Kill Them All!

"Just you lot?"

Qin Ming looked at the dark-skinned young man with a crew cut in the middle.

Mid-Stage Skin-Refining Realm.

Apart from him, the other two were only at the Early Skin-Refining Realm.

Yan Yue-Ren really thought highly of him!

But it also showed that the other side was determined to get Embroiderer on this trip!

Working together, the three would naturally have no trouble dealing with an ordinary Early Skin-Refining Realm opponent. But this time, they had run into Qin Ming!

"Kid, this here is a famous Double Red Flower Staff of our Wild Wolf Gang, Duan Kun, known as the Human Butcher. He once fought nine Early Skin-Refining Realm and two Mid-Stage Skin-Refining Realm opponents all by himself. He killed every last one of them and got away with just a few minor injuries. I'd advise you to know your place. Once Brother Kun runs out of patience, you're a dead man!"

One of them stepped forward and shouted in a low voice.

"Why waste words on him? Break his legs first!"

Duan Kun said coldly.

As soon as he finished speaking, the two men pulled iron rods from behind their backs and charged.

"Get him!"

Yellow Hair hid in the shadows, a surge of satisfaction running through him as he watched Qin Ming come under attack.

One attacked from the left and the other from the right, one high and the other low. Their strikes were vicious, their iron rods aimed straight at Qin Ming's vital points.

They were both skilled gang fighters who had been through many bloody battles. Their attacks were ruthless, and an ordinary Early Skin-Refining Realm opponent would have been no match for them. But Qin Ming had recently reached the entry level in Fire Sand Palm, making him stronger than before. To him, the two moved as slowly as crawling turtles.

Without even drawing his pig-slaying saber, he struck with both hands, blood-colored light curling around his palms. Though he moved later, he struck first, his palms landing on their chests like lightning.

With a bang and the distinct sound of cracking bones, the force of his palms burst through their bodies. The clothes on their backs exploded, their faces turned deathly pale, and they shot away like cannonballs before crashing heavily to the ground in front of Zhang Si.

The skin all over their bodies turned blood-red before his eyes. They crumpled to the ground like noodles, dead on the spot.

"Fire Sand Palm!"

Duan Kun's pupils contracted.

"How dare you secretly learn our Wild Wolf Gang's martial art!"

Duan Kun roared, wariness showing in his eyes.

He had originally dismissed Qin Ming. He could slap a Martial Artist who had only just broken through to the Skin Refining Realm to death with one hand. But now he abruptly realized he had underestimated him.

Reaching the entry level in Fire Sand Palm was no feat that could be accomplished overnight!

And there was the decisiveness and ferocity of Qin Ming's attacks—every move had been a killing blow! This kid had killed before, and more than once!

Realizing this, Duan Kun chose to strike first and seize the advantage.

"Kill!"

Duan Kun pounced like a starving wolf upon its prey, striking repeatedly with his palms. Waves of heat rolled toward Qin Ming, and Duan Kun's palms glowed blood-red. He, too, had cultivated Fire Sand Palm!

Duan Kun had also cultivated Fire Sand Palm to the entry level, and his mastery of it ran deeper than Qin Ming's. He was already close to minor mastery!

Bang!

Their palms met. Qin Ming's martial realm was one level below Duan Kun's, and the strike sent him staggering back more than ten paces. A searing pain shot through his hand. He looked down and saw that several blood blisters had formed on his palm.

"Qin Ming, I carved out my place in the Wild Wolf Gang with these Fire Sand Palms of mine. Who gave you the dog's guts to use Fire Sand Palm in front of me?"

Duan Kun laughed, his attacks growing faster and fiercer.

Duan Kun was worthy of his title as the Wild Wolf Gang's Double Red Flower Staff. He had a wealth of combat experience, and before long, he landed a palm strike on Qin Ming's abdomen. A searing pain spread through Qin Ming's internal organs, leaving him with internal injuries.

"Qin Ming, today next year will be the anniversary of your death!"

