Chapter 86 - Frozen Daybreak Lin Jiulao

What a superb blade!

Ye Beizhi couldn’t help but sigh in admiration.

It is unknown which master forged this blade. Although it looked like a zhanmadao, it was actually significantly larger than any normal one—the blade alone was over five chi long!

This blade had no sheath and was simply slung over the back of the dignified man. Its hilt was intricately carved with an intricate five-clawed dragon that wound around a pillar. The dragon’s whiskers, scales, claws, and tail were all distinctly visible, making it grand without diminishing its practicality.

But the most astonishing aspect of this blade was its jet black blade, devoid of ornamentation. Lantern light glinted off the edge as the man moved, indicating its extraordinary sharpness. The blade itself was as wide as two palms, with a spine as thick as two fingers. The pure size and thickness of the blade suggested that the weapon was quite heavy and required extreme skill to wield.

Ye Beizhi narrowed his eyes and carefully examined this blade, which could be said to embody the dominance of all blades.

The dignified-looking man pushed the door open and walked straight to Qi Zongbi and cupped his hands in greeting. "My lord, you should go to your room now."

Qi Zongbi frowned, he had been engrossed in the documents when he was interrupted. He rubbed his forehead and asked, "What time is it now?"

"It’s almost the hour of hai." The dignified-looking man grinned, seemingly amused at something.

"Is it not yet the hour of hai?" Qi Zongbi frowned, looking at the dignified-looking man in surprise. "Usually, I don’t sleep until the hour of

zi

... why are you bothering me at the hour of

hai

?"

The dignified-looking man didn’t seem to care whether the prime minister was angry or not. He only chuckled. "Because if you don’t go soon, the person on the roof won’t be able to hold back anymore."

"

Hmm?!

" Qi Zongbi's expression changed instantly. He turned to look at the roof, where a strand of moonlight flowed in through a gap in the tiles.

Ye Beizhi's expression suddenly changed. Without further thought, he withdrew his head and somersaulted away. He knew something was wrong when the dignified-looking man spoke those words.

Ye Beizhi quietly adjusted his breathing on the roof, silently reflecting on how he had been discovered.

He had been careless, and did not anticipate the minister’s residence to have such a skilled person by his side.

While he was distracted by the blade, he had unconsciously forgotten to keep concealing his breathing. That person must have discovered him at that moment but didn’t expose him immediately out of concern for Qi Zongbi’s safety.

While Ye Beizhi was still thinking, the dignified-looking man’s voice boomed from below. "It’s quite windy on the roof. Why don’t you come down for a chat?"

Upon hearing this, Ye Beizhi blinked and fled along the roof without looking back.

A cold snort came from within the room. "You came all this way, why are you leaving?"

Bang!

As soon as the dignified-looking man finished speaking, Ye Beizhi heard the roof shattering beneath him.

Ye Beizhi had just leaped off the eaves when he heard a sound coming from behind. When he turned to look, felt his heart skip a beat!

A pitch-black zhanmadao was tearing through the wind and on its way to slice through his back!

At this critical moment, Ye Beizhi swiftly gathered his qi, twisted in mid-air, and shifted his body down to the ground to barely dodging the blade!

"

Haha!

Brilliant, truly brilliant."

At this moment, the dignified-looking man and Qi Zongbi left the study. The man clapped his hands and laughed. Qi Zongbi stood behind him, both of them looking at Ye Beizhi.

"Your evasion was as fluid as flowing water, and you can make quick decisions in a situation... Sir, you must not be an unknown figure."

Ye Beizhi stood still, brushing off the dirt from his sleeves he had picked up while lurking on the roof. He ignored the dignified-looking man.

The dignified-looking man wasn’t angry at the lack of response. He slowly walked to the side and pulled out the zhanmadao embedded in the ground.

The dignified-looking man weighed the enormous blade in his hand.

"Allow me to introduce myself. I am a member of the Ghostbane Association."

He then cupped his hands toward Ye Beizhi.

"Frozen Daybreak Lin Jiulao."

Ye Beizhi's pupils suddenly constricted.

