Counter-kill! The Might of Bone Refining!

Beneath the water, a forest of stone stretched out, dark and bitterly cold.

This place had once been a paradise for fish and shrimp, but now it had become a slaughterhouse.

Three guards of the Flying Horse Merchant Association swam for their lives, wishing their parents had given them more legs—or rather, more fins.

Fear gripped their hearts like a pair of invisible, iron hands.

What had just happened was simply too shocking.

That black-clad leader was one of the top five experts in the association! His Splitting Light Sword Technique was so masterful that even against a true Meridian Connecting Realm expert, he could hold his own for a while.

Yet a figure like that had been turned into a pulp of flesh and blood by a single palm strike from Lu Chen!

What was the point of fighting anymore?

"Split up! Let's see who makes it!" one of the guards roared, trying to divide Lu Chen's attention.

The three scattered at once, fleeing in three different directions.

It was the smartest choice.

But in the face of absolute power, any tactic was futile.

Lu Chen's figure carved a long white line through the water.

His gaze locked onto the guard on the far left.

That was the one who had been shouting the loudest earlier.

"Since you're here, all of you stay."

Lu Chen thought to himself.

The blood and qi within his body surged like a raging river, ceaselessly channeling power to his limbs.

The Bone Refining Realm tempered not only the hardness of the bones but also the marrow's ability to produce blood.

At this moment, Lu Chen's blood and qi were so vigorous it was almost terrifying.

He swept his arms, and the surrounding currents seemed to become his boosters.

"Whoosh!"

In just two breaths.

He had caught up to that guard.

The guard felt the disturbance in the water behind him and turned his head—only to be scared out of his wits.

That demon was less than three feet behind him!

That cold, stern face showed no expression at all, only those pitch-black eyes, icy as frost.

"Don't... don't kill me! I have money! I have silver!" the guard screamed in terror, fumbling to pull a stack of banknotes from his chest, trying to buy his life.

But underwater, the banknotes instantly turned to mush, scattering in a bitterly ironic display.

Lu Chen didn't even glance at them.

He reached out and grabbed the guard's ankle.

"Go down."

Lu Chen's arm flexed, and he yanked downward with force.

"Ahhh—!"

The guard felt an irresistible, overwhelming power, lost his balance entirely, and was slammed like a sledgehammer into a sharp rock below.

"Boom!"

Blood splattered everywhere.

The guard's head smashed heavily into the rock, cracking open on the spot, red and white spilling across the ground.

His body twitched twice, then went still.

Instant kill!

Another instant kill!

Lu Chen let go, letting the corpse slowly sink to the bottom.

Without a moment's pause, he pushed off a rock with his toes, twisting his body at an impossible angle through the water, and shot toward the second target.

The second guard was a skilled blade user.

He heard his companion's death cry and knew there was no escape.

In his despair, a savage ferocity rose up instead.

"I'll take you with me!"

He spun around, gripping his saber with both hands, and slashed fiercely at the oncoming Lu Chen.

This single blade strike condensed all of his lifelong cultivation, the saber momentum steady and carrying a fair degree of mastery.

If it were the Lu Chen of before, facing this strike, he might have had to evade its edge.

But now...

Lu Chen neither dodged nor avoided.

He met the blade light head-on and threw a punch directly!

On his fist, there was no weapon covering it, only a faint layer of black radiance.

That was the Profound Nether Cold Qi!

Although most of it had been consumed breaking the formation earlier, with his breakthrough in realm, Lu Chen's control over the cold qi had reached a new level. The remaining trace was compressed to its limit and adhered to the surface of his fist.

"Clang!"

Fist clashed with steel saber.

What rang out was not the sound of flesh being cut, but the crisp clang of metal striking metal!

Then.

"Crack!"

That long saber, forged from Hundred Refinements Fine Steel, snapped cleanly in two under Lu Chen's single punch!

And Lu Chen's fist, its momentum undiminished, carried terrifying kinetic force and slammed heavily into the guard's chest.

"Boom!"

A dull thud.

The guard's chest caved inward, leaving a fist print, while the cloth on his back burst open, revealing a protruding fist-shaped bulge!

Penetrating Force!

This punch had pierced straight through his body!

The guard's eyes bulged wide, chunks of internal organs spraying from his mouth as his body went limp and collapsed.

Lu Chen withdrew his fist and glanced at the back of his hand.

There was only a shallow white mark on it; the skin wasn't even broken.

"So this is the defense of the Bone Refining Realm..."

Lu Chen nodded inwardly.

