Changed Objective

Seeing how quickly Lu Ming had dealt with his opponent, Chu Yunxiao was surprised, but unwilling to be outdone, he unleashed an even more powerful move.

His sword moved with his body, instantly condensing three streams of Sword Qi that shot out.

The main target was the mid-stage Zhen Qi Realm man.

Compared with the Sword Qi before, this time it was clearly faster and more powerful.

Hah!

Seeing the Sword Qi coming at him, the mid-stage Zhen Qi Realm man didn't dare be careless. He waved both palms repeatedly, quickly condensing a palm force. From his stance, he clearly intended to defend.

Soon, the first stream of Sword Qi arrived. The mid-stage Zhen Qi Realm man and his palm force were blasted backward again and again.

Then came the second.

Chu Yunxiao sent out three streams of Sword Qi in succession and had no time to concern himself with the other man, because the other person had seized the opportunity and attacked from midair.

A massive fist shadow descended from the sky.

"Take this—Corpse King Descends!"

"I know boxing too—Hegemon Lifts Tripod!"

Unexpectedly, Chu Yunxiao didn't use sword techniques to block it. Instead, he employed a boxing technique to meet the attack.

One man was above, the other below. They were like needlepoint against wheat, and their fists soon collided. A booming explosion erupted, followed by force shooting in every direction.

Centered around Chu Yunxiao, the earth beneath his feet seemed to have been loaded with blasting powder. Amid the explosions, countless chunks of soil were thrown into the air.

The two struggled for only a few seconds before separating.

Chu Yunxiao's feet had sunk completely into the mud, while Chi Wuya had been blasted backward through the air. After landing, he staggered back several steps before managing to steady himself.

Then he spat out a mouthful of blood.

The difference in strength was immediately clear.

However, it wasn't over yet. Just as Chi Wuya was doing his utmost to suppress the chaotic Zhen Qi within him, a fierce Saber Light suddenly shot toward his neck.

"It's you!"

Chi Wuya quickly realized who had launched the sneak attack. He was both furious and flustered.

The death of Li Chonghu was still fresh in his mind. Even he had no confidence that he could deal with this opponent so quickly.

He hurriedly used Ghost Shadow Steps to evade.

However, Lu Ming's speed was not slow either. When his first sneak attack missed, he immediately pursued Chi Wuya and launched another slash.

"Haha, again!"

Chu Yunxiao had just dispersed the force of the punch when he saw Lu Ming attacking Chi Wuya in hot pursuit. He laughed loudly, then headed straight for the mid-stage Zhen Qi Realm man.

At this time, the mid-stage Zhen Qi Realm man had already neutralized the three streams of Sword Qi, though he appeared far from unscathed.

Seeing Chu Yunxiao coming at him again and taking in the current situation, he gritted his teeth and fled.

"Where do you think you're going!"

Chu Yunxiao quickly saw through his intentions. He pushed his movement technique to its limit and gave chase. Just as he was about to catch up, the other man suddenly threw out a bead.

He didn't dare be careless and hurriedly dodged.

Bang!

The bead exploded in an instant. It wasn't very powerful, but it released a cloud of pungent, emerald-green smoke. Chu Yunxiao didn't dare let it touch him and hurriedly retreated even farther.

"Hmph. These people aren't very strong, but their despicable tricks keep appearing one after another."

Chu Yunxiao reached a safe distance and looked again. The mid-stage Zhen Qi Realm man had already fled far away, and there was no way he could catch up.

He could only give up and prepare to help Lu Ming.

But just as he turned around, he heard a scream. It turned out that Lu Ming had already dealt with his opponent.

"Killing two people in a row—impressive."

After coming to Lu Ming's side, Chu Yunxiao glanced at Chi Wuya's corpse and praised him.

To be honest, he truly hadn't expected his opponent's strength to improve so much in barely more than ten days.

"I only took advantage of the situation."

Lu Ming shook his head and pointed at Chi Wuya's corpse. "He was first thrown into chaos by your attack, then his mind was disrupted when his companion fled. That's why I was able to deal with him so quickly."

To be honest, in terms of strength, despite both being at the early stage of the Zhen Qi Realm, Chi Wuya was far stronger than Li Chonghu.

And among people at the same realm, Chu Yunxiao was a level above both of them. Hadn't he just fought the two of them alone without falling behind?

Lu Ming estimated that if he faced Chi Wuya without using the Saber Intent Prototype, he still wouldn't be his match.

"Most people wouldn't have been able to seize such an opportunity either."

Chu Yunxiao shook his head as well, then dropped the subject and said, "After that man escaped, who knows how many people he'll gather and bring here. Let's leave first."

