Chương 147: The Blood-Robed Venerable

Eagle's Sorrow Ravine, Luanshi Crag. The sudden voice echoing right beside his ear scared Song Que half to death. Without a single moment of hesitation, he whipped around and bolted, cursing his own stupidity in his heart. He had never spared a thought for a First-Tier martial artist before. He had been absolutely certain of the intelligence Old Yun provided—that the strongest bandits here at Eagle's Sorrow Ravine were merely Fifth-Grade experts.

To make matters worse, his own inquiries had confirmed the exact same thing. Caught in the trap of his own habitual thinking, he had walked right into a massive blind spot. And today, he was paying the ultimate price: walking straight into an ambush by a genuine First-Tier powerhouse! For the unseen intruder to project their voice directly into his ear without even showing their face, Boss Song had absolutely no doubt. This was, without a shadow of a doubt, a true First-Tier expert.

Song Que wanted nothing more than to slap himself twice. He constantly talked about not letting his ego inflate, yet it had inflated severely! Since when did he develop this attitude of looking down on everyone in the world?! But now was not the time for self-blame; he only knew to bury his head and run.

"Song Que! There is no escape for you today!" From the cliff above, a black figure wearing a bamboo hat glided down as eerily as a ghost. His feet didn't touch the ground; he merely tapped lightly on a few treetops, and his entire body instantly flew dozens of zhang forward. After flashing a few times, he suddenly appeared in the middle of the mountain road, blocking Song Que's retreat. What incredible Qinggong! What speed! Furthermore, hearing this person accurately call out his name, Song Que's heart trembled.

He immediately stopped, cupped his hands, and squeezed out a stiff smile:"Haha, I wonder if Senior has mistaken me for someone else? My name is A'Niu. I don't know any Song Que or whatever Que you're talking about."

"Ahaha... Kehehe..." The dark figure let out a bizarre laugh. His voice sounded hoarse and gloomy, as if his throat were being squeezed:"No need to play dumb with me, and I don't care who you are. As long as you are the one who destroyed my Soul Refining Cauldron and killed my ghost slave, that is all that matters. Kehehe, the heavens truly have eyes! This Venerable wasted efforts searching for you in vain several times. It turns out you secretly fled to the mountains to become a bandit. Good calculation!"

Hearing him speak, Song Que's heart turned icy cold. He spoke dryly:"You are the Blood-Robed Venerable?"

"Hehehe, surprised? It seems that piece of trash Lu Chengcai spilled quite a bit of information! Kehehe, then having his heart devoured and his soul gnawed by the Heart-Eating Ghost wasn't an unjust death for him at all!" So that was it. It seemed that old thief Lu's death wasn't self-inflicted, but rather the result of this person manipulating things from behind the scenes. But right now, Song Que had no time to worry about that. He silently took a few steps back, his mind calculating rapidly.

The path back was blocked by the Blood-Robed Venerable, while Sha Maiquan and Zhen He secretly split up behind him, forming a triangle to surround him. With one First-Tier and two Second-Tier experts present, today was truly a situation of nine deaths and one life! Indifferently taking in all of Boss Song's movements, the Blood-Robed Venerable sneered:"Trying to run? Hehehe... Kill him!!!" As soon as the order was given, Song Que didn't hesitate. His entire body shot forward toward Zhen He.

Pick the softest persimmon to squeeze! Out of these three, this guy looked the easiest to handle. Grandee Song decided to strike first to gain the upper hand! Seeing the rat in the cage actually try to take a bite out of him, Zhen He was also enraged. Although he knew he was the weakest of the three, this was still a blatant slap to the face! He roared angrily, drawing a flexible whip from his waist and whipping it around.

The tip of the whip acted like a living venomous snake—agile, winding, and bizarrely unpredictable—as it suddenly lunged toward Song Que's back. Today, to hide his identity when going out, Boss Song had only brought his dual hammers. At this moment, both his hands moved simultaneously. His left hand flipped subtly, using indescribable flexibility to reach behind him and block the venomous whip. Multitasking, his right hand swept fiercely toward Zhen He.

If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Bang! His strength was already inferior to Song Que's, and being careless and unprepared, Zhen He could only hurriedly retreat and raise his hand to block. He had originally intended to use a clever technique to redirect the power of Boss Song's attack. Unfortunately, he misjudged the power of the strike. The residual force still sent Zhen He staggering back several steps, his internal energy churning violently.

Take advantage of his weakness to end his life! A cold glint flashed in Song Que's eyes. Explosive strength surged in his legs as he delivered a powerful kick. With his chest wide open, Zhen He was terrified out of his wits and wanted to turn and dodge. But having just taken a hammer strike, he hadn't yet recovered his breath. He could only watch helplessly as the kick landed squarely on his chest. Crash... pfft! Having crippled one person, Song Que's situation didn't improve much.

Sha Maiquan had already caught up by this time. He had no intention of helping his comrade; he just poured all his strength into a sword thrust aimed directly at the center of Boss Song's back. This sword strike was both fast and treacherous. Even with the Thousand Hammer Art at minor accomplishment, taking this strike would guarantee a hole punched straight through his heart. Song Que didn't dare be careless. Relying on his superior reflexes, he narrowly managed to raise his hammer to block. Clang... clang!!

