Zhao Huai felt the surging strength in his body, a trace of surprise in his eyes.
This Peak Intent state of Qi Refining Level 9 actually carried the faint shadow of Foundation Establishment.
His flesh absorbed vast amounts of Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi, all of it transformed into True Qi within his body. Meanwhile, the True Qi in his dantian was continuously compressed, showing the slightest sign of condensing into true essence.
One had to know that only those in the Foundation Establishment Realm could gather their Dantian Qi Sea, compress spiritual qi, and solidify it into true essence.
Yet now, he had actually touched the threshold of Foundation Establishment.
"Whoosh!"
Soul-Reaping Scholar hurriedly made his move. In the blink of an eye, the sharp Six Fan Sword stabbed toward Zhao Huai.
In Li Yanqing and the others' eyes, they could only vaguely make out a blurred afterimage.
Yet Zhao Huai remained calm. He extended two fingers and leisurely caught the incoming blade.
Then he exerted force with his index finger and gave it a light flick.
"Clang!"
An exceptionally crisp ring came from the sword.
While controlling his sword, Soul-Reaping Scholar felt a fierce burst of force rush straight at him.
He hurriedly focused his mind as one and mobilized his True Qi to block the attack.
"Crash!"
Yet the Six Fan Sword hanging in the air fell powerlessly under that strike, landing with a clatter. Its blade was cracked inch by inch, reduced to scrap iron.
With Peak Intent empowering him, Zhao Huai's finger carried Ten Thousand Jin Strength. With him exerting his full force, how could Soul-Reaping Scholar withstand it? Seeing himself defeated in a single move, Soul-Reaping Scholar hurriedly retreated, his expression ugly. His gloomy gaze swept over Li Yanqing and the others, but from his steps alone, his fear could not have been more obvious.
Without question, the thought of retreat had arisen in his heart.
An assassination was not a suicide mission. So long as one lived, one was still a good man.
"Trying to run?"
Zhao Huai was sharp-minded and sensed the other man's fear in an instant.
The Mysterious Ring flashed, and a longsword with azure twin edges and a deep, shadowy blade floated before Zhao Huai.
It was that unidentified Treasure Sword.
The power of his fists and flesh was indeed impressive. Why not try swordsmanship?
No sooner said than done. Zhao Huai gripped the sword, and as the cold iron entered his hand, he immediately felt as though their hearts were linked.
His Swordplay Expertise fate was silently taking effect, allowing him to naturally gain an excellent feel whenever he wielded a weapon.
His fists were already this formidable. What would happen once he used a sword?
A wave of lingering fear flashed through Soul-Reaping Scholar's heart.
Thus, he stomped hard. Bluestone slabs flew up beneath his feet, and he shot more than ten meters away in an instant, fleeing.
Such decisive flight undoubtedly left his back exposed to Zhao Huai.
"An assassin with no fighting spirit at all?"
Zhao Huai chuckled. With a forceful flick of his wrist, he threw out the longsword.
"Whoosh!"
The sound of air splitting erupted.
"Damn it!"
Seeing a sword flying toward him, Soul-Reaping Scholar gritted his teeth.
With a sweep of his wide sleeve, eight sharp throwing knives shot forth, seeking to block the blow.
Zhao Huai moved, vanishing from where he stood.
"Clang, clang, clang!"
The flying sword knocked all eight throwing knives aside.
The next second, Zhao Huai appeared in midair and reached out, catching the sword at just the right moment.
Then he swung it with force.
With Peak Intent's empowerment, Zhao Huai's body seemed as though its shackles had been broken open! The sword trembled, and a deep-blue Sword Qi like a roaming dragon emerged from its edge before tearing through the air along with the blade.
As the Sword Qi came, boundless terror flashed in Soul-Reaping Scholar's eyes.
It was already too late to resist.
"Pfft!"
The Sword Qi shattered Soul-Reaping Scholar's True Qi barrier and, in an instant, shredded his heart meridians, making him vomit a mouthful of blood.
