Zhou Qiming circulated the power of Iron Cloth Skill, and explosive pops like firecrackers rang throughout his body.
He unleashed Iron Fist Skill, Iron Arm Skill, Iron Crotch Skill, and various other moves, throwing them at Qiu Yun.
A living target who had gone blind was the perfect practice dummy for improving actual combat skills and advancing Iron Cloth Skill!
Zhou Qiming immersed himself in cultivation and gained new insights into Iron Cloth Skill. Wonderful ideas sprang up regarding the application of its various moves.
Actual combat was the best way to digest the martial arts he had learned.
"You're courting death!"
The situation had reversed. Being treated as a living target for a Muscle Cultivation Martial Artist to practice against, Qiu Yun flew into a rage and unleashed killing moves from the very start.
Even if he could not see, the strength of the Bone Forging Realm was not something a tiny ant could shake. He had not expected Zhou Qiming to be so ferocious—or to refuse to run.
Boom!
The two figures exchanged more than ten blows in an instant. Trees snapped wherever they passed, while the surrounding air crackled under the pressure of their force.
Yet the scene of overwhelming domination he had expected never appeared. The longer Qiu Yun fought, the more alarmed he became. This brat's force was terrifyingly powerful, and his flesh was as tough as Copper Skin, making him resemble a moving iron tower.
With mere Muscle Cultivation strength, he had forcefully withstood Earth Fiend Legs. Qiu Yun had never before seen a young Martial Artist with such monstrous talent.
What shocked and horrified him most was how Zhou Qiming's Iron Cloth Skill had progressed from its initial sluggishness to increasing fluency. At first, Qiu Yun could still predict the changes in his moves, but by the end, even when he could see the openings in Iron Cloth Skill, he could not keep up with the speed at which those openings vanished!
Even if Yuan Tieyi of Iron Clothes Martial Arts School had come, he might have been no better than this!
"No, this isn't strength a Muscle Cultivation Martial Artist should possess. When did Iron Clothes Martial Arts School produce a Heavenly Prodigy like you?"
The young and vigorous held the advantage in a fistfight, while prolonged combat was unfavorable. Qiu Yun's Blood Qi began to decline, but his opponent's force continued without end, as though the outcome had already been decided.
Zhou Qiming answered Qiu Yun with an utterly savage Woodcutting Saber Technique. Mountain-Weight Saber carried invincible might as it struck down again and again, grievously wounding Qiu Yun in an instant and sending him flying backward while spitting blood. A hideous, terrifying wound ran diagonally from his shoulder to his waist, deep enough to expose bone.
Qiu Yun plowed through the ground for more than ten meters before dissipating the terrifying force of Woodcutting Saber. The bones in both his legs had been shattered by the impact.
"This is strength only someone in the Bone Forging Realm should possess. You're Xiao Tian!"
Qiu Yun was shocked and enraged, repeatedly sucking in cold breaths. The power of that saber strike was terrifying enough to shatter his flesh and bones outright!
He had toiled in the Bone Forging Realm for years, concentrating his entire body's strength in his leg bones, which he regarded as his pride. Yet before Zhou Qiming, they had been utterly unable to withstand a single blow.
When had the Cheng Family become capable of hiring a guard with such strength? It had to be assistance from Iron Clothes Martial Arts School.
At that moment, Qiu Yun felt only regret and helplessness. He should not have looked down on Zhou Qiming, and even less should he have brought only a group of Muscle Cultivation lackeys to surround and kill the Cheng Family's caravan. The Cheng Family's hidden depths were simply too great.
"Young Hero, don't kill me! I'll give you all my money. I'll even give you the treasury I have hidden in the gang!" Qiu Yun panted heavily, already breathing in more than he breathed out.
"You know too much. Besides, once you're dead, these things will be mine anyway!" Zhou Qiming shook his head coldly and punched Qiu Yun in the forehead. His skull cracked apart. The man actually dared to bargain with property that belonged to Zhou Qiming!
Qiu Yun's flesh was a bloody mess, and his life force completely faded.
But Zhou Qiming did not let down his guard. He remained prepared for Qiu Yun's final strike. Killing someone without following up was no good habit.
"With strength at the Bone Forging level, why didn't you fight me fair and square? You used such despicable tricks—I hate this!" Qiu Yun threw back his head and roared, his eyes bulging with fury. He lunged forward and collapsed face-first onto the ground, dead beyond a doubt, his face filled with resentment and unwillingness.
This battle had been unbearably frustrating. His Earth Fiend Legs had never managed to display their power, and all his strength had felt as though it had struck cotton. Zhou Qiming had led him by the nose throughout the fight. When experts exchanged blows, they paid attention to their life force and momentum. Once he had fallen into a passive position, being slain by Zhou Qiming had only been a matter of time.
"This world really is dangerous. Even a Bone Forging Martial Artist can die after being ambushed. I'll only have a little ability to protect myself once I break through to Tendon Transformation."
