Though Shen Mange had never truly cultivated the Dao, under Jiang Tian’s guidance, her martial prowess had advanced by leaps and bounds, reaching the level of a minor master of the Transformation Realm.
When she threw that punch, it was like Mount Tai crashing down, collapsing a stretch of void itself. Gale-force winds howled, kicking up sand and stones all around.
With a thunderous boom!
The ape-man couldn’t dodge in time and was sent flying backward.
He spat out a mouthful of blood in misery, shook his dizzy head, and roared in fury: “That’s one ruthless Chinese woman!”
But his fighting spirit only blazed hotter. In the assassin world, he was known as the “Raging Ape-Man”—the higher his fury, the stronger he became, growing ever more tenacious on the battlefield.
“Go to hell!”
A strange green light flickered in his eyes. He threw his arms wide and let out an enraged roar at the sky.
In an instant, his body swelled section by section, shooting up to a towering three meters tall, like an indomitable demon god.
Muscles and sinews bulged like coiling dragons, ripping his shirt apart. His shoes burst open, and his stretchy trousers instantly became shorts.
“ROOOAR!”
With a thunderous bellow, he charged at Shen Mange in great bounding strides.
Each footfall cracked the ground, sent dust flying, and shook the earth like an earthquake.
Shing!
Shen Mange’s expression didn’t even flicker. As if by magic, she drew a precious sword, its blade engraved with strange runes that glowed with golden light.
This was the Flame Gold Sword that Jiang Tian had seized from Hong Tianzhao years ago. After Jiang Tian’s refinement and modification, it could unleash scorching sword aura and energy, amplifying combat power tenfold.
Shen Mange held the sword reversed and dashed toward the ape-man with quick, light steps, picking up speed with every stride.
Finally, she leaped into the air and thrust her sword forward. It was as natural as an antelope hanging its horns—a marvel of effortless grace—and as fleeting as a white pony flashing past a crack. A golden bolt of lightning seemed to streak across the sky.
The sharp, surging sword aura pierced his hide, tough as oxhide, and ran him clean through the chest.
One thrust, through the heart!
The ace of the Night Demon Shadow, ranked eighth on the Asian Assassin Rankings and twenty-third on the global Assassin King List—the mighty Raging Ape-Man—was dead!
“How is this possible!”
Watching this, Ruan Kun was dumbstruck, his face a mask of utter disbelief.
The intel said Shen Mange was merely a martial artist at the Inner Force level—yet she had unleashed sword energy over three meters long! Her dazzling blade aura was razor-sharp, and her swordsmanship was so brilliant it seemed the work of a grandmaster who’d honed the art for decades. Even the ape-man, whom bullets couldn’t kill, had been run through by her sword!
A delicate, tender woman?
A servant and handmaiden of Jiang Tian, with no name on China’s Grandmaster Divine List?
It was almost a ridiculous joke.
His mind rattled, Ghost Leg Kick had already lashed out with the White Ape Bone Whip, which coiled around his neck like a viper.
“HAH!”
Ruan Kun roared, clutching the bone whip with both hands, struggling to break free.
Ghost Leg Kick dashed forward and landed three consecutive kicks in a blur of leg shadows, all of them hammering into Ruan Kun’s chest.
Ruan Kun’s sternum caved in. He spat blood and flew backward, dead on the spot.
The assassins lay scattered all over. The two remaining, seeing the tide had turned, immediately fled for their lives.
“Where do you think you’re going!”
Ghost Leg Kick was in a killing frenzy. With a bellow, he swept his whip in a devastating arc, the wind howling as it lashed toward the two men.
CLANG!
Just as the two were frozen in terror, a crisp metallic clash suddenly rang out.
Like a specter, a sultry, striking figure materialized in the courtyard.
Her fingers seemed to shimmer with an eerie luster as she casually pinched the White Ape Bone Whip between them.
“The Mediterranean Golden Scorpion!”
“We’re saved! The Jiang family is doomed now!”
The assassins’ faces lit up with fanatical reverence, their eyes blazing as if beholding a deity.
The Mediterranean Golden Scorpion—one of the seven giants of the Great Circle—was leagues beyond them in power.
Her arrival instantly restored the assassins’ confidence.
“Hehe, Chinese martial artists? How amusing. But in my eyes, you’re nothing but trash.”
