Zhang San and Li Xi relied on their strength and did not examine the situation within this group too closely.
They had not noticed that this time, the one walking at the very front of the group was actually Yun Long, who looked the youngest!
After spending the past several days together, Yun Ji and the other two had already developed complete faith in Yun Long's strength.
The cultivation method Yun Long practiced was extraordinary. His true qi was restrained within him; when still, he seemed harmless, but when he moved, heaven and earth shattered.
He was nothing like these old fellows, whose aura spilled outward and made the depth of their strength easy to discern.
Yun Long's gaze narrowed slightly. As he walked, the true qi within his body had already begun to circulate silently like raging waves.
A faint, almost invisible phantom of the Golden Bell Shield clung soundlessly to his skin, concealed and held in reserve.
He calculated the distance and adjusted his breathing.
Just as he came within three steps of the two men ahead, at the instant their vigilance was at its lowest—
He moved like thunder!
Yun Long shifted his feet, his body closing in like a phantom!
Arhat Fist!
There was not the slightest flourish to it. His plain, unadorned fists contained terrifying force capable of crushing everything in their path!
One fist blasted toward the vital point at the center of Zhang San's back!
The other went straight for the fatal point behind Li Xi's heart!
Like a hare springing up and a falcon swooping down, it was swift as lightning!
"Pfft!"
"Pfft!"
Two dull, heavy impacts rang out almost simultaneously!
The force of the fists penetrated their bodies, and the violent true qi instantly destroyed their internal organs!
The arrogance on Zhang San and Li Xi's faces froze in an instant, replaced by utter horror and disbelief.
They did not even have time to let out a scream before they pitched forward like kites with snapped strings, their lives extinguished!
Yun Ji and the other two watched helplessly as Zhang San and Li Xi's corpses fell stiffly to the ground, kicking up two clouds of dust. For a moment, they even forgot to breathe.
The three men, who had been ready to strike again at any moment, still had their hands gripping their sword hilts, their expressions frozen.
Shock!
Absolute, utter shock!
Killed in a single blow!
Two formidable Late Xiantian experts had not even had a chance to react before Yun Long had cleanly and decisively finished them off!
Li Pinghu and Shi Tie exchanged a glance. Both saw deep shock in the other's eyes, along with a trace of belated relief.
They knew they had still vastly underestimated the terrifying nature of the Yun Clan's mysterious inheritance!
How was this a Martial Dao cultivation method?
This was simply a method for slaughtering gods!
Yun Ji's chest heaved violently as he looked at his son's still-steady figure, waves crashing and churning within his heart.
Excitement!
Pride!
And an unprecedentedly clear understanding of the Yun Clan's inheritance!
So the inheritance left behind by the Ancestor in the Yun Clan Genealogy was actually this powerful!
"Good! Good boy!" Yun Ji's voice trembled slightly as he heavily patted Yun Long's shoulder.
"What are you standing around for? Loot the bodies!" Li Pinghu was the first to recover. Rubbing his hands together, eyes gleaming, he pounced on Zhang San's corpse.
Shi Tie chuckled and followed him.
A moment later, cries of delight rang through the forest.
"Fuck! We struck it rich! We struck it rich!" Li Pinghu held up a small jade bottle, so excited that his face and neck had turned red.
"True Essence Pills! Damn it, they're True Essence Pills!"
Shi Tie also found an identical jade bottle, along with several pieces of broken silver.
"Heaven has opened its eyes! Heaven has opened its eyes!"
Yun Ji walked over and took the jade bottles from their hands. They felt warm and smooth to the touch.
He removed the stoppers, and a rich medicinal fragrance rushed into his nose.
There were two jade bottles in total, holding five glistening pills the size of longans!
They were precisely the True Essence Pills Yun Long desperately needed to break through his bottleneck!
Five pills!
Enough!
Absolutely enough for Yun Long to break through!
Ecstasy!
Indescribable ecstasy instantly drowned the three men!
They had never dreamed that the two Ninth Prince's guards would be carrying such precious pills!
This was like someone handing them a pillow just as sleep overtook them. They had been agonizing over how to help Yun Long break through, but now everything was ready!
Yun Ji carefully put away the pills and handed them to Yun Long.
Then, without the slightest politeness, he untied the standard-issue saber from Zhang San's body.
