After leaving Black Wind Stockade, Yan Kui didn't hurry. He made his way toward Tianwu City along the Official Road, adapting to the changes in his body as he went—chiefly, that irritating coat of black fur.
A few days later, he arrived at a small town called Qingshi Town.
It was still several hundred miles from Tianwu City, making it a way station of sorts. The town was bustling with people: warriors with knives on their backs and merchants carrying shoulder poles.
Yan Kui found a restaurant called Yuelai Inn, took a seat by the window, and ordered ten jin of beef and a jar of Shao Daozi, ready to feast.
He had just finished gnawing on his first beef leg bone when a commotion suddenly broke out at the restaurant entrance.
"The Immortal Masters are here! The Immortal Masters are here!"
"Make way! Don't block the Immortal Masters' path!"
The noisy restaurant fell silent in an instant. The diners rose one after another, gazing toward the entrance with reverence.
Two young men and women in moon-white robes walked in. The man was handsome and carried a sword on his back; the woman was lovely and held a jade ruyi. Both their sleeves were embroidered with a blue cloud pattern.
"Qingyun Sect?"
Yan Kui's heart stirred.
He knew that emblem all too well. The swindler Half-Immortal Liu had used the same banner to cheat people before. But the pride these two naturally exuded, along with the faint fluctuations of spiritual power around them, made it clear they were the genuine article.
"Senior Brother, this mortal place is filthy. Let's hurry up, buy some provisions, and get back on the road."
The female cultivator frowned and covered her nose with a handkerchief, as if she couldn't stand the greasy smell in the restaurant.
"Easy, Junior Sister."
The male cultivator smiled faintly, his demeanor graceful. "Since we're here, there's no harm in resting a little. Besides, I heard a murderous fiend has appeared nearby. He wiped out both the Black Tiger Gang and Black Wind Stockade. As disciples of the righteous path, since we're passing through, ridding the world of evil would be a good deed."
"A fiend?"
Yan Kui paused mid-bite.
He can't mean me... can he?
He instinctively rubbed his furry arm.
"Waiter! Bring out the best food and wine you've got! And clear out your finest guest room!"
The male cultivator casually tossed a silver ingot, which landed neatly on the counter.
The innkeeper hurriedly bowed and scraped as he went to make the arrangements.
The two found a clean table and sat down right beside Yan Kui.
"Senior Brother, do you think that fiend is really so powerful? I heard he even killed the Zhao Family Ancestor, who was in the Foundation Establishment Realm," the female cultivator asked quietly, curiosity in her eyes.
"Hmph, that's just a rumor that grew in the telling."
The male cultivator let out a disdainful snort. "No matter how strong a Mortal Warrior is, he's still just a brute. The Zhao Family Ancestor may have been in Foundation Establishment, but he'd forcibly raised himself to that false level with a Corpse Pill. And apparently, he was suffering a backlash at the time. That fiend probably got lucky, or used some underhanded trick."
"True." The female cultivator nodded. "How could a mortal possibly defeat a Foundation Establishment cultivator?"
Yan Kui rolled his eyes as he listened.
An underhanded trick?
I beat him fair and square with my bare hands!
But he couldn't be bothered to argue. Those two juniors looked to be only at the seventh or eighth level of Qi Cultivation, not even as strong as the Zhao Family Ancestor. He could crush them with a single finger.
Just then, the male cultivator's gaze swept over and landed on Yan Kui.
More precisely, it landed on the Bone Shattering Hammer resting on his table.
"Oh?"
A flicker of surprise crossed the male cultivator's eyes. "Deep Sea Profound Iron?"
He stood and walked over to Yan Kui's table, looking down at him. "Warrior, that's a fine hammer. I'd like to buy it. Name your price."
His tone was polite, but carried an overbearing certainty that left no room for refusal.
In his eyes, it was a tremendous honor for a mere mortal warrior to have his weapon admired by an Immortal Master like him.
Yan Kui looked up, still chewing beef, and mumbled, "Not selling."
The male cultivator frowned.
"Warrior, I'm Li Changfeng, an inner disciple of the Qingyun Sect. This Profound Iron has quite a few impurities, but I happen to need some material to refine a Magic Tool. Name your price. I can pay in Gold and Silver or pills."
"I said, I'm not selling."
Yan Kui swallowed the beef and wiped his mouth. "Do you not understand human speech?"
"Impudent!"
The female cultivator shot to her feet and slapped the table. "How dare you speak to my Senior Brother like that? Do you even know who we are?"
