The Harvest

"Sssshhhk—!"

The hair-raising sound of slicing instantly drowned out the howl of the Wolf Fang Club cutting through the air!

The Bintie Wolf Tooth Club that Wang Tie had taken such pride in melted away the instant it touched the sword net, like snow meeting a red-hot iron. It was shredded inch by inch, scattering through the air as a shower of iron fragments!

"What?!"

The sneer on Wang Tie's face froze, turning into sheer terror.

He felt as if he hadn't struck a person at all, but a storm that would shred everything in its path!

How was this possible?!

After shredding the club, the terrifying Sword Qi surged up its shaft without losing momentum, enveloping his arm, chest, and head in a vast, sweeping tide...

"No—!!!"

Wang Tie let out a despairing roar, desperately trying to activate the Jade Bone within him for protection.

But the Jade Bone, strong enough to withstand blades and swords, was as brittle as rotten wood before a killing move designed to destroy from within!

Pfft, pfft, pfft, pfft!

A dense spray of blood blossomed in the air.

It all happened too fast.

From Wang Tie unleashing his killing move, Collapse Mountain Fall, to Qin Jue's desperate counterattack, no more than a blink had passed.

Rumble!

The Wolf Fang Club, now reduced to half its length, slammed down beside Qin Jue, gouging out another crater.

Wang Tie remained frozen in his downward swing for a moment. Then he toppled like a collapsing mountain, crashing to the ground.

His body was riddled with tiny bloodied holes. In that instant, every bone, meridian, and organ in him had been utterly pulverized by the terrible force of the vibrations!

Without even leaving a final word, the notorious bandit of the Chaos Stone Forest was well and truly dead.

Clang.

The Cold Iron Sword slipped from Qin Jue's hand and hit the ground.

He dropped to one knee, panting heavily. Cold sweat drenched his clothes in an instant, dripping from his chin into the pool of blood.

His right arm hung limply, bent at an unnatural angle. The flesh between his thumb and forefinger was mangled, exposing stark white bone.

If he had been even half a breath slower, or if Thousand Threads had been just a little weaker, he would have been the one reduced to pulp.

"So this is... the Hundred Refinements Fifth Layer..."

Qin Jue glanced at the corpse on the ground, a flicker of lingering fear crossing his eyes. But more than that, he felt the exhilaration of having survived.

"If Wang Tie hadn't been so arrogant, thinking he could kill me in one strike and leaving his center wide open... it would have been hard to say who won this fight."

Qin Jue reflected that Wang Tie had lost because he trusted his Bone Penetrating Force and Jade Bone too much. He had assumed Qin Jue couldn't withstand that blow, never imagining Qin Jue had a killing sword art as unreasonable as Cicada Wing.

In the end, he had won.

Qin Jue's chest heaved violently. He forced down the surging blood in his body, endured the pain, and used his left hand to pick up the Cold Iron Sword and slowly rise to his feet.

His gaze swept through the thick stench of blood and fixed on Zhao Li, who had collapsed on the ground some distance away.

Zhao Li's face was ashen. He shook like a sieve, and the crotch of his pants was wet and warm. He had clearly wet himself.

The force of Qin Jue's attack had been enough to stop even Wang Tie, a Hundred Refinements Fifth Layer expert, in his tracks and blast him to pieces. The sight of blood raining through the air had completely shattered Zhao Li's nerve. Faced with such an overwhelming gap in strength, he felt as insignificant as an ant and couldn't summon even the slightest will to resist.

"Y-Your Excellency! Spare me! Please, spare me!"

Feeling Qin Jue's emotionless gaze fall on him, Zhao Li finally broke. He kowtowed frantically, banging his forehead against the hard rocks until it was smeared with blood, heedless of the pain. "I... I was forced into it! It was all Wang Tie—he made me do it! I don't want the Snake Saliva Grass anymore... it's all yours! Take it all!"

Crying and shouting, he fumbled to untie the Snake Saliva Grass from his waist, hoping to appease Qin Jue by offering it to him. But his hands were shaking so badly that the valuable herb fell right beside his feet.

Sword in hand, Qin Jue walked toward him one step at a time.

He wasn't walking quickly, but every step seemed like a heavy hammer slamming into Zhao Li's heart, making it clench until he could barely breathe.

"I've always been a reasonable man."

Qin Jue's voice was so flat that it betrayed no emotion, yet it sent a chill through the air. "Just now, didn't you say you'd leave my corpse intact?"

