Cleaning Up Loose Ends, Making Enemies with the Sky Shaker Bandits

"Y-you, what do you want to do!" The youth in silver armor took two steps back, feeling as if he had been targeted by a prehistoric beast!

He had already invoked the name of King Chaotian; even the experts under the County Governor would have to avoid his edge and show some respect to the Hantian Army. How could this calf of a boy dare to resist? He was truly reckless!

"Join the Hantian Army? I will be the one to decide the terms of joining, and King Chaotian is nothing more than nourishment on my path of martial arts."

Zhou Qiming's eyes burned with intensity as his Mountain-Weight Saber slashed down fiercely. "Besides, I hate it when people try to act like experts in front of me!"

Being interrupted while looting a corpse would make anyone's blood boil. Therefore, he had no choice but to kill this silver-armored martial artist and continue looting—looting was just so satisfying!

Zhou Qiming's five senses were incredibly sharp; he could hear ants fighting and perceive the subtle shifts in the air. Although he had been immersed in his harvest at first, allowing the silver-armored youth to seize the initiative and shock him, his composure quickly returned.

Once Zhou Qiming calmed his mind, he soon noticed that the youth's legs beneath his robes were subconsciously trembling, and the fine hairs on his face were standing up, beaded with cold sweat. It was clear that he wasn't as composed as he appeared; in reality, his Body Tempering realm might not even be as high as his own!

As expected, there was no such thing as a simple person in this world. He had almost been fooled by this kid, Zhou Qiming thought, shaking his head coldly.

"Since you're so afraid of me, I'll grant you the release of death!" The Mountain-Weight Saber descended with peerless ferocity, like a thunderbolt.

The blade's force struck like a hammer against an egg, accompanied by the sound of bursting flesh and bone. This guy's blood-qi strength was only slightly better than Cheng Yu and Cheng Yan, merely at the Muscle Cultivation level. A weakling like this dared to jump out and play the clown!

The youth vomited a mouthful of blood, his face filled with nothing but anger and regret. He shouldn't have provoked this god of slaughter.

He had only been sent to secretly supervise the Jinsha Gang to ensure they were loyally completing their mission. When he saw Qiu Yun chasing down a boy at the Skin Toughening and Muscle Cultivation stage, he had followed along, hoping to obtain the secrets Zhou Qiming possessed.

Who would have thought he would be so shocked? Instead of seeing Zhou Qiming bleed out, he saw Qiu Yun get ruthlessly slaughtered. The strength this boy had hidden was astonishing and unfathomable. It was too late for him to retreat!

The silver-armored youth had been hiding behind a tree, terrified that the other party would discover him after finishing the looting. Driven by fear and panic, he had foolishly walked out to try and intimidate Zhou Qiming, but unfortunately, his ruse was seen through by the other's perception.

"Y-you... you, don't kill me! I am one of the 99 adopted sons under King Chaotian. Can a tiny Jinshui Town bear the wrath of the King!" The youth was in total despair, losing all the airs of a high-level expert he had feigned earlier. He truly felt the crisis of death.

"You dare threaten me?"

Zhou Qiming's tower-like figure stepped forward. He reached out with a palm like an eagle's claw and squeezed; the youth's head exploded like a watermelon.

Suddenly, a flash of red light erupted. A single drop of blood flew out from an amulet around the youth's neck.

King's Blood!

This was a sliver of blood bestowed by King Chaotian to his trusted subordinates. It could control the lives of his underlings and also transform and enhance their strength—a method comparable to that of demons.

Since the youth's Body Tempering realm was low, he clearly hadn't had time to refine this treasure and had only kept it as a trump card for survival.

The red blood light moved with extreme speed, too fast even for the Mountain-Weight Saber to block. It slammed into Zhou Qiming's chest with the force of a thunderbolt.

With a crack, the skin on his chest broke. The bloodline power then surged into his entire body and vanished.

"What is this!"

Zhou Qiming frowned. It was too dangerous; he hadn't expected the opponent to have such a method. A single drop of blood had pierced through his Copper Skin defense.

His skin was broken and bleeding.

Ever since he began practicing the Iron Cloth Skill, it had been a long time since he had been injured. Even Qiu Yun, just moments ago, had only managed to tear his clothes with his leg techniques, failing to cause any real damage.

But now, a single drop of King's Blood possessed such eerie power.

This world was, after all, a chaotic era of demons and monsters, riddled with crises. His current strength, having only reached the stage of Muscle Cultivation, was far from invincible. He absolutely could not be reckless; he had to keep a low profile and develop his strength!

"What... what kind of monster are you!"

Before the young man died, he stared in dumbfounded shock. Even after being forced to trigger the King's Blood, he still hadn't been able to kill Zhou Qiming!

One had to understand that this was an Amulet bestowed by King Chaotian. It was equivalent to burning the young man's entire foundation of vitality and blood. A single strike should have been enough to severely wound a Bone Forging martial artist, yet it had only managed to break Zhou Qiming's skin.