Golden Scorpion gave a seductive smile, dripping with charm.
But a cold gleam suddenly flashed in her azure eyes. With a squeeze of her right hand—crack—the whip snapped in two.
“She broke the White Ape Bone Whip!”
Ghost Leg Kick jolted in shock. He could sense the fierce, sharp aura radiating from Golden Scorpion. And since this whip had been refined by Master Jiang himself, whoever could shatter it was undoubtedly formidable.
“So she’s the Mediterranean Golden Scorpion!” Shen Mange was also taken aback, her heart pounding.
The Mediterranean Golden Scorpion, like Lin Zhenyu, was a Great Circle heavyweight—a metallic-type superhuman with strength rivaling that of veteran Transformation Realm grandmasters.
But Ghost Leg Kick and Shen Mange only flinched for a moment. The next instant, their fighting spirit surged and climbed even higher.
A murderous glint flickered in Ghost Leg Kick’s eyes. He straightened his frame and thundered with an overwhelming presence:
“I am Ghost Leg Kick, servant of Mr. Jiang, ordered to guard the Jiang family. Whoever dares set foot in the Jiang household—killed without mercy!”
“Shen Mange, qin attendant to Mr. Jiang, ordered to guard the Jiang family. Whoever dares take one step into the Jiang household—killed without mercy!”
Shen Mange also stepped forward and gave her stern warning.
“Hehe, how amusing.”
Golden Scorpion clicked along in high heels, gliding with graceful steps. The slit of her skirt revealed pale, tantalizing thighs—she looked like a socialite headed to a masquerade ball, every gesture dripping with allure.
She parted her crimson lips, her husky voice magnetic and enchantingly seductive: “Mr. Jiang truly is a fascinating man. He’s carved a bloody, brutal path through China, and yet so many are willing to lay down their lives for him!”
“Hmph! Master Jiang’s kindness to us is as heavy as a mountain. We will guard the Jiang family with our last drop of blood!”
A gleam of resolve flashed in Ghost Leg Kick’s eyes. With a whoosh, he shot forward and fired three kicks straight at Golden Scorpion’s face.
Shen Mange also charged in with her sword, unleashing a sharp blade aura that slashed like a knife parting water, aimed straight at Golden Scorpion’s lower body.
“Very well. Since you’re asking for death, I’ll grant it!”
Golden Scorpion smiled arrogantly, not even bothering to dodge. She brought her fingers together and slashed.
Shing!
Her fingers instantly transformed into a thin, razor-sharp blade, as fine as a cicada’s wing, and sliced into Ghost Leg Kick’s leg.
Shing!
The protective gale around his leg was torn open. A spray of brilliant crimson bloomed in the air as the blade cut deep to the bone.
In the next instant, Golden Scorpion lunged forward. Her fists shimmered with an eerie metallic sheen and slammed—thud—into Ghost Leg Kick’s chest.
Ghost Leg Kick cried out in pain, spitting blood as he tumbled backward. Midair, he twisted his waist into a kip-up and barely managed to land on his feet.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
She was lightning-fast. It was only now that Shen Mange’s sword energy slashed against her legs.
But the resounding clang! clang! echoed through the air.
Where the sword aura struck, Golden Scorpion’s legs flashed with a metallic gleam. Sparks flew, and the clangor rang out—yet not a single scratch was left on her skin.
“Hiss—!”
“So powerful! She seems far stronger than the Raging Ape-Man!”
Ghost Leg Kick and Shen Mange drew sharp breaths. This woman’s body was incredibly tough—likely harder than steel plates.
“At least you have some eye for talent. Don’t mind if I give you a little lesson!”
Golden Scorpion strolled at ease, languid and relaxed, as if the Jiang family villa were her own garden.
Her raspy, textured voice rang out, dripping with mockery and unbridled arrogance:
“Superhumans have ranks too, from weakest to strongest. D-rank are physically powerful normals—like Olympic champions, for instance. CBA are just beginner-level superhumans. The Raging Ape-Man you killed was only B-rank. Even the mighty Giant Elephant Taisang, who dominates Southeast Asia, is just A-rank. But me? I’m S-rank—as in Super! I’ve already killed several of your Chinese martial grandmasters. So, are you scared?”
“Scared? How ridiculous. Master Jiang’s disciples have never known how to spell the word ‘fear’!”
