Elder Wei Takes Action

Qingshan Town.

A sea of fire churned, and cries of anguish rose on all sides.

The bandits of Clearwind Stronghold burned, killed, and plundered, stopping at no evil. Corpses littered the ground wherever they went.

"Yuan Lie, stop! I'll go with you. Spare these people. They're all innocent!"

Pei Heng's eyes were bloodshot as he roared.

"Spare them? What a joke. We're mountain bandits! If we spare them, what will my brothers eat and drink?"

Yuan Lie threw back his head and laughed. "Watch me wash Qingshan Town in blood today and vent the grudge of my fallen brothers from Clearwind Stronghold!

"Pei Heng, if you want to blame someone, blame your junior brother!"

Against these utterly vicious mountain bandits, the people of Qingshan Town had no power to resist. In the blink of an eye, more than half were slaughtered, and their belongings were stolen.

The people of the Eight Trigrams Martial Arts Academy were singled out for particularly vicious attacks, and before long, blood flowed like a river along the entire street.

"Retreat!"

Lu Liu led his people toward the academy, fighting as they fell back. But there were simply too many bandits from Clearwind Stronghold, and Lu Liu had yet to recover from his injuries. Disciples of the Eight Trigrams Martial Arts Academy kept falling.

The Tiger Martial Arts Academy was faring no better on the other side.

Its master, Huo Zheng, was besieged by several experts and fell into a disadvantage. Before long, Yuan Lie struck him with a punch that left him gravely injured.

"Father!"

Huo Lan's expression changed drastically.

"Haha, this little beauty is quite a looker!"

"Huo Lin, take your sister and go!"

The entire square was in chaos.

The crowd scattered, and two Mid-Stage Skin-Refining Realm bandits pursued Lu Liu, finally cornering him in an alley.

Looking at the stone wall ahead, Lu Liu's eyes filled with despair.

He had run into a dead end!

"The boss said not to leave a single person from the Eight Trigrams Martial Arts Academy alive. Kill him!"

The two bandits joined forces. Lu Liu soon found himself unable to hold them off and was kicked to the ground.

Without another word, a bandit raised his saber to cut off Lu Liu's head.

At that critical moment, a burly figure descended from the sky, seized the two bandits by their collars, and flung them hard against the wall. The impact was so great that both their heads burst open on the spot.

"Senior Sister!"

When Lu Liu saw who it was, he was both shocked and delighted.

Second Senior Sister was still alive!

"Are you all right?"

Li Shengnan pulled Lu Liu to his feet.

"It's just a minor injury. It won't kill me. Oh, right, Senior Sister, where's Junior Brother Qin? Is he still alive?"

"Yes, he went to the academy ahead of me. Let's go meet him!"

The Eight Trigrams Martial Arts Academy.

The rear courtyard.

The Twin Martial Arts Academies Tournament had been held in the square at the center of town, very close to the Tiger Martial Arts Academy but far from the Eight Trigrams Martial Arts Academy.

All the academy's disciples had gone to the Twin Martial Arts Academies Tournament that day. In the vast Eight Trigrams Martial Arts Academy, only Embroiderer and Elder Wei, who guarded the back gate, remained.

"This is the place!"

Several people appeared at the back gate of the Eight Trigrams Martial Arts Academy.

They had been sent by the Wild Wolf Gang specifically to investigate Duan Kun's disappearance.

Now that Qin Ming was missing, they had no choice but to take Embroiderer back to complete their assignment. It was better than returning empty-handed, and if Yan Yue-Ren was pleased, they might even escape punishment.

If Qin Ming had survived by some stroke of luck, having Embroiderer in their hands would also give them a bargaining chip.

Normally, with Pei Heng holding the fort, they would never have dared break into the Eight Trigrams Martial Arts Academy. Now, they had no such misgivings.

Bang!

The gate to the rear courtyard was kicked open, and the intruders quickly spread out.

"Find that woman and leave. Don't waste time."

Embroiderer, sitting in her room, was lost in grief. At the sound, her ears twitched slightly. "Could it be that Brother Qin has come back?"

