Hou Bei Longs knife burst forth with a mad and violent force born from fear, terror, and trembling, as he used his signature move "Duan Po Hua Shan" to slash down at Cheng Yong.

  Cheng Yong raised his palms, and the front and back intersected, just about to hard-press and knock away the long knife. His martial arts skills were far superior to Meng Qis, and his eyesight was equally so, with perfect timing for each move. However, as soon as he lifted his iron palm, it triggered the injury on his left chest, causing fresh blood to flow out faster, slowing down his movements, and his palms momentarily lost strength, allowing the long knife to break through and slash towards his face.

  He was a seasoned veteran, calm in the face of danger, and rolled backwards to dodge Meng Qis attack. Meng Qi, lacking combat experience, hesitated for a moment and failed to seize the opportunity to counterattack as Cheng Yong rolled on the ground.

  Cheng Yong lazily kicked his legs halfway, with both palms pressing on the ground, like a toad. His right foot suddenly kicked out towards the back and upper side, pointing directly at the imaginary enemys chest.

  This was his ultimate move that had turned defeat into victory after being forced to roll over many times, and he wanted to use it again to end the battle.

  His right foot touched empty air, and Cheng Yong borrowed the momentum to jump up. Just in time to see that red-lipped and white-toothed little monk was thinking of chasing but didnt dare to chase, looking at him with a novice-like appearance, who had never had any experience in fighting.

  Damn it! Cheng Yong cursed inwardly, his usually reliable finishing move had failed because his opponent was a rookie from the jianghu, causing him to miss the opportunity to counterattack. This made him feel extremely frustrated, and after the intense movements earlier, he felt that the wound on his chest was getting worse, with more blood flowing out, already feeling weak, and seeing stars in front of his eyes, as if everything would turn black at any moment.

  "No, we need to treat the wound first." Although he had taken the Heart-Seizing Pill and become impulsive and reckless, and was also afraid of the medicines torment and didnt dare disobey Master Yins orders, Cheng Yong still had his normal rationality, otherwise those controlled leaders of various sects would have been seen through long ago.

  At this time, he clearly knew that if he didnt treat the wound, after a few dozen more breaths, he would probably fall into a coma again and become a fish on the cutting board of Little Monk.

  Just as he was about to tear off his collar to bandage the wound, he suddenly heard the little monk let out a dissatisfied low growl and quickly stepped forward, with his long knife chopping again!

  Damn it, why didnt you chase earlier? Cheng Yong had no choice but to gather his spirits and exchange blows with Meng Qi, trying to end the battle as soon as possible to tend to his wounds.

  Jiang Zhiwei sat on the ground, leaning against the stone gate, and saw Meng Qis movements like a mad tiger, one knife faster than another. Although there was no pattern, he won with his long knife and great strength. Under Cheng Yongs heavy injury, his martial arts had greatly decreased, and his body shape was slow. For a time, he couldnt grasp the gap between the knife moves to get close to Meng Qi.

  "Random boxing kills the teacher...". Jiang Zhiwei suddenly thought of this proverb, and then she had an idea, shouting loudly: "Slant upwards and stir."

  Although she was hit in the lower abdomen, she was temporarily powerless, but after opening her eyes, her eyesight was still there, and she could naturally see the flaws in Cheng Yongs movements. Moreover, at this time, Cheng Yongs speed was slow, allowing her to "point out" Meng Qi, otherwise, when high-ranking masters fought, it would be a flash of lightning, and before she could even speak, the opportunity would have been missed.

  Meng Qi made a series of swift slashes, and suddenly found himself with an aura like a raging storm, forcing Cheng Yong to retreat in disarray, his heart filled with the illusion that he was a top-notch master.

  "This is the Chaotic Wind Blade Technique, huh..." Meng Qi thought to himself, feeling slightly pleased. Of course, he was still well aware that this wasnt actually the Chaotic Wind Blade Technique, but rather his own "Chaotic Hacking Blade Technique". If not for Cheng Yong being heavily injured, he would have been struck down on the spot a long time ago.