Zhou Qiming shook his head and remembered the lesson: once someone was killed, they died.
In the future, he could not underestimate opponents weaker than himself. They might turn out to be sinister old schemers who specialized in ambushes. If he ended up stumbling like Qiu Yun, the loss would be enormous.
Come to think of it, he had only been practicing martial arts for a little over half a year, yet several lives had already stained his hands. That was the cruelty of the world. If he had not trained diligently, the one lying dead here today might well have been him.
Zhou Qiming stopped sighing and hurried forward to search the corpse. A hall master of the Jinsha Gang was already a major figure in the region, so the savings on his person were bound to be substantial.
"This is..."
He opened the money pouch and package from Qiu Yun's chest. Inside were banknotes worth a full thousand silver taels, along with a Gold Leaf worth a hundred taels of silver.
"I'm rich!" Zhou Qiming's eyes gleamed. He had struck it rich in one wave.
Murder and arson truly did produce a golden belt. In only a short while, he had obtained the equivalent of several lifetimes of work at a restaurant. As expected, working for others was absolutely impossible. Only starting a business could lead to wealth—and this was a venture with enormous returns for minimal investment.
This was only a hall master of Earth Fiend Hall. If he killed the hall masters of the other halls, or the Vice Gang Leader or Gang Leader above them, what kind of wealth would they possess?
"Hmph, I'll leave my money in your hands for now!" Zhou Qiming calmed down. He had to convert the money and resources in his hands into increased strength. This was the stage for quietly growing stronger; he was still far from the time to reveal his cards and clash with a Tendon Transformation Martial Artist.
With the Martial arts panel, he had no bottleneck in cultivation. There was no need for him to take risks. The seemingly insurmountable obstacle before him would merely be a threshold he could step over several months later.
"Huh, there's another treasure!"
Zhou Qiming carefully inspected and felt around the corpse. To his surprise, he found a martial arts manual hidden beneath the man's shoe. He had not expected Qiu Yun to carry the martial art he practiced with him. Clearly, he had treasured it greatly in his daily life.
"Earth Fiend Legs, thirteen stance and leg-training forms. Once cultivated to the Extreme Realm, it can rival the great powers of ancient times, chase mountains and moons, and Shrink Ground into Inch."
Looking at the boastful introduction, Zhou Qiming nodded with a smile. It was impossible for it to be as astonishing as described, but he happened to lack a movement technique. It was like receiving a pillow just when sleepiness struck.
With Earth Fiend Legs, he could continue gaining Root Bone points and raise his limit. It would also make up for his lack of speed. Even if he could not defeat an enemy, he could still flee and preserve his life!
After his first clash with a Bone Forging Martial Artist, he had already wanted to collect martial arts focused on leg techniques and movement techniques.
These Earth Fiend Legs were a good thing—though they did carry a bit of an odor...
Zhou Qiming frowned and wrapped the manual in cloth. This counted as his greatest gain from the trip, and its value was not even inferior to a thousand silver taels.
In someone else's hands, Earth Fiend Legs might have been merely an ordinary leg technique. But with his cheat-like Limit Breaking talent, after breaking through two or three limits, he might truly be able to chase the stars and moons and Shrink Ground into Inch like the great powers of old. For a moment, Zhou Qiming found himself filled with anticipation.
"Clap, clap, clap!"
Suddenly, a crisp burst of applause came from beside him, jolting Zhou Qiming out of his joy. He immediately raised his head.
There were rats too!
Under his icy gaze, a handsome young man in silver armor with a precious saber at his waist emerged leisurely from behind a pagoda-sized locust tree.
The young man had an imposing bearing and a powerful voice. Clapping his hands, he laughed loudly. "Wonderful, wonderful! I never expected your martial arts attainments to be so impressive. To kill Qiu Yun at such a young age—the fellow really is a waste. I, King Chaotian of the Hantian Army, am desperately seeking talented people. Why not join us and seek wealth and glory together? We can let bygones be bygones regarding your grudge with the Jinsha Gang."
"The Hantian Army, King Chaotian?"
The Hantian Army was a Righteous Army that had risen to prominence in recent years, sweeping through Luoshan County, Yishui County, and several counties in the surrounding area. Its strength was formidable. Several County Governors had been unable to suppress the bandits and had consequently lost their official caps.
They called themselves a Righteous Army to gild the lily, but were they not simply vicious bandits? They burned, killed, looted, and committed every imaginable evil. The Jinsha Gang had submitted to these Sky Shaker Bandits. No wonder they had been so eager to move against the forces in Jinshui Town—they wanted to present King Chaotian with a pledge of allegiance.
Having witnessed the murder, Zhou Qiming did not panic. He calmly began to think.
No matter what, being able to cross realms and kill a Bone Forging Martial Artist after only half a year was truly earth-shattering. He could not expose his trump cards and actual strength!
Therefore, whether it was the Hantian Army or some Heaven-defying Army, anyone who knew his secret had to die!
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