Zhang Mang

Zhang Mang

Mount Qi.

A clearing.

A bonfire burned, its light driving back the darkness.

Zhang Mang and his group had stopped here to rest.

Two estate guards had set up a crude wooden rack and were roasting the game they had hunted. The other six guards stood watch around them in pairs, each pair leading a hunting hound.

Zhang Mang sat beside the bonfire with the two elders.

Zhang Mang's face was grim, and his curses had not stopped the whole way. "That damned Lu Jinlin! Of all places to hide, he chose Mount Qi. My feet are rubbed raw with blisters because of him!"

He thought of Zhang Yuan. "That Zhang Yuan is useless too. I sent him with Little Flower to find Lu Zhaojin, yet he still hasn't come back after half a day. Don't tell me he saw the man was dead and decided to loaf around there. That damned bastard—when he comes back, I'll skin him alive and tear out his bones!"

At this hour on any ordinary day, he would already have been drinking and chatting with a few friends at Drunken Spring Pavilion, with beauties attending at his side. Comfortable as could be. Why did he have to suffer like this?

At the thought of beauties, Zhang Mang suddenly glanced up the mountain. His expression turned subtle, yet there seemed to be some apprehension in it. He quickly withdrew his gaze and stared at the blazing bonfire.

Elder Gu saw through Zhang Mang's thoughts. With a slight frown, he said sternly, "Second Young Master, do not forget the Patriarch's orders. Our foremost priority is to find Lu Jinlin and eliminate him as quickly as possible. Any other thoughts should be put aside for now."

Zhang Mang said impatiently, "I know already. Stop nagging."

Elder Gu's face darkened, but he said nothing.

Elder Shi was long accustomed to Zhang Mang's attitude and simply kept silent. After all, Zhang Mang was not his own junior. Saying too much would only provoke resentment and delay their main task.

Zhang Mang looked at the two guards roasting meat and raised his voice in dissatisfaction. "What are you dawdling for? Isn't it done yet? I've been hungry for ages!"

The two guards jumped in fright. Before they could answer, the three hunting hounds caught an unfamiliar scent. Their eyes instantly gleamed with ferocity as they bared their fangs and howled furiously toward the woods.

A rustling came from the brush, and a blood-soaked figure suddenly burst out. His face was filled with terror, as though he had seen a ghost.

The moment he saw Zhang Mang, he cried out in horror, "Young Master, this is bad! Lu Zhaojin has turned into a ghost and come to kill us!"

Before his words had even faded, a dull sound of a sharp blade piercing flesh rang out. A sword tip burst from his chest, like the tender tip of a lotus just breaking the water's surface.

The iron sword was pulled free.

Experience gained for killing an Unranked Martial Artist: +10

The man's life force extinguished, and he fell onto his back, revealing the figure behind him.

That person was Lu Zhaojin.

On his way up the mountain, he had encountered people and dogs from the Zhang family and dealt with them along the way.

His experience had also broken a thousand once more.

Experience: 1014

Lu Zhaojin flicked the blood from his iron sword and raised his eyes toward Zhang Mang and the others. When he saw Zhang Mang's stunned face in particular, something restless stirred within him, like a wild beast struggling out of its cage, eager to tear this man apart and devour him.

He could not control this emotion. It was the lingering obsession left behind by the original owner of this body. But Lu Zhaojin did not care, because what he was about to do was harvest experience, which would incidentally settle the original owner's obsession. It would only benefit him.

Meeting Lu Zhaojin's indifferent gaze, Zhang Mang trembled all over for no reason. He said in disbelief, "Impossible! I saw with my own eyes that my elder brother wounded him. He was at death's door, and jumping into the river should have been a dead end. How could he still be alive?!"

What Zhang Mang found even harder to accept was that Lu Zhaojin not only showed no signs of injury, but had also become much stronger.

It was like this: you and I were both trash, so I could still bully you. But then, by some twist of fate, you grew stronger. Not only did you leave me trapped at the bottom of the pit, you had now come back to kill me—stifling and infuriating.

Pale moonlight shone down from the sky onto him. Blood stained his face and clothes, and blood dripped from the iron sword in his hand. He was like a cold god of slaughter, making Zhang Mang's heart quake.

However.

Zhang Mang quietly took a step back and looked toward the two elders in front of him.

Even if Lu Zhaojin had somehow survived, there was nothing to fear. Elder Gu and Elder Shi were both early Eighth-Rank Martial Artists, and several estate guards were here as well. Lu Zhaojin had delivered himself into their net.

And once they caught Lu Zhaojin and spread the news, there was no way Lu Jinlin would not show himself.

Thinking this, Zhang Mang instead felt that Lu Zhaojin's appearance before him was helping him successfully eliminate Lu Jinlin. When that happened, he could claim credit before his father and perhaps receive even more rewards.

