Han Ling’er had never been insulted like this before, she got agitated and wanted to argue but Zhang Zhi stepped in and blocked her behind his back.
He grasped his chest and feigned a surprised look. “What did you say? You said you want to bring me back and love me? I know it’s love at first sight for you but I don’t like men…”
“You little fu… Retch… ” The Ma Brothers retched almost together.
“I’m not talking about you, you dumb sh*t! I’m talking about the beautiful lady behind you!”
“The beautiful lady behind me?” Zhang Zhi put one of his hands over his backside and shook his head coquettishly.
“My behind is a little heaty lately, so it’s not available…”
Han Ling’er was caught off guard. She was agitated by the insulting comments but Zhang Zhi made her laugh with his quick wits. She knew Zhang Zhi was protecting her because it was not that appropriate for a girl to receive such insults.
She said, “Thank you.”
The two from Blood God Cult were on the verge of losing their minds at Zhang Zhi’s shameless comments. They pounded their hearts and retched ceaselessly.
A moment later, Big Brother ma bellowed, “Kill the guy and take the woman!”
The brothers switched formation and blocked their retreat.
Han Ling’er looked serious, she quickly blocked Zhang Zhi behind her. “Zhang Zhi, stay tight. These two are Foundation Building experts, they should have a certain combination technique together as well. Be careful.”
Even without Han Ling’er’s reminder, Zhang Zhi saw the brothers’ cultivation level the moment they appeared.
The leader, Big Brother Ma, was a Peak Foundation Building cultivator and the second brother was a Late Foundation Building, so even if Han Ling’er was one of the best Late Foundation Building cultivators out there, the situation might not turn out well.
Fortunately, Zhang Zhi was a hidden Foundation Building cultivator and possessed an epic-tier artifact.
“Let’s go!” Big Brother Ma bellowed.
It was then Zhang Zhi shouted back at the man, “Hold on!”
Big Brother Ma grunted. “A Qi Refining cultivator? Are you scared now? Hmph! I’ll spare you for the day, scram!”
Big Brother Ma was not trying to be merciful or whatever, he was just worried that if Zhang Zhi tried to protect Han Ling’er and got into a fight with him, he might accidentally cut Han Ling’er’s face and ruin her looks, which he did not wish to happen.
Therefore he wanted to trick Zhang Zhi away before backstabbing him.
“It’s not that I’m scared, but I think you guys are being unprofessional…” Zhang Zhi’s words shocked everyone, including Han Ling’er.
“What? How am I being unprofessional in killing people?” Big Brother Ma was confused.
“Since you guys don’t look educated, I’ll try to hold back a little. Let me tell you the story of Tian Ji horse racing.”
“You should use your good horse to fight your opponent’s intermediate horse and use your intermediate horse to fight the weaker horse. Then, you can win everything at once.”
“Now, since it’s a two on two situation here, I would suggest that the most professional way is Big Brother Ma, the Peak Foundation Building versus me, a Qi Refining cultivator; then Second Brother Ma, a Late Foundation Building will stall this beautiful beside me.”
“Then, once Big Brother Ma kills me easily, you will be able to back up your little brother and turn it around into a two on one. With this, you will be able to get the best out of the situation.”
Zhang Zhi smiled after he explained but Han Ling’er looked as pale as paper. She asked, “Zhang Zhi, what are you trying to do?”
She was not trying to blame Zhang Zhi for giving the enemy an idea to win the fight, she was confused why Zhang Zhi wanted to get himself killed by fighting the Peak Foundation Building Big Brother Ma.
Zhang Zhi signaled Han Ling’er with an assuring gaze but he did not explain why he did it.
The Ma Brothers exchanged a quick glance. Even though they did not know what went wrong with the Qi Refining guy, the idea he suggested was indeed the perfect way.
Separating Zhang Zhi and Han Ling’er would ensure the protection of Han Ling’er’s beautiful face and Big Brother Ma would be able to kill Zhang Zhi easily.
