Portrait

Portrait

Memories from his previous life surfaced, bringing information about this man.

This man was named Zhang Yuan. He was a guard of the Zhang Family, with strength newly entering the Ninth Rank. He had shifty eyes, two wisps of a mustache, and was short and fat. He loved gambling and had a few petty schemes up his sleeve.

Lu Zhaojin looked at the other two men, but had no impression of them.

Still, neither was worth worrying about.

When Zhang Yuan saw the dead hunting dog on the ground, his expression changed slightly, but there was an undisguised gleam of delight in his eyes. "I was wondering why this beast wouldn't come back when called."

He continued with a cold laugh, "But tonight, it seems the three of us brothers are destined to strike it rich. We haven't found that damned Lu Jinlin, but we found his son first. The Patriarch said that dead or alive, there's a reward of one hundred taels of silver."

The man on the left said, "Then what do we do with the dog?"

The man on the right nodded in agreement. "Second Young Master bought this dog from Qishan County at a high price. I heard it's a purebred, and he likes it dearly. He left it in our care, but now it's dead. We won't be able to explain ourselves. We can't bear that responsibility."

Zhang Yuan, too, recalled the temperament of the Zhang Family's Second Young Master. As if he had thought of something terrifying, he trembled slightly and said solemnly, "Isn't that simple? Just report the truth. It wasn't us who killed it anyway."

The three reached an agreement and closed in on Lu Zhaojin step by step, intending to surround him and prevent his escape.

Lu Zhaojin watched them coldly. Power surged through his body, restless and eager to move. Too lazy to waste words on them, he simply charged forward to kill.

His fist blasted toward the man on the left, heavy as a mountain and impossible to block. The man flew backward, the crisp sound of cracking bones echoing through the area.

Experience for killing a Ninth-Rank Martial Artist +100

A pleasing notification sounded by his ear.

Without slowing his steps, Lu Zhaojin charged at the other man.

Zhang Yuan's face was filled with horror, doubts churning in his heart.

Wasn't he gravely wounded and on the verge of death?

Yet he was brimming with life and vigor. Where was the verge of death in that?

And he had actually reached the Ninth Rank Mid Stage?

Terror seized Zhang Yuan. Knowing he was no match, he immediately thought of retreating, turned, and ran.

He had to hurry and report this to the Eldest Young Master and the Patriarch!

Lu Zhaojin swiftly dealt with the second man, whose courage had been frightened out of him.

Experience for killing a Ninth-Rank Martial Artist +100

Lu Zhaojin looked toward Zhang Yuan, who was fleeing in panic. He picked up the iron sword from the dead man at his feet, caught up with Zhang Yuan in just a few strides after the fleeing man tripped over reeds in his confusion, and gave him no chance to beg for mercy. With one stroke, he severed Zhang Yuan's head.

The head hit the ground and rolled far away.

Experience for killing a Ninth-Rank Martial Artist +100

Once Lu Zhaojin calmed down, the bloody sight before him and the stench of blood flooding his nostrils made his stomach churn. He was about to vomit.

This was his first time killing someone, so discomfort was only natural. But he had to force himself to adapt, because when he met the Zhang Family later, there would only be more blood and slaughter.

The smell of blood spread through the air, drifting farther away on the wind.

This was not a place to linger.

Lu Zhaojin searched Zhang Yuan and the others, finding some loose silver and dried provisions. He took them with him, then headed for Mount Qi.

Lu Zhaojin

Bone Age: Sixteen

Bone Structure: Low-grade

Realm: Ninth Rank Mid Stage

Techniques: Brute Ox Stance (Perfected), Gale Sword Art (25/100)

Experience: 1101

Inventory: 0

Three hundred experience points had come in, bringing his total to over a thousand. It was fairly plentiful.

On Mount Qi, Lu Zhaojin found a relatively concealed spot. He planned to upgrade his sword art here before going to settle accounts with the Zhang Family.

750 experience points consumed

The Gale Sword Art followed the path of the swift sword. Its blade flashed like a gale and a rainstorm, cutting down enemies in the blink of an eye.

The realm of this sword art was measured by how many swords one could wield in a single breath.

One sword in a breath was entry level, two swords was minor mastery, five swords was major mastery, and ten swords was perfection.

Lu Zhaojin entered that wondrous state once more. Only this time, it was swordsmanship, which was somewhat more complicated.

He drew his sword from the earth and swung twice in an instant, so fast that no shadow could be seen. Only two streaks of Sword Light lingered in the air before fading. He repeated this over and over until he could swing five swords in an instant, bringing his sword art to major mastery.

He sheathed his sword, turned, and thrust forward in one fluid motion. In the blink of an eye, ten sword gleams struck the tree trunk before him, leaving ten finger-sized holes.

Gale Sword Art (Perfected)

His realm rose at that moment as well, reaching the Ninth Rank Late Stage.

This was an enormous improvement.

Lu Zhaojing opened his eyes, sharp and bright. He practiced several basic sword forms, each one as natural as moving his own arm. The iron sword in his hand seemed like an extension of his arm, nimble and effortless.

He sheathed the sword and slung it across his back.