His bones were now as hard as refined iron, and combined with the skin and membrane defense of Iron Cloth Shirt, ordinary blades and swords were no different from firewood sticks to him.

Now, only one remained.

That guard was already scared witless.

He had watched his two companions get slaughtered in the span of a few breaths, and his mental defenses had completely collapsed.

He no longer tried to flee. Instead, he knelt on the water floor and kowtowed frantically to Lu Chen.

"Mercy! Master Lu, mercy! I was forced! It was all Qian Tong! Qian Tong made us do it!"

The guard wept with snot and tears, looking especially ridiculous in the water.

Lu Chen swam in front of him, looking down from above.

"Qian Tong?"

Lu Chen spoke calmly. "Where is he?"

"Outside... outside! Right outside the secret chamber!"

The guard clung to this lifeline like a drowning man, speaking hurriedly. "He was injured and didn't dare come in! Master Lu, if you spare me, I'm willing to testify against him! I'll be your beast of burden, your horse!"

Lu Chen nodded.

"Good."

A flicker of joy crossed the guard's face, believing he had escaped death.

"But..."

Lu Chen's tone shifted, a cold glint flashing in his eyes.

"I have no need for beasts of burden."

"I only need dead men."

Before his words faded, Lu Chen struck out with a palm.

"Smack!"

The guard's head burst like a rotten watermelon.

Lu Chen withdrew his hand, his face showing not a trace of pity.

Toward his enemies, he never showed mercy.

If you don't pull out the roots when cutting weeds, they'll grow back when the spring wind blows.

Since the enmity was already set, he might as well kill them all cleanly!

Lu Chen quickly looted the corpses.

Aside from a decent dagger and a few bottles of medicine on the black-clad leader, the others only carried some loose silver.

As for that Qian Tong...

Lu Chen looked back at the path he had come from.

That bastard hadn't entered, so he was definitely waiting outside.

"Perfect. I'll settle old and new scores together."

Lu Chen tightened his grip on the Hundred Refinements Steel Saber and swam toward the secret chamber's exit.

Outside the chamber.

Qian Tong paced anxiously back and forth.

His shoulder had been hastily bandaged, but it still throbbed with piercing pain.

The commotion inside earlier had been intense—loud crashes and tremors—leaving his heart in turmoil.

"Why isn't he out yet?"

Qian Tong gritted his teeth. "Could that brat really be that troublesome? Four experts can't take him down?"

Just then.

A figure slowly emerged from the waterway ahead.

Qian Tong's eyes lit up.

"Done?"

He instinctively thought it was the black-clad leader returning.

But as the figure drew closer, Qian Tong's expression gradually shifted.

The man was burly, carrying a long saber still dripping blood—though in the water, the blood would disperse, the Sha Qi radiating from it was impossible to hide.

That wasn't the black-clad leader.

That was... Lu Chen!

"H-How is it you?!"

Qian Tong's eyes bulged as if he'd seen a ghost, his voice trembling. "Where are they?!"

Lu Chen stopped three zhang away from Qian Tong, a cruel smile curling at the corner of his mouth.

"Them?"

Lu Chen pointed behind him. "They're all waiting for Manager Qian down below."

"A family should stay together, neat and tidy."

"You... you killed them?!"

A chill shot from Qian Tong's soles straight to the crown of his head.

Four experts! One of them half-step Meridian Connecting Realm!

And they were all killed by this brat?!

Judging by his appearance, aside from his torn clothes, he didn't even have a single fresh wound!

And... his aura was stronger than before!

So strong it made Qian Tong feel suffocated!

"You broke through?!"

Qian Tong, a man of discernment, felt the surging blood energy radiating from Lu Chen and shrieked, "You ate the Marrow Cleansing Pill?! You're not dead?!"

"Thanks to Manager Qian's generosity."

Lu Chen said flatly. "It tasted good."

"You..."

Qian Tong trembled with rage. That was his Marrow Cleansing Pill! His hope of advancing to the Meridian Connecting Realm!

And this hick had eaten it like a candy bean!

"I'll kill you! I'll tear you limb from limb!"

Qian Tong had completely lost his mind.

He pulled a black cylinder from his chest—a special Hidden Weapon from the Flying Horse Merchant Association: the Rainstorm Pear Blossom Needles!

"Die!"

Qian Tong slammed the trigger.

Whoosh-whoosh-whoosh—!

Countless poison needles, fine as ox hair, shot toward Lu Chen like a torrential downpour.

At this distance and density, even a Meridian Connecting Realm expert would find it hard to dodge completely!

But Lu Chen didn't dodge at all.