She hurried to her feet and pushed open the door.

The sound of the door opening immediately drew one of them over. "She's here!"

Embroiderer's heart lurched. She sensed trouble, but it was already too late to run.

The intruders quickly caught up to her and bound her hand and foot.

Before coming, they had seen portraits of Qin Ming and Embroiderer, so they recognized her at a glance.

"Who are you? Let me go!"

Embroiderer was frightened and shocked. She had never imagined anyone would dare break into the academy!

"Who are we? You'll understand when you meet our hall master."

They exchanged glances and burst out laughing, then gagged Embroiderer and took her away.

Just as they were about to leave, an old man with one foot in the grave blocked the back gate, coughing as he did so.

It was Elder Wei.

"Out of the way, old man! A good dog doesn't block the road!"

The young man at the front hurled abuse at him.

"Young man, don't be so hotheaded. Let her go."

Leaning on his walking stick, Elder Wei coughed violently several times and reached around to thump his back.

"What nonsense are you spouting? If I weren't hotheaded, would I still be young?"

"You old bastard, at your age you still want to play the hero and save a beauty? I'll send you on your way!"

One of them gave a strange laugh and swung his heavy saber at Elder Wei's forehead. The ripping sound as it cut through the air made Embroiderer instinctively shut her eyes.

"Ah!"

A scream rang out. When Embroiderer opened her eyes again, the young man who had just been so menacing lay on the ground with a gaping hole in his chest.

Bright red blood ran down the walking stick in Elder Wei's hand.

In that instant, Elder Wei had thrust his stick straight through the man's chest, killing him in a single blow.

"You're a martial artist! Fuck! Kill him!"

The other two were shocked and furious. They immediately let go of Embroiderer and lunged at Elder Wei.

By the time Qin Ming arrived, all three had become corpses.

Embroiderer's lovely eyes widened when she saw Qin Ming. She almost failed to recognize him.

In just a few days, Qin Ming had more than doubled in bulk, and his appearance had changed greatly as well. He was more handsome and resolute than before!

"Embroiderer!"

"Mmmph, mmmph—"

Embroiderer finally recognized Qin Ming. With her mouth gagged, she could only make muffled sobbing sounds.

Qin Ming swept his eyes over the scene and immediately understood. The old man before him had saved Embroiderer; otherwise, her captors would have taken her away long before he arrived.

"Wild Wolf Gang again."

Qin Ming's gaze turned icy. The men wore exactly the same clothes as Duan Kun, so they were easy to identify.

"Thank you for stepping in, Elder Wei. I'll never forget your great kindness as long as I live!"

After untying Embroiderer, Qin Ming cupped his fists and bowed in thanks, his tone respectful and his posture humble.

When he had first met Elder Wei, he had vaguely sensed that the old man was no ordinary person. Now it seemed he had been right. These three young men were all Skin Refining Realm martial artists with vigorous Qi and blood, yet Elder Wei had dealt with them so easily.

At Elder Wei's age, his Qi and blood must have declined severely. To kill all three in such a short time, he must have reached at least the Perfected Skin-Refining Realm in his youth, perhaps even higher!

"It seems your misfortune turned into a blessing on this trip. You even learned the Li Lineage's Savage Bull Strength and reached Minor Mastery in it. Not bad!"

Elder Wei nodded with a smile.

Qin Ming's heart jolted.

Just who was Elder Wei, to be able to see what level his Savage Bull Strength had reached?

"You've made a breakthrough in the Eight Trigrams Stake Skill too, and there are traces of several other martial arts on you. Boy, are you trying to follow the path of Bone Refining into Silver? Come, attack me with your strongest strike."

Elder Wei beckoned Qin Ming over.

"Elder Wei, are you... sure?"

Qin Ming glanced at Elder Wei's thin arms and legs, then at his own thick arms.

Would Elder Wei survive that punch?

"Don't worry. This old man isn't so easy to kill!"

Elder Wei rolled his eyes.

