I Can Strengthen Infinitely-Chapter 146 - 126: Strictly Forbidden to Play with Fire

Chapter 146: Chapter 126: Strictly Forbidden to Play with Fire

Iron lanterns hung on the walls of the mine, and the lighting was fairly normal.

The silhouette of the blue-robed man flashed around the corner at the end of the mine, and Qin Yuesheng immediately pursued him.

As he delved deeper into the mine, Qin Yuesheng discovered that there was actually more to it than meets the eye; many miners were diligently digging inside, striking the walls with resounding clangs.

Unaware of the situation above ground, they couldn’t help but be startled when Qin Yuesheng appeared.

"Did you see a man in a blue robe?" Qin Yuesheng asked.

Due to Liu Zhizhang leading people to dig during this period, many branches had appeared within the mine, and under these circumstances, even with Qin Yuesheng’s great skill, he was powerless to find the man and eliminate him; it proved quite challenging.

"No, no." These laborers shook their heads in unison, like rattles, seemingly very coordinated at a glance.

Qin Yuesheng frowned, suspecting that the person who came down earlier had issued a gag order to these workers, preventing them from giving him any clues.

The man’s trail was already hard to follow in places like this, and now with these laborers not cooperating, Qin Yuesheng found it increasingly difficult to find him.

Thinking of this, Qin Yuesheng grabbed one of the nearest laborers and lifted them off the ground.

"I’ll give you one more chance. Tell me, and I’ll let you leave here immediately; don’t say it, and you’ll die right now." Qin Yuesheng threatened firmly.

These laborers were ordinary folks, lacking any steadfastness or iron will, immediately spilling everything they knew.

"The third path, he escaped along the third path." The laborer said painfully.

Qin Yuesheng tossed him back to the ground, "Which one’s the third path?"

"Over there, the third one from the left."

Qin Yuesheng rushed over swiftly, plunging into the mining trail indicated by the laborer.

...

Fang Xuanling panted heavily as he ran through the mine with a torch. He was not a martial artist, and having sprinted for so long, he was already exhausted to the brink of collapsing, desperately wanting to sit down immediately.

However, he dared not stop due to the oppressive threat from the killer looming over him, forcing him to keep running forward until he reached a place he considered safe.

Fearing that if he slowed down, the killer might suddenly appear behind him and swing that life-taking black blade.

Soon, Fang Xuanling arrived at the end of the mining trail, a cavern filled with various barrels, with some areas scattered with black powder.

Fang Xuanling cautiously walked where there were no barrels or powder, quickly reaching the corner of the cavern, where he finally sat down with relief, gasping heavily to calm his breath.

Not long afterward, Qin Yuesheng also dashed out of the mining trail. As the only source of light in the cavern, Fang Xuanling’s location immediately caught Qin Yuesheng’s attention.

"Y-you, stay back." Upon seeing Qin Yuesheng approaching, Fang Xuanling hurriedly shouted, "This place is piled with a large amount of black gunpowder supervised by the Gunpowder Bureau, the latest batch itself weighs more than one hundred pounds. If I ignite it, the force would be enough to shatter the entire mine. By then, the ground will collapse, and we’ll both be buried alive beneath the earth."

He waved the torch in his hand as he spoke.

Qin Yuesheng paused at his words, indeed, he could smell a pungent scent from the air. This guy seemed not to be bluffing.

"Listen, I don’t know what grievance you have with Liu Zhizhang, but I want to tell you I’m merely a retainer hired by the Liu family, who can leave anytime. Your grudge with Liu Zhizhang is none of my business; I won’t seek revenge for you killing him, nor will I report this to Liu Xian. As long as you let me go, I’ll immediately leave Jiangnan and never set foot here again."

Fang Xuanling swallowed nervously: "This matter doesn’t work against you, does it? You wear a mask; I absolutely can’t know who you are. Sparing me won’t cause you any trouble, believe me, you wouldn’t want to see me ignite this black gunpowder. By then, neither of us can leave this place alive."

Qin Yuesheng remained silent; his speed was no match for Fang Xuanling throwing the torch onto the pile of gunpowder. According to Qin Yuesheng’s estimation, he was currently about four or five zhang underground. At this depth, if the ground truly collapsed, all the weight of the dirt and stones above would crush even Zuo Zonghao to death.

Seeing Qin Yuesheng silent, Fang Xuanling hurriedly added another verbal bomb: "This place is one of the supporting points of the Celestial Star on the surface. If I detonate the gunpowder causing the ground to collapse, the years of stability of the Celestial Star will shake, potentially rolling hundreds of zhang on the surface, triggering an earthquake in this region. Those of us underground can forget about survival; it’s absolute death. You must consider carefully; it’s unnecessary to sacrifice your life for an insignificant person like me."