He simply raised his hand and blocked it in front of his face.

"Clink clink clink clink..."

A dense series of crisp sounds.

Those poison needles, enough to pierce through iron plates, struck Lu Chen's arm and body, only producing a shower of sparks before bouncing off one after another!

Aside from a few that tore through his clothes and embedded shallowly into his flesh, the rest didn't even break his defense!

The bone hardness of the Bone Refining Realm, plus the skin membrane of Iron Cloth Shirt, combined with the protective qi force formed by Profound Nether Cold Qi.

At this moment, Lu Chen was a human-shaped tank!

"This... this can't be..."

The cylinder in Qian Tong's hand fell to the ground, and he was utterly crushed.

Even Rainstorm Pear Blossom Needles were useless—what else did he have to fight with?

"Had your fun?"

Lu Chen lowered his hand, pulled out the shallow poison needles from his arm, and tossed them casually to the ground.

"Then it's my turn."

Lu Chen took a step forward.

That single step crossed three zhang of distance, instantly appearing before Qian Tong.

Qian Tong wanted to run, but his legs felt like they were filled with lead—he couldn't move at all.

He was locked down by the killing intent radiating from Lu Chen!

"Don't... don't kill me!"

Qian Tong dropped to his knees with a thud, tears and snot streaming down his face. "I'm from the Ye Family! I'm a steward of the Flying Horse Merchant Association! If you kill me, the Ye Family won't let you off!"

"The Ye Family?"

Lu Chen sneered coldly, slowly raising the steel blade in his hand.

"If the Ye Family finds out you lost the Marrow Cleansing Pill, do you think they'll let you off?"

Qian Tong shuddered all over, his face ashen.

That was true.

The mission failed, the treasure was lost, and his men were dead.

Even if Lu Chen didn't kill him, once he went back, the Ye Family would skin him alive!

"Rather than let you go back and suffer, I'll see you off, Steward Qian."

Lu Chen wasted no more words.

Blade rose and fell.

"Pfft!"

A fine head soared into the air.

Qian Tong's headless corpse swayed for a moment, then crumpled into the dust.

Blood stained the ground red.

Lu Chen sheathed his blade.

This chase and counter-kill, which had dragged on for half the day, finally came to an end.

Lu Chen crouched down and expertly rummaged through Qian Tong's body.

A few large silver notes (wrapped in oiled paper, not wet), a jade token identifying his status, and several bottles of healing pills.

"Cheapskate."

Lu Chen curled his lip and stashed the items away.

He stood up and glanced at the chaotic battlefield around him.

This fight, though perilous, had brought massive gains.

Not only had he eliminated a long-standing thorn in his side, but he'd also obtained the complete inheritance of Profound Nether Hand, and even broken through to the Bone Refining Realm in the process.

Now, in this little patch of Nujiang County, as long as he didn't run into a true Meridian Connecting Realm expert, he could basically walk sideways.

"Time to head back."

Lu Chen looked up toward the top.

There, a faint sliver of light shone through.

That was the exit.

Lu Chen took a deep breath, bent his legs slightly, then exploded upward with force.

"Boom!"

His entire body shot toward the water like a torpedo.

"Splash!"

The surface of the Nu River erupted in spray.

Lu Chen burst out of the water and landed steadily on a reef.

The long-missed sunlight fell on him, giving him a feeling of being in another life.

He glanced around.

That big ship from the Flying Horse Merchant Association was long gone.

Probably they saw the commotion below was off, or that black-clad leader sent a signal for them to flee.

Lu Chen didn't care.

The monk may run away, but the temple stays.

He straightened his tattered clothes and tucked the spoils close to his body.

Then, he looked toward the distant direction of Nujiang County.

There, cooking smoke curled up, peaceful and serene.

But Lu Chen knew this was only the calm before the storm.

He had killed so many from the Flying Horse Merchant Association, including a steward.

This grudge was thoroughly sealed.

And that signal flare earlier...

Lu Chen narrowed his eyes, recalling the thing Qian Tong crushed before he died.

That was no ordinary distress signal.

It was more like... a mark.

Or some kind of summons.

"The Ye Family..."

Lu Chen muttered to himself, a hint of cold sharpness flashing in his eyes.

"Since the mask is already torn, then come."

"I'll just have to see how high the sky of Canglan Prefecture really is."

Lu Chen's figure flickered and vanished into the reeds by the riverbank.

He didn't head straight back to the Dock. Instead, he chose a hidden path to sneak quietly back into the county.

Right now, he needed time to stabilize his cultivation realm and digest this harvest.