Yuanyang

Du Hongwei ran away.

Lu Zhaojin did not pursue him.

All the True Martial Guards left behind in the teahouse were slain by Lu Zhaojin, and his experience officially broke through fifty thousand.

Lu Zhaojin

Bone Age: Sixteen

Aptitude: Average

Realm: Late Seventh-Rank

Heart Method: Flowing Water Art (Mastered), Jade Purity Heart Method (97/100)

Techniques: Brute Ox Stance (Extreme Realm), Gale Sword Art (Extreme Realm), Nine Heavens Thunder Sword Art (Extreme Realm), Golden Body Technique (25/100), Falling Leaves Following the Wind Movement Technique (25/100)

Experience: 51728

Backpack: Thirteen Swords of Life-Taking, Mysterious Sky Dragon Slaying Sword Manual, Famous Sword · Autumn Equinox

With enough experience, Lu Zhaojin first spent 2,400 experience points to raise the Jade Purity Heart Method to mastery.

Jade Purity Heart Method (Mastered)

As his heart method reached mastery once more, Lu Zhaojin's cultivation realm officially stepped into the Sixth-Rank Realm.

The true qi within his body suddenly contracted, all gathering in his dantian. The true qi in his dantian became increasingly dense, and the speed at which it condensed Gang Yuan multiplied severalfold.

His true qi had been completely depleted.

Yet several drops of Gang Yuan floated within Lu Zhaojin's dantian. Though few in number, a single drop of Gang Yuan could kill an ordinary Seventh-Rank Martial Artist.

Without a subsequent technique, his realm could not continue rising, so Lu Zhaojin used his experience to improve his movement technique.

If his movement technique had reached mastery just now, even if Du Hongwei had been given a full incense stick's time to flee, he could still have caught up.

Moreover, the Falling Leaves Following the Wind Movement Technique was not some profound movement technique, so it required only 7,750 experience points to reach mastery.

Falling Leaves Following the Wind Movement Technique (Mastered)

Lu Zhaojin had mastered Gale Sword Intent. With this movement technique reaching mastery, it was like wind lending force to flames, allowing him to better display its strengths.

Experience: 41578

The techniques on the panel had either reached mastery or broken through to the Extreme Realm. There was nowhere left to rise.

Lu Zhaojin retrieved the items from his backpack.

Recorded Thirteen Swords of Life-Taking

Recorded Mysterious Sky Dragon Slaying Sword Manual

The Famous Sword · Autumn Equinox appeared in his hand.

Lu Zhaojin examined this sword called Autumn Equinox. The words "Autumn Equinox" were engraved upon its guard. It was presumably one of the Twenty-Four Solar Terms Famous Swords Li Xiufang had mentioned.

The Autumn Equinox Sword's hilt and guard were chiefly crimson, like a fallen leaf. Its blade was bright as a mirror, reflecting the handsome face of the youth.

From its appearance alone, there was nothing extraordinary about the Autumn Equinox Sword. Yet when Lu Zhaojin poured Gang Yuan into it, it was as though he had awakened a cold wyrm sleeping in a frigid pool. The bleak, killing wind unique to autumn blew toward everything before his eyes.

A crimson Sword Light slashed diagonally upward. The teahouse collapsed with a crash, its slanted cross-section smooth and even.

Lu Zhaojin felt that a famous sword truly was formidable, far stronger than the Cold Edge Sword. He decisively stored the Cold Edge Sword in the System Backpack. From now on, he would use the Autumn Equinox Sword.

Lu Zhaojin looked at the two additional sword arts on the panel and fell into a dilemma.

Speaking of Thirteen Swords of Life-Taking, he could not help thinking of that man—Yan Shisan.

A man driven mad by the way of the sword.

This Peerless Sword Art had exquisite moves, yet it was also ruthless. His sword came forth like a violent storm, targeting his opponent's weak points in pursuit of a single killing strike.

Thirteen Swords of Life-Taking was like an advanced technique of the Gale Sword Art, but the Gale Sword Art could not compare to its breathtaking intricacy. Not to mention that beyond the thirteenth sword lay the heaven-defying fourteenth sword, as well as the fifteenth sword, which represented death and destruction.

