Chapter 650: Kill Them All Cleanly

Chapter650: Killing Them All

Click! Click!

The air rang with grating, teeth‑on‑edge sounds of twisting steel.

Jiang Wei's gaze was cold; his bare, bone‑white hands plunged into the chest of the man before him, prying apart the tightly meshed, hard mechanical bones, clutching fiercely the azure mechanical heart hidden deep within, still humming and trembling.

“Ah!!!”

A scream of utter despair echoed across the barren low hill.

Bluish‑green eerie flames burst from the shattered mechanical body, surging like a tide to engulf Jiang Wei’s upper half.

The crackle of burning flesh filled the air; blood spurting from the wound met the searing heat and instantly vaporized, repeating over and over, gathering into a scarlet mist that lingered.

Jiang Wei’s face soaked in the flickering ghost‑fire, yet he seemed oblivious to pain, his movements slow but resolute as he wrenched the mechanical heart free.

Snap! Snap! Snap!

The severed cords, tendons, and blood vessels emitted a crisp sound.

The hoarse cries faded, while heavy breathing grew clearer.

Bereft of its mechanical heart, the body shattered, scattering cold, lifeless fragments across the ground.

Already at the end of his tether, Jiang Wei staggered back a step, gulping ragged breaths; strange blue fire still lingered in his viscera, sending waves of burning agony.

His skin, cracked like parched earth, was instantly drenched in fresh blood that no longer seared from heat.

Jiang Wei’s tempered body‑forging martial art had been utterly torn apart, his physique on the brink of collapse.

Only his eyes remained bright and sharp, like unsheathed swords refusing to be sheathed.

“To fell four of your same‑rank soldiers in a wheel‑tactic and still live—unexpected, I admit. But that’s where it ends.”

Jin Wei sat astride Su Ce’s tombstone, chin resting on his hand, smiling as he surveyed the battered yet still‑standing Jiang Wei.

“Jiang Wei, I’m in a fine mood today. If you kneel now and kowtow, I’ll grant you a chance to live. Moreover, I can let you join the Six Strategies and watch firsthand how our soldier‑order will supplant your martial order.”

Jiang Wei said nothing, his stare fixed on that repulsive grin.

“Unwilling? Evidently all those years of tucking tail and hiding have not taught you the meaning of reading the times.”

Jin Wei leapt from the tombstone, kicked aside a severed arm blocking his path, and stepped onto the blood‑soaked soft earth, walking slowly toward Jiang Wei.

“It doesn’t matter if you don’t understand; you’re all going to die anyway. Just thinking that I could personally end your sect’s martial order—and that this chance has fallen into my hands—makes me tremble with excitement!”

“The soldier‑order is the dog beneath the martial order’s feet.”

Jiang Wei locked eyes with the leisurely approaching Jin Wei, a low, hoarse voice issuing from his throat.

Crimson threads of blood wound around his ink‑black pupils, save for a fierce killing intent that could not be diluted; there was no trace of fear in the face of death.

“It was so a hundred years ago, and it is so now!”

Though every joint in his body groaned with pain, Jiang Wei resolutely chose to fight to the death.

He stepped.

But as soon as his foot landed, his body locked in place, blood pouring down like rain.

In the unseen depths, the once‑obedient tempered martial force lost control, surging wildly through his innards.

Dark red blood trickled from his seven orifices, intense dizziness clouding his vision.

Jiang Wei clenched his fists, his teeth grinding so hard they nearly shattered his tongue, using this brutal self‑harm to resist the coercive force urging him to kneel and surrender, clinging to consciousness.

“A dog? Look—now you’re nothing but a dog awaiting slaughter.”

Beneath the brilliant starry sky, Jin Wei slowly opened his arms, eyes half‑closed, intoxicated. He drew a deep breath of the night air, as if sensing the sweet scent of dreams.

“No, no, no, I misspoke—today you don’t even merit a whimpering plea; you’re merely an optional garnish, or a worthless bait. Still, your cries are too feeble to draw any blood‑thirsty beast.”

Jin Wei’s mouth twisted into a grim smirk; his right hand’s fingers pressed together like a blade, and he swung down at the defenseless Jiang Wei.

Pfft!

Jiang Wei’s right shoulder exploded with a spurt of blood, an arm sheared clean off.

“Scream—why aren’t you screaming? Have you gone mute?”

Blood gushed from his throat like a surging wave, relentlessly pounding his clenched teeth.

Pfft!

Another severed arm fell, scarlet droplets splashing across Jin Wei’s fierce brows and eyes, like water on hot oil, sparking irritation and displeasure.

“Worthless—I told you to speak!”

Jiang Wei’s chest was split open by a sharp fingertip, his writhing viscera plainly visible.

Boom!

A thunderclap of extreme violence split the sky.