Li Pinghu followed suit and replaced his own weapon with Li Xi's saber.
"Hmph, among the government's things, only these two sabers are barely worth looking at." Shi Tie picked one up and examined it closely, curling his lip.
"The steel is decent, and the forging was done with some care. They're far better than what we have."
As a blacksmith, he could tell the quality of a weapon with a single glance.
The forest fell silent once more, leaving only the sound of heavy breathing.
Yun Ji did not rush to speak. Li Pinghu and Shi Tie also instinctively looked toward Yun Long, waiting for him to make the decision.
Without anyone noticing, the core of this group had quietly shifted.
Yun Long pondered for a moment, his gaze sweeping over the surroundings before he finally spoke. "Back to Wind Tiger's cave!"
"It is relatively hidden, and we know the area."
"We leave now. We must move quickly!"
Yun Ji and the other two had no objections whatsoever.
"Good!"
"We'll listen to you!"
The four quickly dealt with the traces at the scene, doing everything possible not to leave behind a single clue.
Then, at top speed, they silently slipped toward Wind Tiger's cave.
Four figures darted through the forest like phantoms, without making a sound.
Their steps were light, but their expressions were grim as iron.
Wind Tiger's cave.
Everything seemed to be just as it had been when they left.
Yet the few pebbles at the entrance that had been moved, as well as the faint lingering scent of herbs in the air that did not belong there, could not escape their eyes.
"Someone came here!"
Li Pinghu lowered his voice. His hand had already settled on the hilt of his newly acquired saber, his sharp gaze sweeping across the area.
Yun Ji's gaze was like an eagle's as he carefully observed every trace.
"They left not long ago."
"They did not stay in the cave."
Shi Tie let out a deep, muffled snort.
"Damn it, we need to move fast! Tidy up this doghouse again and make it more hidden!"
The three old fellows said no more and immediately got to work.
They moved stones, planted thorny branches, and used the fastest possible speed to camouflage the cave entrance once more, striving to ensure it would not be easily discovered.
Every birdcall in the mountains, every rustle of wind through the leaves, made their hearts tighten.
Inside the cave, it was cool and damp.
Yun Long sat cross-legged, his back ramrod straight and his face calm as water.
Five True Essence Pills lay quietly in his palm.
Each one gleamed with a lustrous sheen. They were the temptation of power, and also a gamble that led through nine deaths to one life.
He thought of the Ninth Prince's guards, fierce as wolves and tigers.
He thought of those Xiantian realm martial artists who had been taken away, their fates unknown.
Even more, he thought of the worry and expectation hidden deep in his father's, Uncle Li's, and Uncle Shi's eyes.
There was no time!
The crisis was right before them!
There was simply no opportunity for him to proceed step by step and steadily build his foundation!
He needed power!
Now! Immediately! At once!
"Let's do this!"
Yun Long's eyes sharpened. Without the slightest hesitation, he opened his mouth and swallowed all five True Essence Pills at once!
Boom—!
It was not a sound, but a sensation!
An indescribably terrifying medicinal force exploded through his meridians like molten iron, rampaging and surging!
Pain!
Pain that tore at his heart and lungs!
Pain that sank into his very bones!
Every one of his meridians felt as if it were being scorched by blazing fire. Every inch of his bones groaned and wailed. Every muscle spasmed and convulsed madly.
He clenched his teeth tight. Veins bulged across his forehead, and bead-sized drops of sweat rolled down in torrents, instantly soaking his clothes.
"Urgh—!"
A roar of pain that he could not suppress forced its way from the depths of his throat, only for him to swallow it back down with sheer force.
He could clearly "see" the Bodhidharma Muscle-Tendon Classic within him circulating frantically at an unprecedented speed, trying to guide and refine the vast energy that was on the verge of bursting him apart.
His originally pale-golden true qi flickered unstably beneath the impact of that torrential force, as though it might collapse at any moment.
Hold on! I have to hold on!
A voice roared madly in his mind.
Was it his father's expectations? Uncle Li and Uncle Shi's trust? Or his own unyielding will?
He did not know.
The world twisted and spun before his eyes, leaving only boundless pain and a dazzling expanse of golden light.
His skin first swelled crimson, then turned pale as paper.
Either he would be reborn through fire!
Or he would explode and die!
Before you continue