Chapter 61: Dying with Eyes Wide Open

Amidst the torrential rain.

Yan Ju, Yun Liao, and Hua Lanyue stared in dumbfounded disbelief at the fierce battle unfolding between Bao Chao and the skull-masked figure.

The offensive and defensive maneuvers of both combatants were continuous, relentless, and overwhelmingly powerful.

Whether it was Bao Chao or the skull-masked figure, any strike from either of them would have meant instant death or severe injury had it so much as grazed the three onlookers.

Even though they desperately wanted to help, they could not find any opening to intervene.

"Senior Brother, should we... perhaps retreat first?"

Hua Lanyue asked in a low voice.

Since they could not offer any assistance, standing around idly was not a viable option. Should the skull-masked figure lose, they would not even have a chance to flee.

The heavy rain poured relentlessly over the three of them.

Their fresh blood mixed with the rainwater, spreading out across the ground beneath their feet.

All three of them had sustained injuries.

Hua Lanyue and Yun Liao, in particular, were the most severely wounded.

"Clatter!"

A faint sound broke through the din.

Yan Ju instantly noticed it and cast a glance backward.

Just outside the small courtyard, a few heads peeked in, only to hastily retract the moment they met Yan Ju's gaze.

They were constables from the yamen.

Having been drawn by the commotion long ago, they had realized upon seeing the terrifying intensity of the battle that absolute masters were at work.

Consequently, the constables had been hiding outside, not daring to step inside.

Yan Ju turned his gaze back to the battlefield, his expression suddenly freezing as he muttered, "They are about to decide the victor!"

"To the rooftops! Prepare to retreat!"

Without a moment of hesitation, the three of them leaped onto the roof.

At this point, they no longer cared whether the skull-masked figure was truly a reinforcement sent by their sect; saving their own lives took precedence above all else.

Meanwhile, a drastic shift had occurred in the center of the battlefield!

Taking advantage of the moment he kicked away the blood-drinker weapon, Bao Chao saw that the skull-masked figure’s defenses were completely wide open.

Naturally, he would not let such a flaw pass.

Executing the Spirit Crane Step, Bao Chao finally closed the distance and reached the skull-masked figure.

A massive black sword cleaved through the rain curtain in a horizontal slash.

Anticipating this, Bao Chao sneered, "Useless!"

Having batted away the blood-drinker, Bao Chao no longer feared the skull-masked figure.

Using his hand as a blade, his inner Qi surged forth.

A fifth-rank martial artist was capable of projecting inner Qi outside the body, allowing them to inflict sword-qi injuries even with a mere tree branch.

Therefore, although Bao Chao was not armed with a saber, his hand was no less lethal than one.

With a shrill whistle, his blade-qi lashed out and slammed heavily against the giant sword.

"CLANG!"

Accompanied by a metallic crash, the skull-masked figure’s giant sword was knocked aside by Bao Chao’s blade-qi.

Immediately following this, Bao Chao launched a ferocious kick.

"Iron Broomstick Leg!"

Bao Chao’s knee struck heavily into the skull-masked figure’s lower abdomen, and a massive surge of inner Qi instantly poured into the opponent's body.

The strike had landed!

A fierce and triumphant expression flashed in Bao Chao's eyes.

Strong though his opponent might be, he had won in the end!

The lower abdomen was inherently a male martial artist’s vulnerability. Once struck by this Iron Broomstick Leg, his formidable inner Qi would instantly shred the opponent's internal organs to pieces.

There was simply no way out!

If this skull-masked figure were left alive, he would undoubtedly become a grave threat to the Senluo Sect once he broke through to the fifth rank.

Now that he had eliminated a future formidable enemy for his sect, Bao Chao felt a surge of elation.

Suddenly—

The skull-masked figure discarded the giant sword in his hand and grabbed hold of Bao Chao in a tight grip.

"Why aren't you dead yet?"

Bao Chao was utterly shocked.

His fatal strike should have completely severed the skull-masked figure's life force.

Why was the opponent still able to move?

He immediately channeled his inner Qi, attempting to forcefully break free.

"Swish, clatter!"

At that very moment, the sound of chains being reeled in echoed from the mechanical arm of the skull-masked figure.

The two-hundred-jin blood-drinker was plunging down from a height of over ten meters, its momentum terrifyingly formidable.

The immense pulling force generated by the retracting chains caused the blood-drinker to plummet like a falling meteor with unstoppable might.

