"Hey, could I put the ones I've caught back in the cage and keep catching them?"
Qin Shuang looked at the panel in his mind, and an idea struck him.
With that thought, Qin Shuang immediately caught the dragonfly he had just put in the cage.
[Dragonfly caught +1!]
[Dragonfly caught +1!]
[...]
"It really works!"
Hearing the system's mechanical voice in his mind, Qin Shuang's eyes lit up. This was wonderful.
That way, he wouldn't have to catch more dragonflies. It would save him a lot of trouble.
At that moment.
In a patch of woods three li from the thatched house where Qin Shuang was staying, more than a dozen gray-clad Silver Masked Men were lying in wait. Each one of them radiated killing intent and wore a savage look in his eyes. They were clearly bloodthirsty killers.
"Everyone in Hualing Village who took in the Golden Tiger Martial Arts School disciples is to be poisoned. Leave no one alive!"
The white-haired Silver Masked Man at their head had a bloodthirsty glint in his eyes as he gave the order to the dozen or so masked men beside him.
"Yes, Gang Leader!"
Jin Shisan and the other twelve Silver Masked Men bowed in unison, then headed toward Hualing Village with their blades and swords in hand.
Qin Shuang stood inside the thatched house.
He kept catching dragonflies, treading on grass, and circulating his pills, as prompts repeatedly sounded in his mind.
"Enemies!"
Just then, Qin Shuang heard a cry of alarm from afar. Immediately afterward came the clash of blades.
"Hm?"
Qin Shuang's brows furrowed deeply at the sound. He flashed out of the house and leaped onto its roof. More than twenty zhang away, he saw over twenty Azure Dragon Society disciples battling more than a dozen gray-clad Silver Masked Men.
It was obvious that the Azure Dragon Society disciples were outmatched.
Whoosh!
Qin Shuang used Grass on Flying, Yellow Springs Saber in hand, and appeared beside the dozen or so Silver Masked Men. He swung his saber!
Splurt!
Splurt!
The sound of blades slicing into flesh rang out. With that single strike, he cut four Silver Masked Men in half!
"You're asking for death!"
The white-haired Silver Masked Man at the head of the group had a Qi and Blood Furnace blazing within him, and an aura of terrifying power surged from his body as he charged at Qin Shuang!
Boom!
At the same time, Qin Shuang unleashed all his qi and blood. A crimson glow spread two zhang in every direction around him. At that moment, he was like a gigantic furnace of blood, twice the size of the white-haired Silver Masked Man's Qi and Blood Furnace!
"This is..."
Ding Dian saw the young man charge onto the scene. He looked about seventeen or eighteen, yet the might of the qi and blood erupting from him was twice Ding Dian's own. Ding Dian was stunned. His cultivation had already reached the peak of the Marrow Jade Realm, the height of the Qi and Blood Furnace stage!
How had someone so young trained to this level?
"This is bad!"
Seeing the terrifying qi and blood of the young man wielding the Black Saber, Ding Dian abruptly checked his charge. His body bent sharply as he darted left, unleashing his full speed and reaching a point three zhang away in an instant!
He knew it well.
The young man before him was more than he could handle. Running was the better part of valor.
As for his followers, he couldn't afford to worry about them. Saving his own skin came first.
Splurt!
Splurt!
Qin Shuang swept his Yellow Springs Saber around and killed four more Silver Masked Men. He left the remaining five to the Azure Dragon Society disciples, then unleashed his perfected Grass on Flying movement technique and pursued the white-haired Silver Masked Man who had fled.
With Qin Shuang's powerful qi and blood and perfected Grass on Flying, the distance between them kept shrinking!
They reached a hillside.
"Die!"
Ding Dian, fleeing ahead, cursed inwardly. The young man with the Black Saber behind him was drawing closer and closer. He immediately reached into his shirt, pulled out a cloth bundle, and flung it behind him.
The bundle Ding Dian threw was filled with poisonous powder. Anyone it touched would have their qi and blood run backward, leaving them at another's mercy.
Seeing the Silver Masked Man toss out a bundle, Qin Shuang knew it couldn't be anything good. He instantly surged with qi and blood, and a blood-colored tiger-shaped phantom enveloped his body. He used his perfected Grass on Flying technique to shoot into the air, avoiding the poison bundle before landing in front of Ding Dian.
"What? Tiger Form Divine Intent? You... you have the Tiger Roar Divine Intent Diagram?"
Seeing the Tiger Form Divine Intent on Qin Shuang, Ding Dian was stunned, his eyes filled with shock and disbelief.
He was a disciple of the Tiger Roar Sect.
He knew full well that only those who had cultivated the Tiger Roar Divine Intent Skill or fused with a Tiger Roar Divine Seed could possess Tiger Form Divine Intent. Yet he, the Tiger Roar Sect's sole surviving inheritor, had never received the teachings of the Tiger Roar Divine Intent Skill. It was the regret of his life!
