I Enter the Mortal World, Tempering My Heart Like a Blade

Wen Jieyuan carried himself with lofty arrogance, aggressive and overbearing.

Su Yi swept his gaze over the courtyard. Seeing that nothing had been damaged, he said casually, "There were indeed quite a few strange things that happened last night, but... what does that have to do with you?"

Wen Jieyuan's brows drew together, and he said in amusement, "Su Yi, you useless son-in-law, you've only been the shopkeeper of Apricot Yellow Medical Hall for a single day, and your temper has already grown this big?"

The guards all followed with cold laughter.

As members of the Wen Family, who among them had not known over the past year just how cowardly and unbearable Su Yi was?

They had never taken him seriously at all!

Wen Jieyuan's tone was disdainful as he continued, "Or do you think that because Cousin Ling Zhao became a Grandmaster Disciple, you, her bargain-bin husband, now have a day to raise your head?"

"I'm not afraid to tell you this: even if I kill you right here, Cousin Ling Zhao won't avenge you!"

With that, even the way he looked at Su Yi carried a hint of pity.

Su Yi's expression grew even calmer. Suddenly, he said, "Do you know Wu Ruoqiu?"

Wen Jieyuan's gaze abruptly narrowed. "You met that Wandering Daoist last night?"

"As expected. You and your father should have known about the problem in this courtyard long ago. If someone else had lived here last night, they'd probably already be dead."

Su Yi understood.

Wen Jieyuan was silent for a moment, then suddenly laughed, his eyes carrying a strange glint. "Su Yi, you should have died last night, but it isn't too late now."

He waved his hand, his voice cold and indifferent. "Kill him!"

"Yes!"

Around the courtyard, the Black-Clothed Man and the other guards accepted the order. They all stepped forward, closing in around Su Yi, their eyes icy, killing intent coiling between their brows.

"Son-in-law, sorry about this!"

Clang!

A short, stocky man drew a cold-iron dagger, slammed his foot against the ground, and shot forward like an arrow loosed from the string, stabbing toward Su Yi's back from behind.

The dagger carved out a straight, silk-like streak of sharpness.

Its momentum was like rushing thunder.

Su Yi did not move. The sword sheath in his hand suddenly struck backward.

The dagger was only half a foot from piercing into Su Yi's spine when the short, stocky man's chest was struck first by the sheath.

Crack!

That seemingly casual blow released an incomparably domineering chiseling force. The bones of the short, stocky man's chest shattered and caved in, and he let out a cry of pain.

Before he could react, the sword sheath suddenly lifted and smashed viciously into his neck.

With a bang, this fierce guard at the "Flesh Refining" level of the Blood Moving Realm was smashed straight to his knees, his neck bones broken, his head hanging limply down. He had stopped breathing completely.

In an instant, without his sword ever leaving its sheath and without even turning his head, Su Yi had killed the enemy behind him!

Everyone was horrified.

"This cripple actually recovered his cultivation!"

By the side of the ancient well, Wen Jieyuan's face darkened.

A year ago, Su Yi, the Outer Disciple Sword Leader of Green River Sword Mansion, had lost all his cultivation and entered the Wen Family as a crippled son-in-law. This was something everyone in Guangling City knew.

But now, with a mere lift of his hand, Su Yi had killed someone of the Blood Moving Realm!

"Attack together!"

The Black-Clothed Man spoke coldly.

He was the Guard Leader of this group, tall, lean, and vigorous, with sharp light flowing in his eyes. He had steeped himself in the "Flesh Tendons" level for many years and had extremely rich combat experience.

As he spoke, he was the first to move. The three-foot bronze mace in his hand rose, then chopped down.

Hiss!

A fierce gust of force tore through the air, producing an ear-piercing shriek.

The other seven guards, holding weapons such as axes, halberds, sabers, and tridents, struck out fiercely at the same moment.

Just from the murderous aura spreading from them, it was clear that every one of these guards was a hard case, long tempered in slaughter.

Surrounded like this, Su Yi instead looked at the sword in his hand and murmured softly:

"So be it. Today, I'll use these people's blood to baptize you."

His voice was still echoing.

Clang!

In an instant, a streak of sharpness suddenly appeared.

The black blade, ethereal and translucent as the night, carried faint threads of purple radiance as it rose through the air. The sword's cry rang clear and bright, like a shout thirsting for a full feast of hot blood.

