Phantom Blade

East of Flat Water County lay the Eagle's Sigh Mountain Range, meaning that even eagles would sigh at the sight of these mountains.

The Eagle's Sigh Mountain Range was filled with towering peaks and steep terrain, layer upon layer of mountains. Every ten paces brought a ravine, every hundred paces a mountain ridge, every thousand paces a precipice.

Many bandit dens were hidden here. War horses were useless in this place, making it ideal for fleeing and hiding.

Under the guidance of a noble person, Jiang Ping An raced toward the Eagle's Sigh Mountain Range.

The soldiers behind him did not dare pursue too closely, merely going through the motions, terrified of being killed.

Just as the Eagle's Sigh Mountain Range came into view, wild laughter rang out behind him.

"Hahaha, This Old Man's luck is incredible! I gave up looking for you and was returning to the city, yet I never imagined you were still in the city!"

A burly man riding a black war horse appeared. His mount was extremely fast, leaving the ordinary pursuers behind as it rapidly closed in on Jiang Ping An.

"Brat, hand over your lucky chance, and I'll give you a quick death!"

The burly man grew more and more excited.

Jiang Ping An glanced at the man's armor and clothing. They were the same as Cui Xiao's.

This man was also a Middle Captain, though Jiang Ping An did not know exactly how strong he was.

Middle Captains were divided into ranks as well. The weakest were comparable to the Qi Refining Third Layer, while the strongest reached the Fifth Level of Qi Refining.

As the man drew closer and closer, Jiang Ping An's expression darkened.

He could not escape.

He suddenly pulled the reins to stop the horse, then climbed down.

"I surrender."

The burly man froze for a moment. He was surrendering just like that?

When the man arrived before him, Jiang Ping An took three Spirit Stones from his robes and tossed them onto the ground. "I surrender. This is everything I own."

The burly man lowered his head to look.

At the same time, Jiang Ping An drew his long blade and viciously slashed at him.

"Clang—"

The two blades collided, sending sparks flying.

"Hahaha, you idiotic brat! Do you think I'm as foolish as that idiot Cui Xiao?"

The burly man laughed wildly. His thick arm gradually exerted force, pressing Jiang Ping An's blade back toward him.

Jiang Ping An's face changed drastically. This man's strength was greater than Cui Xiao's!

The web between his thumb and forefinger split open and bled. The muscles in his arm felt as though they had been torn apart, the pain excruciating.

In close combat, Martial Warriors truly were stronger.

Their strength was not even on the same level!

The burly man sneered viciously. "Competing with us Martial Warriors in close combat? What an idiot."

Jiang Ping An's blade was forced down near his own neck. If the other man exerted any more strength, his throat would be cut open!

A streak of green light flashed past, instantly knocking the burly man's blade away.

"Watch This Old Man break through your defenses!" The burly man swung his blade again, using even more force than before.

The youth before him was no match for him at all. Finishing him off was only a matter of time.

Enduring the searing pain in his arm, Jiang Ping An swiftly raised his blade to meet the attack.

"Useless! Phantom Blade!"

An afterimage passed through Jiang Ping An's blade and slashed at his Protective Barrier.

"Boom!"

The man's blade struck the Protective Barrier once more.

However, he made no further move.

"Clang—"

The burly man's blade fell from his hand.

He clutched his throat tightly as blood continually sprayed from between his fingers.

"Phan... Phantom Blade..."

His face was filled with disbelief.

It had taken him years of cultivation to learn the First Floor of Phantom Blade, yet this brat had obtained Phantom Blade only a few days ago and could already barely wield it.

A genius. The other party was a genius in martial arts...

Jiang Ping An slowly sheathed his bloodstained blade, gulping down ragged breaths.

"Though I've only learned the barest surface of Phantom Blade, it's enough to catch someone off guard."

Over the past few days, aside from raising his cultivation, he had been studying Phantom Blade.

Just as those Martial Warriors had said, close combat was his weakness. Then he had to learn close-combat techniques.

After studying for five or six days, he could only barely produce a faint afterimage. If someone watched carefully, they would not be deceived.

The only reason was that the other man had never expected Jiang Ping An to use their own technique against them.

"Thud—"

The burly man fell from his horse, his breath gone.

After picking up the Spirit Stones on the ground, Jiang Ping An searched the man's body and found two bottles of medicine and a book. He picked up the man's blade and quickly rushed into the Eagle's Sigh Mountain Range.

