Fang Jin couldn't be considered a good person.

Like most people in this world, he couldn't be simply defined as "good" or "bad."

He had done good deeds, and he had also committed evil acts.

He once had lofty ideals and ambitions, but in the end, he drifted with the tide, unknowingly striving for fame and fortune.

Humans are complex creatures, each with their own position, goals, and way of survival.

But everyone... also has their own bottom line.

And today, He Yang Zhiyan... or rather, He Yang Xinci and his ilk, had touched Fang Jin's bottom line.

Admittedly, Fang Jin was a member of the government, a lackey of the imperial court to put it bluntly; but besides that, he was also a martial artist, a disciple of Saber Phoenix Meng Qing... and a member of the Central Plains martial world.

Fang Jin could accept the internal struggles and killings within the martial world, as well as the various conspiracies orchestrated by the imperial court to control it. He could even take sides in such struggles for his own benefit.

Because he knew very well... that no one could achieve "eternal dominion over the martial world," and the martial world could never truly disappear from this earth.

Martial arts alliance leaders, peerless experts, and even emperors... in the face of the word "jianghu," could only achieve temporary victories at best.

Their victories would ultimately dissipate with time, just like their own lives.

There would always be new eras and new conflicts to come...

Simply because of the well-known saying—where there are people, there is jianghu.

But this time, the situation was different.

In the past, those struggles, no matter how fierce, were "internal strife," but this time... the imperial court actually wanted to let the "Shintenkukyoken-ryu" (Divine Transmission Ultimate Sword Style), an Eastern Ocean school, unify the Central Plains martial world, which Fang Jin could not tolerate.

Even if it was just "a temporary victory," the fact that the Central Plains martial world had been dominated by an Eastern Ocean sect of only a few people would become an established "fact."

Perhaps those who lived in the inner courts of the palace, in secluded mansions... would not feel anything special about this, but for someone like Fang Jin, who came from a poor background and had once roamed the martial world, such humiliation was absolutely unacceptable.

Of course... considering that everyone's bottom line was different, some people might still be able to accept it, such as Tu Ji, who truly deserved the name "shameless."

"Alliance Leader, leave the surrounding security to my Kuanghu (Mad Tiger) Gang. You can focus on dealing with those four ungrateful bastards..."

On the main street, the three players were still deadlocked in the distance, but Tu Ji didn't seem to take Juan Menghuan seriously. Compared to that, he was more concerned about the famous experts such as the Three Great Swordsmen and Feng Meiyu.

"Tu Ji! You shameless villain!" On the other side, Qiu Baqi was already red-eyed with anger at the sight of Tu Ji's face. He simply ignored He Yang Xinci and roared, chasing after Tu Ji, "Today, I will kill you first!"

As he spoke, Qiu Baqi gracefully unleashed his movements, his sword sweeping out with the wind.

"Ridiculous..." Seeing this, He Yang Xinci raised his sword and blocked the other party's attack, "I am here... would it be up to you to decide who lives and who dies?"

Whoosh—

Whoosh—

At the same moment, Xie Xiuwen and Meng He also moved.

They... didn't even know why they were making a move...

Because in their hearts, they had already been defeated.

Ru Jianke (Confucian Swordsman) and Zizhu Jushi (Purple Bamboo Hermit) were both men in their sixties. With their age and experience, they would never have the mentality of young people who thought, "Even if I know I'm far inferior to you, who can say who will win without a fight?"

He Yang Xinci's move to kill Ma Tayun and Tang Ling had also killed the fighting spirit of Xie and Meng.

But... they still made their move after all.

Perhaps they were thinking: even if they couldn't win, at least they could save Qiu Baqi's life with this one move...

Or maybe, they just wanted to sacrifice themselves to help Qiu Baqi kill that scoundrel Tu Ji.

It was also possible that their thoughts were similar to Fang Jin's... rather than living in a martial world dominated by Eastern Ocean people, it would be better to fight to the death, and be done with it all.

No one knew what they were thinking, just as I said... even they themselves didn't know.

Of course, none of that mattered anymore.

Some things don't need to be understood too clearly; one lives a life only seeking to have a clear conscience.

For a swordsman, death is not scary; what is scary is that when he should make a move... he doesn't even have the courage to swing his sword.

Buzzing—

A second later, the strange hum of the blunt sword sounded once again.

This also meant... He Yang Xinci had made his move again.

"Shintenkukyoken-ryu · Ougi (Secret Technique) · Souen Gaeshi (Double Swallow Return)!"

This time, He Yang Xinci struck at the same time as he announced the name of the move. Judging from his eyes and tone, this was his most serious move so far.

Xie Xiuwen's Xie Family Swordplay and Meng He's Purple Bamboo Thirteen Swords were both first-class sword techniques in the Central Plains martial world, and the deep internal energy of the two men, which added up to more than a hundred years, was also an undeniable hard strength.

Even though He Yang Xinci's martial arts were far higher than anyone else present, he had to pay full attention to deal with the combined attack of these two top Central Plains martial artists.

He gathered all his internal energy, and a solid fighting aura bloomed around him. His stance was so stable, it was as heavy as Mount Song.

However, the blunt sword in his hand seemed incomparably light at this moment, as light as wheat.

Ping ping—

Two quick sounds, as fast as lightning.

Two quick shadows, merging into the sword light.

Extremely powerful skills and exquisite sword moves intertwined in the cold wind.

And the victor, there could only be one...

