to keep himself alive.

When Qiao Feng saw him repeating his Shadow Kicks, he changed his kicking stances to breech his kicks. But he was also unwittingly showing Yi Ping how to counter his very own Shadow Kicks with each new move!

Yi Ping was also unconsciously learning the Shadow Kicks and using his gut feeling to look for an opening. Then when he saw an opening, he kicked Qiao Feng on his face directly with a tremendous impact!

Both Qiao Feng and Yi Ping fell onto the ground at almost the same time. Qiao Feng was the one being struck? What about Yi Ping? It was because even though he had not taken a direct hit from Qiao Feng, he had taken serious injuries in his non-vital areas. Moreover, the pace of following Qiao Feng drained him both mentally and physically. And he fell onto the ground, drained of all his strength.

With Qiao Feng martial prowess, if he could stay calm and restraint from anger, it was impossible for Yi Ping to gain an upper hand over him. But when he saw Yi Ping replicating his kicks with familiar moves to his Shadow Kicks, he was indignant. So when he got a hit, his rage emotions attacked his heart and he fainted!

Even though Shui Yixian was fighting several opponents at the same time, she had kept a watchful eye for Yi Ping. Because of that, her martial movements were restricted and only the weaker pugilists had fallen.

When Yi Ping won the duel with Qiao Feng, she was relieved and was also glad. It was because with Yi Ping present martial progression, it was not possible to defeat a top martial exponent like Qiao Feng. But he had done the impossible!

But her distraction had made her opponents bolder!

The Lightning God said, "We can win her!"

Even though Shui Yixian was fighting more than ten top exponents from the martial fraternity at the same time, including Tian Kui, her martial movements were still graceful as she met strokes for strokes and moves with moves. No one could imagine she could manage against so many martial moves in so many different directions at the same time!

But any experienced pugilists could see that she was now on the defensive and in no time, she would be exhausted and beaten! That was why the Lightning God encouraged the others to make more efforts in attacking her!

Tian Kui just got another blow in his chest. He took a deep breather and raised his martial power again before joining in the battle fray again!

The pugilists were using wolf pack tactics to bring her down as they attacked and retreated at the same time.

Because Shui Yixian was being attacked in all directions, her martial power was not sufficient enough to deal a much more serious impact on stronger exponents. Moreover, she had no chance to take a breather!

The Lightning God raised his martial power to its zenith and unleashed the Lightning Hand Skill with his palm but he was knocked back when Yixian struck his palm with her finger.

The Lightning God shouted, "I have finally witnessed the Jade Icy Finger. Excellent! The martial skills of the Eternal Ice Palace are indeed powerful!"

Long Wudi stepped back from the battle fray and said, "This is not a real duel at all. There so many of us against a lone woman. That is not honorable to me. I bid my farewells! Today, I have witnessed the martial skills of the Eternal Ice Palace and still live. That is something that I shall be proud of!" With that, he left.

No one could spare any strength to say a formal goodbye to him or to force him to stay. That was because this duel was required all their attention. A moment of distraction would mean instant death!

The Heartless Scholar displayed his Whirling Sword Techniques while cursing silently. He could not believe that an unarmed person could avoid his whirling sword techniques so easily.

Shui Yixian was astonished at the sudden speed and intricate strokes of the Whirling Sword Techniques. This forced her to raise the Divine Emerald Skill with her left finger as she deflected the on-slaughter of the attacks of the Heartless Scholar as she evaded at the same time.

All of a sudden, the Celestial Fairy reached out to the tip of his sword blade with her fingers and broke his sword into halve! The Heartless Scholar hastily took a few steps behind. He could not believe anyone could break his precious sword with their fingers!

It seemed that the martial power of the Celestial Fairy had suddenly increased!

Everyone was expecting the Celestial Fairy defense to break down soon as Tian Kui was still attacking her relentlessly.

But the weird thing had happened. Instead of waning, the Celestial Fairy's martial strength appeared to have suddenly increased. Why was that?

It was because Shui Yixian could not focus on the fight while worrying for Yi Ping. So when Yi Ping had defeated his opponent, she was now able to put all her attention on the duel at hand!

All the pugilists were astonished and another three pugilists fell in the battle. Only seven pugilists were still standing. Among then, only Tian Kui, the Heartless Scholar and the Lightning-God had suffered fewer injuries while the remaining four were seriously injured!