The difference in strength between the two wasn't too large. Hastily blocking the attack naturally put Song Que at a disadvantage, and Sha Maiquan's sword thrust sent him stumbling backward. Given such an opportunity, the enemy facing him showed no mercy. The sword moves rained down like a violent storm, thrusting incessantly at his vital spots.

Struggling bitterly to defend for a while, relying on his superior stamina, strength, and agility, Song Que slowly stabilized the situation and began to exchange blows with his opponent. Waiting for the moment Sha Maiquan's relentless assault faltered and he lost his breath, he decisively entered the 'Super God' state. The dual hammers in his hands, carrying a thunderous momentum and an earth-shattering force, launched a vicious counterattack. Clang clang... clang...

The ear-piercing sound of clashing metal rang out in the night. Sha Maiquan struggled bitterly to block a few moves, his limbs feeling as if they were falling apart, feeling extreme terror in his heart. He couldn't understand why the opponent showed no signs of exhaustion despite continuously unleashing such powerful moves! Is this person made of iron?! Boss Song naturally wouldn't explain it to him. The force in his hands increased again and again, endless and unceasing, as if his strength were inexhaustible.

Sha Maiquan was beaten until his internal energy churned violently. Unable to hold back a breath he had been suppressing, his face flushed bright red. Unable to block anymore, he had to retreat and dodge, panting heavily. A rare opportunity! Not daring to prolong the fight, Song Que overjoyed and fought his way out to escape.

"Hmph, a bunch of useless trash." The Blood-Robed Venerable, who had been standing with his arms crossed watching all this time, saw that his two subordinates couldn't even defeat a young brat. With an ugly expression, he dropped a sentence and leaped forward like a ghost, tailing Song Que. Sensing the villain behind him getting closer and closer, Boss Song secretly groaned. The flaw of the Thousand Hammer Body-Refining Art was now obvious.

Compared to before, he had become far too bulky, and his speed and agility had dropped significantly. If it were before, he would have had a forty or fifty percent chance of escaping by running into the dense forest. But now, Boss Song tragically realized he didn't even have the chance to make it to the forest! Hearing the sound of wind tearing behind his ear, through his Domain, he already knew the opponent behind him had curled his hand into a claw and was aiming straight for his head.

With power of this caliber, perhaps even the grand completion of the Thousand Hammer Art wouldn't be worth a damn. The final result would be no different from smashing a watermelon. Knowing he couldn't escape, Song Que put his life on the line. Burning his 'Super God' state to its absolute limit, he fiercely turned around and roared. Holding a hammer in each hand, he raised them high like a demon god descending to earth and smashed them down frantically. Earth Splitting Hammer!

Encountering this overbearing hammer momentum, the Blood-Robed Venerable didn't dare underestimate it. He channeled his true Qi into his palms, radiating a faint, enchantingly eerie red light. His claw slightly opened and turned upward, striking fiercely against the iron hammers, meeting Song Que's dual hammers head-on with his bare hands! Clang... clang... The collision echoed like clashing metal. Song Que only felt a violent, overbearing force rebound toward him, making him lose control of his body.

He was sent flying backward for nearly ten meters, rolling on the ground several times, covered in dirt and looking thoroughly disheveled.

"Oh?" This old Blood-Robed freak had his forward momentum halted by this strike. He let out a sound of confusion and looked at his own hand. His hand was now flushed red, and his fingertips felt numb. The power of that hammer strike just now was absolutely not something an ordinary Second-Tier martial artist could unleash. His curiosity toward the youth before him deepened. Boss Song had no time to ask what he was thinking.

Rolling on the ground had left him dizzy, but seeing the opponent had paused, he scrambled to his feet and ran as fast as his legs could carry him, absolutely not daring to waste a single second.

"Kehehe, you can't escape!" Seeing the opponent flee into the forest, the Blood-Robed Venerable sneered unhurriedly. His figure turned into an afterimage and quickly vanished from the spot.... Boom boom... Clang... bang... The sounds of explosions rang out unceasingly in the forest. By this time, the clothes on Song Que's body were torn to shreds. His back and both arms bore several deep, bloody gashes left by the opponent. The more he fought, the more despair he felt.

The opponent's movement technique was truly incredibly fast, flickering in and out of sight, making it nearly impossible to defend against. Fortunately, he had his Domain to protect him; otherwise, he wouldn't have stood a chance. Even so, despite fighting until now, he hadn't been able to escape. The opponent stuck to him like a maggot, causing Boss Song's mental state to verge on collapse. This old Blood-Robed thief's moves were truly exquisite beyond compare.

His claw techniques were sometimes feminine and soft, sometimes fierce and powerful, sometimes sharp, and sometimes soft as cotton. His application of force truly made Song Que sigh in awe at the eye-opening display. Fortunately, the opponent had shouted away the two lackeys who wanted to help. Otherwise, Song Que truly wouldn't have lasted more than ten moves. But even so, his current situation was hanging by a thread. At any moment, he could be killed by a single claw strike. I truly f cking regret this!

It's all because my ego inflated too much! * Boss Song's heart was filled with bitterness.