"Cough... uh..." When Meng He fell to the ground, vomiting blood, his eyes did not look at He Yang Xinci, but at Xie Xiuwen, who had fallen a step ahead of him.

The two of them were old rivals.

As two of the best swordsmen of the same generation, they were naturally often compared by others; over the decades, the two had fought three times, but all ended in a draw.

Unexpectedly, at this time, in this place... in this despairing situation, they actually determined a victor.

The two attacked the same opponent at the same time, and in the end, Xie Xiuwen had half of his neck cut off, while Meng He dodged by a fraction and had his throat cut.

Although the difference was not great in terms of results, for them... such a difference was enough.

Before they died, their intersecting gazes buried a thousand words in silence.

No regrets in life, no blame in death.

With such an awareness, two more peerless swordsmen fell into the pool of blood.

At the same time, Qiu Baqi's sword had also pierced Tu Ji's heart.

But...

"Hehehe..." Tu Ji's sinister laughter was like a death knell ringing in Qiu Baqi's ears, "What a Heavenly Longitudinal Sword... this sword technique is really unavoidable..."

"You... you actually..." At this moment, Qiu Baqi's mouth was constantly gushing blood.

It turned out that at the same time as he stabbed Tu Ji, he was also hit in the heart by the other party's move, "Kuanghu Shixin (Mad Tiger Devours Heart)"; and the internal injuries caused by this palm were undoubtedly devastating...

"What a pity... although your sword technique is high, your brain is not very good." Tu Ji mocked, "Didn't you think about it? With my martial arts, how could I stand in place and resist you if I knew you were going to fight me to the death?" Saying that, he also lowered his head and looked at his "wound," where... not a drop of blood had flowed, "Hehe... this 'Golden Silk Treasure Armor' is a priceless treasure that can block all kinds of weapons in the world; I originally used two beautiful concubines plus a whole cart of valuable calligraphy and paintings to exchange for it, now it seems... it's quite worth it."

Bang!

Just as Tu Ji was complacent, another change occurred.

Feng Meiyu, who had been looking for an opportunity to strike, suddenly flashed out and killed Qiu Baqi from behind, striking the latter's back with a palm.

In the initial moment, Tu Ji thought that Feng Meiyu, like him, had decided to defect and join He Yang Xinci.

But what he didn't expect was...

A moment later, the tip of the sword in Qiu Baqi's hand... suddenly moved forward again, piercing the Golden Silk Treasure Armor and piercing Tu Ji's heart.

"Uh... ah!" Tu Ji screamed in shock, but it was too late for him to retreat now...

"Qiu Daxia, I apologize." Feng Meiyu said as she withdrew her palm.

And Qiu Baqi, who fell, had a relieved smile on his face, and coughed up blood as he laughed, "Hahaha... you're too kind... thank you for your as..."

He didn't get the last word "sistance" out before he ran out of breath.

For a person whose heart meridian had been shattered, it was a miracle that he could hold on and withstand Feng Meiyu's palm force.

"No... I can't die... I..." Looking at Tu Ji on the ground again, he was not as calm as Qiu Baqi. Until the moment before he died, he seemed extremely painful and babbled hysterically.

His appearance was like a puppet controlled by desire, watching the strings on his body being cut one by one, and making a final struggle.

But his ending was still death.

"Hmph... I have to praise you a little." After a moment, He Yang Xinci glanced at Tu Ji's corpse with the eyes of looking at garbage, then turned his head and said to Feng Meiyu, "Even if it's a dog... being able to kill it in front of me is also a skill." He seemed a little annoyed, "Then... Sect Leader Feng, you should also have the corresponding awareness, right?"

"Heh..." Feng Meiyu showed a lost smile, "To be honest... I thought I was the same kind of person as Tu Ji; I am as ambitious as him, and I don't care about so-called benevolence, righteousness, and morality. Everything I do is for myself; logically speaking, I should have led the White Plum Sect to join you without hesitation. But... I can't do such a thing."

As Feng Meiyu spoke, she turned around and faced He Yang Xinci without fear: "Seeing Tu Ji's appearance when he died, I finally understood the difference between me and him..." She paused, and the smile still hung on her face, which was full of fat due to morbid obesity, "He is a dog, and I am a human."

As she spoke, she had already used twelve levels of her power, preparing to make a desperate fight.

"He Yang Xinci, your martial arts are indeed very high, maybe you are really invincible in the world. But remember... not everyone will succumb to martial power and interests. We martial artists also have an inviolable bottom line, and we will never let you cross it!"

"Soga... naruhodo..." He Yang Xinci said coldly in his native language upon hearing this, and then continued in the Central Plains language, "If that's the case... then I will step over that line by stepping on your corpses..."

Buzzing—

His blunt sword moved again.

For He Yang Xinci, killing a Feng Meiyu didn't require any moves, just a simple slash would do.

But this time, he used all his strength for this slash.

Because he was angry...

Although he was cold and sarcastic on the surface, He Yang Xinci's heart was already filled with uncontrollable anger.

For someone who considered himself invincible in the world, and wanted to use force to make everyone submit to his feet... he could laugh it off if someone denied his strength, but denying his values was unforgivable.

He Yang Xinci had already made up his mind to use this angry sword to cut this pretentious fat woman in half with one slash, making her die as ugly as possible.

Unexpectedly... just as his sword swept out.

A peerless figure appeared in a flash!

Two sword lights brought out a cold, deep shout: "Demon Flow - Blood Tears."