Stranger Danger

The flowers of the ground died, whereas the flowers on the flesh bloomed. Humanity was like a dream, and blood lurked within the peony. Hence, its name was “Blood Peony”.

Cheng Xiuyi might not be a Trueman, but no one dared to underestimate him because of his cultivation art. It was called the “Canonical Text of Peony”, and it was invented by a strange man named White Peony centuries ago.

A famous opera actor, White Peony was a man born with a woman’s face. He was an expert in crossdressing as a woman, and he usually played the role of a verdant-clad[1] or a flowery role[2]. Everyone loved his acting, and his verdant-clads and flowery roles were famous throughout the world.

Over time, White Peony decided that he didn’t want to be a man anymore. He wanted to become a woman in both body and heart.

White Peony wasn’t just a genius in opera acting. He was also a one-of-a-kind martial talent. After researching martial arts of all shapes and sizes, he eventually invented an unusual martial art known as the “Canonical Text of Peony”. Those who cultivated it would transform into the other gender. At the adept level, the practitioner would be able to grasp the miracle of life and death and the profoundness of yin yang and gain the ability to change genders at will. They would no longer experience any barriers whatsoever.

Of course, that wasn’t all the “Canonical Text of Peony” was good for. It also contained all sorts of bizarre yet profound techniques that covered one’s offensive and defensive needs.

Of them all, the “Blood Peony” was the most bizarre and profound. The Blood Peony takes root in one’s spirit, draws from one’s vitality, and transmits through the air. Anyone who inhaled its scent would automatically be infested by it.

When the Blood Peonies in the open withered, yin and yang would switch places, and life and death would be reversed. The Blood Peonies would then bloom from the infested and sustain themselves using their spirit and vitality.

So long as the victim did not run out of vitality and spirit, the Blood Peonies would never die. It would keep draining the victim until they were completely dead in both body and spirit.

“To die under the tree peonies, feeding their roots in body and spirit.” It perfectly described the “Blood Peony”’s power.

Feng Xiong and Cheng Xiuyi went all out right from the start.

In comparison, the three men and two women who showed up with Gong Wuwei were far less impressive.

Ye Qing remained calm despite being attacked by seven powerful warriors, however. First, he patted himself like he was brushing off the dust on his shirt. Then Blood Peonies blooming from his body withered in an instant, and the seeds hidden within his body were annihilated by his potent vigor as well.

As Cheng Xiuyi was connected to the Blood Peonies by his heart’s blood, he instantly bled from every orifice and turned as white as a sheet.

With that done, Ye Qing faced Feng Xiong next and threw a punch. Space cracked like a mirror, and the sky-covering eagle was shattered into pieces just like that.

That wasn’t all. Ye Qing’s fist proceeded to slam into Feng Xiong’s palm, and…

Crack!

Feng Xiong’s so-called unbreakable claw crumpled like a wet tissue, and his arms twisted like a mahua. The man himself was flung backward like a broken kite and bowled over countless people in the process.

After sending Feng Xiong flying in one punch, Ye Qing took a step forward. As soon as the sole of his foot made contact with the ground, the earth shuddered, and a powerful shockwave washed out.

The three men and two women charging toward him flew back even faster than when they were charging him. They threw up blood as if they had been struck by lightning.

“Hmm…”

Gong Wuwei’s face was dark. She knew that Ye Qing would prove to be a formidable opponent, but the extent of his strength far surpassed her imagination. She could hardly believe that he had defeated Feng Xiong, Cheng Xiuyi and her subordinates in a single exchange.

Okay, maybe it was asking too much for those who weren’t even Trueman yet to threaten the young man, but Feng Xiong was a veteran, battle-hardened Trueman. Just how strong was the young man that Feng Xiong went down in a single strike?

Her thoughts were still racing when suddenly, her pupils contracted, and the blood drained away from her face. It was because Ye Qing—he was almost fifty meters away from her earlier—had suddenly appeared in front of her. He reached out to grab her head.

Every hair on her skin screamed for her to act. She immediately pushed off the ground and jumped backward. At the same time, she swiped her hand across her hair and threw a hairpin at his forehead like a weapon.

The hairpin murmured and wailed like it was possessed by countless ghosts. It possessed the ability to warp one’s mind.

Gong Wuwei did not think it was enough, however. As she retreated, she channeled her astral qi and summoned the illusion of a pear blossom forest. It both covered her from Ye Qing’s view and acted as a shield.

In one moment, Gong Wuwei had executed three actions in a row, and none of it was meant to wound her opponent. Her only goal was to force him back and buy herself some time.

Unfortunately, her expectations were let down immediately. Her eyes widened in utter shock and disbelief when she realized that everything she did was futile. Her reaction, her speed, her defensive measures, none of it mattered as the distance between herself and her opponent remained the exact same. He was still hovering in front of her almost as if they hadn’t moved a single step.

She could only watch in horror as Ye Qing caught her sharp, ghastly hairpin—a mind-wounding Phenomenon-class Strange Artifact that was carved from a dead person’s bones—between a pair of fingers and snapped it in half like it was a rotten twig. Then, he opened his palm wide and dropped it on top of her pear blossom forest.

The pear blossom forest was incredibly gorgeous. It looked like a forest that had bloomed overnight after a sudden gust of spring wind. Floating at the center of it, Gong Wuwei looked like an ice queen reigning over a kingdom of snow.

The pear blossom forest sensed the threat Ye Qing represented and let loose its flowers at him. They looked like a million arrows shooting at him from every direction.

“A spring wind blows at night, and the flowers bloom like a million arrows.” Hence, it was named the “Plum Blossom Order”.

“Plum Blossom Order” was a protection Magia that transformed one’s spirit and true qi into a plum blossom forest. The plum blossom forest would protect the practitioner, while its flowers would wound the enemy. Therefore, it possessed both offensive and defensive capabilities.

“Plum Blossom Order” was powerful because spatial laws were mixed in it. If the attacker could not destroy the plum blossom forest in an instant and breach its created space, they would never be able to injure the one it was protecting. While this was happening, the forest would unleash plum blossoms that could wound both the physical body and the mind.

Gong Wuwei felt much better after successfully manifesting the plum blossom forest. However, it barely lasted a second before her eyes widened like saucers once more.

Ye Qing’s response toward the sea of plum blossom flowers shooting toward him was to perform a knocking gesture. It was light and gentle like he was rapping his fingers against a wooden door, and yet it stopped the sea of plum blossom flowers dead in their tracks.

Then, he clenched his fingers tightly and dropped it like he was striking something. Space immediately wobbled like someone had chucked a rock into a pool of water.

If the knock was light and gentle, then this punch was the complete opposite. It was gale and thunder all within the span of inches.

As if that wasn’t enough, his transition from stillness to action, weightlessness to weight, soft to hard was perfectly smooth.

Boom!

His fist dropped three inches. That was all it needed to break the world.

The entire plum blossom forest was crushed by the single punch. The flowers flew everywhere like snow.

“Pwack!”

Gong Wuwei coughed up a mouthful of blood, stunned and in disbelief. She could not believe how fragile her prided Magia was before the young man. It had failed to block even a single punch.

She could only watch helplessly as he loosened his fingers once more and made to grab her skull.

1. Role of a middle-aged woman. The characters are mostly married, dignified and elegant women and are mainly the roles of wives and mothers. ☜

2. A lively, vivacious young female character. They normally wear short blouses with pants or skirts. ☜

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