More than twenty corpses were now lying on the ground!

Young Master Qiu was watching the fight intently. He saw how a group of thirty pugilists had surrounded and attacked her in all directions. Very slowly, the number of pugilists dwindled down to less than ten. The pugilists in the fight did not take note of their dwindling advantage as their attention was completely in the fight. It was because any small distraction could be fatal!

No matters how intrigue and powerful her opponents' attacks were, the Celestial Fairy would patiently dismantle and neutralize it without any expressions.

So when the Celestial Fairy attacks increased, Young Master Qiu immediately noted the number of dead and feared for the Lightning God and the Heartless Scholar. It was because if the Celestial Fairy were to win, they might not live. If Tian Kui were to win, this merciless villain might not let them live too!

When he heard of the rumors that the Celestial Fairy had passed away, he had assumed correctly that quite a few pugilists might seize the opportunity to give the Eternal Ice Palace some troubles. At the end of the day, it would be better if the secret martial arts of the Eternal Ice Palace were to fall into his hands than to some villainous hands. Therefore he asked his father to lend him three top martial exponents that were guests at the Qiu Martial Clan.

The Lightning God, the Shadow Kicker and the Heartless Scholar were considered as the very top fighters of the martial fraternity. Moreover there were three of them. But he had not expected to find Tian Kui here. Nor did he anticipate that that the passing of the Celestial Fairy to be just a rumor; unless of course this maiden had been lying.

But her martial executions and finesse were all seasoned moves. Only someone who had years of martial practice and progression could do it.

All of a sudden, Young Master Qiu shouted, "Uncle Lu, Uncle Ye. Let us go now!"

Why did he order a sudden retreat?

It was because he had suddenly seen a dozen maidens approaching from afar! Those maidens looked beautiful in the distance but they were like roses with thorns. They could only be from the Eternal Ice Palace. With the number of top pugilists dwindling to just a few, any hope of assaulting the Eternal Ice Palace was no longer possible. Moreover, the Celestial Fairy might not be the only top exponent from the Eternal Ice Palace.

Young Master Qiu was still young but he was wiser than most. He did not want to die from either the hands of the Eternal Ice Palace or from Tian Kui. So what else could he do?

He turned to the yellow dressed maiden and said, "Maiden, I suggest that you escape with me too! Things are not looking good and you'll be safe in our company till we reach somewhere safe."

The yellow dressed maiden looked at him with her beautiful eyes and whispered softly, "How do you know that I am not from the Eternal Ice Palace myself and that I will not kill you myself?"

All of a sudden, Young Master Qiu turned ashen and he immediately fled! However the yellow dressed maiden made no move.

The Heartless Scholar and the Lightning God heard the commands issued by Young Master Qiu. They were sweating and breathing heavily. This fight had been a tough one for them. So when they heard that Young Master Qiu had ordered them to retreat, they had already made up their minds to seize an opportunity to leave the battle.

The Lightning God was the first disentangle from the battle and his first thought was his friend, the Shadow Kicker. Had he fallen?

The Lightning God was dismayed to see the Shadow Kicker onto the ground. He inspected him for signs of vital life and was glad that he was still breathing. He said, "Old friend, you are still alive! Hold on!" He picked the Shadow Kicker and carried him onto his shoulder.

The Heartless Scholar was next but not after he had taken a crashing blow on his chest! He thrown up blood and barely avoided a second blow. Tian Kui had indirectly saved his life when he attacked the Celestial Fairy with a vicious claw! The Celestial Fairy simply flung him onto the side with the windforce generated by her sleeves!

With just two opponents left, the Celestial Fairy was able to regain her vital breath and with that, her martial internal strength. Her strokes became more and more intricate and powerful, growing in complexity and harder to avoid!

He barely fled from the Celestial Fairy and when he took a second look at the battle scene, only Tian Kui and the Celestial Fairy was still fighting. His body was now trembling with fear. This was the first time he had known fear! Only when he had left the battle, did he realize how frightening the martial levels Celestial Fairy had been!

At the same time, Yi Ping had barely regained his conscious and was struggling to get on his feet as he was still being gripped with aching pain. His body had taken a lot of punishment from being hit and he had extended over his physical limits.