What was most infuriating was that he actually had the nerve to complain about it being too dangerous. What kind of bizarre contrast was this—being both powerful and cowardly?

No matter how one looked at it, Zhou Qiming seemed more like the monster: thick-skinned, sturdy, and shameless!

The young man didn't have time to collapse in shock; he had already followed Qiu Yun into the afterlife.

"My bloodline aura is locked. My foster father will avenge me sooner or later!" This was the silver-armored warrior's final obsession before he died, a smile curling at the corners of his mouth.

Zhou Qiming threw a few stones from a distance to finish him off, confirming the man was thoroughly dead before stepping forward to loot the corpse.

"An adopted son of a King, yet so poor? Not even as good as a hall master from some backwater town!"

Zhou Qiming was deeply disappointed. He only found a bottle of Bone Forging Pills, two gold leaves worth a hundred taels each, and a waist token of the Hantian Army. There wasn't even a decent martial arts manual. Too poor!

As for the valuable armor and the sword the man carried, Zhou Qiming didn't dare take them and parade them through the streets, fearing that King Chaotian's men would find their way to his doorstep.

He blasted a large hole into a nearby mountain boulder, hid the armor and weapons inside, and covered it well with stones. Perhaps when he left Jinshui Town, he could come back to retrieve them and trade them for money.

As for the corpses of Qiu Yun and the young man, he used his blade energy to blast them into a pulp. In these deep mountains and old forests, they would be cleaned up like a buffet by wild beasts in no time.

"Debt doesn't weigh you down when you have too much of it. I just wanted to practice martial arts and develop in peace; why did these people have to force my hand?"

Having taken lives several times in such a short period, Zhou Qiming no longer felt the awkwardness or agitation he had experienced when dealing with Chen Meng for the first time. His heart remained completely calm.

"It's a pity that killing can't be turned into a martial arts skill; otherwise, I'm sure I could have grinded it to perfection very quickly." Zhou Qiming gnashed his teeth, feeling like he had lost out on several points of Root Bone Value!

The result of this mission was good, and the harvest was bountiful. After taking stock, Zhou Qiming had obtained everything he had hoped for.

The fourteen or fifteen hundred taels of silver alone were enough for him to buy better medicinal herbs and collect more martial arts manuals!

There was also a bottle of Bone Forging Pills, which would allow him to temper his bones faster after his Muscle Cultivation.

The Cheng Family's pharmacy would soon resume operations, which could provide him with a steady supply of ginseng and precious medicines. This would speed up the recovery of his consumed Root Bone Value, making it easier for him to continue breaking through the limits of his martial arts. Although the profits from the Cheng Family were meager, they were stable and consistent—even a mosquito's leg is still meat!

As for finally being locked onto by the aura of the King's Blood, it wasn't a major issue. Zhou Qiming carefully examined his body. Aside from a strange, lingering feeling of karmic connection, it had no actual impact on his strength or his cultivation.

Such is the way of the world: the greater the risk, the greater the reward. Zhou Qiming simply viewed this King's Blood as a trial on his path of martial arts.

Perhaps this drop of King's Blood is my greatest harvest. It contains astonishing power; I must find a way to refine it to resolve the hidden dangers! Zhou Qiming felt a sense of crisis and urgency. He did not know if Yuan Tieyi had a method for refining the energy of the blood curse, but he did not like being a sitting duck.

This drop of King's Blood was equivalent to being marked in advance. Zhou Qiming believed that as long as he didn't actively walk into the line of fire of the Hantian Army, they wouldn't be able to pinpoint his location. Furthermore, once his aptitude and cultivation techniques were improved, he would be able to refine the Blood Mark in an instant.

To be targeted by a King while still in the Novice Village, he had to redouble his efforts and strive to reach the perfection and limit-break of the Iron Cloth Skill and Earth Fiend Legs!

King Chaotian was busy maneuvering against the Luoshan Army; why would he waste his thoughts on an ant like him? At most, he would dispatch some of his heavenly soldiers and generals, whom Zhou Qiming did not fear at all.

Moreover, by the time King Chaotian reacted, who knew how many layers his Iron Cloth Skill would have broken through? The so-called King in the eyes of the world might eventually be unable to even break his skin—it would be nothing more than a mayfly looking up at the blue sky!

"I'll go help Cheng Yan first. She risked her life to help me break out; she shouldn't be dead yet." After dealing with Qiu Yun and his companion, Zhou Qiming immediately turned back to look for the Cheng Family's group. He had to clean up the aftermath at the Jinsha Gang branch; no survivors could be left behind.

If you enjoy this book, remember to add it to your bookshelf so you don't lose it next time.

In response to the requests of our readers, we have now launched a VIP membership feature that removes advertisements.

Click to view.