Once inside the mountains, horses became useless, and these cavalrymen's combat strength would be greatly reduced.

The pursuing soldiers looked at the dead burly man, every face filled with shock.

This Middle Captain was clearly even stronger than Cui Xiao. How had he been killed in an instant?

Could it be that the youth's strength had increased in merely five or six days?

They did not dare continue chasing him. Fear and the threat of death lingered in their hearts.

This youth was too terrifying.

Jiang Ping An ran wildly through the mountains.

This time, he had only taken down someone who was alone. If a group of people at the same level came after him, he would surely die, so he had to run like mad.

He ran for an entire day, crossing dozens of mountains and cliffs, falling into mountain gullies several times. If not for his protective talisman, he might have fallen to his death.

In the end, he stopped beside a pool where there were no traces of human activity.

The pool was crystal clear, and beside it was a crack in the rocks large enough to hold two or three people.

Jiang Ping An chopped off a tree branch and wedged it into the entrance of the rock crevice to block it, then crawled inside.

Without bothering to rest, Jiang Ping An took out his spoils from the Treasure Accumulation Basin.

There were two bottles of pills. One was a bottle of Blood Qi Pills containing three pills. Together with the bottle of Blood Qi Pills he had seized earlier, he now had five in total.

These Blood Qi Pills were used to cultivate Blood Qi and were extremely expensive. Even a Middle Captain could receive at most three a month.

There was also a bottle of Trauma Medicine, used to stop bleeding.

There was also a book, the same as the one he had seized from Cui Xiao: Blood Qi Art.

By cultivating this art, one could become a Martial Warrior, increasing both Blood Qi and strength.

Touching the scab on the web of his thumb and forefinger, Jiang Ping An pondered for a long time before deciding to cultivate this art.

When he had crossed blades with that burly man yesterday, the web of his thumb and forefinger had split open. His arm was still aching now.

Had the man not failed to anticipate that Jiang Ping An could use Phantom Blade, he would never have escaped.

Those people's strength was too great. Without the protective talisman, he did not know how many times he would have died already.

Other cultivators could breathe fire, command water, control wood... but he could do none of it.

At this stage, increasing his strength and blade techniques was the most worthwhile choice.

However, before learning the Blood Qi Art, he had to make a breakthrough.

If he copied the Spirit Stones once more today, it should be enough for a breakthrough.

An hour later, a crisp cracking sound came from the rock crevice. The spiritual energy around him surged madly, and gust after gust of wind swept through.

Qi Refining Fourth Layer.

His next breakthrough would require more than one hundred and sixty Spirit Stones.

That meant at least sixteen days.

This was only the Qi Refining Fourth Layer. The higher his realm became, the more time and Spirit Stones he would need.

He had heard some old men in teahouses say that after reaching Foundation Establishment, having enough Spirit Stones would no longer be enough to break through. A teacher was needed as well.

Not to mention reaching Foundation Establishment—even Foundation Establishment itself was no simple matter. It seemed that a pill called a Foundation Establishment Pill was also required.

He would not think about that for now. During this period, he could cultivate the Blood Qi Art.

The Blood Qi Art had three levels. Reaching the first level made one comparable in strength to the Qi Refining Third Layer. Reaching the second level was equivalent to Qi Refining Level 6, and mastering it completely was comparable to the Qi Refining Ninth Layer.

Of course, that was only in terms of strength.

If Jiang Ping An knew spell arts, he could easily deal with these Martial Warriors.

After swallowing a Blood Qi Pill, Jiang Ping An felt a flame rise in his stomach. The heat surged from his abdomen into his limbs and bones.

He took out his blade, jumped into the pool beside him, and began practicing his swings.

Martial Warriors differed from cultivators. Cultivators could break through merely by meditating and breathing in spiritual energy, while Martial Warriors needed to temper their bodies—that was, exhaust them.

The clear water of the pool turned murky as Jiang Ping An entered it.

While he cultivated, a group of soldiers poured into the Eagle's Sigh Mountain Range.

"Find him alive if alive, find his corpse if dead! Such a troublesome commoner dared kill soldiers of our army—he must be executed!"

"Whoever finds him will be rewarded a thousand taels of gold!"

"Long live the captain!!"

Spurred on by the reward, the soldiers' fighting spirit soared. They would definitely capture that brat!