Lu Zhaojin did not know whether the latter two swords required Thirteen Swords of Life-Taking to break through to the Extreme Realm before they could be learned. For now, raising Thirteen Swords of Life-Taking to mastery might bring him limitless benefits.

However, the grade of Thirteen Swords of Life-Taking was much higher than he had imagined. The experience required merely to begin was absurdly high.

Spend 12500 experience points to improve Thirteen Swords of Life-Taking?

Naturally, Lu Zhaojin was willing. He had enough experience points now, and this was a sword art, no less.

Thirteen Swords of Life-Taking (25/100)

The moment the sword art was initiated, all manner of memories flooded into his mind.

Lu Zhaojin seemed to become the wandering swordsman named Yan Shisan, dressed in black and holding a black sword as he walked the world, bringing death to the martial realm.

At the same time, his heart was filled with solitude. He had been invincible for too long, without an opponent, yearning for one.

Only when he heard that name did a flicker of life return to him.

The memories came to an abrupt end there.

Experience: 29078

Lu Zhaojin wanted to continue improving Thirteen Swords of Life-Taking, but the prompt said he lacked sufficient experience. He had no idea how much experience would be needed to reach the Minor Achievement stage.

As for the Mysterious Sky Dragon Slaying Sword Manual, the system displayed that it could not be improved. It said this world lacked the necessary trait to cultivate this sword manual, and that forcing cultivation would bring terrifying side effects.

Lu Zhaojin could not understand why, nor what trait was missing, so he set it aside for now.

There were currently three main matters: finding Zhao Jinzhi, seeking a higher-grade heart method, and acquiring experience points.

The techniques he currently possessed required ten or twenty thousand experience points, which was no longer enough for his cultivation.

He wondered how much experience a Sixth-Rank Realm martial artist would give him.

Lu Zhaojin stopped thinking and headed in the direction Du Hongwei had fled.

The collapsed teahouse was drenched in blood, corpses strewn everywhere. Yet two bodies suddenly climbed up from what had once been the woodshed. Dressed as ordinary farmers, they were likely the true proprietors of the teahouse.

They were no ordinary people either. They were in fact Silver Rank Assassins of the Red Dust Fine Rain Tower, assigned to assassinate Ye Hao and seize the sword manual in his possession.

But they had not expected people from White Cloud Villa to arrive. It had not been a good time to act, so they had pretended to die at the hands of White Cloud Villa. They had planned to wait until White Cloud Villa obtained the sword manual, then launch a sneak attack and kill its disciples.

However, they had not expected twists and turns to arise, leading to everything before them.

At the same time, Lu Zhaojin's speed in breaking through his realm at the end had truly left them dumbfounded.

Moreover, a terrifying Sword Intent lay hidden within Lu Zhaojin's body, leaving them utterly afraid to make even the slightest move. They did not dare move at all, fearing they would follow in Ye Hao and the others' footsteps.

The farm woman asked blankly, "What do we do?"

The farmer did not know what to do either. Still, he picked up Ye Hao's head and put it into a cloth sack. As for the sword manual required by the mission, there was nothing he could do about it. "This is the first time I've completed a mission without lifting a finger... though only half of it..."

The farm woman nodded, finding it quite comfortable. She had nearly fallen asleep while lying there. "Then what about the other half?"

The farmer glanced at her and said helplessly, "What else can we do? We'll truthfully explain everything to the Tower Master. Whether the sword manual should be taken back is up to the Tower Master's arrangements."

Thinking of Lu Zhaojin's figure as he swung his sword and severed heads, the farmer shuddered all over. "Either way, I'm not taking part."

Thus, the two of them made their decision.

They changed into new clothes, black with red trim. A silver-shining waist token hung at their waists, bearing the words "Fine Rain."

After walking for an unknown amount of time, he finally saw the outline of Yuanyang City.

Lu Zhaojin narrowed his eyes and saw a familiar figure hurrying into the city.

Du Hongwei had arrived at Yuanyang City not much earlier than him.

However, Du Hongwei had entered the city before Lu Zhaojin. What had happened at the teahouse would surely spread through the True Martial Division.