The sword was named "Dust Edge."

It took its meaning from: "I enter the mortal dust, tempering my heart like an edge."

Clang!

The Black-Clothed Man swung the three-foot bronze mace smashing toward him, but the Dust Edge Sword swept into it with a crack, slicing the mace into two pieces as though it were tofu.

That sword's edge was far too sharp and domineering!

With one strike, even the Black-Clothed Man's right hand, the one gripping the bronze mace, was severed, and Fresh Blood gushed from the stump of his wrist like a waterfall.

Scalding hot and bright red.

He let out a muffled groan and retreated in horror.

And it was at that moment that he saw an incomparably bloody scene—

Su Yi's sleeves billowed as he held his long sword, moving and glancing about like a banished immortal, unleashing six consecutive sword strikes in an instant.

Slash, thrust, flick, draw, break, cleave!

Every strike was swift as wind, invasive as fire, and as they flew freely, they carried an ethereal sense of drifting like lightning, fast as flowing light.

In that instant, Su Yi's figure was like a gust of wind soaring wantonly up to the nine heavens.

Bang!

A bloody hole appeared in one guard's throat. His eyes flew wide as he collapsed to the ground.

Pfft!

Another guard's head was cut off and thrown into the air, his face still frozen in terror.

Immediately after, a dense series of collisions and dull thuds rang out. The remaining guards were either hacked to death, had their necks cut through, or had their chests sliced open...

Bright-red blood sprayed like clusters of fireworks, tragic and bloody, blossoming in the empty air of the courtyard.

When Su Yi sheathed his momentum and stopped.

Of everyone present, aside from the Black-Clothed Man and Wen Jieyuan beside the ancient well, all the rest lay dead on the ground, blood flowing into rivers.

Everything had ended in a mere moment.

Like a sudden clap of thunder, only to return to silence!

Looking at Su Yi again, his expression was as calm as ever. He held his sword casually in his hand, standing at ease, while beads of blood still slid one by one from the night-dark blade to the ground.

Where he stood, seven corpses lay sprawled every which way in pools of blood, a gruesome sight.

"Wh-what sword art is this?"

The Black-Clothed Man turned deathly pale with horror. His mind was dazed, his pupils filled with bewilderment; he had been utterly intimidated.

Wen Jieyuan in the distance was shocked too. His whole body shuddered, alarm and fury mingling together, his face filled with disbelief.

"If you nurture a sword with killing, its ferocity grows heavy; if you temper a sword with blood, its baleful qi grows heavy. Only sharpening a sword with the Dao heart is the supreme path. However, although the Dust Edge Sword has a trace of spirituality, it is ultimately still a mortal weapon, so it does not matter if it is tainted by vicious and baleful energy."

Su Yi looked at the Dust Edge Sword in his hand, then turned his gaze toward Wen Jieyuan in the distance and said calmly, "A dignified son of the Wen Family, yet why do you not dare step forward and fight?"

Wen Jieyuan felt a chill run through his entire body.

He was only at the Flesh Refining stage of the Blood Moving Realm, and since childhood he had lived in fine clothes and eaten fine food. How could he ever have experienced such a bloody scene? He had long since been scared senseless.

"Young Master, run!"

Suddenly, the Black-Clothed Man not far away roared sharply. A Heavy Crossbow had appeared in his hand, aimed at Su Yi.

Whoosh!

An arrow shot out explosively, fast as lightning, its edge chilling to the bone.

Su Yi's figure tilted slightly to the side, and the arrow swept past a mere three inches from his neck by the narrowest of margins. With a bang, it embedded itself in the distant perimeter wall, sending a spray of stone chips bursting out and carving a deep pit into the wall.

The domineering force of that arrow was plain to see!

Seizing this chance, Wen Jieyuan snapped back to his senses and charged out of the courtyard at once.

The Black-Clothed Man held the Heavy Crossbow, continuously drawing the bowstring to its limit with his left hand and pulling the trigger.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Shrill whistles surged like a tide as sharp arrows sliced through the air one after another, shooting toward Su Yi, dense as rain.

Su Yi advanced instead of retreating, his figure flickering, shifting, and weaving as he pressed forward.

He was already at the Flesh Tendons level of the Blood Moving Realm. He rose like an arrow and landed like the wind, his body incomparably nimble.

