Why do I have so many masters?

The vigorous Qi surged visibly, sticky and interconnected, then moved forward mightily. The scholar on the tavern floor widened his eyes, faintly seeing the illusory shadow of a roaring fierce tiger, its claws pressing as it howled, shaking the air.

The scholar, incredulous, raised his right hand to rub his eyes vigorously. Looking down again, the tiger did not disappear but appeared even more real, several zhangs long, with wings of wind and cloud on its ribs, either roaring or flicking its tail, utterly real, as if the mythical exotic beast from the Classic of Mountains and Seas had truly reappeared in the world.

The immense might made his legs tremble, and with a crash, he sat directly on the ground.

With his right hand supporting the ground, eyes wide open, face deathly pale, he struggled several times but could not stand up, startled by the tiger's might, his body felt foreign as if it wasn't his own. Looking around, he saw that all the tavern patrons were in the same state as him, bringing him some comfort. He couldn't help but bitterly smile and murmured:

"I thought warriors were just warriors fighting for their lives at the edge of a blade, but, but can they truly reach a realm close to divine beings…"

"I am in awe, in awe; now I finally understand the principle that there's always a sky beyond the sky."

Ears only hearing the tiger's roar, the wind's whistle.

Below the tavern, Wang Anfeng strode towards Qiong Qi, with Qi shielding him. Those fierce and valiant martial artists couldn't get close at all. The horses neighed wildly, one suddenly trembled, and fell dead on the spot, as if truly encountering a fearsome tiger.

The distance between the two was just a dozen zhangs. His steps were large and his movement technique high, so no one could get close. In just a few breaths, too short for an average person to react, he was already three steps away from Qiong Qi.

Wang Anfeng clearly saw his current appearance in the eyes of the young man opposite — a lion's nose and wide mouth, wild white hair, one hand raised high, five fingers spread, striking straight toward Qiong Qi's face. The latter's jade crown was blown off by the vigorous Qi, his black hair flying upward.

At the instant the hand flipped down, a sword hum suddenly sounded from a hidden place behind, and immediately a person soared close, wearing plain clothes, scruffy, with a long sword weapon drawn in hand.

The sword edge buzzed and trembled, enveloping Wang Anfeng's body in an instant, targeting dozens of critical points.

Qi mechanism connected, the sword weapon like a rainbow.

This move was truly beyond all expectations, an earth-shattering technique. Qiong Qi stood still, spine straight, not even flinching, looking composed and unhurried. The sword stabbed an inch from his shoulder, extremely sharp, almost unavoidable below the Grandmaster realm.

However, Wang Anfeng seemed not to see this thunderous strike, only advancing, opening his mouth to suddenly utter a word in a low ancient and vast tone, resonating with the mind and affecting several zhangs in radius, causing men and horses to stagger as if drunk, unable to steady themselves.

The stabbing sword was similar to the swordsmanship that Mr. Ying taught Wang Anfeng back then. First, it gathered one's essence, Qi, and spirit as one, then thrust instantly, emphasizing grandeur and explosive power, like a waterfall from a thousand zhang high, falling from the sky.

A pause of just one breath would lose the true essence of the swordsmanship, downgrading it from a superior sword technique to barely adequate assassination swordsmanship, a world of difference.

The person who executed such a thunderous strike naturally knew this. Seeing the situation unfavorable, he raised a hand to pull Qiong Qi, ready to retreat instantly, creating distance.

But Wang Anfeng had already raised his hand before uttering the sound, and at this instant, he demonstrated exquisite hand skills unbefitting his nine-foot burly frame. Acting first and swiftly, he clasped the right wrist with speed undetectable to the naked eye.

Then, with thumb and forefinger almost by instinct, he clasped the swordsman's Lique and Taiyuan acupoints, using a unique technique, locking them tightly.

These two acupoints, one being part of the Ren meridian, a meeting point of the Eight Lineage, and the other a crucial point of the Hand Taiyin Lung Meridian, with the lungs connecting all meridians. Being seized, the swordsman felt his arm go numb and weak, his inner strength forcibly expelled.

In the next moment, the relentless fierce vigorous Qi was about to seize the famous sword clearly no less than Jue Que Yuchang. However, Wang Anfeng had not expected his opponent to be so staunch, even with the bones and tendons of his wrist creaking, his face twisted, still holding the sword stubbornly without loosening.

Wang Anfeng had disguised himself as the Hu people's master from that night, intending not to entangle with anyone for too long to avoid exposing his identity and attracting suspicion and danger.

Failing to seize the sword, he rotated his wrist, yin and yang spinning from within, borrowing force, right foot tapping the ground, and the bluestone ground instantly exploding a small pit. The whole person, like a galloping tiger, used the opponent's sword-seizing force to advance.

This change of moves was like the rotation of yin and yang, as natural as human breathing, without a hint of precursor. The plain-clothed swordsman's heart thumped fiercely, and in a critical moment, he exerted strength to throw Qiong Qi out, but himself lost the chance to leave again, being hit by Wang Anfeng's shoulder on the upper side of his chest.

Originally intending to withstand it, he then felt the surging vigorous Qi and physical strength like the giant waves of the East Sea, his face involuntarily changed.