It arrived in the blink of an eye!

Because his body was still firmly gripped by the skull-masked figure, Bao Chao was unable to break away in time, leaving him with nowhere to hide!

Bao Chao’s eyes widened in horror as he stared at the skull-masked figure before him:

"What on earth are you?!"

As long as it was a living human, Bao Chao refused to believe anyone could survive a direct hit from his full-strength Iron Broomstick Leg.

Even more absurdly, this skull-masked figure was still able to launch an attack as if nothing had happened.

Furthermore, the tactile feedback from his own knee told Bao Chao that he had not struck a living, breathing body, but rather... a mechanical metal puppet!

These were Bao Chao's final words and thoughts.

Before he could finish speaking.

The heavy blood-drinker slammed violently down onto his shoulder, nearly shattering it to pieces.

At the same time, his head was engulfed by the loop of the blood-drinker.

The blades along the inner rim of the blood-drinker instantly snapped outward, slicing deep into Bao Chao's neck.

The skull-masked figure gave a sharp yank.

"Whoosh!"

The blood-drinker lifted off Bao Chao's shoulder, taking his head along with it.

A fountain of blood burst from the severed stump of Bao Chao's neck, steaming in the pouring rain.

"Thud!"

His headless corpse crashed heavily to the ground, splashing the surrounding rainwater.

A fifth-rank grandmaster had thus fallen!

Silence descended upon the entire area, absolute and profound.

They had imagined various outcomes.

For instance, the skull-masked figure dying, or the skull-masked figure escaping.

The most absurd scenario they could have conceived was the skull-masked figure defeating Bao Chao, only for Bao Chao to flee with injuries.

Never in their wildest dreams had they imagined that a sixth-rank martial artist could actually kill a fifth-rank master in a head-on confrontation!

Especially since this was no ordinary fifth-rank master, but an elder of the Senluo Sect who had been renowned for over a decade!

"Rumble, rumble, rumble!!!"

Another deafening thunderclap rent the heavens.

No one present was afraid of thunder.

Yet at this moment, they all trembled violently at the sound of the muffled roar.

Standing amidst the torrential rain, the tall, tower-like figure of the skull-masked man was battered by raindrops that splashed into tiny sprays against him.

Every gaze fixed upon him now was filled with awe and... terror.

Qiu Zhuo, in particular, was shivering uncontrollably as he huddled into the corner of the study, completely cornered with nowhere else to run.

Otherwise, he would have desperately wished to flee this place long ago, far away from this terrifying skull-masked entity.

He was nothing short of a demon!

When he killed Yang Jingye and Bao Chao, he had not even blinked, carrying out the executions with extreme cruelty.

Since the lives of such prominent figures meant nothing to him, minor characters like Qiu Zhuo himself were entirely beneath his notice.

Yan Ju and his two companions simultaneously drew in sharp breaths.

Standing on the rooftop, they had intended to make a prompt escape the moment Bao Chao won.

Yet just as they were about to leap out of the yamen compound, they witnessed Bao Chao lose his head.

This dramatic reversal brought them to a dead stop.

"Senior Brother, should we... go forward and pay our respects to the senior?"

Hua Lanyue asked softly.

Yan Ju quickly stopped her, saying, "Hold on!"

"He might not necessarily be on our side."

This remark left Hua Lanyue and Yun Liao slightly bewildered.

There were no other masters in Taiyang County. Who else could have suddenly appeared at the crucial moment to slay Bao Chao and save the three of them, if not someone from their Guiyi Sect or an external ally?

Yan Ju could not think of anyone else either.

Yet, he constantly felt as though this skull-masked figure lacked... any human emotion whatsoever.

It made him too wary to approach rashly.

At that moment.

The skull-masked figure moved.

He picked up the giant sword and retrieved the blood-drinker.

As the inner blades of the blood-drinker retracted, Bao Chao's head tumbled out from within.

The head rolled a few times on the ground before coming to a stop, face turned upward, eyes wide open in unresigned death.

Naturally, he had died with deep resentment.

Had he chosen to flee single-mindedly, the skull-masked figure would have found it difficult to keep him.

Yet, he had foolishly believed he spotted a vulnerability and could thus eliminate the skull-masked figure.

Who could have possibly guessed that his opponent was never a living human to begin with, but merely a combat puppet!

With a single bound, the skull-masked figure vaulted over the compound wall.

His figure quickly vanished from everyone's sight...