Yuanyang City

Chapter 45: Yuanyang

Du Hongwei ran.

Lu Zhaojin didn't chase after him.

The True Martial Guards left behind in the teahouse were all killed by Lu Zhaojin, and his EXP officially surpassed fifty thousand.

[Lu Zhaojin]

[Bone Age: Sixteen]

[Root Bone: Medium]

[Realm: Late Seventh-Rank]

[Heart Method: Flowing Water Art (Perfected), Jade Purity Heart Method (97/100)]

[Technique: 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)]

[EXP: 51728]

[Inventory: Thirteen Swords of Life-Taking, Mysterious Sky Dragon Slaying Sword Manual, Famous Sword #183; Autumnal Equinox]

With enough EXP, Lu Zhaojin first spent two thousand four hundred points to upgrade the Jade Purity Heart Method, reaching the Perfected realm.

[Jade Purity Heart Method (Perfected)]

As the Heart Method reached Perfected again, Lu Zhaojin's cultivation realm officially advanced into the Sixth Rank.

The True Qi within his body suddenly contracted, gathering in his Dantian, making the True Qi within even more concentrated. The speed at which Gang Yuan could be condensed also increased exponentially.

His True Qi was completely depleted.

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

Without any further techniques, his realm could not be improved. Lu Zhaojin then used his EXP to upgrade his Movement Technique.

If his Movement Technique had been Perfected just now, even if Du Hongwei had escaped for the time it takes an incense stick to burn, he would still have been able to catch up.

Furthermore, the Falling Leaves Following the Wind Movement Technique was not an overly profound movement technique, so it only required seven thousand seven hundred and fifty EXP points to reach Perfected.

[Falling Leaves Following the Wind Movement Technique (Perfected)]

Lu Zhaojin had mastered the Gale Sword Intent. With this movement technique reaching the Perfected realm, it was like being aided by the wind, allowing him to better utilize its strengths.

[EXP: 41578]

The techniques on the status panel had all reached Perfected or surpassed the Extreme Realm, with no further room for improvement.

Lu Zhaojin retrieved the items from his inventory.

[Recorded Thirteen Swords of Life-Taking]

[Recorded Mysterious Sky Dragon Slaying Sword Manual]

The Famous Sword #183; Autumnal Equinox appeared in his hand.

Lu Zhaojin examined the sword named Autumnal Equinox. The words "Autumnal Equinox" were engraved on the sword guard, suggesting it was one of the Twenty-Four Solar Terms Famous Swords that Li Xiufang had mentioned.

The Autumnal Equinox sword had a hilt and guard predominantly in crimson, resembling a fallen leaf. The blade was bright like a mirror, reflecting the young man's handsome face.

From its appearance alone, there was nothing extraordinary about the Autumnal Equinox sword. However, when Lu Zhaojin infused it with Gang Yuan, it was as if a cold dragon sleeping in a deep pool was awakened. A killing wind, unique to autumn, blew towards everything in sight.

A crimson sword light shot diagonally upwards, and the teahouse collapsed with a roar. The slanting cut was smooth and even.

Lu Zhaojin felt that famous swords were indeed powerful, much more so than the Cold Edge Sword. Therefore, he decisively placed the Cold Edge Sword into his system inventory, deciding to use the Autumnal Equinox sword from now on.

Lu Zhaojin looked at the two new sword techniques added to his status panel and fell into a dilemma.

Speaking of the Thirteen Swords of Life-Taking, he couldn't help but think of that man—Yan Shisan.

A man driven mad by the pursuit of the sword.

This peerless sword technique of his had exquisite yet vicious moves. His sword strikes were like a storm, targeting the opponent's weaknesses to achieve a swift kill.

The Thirteen Swords of Life-Taking seemed like an advanced version of the Gale Sword Art. However, the Gale Sword Art was not as exquisitely refined as the Thirteen Swords of Life-Taking, let alone the fourteenth and fifteenth swords that represented divine craftsmanship, death, and destruction, which came after the thirteenth.