Even while moving beneath the cover of that rain of arrows, he appeared calm and composed, avoiding each incoming arrow's assassination attempt every time by a hair's breadth.

In just a few blinks, Su Yi arrived before the Black-Clothed Man completely unscathed.

"Son-in-law, doing this will only harm yourself!"

The Black-Clothed Man shouted sharply. The arrows in his crossbow mechanism were already spent, and facing Su Yi so close at hand, he could not help revealing a look of despair.

Strong!

Too strong!

So strong that even someone at the Flesh Tendons level like him felt fear and helplessness from the bottom of his heart.

"You were loyal enough to save your master, which is worthy of praise. I will grant you a quick death."

As he spoke, the Dust Edge Sword in Su Yi's hand flashed.

Pfft!

The Black-Clothed Man's chest was pierced through, his heart shattering.

Even as he died, he could not believe Su Yi would strike so decisively and cleanly, as if he cared nothing at all about the grave consequences this would bring.

With a thud, the Black-Clothed Man's body went limp and collapsed into a pool of blood.

Su Yi's gaze had already turned in another direction.

Wen Jieyuan had already fled to the courtyard gate, frantic as a homeless dog.

How could Su Yi possibly let him escape?

With a flick of his toe, a dagger on the ground flipped into the air and fell into his palm.

Then his arm suddenly exerted force, and he raised his hand and threw it.

Whoosh!

The dagger swept through the air like an arrow, swift as a violent thunderbolt, and stabbed viciously into Wen Jieyuan's back.

The tremendous impact carried his body crashing hard into the courtyard gate, and then he plopped down on his backside, stars bursting before his eyes.

The intense pain in his body and the terror in his heart nearly drove Wen Jieyuan to collapse.

"If I'd known, I wouldn't have had them lock the gate..."

Despair appeared on Wen Jieyuan's face.

But just then—

The courtyard gate was opened from the outside, and a group of figures appeared beyond it.

The man at their head stood tall and imposing as a mountain, draped in military robes, his eyes flashing like cold lightning when they opened and closed.

It was none other than the City Lord's Mansion Guard Commander, Nie Beihu.

"Lord Nie, save me!"

Wen Jieyuan, who had been in despair just moments ago, was now wildly ecstatic. He shouted for help, like a drowning man clutching at a single straw.

"This..."

Nie Beihu swept his gaze across the courtyard and could not help being shocked by the corpses and fresh blood strewn all over the ground. His expression changed sharply, and he sucked in a breath of cold air.

Beside Nie Beihu, Huang Qianjun and the City Lord's Mansion guards had likewise seen that incomparably bloody scene, and each of them was startled, their entire bodies tensing.

After that, every gaze fell on Su Yi, who stood alone in the courtyard with a longsword in hand, and none of them could calm their thoughts.

Who could fail to see that all of this was Su Yi's handiwork?

"Lord Nie, quickly, quickly arrest Su Yi, that evil wretch! He committed murder in broad daylight, killed all my attendants, and he still wants to kill me too!"

Wen Jieyuan cried out urgently, his face full of resentment and excitement.

A few days ago, at Old Madam Wen Family's Longevity Banquet, he had also been present and had witnessed Nie Beihu and City Lord Fu Shan attending the banquet together.

This made him subconsciously believe that since Nie Beihu was on friendly terms with the Wen Family, he would certainly back him up.

But what happened next left Wen Jieyuan dumbfounded.

Nie Beihu's expression suddenly grew solemn, and he cupped his hands toward Su Yi in salute. "This Nie came late to your rescue. I hope Young Master Su will forgive my offense."

"Lord Nie, you... how could you..."

Wen Jieyuan was simply as if struck by lightning. His eyes bulged and his tongue tied, his expression going blank, so shocked he could not even speak.

Nie Beihu's expression was indifferent. He paid him no attention whatsoever, treating him as if he were invisible, only looking at Su Yi with a face full of respect.

Su Yi frowned slightly, but he turned his gaze to Huang Qianjun. "Were you the one who invited Lord Nie here?"

Huang Qianjun's entire body stiffened. Hearing the displeasure in Su Yi's tone, a layer of sweat broke out on his forehead.

He had originally planned to explain, but in the end, he only lowered his head and said bitterly:

"Yes."