Lu Zhaojin looked at the panel. "Both techniques are already perfected, and I still have more than three hundred experience points left. If I had another technique, perhaps I could break through to the Eighth Rank."

Naturally, no techniques could be found in this wilderness. But the Zhang Family members might have some. With experience points in hand, he welcomed any technique that came his way—though sword arts took priority.

All for the dream he had once held of roaming the world with a sword at his side.

Actually.

Before activating the system, Lu Zhaojin's plan had been to hide in Mount Qi first. The mountain was thick with trees and wild beasts, and under cover of night, it was even better suited for hiding. As long as he did not venture too deep, he might be able to catch them unprepared and take a detour to Qishan County.

By then, the Zhang Family's reach would no longer extend to him.

But Lu Zhaojin had not expected that the original owner's father had also hidden in Mount Qi. Still, thinking it over, perhaps the original owner's father had held the same idea.

But now, he no longer needed to go through so much trouble.

Lu Zhaojin recalled the inexplicable pent-up gloom in his heart. It was likely the dying obsession of the original owner. He did not want a dead man to affect him. If there was something he could do, he would help; otherwise, he would wait until he had the ability.

Lu Zhaojin looked up the mountain. "I hope I'm not too late."

Shiqiao Town.

Sihai Escort Agency.

A great fire raged wildly there.

The houses were swallowed by flames, then collapsed, scattering glimmering sparks high into the sky.

Before the escort agency's gates.

A middle-aged man and a young man emerged one after the other.

The middle-aged man was powerfully built and wore a broad brown robe. He strode with the gait of a dragon and tiger, his eyes like lightning, making people afraid to meet his gaze.

One hand rested behind his back as he rolled two iron balls the size of walnuts in the other.

The young man wore fitted martial attire, with a longsword at his waist. His features bore some resemblance to the middle-aged man's, so they were likely father and son.

These two were Patriarch Zhang Heng and Zhang Jiao of the Zhang Family.

Zhang Jiao looked at the many guards who had been waiting there for some time and waved them off to count the valuables carried out from the escort agency. Once only the two of them remained, Zhang Jiao spoke. "Father, we made such a huge commotion tonight, yet we failed to eliminate Lu Jinlin. Lord Xu won't blame us, will he?"

Zhang Heng pondered for a moment before saying, "I will explain matters to Lord Xu myself. The most urgent matter now is to find Lu Jinlin as quickly as possible."

He looked toward the Qi River. "Lu Zhaojin cannot be spared either. We must see him alive, or see his corpse if he is dead. Even a corpse has value. He is Lu Jinlin's only son—the perfect bait."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Jiao wanted to lead men to the Qi River. Seeing through his thoughts, Zhang Heng said, "I have already handed this matter to Xiao Mang."

Knowing his younger brother's disposition, Zhang Jiao frowned slightly. "Father, I'm afraid it isn't very reliable to send Xiao Mang. You know what he's like..."

Zhang Heng cut him off. "It's fine. I sent Elder Gu and Elder Shi with him. Even if his nature is unruly and he has grown used to idling about, with Elder Gu supervising him, it will be necessary to temper his temperament."

He looked at Zhang Jiao seriously. "Jiao'er, your most important task now is to cultivate diligently. I heard that this Dingshan Sect disciple tournament is unlike the previous ones. Not only can participants enter the inner sect, but elders from a great sect will also come to observe the ceremony."

Zhang Jiao nodded. "Before returning home, I did hear the senior brothers in the sect mention it. But that elder from the great sect seems to be coming to Dingshan Sect for more than just observing the ceremony. He is looking for someone."

Zhang Heng asked in surprise, "Who?"

Zhang Jiao shook his head helplessly. "I don't know."

He took a folded sheet of white paper from his pocket. "The Sect Leader gave each disciple a portrait, but the face on it is drawn far too vaguely to recognize at all."

Zhang Heng accepted the portrait and unfolded it for inspection. This portrait truly was difficult to identify. The entire face was hidden beneath a hood, with only a pair of hawk-like eyes rendered vividly, as though they were gazing through the paper directly at him.

Those eyes felt faintly familiar to Zhang Heng. "That boy from the Zhao Family once had eyes like those..."

Zhang Jiao stared at Zhang Heng in astonishment. "Father means Zhao Jinzhi?"

He then laughed. "Could Father have mistaken him? Zhao Jinzhi is the famous fallen genius of Shiqiao Town. He clearly has a High-grade Bone Structure and outstanding talent, yet over these past years, he has never managed to enter the ranks of martial cultivation. He's even more useless than Lu Zhaojin."

Zhang Heng furrowed his brow tightly and said earnestly, "Jiao'er, secretly send someone to investigate Zhao Jinzhi's background. If it truly is him, we may be able to establish a connection with that elder from the great sect. Then, controlling Shiqiao Town in the future will be as steady as Mount Tai."

He looked toward the Zhao Family, narrowing his eyes as he said in a low voice, "Even if it isn't him, given our relationship with the Zhao Family, there is no harm in planning ahead."

Better to wrongly kill a thousand than let a single one slip through.