Lu Ming knew how serious the matter was, but before leaving, he didn't forget to search the battlefield.

From Li Chonghu, he found more than three thousand taels of gold notes, over ten thousand taels of silver notes, and a martial skill. It was his ultimate technique, a Human-grade, high-stage martial skill: Tiger Fiend Claw.

Chi Wuya, on the other hand, was rather poor. He had only seven thousand taels of silver notes on him and no cultivation techniques or martial skills at all.

"Ordinarily, larger forces won't let their people carry secret manuals outside."

Chu Yunxiao explained this to Lu Ming.

Lu Ming nodded and planned to split half of what he had obtained with Chu Yunxiao. After all, he could guess that Chu Yunxiao had shown himself this time to help him.

However, Chu Yunxiao refused, saying that he looked down on such a small amount.

Lu Ming had no choice but to keep it for himself.

Then the two of them quickly left.

"Looks like there's no need for this old man to act."

High in the sky—yes, truly high in the sky—Old Man Zhao stood there stroking his beard, watching Lu Ming and Chu Yunxiao depart. "But why do I feel like this kid is about to be lured into the Wuji Sect?"

Then he shook his head with a laugh. "The Wuji Sect or the Nine Heavens Sect, it makes little difference. Either one is enough to protect him in the early stages."

As he spoke, he turned his gaze toward the mid-stage Zhen Qi Realm member of the Demonic Cult who was fleeing, intending to intervene and deal with him.

Yet after thinking it over, he didn't act.

"Jade cannot become a useful vessel without carving, and geniuses must face hardship before they can truly mature. I'll leave those people to you as whetstones."

After taking one last look at Lu Ming, Old Man Zhao tore open space and left.

On the other side, Lu Ming couldn't help looking back. He always felt that someone was spying on him, though he sensed no malice.

"Old Man Zhao?" he wondered.

"What is it?"

Seeing this, Chu Yunxiao asked in confusion.

"Nothing." Lu Ming shook his head without answering.

Chu Yunxiao didn't press him. Instead, he asked about something else. "You're traveling far from home this time. Where are you going?"

Lu Ming didn't hide it from him. He said that he wanted to join the Nine Heavens Sect.

But Chu Yunxiao said:

"We just let that member of the Demonic Cult escape. He could come back for revenge at any time. So we're still in danger along the way."

"Why don't you come back to the Wuji Sect with me first? Along the way, I can summon fellow disciples to help us. Then there won't be much danger."

Lu Ming naturally understood what Chu Yunxiao was planning. The danger did exist, but it wasn't that great.

After all, the Demonic Cult was now a stray dog. They wouldn't dare make too much commotion.

As for joining the Wuji Sect, to be honest, he wasn't opposed to it. Although the three sects differed in overall strength, the gap wasn't very large.

Moreover, he had a favorable impression of the Wuji Sect disciple before him.

Thus, after pondering for a moment, he nodded in agreement.

Chu Yunxiao was delighted. He believed that as long as he brought Lu Ming back to the Wuji Sect, he would have a chance to get Lu Ming to join the sect.

The two of them then headed southeast, toward the Wuji Sect.

Along the way, Chu Yunxiao did indeed summon fellow disciples repeatedly, but not to ask them for help. Instead, he relayed the news that the Demonic Cult had appeared again.

When they reached a city, they changed to horses and continued their journey.

Green Mane Horses possessed the bloodline of demon beasts. They ran like the wind and could cover a thousand miles in a day. Their travel speed increased dramatically at once.

Along the way, Chu Yunxiao continued introducing the advantages of the Wuji Sect to Lu Ming, naturally hoping to improve Lu Ming's impression of it.

At first, Lu Ming listened with great interest. But as time passed, he grew annoyed.

Only then did he realize how talkative Chu Yunxiao was.

Thus, to give his ears a moment of peace, he directly stated his thoughts.

But upon hearing them, Chu Yunxiao became even happier and explained everything with even greater enthusiasm.

Half a month passed in the blink of an eye.

After personally traveling through the region, Lu Ming finally understood how enormous this world was. This was only the Zhao Kingdom, yet he had already traveled over ten thousand li on horseback.

Adding in the other kingdoms and the lands beyond them, this world was far larger than he had imagined.

"We've finally arrived."

Looking at the endless mountain ranges in the distance, Chu Yunxiao reined in his horse and said, "There's a Yangguan Town several dozen li ahead. Once we pass through the town, we'll reach the mountain gate. It's still early, so we won't enter the town. We'll head straight to the mountain gate."

"Alright."

Lu Ming naturally had no objections.

With that, the two of them increased their speed once more.