A moment later, Zhou Qiming returned to the courtyard, packed his luggage, and took the Mountain-Weight Saber in hand.
All the valuable things he had possessed had been converted into resources and spent on himself over the past few days. He had also finished reading and burned his martial arts manuals, so there was nothing left for him to miss.
"There are actually thieves here too."
Zhou Qiming was just about to leave when he heard movement outside the courtyard and could not help finding it amusing.
"Brother Chen, this kid is so young, yet he has a head chef's skill. He'll be highly sought-after if we send him to the Hantian Army."
Several thieves followed the leading man over the wall and into the courtyard, only to find Zhou Qiming staring coldly at them. They immediately felt as if they were sitting on pins and needles.
"Your senses are pretty sharp. You even noticed us."
The leading man quickly calmed down and gave a cold laugh. Then he scattered a handful of Lime Powder and signaled everyone to swarm forward.
"My cousin Chen Meng was killed by you, wasn't he? I'll let you taste the Bone-Breaking Hand!"
Chen Tianxing grinned savagely. Two months ago, his cousin's corpse had only just been discovered floating in the river. He had investigated for a long time but found no clue about the murderer. The only person Chen Meng had clashed with was Zhou Qiming, who had now even become a head chef. He absolutely could not have been uninvolved.
However, when three or four long sabers struck him, it was as if they had hit a giant made of bronze and iron. Apart from the booming clangs and trembling vibrations, they could not even break his skin.
"What? How is this possible!"
"Could he be a powerhouse with Copper Skin and Iron Bones?"
"Isn't this kid a chef? How did he cultivate such a Body tempering realm?"
Everyone's scalps went numb, as if even their souls had been struck.
Zhou Qiming shook his head. These flies were far too weak, utterly incapable of stirring his interest.
He stepped forward with a sidestep, the heavy saber on his back. His weighty footsteps boomed like war drums. Then his large hand shot out like an eagle's talon, and wherever it passed, a head was plucked away.
"I was wrong! My cousin was simply courting death. Don't kill me!"
Chen Tianxing of the Bone-Breaking Hand dropped to his knees at once, wetting his trousers in terror. He did not even have the courage to run.
But the only answer he received was the sound of his neck being twisted apart.
"I'm unwilling to accept this! Hall Master Yang He will avenge me." Hatred and regret still lingered in Chen Tianxing's eyes.
Who could have imagined that the teenager in the restaurant, barely in his teens, had been hiding such monstrous strength? They had even planned to drink and seek pleasure after finishing the kidnapping, only to be killed and sent on their way to the underworld in the blink of an eye.
"Why did you have to force me? You even dared threaten me."
Zhou Qiming stepped out and headed toward Qingfeng Hall, his killing intent surging like a tide.
He had only practiced martial arts for a few months, yet he had already taken several lives. He did not mind killing one more, Yang He. This world was simply too dangerous. If you did not hurt others, others would hurt you!
Besides, since Chen Tianxing had come to kidnap him, it meant that everyone else from the restaurant was also at Qingfeng Hall.
He activated the Earth Fiend Legs, and a ghostly figure vanished from where he stood like an arrow, arriving at Qingfeng Hall's stronghold.
"Who is it!"
Yang He was practicing his blade when he suddenly shuddered and looked over.
The saber-bearing man's movement technique was far too fast. His Blood Qi was completely restrained, yet he gave off an extreme sense of danger. He was certainly a powerhouse on the level of a gang leader!
"Qiming, why are you here?" Head Chef Liu was drenched in cold sweat from shock. He had never expected Zhou Qiming to risk coming alone to save them.
In everyone's eyes, Qingfeng Hall's stronghold was unquestionably a dragon's pool and a tiger's den.
Chef Li stamped his feet anxiously, worried for him. "Don't act rashly. These Martial Artists aren't people you can deal with. Our lives aren't in danger. Don't worry about us."
In truth, the Jinsha Gang still had use for chefs like them. They would not exterminate them the way they had the Xiao Family.
"You were the one who killed Qiu Yun, weren't you? And the one who killed Xiao Tian that time was also..." Yang He said something shocking, probing him aloud.