Zhang Mang's shock turned to joy, as though he had already imagined his future life of pleasure. He shouted at Elder Gu and the others, "What are you still standing around for? Capture him for me, now! Remember, take him alive!"

The guards snapped awake as if from a dream and released the ropes in their hands. The three hunting hounds lunged at Lu Zhaojin without regard for their lives, trying to tear apart this outsider.

The guards also swarmed forward.

The hunting hounds were merely a feint. Whether they lived or died did not matter; the guards were the main force meant to subdue Lu Zhaojin.

But Lu Zhaojin casually swung his sword and killed the hounds, their bodies and heads separating one after another.

Facing these estate guards of uneven strength.

He strolled through them as though walking in his own courtyard, weaving and shifting through the crowd. Sword Light crisscrossed in every direction. Only screams could be heard, while figure after figure fell and never rose again. Blood flowed freely, and the air filled with the rusty stench of iron.

Experience gained for killing an Unranked Martial Artist: +10

Experience gained for killing a Ninth-Rank Martial Artist: +100

...

"Heart-Piercing Palm."

Just as Lu Zhaojin pulled his iron sword free from a body of flesh and blood, Elder Shi suddenly appeared from the flank and struck at Lu Zhaojin's chest with his palm.

If this palm strike landed, its force would burst forth. Elder Shi was confident that it would shatter Lu Zhaojin's heart.

This palm technique was his signature skill. Countless people had died beneath it, including several mid-stage Eighth-Rank Martial Artists. Though he had succeeded through sneak attacks, as long as he achieved his goal, he did not care about gaining a bad reputation.

Unfortunately, this time did not go as he wished.

The Brute Ox Stance and his swordsmanship had both reached the realm of perfection in succession. Not only was his foundation solid, but his six senses had become sharper, and his reactions had risen to another level.

Lu Zhaojin gripped his sword with both hands and held it horizontally before his chest. His muscles tensed as he blocked the incoming force.

Elder Shi was stunned. When his strike failed, he tried to retreat.

How could Lu Zhaojin let him have his way? In an instant, he struck with his sword. Three streaks of Sword Light slashed down from above and in from both sides, forming a triangle.

Elder Shi had not expected Lu Zhaojin to be so decisive. He dodged in haste, but only evaded two of them.

The final streak of Sword Light came from a tricky angle and with blistering speed, like a gale-driven storm. It was almost impossible to avoid.

Thus, the sword rose from below, leaving a gash across his body from his left abdomen to his right chest. Blood seeped from the wound.

Before Elder Shi could catch his breath, Lu Zhaojin followed through with another slash.

It was a killing strike, swift as lightning and aimed straight at his neck. The blade sliced through flesh and bone as easily as if cutting through a curtain of water.

Experience gained for killing an Eighth-Rank Martial Artist: +500

Elder Gu could tell that there was something strange about Lu Zhaojin. Even he found that sword technique, swift as a shadowless phantom, somewhat troublesome. It was impossible to guard against and must have been cultivated to an extremely high realm.

An Eighth-Rank Martial Artist fighting a Ninth-Rank Martial Artist naturally held a genuine advantage in cultivation, so he had not been overly worried.

But when he saw Elder Shi's sneak attack fail and watched him retreat step by step, Elder Gu's expression changed slightly. He wanted to step in and save him.

But Elder Shi died too quickly. There was simply no time.

Now, when Lu Zhaojin's gaze turned toward him, Elder Gu felt his soul nearly leave his body. Terror filled his heart, and he did not dare linger. He turned and ran.

After killing Elder Shi, Lu Zhaojin had also gained some understanding of his own strength.

An early Eighth-Rank Martial Artist was no match for him. If he went all out and used the Gale Sword Art at the realm of perfection, he could even fight a mid-stage Eighth-Rank Martial Artist.

Therefore.

When Elder Gu exposed his back to him, Lu Zhaojin hurled the iron sword in his hand with all his strength. Like an arrow loosed from a fully drawn bow, it pierced through Elder Gu's back and chest and nailed him to the ground.

Wails and pleas for mercy rang out.

Lu Zhaojin walked over, pulled out the iron sword, and gave him a swift death with one slash.

Experience gained for killing an Eighth-Rank Martial Artist: +500

He looked at Zhang Mang without speaking, merely revealing a faint smile as he slowly walked toward him.

Elder Shi had been beheaded right before his eyes, blood gushing like a fountain. Zhang Mang vomited without stop, nearly bringing up last night's dinner.

Now Elder Gu had also been slain by Lu Zhaojin. Zhang Mang's terror became indescribable, his legs trembling as a sour stench suddenly spread through the air.

He had been frightened into wetting himself.

Zhang Mang did not want to die. His instinct for survival sent countless thoughts racing through his mind, and he seized upon a bargaining chip that might save his life. "Don't kill me! I know where your father is!"