Duan Kun breathed a sigh of relief.

He had thought something might go wrong, but now it seemed everything was still under control.

Qin Ming did not answer. His gaze fell on the transparent panel.

[Ninth-Rank Martial Art: Fire Sand Palm (70/200), entry level]

That brief exchange had sent his Fire Sand Palm points soaring by 22!

Qin Ming's understanding of Fire Sand Palm had also deepened rapidly. If he had not taken that palm strike, he could have improved even more by holding out a little longer.

"Die!"

Duan Kun held nothing back, launching a killing blow at Qin Ming's temple.

Qin Ming drew the pig-slaying saber from his back, and a feeling that blood was thicker than water rose in his heart.

The saber flashed!

Like an antelope hanging by its horns, leaving no trace to be found!

Duan Kun's entire body went rigid, as though he had been struck by an immobilization spell. His eyes were filled with disbelief.

A thin blood-colored line rapidly appeared across his neck.

Blood sprayed wildly from the line. He clamped a hand over it, but it was futile.

"So fast... that saber... Incense Master Yan... will surely... avenge me..."

Duan Kun fell heavily to the ground, his body twitching as blood quickly stained the earth red.

Thud—

Yellow Hair, Zhang Si, went deathly pale, his limbs so weak with fright that he collapsed. He wanted to run, but his legs were like noodles. Even with the wall to support him, he could not stand.

"Q-Qin... Master Qin, I..."

He still wanted to beg for mercy, but Qin Ming sent him straight to the Western Heaven with a single slash.

"I only meant to cripple one of your hands, but you insisted on courting death!"

Qin Ming dragged the corpses outside, separated their flesh from their bones on the spot, and threw the flesh and blood into the woods.

Wild beasts would eat it during the night.

After returning to the house, Qin Ming began counting the night's gains.

He found a total of fifteen taels of silver, one packet of Qi-Blood Powder, and one Fire Sand Palm martial arts manual on the three men.

Qi-Blood Powder cost five taels of silver a packet, bringing the total to the equivalent of twenty-five taels.

Fire Sand Palm was passed down by the Wild Wolf Gang, but it was only an external martial art and could be sold on the black market. The black market was in Qingyang County, however, so for now he could only put it away.

Besides that, Qin Ming had found a small booklet on Duan Kun. It contained quite a few names, but no other descriptions.

Qin Ming had a vague feeling that the booklet was no ordinary thing, so he put it away as well.

Looking at the panel again, he saw that killing four people that night had increased his points in each art. In particular, the final blow that had killed Duan Kun had raised his Pig-Slaying Saber Technique points by thirty.

Only gaining thirty points from a Mid-Stage Skin-Refining Realm Martial Artist left Qin Ming somewhat disappointed. After all, he had fought someone a realm above him.

But he soon came to terms with it. With the panel, he had no bottlenecks to break through, which was already heaven-defying enough. As long as he advanced steadily and cultivated diligently, breaking through was only a matter of time!

Killing the two Early Skin-Refining Realm men with Fire Sand Palm had added forty points in total, an average of twenty points per person.

Qin Ming was gradually figuring out the pattern behind the point gains.

Killing a Martial Artist in the same realm added twenty points, killing an ordinary person added five, and killing a Martial Artist one minor realm above him added thirty.

By that reckoning, killing ordinary people was still more worthwhile. Killing six ordinary people was far easier than killing one Mid-Stage Skin-Refining Realm expert.

Besides that, after separating the men's flesh from their bones, Qin Ming's Pig-Slaying Saber Technique points had increased by another eight.

Each Early Skin-Refining Realm Martial Artist's corpse added two points, the Mid-Stage Skin-Refining Realm corpse added three, and Zhang Si's corpse added one.

[Life-Bound Martial Art: Pig-Slaying Saber Technique (216/500), minor mastery]

"Killing an ordinary person adds five points. If I kill another fifty-eight ordinary people, Pig-Slaying Saber Technique will reach major mastery!"

