At that moment, a sly, vicious glint flashed through Commander Qin's eyes.
He had been worrying over how to provoke Xu Jie and lure him into a trap.
He had never expected Xu Jie to deliver himself right to his door!
Thus, Commander Qin's attitude became even more arrogant. He spoke without leaving any room for maneuver, wearing the air of someone who had Xu Jie completely in his grasp.
After all, he was a second-rank mid-stage martial artist. He did not regard Xu Jie, a Blood Moving Realm student, as worthy of his notice at all.
If handled properly, with so many martial artists here to testify that Xu Jie had killed members of the Guard Army, there would not even be any need for so much trouble. They could simply seize Xu Jie, send him back to the city, and have him sentenced to death.
After all, killing Guard Army soldiers during wartime was a grave crime, and the punishment was exceptionally severe!
"Wait!"
Just then, Chu Mingyue ran over. She came to Xu Jie's side and looked in shock at the mercenaries still struggling on the ground, then at the little girl's corpse not far away. She roughly understood what had happened.
Although Chu Mingyue was furious inside and believed these mercenaries deserved to die, she still forcibly squeezed out a smile and spoke up in Xu Jie's defense.
"Commander Qin, there may be some misunderstanding here!"
"A misunderstanding?"
Commander Qin swept his lewd, greedy gaze over the enchanting and stunningly beautiful Chu Mingyue, then sneered mockingly.
"What misunderstanding could there be? This brat had the audacity to kill my brother right before the eyes of so many martial artists. He is dead for sure!"
This was bad!
Chu Mingyue's pretty face immediately changed, and she felt somewhat flustered.
Once Xu Jie was convicted of killing a Guard Army soldier during wartime, just as Commander Qin had said, he would undoubtedly die!
Just as Chu Mingyue had no idea what to do and panic showed on her face, Commander Qin suddenly changed his tone and said with a wicked grin.
"Of course, this matter is not without a solution. We all know Xu Jie is a monster. At worst, we can say my brother died at the jaws of Demonic Beasts. Who would know what happened out here in the wilderness? But Miss Chu may need to make a little sacrifice, hehe!"
Hearing their commander say this, the mercenaries nearby all began whistling and burst into loud laughter.
Chu Mingyue's expression changed drastically. First, she was consumed by rage, trembling all over with anger.
Then she glanced at the silent Xu Jie, and her heart fell into an agonizing struggle.
Of course Chu Mingyue knew what price she would have to pay to shut these mercenaries' mouths, but for Xu Jie...
"Chu Mingyue, you're nothing but trash!"
Suddenly, Xu Jie, whose hands had been torn bloody and mangled, coldly rebuked her.
"You're a martial artist at the Pulse-Opening Peak Stage, yet you let this bunch of garbage have you in their grip. Did you cultivate yourself into a pig? Other than having big breasts, what use are you?"
Xu Jie had been waiting for the mercenary group to gather completely, so none of the fish that slipped through the net could escape.
He did not understand what these mercenaries were waiting for. Were they waiting to die?
As for Chu Mingyue...
She was just completely useless!
Upon hearing this, Chu Mingyue flew into a rage on the spot, while also feeling utterly wronged inside.
"I was doing this for you! How could you..."
"Then get lost! The farther, the better!"
"What... what did you say?"
Chu Mingyue was stunned. She met Xu Jie's cold, emotionless gaze and felt a sense of distance she had never experienced before.
It nearly made her cry aloud. Then, puffing up her cheeks in anger, she turned and ran off, vanishing into the night.
Feeling Chu Mingyue's aura grow distant, Xu Jie quietly breathed a sigh of relief. He did not want such a good woman to fall into the hands of this bunch of scum.
Commander Qin, however, frowned at the sight. He felt the duck at his mouth fly away, and before he could mourn the loss—
Xu Jie raised his head, swept his eyes over the mercenaries who had more or less all arrived, and attacked without another word.
His large hand, slick with blood, gripped the hilt of the saber on the ground and swept it viciously across.
In an instant, more than a dozen people at the front were cut in half at the waist. Commander Qin's expression changed drastically as he roared.
"Xu Jie, you're courting death!"
Xu Jie said nothing. Watching Commander Qin charge at him viciously with his saber drawn, he turned his blade and, for the first time in the wilderness, unleashed his true strength.
Second-rank mid-stage!
With a single slash, Commander Qin instantly lost all ability to fight!
Under Commander Qin's disbelieving gaze, Xu Jie brought his saber down from above, piercing his chest and nailing his entire body to the ground.
Everything before their eyes happened too fast. The surrounding mercenaries had not even reacted before Xu Jie killed Commander Qin, the strongest among them, in a single strike.
Of course, Commander Qin was not dead—or rather, Xu Jie had not intended to kill him so quickly.
He had merely pinned Commander Qin to the ground with the saber, then bent down and said calmly.
"Don't rush. I won't let you die so easily!"
"You... urgh!"
Commander Qin, constantly vomiting blood, could not speak. The only thing he could do was stare in utter terror as Xu Jie picked up his saber and began slaughtering the members of the mercenary group around him.
At that moment, Xu Jie seemed to have transformed into an executioner!
With every slash, several mercenaries were cut in half at the waist, collapsing to the ground and struggling in agony.
Most of the mercenaries were only in the Blood Moving Realm. They could not withstand even one slash from Xu Jie, nor could they escape his pursuit. They could only watch helplessly as they themselves were severed at the waist.
Chu Mingyue, who had hidden nearby and not left, stared at it all with her eyes wide in shock.
She had never expected Xu Jie to kill Commander Qin, a second-rank mid-stage martial artist, with a single slash.
Moreover, the power of blood and cultivation aura Xu Jie had just unleashed were undoubtedly from the Pulse Opening Realm!
Xu Jie had actually broken through to the Pulse Opening Realm on his own!?
Earlier, when Xu Jie told Chu Mingyue he could break through by himself, she had thought he was merely trying to save face.
Yet only a few days later, Xu Jie had truly broken through an entire major realm on his own.
How had Xu Jie done it!?
One had to know that, given Chu Mingyue's background and knowledge, although she had never seen a monster who had undergone Blood Moving nine times, she had still heard of monsters who had undergone Blood Moving eight times.
That person had shaken all of Xia Country back then. His talent was monstrously exceptional, his spirit soaring high, and countless people revered him.
Yet in the end, after consuming endless resources, he had still needed more than two years to break through to the Pulse Opening Realm.
Meanwhile, some martial artists of his same generation had already reached the Bone Forging Realm.
This showed just how terrifyingly difficult it was to break through after undergoing Blood Moving eight times. If one had undergone Blood Moving nine times, what kind of difficulty would that be?
Yet Xu Jie had taken less than two days to enter the Pulse Opening Realm by relying on himself, and had even cultivated directly to the mid-stage of the Pulse Opening Realm!
Xu Jie's feat of independently breaking through to the Pulse Opening Realm in such a short time brought Chu Mingyue an immense shock.
It even surpassed the shock of seeing Xu Jie slaughter the mercenary group with such ruthless cruelty and reckless audacity.
So much so that, when the more than one hundred mercenary group members in the village were swiftly killed or injured until almost none remained, with only a few managing to escape—
Chu Mingyue finally snapped back to her senses and once more looked toward Xu Jie, who was walking toward the still-living Commander Qin with saber in hand.
To be precise!
Not a single one of the mercenaries Xu Jie had cut in half at the waist in the village had died.
They were still struggling on the ground like zombies, constantly rolling about and howling in agony, their cries shrill to the extreme.
Before you continue