Jin Wei, who had been pondering which organ to extract first, heard the sound, raised his brows at the black‑red lightning arcing from afar, and a long‑awaited smile crept onto his face.

“Ha ha, see that, Jiang Wei? Your reinforcements have arrived. Too bad, this time they can’t save you.”

Jin Wei pressed his lips to Jiang Wei’s ear and whispered softly.

Thud!

The thunderbolt struck, making the mountains tremble.

Amid the rising dust and smoke, a ferocious figure emerged.

“Li Jun, you’ve finally come—we’ve been waiting for you!”

Jin Wei thrust his hand into Jiang Wei’s chest, seized the beating heart, and laughed aloud.

“What are you? Let the one behind you step forward and speak.”

Li Jun ignored him, his gaze fixed on Jiang Wei’s tightly shut eyes, as if sparks ignited deep within the pupils.

“No wonder you’re the Martial Three‑Revolution Sovereign—I hope you stay this fierce a while longer!”

Jin Wei bared his teeth in a cold snort, then flung forth a criss‑crossing sheet of light.

Yan Dongqing’s visage coalesced from the light, hands behind his back, staring impassively at Li Jun.

“Release him.”

Li Jun wasted no words, getting straight to the point.

“Li Jun, that isn’t the first thing you should say. You ought to apologize first.”

“Yan, release him first—then we’ll see how you want to play this out to the end.”

“I have no interest in playing games with you. Li Jun, when you refused me in Songjiang Prefecture, you should have anticipated this.”

Yan Dongqing’s voice was calm: “Xu Haichao is dead—killed by your fists. Today I’ll make you understand: not just anyone can kill a member of the Spring and Autumn Society.”

At that very moment, the Jiang Wei who should have passed out flung his eyes open, his pupils filled with a hazy crimson.

“Jun‑brother, this is a trap—get out!”

Boom!!

Jiang Wei's furious roar had barely left his lips when thunder as thick as a water barrel came crashing down incessantly from among the stars.

Azure lightning coiled like chains around Li Jun's limbs, forming an impassable azure thunder pool that held him fast, suppressing his Eight‑Direction Thunder Stir.

Li Jun lifted his head calmly, only to see the stars above weaving themselves into a vast, illusory visage—its blurred brows and eyes eerily familiar, the very Daoist master of Longhu Mountain who had once appeared in Chengdu.

The former master of Qingcheng, Liang Gongming!

The shock had only just begun.

Flakes of crystal‑clear snow appeared eerily in Li Jun's sight, instantly covering his whole body; a dream unfurled silently, eroding his awareness and relentlessly battering the veil of the Conceal Heaven.

A figure wearing a golden mask loomed in the distance—none other than 'Siming' Zhao Yin, one of the Nine Sovereigns of the Eastern Emperor's Palace who had attacked He Zangjia and Wang Xie in Chongqing.

Zhao Yin's cold, gloomy eyes reflected a dead, ice‑bound world where Li Jun stood alone, his form about to be swallowed by the blizzard.

At the same moment, a murmuring whisper drifted into Li Jun's ears, goading his five viscera and six bowels to spawn their own independent consciousness, to vie with him for dominion over this flesh.

In an instant, his entrails fell into disarray, depriving Li Jun of the chance to unleash the Hidden God.

The architect of all this was a plain‑looking man standing far off.

It seemed he sensed Li Jun's gaze; he gave a slight nod and then, quite out of the blue, muttered to Li Jun: 'Hong Hu, Yu Fu.'

'Brother of the Tides, your vengeance is mine today—I, Wu Jiang, together with the chief of the Yan Hui, avenge you. May your spirit in heaven find peace!'

To the southwest, a young Confucian official with clasped hands spoke with lofty, sorrowful vigor, his face full of reluctance and regret.

A peculiar ripple emanated from him, as if inscribing myriad rites upon this burial mound, causing Li Jun's Victor over Foes to lose its perception and lock on those nearby.

Though the aberration came with sudden ferocity, Li Jun actually still had ample time to react.

Yet he allowed the foe to pile shackle upon shackle upon him, remaining unmoved, as if the one besieged were not himself.

'Yan Dongqing, if you wish to settle scores with me, I grant you this chance—but Jiang Wei has nothing to do with this; let him go.'

'My men are dead, and yours deserve no life either. Today not only he must die, but you too. Jin Wei, this opportunity to win fame and fortune is granted by the chief of our assembly.'

Yan Dongqing cast a contemptuous glance at Li Jun, then his silhouette faded together with the dimming light.

Boom!

From the depths of the azure thunder pool, black‑red lightning burst forth like a sudden surge, instantly shattering the pool to fragments.

Li Jun broke free by force, shattering the ground beneath his feet and shooting straight toward Jiang Wei.

