Kill Yuan Lie!

"Clang!"

The instant the butcher's knife crossed Yuan Lie's fist, the clash rang out like metal striking metal.

Empowered by the Xingyi Fist, Yuan Lie's fist was every bit as hard as the butcher's knife.

At the same time, a tremendous force thundered down on Qin Ming through the blade.

Even with the 35% force-dissipation attribute bonus, Qin Ming still felt a measure of pressure. The force behind Yuan Lie's punch, in particular, made him feel as though he could hardly breathe.

An eighth-rank martial art certainly lives up to its reputation! No wonder it stirred up such a storm in the martial world twenty years ago.

Qin Ming bent at the waist with the force of the blow and unleashed the butcher's knife at full speed. With its 40% attack-speed bonus, it struck Yuan Lie precisely in the armpit like a bolt of lightning.

"Shlick!"

Yuan Lie's body shuddered violently. The Qi and blood within him rapidly scattered in a bizarre fashion, and the fierce punching force he had just gathered collapsed with them.

"You... what did you do to me?"

Yuan Lie went pale with shock and staggered backward.

Qin Ming pressed his advantage, stabbing several weak points on Yuan Lie's body in quick succession.

Yuan Lie's face rapidly flushed red. The force of the Xingyi Fist was now rampaging through his body, and more than a dozen small lumps bulged beneath his skin, moving ceaselessly all over him.

"No!"

Yuan Lie roared, his eyes filled with terror. The lumps grew larger and larger, filled with a dazzling red light. That—

Was the force of the Xingyi Fist!

"Help me! I don't want to die!"

Yuan Lie knelt on the ground, clutching his head. His voice was shrill, blood streamed from his seven orifices, and his skin split open. Even Qin Ming hadn't expected this outcome.

Those few cuts just now seemed to have severed the pathways through which Yuan Lie circulated the Xingyi Fist, causing its residual force to rampage through the meridians inside his body.

"The Ninth Boss is already on his way! If I die, don't any of you think you'll live!"

Yuan Lie stared fixedly at Qin Ming, his eyes bloodred. Amid the crowd's cries of alarm, he exploded with a bang, scattering flesh and blood across the ground.

"What overbearing punching force!"

Qin Ming's heart trembled.

The Xingyi Fist had made him, and the Xingyi Fist had destroyed him.

The punching force of an ordinary ninth-rank martial art wouldn't have caused Yuan Lie, a Mid-Stage Flesh-Refining Realm martial artist, to explode and die. Clearly, this eighth-rank martial art was indeed overbearing.

Qin Ming seemed to recall something and immediately searched through the remains of Yuan Lie's clothes.

But apart from a few high-denomination silver notes, there was nothing on him.

A flicker of disappointment crossed Qin Ming's eyes.

That was an eighth-rank martial art. If I could get my hands on it, my strength would surely soar. What a pity.

Qin Ming sighed and turned around. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of quite a few people staring fixedly at the silver notes in his hand, and his heart tightened.

Perhaps failing to find the Xingyi Fist wasn't a bad thing. Otherwise, once word got out, an endless hunt would await him.

"Run!"

Seeing that Yuan Lie and all four protectors were dead, the remaining bandits immediately scattered.

"None of you are getting away!"

Qin Ming raced after them, striking again and again with the Fire Sand Palm. With the strength bonus bringing him on par with the Mid-Stage Flesh-Refining Realm, not a single bandit could withstand one palm strike.

As his kill count rose, his proficiency in the Fire Sand Palm soared at a visible rate.

"Kill all these bandits and avenge our fallen brothers!"

The martial artists from the two academies roared and began to fight back.

Qin Ming had scared the bandits out of their wits, and they had even thrown away their weapons. They could hardly resist the academies' counterattack.

Half a quarter of an hour later, every bandit had been killed. Qin Ming had slain nine out of ten of them.

[Ninth-Rank Martial Art: Fire Sand Palm: (175/1000) Greater Mastery]

By killing the bandits, Qin Ming had finally pushed the Fire Sand Palm to the Greater Mastery stage.

Qin Ming looked down and saw that his hands were covered in a thin red film. Looking at it for too long even brought a burning pain to the eyes, as though they were being scorched by fire.

The Fire Poison seems to have grown much stronger.

As Qin Ming thought this and circulated it at full power, a faint, searing heat came from his palms.

