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Chapter 69: Blue Demon Hand

A splash erupted from the lake, and Kung Fu Frog shot into the sky like a star. Hands put together in a double palm strike pose and a ball of deadly force spinning wildly between its palms, it threw its hands forward and said,

“CROAAAAAAAAAAAAK!”

A pure white pillar streaked toward Yan Tieyi’s back. The gang boss had not anticipated the Malice-class Stranger, but he did not panic. He charged his right sleeve with true qi to protect himself from Kung Fu Frog’s attack and continued attacking Ye Qing with his left hand!

For a moment, it looked like Ye Qing was going to take a direct hit even if Kung Fu Frog’s surprise attack was successful. Then, Yan Tieyi’s vigor suddenly churned as if some sort of invisible force was wrestling for control. Although he was able to suppress the strange occurrence immediately, his movements and techniques slowed down just a fraction of a second, and in a battle like this, a fraction of a second could mean the difference between life and death.

Crack!

Kung Fu Frog’s energy blast struck Yan Tieli squarely in the back. Although he was protected by a layer of true qi, Kung Fu Frog was a Malice-class Stranger and equal to a human Vessel Augmentor in terms of cultivation level. As a result, the energy blast snapped Yan Tieyi’s back like a twig and sent him sailing through the air like a ragged doll, a trail of blood spewing out of his mouth.

Pop!

Ye Qing did not allow the golden opportunity to pass him by. He immediately kicked off the air and caught up to Yan Tieyi in just the blink of an eye. At this point, it was clear that the gang boss was as good as dead, but he wasn’t dead just yet. Fear flashing in his eyes when Ye Qing appeared right in front of him, he attempted to channel his remaining true qi for one last gambit.

Unfortunately, he failed. Once again, his vigor churned unnaturally and interrupted his final move for just a fraction of a second. Then, a blinding light sent his vision spiraling all over the place.

It took Yan Tieyi a few seconds to realize what just happened. Oh, he cut off my head,

he thought numbly. The second last thing he saw was his headless body exploding into a brilliant shower of light and fire, and the last thing he saw was Ye Qing gathering his blood into a condensed ball that looked like red amber on one hand and catching his head with the other.

Yan Tieyi, Iron Shirt Yan of Anyang and leader of the Iron Shirt Gang, did not pass away peacefully. He never figured out why a Stranger was hiding in his lotus lake, and he never figured out why his vigor had suddenly spiraled out of control twice during the last moment. Perhaps Ye Qing might have enlightened him if he was able to maintain his consciousness a few seconds longer, but alas, it was not meant to be. And so he went to the afterlife without ever getting his answers.

“Finally!” Ye Qing placed Yan Tieyi’s head on the ground and let out a sigh of relief after he finally landed on his feet.

The gang boss had turned out to be a far more formidable opponent than expected, and he had to use everything he had to barely defeat him at the last moment. His current repertoire of skills had proven inadequate to to kill Yan Tieyi in short order, so he had no choice but to win by endurance and deplete his foe’s reserves little by little. Even then, the gang boss had nearly turned it around with his Strange Artifact. It just goes to show that he still had a long way to go.

Fortunately, he had prepared sufficiently for the battle and even brought Kung Fu Frog with him just in case. While he was fighting against Yan Tieyi, the Malice-class Stranger had snuck its way to the lotus lake and hid at the bottom. After that, it waited until Ye Qing gave it the signal before springing a surprise Kamehameha at Yan Tieyi.

Of course, even that might have proven to be insufficient if he hadn’t figured out how to affect his opponent’s vigor through his Blood Shadow Magic. But all’s well that ends well, so that was that.

“No time to waste,” Ye Qing muttered before swallowing the blood he had ripped out of Yan Tieyi’s body just now. This wasn’t over until he had taken full control of the Iron Shirt Gang. As soon as the blood went down his throat, an unbelievable amount of energy immediately spread to every corner of his body.

It was like a sun was burning inside his stomach. Hot air began flushing out of his pores, and his skin turned as red as a furnace. He heated up so much that the air around him became heavily distorted.