His limp body fell heavily to the ground like a boneless cloth doll.
Before he died, his eyes were wide open. Clearly, he had never expected this stumble to come at the hands of an ordinary-looking young man.
"This unidentified Treasure Sword seems to be a magical artifact."
Zhao Huai wiped the blood from the sword with Soul-Reaping Scholar's clothes. Looking at its crystal-clear blade, he murmured to himself.
Just then.
The Butcher's long-rigid body twitched slightly. With a swish, the butcher knife at his waist flew from its sheath and hovered in the air, parallel to the ground.
His enraged eyes flew open, bloodshot with fury.
On the other side, Zhao Huai's mind seemed to sense something.
He lifted his eyelids, his gaze utterly calm.
With a toss of his hand.
The longsword became a streak of deep-blue lightning and shot forth.
"Zheng!"
The sword cry was clear and ethereal, like a drop of water falling into a thousand-year cold pool.
"So strong."
The Butcher had only just raised his chest when a longsword nailed him to the mud wall.
Then the butcher knife fell to the ground with a clatter. Blood trickled from the corner of the Butcher's mouth, while the disbelief in his tiger-like eyes lingered for a long time.
Zhao Huai slowly walked over, pulled the longsword from the wall, and sighed.
Even if he spared the other man, he likely would not be able to get anything out of him. With the lesson from last time before him, Zhao Huai had not intended to hold back this time.
"Were these assassins really here to kill me? Why do I feel like they acted on a sudden whim?"
"Could they have come to assassinate Madam again?"
Zhao Huai pondered in secret.
Combining the last incident with this one, it was not difficult for him to infer that these killers had originally come for Yu Qinghan. Yet they had chosen the soft persimmon to squeeze, and all came running after him instead.
Zhao Huai felt that this could not go on. Who could endure being assassinated every day?
Tonight, he absolutely had to have a deep exchange with Madam.
Some conflicts had to be resolved at their root.
"Senior! Senior!"
At that moment, Li Yanqing ran over excitedly, his attendants around him nearly unable to keep up.
"Your swordsmanship is amazing! Can you teach me?"
Li Yanqing's face was full of excitement. He was even more thrilled than the first time he had gone to a brothel! Zhao Huai put the sword back into the Mysterious Ring and said blandly, "You're still far too early for that. Learn to cultivate qi first."
Li Yanqing was not discouraged in the slightest. He grinned. "No problem!"
He felt that so long as he cultivated under a master like this, what was there to fear about being unable to cultivate qi? The strength Zhao Huai had displayed completely crushed those so-called expert cultivators his father had found for him!
Those unscrupulous sects had clearly taken his father's money, yet they sent a few ordinary disciples to teach him. If that was not going through the motions, what was?
Zhao Huai took the money pouches from the two corpses before him and counted them. There was quite a bit of silver, over a thousand taels in banknotes, and several hundred spirit stones. He had made a small fortune.
Then he took out two Fire Thunder Dao Talismans he had refined from the Mysterious Ring.
"Senior, are those talismans?"
Li Yanqing had a sharp eye. Seeing the yellow paper in Zhao Huai's hand covered in all sorts of patterns, he identified it at once.
"Mm."
Zhao Huai responded softly, then threw out the Fire Thunder Dao Talismans in his hand.
Yang fire spontaneously ignited from the dao talismans. In the blink of an eye, fierce crimson flames devoured the two corpses.
They burned until only a pile of black ash remained. This was another use for the Fire Thunder Dao Talismans.
Once a breeze blew, it would all scatter away.
After destroying the corpses and erasing all traces, there would naturally be no evidence left behind.
Zhao Huai watched the dispersing ashes and thought to himself.
Then Zhao Huai suddenly remembered there was still one matter left unresolved.
It was the four masked oddities he had encountered at the auction. He remembered that those four had intended to cause him trouble.
But where were they now? Zhao Huai had not forgotten that the four masked oddities were very likely demons.
Before you continue