I Can Strengthen Infinitely

Chapter 409 - 268: Twelve Linked Rings, Annihilation of the Clan

"Huh?!" Liu Ruoye’s eyes widened, looking even more ferocious and menacing.

"You mangy cur, what the hell do you think you are, daring to make demands of me? Looks like you’ve gotten guts in the time I’ve been gone! You damn dog, really grown up, haven’t you?" Liu Ruoye leaped forward, reaching a clawed hand for Sanhuang’s collar, intending to capture him and smash him to the ground as punishment.

In Liu Ruoye’s mind, Sanhuang was just an ordinary person. Although she viciously insulted him as a dog bastard, she didn’t mean to kill him.

So she didn’t use Inner Strength, relying solely on brute physical force, and even that only at a tenth or so of her power, clearly knowing that Sanhuang could never resist her.

Who could expect that, as soon as Sanhuang saw Liu Ruoye reach out, he instinctively used the iron sword in his hand to perform the Sword Technique Qin Yuesheng had taught him.

This Sword Technique, ever since Qin Yuesheng left the Twelve Linked Rings, Sanhuang had trained day and night, making rapid progress.

One made a proper sword strike, the other was caught completely off guard — even though Liu Ruoye was a top-ranked expert, she could not avoid a misfortune in this moment, and Sanhuang slashed her wrist with his sword.

Bam!

The iron sword snapped instantly, but unfortunately, striking Liu Ruoye’s hand didn’t even leave a white mark—a wasted surprise attack.

Liu Ruoye’s face was full of shock. If not for Sanhuang’s inferior weapon—if only Qin Yuesheng had left Sanhuang with either the Dragon-Slaying Sword or the Black Dragon Sword for self-defense—she would surely have ended up with only one arm left today.

"You!" As she realized what had happened, fury surged in Liu Ruoye’s eyes. Her face flushed red, lips twitching, silver teeth grinding: "Dog bastard! Without my permission, you dare learn martial arts! Without my say, who dares teach you Sword Technique!"

Liu Ruoye now looked like an absolute madwoman. She grabbed Sanhuang and began slapping his cheeks left and right, relentlessly.

In no time, Sanhuang’s face was bruised and swollen like a pig’s head. This was Liu Ruoye holding back her strength—otherwise, a single slap could have shattered his facial bones.

"Who! Tell me who it was! Who the hell had the nerve to teach you Sword Technique!" Liu Ruoye roared, face twisted.

Sanhuang was terrified and anxious. Qin Yuesheng had saved him from the water bandits, let him live happily with full meals and comfort, even took him as a disciple and taught him the Sword Technique.

In Sanhuang’s heart, Qin Yuesheng was extremely important. If he gave the name away, Liu Ruoye would definitely target Qin Yuesheng next.

So, under Liu Ruoye’s interrogation—despite his nose bleeding from the persistent slaps—Sanhuang clamped his mouth shut, refusing to speak a word.

Liu Ruoye pressed for an answer, gaining nothing. Furious, she laughed, "Fine! You won’t say? That person must be in this city. I’ll slaughter everyone in this city until that bastard shows up!"

Du Xiaoqing heard this and could not allow it at all.

Being the universally acknowledged Military Advisor in the Twelve Linked Rings, his mind spun—an idea shot to him in a flash. He hurriedly shouted at Liu Ruoye, "Wait!"

Liu Ruoye turned at the sound: "Almost forgot about you. Then you’ll die first."

Du Xiaoqing declared righteously, "Demoness! Sanhuang’s master is a peerless expert—he’s only absent right now. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have even a chance to run wild here.

If you don’t want that man to chase you to the ends of the earth, and if you don’t want to die after begging to be a slave—kneeling, crawling, on hands and knees—then put Sanhuang down right now, break your own arms and legs, beg for mercy, and maybe you’ll have a sliver of hope."

"What?!" Liu Ruoye’s eyes gleamed murderously. Even Du Xiaoqing, trying to act calm, shivered at her demon-like look and subconsciously took a step back.

"Such big talk!" Liu Ruoye glanced at Sanhuang. "No wonder you dare defy me now. You’ve taken a master—the courage’s grown."

Sanhuang said nothing.

Liu Ruoye threw him to the ground: "Good! Since that person isn’t here, I’ll wait half an hour. If they haven’t arrived in half an hour, I’ll slaughter every last one in this city—not a soul left alive!"

Her words were ruthless and absolute. Du Xiaoqing cursed his luck. From the sea-bound Twelve Linked Rings to Cyan Yang City, even the fastest skiff would take at least half an hour.

Even if he sent someone now to Cyan Yang City for Qin Yuesheng, by the time Qin Yuesheng received the news and rushed to the Twelve Linked Rings, it’d likely be too late—all that waited for him would be deadly silence and corpses everywhere.

"What about two hours, then?" Du Xiaoqing asked nervously.

"Your mouth isn’t for spouting shit! I said half an hour—half an hour it is! When time’s up, if that man isn’t here, you all die!"

Du Xiaoqing trembled and immediately ran to find someone to rush to Cyan Yang City for help.