Qin Ming startled himself with that thought. If he really did that, wouldn't he become a homicidal maniac?

He had a vague feeling it was not that simple. If it really worked that way, the panel should not be called Heaven Rewards Diligence, Tempered a Hundred Times into Steel, but Points for Killing.

As though sensing Qin Ming's doubts, a line of small text gradually appeared beneath the panel:

[Points can only be gained by killing evildoers. Wrongfully killing a good person deducts ten times the points. No restrictions apply to demons and monsters.]

Qin Ming nodded inwardly. Just as he had guessed, the panel did have many restrictions, which he would have to discover gradually in the future.

The next day, Qin Ming sought out his master, Pei Heng, and asked about Yan Yue-Ren of the Wild Wolf Gang.

"Yan Yue-Ren? I've heard of him. He's an incense master of the Wild Wolf Gang, at the Mid-Stage Flesh Refining Realm, with quite a few lackeys and hired fighters under him. Why do you ask?"

Qin Ming hid nothing, briefly telling him about Embroiderer.

"I see. Yan Yue-Ren does have a taste for other men's wives, but you needn't worry. He's far away in Qingyang County, tied up with the gang's everyday affairs. He won't come all the way to Qingshan Town himself over such a small matter. Embroiderer can recuperate here at the academy; she'll be fine."

Pei Heng spoke slowly, a trace of displeasure appearing in his eyes. "As for you, I hear you haven't been at the academy these past few nights. Don't neglect your cultivation. You won't find Lingzhi every time you go up the mountain."

Qin Ming had a mere Ninth-Grade Root Bone, yet he had broken through to the Skin Refining Realm in half a month. Many people were curious how he had managed it. Given his root bone, even if he cultivated as hard as he could, his progress should not have been so heaven-defying.

To avoid exposing the panel, Qin Ming had told them about the Lingzhi. Only then had everyone understood, and they had all marveled at his extraordinary luck. To conceal his strength, Qin Ming had also credited the dungeon fight to luck: the two constables had been far too careless, and with his own good fortune, he had managed to sever the tendons in both their hands by sheer luck after a bitter struggle.

Quite a few people believed the story.

Except Lu Liu.

He had seen it with his own eyes: Qin Ming had crippled both men in the space of two breaths.

Although Lu Liu did not understand why Qin Ming was hiding his strength, he did not step forward to expose him. Instead, he covered for Qin Ming, confirming that Qin Ming had seized the chance to launch a sneak attack while Lu Liu was fighting the two men.

As a result, many of his fellow disciples, including Pei Heng, grew much less enthusiastic toward Qin Ming.

His Ninth-Grade Root Bone was plain to see. For ninety-nine percent of people with a Ninth-Grade Root Bone, the limit was the peak of the Skin Refining Realm; they would never reach the Flesh Refining Realm in their entire lives.

After taking his leave of Pei Heng, Qin Ming returned to his room and took out the register he had obtained from Duan Kun from beneath his bed.

The register was densely covered with names.

It was a roster, though he did not know what it was for. Qin Ming leafed through it and discovered that Yan Yue-Ren's name was among them.

Qin Ming's large hand suddenly clenched, and his heart gave a jolt.

Why is Yan Yue-Ren's name in here? Doesn't that mean this register is very important?!

Now that the register had been lost, the Wild Wolf Gang would surely send people to Qingshan Town to look for it. It was only a matter of time before they came after him.

"No! I have to get stronger, and fast! If Yan Yue-Ren comes to Qingshan Town himself, with his Mid-Stage Flesh Refining Realm strength, I'm afraid even Pei Heng won't be his match. Wouldn't I have no choice but to surrender without a fight then?"

Qin Ming's heart tightened, and an overwhelming sense of danger left him on edge.

He did not have much time left!

Qin Ming glanced back at the sleeping Embroiderer. He had to plan a way out as soon as possible. As things stood, he could not stay at the Eight Trigrams Martial Arts Academy for long either.