A Quiet Calm

After delivering a few words to steady everyone's nerves, Chang Hong hurriedly left.

If not for the deaths of nearly a hundred people and the sheer scale of the incident forcing him to step in, he wouldn't have wanted anything to do with the Jin Family's mess.

With Chang Hong gone, the cleanup proceeded in orderly fashion.

As bodies were carried out of the Jin Family Courtyard one after another, the staff of Mount Tai Security turned to Cui Yuan, who had been demoted from department head to team leader. One by one, they expressed their admiration. "Thank goodness Captain Fang warned us to just hang around outside. Otherwise..."

"So many Internal Strengthening experts were lost—more than you could count on both hands. Even Director Mo and Captain Fang met with misfortune. If we'd dared to go in, we'd have been finished with a single sword strike."

Many others were still shaken.

"That was too savage! I've lived for more than forty years, and I've never seen anyone so ruthless. Nearly a hundred lives—he just killed them all. How could he bring himself to do that? Just thinking about it gives me nightmares!"

Some had already been scared out of their wits.

But a young man took issue with his words. "Why couldn't he do it? When your family was persecuted to death, you lost your job, and you were nearly run over—then, after barely escaping with your life, he used every connection he had to put a bounty on you and wouldn't rest until you were dead. When you're already going to die, do you think you'd still hold back?"

As he spoke, a trace of satisfaction gleamed in the young man's eyes. "If you're willing to risk your life, you can drag the emperor from his throne! If you ask me, he did a beautiful job!"

"Ahem!"

Cui Yuan hurriedly coughed to silence the young man. "Don't talk nonsense. We've never advocated violence."

As security staff, their clients had suffered a disaster on this scale. Gloating would be disrespectful to them.

Besides...

Li ChunJun had also killed their brothers at Mount Tai Security. There was no way they could say such things aloud.

"So many people died, and they were all wealthy and influential figures in Guangzhou City. This is a case for the history books," someone sighed.

"The main thing is that the Jin Family's bounty was so tempting that when people saw Li ChunJun, they didn't even think to run. They saw him as a stepping-stone to success."

"A tempting bounty? A stepping-stone to success?"

Cui Yuan let out a cold laugh. "Money and status are no good if you're dead before you can enjoy them."

He shook his head. "This is beyond the likes of ordinary people like us. From now on, even if you see Li ChunJun out there, you'd better turn a blind eye. With his thirst for revenge, if he survives..."

The few people present nodded in deep agreement before he could finish.

Thinking of the prosecutor and the fate of the Sword Tasting Hall, many of them couldn't help shivering.

Terrifying!

Absolutely terrifying!

It wasn't just the people from Mount Tai Security. Many who had been lucky enough to escape with their lives also told those around them to keep a low profile for a while.

With things blown up to this extent, it certainly wouldn't end here.

The upper echelons of Guangzhou City would inevitably be swept into an even fiercer storm.

They didn't know what the people at the top would decide, but those in the middle ranks and the elite had already been scared witless by the nearly hundred bodies left behind in the battle at the Jin Family Courtyard.

Jin Guangming and Mo Lei were big shots, yet that ruthless killer had cut them down without a second thought. If they dared offend him, and he came after them, could they possibly have any hope of surviving?

A huge bounty was all well and good, but you had to live long enough to spend it.

Under these circumstances, the Heavenly Net spread across Guangzhou City in search of Li ChunJun suddenly began to tighten.

Even those who had no choice but to make inquiries because of their positions found ways to drag their feet.

Guangzhou...

fell into the quiet calm before the storm.

In his apartment,

Li ChunJun tended the treasured sword he had obtained from the Sword Tasting Hall.

Even the finest sword would wear down after cutting through enough people.

If he didn't maintain it, a problem at a crucial moment could have fatal consequences.

After a while, Li ChunJun looked at the sword.

"Time to replace it."

He said it aloud.

