Desperados Attack - Chapter 57 - Karma Fire

A strange man at Nine Star Manor?

Hearing the chatter of the maids, Su Xinghe, puzzled, turned to Tu Ning’er and asked, “Are you holding up?”

Tu Ning’er’s forehead was already shattered, making speaking extremely difficult, but she still managed to reply to Su Xinghe, “I’m fine, I’m fine. I never thought that after a life filled with words and excitement, I would face such cold indifference in death.”

Su Xinghe had nothing to say. He had no feelings for Tu Ning’er. Even if she were to die in front of him, he wouldn’t be saddened; he would merely see to it that her body was buried.

…

No one paid attention to Su Xinghe and Tu Ning’er’s conversation; their focus was solely on this strange man.

He had slender, jade-like hands, a pale face with a touch of redness, and most of his elongated face was covered by his hair, exuding an air of nonchalance.

“Who are you?” asked a person in a light yellow dress, looking at the strange man in a black robe.

“Who I am is of no importance; you just need to know that my intentions are for the Manor’s good.”

He spoke methodically and then continued, “There is no need to be anxious because of me; why not capture this Shu Mountain’s lead disciple first?”

“Shu Mountain? Disciple?” Su Xinghe felt puzzled, looking at the stranger’s face. He didn’t recognize him, yet the man seemed to know everything about him, which made him curious.

“Are you a disciple of Shu Mountain?” asked the lady in the light yellow dress.

“I see, Sixth Sister, don’t waste words on him. Shu Mountain’s ambition is not small, sending someone to cause trouble at our Nine Star Manor.”

Su Xinghe’s heart sank, thinking, “Oh no, what should I do? After all this hiding, they’ve still found out. If I don’t silence them now, they’ll ruin Shu Mountain’s reputation in the central plains’ martial arts world later on. What should I do?”

Sometimes, there’s no choice but to take drastic measures.

With worsening thoughts, Su Xinghe realized there was no other way but to kill to silence.

For a moment, Su Xinghe felt something was off in this place, and he just wanted to rescue Qiusui quickly and leave.

Instead of engaging further, he sheathed his sword as True Qi enveloped him, resembling a Heavenly Realm immortal.

He then pulled out a piece of yellow paper from his treasure pouch and said, “Heavenly Dragon’s Might!”

This very move was his signature skill, which he previously used in a duel with Li Xiuluo at Deer Manor.

Only back then, it was a moment of crisis that led him to use this skill, while now, he just wanted to leave quickly.

This move shot from his palm, but instead of two dragons as before, a single dragon flew towards Qiusui.

Why was it going towards Qiusui?

It turned out this move of Su Xinghe’s was also called “Ultimate Hand Seize,” capable of not only slaying demons and devils but also retrieving items from afar.

This move reached for Qiusui, but things are never that simple.

The Black Robed Man waved his hand and shouted, “Is Nine Star Manor really a place where you can come and go as you please?”

With a lift of his hand, a fierce blaze shot out from his sleeve.

“What is this?”

Su Xinghe was naturally unaware of what this move was, as he had never encountered such folk techniques.

However, unbeknownst to him, wasn’t this move precisely Xiao Feng’s Fire Cloud Palm?

Tu Ning’er observed, and upon seeing the Black Robed Man use this technique, her last hopes for Xiao Feng vanished completely.

The fiery ball reached Su Xinghe, the intense heat pressure suddenly closing in on him.

Xiao Feng also observed this, realizing that he had not taught this move, yet how could this person possess his family’s unique martial arts?

Watching more closely, Xiao Feng recognized the move as the ninth advanced technique of the Fire Cloud Palm, known as “Red Lotus Hellfire.”

Sure enough, even the fiercely burning Su Xinghe felt the air around him growing extremely hot.

In haste, Su Xinghe pushed both hands forward, sending a fierce gust of wind sweeping over. This move wasn’t weak, but it was considerably inferior to the one executed by the Black Robed Man.

Witnessing this scene, no one knew what was happening; they could only observe the exchange between Su Xinghe and the Black Robed Man.

But Xiao Feng realized the truth.

“So, this move is Red Lotus Hellfire, not at all the same path as my Xiao Family’s Fire Cloud Palm.”

The Red Lotus Hellfire technique and the Fire Cloud Palm were both derived from the Dharma Temple’s technique “Flame Blade.”

As the name suggests, the Flame Blade is an inflamed blade, but it’s not an ordinary blade; it’s a hand blade.

The Flame Blade involves gathering one’s internal energy into the palm, then forcefully slashing, with a blaze streaking through the air. The power of this move depends entirely on the practitioner’s internal energy cultivation level.

This Flame Blade martial art from Dharma Temple originated from Master Lotus Lantern.

Fifty years ago, as the martial arts world, Jianghu, began to take shape, Master Lotus Lantern was among the first martial heroes to rise.

Master Lotus Lantern traveled the mountains and rivers, devoted solely to enlightening beings, but not all beings are easily enlightened.

One day, in the city of Xiangyang, Master Lotus Lantern saw two children, around ten years old, arguing about the sun.

The darker-skinned child claimed the sun was big, while the fairer-skinned child insisted it was small.

Witnessing this, Master Lotus Lantern took the two children as disciples.

He bestowed the dharma name Ming Ci on the fair-skinned child and Ming En on the darker-skinned child.

Ming Ci learned Master Lotus Lantern’s techniques and felt the move could swiftly subdue opponents. However, if he missed even one move or opening, it would seal a fatal conclusion.

So, Xiao Mingci distributed his internal energy throughout his body, ensuring that no matter which point he chose to unleash power from, he could deliver a formidable Flame Blade strike.

However, by doing this, the Flame Blade was no longer just the Flame Blade.

After Master Lotus Lantern and Xiao Mingci perfected this move together, it was renamed the “Fire Cloud Palm.”

Meanwhile, Duan Ming’en, after learning this move, was not satisfied with its power.

He honed his internal energy further, mastering the Flame Blade technique as effortlessly as a fish takes to water, and created an additional technique called Strong Wind Palm.

The Strong Wind Palm was merged and refined alongside the Flame Blade, allowing it to deliver immense force with a single strike.

This move was derived from and yet surpassed the Flame Blade, and it was named the “Red Lotus Palm.”

Afterward, Master Lotus Lantern passed away.

Following three years of mourning, the two disciples parted ways.

Mingci adopted the name Xiao Mingci, while Ming’en changed his name to Duan Ming’en.

Recalling this, Xiao Feng couldn’t help but wonder why the Red Lotus Palm was so strikingly similar to his family’s advanced Flame Palm techniques beyond the ninth level.

Though they share the same root, even relatives have their distinctions, and the subtleties of martial arts demand precision and clarity.

“Hey!” Xiao Feng called out.

This call did not stir the crowd, but Tu Ning’er held hope that he was calling for her.

“Excuse me, my black-robed friend, may I ask your esteemed name?”