This kid had hidden himself far too deeply. He clearly possessed strength that overwhelmed the Bone Forging realm, yet he had remained at the restaurant working. Even Head Chef Liu and the others, ordinary people, were worried about him.
But Yang He alone knew that the other man was absolutely a god of slaughter.
"There's no need for us to interfere with each other's affairs. I was in the wrong and shouldn't have seized the people from the restaurant. I'll release them now and offer five hundred taels of silver as an apology. How about we let this matter end here?"
Under the other man's gaze, Yang He's scalp prickled. He took the initiative to plead for mercy.
"Are you kidding me? Even Qiu Yun died at his hands. And on the day he killed Xiao Tian, he broke several of my ribs with a single collision when we met. Zhou Qiming's strength is unfathomable. He absolutely wasn't someone Yang He could afford to provoke."
"If he had known that the Haolai Restaurant had such a terrifying powerhouse backing it, Yang He would never have touched it, no matter what. Now, he immediately bowed his head and admitted his mistake."
"What? What identity does Qiming have? Yang He actually backed down."
"Did I hear that wrong? This... How is this possible?"
"We were all wrong. Qiming must be a disciple of a Prefecture Noble Family out gaining experience. Otherwise, how could he make the Jinsha Gang show him respect?"
The head chefs were overjoyed. None of them had expected matters to develop this way.
Zhou Qiming, who was usually extremely low-key, actually possessed such terrifying influence. Moreover, he was only fifteen or sixteen years old. His future potential was definitely even more monstrous than Xiao Tian's. Yuan Tieyi had truly been blind to let such a fine seedling slip away.
"If apologies were useful, what would be the point of learning martial arts?"
Zhou Qiming remained unmoved. The great saber behind him swung down. "Besides, after killing you, this money will still be mine."
Everyone sucked in a cold breath. They had not expected Zhou Qiming to have such a domineering side. Yang He had already bowed his head and admitted fault, yet Zhou Qiming still chose violence. It showed absolute confidence in his own strength.
"You're going too far!"
Yang He felt humiliated and looked down upon, and he exploded into a furious rage.
He unleashed the moves of his Qingfeng Blade Technique. In an instant, he was like autumn wind sweeping fallen leaves, his figure moving so quickly that it dazzled the eyes.
Back then, relying on this practiced blade technique, even Xiao Tian had been unable to do anything to him.
Yet in the eyes of Zhou Qiming, whose Bone Forging had reached Great Accomplishment, all of this was no longer worth mentioning.
"Too slow."
Zhou Qiming shook his head and pointed once, stopping the Qingfeng Blade at its seven-inch point and preventing it from advancing another inch. Then he gave his hand a jolt. The Mountain-Weight Saber swept through like a guillotine, and Yang He instantly sprayed blood as his body was severed at the waist into two pieces.
"How... how could this be..." Yang He's body toppled over, his eyes filled with madness and disbelief.
"Hiss, how could Qiming have such strength? He's practically stronger than Xiao Tian."
"That's terrifying. Why would he come work at a restaurant?"
"Am I seeing things? The arrogant Qingfeng Hall Master actually died from one slash?"
The head chefs and workers alike stood dumbfounded, feeling as if their entire worldview had shattered. They did not even feel the joy of surviving a calamity, only awe and shock toward the youth.
To possess such monstrous strength at this age made everyone even more certain that Zhou Qiming possessed Noble Family Bloodline. Otherwise, there was simply no way to explain it.
"We're saved!" Head Chef Liu and the others were delighted as they followed behind Zhou Qiming and escaped. With the strength and background of a Noble Family disciple like him, perhaps he could truly intimidate Sha Heihu.
"Let's meet up at the Iron Clothes Martial Arts School first." Zhou Qiming searched Qingfeng Hall, then immediately led everyone back to the town.
Unfortunately, not everyone was like Qiu Yun, carrying martial arts manuals and cultivation methods with them. Of course, the Qingfeng Blade Technique was somewhat beneath his current level as well. Zhou Qiming planned to find some higher-grade martial arts to practice in the County Town—preferably an internal cultivation technique.
Before you continue