  "Slanting upwards, sweep." Suddenly, Meng Qi heard Jiang Zhiweis voice, but in the first real battle, and without any experience of cooperating with Jiang Zhiwei, Meng Qi really couldnt transform what he heard into thoughts in his brain at the first time, and then quickly react to it with his hands.

  On the other side, Cheng Yong naturally heard Jiang Zhiweis voice, his heart moved, and he swiftly struck Meng Qis abdomen.

  A flash of knife light, blood spurted out, Cheng Yong covered his left arm, stumbling and rolling back.

  Then, the carp leaped up, glaring at Meng Qi. Just now, it had pounced directly onto the long knife that Meng Qi was wielding horizontally, severely injuring its left fin.

  What about the "slanting upwards" you mentioned?

  Meng Qi responded with an innocent face to his angry gaze, probably also understanding the change just now, and deliberately said: "Sorry, I reacted too slowly and disappointed you."

  Pffft, Cheng Yong spat out a mouthful of blood.

  "Haha." Jiang Zhi covered her belly, laughing so hard she was almost in hysterics. I knew it would be like this! Haha, even if I were to die with Little Monk, Id still die from laughter!

  Cheng Yongs anger surged, his right hand formed a sword finger and poked at his chest several times, the fresh blood stopped immediately. Although the wound was too deep, he knew this was only a temporary solution to stop the bleeding, and after ten breaths, the wound would erupt again, and by then, it might be fatal. But he couldnt care about that anymore, if he continued to entangle with this despicable little monk, he might be dragged to death or suffocated!

  As soon as Meng Qi saw Cheng Yongs movement and the expression that seemed to have an irreconcilable feud with himself, his smile converged, and his heart slowly sank, knowing that there would be a life-and-death distinction next.

  A heavy pressure enveloped him, and then he unconsciously moved forward, swinging his sword in a vertical slash.

  Jiang Zhiwei stopped her laughter, supporting herself on the stone gate, and struggled to get up to help Meng Qi. However, her dantian was the foundation of her stored energy, and even though it hadnt been severely damaged, she had still suffered a significant injury. For the time being, she couldnt calm down her scattered true energy.

  Cheng Yongs wound was temporarily stopped from bleeding, his feet stumbled, and he received a heavy blow to his left hand. His right hand drew a semicircle, facing Meng Qis long knife, as if wanting to enter the white blade empty-handed.

  Meng Qi whispered "not good" and used all his strength to change the vertical chop into a slanting slash, dodging Cheng Yongs right hand. However, he was pressed down by Cheng Yongs left hand on the blade, and with great force, he involuntarily retreated several steps.

  Taking advantage of the situation, Cheng Yong followed closely, his palms repeatedly piercing Meng Qis knife aura. For a moment, Meng Qi was in a precarious situation, and if not for Cheng Yong still being mindful of the long knifes sharpness and himself unable to withstand another severe injury, Meng Qi would have been killed by his palm.

  No way, if we delay any further, Ill definitely be the one to die! A huge sense of foreboding and the shadow of death struck Meng Qis heart, causing his eyes to redden slightly, while his long knife continued to dance wildly in his hand, but his mind was a jumble of thoughts.

  "Why didnt I ever learn swordsmanship?" Meng Qi thought to himself, if he had learned the basics of sword fighting, with Cheng Yongs current condition, even if he was not proficient, he could at least hold his ground and wait for Cheng Yongs injuries to relapse or Jiang Zhi to finish her meditation. But now, all he could do was slash wildly! For a moment, he felt deeply dejected.

  The knife method hasnt even entered the door... Suddenly, a flash of inspiration flashed through Meng Qis mind, and then he thought of Cheng Yongs attempt to snatch the knife earlier.

  He gritted his teeth, his eyes bulging out of their sockets, and the long knife chopped down again, as if he was determined to perish together with Cheng Yong.

  Cheng Yong snorted inwardly and drew a circle with his right hand, while his left hand met it, sandwiching the knife body, and Meng Qis vigorous force had exhausted him, leaving no room to change the knifes momentum.

