Chapter 415: Can It Be Countered?

CRUNCH. The sickening sound of shattering bone echoed.

Fu Mo instinctively glanced around, searching for the source of the sound. It was only when the excruciating pain registered that he finally looked down at his own fist.

He discovered that half of his fist was gone.

Jagged shards of bone protruded from the flesh. The missing half had been utterly crushed by Jiang Ran.

“AHHH!!!”

Fu Mo’s face twisted in terror. He couldn’t help but scream, his mind reeling in disbelief.

“This is wrong… Why…”

“Because that night, we were inside the Soul Shattering Array. It was shrouded in mist, making it difficult to see anything clearly. In that situation, I naturally wouldn’t use my full strength.”

“You’re a man of the martial world. You should understand the principle of using only thirty percent of your strength while holding back seventy.”

The martial world is ever-changing and fraught with hidden dangers.

Attacking with thirty percent and holding back seventy isn’t about showing mercy. It’s about reserving your strength for the unexpected.

That thirty percent is mostly for probing. If the opponent is nothing special, then killing them is just as well. No great loss.

Only a greenhorn just starting out in the martial world would go all out against an unknown opponent. If that first strike misses, they’re left wide open and at their enemy’s mercy.

But after their fight that night, Jiang Ran had taken Fu Mo’s measure.

So this time, his attack was different.

How could Fu Mo possibly believe that?

He roared, “I’ll tear you limb from limb!”

He took another step forward, but a flash of saber light arced through the air, and an arm went flying.

Jiang Ran sauntered past him. A golden light seemed to flow around him for a moment before vanishing.

The light in Fu Mo’s eyes vanished along with it.

THUD. A head rolled across the ground.

Jiang Ran glanced at the Young Master.

“That’s one.”

The Young Master’s heart clenched, and he couldn’t help but shut his eyes.

‘Something feels wrong…’

But he couldn’t quite put his finger on it.

He couldn’t resist glancing in the direction Man Shengming had gone. His eyes flickered for a long moment before he snapped his gaze back to Jiang Ran.

He saw that Jiang Ran, at some point, had already drawn his Shattered Gold Saber.

He had charged into the fray where Yan Wushuang was fighting Bo Yan, Hai Dan, and Qu Zhi.

With a flash of his saber, he went straight for Qu Zhi.

Qu Zhi and his two companions had been dominating the fight, so they were still aware of their surroundings.

Seeing Jiang Ran approach, Qu Zhi spun around, already mentally prepared. As he watched Jiang Ran’s saber descend, dozens of possible counters flashed through his mind.

‘Dodge, or counterattack.’

But in the next instant, he froze. He realized that against this strike, no counterattack would work. No evasion was possible.

It was an inescapable slash. It was as if Jiang Ran had already drawn a line across his body.

A line between life and death.

‘As long as Jiang Ran’s saber follows that line, no matter what I do…’

‘…I will die today, without a doubt!’

In fact, he was right.

But by the time he realized it, his head had already hit the ground.

Jiang Ran didn’t look at the head, turning instead to the Young Master.

“Well? Could you have broken that strike?”

The Young Master’s pupils contracted violently.

“Perhaps you didn’t get a clear look. I’ll demonstrate it again…”

As he spoke, Jiang Ran was already in front of Hai Dan of the Ghost Sect.

Hai Dan had watched, wide-eyed, as Jiang Ran killed Fu Mo with a single strike, and then Qu Zhi with another.

Killing was as easy as drinking water for him; beheading was like cutting grass.

Seeing this god of death before him, how could he possibly spare another thought for Yan Wushuang?

He immediately executed a Body Technique, preparing to flee.

But it was too late. The moment he activated his Lightweight Technique, Jiang Ran’s blade was already at his throat.

Just as he began to leap into the air, a single slash took his head.

“How about that? Did you see it clearly this time?”

Jiang Ran looked at the Young Master again. “Can you break it? If not… there’s still one left…”

As he said this, he turned to look at Bo Yan of the Divine Sect.

But the spot where his gaze fell was empty.

He paused, startled, and instinctively glanced at Yan Wushuang.

Yan Wushuang was injured and clearly didn’t want to talk. She just lifted a hand and pointed.

Jiang Ran followed her finger and saw that Bo Yan of the Divine Sect had already slipped past the edge of the crowd.

The Lightweight Technique he used was far superior to anyone’s Jiang Ran had ever seen.

He moved like a bolt of lightning, like a crack of thunder.

In the blink of an eye, he had vanished without a trace.

Jiang Ran stood there with his saber, stunned for a moment before sighing.

“This is the problem with not knowing your enemy’s full capabilities.”

“See? He held back an expert Lightweight Technique, and it saved his life…”

“Fortunately, Three Immortals Mountain is now completely surrounded. I doubt it will be so easy for him to get away.”

With that, Jiang Ran slowly walked toward the Young Master.

“So? My saber technique… can *your* Young Master break it?”

The “Young Master” didn’t seem to register the implication at first. With a thoughtful expression, he slowly began to speak.

“Of course he can. The Nine Shocking God Sabers… we’ve already…”

His voice trailed off, getting stuck in his throat.

He stared blankly up at Jiang Ran.

“What did you just say?”

“I said, this saber strike of mine… can *your* Young Master break it?”

He deliberately spoke the words slowly, enunciating “your Young Master” with piercing clarity.

The “Young Master” was horrified.

“How did you know?”

“Why wouldn’t I?”

Jiang Ran sighed softly. “Not only do I know, I also know that he’s about to die.”

“Nonsense!!!”

The “Young Master’s” expression changed drastically.

“The Young Master’s martial arts are unparalleled! And he has the Jiaowei now… Even if you know, so what? What can you possibly do about it?”

Jiang Ran straightened up and called out to Xuanyuan One Slash, who was off to the side.

“One Slash, light the firework.”

“Yes.”

Xuanyuan One Slash immediately took a flare tube from his robes. With a pull, a streak of fire shot into the sky and exploded, forming the image of a saber.

At the same time, Jiang Ran spoke softly to the “Young Master.”

“If I were to tell you that what he has isn’t the Jiaowei Zither at all… would you believe me?”