I just don't know how powerful the Fire Poison is.

"Brother Qin!"

Embroiderer came racing over and threw herself into Qin Ming's arms. Her voice trembled and caught with a sob. "I thought I'd never see you again."

"It's all right, it's over now." Qin Ming stroked Embroiderer's hair and comforted her softly.

"Junior Brother."

Li Shengnan followed close behind, quite a few bloodstains still on her. She had just intercepted and killed two Late Skin-Refining Realm martial artists.

"Qin Ming, you saved us all. You're our lifesaver!"

The surviving townspeople of Qingshan Town gathered around Qin Ming of their own accord, kowtowing to thank him.

Huo Zheng, a complicated expression on his face, came over one step at a time with someone's support. He cupped his fists toward Qin Ming and bowed deeply.

"Father, you..."

Huo Lan was startled.

"The members of the Tiger Martial Arts Academy owe their lives to you this time, young friend Qin. Please accept my bow!"

"It was no trouble."

Qin Ming's tone was calm, with a hint of distance.

Hearing this, Huo Zheng couldn't help feeling a measure of regret.

Qin Ming had clearly joined the Tiger Martial Arts Academy first, only for Huo Zheng to push him away with his own hands. Now Huo Zheng's guts had turned green with regret.

"Little Junior Brother, I didn't expect you to become so formidable after disappearing for just a few days. Your senior brother worried for nothing!"

Lu Liu smiled, genuinely happy for Qin Ming.

The others also wore the smiles of people who had survived a calamity.

"Don't celebrate too soon. This isn't over yet!"

Pei Heng limped over.

"Master, what do you mean?"

Lu Liu asked hurriedly.

"Have you forgotten the Ninth Boss Yuan Lie mentioned just before he died? As far as I know, this Ninth Boss is at the perfected Flesh Refining Realm, infinitely close to the Bone Refining Realm!"

"What?!"

Everyone went pale with shock.

The Bone Refining Realm—that made one a top-notch expert even in Qingyang County!

Qin Ming's heart tightened.

If what Yuan Lie had said was true, the Ninth Boss could appear at any moment.

"I suggest we leave now!"

Qin Ming took a deep breath as he spoke.

"Where to?"

"Qingyang County."

There was nowhere safer than Qingyang County at present. It was also the county seat closest to Qingshan Town, and even with the Clearwind Stronghold's considerable influence, it wouldn't dare set foot there lightly.

At the mention of going to Qingyang County, quite a few people hesitated.

They had put down roots in Qingshan Town for so many years, and all their businesses and belongings were here. Leaving now meant giving up everything, and they couldn't accept that.

The road to Qingyang County wasn't peaceful either. They might run into bandits or highway robbers, and there had recently been quite a few rumors of ghosts and monsters. If ordinary people like them encountered any, they would have nine chances of dying and one of living.

"These bandits have all been wiped out. They probably won't come again, will they?"

"That's right. Maybe Yuan Lie made up that Ninth Boss to scare us before he died. I'm staying."

"I hear there are loads of gangs in Qingyang County. You have to pay protection money no matter what business you run, and it's hard enough for ordinary people just to stay alive. I think I'll pass."

Quite a few people whispered among themselves.

People died for wealth as birds died for food. Some were unwilling to abandon their fields and property; life in Qingyang County would be far less carefree than in Qingshan Town.

"Master."

Lu Liu looked at Pei Heng.

"Qin Ming has a point. All members of the Eight Trigrams Martial Arts Academy, listen up! Pack your things. We leave immediately!"

No one was surprised that Pei Heng was leaving. After all, the bandits from the Clearwind Stronghold had come for him in the first place.

"Father, what about us?"

Huo Lan asked quietly.

"We're leaving too," Huo Zheng said slowly.

Their lives mattered more than the Tiger Martial Arts Academy.

Soon, everyone was packed and ready.

Qin Ming took advantage of the lull to loot the corpses and obtained quite a bit of silver. The four protectors in particular had each been worth a fair amount and had silver notes hidden on them.

"What's this?"

Qin Ming pulled a sheet of parchment from a bloodstained boot.

If he remembered correctly, the boot had belonged to Yuan Lie.

"Could it be—

"The Xingyi Fist?"

Qin Ming's heart stirred, and he unfolded it while no one was looking.