Qin Yuesheng pondered, weighing the drawbacks, and reluctantly nodded, agreeing: "Okay, I’ll spare you."

Fang Xuanling said, "Then please leave, I want to remain here quietly."

’Quietly’ implied fear, fearing that leaving the reliance on black gunpowder, the promise would be discarded, leading to murder.

Qin Yuesheng naturally understood this, yet the other didn’t make unreasonable points; his life didn’t matter much, and killing him wasn’t necessary if he had to risk his own.

Qin Yuesheng calculated in his mind the distance between Fang Xuanling and himself. Even if he used the Flying Knife Skill, it wasn’t certain he could kill Fang Xuanling before the latter threw the torch, so there was really no need to take such a risk for this guy.

Qin Yuesheng immediately turned around and planned to return the same way.

But just then, a shadow suddenly leaped out from the mine tunnel exit, punching Qin Yuesheng hard in the face.

Bam!

Caught off guard, Qin Yuesheng was instantly hit by a massive force, flying backward and crashing onto a row of barrels.

In an instant, the barrels shattered, and a large amount of Black Gunpowder flowed out, scattering all over the ground.

"Finally, I found you!" the shadow shouted excitedly.

Qin Yuesheng tried to focus to see clearly, but it was impossible. Apart from the firelight on Fang Xuanling’s side, the rest of the cavern was pitch black, and he couldn’t see who was attacking him.

Wu Shuai succeeded with his surprise attack, continuing to press the advantage.

It was because Qin Yuesheng hadn’t noticed the situation by the mine tunnel that allowed Wu Shuai to succeed. Now, he naturally wouldn’t give Wu Shuai another chance.

To prevent the opponent from having weapons as well, using the Evil-Subduing Saber could easily spark and ignite the place, Qin Yuesheng struck out with his palms, attacking Wu Shuai’s position by sound.

Bam!

The two exchanged blows, sometimes fist against palm, sometimes palm against palm, each strike landing with intense impact.

Qin Yuesheng was surprised to find that the person he was fighting only had one arm, and his body was like a sandbag. No matter how much strength Qin Yuesheng used when punching him, the man showed no reaction, as if he were dead.

In contrast, his strength was not small either, and his punches on Qin Yuesheng caused some pain. He was indeed a rare opponent.

Wu Shuai was secretly shocked. The mysterious ring he got from Ruan Linghong had a powerful effect that increased his strength with every kill.

Along the way, he had killed an entire band of bandits from the Red Saber Stronghold and many miners, resulting in a strength increase that was explosive compared to before.

Yet even so, he couldn’t suppress Qin Yuesheng, which showed how formidable Qin Yuesheng’s strength was!

Suddenly, Wu Shuai realized that Ruan Linghong dying by Qin Yuesheng’s hand was actually not disgraceful. Qin Yuesheng was truly strong; without the mysterious ring’s help, Wu Shuai probably wouldn’t ever reach Qin Yuesheng’s level, let alone avenge Ruan Linghong.

Seeing Qin Yuesheng suddenly engaged in battle with someone else, Fang Xuanling panicked.

This cavern was filled with ample Black Gunpowder; if they sparked a fire during their fight, igniting the Black Gunpowder would be no joke. The place could be destroyed in an instant and buried by countless mud and rocks. No matter how high their martial arts skills or strength was, none would escape.

Fang Xuanling’s heart raced, fearing the next blink would bring a disastrous explosion.

Qin Yuesheng was aware of the hidden danger, but the opponent was relentless, attacking with full force without holding back. If this continued, the danger would increase.

With no choice, Qin Yuesheng used the Soul-Catching Arm to strike Wu Shuai, leveraging the arm’s power to send him flying several meters away, then leaped towards the cavern exit to escape the dangerous place.

Unexpectedly, seeing Qin Yuesheng trying to escape, Wu Shuai panicked and grew angry. After finally catching Qin Yuesheng, he couldn’t let him escape again; otherwise, he might not find him again for a long time, which Wu Shuai couldn’t bear.

His face tensed, veins popping, as a lump of flesh grew from his severed arm, transforming into a newborn, tender arm.

This arm looked very fragile, like a newborn infant.

Wu Shuai didn’t care and directly drew a pair of sabers from behind his waist, rubbing them together fiercely.

Hearing the clash of steel, Qin Yuesheng and Fang Xuanling widened their eyes in disbelief.

"No!!!"

But it was already too late. Sparks from Wu Shuai’s sabers drifted lightly to the ground.

Where the black powder lay scattered.

Boom!!!

A burst of flames shot up, marking the earth-shattering first blast.