  The long knife was pinched by Cheng Yongs palms, and it fell into his hands instantly. Just as Cheng Yong used force to snatch the knife backwards, he felt that the space in front of him was empty, and he was only exerting strength against the air!

  No good! This made him lose his balance all at once, and he stumbled slightly, while staring in astonishment as the little monk took two steps forward with a stern expression, and struck out with his left fist.

  Changdao had just entered Cheng Yongzhis hands when Meng Qi let go of his right hand and directly abandoned the long knife!

  Then, he took advantage of Cheng Yongs chest and abdomen being wide open, and with his left hand, he made a "Black Tiger Piercing the Heart" from the Arhat Fist!

  Bang, Meng Qis left fist heavily hit the wound on Cheng Yongs chest, instantly, the wound burst open, and fresh blood spurted out like a waterfall, splashing Meng Qi all over his head, face, and body.

  Cheng Yongs throat emitted a low, guttural sound, his hands grasping the long knife tightly as he took several steps back, his face frozen in an expression of incredulous shock as he stared at Meng Qis blood-stained face.

  How could he have been killed by a little monk who only knew how to flail about wildly, when his own martial arts skills were so mediocre?

  Plop! Cheng Yong fell face up and landed with a thud, kicking up clouds of dust. His eyes were wide open, staring blankly into space, refusing to close even in death.

  "Hahaha!" Meng Qi burst into a mad laughter, fear, dread, repression, and trembling all poured out, accompanied by his blood-stained face and body, making him look even more ferocious. "I may not know swordsmanship, but I know fist techniques! Youre stupid!"

  After laughing loudly for a while, Meng Qi panted heavily, feeling that his whole body was exhausted and extremely tired.

  "Little monk, youve broken the rule of speech, how can you call yourself old...?" With the great enemy gone, Jiang Zhiwei also let out a breath and was overjoyed, laughing and joking, but she couldnt bring herself to say the two words "old man".

  "Even if I had died, the Buddha would have been happy for me and wouldnt have blamed me..." Meng Qi said with a clear conscience, "Jiang, hows your injury?"

  As he was about to turn around, Jiang Zhi hastily stopped him: "Dont worry about me first, pick up my sword and give him a blow to the brow, just in case of a fake death ambush."

  Similar situations, Jiang Zhiwei had been taught how to handle them.

  Meng Qi nodded, took a few steps back, and with his eyes fixed intently on Cheng Yong, he squatted down to pick up Jiang Zhiweis long sword. Then, with great care, he slowly approached Cheng Yong and stabbed the sword at his brow from a distance.

  The long sword pierced through his brow, Meng Qi completely relaxed, and Cheng Yong was dead beyond dead!

  "Little monk, youre very talented. In your first real battle, you were able to remain calm and seize the initiative, setting up a trap and overcoming your fear, switching from sword to fist and landing a fatal blow. You may become a great master in the future."

  "Heh heh." Hearing Jiang Zhiweis praise, Meng Qi couldnt help but smile foolishly, feeling a little proud of himself. It seemed that he wasnt a total failure at learning martial arts after all!

  At this time, the blood on the ground suddenly squirmed and turned into words:

  "Jiang Zhiwei and Zhengding saved Cheng Yong from the control of the Heart-snatching Pill, completing one of the branch tasks. Each was rewarded with ten merits."

  Is that okay? Meng Qi and Jiang Zhi looked at each other in dismay, as if they had both heard the others inner voice. Killing each other was also a way of salvation?

  But thinking carefully, being controlled by the Heart-Grabbing Pill is indeed worse than death!

  "Our previous analysis was a bit off, so where can we find help?" Jiang Zhi furrowed her brow slightly, "Or perhaps we dont need help?"

  Meng Qi said in puzzlement and distress: "Then whats the point of this side quest..."

  "Perhaps its meaningless." Jiang Zhiwei suddenly exclaimed, "Oh no, Qi Jie!"