Blood was gushing from Ghost Leg Kick’s leg, but his fighting spirit only flared higher. He swallowed the blood rising to his throat, let out a tiger-like roar, and charged out wildly, channeling his true qi into the bone whip. The whip straightened into a spear, thrusting straight at Golden Scorpion’s chest.
“KILL!”
Shen Mange also leaped forward with her sword, sending a sharp golden blade aura curling toward Golden Scorpion’s head.
“Courting death!”
Golden Scorpion’s lips curled into a mocking smirk. She met the bone whip with an open palm, lunging forward to dodge the golden sword aura while shoving with explosive force.
Crack! Crack! Crack!
Deafening bursts rang out as the bone whip shattered segment by segment like firecrackers.
Finally, Golden Scorpion’s palm slammed into Ghost Leg Kick’s chest.
He was sent flying again, his sternum caved in, a jet of blood arcing from his mouth like an arrow.
“Senior Ghost!”
Shen Mange cried out in alarm, catching him. But he was barely breathing, his face as pale as gold paper, his pupils dilated. He wouldn’t last much longer.
“Don’t worry about me—stop this demoness!”
Ghost Leg Kick struggled to his feet, blood seeping nonstop from his mouth. Ignoring his gory wounds, he staggered drunkenly toward Golden Scorpion, muttering under his breath:
“I am Ghost Leg Kick, servant of Master Jiang, ordered to guard the Jiang family. Whoever dares—dares take one step inside—killed without mercy!”
“Hehe, such stubborn bones!”
Even Golden Scorpion was slightly moved.
As one of the seven Great Circle giants, she had rampaged across the globe, steeped in bloodshed her whole life. She had seen countless so-called “strong men” who, faced with the threat of death, sensibly chose to discard their dignity and save their own skins.
But Ghost Leg Kick now… truly admirable!
“KILL!”
Shen Mange let out a high-pitched battle cry and shot forward like an arrow. Her thrust was ferocious, all offense and no defense—a suicidal gambit.
“What a lovely little girl. I really didn’t want to kill you, but you seem so eager to die!”
Golden Scorpion reached out and grabbed the Flame Gold Sword. As she twisted it, a grating, teeth-clenching screech filled the air.
“Let go!”
Shen Mange tried to yank the sword free, but it felt as though the blade was lodged in a boulder weighing a thousand tons—she couldn’t budge it an inch.
“But since you’re asking for it, then die!”
Golden Scorpion smiled coldly. A killing gleam flickered in her azure eyes as she brought her fingers together like a blade and slashed at Shen Mange’s neck.
Shen Mange released the sword and scrambled backward, but she couldn’t escape in time.
A terrible scream tore from her throat as the razor-sharp golden finger-blade sliced through her protective aura. Blood sprayed. Her chest was torn open, revealing the pale white of her sternum.
By then, Ghost Leg Kick had attacked again.
Annoyed beyond measure, Golden Scorpion crushed the Flame Gold Sword into pieces with one squeeze, then reached out and grabbed Ghost Leg Kick by the throat, lifting him clear off the ground. Gritting her teeth, she snarled: “You old fool—let’s see just how hard those bones of yours really are!”
“Senior Ghost!”
Drenched in blood, Shen Mange let out a horrified scream and charged again. Golden Scorpion kicked her flying with a single strike.
CRACK!
The sound of bone breaking rang out. Shen Mange crashed hard to the ground, her right arm fractured, her wounds torn open, blood gushing down.
She spat blood, gasping in pain, her vision swimming.
But she forced herself back to her feet. Hair disheveled, drenched in gore like a vengeful spirit, she mustered every last ounce of strength and staggered toward Golden Scorpion, crying out: “I am Shen Mange, qin attendant to Master Jiang, ordered to guard the Jiang family. Whoever dares take one step inside—killed without mercy!”
THUD!
Golden Scorpion kicked her flying again.
And so it went—she rose time after time, only to be struck down again and again.
In the end, Shen Mange was covered in blood, her clothes in tatters, lying on the ground like a blood-soaked gourd. She struggled to get up, but collapsed helplessly once more.
“I am Shen Mange, qin attendant to Master Jiang, ordered to guard the Jiang family…”
Lying flat on her back, her breath barely a whisper, a trail of bloody tears slid down her temples and into her hair.