“Damn! That’s a lot of vigor!” Ye Qing exclaimed in surprise. Not only that the vigor was as refined as it was potent. Then again, this was the essence of a middle-stage Vessel Augmentor he was absorbing. It made sense that it was worth at least one silver dragon-serpent rune.

Slosh…

He could hear his own blood running rapidly inside his veins, and his bones cracking and popping like they were filled with thunder. His sweat turned into steam as soon as they left his body and temporarily shrouded him from view.

Boom!

The next moment, he discharged a shockwave that was so powerful that it threw entire chunks of earth into the air. Everything within ten meters of him was wiped clean like the ground zero of a terrible explosion.

When the shockwave finally subsided, Ye Qing was standing at the center of a massive pit. His eyelids fluttered open to reveal a pair of shining eyes that resembled the sun and the moon. His aura was spinning wildly around his person, and every inhale and exhale seemed to trigger a mini typhoon. It was like he wasn’t a human, but a gigantic dragon.

It didn’t last forever, however. Ye Qing continued to breathe in and out until his aura had become fully stabilized. A couple more breaths later, and his presence became as peaceful and warm as before.

“Good, good! I’ve gotten a little stronger than before!” Ye Qing declared with satisfaction. Yan Tieyi’s vigor hadn’t just healed him completely, he was a step closer to the next level as well.

“Croak!”

It was at this moment Kung Fu Frog called out to Ye Qing and leaped out of the lake. It then spat out two items in front of him. The first item was a shell-like item. It was of course Yan Tieyi’s Nature’s Shell. The second item was none other than the bluish black glove that had come so very close to driving him into a dead end.

The two items had fallen into the lake when he shattered Yan Tieyi’s body earlier. As his first priority after killing the gang boss was to recover his strength, he thought he could grab them after he was ready. Kung Fu Frog had saved him some time and energy by grabbing them for him.

“Thanks, Brother Frog! This is your reward!” Ye Qing grinned at his friend and tossed it a jar of Pear Blossom wine. The Malice-class Stranger immediately caught the jar, croaked twice in thanks and started chugging down the delicious wine like no tomorrow. It really was a hopeless drunkard.

“Hehe…” Ye Qing chuckled fondly and put away Yan Tieyi’s Nature’s Shell. Then, his gaze landed on the bluish black glove.

The bluish black glove looked almost like an ordinary glove as it was no longer shining ominously or on fire. However, the mysterious patterns across its fabric and a dim but still discernible glow proved that it was anything but that. In fact, Ye Qing could tell that it was way, way better than the Skinner or the Burial Shirt Of The Dead, so much so that they did not even belong in the same league.

“What is this Strange Artifact called? What does it do?” Ye Qing asked in a soft voice after taking out the Annon Sutra and cutting his finger over the vellum.

The Annon Sutra glowed darkly for over ten breaths before it finally manifested the familiar text. Ye Qing was happy to see this because it meant that the Strange Artifact was very valuable.

“The Blue Demon Hand is a Red-class Strange Artifact made from the scalp of the Hatred-class Stranger, the Blue Demon. It took ten years to sear a Hundred Poison into the scalp using the Netherflame. The day it was complete, the sky rained blood, the Netherflame spread, and its one Hundred Poison turned everything within five kilometers of the Strange Artifact into an empty wasteland. So deadly were its flame and poisons that not even the remains of its victims were left behind.”

“Unfortunately, the Blue Demon Hand is such an evil and unholy Strange Artifact that the heavens cast lightning upon it and damaged its roots. As a result, it degraded into a Red-class Strange Artifact.”

“The wielder of the Blue Demon Hand gains extreme resistance to conventional weapons, water and fire. It can also unleash the Netherflame and the Hundred Poison. The Netherflame can ignite anything, rot flesh and blood, corrode energy, and scorch a person’s innards. The Hundred Poison is a shapeless, formless poison that can diminish one’s vigor, damage the blood vessels, and destroy one’s bodily points.”

“Every month, the wielder of the Blue Demon Hand must offer up their heart’s blood one time. Otherwise, it would burn its wielder with the Netherflame. Moreover, the wielder must not use it for over thirty breaths, or they would be poisoned by the Hundred Poison!”

