Dugu Mingri

"Big Brother, we got lucky—we actually ran into a little fat sheep."

Two men blocked Lu Ming's path. One was noticeably more burly, at the eighth level of the Inner Qi Realm.

The other was the one who had spoken. A savage scar ran across his face, making him look especially vicious. He was one level lower, at the seventh level of the Inner Qi Realm.

Each of them held a broadsaber, its blade broad and heavy at a glance, clearly suited for powerful, weighty strikes.

"What can I do for you two?"

Without giving anything away, Lu Ming had already sized them up almost completely. Though there were two of them, and both were above his realm—one of them by two whole levels—he did not panic in the slightest.

This was the confidence he had gained from days of slaughter.

"We wouldn't dare presume to instruct you. We simply took a liking to what's in that sack of yours. Leave it behind if you know what's good for you."

"Oh, right. Your cultivation method and martial skills should be left behind too."

The scar-faced man spoke again. Lu Ming looked only thirteen or fourteen, yet he had already reached the sixth level of the Inner Qi Realm.

Aside from exceptional talent, his cultivation method had to be quite good.

Outside, the man might not have dared provoke him. But deep in these mountains, as long as they did the job cleanly, who would know?

"I'm afraid I cannot comply."

Lu Ming's expression remained calm. He threw down the sack on his shoulder and placed a hand on his saber hilt. Since there could be no peaceful resolution, they could only settle this with real steel.

"Quite the nerve!"

Seeing how composed Lu Ming was, the burlier man finally spoke. Compared to the leaner scar-faced man, he seemed far steadier.

"Big Brother, let me take care of him."

Seeing Lu Ming prepare to fight, the scar-faced man slowly raised his broad saber and stepped forward excitedly.

The burly man nodded. "Be careful. His clothes are covered in blood. He knows how to kill."

"Don't worry, Big Brother. Having so much blood on him only means his saber work isn't... clean enough!"

The scar-faced man was truly cunning. While speaking, he suddenly flashed forward and struck first.

Thus, by the time the words "clean enough" fell, he had already reached Lu Ming. He brought his saber down in a savage overhead slash.

To be honest, the scheme had been quite good, and the strike had been truly fast.

But he had picked the wrong opponent.

Lu Ming had remained on guard the entire time. With his keen senses, he had understood the man's intentions the instant he moved.

Yet Lu Ming did nothing. Only when the saber came slashing down through the air did he suddenly draw his own blade. With a horizontal sweep, a bright flash of saber light skimmed across the man's abdomen.

Splat!

A line of blood sprayed out. The scar-faced man's strike missed, and he lowered his head to stare at his abdomen in disbelief. When he saw the blood, terror filled his eyes.

"So fast!"

After forcing out those two words, he immediately collapsed.

"What?"

Though it sounded drawn out, it had all happened in the blink of an eye.

The burly man, who had been raising his saber to launch a sneak attack, froze involuntarily. It turned out the two brothers had long developed an effective routine for dealing with others.

The scar-faced man would go out alone first, making their target think it was a one-on-one fight. Then the burly man would follow close behind and launch a surprise attack.

Yet their once-unfailing method had encountered a problem today.

His brother had not even lasted a single breath before Lu Ming killed him in an instant.

But while the burly man hesitated, Lu Ming took the initiative and charged him, opening with the swiftest move of the Gale Style.

Whoosh!

The saber was so fast that only a streak of blade light could be seen.

The burly man's face changed drastically. He hurriedly raised his saber to block. With a sharp clang, his broad saber narrowly intercepted the blade light—but he felt no force behind it.

Years of combat experience immediately told him it was a feint. His opponent would change moves at once.

But he was still a step too late. Bright saber light had already swept across his abdomen.

"So fast!"

This time, the burly man personally experienced the scar-faced man's feelings before collapsing.

"Sure enough, people are far easier to deal with than demon beasts."

Having easily dealt with the two, Lu Ming felt little sense of accomplishment.

