The Swamp Salamander, despite being an Awakened-level monster, was already at the end of its tether.
Lu Xuan held nothing back. Blood poured into his long blade, his body shot forward like a rainbow, and in the space of a palm's breadth, countless flying blades spun through the air, striking at the monster from every blind spot.
He gave the salamander almost no time to react.
He descended with explosive force, his might blazing like a falling star.
BOOM!
The blade tip, wrapped in blood-and-qi Spiritual Energy, pierced through the salamander's flesh. Blood mixed with mucus and splattered over his body, sending Lu Xuan's blood surging with excitement.
His entire body pierced straight through the salamander's upper and lower jaws.
Immediately afterward, the flying blades controlled by his Mental Power swarmed in.
Clang, clang, clang!
Strangely, a layer of mucus flowed over the salamander's body. As it lubricated the surface, it formed a formidable defensive layer that was difficult to break through for the moment.
"Interesting. But today, your fate is to die here!"
Lu Xuan retreated, and under his control, the flying blades surged toward the wound in its abdomen.
The flying blades seemed to come alive. Once they entered the salamander's abdominal cavity, they shredded its organs. In an instant, blood mixed with a foul stench and dyed the entire swamp into a filthy mire.
The Gold Rush Six-man Team, which had just been swallowed, was pulled out along with it.
"Ahhh!"
Old Six's head broke above the water, and he gulped in great mouthfuls of air. "Alive—hah, whew—alive..."
Just as he was celebrating, his eyes accidentally landed on Lu Xuan, who was crouching at the edge of the cliff.
A Ghost-faced Monkey mask, a long blade at his side.
"B-big big brother—gurgle, gurgle..."
Old Six's eyes bulged in terror. Losing his balance, he flailed wildly in the water.
The team leader surfaced. Before he could even celebrate, Old Six's reaction left him sighing in exasperation. He grabbed Old Six and hauled him up, snarling:
"Big your sister! Did you see a ghost?"
The others, including Old Two and Old Three, surfaced one after another and greedily breathed in the fresh air.
They had almost suffocated to death.
"N-no, that's not it!"
Old Six stammered, "You—you look, th-th-that's..."
As he spoke,
he raised a hand and pointed toward the terrifying figure by the cliffside—one more frightening than a ghost.
The group turned their heads, their gazes meeting Lu Xuan's ghostly mask.
Hiss—!
A chorus of gasps echoed through the entire bottom of the cliff.
"The Ghost Face Martial Artist!?"
There was nothing they could do about it. Lu Xuan's name was simply too notorious. He was a bandit Martial Artist who made a living robbing people, and out in the Wilderness, no one could control him.
Any team that encountered him had only one fate: to be butchered.
If they did not want to be butchered, they could only hand over their resources.
"Are you all afraid of me?"
Lu Xuan tilted his head. His Mental Power spread outward as he smiled.
"Wasn't I the one who saved you just now?"
The ghost mask looked extremely sinister in the darkness. Whether from fear or the cold river water, the Gold Rush Six-man Team instinctively huddled together.
Their bodies trembled, and their voices shook. "Th-thank you for saving us, sir. We still have some resources on us. Please accept them as compensation."
They had no intention of resisting at all.
Lu Xuan had dealt with an Awakened-level Swamp Salamander single-handedly.
His strength was obvious.
The rumors circulating outside were indeed true. The Ghost Face Martial Artist had probably already reached the peak of the Ninth-order, only one step away from becoming a Martial Master of blood and qi.
"I'll accept your thanks."
Lu Xuan reached out, and the Storage Ring rose into the air out of nowhere.
The six people stared in terror, their eyes widening. Even the chill of the river water could not bring them back to their senses.
Controlling an object from across the air!
Th-this...
"However..."
Before they could recover from their shock, Lu Xuan suddenly changed his tone. Another thunderclap of words made them shudder.
Could this man still be planning to kill them?
"Don't be nervous!"
Lu Xuan put away the Storage Ring and smiled. "I've spent so long in the Wilderness, and working alone is truly troublesome. Would you be interested in joining under my command and helping me build a magnificent force together?"
Huh?
Join the Ghost Face Martial Artist?
The Xu Family and the Monster Potion Company were hunting him down. Joining him at a time like this was no different from seeking death.
The two great forces had Martial Dao Grandmasters backing them, after all.
"There's no need to refuse in such a hurry."
Lu Xuan lowered his voice and spoke with a hint of persuasion.
"I won't make you wear ghost masks like I do. You'll only need to help me deal with some monster corpses... Besides, don't assume I'm truly alone. Behind me stands the Federation!"