As for Zhang Zhi’s strength, Big Brother Ma did not take it seriously.
Big Brother Ma cackled. “I’ll leave you with an intact body just because you gave me the best idea!”
Zhang Zhi smiled. Big Brother Ma wanted to separate him and Han Ling’er and he too wanted to do the same to the brothers. Han Ling’er suspected that the brothers had some kind of combination technique, so to win, Zhang Zhi must separate them.
His true plan was: pit Han Ling’er against Second Brother Ma since the two of them were at the same cultivation level and he himself decided to use the epic-tier artifact against Big Brother Ma.
Han Ling’er might stand a chance against Second Brother Ma and even if Zhang Zhi could not defeat Big Brother Ma, he would be able to stall the man and wait for Han Ling’er’s support once she killed the second brother.
The method was risky but it was probably the only way out of the situation.
Han Ling’er was smart enough to know what Zhang Zhi was planning. She wanted to speak her mind but it ended up as a reminder for Zhang Zhi. “Don’t die on me.”
She then lunged herself towards Second Brother Ma and fought him with all she had. She had to kill the man as soon as possible to support Zhang Zhi.
Han Ling’er got tangled up with Second Brother Ma. She originally thought of using the Golden Gore talisman to end the battle quickly but to her surprise, Second Brother Ma had a trump card out of his sleeve as well.
The man took out a black shield and blocked the attack of the talisman, allowing him to emerge unscathed.
After Big Brother Ma knew that his brother was not in danger, he lifted his saber and walked to Zhang Zhi with an evil grin. “It’s not easy to live a life. Why don’t I make you a deal? I’ll let you hit me with your best attack so that you can die in peace knowing that you tried to defend your own puny life.”
“Are you sure you want to let me hit you first? I’ve never fought others before, what if I miss?” Zhang Zhi acted shyly like how a rookie would. He was also telling the truth because he had never used his flying sword to attack people.
Big Brother Ma cackled. He shook his head and said, “Don’t worry, just bring it on!”
Zhang Zhi said nervously, “Okay! Here I go!”
“Bring it on!” Big Brother Ma put his saber in front of his chest. He might look arrogant and confident but he was actually putting up a defensive stance and concentrated on taking the attack.
As an experienced cultivator, he knew the saying of giving it your best at the smallest task. The reason why he allowed Zhang Zhi to hit him first was because he wanted to test Zhang Zhi’s strength.
Big Brother Ma felt delighted at the thought of it.
Zhang Zhi tapped the pouch at his waist. “Flying sword, unsheath!”
Big Brother Ma raised his saber and swung it down forward, he wanted to strike the flying sword down but he missed and lost his balance. There was no flying sword at all.
He looked at Zhang Zhi with a confused look.
Embarrassed, Zhang Zhi said, “I’m so sorry, it’s still very new to me. Again!”
“Flying sword, unsheath!” He tried again several times but failed to summon anything out of the pouch. He tapped the pouch anxiously and looked embarrassed.
Big Brother Ma sighed a breath of relief after the scene. He now believed Zhang Zhi was a rookie because he could not even control the flying sword.
He cackled. “Forget it, I think you should go to the Netherworld…”
Before his words subsided, a golden light flew out from Zhang Zhi’s pouch, and with a sharp whistle, it went through Big Brother Ma, who had lowered his guard. The light was so fast that Big Brother Ma did not even see what happened.
He was stunned and he started to sweat nervously. ‘What was that? A flying sword? Why was it so fast? I couldn’t even react to it!’
Big Brother Ma anxiously searched his body but after touching almost every part, he did not find a cut or injury. He sighed a breath of relief because it seemed like the golden light missed him.
He glared at Zhang Zhi. He did not expect a puny Qi Refining cultivator to have some godly weapon in his possession and he almost fell because of it. Fortunately, Zhang Zhi was a rookie and could barely control his flying sword.
He clenched his teeth and looked fierce. “You are asking for it!”