Liu Ruoye didn’t care. She let Du Xiaoqing go—after all, the Twelve Linked Rings were on a sea island, surrounded on all sides by water. If anyone tried to escape by boat, she’d catch them immediately.

Half an hour later.

Qin Yuesheng still hadn’t arrived. At last, Du Xiaoqing’s expression collapsed. "I’m done for. The Twelve Linked Rings are really finished this time."

Sanhuang watched Liu Ruoye nervously. He knew very well what his mother was like—to her, killing a person was as easy as squashing an ant, never pausing to consider if slaughtering the innocent was heinous.

Dragging Sanhuang into the Twelve Linked Rings, Liu Ruoye started killing on sight—every water bandit died miserably under her claws. She either ripped live hearts straight from their chests, or drilled five holes into their skulls—each a one-move death.

Sanhuang, unable to bear it, shut his eyes in agony.

When Liu Ruoye stormed into the city, Du Xiaoqing and the last surviving chief—even knowing they’d die—still stepped up to block her rampage.

Seeing the two seeking death, trying to stop her like mantises before a cart, Liu Ruoye sneered, "Dead sooner or later—since you stepped up, you can die now."

Du Xiaoqing roared, "Demon, today I’ll fight you to the bitter end!"

He and the last chief charged at Liu Ruoye, like two ordinary men who didn’t even know kung fu, aiming straight for her waist in a desperate embrace.

Liu Ruoye tossed aside the acupoint-sealed Sanhuang, then sent both palms out at full force, ready to shatter their skulls and kill them on the spot.

But suddenly, a sly smile crossed Du Xiaoqing and his ally’s faces. "If we die, you’re going with us, demoness!"

Liu Ruoye, arrogant as she was, felt a jolt of danger. She turned her strikes to pushes, trying to throw them back.

Boom!!!

In an instant, a deafening explosion erupted from their bodies, a scorching blast wave roaring out. The court’s black gunpowder they carried had been ignited, turning them into deadly suicide bombs.

Liu Ruoye’s face changed instantly. These two hadn’t come to die for nothing—they meant to take her down with them via black gunpowder. That way, even if they perished, the other water bandits might just survive.

Such noble self-sacrifice!

In the blaze, Liu Ruoye was instantly enveloped, a pillar of black smoke shooting up to the sky.

The amount of black gunpowder strapped to them was considerable. The explosion shook the ground and sky. Sanhuang stared at the black pillar, tears streaming down his face, struck speechless.

But before Sanhuang could react further, a figure suddenly emerged from the black smoke—her whole body charred, stumbling out of the inferno.

Sanhuang’s eyes went wide in disbelief.

It was her—it really was her! She was still alive!

"I’ll kill you all... I’ll kill every one of you!" Liu Ruoye’s voice was eerie and low. Her entire body was scorched, her scalp like charcoal—no clothes, no hair—looking every bit like a demon crawling out of hell.

...

On the island housing the Twelve Linked Rings, columns of black smoke rose one after another, curling high into the sky.

Qin Yuesheng, racing through the air, was baffled. What was going on? A fire?

When Qin Yuesheng landed in the city, all he saw were shattered walls and ruined houses, broken limbs and bloody chunks scattered everywhere.

Every corpse had been torn apart while alive—just as if attacked by some monstrous beast with supernatural strength.

Qin Yuesheng frowned. "What happened here?"

He searched the entire city but didn’t find a single survivor. No doubt, the Twelve Linked Rings had been completely annihilated.

"Could it be Liu Xian, unwilling to accept his former defeat, has sent an expert to attack again?" Qin Yuesheng racked his brains—among possible enemies, only Liu Xian came to mind.

Du Xiaoqing was gone. Of the other three chiefs, only their corpses remained. Sanhuang was missing as well.

Qin Yuesheng knew he was too late. Helpless, he took out the Time Holy Wheel, intending to crush a Yellow Pearl, enter the river of time, and return to the past to find out what had happened to the Twelve Linked Rings.

Just as Qin Yuesheng was about to act, he suddenly felt a faint tremor under his feet. A battle-hardened veteran, he instantly reacted, leaping more than twenty feet into the air.

At that moment, the ground where he’d stood collapsed, and a black-skinned giant beast—single-eyed, long-mouthed—crawled out from underground.

"Roar!" The monster bellowed at Qin Yuesheng, reaching out to grab him.

This beast’s upper body resembled a human, with two arms and five fingers, but below the waist, it was completely flat, like a living upper-body statue.

Qin Yuesheng drew the Double-Bladed Fork from his back and fell like a meteor, driving the entire fork—including the handle—straight through the monster’s body.

The Double-Bladed Fork, forged of dark weaponry, was highly effective against malicious and supernatural foes. Instantly, the monster’s back was run through by the fork. Qin Yuesheng then used Profound Celestial Internal Power to ignite Profound Celestial True Flame, and in a flash, the beast was engulfed in sacred fire, burning at lightning speed.

The beast howled in agony, lashing back at Qin Yuesheng with a palm. Qin Yuesheng unleashed a Soul-Shattering Roar, blasting a gaping hole clean through the monster’s palm.

Within just a few breaths, this seemingly terrifying black monster was burned to death under Qin Yuesheng’s Profound Celestial True Flame.