With a crisp crack, this swordsman who had honed his swordsmanship to an extremely high level was instantly knocked flying, Qi mechanism dwindling, suffering not minor internal injuries.

Wang Anfeng sat in meditation at the Shaolin Temple, now in a state of connecting Divine Weapon Aura, inclined but not tilting, ready to move but unmoved, Qi mechanism abundant, no less than any Middle Third Rank master, though not sustainable for long.

In that instant of confrontation, it seemed casual and unreasonable, merely a catch and a crash, but in reality, he had already employed the culmination of his lifetime of mastery.

The medical skills of Medicine King Valley, the techniques of Divine Thieves Sect, and various profound martial arts were all integrated into it. With just a single move, a genuine Middle Third Rank expert was severely injured, his strength reduced by seventy percent, and his actions were crisp and clean, further showcasing an imposing might.

Standing on the ground, he let out a long howl, like a dragon's roar, piercing through gold and cracking stones. The martial artists around who already had excellent inner strength felt their chests and abdomens stuffy and uncomfortable, dizzy and unable to stand steadily, let alone try to block him. However, ordinary people felt no different.

And in that split second, he was already in front of the pained face of Qiong Qi.

It was truly aggressive, with not the slightest leniency.

His right hand opened, fingers slightly curved, about to grip Qiong Qi's neck, but at that moment, the second carriage in the convoy suddenly exploded, wooden pieces shattered all around, and a chessboard, with nineteen lines and accompanied by black and white pieces, poured over Wang Anfeng like a tidal wave.

Wang Anfeng snorted coldly, flicking his sleeve, and a dense wave of air like a wall appeared to block before him. The black and white chess pieces shot forward, but halted in mid-air, losing momentum and clattering to the ground several breaths later.

A person leapt from the carriage, right hand advancing, with a vigorous and fierce palm strike aimed directly at Wang Anfeng's face. At this moment, Wang Anfeng was disguised as a majestic elder. He turned his head, a cold smile on his lips, and without retreating or dodging, he unleashed a vigorous Chi from the Wooden Sword, striking out with his right palm.

As the two palms met, there was silence first, then the entire street, stretching a dozen miles, the ground of cyan bricks simultaneously vibrated and flipped over, the buildings on either side swayed, almost comparable to a ground dragon's upheaval. If not for this being an extremely prosperous area, with structures built at great expense by Mo Family craftsmen, they might have long collapsed.

Wang Anfeng felt the Chi Mechanism of the Wooden Divine Weapon rapidly depleting, his expression unchanged, yet in his heart, he felt a stone fall to the ground—considering Qiong Qi's identity, there was indeed a master protecting him, which was better now that it was exposed.

A hidden master in the shadows is far more dangerous than two exposed masters.

It's just unknown, at what level this person belongs to within the Famous Swords Organization, and the martial skills are actually so high—even with the assistance of the Wooden Sword's Chi Mechanism, he was only able to barely contend without falling behind.

Moreover, with such a master providing protection, Qiong Qi's identity seems even more significant than he currently perceived, perhaps a level or two higher.

But he was unaware of his astonishment, while the opponent was even more shocked. The latter had an outstanding status in the organization, although slightly lacking in martial arts, was still one of the twelve Commanders of Troops, possessing remains of ancient Divine Weapon Aura, able to exhibit grandmaster techniques.

This time accompanying 'Qiong Qi' was purely by coincidence.

Due to the relationship between the two parties, he had specially returned to Xianping County last time to advise 'Qiong Qi' a few words, but unexpectedly, as he was about to depart, he learned from the message center about Xu Sixing's near-success incident.

Due to Qiong Qi's plea and the favorable conditions offered, he had to protect him for a few more days.

He thought, although the opponent had methods to summon thunder, with Qiong Qi's temperament, acting secretly would not be discovered, and even if detected, engaging directly, relying on his own martial arts, was not to be feared.

But upon this clash of palms, he realized the opponent's Qi Mechanism far exceeded his imagination. If not one of those extremely rare true grandmasters in Jianghu, it was someone wielding a newly sharpened and acknowledged Divine Weapon, neither of which were easy adversaries. Regret already settled in his heart.

Gathering a breath of Qi Mechanism, preparing to speak, he saw Wang Anfeng exhale with a "heh," retracting his right hand slightly before suddenly striking again.

The gust of wind bulged, and the previously dispersing Qi Mechanism was fully enveloped by this palm. Though the force was brief, the palm's momentum was even more vigorous than before, adding in its suddenness, it was truly a top-tier killing stroke.

This unexpected move left the middle-aged man no time but to raise both arms for defense, using the Divine Weapon Aura to withstand the palm attack, yet did not expect Wang Anfeng to follow with another palm strike.

This third palm not only connected with the previous Qi Mechanism but also enveloped even a breath of Divine Weapon Aura, overwhelmingly powerful, sending the man flying dozens of feet away.

The latter's face turned deathly pale, instinctively feeling his arms tremble numb, while in his mind, it was as if a thunderclap flashed, illuminating things deep in his memory, prompting an involuntary outburst:

"So it's you!!!"

PS: Today's first update is presented...

Three thousand words~