Compared to demon beasts, these two had more offense than defense. They were unlike demon beasts, with their thick hides and tough flesh; some even possessed scales harder than steel.

No matter how fast he was, if he could not find a weakness, it was difficult to kill one in a single blow.

These two were different, however. They did not have the thick scales and hides of demon beasts.

One slash was enough to cost them their lives.

That said, he had the same problem himself. The second move of the Heavenly Saber Saber Art, the Pouring Rain Style, could be used for defense.

It was a move for both attack and defense. When attacking, it came in an unbroken torrent, leaving enemies hard-pressed to parry; when defending, the saber danced in an incredibly dense curtain, where not even a needle could slip through, nor water be splashed in.

It was exceedingly formidable.

Putting the matter aside, Lu Ming sheathed his saber. Out of respect for his enemies, he began cleaning up the battlefield.

The result disappointed him somewhat. He found only a little over two hundred taels' worth of silver notes on the two men. Perhaps they had money but had not brought it with them.

As for martial arts manuals, he found none at all.

The two broad sabers were decent, though. Their quality was clearly better than his own, but they did not suit him.

Still, he did not waste them and took them along.

After finishing up, Lu Ming hoisted his sack and was about to leave when his ears twitched. He turned to look at a large tree some distance off to the side.

"Who's there?"

"I mean no harm."

A youth around fifteen or sixteen stepped out from behind the tree, a longsword in hand. Though his clothes were somewhat tattered, the material was obviously luxurious.

His realm was also quite high—he had actually reached the ninth level of the Inner Qi Realm.

And judging from the look of it, he had already reached the peak of the ninth level.

"The Ruan Twin Heroes. I never expected them to die by your hand today, though they had it coming."

The youth stepped out, glanced at the corpses on the ground, and spoke.

"How should I address you?"

Seeing that the other party had no intention of attacking, Lu Ming relaxed slightly. But he did not forget to remain vigilant. He set down his sack again so he could draw his saber at any time.

"Dugu Mingri of the Dugu Family in Shuofeng City."

The youth was very candid and gave his identity.

Lu Ming was somewhat surprised upon hearing this. He knew of the Dugu Family. Like the Yang Family that the young master he had encountered at the blacksmith shop belonged to, it was one of the three great families.

"And how should I address you?"

Dugu Mingri asked.

"Lu Ming. I'm also from Shuofeng City." Lu Ming gave his name.

"I guessed as much."

Dugu Mingri looked as though he had expected it, then said, "Your saber art is good, and you're very fast. The Ruan Twin Heroes had such high realms, yet they were completely no match for you."

Lu Ming did not deny it. Instead, he asked, "How long have you been here?"

"Since your saber passed through the first man."

Dugu Mingri did not hide it either. "Don't worry. I was heading back and merely happened to pass by. It seems you're returning too, so why don't we travel together?"

Lu Ming studied him. He did not seem like someone harboring hidden schemes. After some thought, Lu Ming did not refuse, though he still kept his guard up.

And so the two set off together.

The journey back was naturally much faster. Even when they encountered demon beasts, Dugu Mingri would always move first and deal with them.

This let Lu Ming witness Dugu Mingri's strength. Honestly, compared to the Ruan Twin Heroes, Dugu Mingri was stronger by far more than just a little.

His sword speed alone was not much different from Lu Ming's saber speed.

He must have cultivated a method focused on speed as well.

Still, though Dugu Mingri was powerful, Lu Ming was confident he could contend with him.

"Brother Dugu, you reached the peak of the ninth level of the Inner Qi Realm at only fifteen. Your talent is truly extraordinary. Why haven't you joined a sect?"

As they gradually became more familiar, Lu Ming asked curiously.

Though the Dugu Family was a dominant force in Shuofeng City, compared to those sects, it was like a tiny sorcerer before a great wizard.

And with Dugu Mingri's talent, joining a sect should not have been difficult.

Faced with this question, Dugu Mingri did not answer. Instead, he asked, "Do you think my talent is very good?"