Tian Kui laughed and said to Shui Yixian, "Very good. Now there are just two of us left!" All of a sudden, his body seemed to grow even more muscular and bigger as he struck the left and right accupoint channel on his chest.

Shui Yixian raised her thin eyebrows slightly, "The Unholy Possession Skill?"

Tian Kui laughed, "That is right! I didn't think that you can recognize it!"

The Unholy Possession Skill was used by the heretic sects three hundred years ago. It was an evil skill that could sap away the martial power of the opponents while boasting one's martial power.

Tian Kui was reserving the use of this epitome skill to the very last. That was because while this skill could boast his martial power by many folds, it was also a skill that could drain away all his internal power. He had waited until the Celestial Fairy had expended considerable internal strength as she fought the pugilists. Now it was the time to use it.

Shui Yixian had no choice but to raise her martial power to fight against Tian Kui. She raised the martial power of the Divine Emerald Skill to the ninth level, her highest. Even with the invisible force generated by the Divine Emerald Skill, she could still feel her strength being sapped away as Tian Kui landed blows after blows on her. Each time when she met his palms with her fingers, her fingers would tremble slightly.

Tian Kui was surrounded by a martial force that rendered normal strikes useless. This battle could not be decided by martial techniques and strokes but by sheer martial power!

Yi Ping saw that Shui Yixian and Tian Kui were fighting one another so furiously that they were like shadowy images moving all over the place. He wanted to go over to help her but there were constant burning windforce that were generated by their attacks that wept everything onto the ground! There was simply no way to approach the two of them!

Tian Kui attacked even more furiously than ever before as he gained more and more strength. All of a sudden, he turned his palm strikes into claws as he torn away Shui Yixian's sleeves. He laughed, "Even though the martial arts of the Eternal Ice Palace are epitome, it is not without their weakness! I will like to see you fighting without clothes!"

Shui Yixian was indignant but she kept her cool. Instead of trying to land a strike onto her, Tian Kui was aiming at her long dress and sleeves, attempting to outrage her modesty which was a lot easier!

Soon Tian Kui had ripped her sleeves, revealing her white porcelain skin. Tian Kui could feel her attacks falter as she was concerned about her modesty. He could see that her ears had turned red even though she was still without any expression.

Tian Kui grabbed her dress and torn part of it away.

Shui Yixian cried out, "You are a beast! Outrageous!" All of a sudden, Shui Yixian took a few steps back and had coughed out blood. She was really upset and that caused her blood to reverse.

To the practitioners of the Icy Heavenly Tears, emotions were a taboo. That was why the Eternal Ice Palace had no men and its protgs spend their time refining their mediation.

Tian Kui knew that he had succeeded and he quickly sprint towards her to disable her. He muttered, "I have finally won"

All of a sudden, the yellow dressed maiden who had been watching had appeared from behind him and gave him a fatal blow on his head!

Tian Kui simply could not believe that anyone could approach him without him knowing! Moreover, the burning inertia windforce generated by the epitome skills of the Divine Emerald Skill and the Unholy Possession Skill were still present and had not died down yet. It was not possible for anyone to interfere in the duel, unless that person possesses uncanny martial power!

It was precisely that Tian Kui did not believe anyone else could possess their level of martial power and it was precisely why he was not on guard. That was when the yellow dressed maiden had approached him from the back and had succeeded in dealing him a fatal blow!

Even more astonishing, Tian Kui was protected by a huge amount of tremendous martial force. Even if he was hit by the Celestial Fairy, he could still continue fighting.

So when he had died, his eyes were still open and staring in disbelief!

Yi Ping was astonished too even though he had witnessed her martial power before.

Shui Yixian had seen the yellow dressed maiden approaching Tian Kui and was surprised that she could move though the burning windforce with ease and what was more, she could not believe her eyes too that the yellow dressed maiden had actually killed Tian Kui with just one blow!

Shui Yixian said gratefully, "Maiden, thank you. If not for you, my modesty will be outrage" Indeed she was extremely grateful to her. She had almost thought that it was all over. "May I know your name, maiden?"

The yellow dressed maiden replied coldly, "You don't have to be grateful to me. This beast fight dirty and I don't want you to die in such a pathetic manner"

All of a sudden, the yellow dressed maiden had dealt Shui Yixian a blow on her heart! That sent her flying backwards!