But he was still a step too late.

Pfft!

Scarlet, searing blood spurted from his chest; Jiang Wei lurched forward and collapsed heavily into Li Jun's arms.

His chest was hollow, a gaping wound punched clean through from front to back.

'Brother Jun… it's my fault I came here and disturbed the old master. I'm sorry.'

As his life ebbed away in an instant, Jiang Wei's voice dwindled to a whisper, while the eyes that once faced countless foes without fear now brimmed with earnest pleading.

'Don't… don't drive them away… please… please.'

The mountain wind swept over the rows of fresh graves, carrying a mournful wail like a sobbing cry.

It swooped in from afar, snatching the last glimmer from Jiang Wei's eyes and the words he had yet to finish.

The warrior bereft of his heart could not finish voicing his final lingering concern.

Yet in Li Jun's sight, Jiang Wei's body bore countless pallid wounds and jagged exposed bones, still whispering of the torment he had endured.

Thousands of words choked in his throat, rendering Li Jun unable to utter a single syllable; only the thunderous beat of his own heart filled his ears, surging like a boiling sea.

Rumble!

A thicker bolt of thunder came howling down from the heavens.

Li Jun, standing at the lightning's strike point, ignored the deafening roar above, making no move to dodge; he simply raised his hand and slowly wiped Jiang Wei's unwilling eyes.

Besides that, there was nothing else of note.

Boom!

Ferocious lightning struck Li Jun's shoulder and back, causing the ground within three zhang to sink several inches; the ensuing shockwave overturned a leafless, withered sapling.

The tombstone bearing the characters 'Su Ce' trembled and shook, as if an enraged old man were pointing at Li Jun and cursing without cease.

In the pit suffused with blue smoke, Li Jun gently laid Jiang Wei's corpse flat upon the earth.

Heavenly tracks, stars, the Soaring Swan, Yin‑Yang dreams, Confucian rites—

Visible or invisible, the layers of shackles lay heavy as mountains, yet they could not hold back his body as it slowly straightened, nor could they quell the fury blazing in his breast.

Bang!

Jin Wei's form flickered like a ghost, appearing before Li Jun in the interstice of the lightning's fade.

Now in overdrive, he seemed inhuman—his muscles twisted into terrifying cords, gleaming with the cold hardness of steel; his crimson eyes resembled a demon's, his knuckles jutting like blade‑tips, and he drove them hard into Li Jun's chest.

The crash's roar matched the heavenly thunder's roar; the terrifying force erupting from that special mechanical heart, highly penetrative, tore a rutted gash behind Li Jun.

'Today the slayer of the lord is I, Jin Wei!'

His wild, triumphant laughter met no reply.

Jin Wei, suddenly taken aback, lifted his gaze—only to meet a pair of eyes looking down upon him, devoid of feeling, cold and indifferent.

In an instant, the fear etched deep into his bones rose up like a howl, ravaging Jin Wei's mind.

His overdriven mechanical heart turned to scrap iron, seizing up within his chest.

One arm rose slowly, agonizingly slow, emitting a crack like a bowstring snapping, as if pulling apart invisible chains.

The falling snow melted, the stars dimmed.

The strategists withdrew, the rules collapsed.

All who sensed danger fled without hesitation, leaving only the helpless Jin Wei, who watched helplessly as that hand landed on his punching shoulder.

Click.

Jin Wei's right arm, like a brittle dead twig, was ground inch by inch into fine powder under the converging force.

His left arm was simultaneously wrapped in a blade‑like sharp force, slicing away flesh in strips; even his tough mechanical bone was pared down to fragments as thin as a cicada's wing.

The Hidden God's power, capable of moving the five organs' vital essences, seeped into his body, stimulating the heart of flesh and steel, letting him feel the anguish of lingchi in stark clarity.

After his arms vanished, sensation began to creep slowly up from his legs.

Li Jun walked straight past him, bent down, and gathered the scattered cigarette butts blown by the aftermath, laying them before Su Ce's tomb.

One by one he lit them with his own hands, reverently planting them before the new graves of the Heavenly Void's folk.

It was an offering of incense.

It was also an apology.

Oh!

A colossal beast rose from the mountains of the eastern sub‑court, spreading its wings and flying northward.

Chen Qisheng, armored and sword‑strapped, had eyes like night curtains; his furious spirit could not restrain the true qi bursting from his body, sending forth the resonant clang of clashing blades.

Standing to the side, Zou Sijiu's face twisted into a snarl as he spoke coldly into the empty air.

"Zhang Siyuan, there's nothing more to be said. Today I, Elder Zou, have reached out to you for a single purpose—press your father to tell me exactly who within the Confucian Order belongs to the Spring and Autumn Society, every last one."

"We'll help him exterminate them to the last!"