"Sure. You're from the Qingyun Sect."
Yan Kui picked at his ear. "Does being from the Qingyun Sect mean you can force people to sell?"
Li Changfeng's expression darkened.
"You refuse a toast only to drink a forfeit."
He spoke coldly. "Since you don't know what's good for you, don't blame me for being impolite."
As he spoke, he reached out and grabbed directly for the Bone Shattering Hammer.
In his eyes, taking a mortal's weapon would be as easy as turning over his hand.
However.
The moment his hand touched the hammer's handle,
a large, black-furred hand shot out like lightning and clamped down on the hammerhead.
"You want it?"
Yan Kui grinned, revealing two slightly protruding tusks, a boar-like trait.
"Take it."
Li Changfeng sneered, channeled spiritual power into his hand, and yanked hard.
It didn't budge.
The hammer seemed rooted to the table. No matter how hard he pulled, he couldn't move it a fraction.
"Hmm?"
Li Changfeng's face changed.
He poured in more spiritual power until his face was flushed.
It still didn't budge.
Yan Kui, meanwhile, simply held the hammerhead down with one hand, watching him with an amused look, as if he were an ant trying to move a mountain.
"What's wrong? Didn't you eat?"
Yan Kui taunted him.
"You're asking for death!"
Humiliated, Li Changfeng flew into a rage. As a cultivator, he had actually lost a contest of strength to a mortal. He had been utterly disgraced.
He let go and leaped backward, forming a hand seal.
"Fireball Technique!"
A fist-sized fireball appeared from thin air, blazing with heat as it roared toward Yan Kui's face.
This wasn't some street magician's trick. It was a real spell!
The diners screamed and fled in terror.
Yan Kui didn't even move from his seat.
"Another fireball?"
He curled his lip in disdain.
Just as the fireball was about to hit him,
he suddenly opened his mouth wide and blew at it with all his might.
"Whoosh—!"
A violent gust burst from his lungs, like a hurricane rising from flat ground.
The menacing fireball was blown out by a single breath!
Only a wisp of black smoke drifted through the air.
The whole restaurant fell deathly silent.
Li Changfeng and the female cultivator were both dumbstruck.
He... blew it out?!
That was real fire condensed from spiritual power! Even a Foundation Establishment cultivator wouldn't dare try that!
"That's all you've got?"
Yan Kui rose to his feet, his massive frame casting a shadow over them.
"And you call yourselves demon slayers?"
"Since you want to slay a demon, I'll show you what a real demon is."
He reached out and grabbed for Li Changfeng.
"Junior Sister, run! This is a monster!"
Li Changfeng finally came to his senses and shouted in terror. At the same time, he summoned the Flying Sword on his back in an attempt to stop Yan Kui.
Clang!
The Flying Sword struck Yan Kui's arm without even cutting a single hair, then bounced away.
Yan Kui's hand closed around Li Changfeng's neck without hindrance.
"Didn't you call me a brute?"
"Cough, cough... Senior, spare me... I'm from the Qingyun Sect..."
"The Qingyun Sect?"
Yan Kui tightened his grip.
Crack!
Li Changfeng's neck twisted to one side. He was dead.
[You have killed a cultivator (eighth level of Qi Cultivation). Life Essence plundered.] [Origin Power: +2.5]
"Just as I thought."
Yan Kui glanced at the panel.
Even a rookie at the eighth level of Qi Cultivation contained more Origin Power than Zhu San, who had only been half-transformed into a demon.
That further confirmed his guess: cultivators possessed a life essence far superior to mortals. They were walking "tonics."
Yan Kui tossed the body aside like trash, then turned to look at the female cultivator, who had already collapsed to the floor in terror.
"D-don't come any closer..."
The female cultivator's face was drained of color. The jade ruyi in her hand fell to the floor and broke in two.
Yan Kui walked over to her and picked up the Storage Bag.
"Hand over everything you have."
"Then get out."
The female cultivator was granted a new lease on life. She hurriedly emptied her Storage Bag and jewelry onto the floor, then scrambled out of the restaurant.
Yan Kui didn't kill her.
Leaving someone alive to carry the news back would let the Qingyun Sect learn of his fearsome reputation.
What he needed now was fame, Origin Power, and more challengers.
"The Qingyun Sect..."
Yan Kui gathered up his spoils and watched the direction the female cultivator had fled, ambition flashing in his eyes.
"When my divine skill is complete, I'll pay you a visit."
Before you continue