Back then, his damned master had passed the Tiger Roar Divine Intent Diagram to his senior brother, Jin Yihang, and expelled Ding Dian from the sect. Ding Dian had sworn to destroy the sect and reclaim the diagram. But forty years later, after finally finding Jin Yihang, he had still failed to obtain it.
And now.
He had seen Tiger Form Divine Intent on this young man!
How could he not be shaken?
"You know about the Tiger Form Divine Intent Diagram?"
"Looks like you're the one who wiped out the Golden Tiger Martial Arts School."
Hearing the Silver Masked Man's words, Qin Shuang's thoughts stirred. He leveled the Yellow Springs Saber in his hand at the man before him and spoke in a low voice.
"That's right!"
"I destroyed the Golden Tiger Martial Arts School! That old bastard passed the Tiger Roar Divine Intent Diagram to Jin Yihang and drove me out of the sect. I, Ding Dian, have had two great ambitions in this life. First, to destroy the Tiger Roar Sect and whip that old bastard's corpse eight hundred times. Second, to reclaim the Tiger Roar Divine Intent Diagram! I searched for Jin Yihang for forty years, and at last I wiped out his whole family. Who would've thought the Tiger Roar Divine Intent Diagram would end up in your hands!"
Ding Dian looked at Qin Shuang, a sharp glint in his old eyes, and said in a low voice, "Brother, you and I had no feud to begin with. We've fought, so now we know each other. I apologize. You've also learned the Tiger Roar Divine Intent Skill. If you'll give me the Tiger Roar Divine Intent Diagram, I'll trade you a treasure and all the wealth I've amassed in my life. What do you say?"
"A treasure?"
Qin Shuang's interest was piqued. "What treasure?"
"A scroll. Fire and water can't damage it, but I can't open it either. I'm certain it's extraordinary. On top of that, I'll give you the one hundred thousand taels of gold I've acquired over the past forty years. All of it, in exchange for the Tiger Roar Divine Intent Diagram!"
Ding Dian looked at Qin Shuang, his eyes burning with desire, and spoke in a low voice.
"A scroll? Fire and water can't damage it, and you can't open it?"
At Ding Dian's words, Qin Shuang's heart lurched. He remembered finding a scroll in Qi Yunfeng's house after killing him. It, too, could withstand fire and water and couldn't be opened. Could these two scrolls have come from the same source?
"It's dark red!"
Ding Dian watched Qin Shuang, his eyes shifting. A thought stirred in his mind. The young man was asking about it—could he have seen the scroll?
Could he open it?
"Where's your scroll?"
Qin Shuang looked at Ding Dian and asked.
"The scroll and the treasure are in Yunzhou. If you're willing to trade, I'll take you there to collect them!"
Ding Dian looked at Qin Shuang warily and spoke in a low voice.
He knew he was no match for the young man with the Black Saber. Trading his treasure for the man's cooperation was his best chance of staying alive.
"Yunzhou..."
Qin Shuang's gaze turned thoughtful.
He had been in this martial world long enough to learn that the Tianchu Dynasty was vast, with sixteen prefectures. Qingzhou City was in Yanzhou, and Kunzhou lay between it and Yunzhou. No wonder Ding Dian had spent forty years searching for his senior brother, Jin Yihang.
It was so far away.
Whoosh!
Qin Shuang charged at Ding Dian, Yellow Springs Saber in hand!
"You!"
Ding Dian's face darkened. He used his movement technique to dart sideways, trying to evade the attack.
He hadn't expected the young man before him to resist the temptation and attack without another word!
But.
Qin Shuang's qi and blood were twice Ding Dian's, and he was faster as well. In an instant, his saber struck Ding Dian in the chest!
Boom!
A tremendous crash rang out. Qin Shuang's ferocious slash sent Ding Dian's body flying ten zhang away. A spray of blood burst from his mouth midair, and he slammed hard into a patch of grass.
"Cough, cough, cough!"
Ding Dian coughed violently. He struggled to his feet and saw Qin Shuang drawing closer. He turned to flee, but the previous slash had left countless tiny strands of Ice Blade Force inside him, slowing the flow of his qi and blood!
"What kind of armor is this?"
Qin Shuang held the Yellow Springs Saber and stared at the silver armor exposed beneath Ding Dian's torn clothes, his eyes filled with shock.
He had to know.
His Yellow Springs Saber could slice through iron as easily as mud. It had even broken Situ Rui's treasured saber, Jinghong. Yet it couldn't cut through Ding Dian's Soft Armor?
"Scoundrel! You're going to kill me, and you still expect me to tell you? Dream on!"
Before you continue