"N-No! I didn't say that! Wang Tie said that! I... I was just his lackey..."

Tears and snot streamed down Zhao Li's face as he stammered and curled into a ball.

He shook his head frantically and clawed at the ground, trying to retreat, only to find that his legs had gone as limp as noodles. He couldn't make them move at all.

But when he looked up and met Qin Jue's indifferent eyes—

At that moment, Zhao Li's breath caught in his throat.

Those eyes were too calm, as if he were looking at a dead man—or, rather, an ant he could crush at any moment.

"N-No... don't..."

Zhao Li's teeth chattered with a "click-click" sound. He could tell—

Qin Jue had already decided to kill him!

For a martial artist, showing mercy to an enemy was cruelty to oneself. Uprooting the grass and leaving no roots behind—that was the most basic rule! Qin Jue had never intended to let him go.

"Why... so ruthless..."

Zhao Li murmured, his voice hoarse with despair.

Even a dog deserved a chance to live, didn't it?

But in the next instant, he jolted all over. His fear suddenly transformed into a towering rage!

If he was going to die either way, he might as well fight like a cornered beast! A bloody light surged into Zhao Li's eyes—the final struggle of a man on the brink of death.

"Since you won't let me live..."

Zhao Li suddenly raised his head. His eyes bulged, bloodshot, and his features twisted with such frenzied madness that he looked like a demon!

"Then we'll die together!!!"

Zhao Li, who had been kneeling on the ground, sprang up. The blood and energy inside him burned wildly as his legs erupted with unprecedented strength. Like a rabid dog, he lunged at Qin Jue!

"Die!!!"

A dagger, its blade a ghostly blue, appeared in his hand. He drove it toward Qin Jue's lower abdomen!

At that moment, he no longer cared whether he himself would die.

He only wanted to drag the man before him down to hell with him!

He bet that Qin Jue's right arm was useless and that his injuries had dulled his reactions. He bet that Qin Jue, wielding a sword with his left hand, wouldn't be as nimble as he was with his right!

This was his only chance to survive!

But—

Qin Jue looked at the dagger thrusting toward him. His expression didn't change in the slightest; he merely gave his left wrist a slight flick.

"Zing—"

A faint cicada's cry rang through the air.

The Cold Iron Sword blurred in an instant, becoming a streak of piercing white light that swept effortlessly across Zhao Li's throat, striking before the dagger could reach him.

Cicada Wing—Flap Wings.

The scene seemed to freeze.

Zhao Li's charge ground to a halt. The dagger in his hand was only half an inch from Qin Jue's abdomen, yet it could go no farther.

"Ghk... kgh..."

His eyes widened as he stared at Qin Jue. He clutched at his throat, but blood poured between his fingers.

"You brought this on yourself."

Qin Jue spoke indifferently, flicking the beads of blood from his sword.

Thud!

Zhao Li's body toppled rigidly to the ground. Even in death, a trace of crazed terror lingered in his eyes.

Qin Jue had never shown the slightest mercy to anyone who tried to take his life. In this world where people devoured one another, showing mercy to an enemy was cruelty to oneself.

After dealing with the two men, Qin Jue didn't linger.

He quickly searched both corpses.

Apart from the broken Wolf Fang Club, Wang Tie had dozens of Gold Coins, a few thin Gold Notes, and several bottles of low-grade healing medicine on him.

Qin Jue picked up the Gold Notes and looked them over. Each was worth one hundred Gold Coins. There were five in all, for a total of five hundred Gold Coins.

Gold Notes were certificates issued by the Huangwu Divine Dynasty, accepted without restriction throughout the dynasty's lands.

"Looks like Wang Tie had a decent stash."

Qin Jue tucked the Gold Notes and Gold Coins into his clothes, then felt a thin booklet tucked against Wang Tie's body. The cover bore four characters: Black Sha Cudgel Technique.

"Mortal Tier Mid-grade... better than nothing."

Qin Jue stuffed everything into his clothes, then bent down to pick up the Snake Saliva Grass beside Zhao Li's feet. This herb was a fine remedy for healing injuries and mending bones. It could dispel hidden damage in the muscles and tendons, making it just the thing for his current injuries.

The stench of blood was too strong here; it would soon draw other Fierce Beasts or martial artists. With his right arm badly injured and his fighting strength greatly reduced, Qin Jue had to find somewhere safe at once to heal and refine the Earth Vein Stone Marrow.