Zhang Zhi sighed. He had never learned any sword-controlling techniques, he thought the surprise attack could take out Big Brother Ma with a single hit but he did not expect it to miss as it went through the man’s crotch.
Just when Zhang Zhi wanted to re-summon Nouveau Riche and fight Big Brother Ma face to face, Big Brother Ma suddenly looked sour. He looked down at his crotch and realized it was bleeding.
“Aaaaah!” Big Brother Ma grasped his crotch and rolled on the ground in pain.
Zhang Zhi was stupefied. He thought he missed but it seemed like he hit something more important. He scratched his head awkwardly and said, “I told you this was my first time, my accuracy is pretty lousy…”
Big Brother Ma was helpless. He too believed it was Zhang Zhi’s first time but beginner’s luck allowed Zhang Zhi to hit his private part.
He shouted with gnashing teeth, “You little bastard, I’ll rip you to shreds!”
Big Brother Ma struggled to get up on his feet and prepared to deliver a deadly strike but the golden light flew over his neck.
Zhang Zhi held Nouveau Riche in his hand. The flying sword was so bright that it looked like a midnight sun, it was difficult to look at it.
Big Brother Ma was petrified. He did not expect he would fail in the hands of a puny Qi Refining cultivator. However, he did not care about his failure anymore, he was captivated by the sword in Zhang Zhi’s hand.
He asked with a hoarse voice, “An epic-tier artifact? Is there a name?”
Dying under the blade of an epic-tier artifact felt worth it to Big Brother Ma.
“The name is Nouveau Riche.” Zhang Zhi used the sword’s power in front of Big Brother Ma, hence revealing the sword’s true tier. Since Big Brother Ma was dying, he too did not keep it a secret.
Big Brother Ma looked strange. What should he say when he arrives in the Netherworld? Got killed by a sword with a lame name?
It was a grieving end. Before he could say anything else, his head fell off his shoulder. The expert of Peak Foundation Building was dead.
Zhang Zhi sighed a breath of relief. He actually thought of stalling Big Brother Ma with his Nouveau Riche and waited for Han Ling’er’s backup. He did not expect to accidentally kill the man.
Second Brother Ma saw the scene while fighting Han Ling’er, he squealed in pain, “Big Brother!”
He endured a slash from Flying Swan sword but also managed to shake Han Ling’er off. He glared at Zhang Zhi with a grudgeful gaze.
“Zhang Zhi, watch out!” Han Ling’er could not back Zhang Zhi up in time, so she warned him immediately.
Zhang Zhi noticed Second Brother Ma gave in to his killing urge. He held Nouveau Riche in his hand and revealed his true power. The power of a Foundation Building cultivator gushed out, he did not dodge or avoid Second Brother Ma, instead, he performed a forward thrust with his sword.
Second Brother Ma learned that Zhang Zhi had a powerful weapon in hand, so he lifted his shield, attempting to take a hit from it. To his surprise, the shield that could block a Golden Core talisman attack was cut in half like paper by Nouveau Riche.
Zhang Zhi continued his thrust and went through Second Brother Ma’s body.
The man did not even get the chance to say his last word and ended up in two pieces, like his shield. He too followed his brother’s footsteps to the Netherworld.
Zhang Zhi killed Second Brother Ma in a single strike.
He lifted his dazzling golden sword and when it was placed together with his rigid looks, he looked like he came from the heavens.
Han Ling’er came over and looked at him in awe as if she no longer knew Zhang Zhi.
She was still thinking about protecting Zhang Zhi but things turned out the other way; Zhang Zhi killed the Ma Brothers alone.
On top of that, Han Ling’er sensed the power of Early Foundation Building from Zhang Zhi when he performed the final strike.
The first day she knew Zhang Zhi, he was still normal and it had not been that long since they both first met.
The most shocking thing was Zhang Zhi’s sword, it was an epic-tier artifact!
If the epic-tier artifact was some treasure left behind by some ancient master, she would be able to accept it, but she watched Zhang Zhi forge the sword out of his blacksmith a few days ago!