"Within ten years, the Federation will launch a decisive battle against the monsters. But first, the rear battlefield must be stabilized. That's why they sent me to conduct a small-scale trial—to establish a force that can unite the Martial Artists of the Wilderness. Once the time is ripe, we'll wipe out every monster in the rear and sweep through the front line in one fell swoop..."
"In the future, when the war ends, you'll have rendered the merit of following the dragon!"
His words were so logical and well-founded.
The Gold Rush Six-man Team could not help wavering. Thinking carefully, ever since the Ghost Face Martial Artist had appeared, the only forces he had troubled were those that refused to obey control.
It really did seem possible.
"What benefits would we get?"
The team leader was fairly shrewd and asked, "Can we break through to Martial Master? Can you guarantee that we won't be purged by other forces?"
"Of course!"
Lu Xuan laughed heartily. "What is a Martial Master worth? As long as you're willing to contribute to the Federation, even becoming a Martial Dao Grandmaster won't be out of reach!"
After he said this,
the atmosphere at the bottom of the cliff fell into an eerie silence.
The six-man team whispered among themselves for quite some time before nodding.
"We're willing!"
"Excellent!"
Lu Xuan stood up, took a drop of Spiritual Energy liquid from the Bronze Gourd, split it into six portions, and distributed them among the group.
"The Federation will remember your contributions. This is your joining reward!"
Feeling the surging power of the Spiritual Energy, the six people were startled. They believed Lu Xuan's words even more deeply.
Only the Federation could possess something like this!
"Do we have any missions?"
In their excitement, several of them remembered to ask.
Lu Xuan activated his Psychic Power, preparing to fly out of the cliff under his own power.
Hearing this, he replied, "Not for now. During this period, cultivate properly, hunt monsters as appropriate to temper your Martial Skills, and improve your strength... Oh, right. Our organization is called the Great Wilderness Hall!"
Whoosh!
With a howl of wind, Lu Xuan's figure flew into the air and disappeared.
"Holy crap!!!"
Old Six was the first to unleash a sharp shriek. The others could not help kicking him.
"Why the hell are you screaming?!"
"Boss, flying through the air—that damn well means he's a Martial Dao Grandmaster!"
Old Six was so shocked that even his stutter vanished.
"I never expected the Ghost Face Martial Artist to be so powerful... Looks like he wasn't lying. He really is a Federation man. We've received such a great opportunity; we absolutely can't slack off. One day, we'll become Martial Masters, or even Martial Dao Grandmasters!"
Establishing a force.
This had merely been a spur-of-the-moment idea for Lu Xuan. Mainly, he wanted to make it safer for himself to travel through the Wilderness.
He truly did not want enemies waiting for him everywhere he went.
There were simply too many to kill.
"Break through to Martial Master as soon as possible, then uproot the Xu Family and the Monster Potion Company."
On this trip, he had picked up an Awakened-level Swamp Salamander.
It was worth ten million!
However,
he did not plan to exchange all of it for money.
"Keep a little for myself, and give some to my little sister..."
Lu Xuan hesitated. "Giving it directly to her might not be appropriate. I'd better exchange her share for cash and let her buy suitable monster flesh and blood."
Thinking this, he opened his Martial Artist account and contacted the broker.
Lu Xuan: "An Awakened-level monster. Help me contact a buyer."
Broker: "Aren't you going to sell it to the Martial Artist Association? Is its source improper?"
Lu Xuan: "The Martial Artist Association is full of complications. I don't only want money... It's a Swamp Salamander. Estimate its value and find me a buyer."
The broker was silent for a long while before saying, "An Awakened-level Swamp Salamander is worth quite a lot. It's more valuable than ordinary Awakened-level monsters. The highest price is fifteen million Federal Coins. The mucus alone is worth five million."
"No need to find a buyer. I'll take it."
Lu Xuan: "OK, see you tomorrow!"
He exited the chat.
Duan Ziyan let out a breath. "I was just worrying about having no resources for my disciple's cultivation, and now someone has sent help in the snow!"
Ever since she had taken Lu Ying as her disciple,
what troubled her every day was how to find flesh-and-blood resources for her disciple.
At the Martial Artist level, everything came down to a foundation of blood and qi.
The more abundant one's blood and qi, the higher the chances of breaking through to Martial Master.
Duan Ziyan walked downstairs and looked at Lu Ying, who was cultivating. She nodded in satisfaction.
"Xiaoying, Jiangnan Martial University will join forces with other martial universities next week to hold a freshman exchange meeting. I'll prepare a great gift for you. Break through to Third-order Martial Artist as soon as possible."
Before you continue