"All right. I'm a little stronger than an ordinary Early Flesh-Refining Realm martial artist, so be careful."

Qin Ming gripped his pig-slaughtering knife in a reverse grip and threw a punch.

With the pig-slaughtering knife in his hand, its enchantment attributes activated. Qin Ming's attack speed and base strength suddenly surged, and the handle slammed into Elder Wei's palm in an instant.

Bang!

The Qi and blood in Qin Ming's body seethed, yet his full-powered strike only made Elder Wei's body tremble slightly.

"Good lad!"

Elder Wei's eyes lit up, and a trace of astonishment crossed his face.

That strength and speed were already on par with a Mid-Stage Flesh-Refining Realm martial artist!

"I never expected a genius to emerge from this little Qingshan Town."

Elder Wei stroked his beard and smiled.

Compared with Qin Ming, Huo Lin, the so-called number one of Qingshan Town's younger generation, and Yan Yangtian, the number two, both had to step aside.

Little did Elder Wei know that Qin Ming was even more shocked.

Since Elder Wei had taken that punch head-on, his realm was higher than Qin Ming had imagined. He had reached at least the Perfected Flesh-Refining Realm, perhaps even the Bone Refining Realm!

A Bone Refining Realm expert was among the very strongest, even in Qingyang County.

"Elder Wei, you..."

Qin Ming had many questions, but as soon as he opened his mouth, Elder Wei waved a hand and interrupted him.

"I've lived here in seclusion for more than ten years. It's time for me to leave. My identity cannot be revealed to outsiders, so don't inquire into it, lest you bring trouble upon yourself."

Elder Wei tossed aside his walking stick. After a series of cracks and pops came from the bones in his body, his hunched frame slowly straightened!

Immediately afterward, a clear sound of flowing water came from within him. In just a few breaths, it grew louder and louder, until it rumbled like thunder and roared like a surging river. A pillar of blood-red light suddenly burst from the top of his head!

"This... this is the Qi-Blood Rainbow that only appears at the perfected Blood Refining Realm!"

Qin Ming stared, dumbfounded.

Elder Wei, he...

He was actually a perfected Blood Refining Realm expert!

Before long, the pillar of light dissipated. Elder Wei looked more than ten years younger, and more than half the wrinkles on his face had vanished.

"Qin Ming, although your innate constitution is ordinary, you have a good talent for cultivation. If you can cultivate Silver Bone in the Bone Refining Realm, take this token to Wangjing Prefecture. Consider it a token of the fate that brought us together."

Elder Wei handed Qin Ming a token.

The token was made of pure gold. The three large characters for Wangjing Prefecture were engraved on its front, and a strange symbol whose meaning Qin Ming could not understand was engraved on the back.

Wangjing Prefecture was under the government's authority and was specifically responsible for clearing away demonic calamities and bandit threats on its behalf. In the eyes of outsiders, it had always been a mysterious and powerful organization.

"In the later stages of cultivation, martial arts manuals and mental cultivation methods are crucial. Whether sects or lineages, the martial arts and cultivation methods they possess are far inferior to those of the government. The Eight Trigrams Stake Skill and Savage Bull Strength you cultivate are both recorded by the government. The government holds ninety-nine percent of the martial arts in the martial world. You're a clever man; you should understand what I mean, shouldn't you?"

Qin Ming looked at the token in his hand and nodded.

He understood the reasoning, but entering the government's service would undoubtedly be fraught with difficulties. Now that he had this recommendation token, it was unquestionably a rare opportunity for Qin Ming!

"Junior Brother!"

Li Shengnan and Lu Liu had returned.

Qin Ming turned around, only to find that Elder Wei had vanished without him noticing when.

"Junior Brother, you... how did you end up looking like this?"

Lu Liu instinctively glanced at Li Shengnan.

The two were equally burly.

"You learned Savage Bull Strength too?"

Qin Ming nodded. Before he could say anything more, a shout suddenly came from outside.

"After them! Don't let them get away!"

"Don't leave a single person from the Eight Trigrams Martial Arts Academy alive!"