This kind of alias could only mean one thing... This man is an Origin-Sequencer

.[1]

Lin Jiulao looked at Ye Beizhi, seemingly waiting for Ye Beizhi to introduce himself in turn. However, Ye Beizhi merely lowered his head slightly, and stood still, lost in thought.

Lin Jiulao spoke up again, "Sir? You are being rather impolite—"

Ye Beizhi suddenly moved and vanished from the spot!

From behind the Nihil-ranker, Qi Zongbi had been watching warily. Upon seeing Ye Beizhi disappear, he felt a sudden alertness and immediately turned to look.

All he saw was the edge of a blade looming in his vision and Ye Beizhi's cold, emotionless eyes!

In that instant, Qi Zongbi felt like time was freezing.

He could even clearly hear the sound of his own mouth gasping for air and the slicing wind from the blade cutting through the air.

The blade approached inexorably, leaving lingering afterimages trailed toward his neck.

Am... am I going to die?

"Arrogant!" A loud shout awakened Qi Zongbi from his trance. Immediately after, a powerful force carried him through the air. He flew as if he were riding a cloud and landed on his butt with a

thud

.

Clang!

The crisp sound of metal clashing rang through the night.

Sitting on the ground, Qi Zongbi looked up and saw Lin Jiulao reverse-grip his oversized blade to protect his arm.

The abrupt blow had just struck the spine of the dark blade, but the thick blade did not show any signs whatsoever of being hit.

Ye Beizhi was also quite surprised that his strike hadn’t succeeded. Earlier, he had paid close attention and waited for the moment Lin Jiulao went to retrieve his blade and stood apart from Qi Zongbi.

He had then pushed his internal qi to the limit and used a swift movement to try to land a decisive blow. Unexpectedly, he was still thwarted.

Although he had long known that Lin Jiulao was formidable, he didn’t expect him to be this powerful.

At this moment, the two were locked in battle, so Ye Beizhi had no time to think of anything else.

He pressed his Tang blade down onto the zhanmadao, sending sparks flying.

Lin Jiulao couldn’t resist this force with his impromptu reverse grip; without hesitation, he stepped back to alleviate the pressure on the blade and twisted the blade in his hand into a standard grip.

Ye Beizhi didn't plan on giving him a moment to breathe. The instant Lin Jiulao jumped back, he bent down, slightly bending his legs. He sheathed his blade at his left waist while firmly gripping the hilt with his right hand.

Blade intent surged!

Just as Lin Jiulao adjusted to a proper grip, Ye Beizhi moved instantly!

Step forward! Slash forward!

The blade gleamed brilliantly.

Qi Zongbi couldn't help but squint his eyes. The radiance at that moment was truly dazzling. He gulped unconsciously. Even though he was the assassin's true target, he couldn’t help but commend this strike. He had no idea whether Lin Jiulao would survive such a blow.

As the brilliance gradually faded, Qi Zongbi looked over anxiously and let out a pent up sigh... Lin Jiulao was still standing there unharmed.

Facing Ye Beizhi, Lin Jiulao stood tall. His clothing flapped open at the waist, revealing rippling abdominal muscles. On the ground lay a square iron block with a smooth cut caused by Ye Beizhi's earlier strike.

The other half of the iron block was still tied to Lin Jiulao's torso. The smooth cut precisely mirrored the bisected piece on the ground. This was a training weight that Lin Jiulao usually carried.

Ye Beizhi frowned as he glanced at the iron block on the ground, then at Lin Jiulao.

At this moment, Lin Jiulao’s eyes widened. His finger trembled uncontrollably as he pointed at Ye Beizhi, his eyes filled with excitement and a warped frenzy as he stared at Ye Beizhi.

"This blade... this blade technique... it's you... it must be you...

"It must be you... Stormqueller Ye Beizhi!!!" Lin Jiulao roared. His eyes turned red as if they were filled with blood. He took a deep breath, raised his head. "As long as I kill you... as long as I kill you..."

Lin Jiulao suddenly turned his gaze back, his maniacal eyes locked onto Ye Beizhi!

"As long as I kill you... I will become the greatest blademaster in the world!"

1. So in the raws, the author says that Frozen Daybreak Lin Jiulao is also a Nihil-Ranker, but this is a mistake, more will be revealed as the story unfolds. ☜