Drawing the Sword

Arthur's face, moments before relaxed and jovial, turned ashen as he stared at Lin Qi, a venomous glint flashing in his solitary eye. He remained silent, his fists clenched as he gazed at Lin Qi, a thick flagstone beneath his feet suddenly cracking with fine fissures.

Among the men surrounding Arthur, one disheveled, filthy middle-aged man, looking as though he hadn't washed in months, strode forward. He bellowed, "Who do you think you are, you scoundrel, to speak to young master Arthur like that? Kneel and apologize, or else!"

The middle-aged man's hair was not only filthy, but his tattered clothes were also adorned with cobwebs and moss. He looked worse than a corpse in a garbage heap. Even from several meters away, a nauseating stench wafted from him. It was a mystery how he had let himself get into such a state.

Lin Qi ignored the man and continued to stride towards Arthur. The last vestiges of the Magic Tiger Potion's power coursed rapidly through Lin Qi's marrow and muscles, releasing its final potency. Lin Qi silently circulated his family's qi-refining technique, his aura surging like a flowing river, mingling with the torrent of heat from the Magic Tiger Potion to temper his entire body.

As he walked, a deep, powerful, and clearly audible cracking sound echoed from Lin Qi's bones. He inhaled deeply, and the snowflakes within three feet of him danced with his breath. His exhaled breath was like a dragon's roar, spewing out several meters.

Arthur let out a low groan, " Lin Qi, you're back?"

Instinctively, he touched the eyepatch over his left eye. Arthur's body trembled violently. His face was ashen, a layer of unconcealable killing intent masked his features. But this killing intent flashed and vanished. Arthur suddenly broke into a smile as radiant as a blooming flower. With his red hair, purple eyes, and exceptionally handsome features, Arthur's smile was like the legendary Sun God descending upon the mortal realm.

Seeing Arthur's smile, the other men around him, who had been bristling with aggression, simultaneously released their grips on their sword hilts. They looked at Lin Qi in surprise, wondering where he got the audacity to speak to the young master of the Black Tiger Family in such a manner.

Only the incredibly filthy, ragged middle-aged man, who was already close to Lin Qi, had no eyes in the back of his head to see Arthur's strange shift in expression. He shouted in a strange voice, "Young Master Arthur, today is my first day in your service! Allow me to use this brat's blood to show you my loyalty!"

Lin Qi didn't even glance at the middle-aged man. He continued to stride towards Arthur, a cold sneer on his lips. "Oh, well done, Arthur. You've started gathering lackeys? Is this your new recruit? Are you that short on cash? Couldn't you clean him up a bit before bringing him back? Remember, this is the ancestral home of the family. Having someone like him here is an embarrassment to the family!"

He cast a sidelong glance at the aggressively advancing middle-aged man and scoffed, "Even a stray dog is cleaner than him!"

The middle-aged man's rage had reached its limit. He roared and suddenly drew his sword, slashing towards Lin Qi's neck. Unlike Enzo's usual Stabbing Sword, the middle-aged man wielded a common medium-sized cavalry sword. The blade was two fingers wide and about three feet long, with only the front foot or so sharpened. Seeing a faint crimson hue on his gleaming blade, it was clear this sword had drunk the blood of many.

As the sword rose, a faint red glow enveloped its edge. This middle-aged man was clearly a Human Knight.

But Enzo, who was following closely behind Lin Qi, also drew his sword. His sword was polygonal, its tip exceptionally sharp, four feet long, and covered in a Deep Red Dou Qi glow. Enzo moved with the fragmented dance steps of swordsmanship taught at the Army Academy, sweeping like a gale to Lin Qi's side. In the blink of an eye, he had thrust seven times at the middle-aged man.

Seven blood-red sword lights tore through the air and the cold wind. Dozens of snowflakes, the size of a child's palm, shattered before the sword tips.

The middle-aged man had never dreamed that Lin Qi would have such a formidable swordsman like Enzo by his side. Enzo's Dou Qi was stronger than his, Enzo's youthful vigor and muscle strength were greater than his, and Enzo's reaction speed was considerably faster. As the seven sword lights rapidly approached his body, the middle-aged man awkwardly drew his sword back with all his might, slashing downwards diagonally.

The two long swords clashed. Six blood-red sword lights vanished, while one sword light nimbly dodged the cavalry sword's slash, grazing its blade and piercing the middle-aged man's left shoulder. The Stabbing Sword, capable of easily piercing standard Armor, tore through the middle-aged man's left shoulder, creating a thumb-thick hole. Enzo rapidly withdrew his Stabbing Sword and followed up with a kick to the man's abdomen.

In typical noble fencing, footwork was never employed. But Enzo was not a noble; he was a student of the Army Academy. The fencing principles taught in the army were vastly different from those of the nobles. The sole objective of military swordsmanship was to kill the enemy as quickly and efficiently as possible.

Blood splattered. The middle-aged man felt a sharp pain in his shoulder. Before he could even cry out, Enzo's iron-plated combat boot slammed into his abdomen. A dull thudding sound exploded as the middle-aged man flew over a meter high, kicked by Enzo until he spat blood and was sent flying back over two meters.

His cavalry sword was dropped far away in his distress. The middle-aged man curled up on the ground, clutching his abdomen, writhing and convulsing, spitting mouthfuls of blood.

Arthur's smiling face froze for a moment, but he quickly forced out an even brighter, more affectionate smile. " Lin Qi, when did you get back? Why didn't you let the family know, so we could have sent someone to pick you up at the docks!"

Arthur completely disregarded the middle-aged man's severe injuries, as if he were not the swordsman he had just recruited, but merely a pile of trash.

Lin Qi walked up to Arthur and, with a grim expression, threw a punch towards Arthur's face. This was a punch thrown with all his might. Lin Qi's Dou Qi, cultivated since childhood, combined with the brute strength honed through years of physical training, and all the power boosted by the Magic Tiger Potion, every muscle in his body tensed, leaving no room for any lingering strength as he unleashed the punch.

The wind whistled around his fist, and a faint orange halo shimmered around Lin Qi's knuckles.

Arthur's expression changed. He instinctively retreated several steps and shouted, " Lin Qi, what are you doing?"

Lin Qi pressed forward relentlessly, his fist, carrying the sound of breaking wind, continuing its trajectory towards Arthur's handsome face.

The other men around Arthur's face contorted. They simultaneously drew their swords, five long blades whistling through the air as they thrust towards Lin Qi's vital points from different angles. Regardless of why Arthur had smiled at Lin Qi just moments before, Lin Qi was now threatening Arthur's safety—and Arthur was their leader!

As the five men attacked Lin Qi with their swords, Enzo's expression shifted. He hastily drew his sword and moved to intercept them.