Minor Accomplishment

Chapter 50: Minor Accomplishment

Tian Geng is dead.

A terrifying pressure suddenly erupted within the city, like a great mountain pressing down on everyone's shoulders, so heavy they couldn't move.

Lu Zhaojin seemed to have anticipated this and slipped into the woods, disappearing from sight.

However, among the martial artists in the city, one figure quietly retreated. In a forgotten corner, as if a clay figure doused with water, they melted into a shadow and merged with the night, pursuing the direction Lu Zhaojin had taken.

Before the crowd could even react to what had happened, a dark silhouette streaked across the rooftops, rapidly approaching the area. A monstrous aura enveloped him, as if a raging inferno burned around him, causing the very space to warp.

The dark silhouette finally landed on the city wall. His black robe billowed wildly, and the crimson python embroidered on it seemed to come alive, emitting a chilling aura. Everyone present forgot to breathe, their eyes fixed on the figure, unable to speak.

The man in the black robe stood with his hands behind his back, his ink-black hair flowing without wind. His weathered face was expressionless, and his icy gaze swept over the martial artists before landing on Tian Geng's corpse. Sensing the astonishing Sword Intent emanating from it, he frowned slightly. "Who did this?"

The crowd snapped back to reality, feeling a killing intent bearing down on them. They dared not conceal anything, pointing in the direction Lu Zhaojin had fled and recounting the events in detail.

The man in the black robe did not trouble the martial artists further. He sped off in the direction they indicated, moving so fast that afterimages lingered.

Seeing the black-robed man pursue Lu Zhaojin, the martial artists breathed a sigh of relief, the heavy weight on their hearts lifted.

"Why is he here in Yuanyang City?"

"You know him?"

"Yang Tianrui, Battalion Commander Yang... should we be calling him Commander Yang now?"

"He was the previous Battalion Commander of our True Martial Division in Yuanyang City. His cultivation is profound, his martial arts are formidable, and he was once known as the foremost expert in Yuanyang City."

"So it was him..."

"But wasn't Yang Tianrui transferred to the Imperial Capital three years ago? When did he return to Yuanyang City?"

"Who knows?"

The crowd was filled with questions, wondering why Yang Tianrui had returned to Yuanyang City.

A long while later, the martial artists who had yet to leave saw Yang Tianrui again. He flew from the woods onto the city wall, but Lu Zhaojin was nowhere to be seen, implying he hadn't caught up.

Yang Tianrui's expression remained unchanged. He took the remaining True Martial Guards back to the True Martial Division. With Tian Geng dead, the True Martial Division in Yuanyang City needed to select a new Battalion Commander to take charge.

However, Lu Zhaojin could not be allowed to roam free.

Lu Zhaojin had turned the True Martial Division in Luoxia City upside down, causing countless casualties. The City Lord had died by his hand, and now he had even slain the Battalion Commander of the True Martial Division with a single sword strike. The True Martial Division's reputation had been utterly disgraced.

Yang Tianrui felt a burning shame on his face.

Therefore, upon returning to the True Martial Division, he immediately issued a bounty: anyone who could find Lu Zhaojin's whereabouts would receive a hundred taels of silver and one martial arts manual; anyone who could bring back Lu Zhaojin's head would receive a thousand taels of silver and two martial arts manuals.

The fact that he even offered martial arts manuals as rewards showed Yang Tianrui's determination to kill Lu Zhaojin.

Lu Zhaojin had no idea he had become so valuable.

He circulated his movement technique, heading deeper into the forest or towards densely wooded areas. He finally found a hidden spot and, confirming no pursuers were behind him, stopped.

Moonlight filtered through the gaps in the leaves, dappling his face and body. His complexion was slightly pale, almost matching the moonlight, but he was not injured. It was merely due to the excessive consumption of True Essence.

Without a heart method for condensing True Essence, he still had to use the Jade Purity Heart Method to gather True Qi within his body and then refine it into True Essence. This was unlike higher-grade heart methods that could directly condense True Essence, making the process more convenient and faster.

[Lu Zhaojin] [Bone Age: Sixteen] [Root Bone: Medium] [Realm: Sixth Rank Early Stage] [Heart Method: Flowing Water Art (Perfected), Jade Purity Heart Method (Perfected)] [Martial Arts: Brute Ox Stance (Extreme Realm), Gale Sword Art (Extreme Realm), Golden Body Technique (25/100), Nine Heavens Thunder Sword Art (Extreme Realm), Thirteen Swords of Life-Taking (25/100)] [EXP: 135078] [Inventory: Mysterious Sky Dragon Slaying Sword Manual]

His EXP had broken the 100,000 mark for the first time.

However, unlike before, there were no achievement rewards.

This made Lu Zhaojin feel a slight sense of regret.

But with over 130,000 EXP, it was enough to upgrade the Thirteen Swords of Life-Taking.

[Thirteen Swords of Life-Taking (50/100)]

The Thirteen Swords of Life-Taking had entered the Minor Accomplishment stage.

Lu Zhaojin once again transformed into that black swordsman.

If, the last time he upgraded the Thirteen Swords of Life-Taking, there was a barrier between him and the black swordsman, preventing him from fully embodying the other's emotions, then this time, the barrier still existed, but it seemed fragile, on the verge of shattering. As Lu Zhaojin reached out to break it, he found himself unable to do so. His fingers, separated by this barrier, were almost touching the swordsman's ephemeral soul. A jolt, like an electric shock, caused Lu Zhaojin to instinctively retract his arm.

The soul seemed to awaken due to his touch. Its eyes opened, and through the bubble-like barrier, it met Lu Zhaojin's gaze.

Those eyes blazed with terrifying Sword Intent, as if capable of destroying everything. The aura of death enveloped Lu Zhaojin's heart, and his soul felt as if struck by lightning, rigid and unable to retaliate.

A cold, hoarse voice echoed in his mind, "You're still no match for me."

The deafening drumbeat was like soul-hooking chains, and after snagging Lu Zhaojin's soul, it pulled him back into his physical body from that mysterious space.

Consciousness returned.

Lu Zhaojin suddenly opened his eyes, and in the silent environment, he could hear his own heartbeat, like the pounding of drums.

He remained there, frozen, for a long time, the words still echoing in his mind.

After a long while, Lu Zhaojin's unfocused eyes regained their brilliance. He took a deep breath and exhaled, his mood heavy. "As expected of the Thirteen Swords of Life-Taking, truly profound."

Even at the Minor Accomplishment stage, the Thirteen Swords of Life-Taking gave Lu Zhaojin an extremely powerful feeling. If he were to use it, individuals like Tian Geng and Duan Xuan could be easily slain.

What kind of power would it possess if it reached the Major Accomplishment stage?

However, the advancement of the Thirteen Swords of Life-Taking seemed to bring unknown dangers. The final words that echoed in his mind seemed to be left by that soul.

Could it be that to advance the Thirteen Swords of Life-Taking to the Perfected stage, he would ultimately have to face that black-clothed swordsman?

Everything was full of unknowns, but also full of challenges.

However, the most important thing right now was to find a higher-grade Heart Method, otherwise, his True Essence reserves would be his weakness.

Lu Zhaojin stood up from the ground, preparing to leave the forest and head towards civilization. Just then, a shadow condensed in a certain part of the forest, dark and indistinct, with a somewhat sharp voice, "Tsk, tsk, tsk. If people from the True Martial Division get on your bad side, they've basically angered the King of Hell."

He had been hiding nearby when Lu Zhaojin was advancing the Thirteen Swords of Life-Taking. He hadn't chosen to act because his mission from above was to deliver a letter to Lu Zhaojin, not to assassinate him.