Lu Zhaojin didn't know if the latter two swords required the Thirteen Swords of Life-Taking to reach the Extreme Realm before they could be learned. For now, mastering the Thirteen Swords of Life-Taking to Perfected might benefit him immensely.

However, the rank of the Thirteen Swords of Life-Taking was much higher than he had imagined. The EXP required just to get started was outrageously high.

[Do you wish to spend 12,500 EXP to upgrade Thirteen Swords of Life-Taking?]

Lu Zhaojin was naturally willing. He had enough EXP anyway, especially for this sword technique.

[Thirteen Swords of Life-Taking (25/100)]

As the sword technique was initiated, a flood of memories surged into his mind.

Lu Zhaojin seemed to transform into that wandering swordsman named Yan Shisan, clad in black, wielding a black sword, traveling the world and bringing death to the martial arts community.

At the same time, his heart was filled with loneliness. He had been invincible for too long, with no worthy opponents, yearning for a challenge.

It wasn't until he heard a certain name that he felt a flicker of vitality.

The memories ended abruptly at this point.

[EXP: 29078]

Lu Zhaojin wanted to continue improving the Thirteen Swords of Life-Taking, but the system indicated insufficient EXP. He didn't know how much EXP was needed to reach the Minor Accomplishment stage.

In contrast, the Mysterious Sky Dragon Slaying Sword Manual couldn't be upgraded. The system stated that this world lacked the necessary traits for cultivating it, and attempting to do so would result in terrible side effects.

Lu Zhaojin couldn't understand why, nor what traits were missing, so he decided to put it aside for now.

There were three main tasks at hand: finding Zhao Jinzhi, acquiring a higher-grade Heart Method, and gaining EXP.

The techniques he currently possessed only required one or two tens of thousands of EXP, which was no longer enough for his cultivation.

He wondered how much EXP a Sixth-Rank Martial Artist would give him.

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

The collapsed teahouse was stained with blood, and corpses littered the ground. However, in the original woodshed, two bodies suddenly crawled up. Dressed as ordinary farmers, they were likely the original owners of the teahouse.

They weren't ordinary people either; they were actually Silver Rank Assassins from the Red Dust Fine Rain Tower, assigned to assassinate Ye Hao to seize the sword manual he possessed.

However, they hadn't expected people from White Cloud Villa to show up, making it difficult to act. So, they pretended to have died at the hands of White Cloud Villa, intending to ambush and kill the White Cloud Villa disciples after obtaining the sword manual.

Unexpectedly, things took a turn, leading to the current situation.

At the same time, Lu Zhaojin's speed in breaking through his realm had truly astounded them.

Furthermore, a terrifying Sword Intent was contained within Lu Zhaojin's body, making them too afraid to make any move, lest they suffer the same fate as Ye Hao and the others.

The farmer's wife asked blankly, "What do we do?"

The farmer didn't know either. However, he picked up Ye Hao's head and put it into a cloth bag. As for the sword manual required by the mission, he couldn't fulfill it. "This is the first time I've completed a mission without lifting a finger... even if it's only half done..."

The farmer's wife nodded, feeling quite comfortable, almost falling asleep. "What about the other half?"

The farmer glanced at her, helpless. "What else can we do? We'll just report everything truthfully to the楼主. Whether to reclaim the sword manual is up to the楼主's arrangement."

The farmer shuddered, thinking of Lu Zhaojin's sword-wielding, decapitating figure. "In any case, I'm not participating anymore."

The two of them reached this decision.

They changed into new clothes, black with red trim, and wore shining silver waist tokens engraved with the characters "Fine Rain."

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

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

Du Hongwei didn't arrive at Yuanyang City much faster than him.

However, he entered the city before Lu Zhaojin. News of the teahouse incident would certainly spread through the True Martial Division.