The Portal of Wonderland
Chapter 42: The Line between Life and Death

It was impossible for a Hou Tian warrior like the Fifth Master Jin to sustain a fatal injury from such a trifle attack.

However, he didn’t much choice but to face this attack. Suddenly, he twisted his body. He flickered like a willow leaf as he floated mid-air and swiftly dodged the attacks. He then tossed up the golden stick that lay beside him with one of his legs.

A ‘boom’ sound was heard.

It wasn’t clear what material the golden stick was made of. But, the Sun and Moon Daggers were made from cold iron and were reputed as being ‘unbreakable’. However, they were instantly crushed as they clashed with the golden stick.

The expression on Shi Mu’s face changed as he saw this. He shook his wrist, and the thin chain rolled back-up. Shi Mu grabbed the remaining half-blades.

The Fifth Master seemed fearless. He attacked again, and tossed the golden stick in Shi Mu’s direction. The golden stick transformed into a golden light as it progressed. The Fifth Master floated as he followed the golden light himself.

This swift move left Shi Mu dumbfounded. Suddenly, he flicked his wrist and shot nine blade-shadows at the golden light.

A deafening ‘clang’ was heard.

The golden light slightly trembled and changed back to the form of the golden stick.

Shi Mu groaned and took a few steps back due to the impact of the collision. His daggers had been broken into shards. His arm was worse as it had become soft; it was just dangling from his shoulder. Shi Mu seemed to be in shock.

The Fifth Master laughed, and went closer to Shi Mu. His huge sleeve flashed a blood-red palm. The palm dashed towards Shi Mu to hit him in his head. The inevitable couldn’t seem to be avoided now.

Shi Mu roared and moved his uninjured arm to punch the Fifth Master’s charging palm.

“Haha… Get ready to die!”

The Fifth Master saw this and laughed wildly. Then, he moved his red palm with such energy that a visible layer of red fog started to float above his palm.

Shi Mu’s uninjured arm got close to the Fifth Master’s red palm. Suddenly, his fingers moved and revealed a sharp dagger; it stabbed the red palm.

The Fifth Master screamed as his red palm hit the dagger in Shi Mu’s hand.

Shi Mu groaned as he was sent flying at an unstoppable speed. Two trees were uprooted on the way, and he finally stopped after hitting a mountainous boulder.

Shi Mu vomited blood as his body rolled down on the ground. He couldn’t even stand up for a while.

The Fifth Master was filled with fear and anger as he saw Shi Mu’s dagger protruding out of his palm, and his facial color reddened.

Suddenly, he shouted, “You bastard! You’ve ruined my Blood Palm. I will break every inch of bone in your body.”

He had pulled out the dagger from his palm before he even finished speaking. Then, he placed his fingers on the acupuncture points on his palm. Suddenly, he started to walk towards Shi Mu with big strides.

Shi Mu resisted the acute pain in his arms as he looked up at the long face of the approaching Fifth Master. His face muscles twitched to reveal a mocking smile.

Shi Mu had realized that he couldn’t confront a mid-level Hou Tian warrior.

The Sun and Moon Daggers had shattered to form a screen of broken blade-shards between the two enemies. Shi Mu had used this opportunity to conceal a dagger in his sleeves for later use. Then, he had been able to surprise and injure the Fifth Master’s palm.

But, the power of the Blood Palm was far beyond his expectations.

He had originally planned to use this concealed dagger to destroy the blood-palm. He would then use this opportunity to counter-attack the Fifth Master with all his might and defeat the same. However, the blood-palm attack had sent him flying backwards helplessly.

There was no trace of strength left in any part of his body. His arms were broken in several places. He couldn’t pose a threat to his enemy in any way.

Shi Mu was discouraged since he had no hope now. The Fifth Master came near Shi Mu, and kicked him without saying a single word.

‘Bang’ a strange noise was heard.

Fifth Master Jin’s foot seemed to have hit a solid object, but Shi Mu was thrown thirty feet backwards. His face was pale. However, the Fifth Master wasn’t able to break his breastbone as he had expected.

“Hey, what are you hiding?” the Fifth Master snorted.

Then, he walked up to Shi Mu again.

“If you want to kill my Big Brother Shi Mu... then kill me first.”

A graceful figure rushed-out from behind a nearby boulder, and stationed itself between the Fifth Master and Shi Mu; it arms were stretched open.

Zhong Xiu had been watching the fight from her hiding-spot.

When she saw Shi Mu sustaining a serious injury, and realized that he couldn’t get up... she came out of hiding without any fear of the Fifth Master.

“You ugly girl! I will kill you if that’s what you wish,” The Fifth Master addressed the girl in a grim manner; it was obvious that he had no regard for her. He fiercely hit the girl across her face with his palm.

There was no need for a middle-level Hou Tian warrior to use his real Qi on an ordinary girl. This blow was sufficient to kill the girl even though he hadn’t used his Blood Palm.

“Stop!” Shi Mu shouted.

The look on Shi Mu’s face changed as he witnessed the scene. He made an effort to twist his body in order to get up from the ground. But halfway through his effort… he fell down on the ground again with a ‘pop’ sound.

The Fifth Master felt even more relieved as he saw this. He then clenched his fists the Real Qi within his body started to arouse.

Zhong Xiu had intended to abandon her life. However, her face became pale as she saw the mountain-like palm rushing downwards. She closed her eyes in fear. She felt her body getting covered in strange heat. Suddenly, she started to issue an ear-piercing scream.

A ‘boom’ sound was heard.

The Fifth Master seemed to be hit by a powerful force as she screamed. His body flew backwards and somersaulted three or four times before it finally fell to the ground.

“Bloodline! You possess a bloodline!”

The Fifth Master stared at the girl and cried out. He raised his head and spat out blood.

A warrior with as much experience as him could tell in a glance that this girl didn’t just possess a bloodline, but her bloodline was an extremely rare one.

He had become somewhat hesitant even though he was highly enraged.

But he immediately remembered his son Jin Tian’s dead body and the damage done to his ‘Blood Palm’; a skill he had been practicing for ten years. His eyes flashed with an ominous glint as he floated towards the girl.

Zhong Xiu had stopped screaming. She opened her eyes blankly, but didn’t seem to know what had just happened.

“You wish to kill a third-grade Bloodline Warrior — the ones born only once in a millennium? If this is the case... then I’ll have to send you to the next world.”

The cold voice of a woman was suddenly heard.

A ghost-like silhouette of a woman wearing a white cloak flashed in front of Zhong Xiu. She rushed towards the Fifth Master as she raised her slim white hand.

A ‘pop’ sound was heard.

A white expanse of mist and cold air rolled out, and the Fifth Master was transformed into a sparkling ice-sculpture.