Shui Yixian was completed caught off-guard. She had never expected someone who had just assisted her to attack her! When she had raised her fingers to raise the Divine Emerald Skill, it was too late. The force that struck her heart was the same as the one that she had used on Tian Kui!

Even though the battle between Tian Kui and the Celestial Fairy had stopped for some time, the burning winds from the battle did not cease yet. Yi Ping had to crawl toward Shui Yixian as he cried out, "Xian'Er! Are you alright?!"

Yi Ping caught hold of Shui Yixian's hands as he asked again, "Xian'Er, are you alright?"

Shui Yixian could not reply but she smiled weakly. She knew that this blow had been fatal and that she could feel her very life seeping away.

Yi Ping pointed at the yellow dressed maiden, "We are not your enemies. Why did you suddenly attack Xian'Er for?!"

The yellow dressed maiden said, "You know her well? Do you know that she is the Celestial Fairy?"

Yi Ping laughed aloud, "How will I not know? She is Xian'Er, my wife!"

The yellow dressed maiden was startled, "Your wife? Do you know that she is actually a ninety-year woman? That is because she has reached the highest epitome of the internal arts that she cannot age."

Yi Ping said hatefully to her, "How would I know? Why should I care? I love her and her alone. I don't care about any other things! How vicious are you!"

The yellow dressed maiden was startled as she answered coldly, "I am vicious? Do you know this woman in front of you is capable of killing anyone without batting an eyelid? If I am vicious then she is even more vicious!"

Yi Ping cried out, "No matter if she is the most vicious woman under the heavens, in my heart she is an angel. She is the kindest hearted maiden that I have never known. She is my dear wife and we swore to go through woes and joy together!"

Shui Yixian was crying now as she grasped, "Ping'Er"

Even the yellow dressed maiden seemed to be moved as her eyes turned watery. But she said coldly, "Before you die, I will tell you the truth so that you will die peacefully. I am the grand-daughter of Shui Yisi!"

Yixian was startled even though as she had expected her enemy to be Shui Yisi, "Where is Shui Yisi?"

The yellow dressed maiden replied coldly, "She had died five decades ago. You have no idea when she had died, she was still bitter and filled with hatred towards you. That curse did not end with her. My mother was also afflicted by her bitterness that her whole life was to pursue means to end your life. That bitterness did not end with her death. She had passed on that bitterness to me. All my life, I have only known a purpose. That is to kill you."

Shui Yixian could sense her cold bitterness in her tone. Indeed, she could imagine her sufferings. If she had not suffered a great deal of ordeal, she would never have reached her level of martial accomplishments to injure her. She could imagine that her mother went through an even greater ordeal to realize her daughter martial accomplishments.

Therefore she could only say weakly, "Yi Ping, when I am gone, don't avenge for me. You are not her match." She looked at the yellow dressed maiden and said weakly, "I hope that you can spare him"

The yellow dressed maiden said coldly, "My target is only you."

Shui Yixian said, "Goodmay my death bury all these feuds between us."

Suddenly, a dozen maidens in light blue dressed descended around them and they were crying, "Protg Mistress! What exactly has happens?"

The yellow dressed maiden hummed coldly and began to walk away.

Shui Yixian said weakly and said to a young maiden who was holding her, "Yu'Er. I am dying now. When I am dead, bury me in the ice casket at the inner sanctuary that I have prepared"

Yu'Er, who was also the Jade Sword Fairy Shui Yujian, cried out, "Protg Mistress, you will never die! Who is the one that did that to you? I will slice him into a million pieces!"

She turned and looked at Yi Ping as she said, "This is the filthy man that did it?" She was about to stab him with her sword when Shui Yixian interrupted panicky, "He ismy husband."

Shui Yujian was shocked and so were the others.

Shui Yixian said, "He is to be the next protg master of the Eternal Ice Palace, Mei'Er and you, are to serve him faithfully in my stead"

She smiled weakly and closed her eyes, "Ping'Er, you have to live on"

Yi Ping cried out, "Xian'Er! Xian'ErDon't leave me!"

But Shui Yixian did not and could not reply anymore.

Yi Ping trembled and fainted; the shock of witnessing his wife died right in front of him was too much to bear for him