“This is incredible!” Ye Qing’s eyes lit up with barely controlled excitement. The Red-class Strange Artifact was already incredibly powerful, but it had the potential to become even stronger than it currently was! According to the Annon Sutra, the original Blue Demon Hand was so powerful and unholy that the heavens decided it was too much and damaged its roots, downgrading it to a Red-class Strange Artifact. Assuming it could be restored to its original form, would it become a Malice-class Strange Artifact? Maybe even a Hatred-class? How much stronger would it become if it was a Hatred-class Strange Artifact? He could hardly imagine!

Even better, the Strange Artifact’s side effects and limitations were practically non-existent to him. For most warriors, having to offer their heart’s blood at least once a month was a massive loss. After all, the heart’s blood was the culmination of a warrior’s essence, qi and spirit. To sacrifice even one drop of it would damage their foundation and mandate a long period of recovery. However, this side effect did not apply to him because he was overflowing with vigor and true qi, and he could replenish himself with the dragon-serpent runes whenever necessary. He could literally drown the Strange Artifact in heart’s blood if he wanted to.

Hell, if he could satisfy a bonafide bloodsucker like the Annon Sutra, why would he fear a mere Blue Demon Hand?

Onto its limitation, the Blue Demon Hand would poison its wielder with the Hundred Poison if it was used over thirty breaths. However, the Hundred Poison was useless against him because he had consumed the Fruit of Life. This was already proven when Yan Tieyi tried to poison him earlier to no avail, meaning that this limitation might as well not exist to him!

The Blue Demon Hand was unquestionably a deadly Strange Artifact. Most people would hesitate to use it even if its power was substantial. But to him? The Blue Demon Hand was a purely beneficial Strange Artifact that drastically elevated his combat power. One might even say that the Strange Artifact was tailor-made for him!

“Hehehe! I really am the heavens’ favored son! Thanks dad!”

Ye Qing let out a silly laugh and wore the Blue Demon Hand over his left hand immediately. Once he was done injecting his heart’s blood into the Strange Artifact, he proceeded to replace Yan Tieyi’s imprint in the glove with his own. And just like that, the Blue Demon Hand was well and truly his!

Ye Qing tried moving his left hand around after putting on the Blue Demon Hand. It felt as if the glove didn’t even exist. His fingers moved as smoothly as ever, and there was a firm connection between himself and his mind. A single thought was all he needed to channel its Netherflame or its Hundred Poison.

Suddenly, Ye Qing paused his experiment and hid his left hand within his sleeve. He then said, “Come out!”

“M… Master Ye?” Jie Chen walked out of the shadows and stared at the backyard that had been ravaged so thoroughly he could scarcely recognize it. He swallowed audibly before asking in a fearful tone, “Where… Where is Boss Yan?”

He had rushed over as soon as he heard no noise coming from the battlefield. He wanted to know who had emerged victorious. If Yan Tieyi had won, then an early warning could be the difference between life and death. And if Ye Qing had won, then all’s well that ends well, of course!

He wasn’t expecting Ye Qing to discover him before he even showed himself though.

Ye Qing stepped aside to reveal the head hidden behind his back. “Oh him? He’s over here!”

“He’s dead… he’s actually dead…” Jie Chen exclaimed in shock and disbelief. He was a man of few fears, but even he could not help but stagger backward at the sight of Yan Tieyi’s head, trembling.

The corners around Ye Qing’s lips turned up a little. “What? Were you hoping that he’d live? Or should I say, were you hoping that I’d die?”

“A-Absolutely not! That is definitely not what I meant!” Jie Chen denied immediately even as he turned to stare at Ye Qing in disbelief. He wasn’t just surprised that Ye Qing had killed Iron Shirt Yan, he could clearly sense that the young man was stronger than before. That made no sense since he had just fought a great battle against Yan Tieyi, and yet his senses clearly stated otherwise.

It was at this moment Jie Chen finally remembered the second reason he came here and said, “Oh right, the rest of the Hallmasters are already here. Tao Xian won’t be able to hold them back for much longer!”

“Perfect timing!”

Ye Qing’s grin widened. “Tell them that the boss will see them at the main hall!”

“At once!” Jie Chen left immediately.