Cleaning Up

"Sorry, everyone. I got carried away for a moment and couldn't hold back. Looks like the number of heads I promised you will be one short."

Ling Yun flicked the blood droplets from his arm, then turned to Xu Hu and the others, an eerie red glint flickering in his eyes.

The few people caught in his gaze felt a chill in their hearts, as though they had fallen into an icy abyss.

"Ku Xue! Didn't you say that brat was only relying on that Spirit Tool?!"

"What the hell is going on?!"

Xu Hu's face twitched. He wanted nothing more than to split this man in two with a single slash.

Old Bloodrot did not answer, because his expression was equally ugly. He had no idea where his judgment had gone wrong.

At that moment, wisps of Bloodlight began to surface in Ling Yun's eyes. The successive slaughter had clearly stirred his feral instincts, and he faintly felt his hot blood burning within him.

But he liked that feeling.

A delighted smile spread across Ling Yun's face. Then his figure flashed, and in the next instant, he appeared before Tie Shi.

The people around them jumped in fright, but none dared to attack. They decisively retreated.

Tie Shi, facing Ling Yun head-on, gave a slight shudder with his towering body and actually took an unconscious step back.

But he quickly came to his senses. Rage surged up within him. As the master of Copper Skin Martial Hall, others had always feared him. When had he ever been humiliated like this?

"Brat! I'll kill you!"

Tie Shi's face gradually twisted with fury. His muscle-packed body began to gleam with a metallic sheen—the sign that his Vajra Body had been pushed to its limit.

He carried no weapon, because his body itself was his strongest weapon.

He pounded both fists against his chest like a crazed gorilla, then charged straight at Ling Yun.

Ling Yun remained expressionless as he watched him.

The Vajra Body's defense was indeed formidable, but what was too rigid was easily broken. Once it suffered damage beyond its limit, it became completely useless!

Swish!

The instant Tie Shi lunged forward, Ling Yun flicked his wrist. A blade light swept upward from below, cutting across his entire body.

Tie Shi's body froze instantly. A line of blood slowly emerged from where he had been cut.

The next moment, a torrent of blood burst forth!

"AAAAAHHH!!"

Overwhelming pain washed over him, and Tie Shi let out a miserable howl.

Yet there was not a trace of pity in Ling Yun's eyes. He merely looked with some surprise at Tie Shi, who was somehow still jumping about. He had not held back with that slash.

"Interesting. If you can take this strike and survive, I might spare your life today."

As he spoke, terrifying blood and qi surged forth. Thousand Machines in Ling Yun's hand began to emit specks of crimson light.

Very soon, the entire blade was shrouded within it. From afar, it looked like a long crimson saber forged entirely from blood.

The crimson blade exuded terrifying pressure, but Tie Shi had completely lost his mind from the pain. Not only did he feel no fear, he roared and charged forward instead.

The two passed one another.

As a streak of blood shot into the sky, Tie Shi's pagoda-like figure abruptly stiffened in place, a thread of blood appearing from the center of his brow.

When a faint breeze swept past, his entire body slid apart to either side, his organs scattering across the ground.

Ling Yun paid no attention to the grisly scene behind him. He merely looked at the crimson blade in his hand with satisfaction.

Combining Blood Blade Manifestation with Thousand Machines had been a spur-of-the-moment idea, but from the looks of it, the results were fairly good.

Not only did it consume far less blood and qi, its power had not weakened at all. At the very least, breaking through the defenses of a body-tempering martial artist was as easy as slicing through a sheet of paper.

At this moment, Ku Xue, watching the crimson blade in Ling Yun's hand from afar, finally realized something and cried out in horror.

"Blood Blade Manifestation! The Bloodforging Realm!"

"What?!" Xu Hu and the others were stunned at first. Then they stared fixedly at the crimson blade, as though struck by a heavy hammer. Only three words echoed over and over in their minds: Bloodforging Realm!

For them—no, for every Spirit Conduit Realm martial artist in all of Cloud City—the greatest dream was to one day successfully step into the Bloodforging Realm.

Yet the vast majority could spend their entire lives without even touching that threshold.

But this youth, at such an age, had already reached the summit in their hearts. Alongside the bitterness in their hearts came an indescribable terror.

"Run!"

Xu Hu and the others completely lost the will to resist. Without hesitation, they used their movement techniques and fled in all directions.

"Heh heh, don't be in such a hurry to leave. I'm having so much fun."

Ling Yun sneered. His figure vanished from its spot once more, and in the next instant, he was already blocking Old Bloodrot's path.

Seeing this, the others were delighted, and their feet moved even faster.

"Damn it, why did he have to come after me?!" Facing the whistling crimson blade, Old Bloodrot cursed inwardly.

Tie Shi's miserable end was still vivid in his mind. How could he dare block it? Forgetting all dignity, he immediately rolled across the ground like a donkey.

The blade passed almost flush against his cheek, its fierce blade qi making his skin sting as though pricked by needles.

"Brat, you're only relying on the advantage of your weapon! If you have the guts, put it down!" Ku Xue sprang to his feet. Looking at the enormous gash cleaved into the ground, the corner of his eye twitched.

He had only said it casually and had not expected it to work, but to his surprise, Ling Yun actually put Thousand Machines away as instructed.

He really is too young. He can't stand being provoked! Ku Xue rejoiced inwardly. Then a Fish Gut Dagger slid from his sleeve. It was the Low-Grade Spirit Tool he had purchased at a high price back then.

With a flick of his wrist, the short sword traced a black gleam and bit toward Ling Yun's chest like a venomous snake.

But Ling Yun's eyes flashed with mockery. Without even looking at the short sword closing in on his chest, he struck directly at Old Bloodrot's forehead with his palm.

Before the attack even landed, the fierce palm wind made Old Bloodrot's face change drastically. With no time to think, he redirected his sword and stabbed straight into Ling Yun's palm.

Clang!

It was as though he had stabbed the hardest black iron in the world. Old Bloodrot's face flushed red as an irresistible, violent force spread from the sword tip through his entire body. His arm went numb, and the sword flew from his grasp on the spot, spinning off into the distance.

But he had no time to mourn it. Borrowing that force, his entire body rapidly flipped backward, vanishing from the area in the blink of an eye.

That was right—this had been his true escape route all along!

Ling Yun narrowed his eyes at the direction Old Bloodrot had fled, his face revealing neither joy nor anger.

A drop of vivid blood surfaced from his palm, but before it could roll down, he casually wiped it away.

The next instant, his figure vanished from the spot.

Not far away, bursts of shouting and explosive crashes rang out, but calm soon returned.

Before long, Ling Yun reappeared, casually tossing a blood-smeared old man's head onto the ground.

The head rolled twice and came to rest face-up. Though its features were somewhat twisted, it could barely be recognized as Old Bloodrot, who had just fled!