Hongniang turned and ran without hesitation, showing no intention of fighting Li Ling. She appeared a dozen steps away in a flash.
"Whoosh!"
Li Ling's figure flickered and disappeared from the horse's back, leaving a trail of afterimages. He suddenly appeared in the air, stepped on the wine pot in the air with his right foot, and accelerated again, instantly rushing to the top of Hong Niang's head.
"Taiyin Sword Intent - Frost Annihilation, Slash!"
The roar was like rolling thunder, spreading for miles, even causing the dilapidated thatched hut to tremble and the thatch on the roof to fall off in a flurry. The Green Nether Sword in his hand slashed at Hong Niang with the force of splitting the sky.
Li Ling hated Hong Niang, who ruined people's reputations, so he launched a thunderous attack.
"boom!"
The Azure Nether Sword, gleaming with a dark blue-black light and radiating a violent sharpness, crashed down upon Hong Niang like a world-destroying meteor.
Under such overwhelming power, the matchmaker's face turned deathly pale. (The rest of the text appears to be gibberish and unrelated to the previous sentence.)
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Chapter 177 The Charming Snow Goose
"call!"
A violent, icy wind, carrying a chilling wave, swirled wildly, forming a vortex that trapped Hongniang firmly in place.
Seeing that there was no way to avoid it, Hongniang stopped in her tracks, drew the long whip from her waist, and with a flick of her wrist, the pitch-black whip, accompanied by a shrill whistle, shot into the sky like a black venomous dragon, biting towards Li Ling's Azure Nether Sword.
"collapse!"
The whip was shattered by the violent and icy energy contained within it the moment it touched the dark blue sword light flowing on the Azure Sword.
This sword strike was the Taiyin Sword Intent that Li Ling had just begun to comprehend; the long whip shattered inch by inch upon touching the sword's edge.
"laugh!"
Even after shattering the long whip, the Azure Nether Sword continued its furious downward slash.
Hongniang had fought Li Ling at the martial arts tournament and knew of his profound skills, but she never expected that Li Ling's cultivation was so unfathomable that her long whip couldn't even withstand a single move from him.
Facing that icy, violent sword strike, she gritted her teeth, mustered all her inner strength, and raised her left hand to strike the sky.
"Ice Palm!"
The cold and vicious palm strike brought with it a burst of white frost, enough to freeze a person into an ice pop in an instant.
Unfortunately, her Frosty Palm technique was no match for Li Ling's Yin Sword Intent; it was like a firefly facing the sun and moon.
The moment the two touched, the Frosty Palm was instantly shattered by the icy sword energy, vanishing without a trace, just as ice and snow melted away.
The dark blue sword energy, carrying an icy sharpness, struck Hong Niang with a thunderous crash, like a meteor falling to earth.
A brutal, icy chill, carrying a domineering sword aura, instantly engulfed her, leaving only a abruptly cut scream in the air: "Spare me—"
"boom!"
The energy exploded, and the sword intent was fierce.
The matchmaker transformed into an icy statue, struggling for a moment before collapsing to the ground.
A chilling aura rose from Hongniang's body; she had transformed into a corpse covered in ice crystals.
Li Ling's sword strike was incredibly powerful, imposing Taiyin sword intent. Combined with the peerless Qingming sword, the two combined, and the fierce sword intent penetrated Hong Niang's body, instantly shattering her internal organs. The Taiyin sword energy then froze her corpse.
With a creak, the two dilapidated wooden doors of the thatched hut opened.
Hearing the commotion outside, the four men inside, fearing something was wrong, cautiously peeked out to see what had happened.
They had only taken a few steps out of the room when Li Ling pointed out four fingers in the distance, and four sharp sword energies shot down from the sky, piercing into the top of their heads.
The four of them froze instantly, and without warning, they collapsed to the ground with a thud, falling silent.
Li Ling flashed to the door and called out to the girl inside, "Come out, it's alright."
A moment later, a girl emerged from the hut with a nervous expression.
The girl who had been abducted by the matchmaker was about seventeen or eighteen years old. She had delicate features, as bright as the autumn moon, with a beautiful face, arched eyebrows, and bright eyes and white teeth. In particular, her pretty oval face made her an extremely beautiful woman. No wonder the matchmaker was jealous of her.
Li Ling thought the girl looked somewhat familiar.
The girl looked somewhat panicked because she had just been nearly assaulted.
After hearing Li Ling say that everything was alright, she cautiously glanced at the four men lying outside the door. Seeing that they were all still, she breathed a sigh of relief and quickly thanked him, saying, "Thank you for saving me, young hero. May I ask your name?"
Li Ling replied simply, "My name is Yi Jifeng. May I ask your name, young lady?"
"This humble woman is Ling Xueyan. I am truly grateful for your timely appearance, Young Master Yi. Otherwise... wait, you are Young Master Yi?"
Ling Xueyan's pretty face showed lingering fear. She simply couldn't imagine what a terrible scene she would have faced if it weren't for Li Ling. She realized what she was saying halfway through her words of gratitude and her face showed surprise.
Li Ling was slightly taken aback. He hadn't expected to run into Ling Xueyan in this situation. He thought to himself that it was a coincidence, and he was lucky that he had run into her today, otherwise the consequences would have been unimaginable.
Li Ling smiled and said, "So it's Miss Ling. I've come to visit Chief Escort Ling. It's not very safe to be out in the middle of nowhere, so let's go to your house together."
Ling Xueyan blushed slightly. She hadn't expected to meet Yi Jifeng, the man she was to marry, today. She secretly glanced at Li Ling and saw his dashing figure and upright posture. A hint of joy flashed in her beautiful eyes.
A clear voice said, "Then I'll have to trouble you, Brother Yi. My Zhenwei Escort Agency is located on the east street of Shiliu Town, not far from here."