A sword of metal was brittle because of its sharpness; a sword of Essence Qi drew upon Heaven and Earth and would never be destroyed.

No matter how well he maintained a weapon forged from metal, it still had a limited lifespan.

Therefore...

"Essence Qi Sword."

The contents of Sword Cultivation Foundation Establishment Chapter flashed through Li ChunJun's mind.

The prerequisite for becoming a Sword Cultivator was advancing to the Innate Realm.

Innate...

"Internal-External Unity, Hundred Meridians Open, Circulating Energy Through the Heavens. These are the stages of a Martial Master's cultivation. Once you can circulate energy through the heavens, you can use a special formation and environment to draw Heaven and Earth Origin Qi into yourself, open the bridge between heaven and earth, and absorb that Qi into your body. Then you refine it into Sword Qi."

The moment he condensed his first sword aura, his path as a sword cultivator began.

At present, however, his cultivation was only at Outer Refinement Great Accomplishment.

He hadn't even achieved Internal-External Unity, let alone properly tempered his internal organs.

"With this kind of combat strength, viewed through the eyes of ordinary people, I'm simply born with divine strength."

Li ChunJun pondered.

He was exceptionally gifted, yet his martial cultivation was still at Outer Refinement Great Accomplishment.

He wondered whether, if he raised his level further, his body would undergo a transformation and develop the ability to absorb Heaven and Earth Origin Qi through its pores and acupoints.

He believed it could.

But that level would probably require reaching Level 11 or 12, or even Level 13 or 14.

When everyone else was using true energy, Sword Qi, and Mana while he still relied on brute strength, the gap in combat power would grow even wider.

"Cultivation. Combat strength."

The sword in Li ChunJun's hand sang as he thrust it forward.

The force-generating technique of the Nine Heavens Thunderclap Sword Art made this thrust more than thirty percent faster than one driven by brute force alone.

"My swordsmanship has reached the entry level."

He said it aloud.

Real combat was the best way to practice.

And his enhancement was comprehensive, extending to his memory, comprehension, and more.

He could clearly feel that, when practicing swordsmanship, he often grasped one thing from three, and progressed at a startling pace.

"Not just memory and comprehension..."

Li ChunJun seemed to hear a sound.

Following it, he swept a mosquito passing by with the corner of his eye.

As he focused his mind, he could even "see" its wings beating rapidly.

"Whoosh!"

His sword flashed around.

The treasured sword pinned the mosquito to the wall.

His precise control of every muscle in his body allowed him to use just enough force to kill the mosquito without driving the blade even a millimeter into the wall.

Such astonishing hearing, eyesight, and reflexes...

No Martial Master at the same level could excel in every respect like that.

They were also why he had quickly brought his swordsmanship to the entry level.

Unfortunately...

Even with these advantages, he still couldn't defeat Martial Masters at his level.

Against someone one level below, he had to fight as if his life depended on it.

Against someone two levels below, he could overwhelm them with sheer force.

As for Martial Artists at his own level...

He simply couldn't beat them.

He was too young.

"Swordsmanship. Body Refining Arts."

Li ChunJun stood up.

Life Level mattered, but so did cultivation, and so did swordsmanship.

Only by advancing on all three fronts could he build a truly solid foundation and gain the confidence to face any danger—or even remake the world.

The medicine for strengthening his lungs and internal organs had finished simmering in the kitchen.

He extracted the essence from it, waited for it to cool a little, then swallowed it.

After taking the medicine, he immediately circulated the Crimson Sun Body Refining Art to temper his internal organs and practice Internal Strengthening.

At this point, he hadn't yet reached the entry level of Internal Strengthening.

But his Life Level was right there.

It was like the difference between a penniless man trying to earn a million and a tycoon with a hundred million trying to earn another million. Their efficiency couldn't even be compared.

Whether it was External Refinement or Internal Strengthening, both only helped Li ChunJun better bring out the combat power of his body, which had been enhanced to Level 10.