In the woods.
Song Zhong and his five men quickly spread out, searching the area within several dozen yards. Armed with sabers and axes, they parted the grass and checked the crevices between rocks.
A man with triangular eyes and his companion searched their way to a dense patch of Wolf-Tail Fern.
They casually prodded it a few times with their blades and glanced over it. Seeing nothing but an ordinary fern patch, they walked past.
The instant they turned around—
A green figure, nearly blending into its surroundings, moved within the ferns!
Qin Meng exploded from his hiding place like a venomous snake striking. His Ring-pommel Saber flashed like cold lightning, slicing precisely across the triangular-eyed man's neck from behind.
"Pfft!"
The blade cut through flesh and bone. The man stiffened, terror flashing in his eyes, then crumpled to the ground.
[Life Source +15%]
A scorching current surged into Qin Meng's body.
The other man spun around in horror, just in time to see his companion fall and Qin Meng springing at him like a phantom.
"Th—" He managed only one syllable before Qin Meng's saber thrust like a poisonous dragon bursting from its lair, straight for his heart.
The man hurriedly raised his blade to block.
Clang!
Metal clashed. His arms shook violently. What strength!
He was just about to retreat and call for help when Qin Meng pressed down and slid his blade aside, bypassing the block before sweeping upward.
"Shhk!"
The blade cut in beneath the man's ribs and slashed diagonally up through his chest. He opened his mouth to scream, but Qin Meng smashed his throat with a punch. The man's eyes bulged as he fell.
[Life Source +16%]
Qin Meng's breathing remained steady. He quickly searched the man and took his money pouch. The whole thing had taken less than five breaths.
He didn't linger. His figure melted into the surroundings once more.
In the distance, the burly man with a face full of meat thought he heard something. He stopped and listened carefully. "Gouzi? Lao Liu?"
There was no answer.
He gripped his blade and crept toward the sound. Rounding a boulder, he came upon an open patch of woods.
Suddenly, a shadow darted out from behind a tree to his left.
It was Qin Meng. He sprang out like a leopard, moving so fast he left a blur in his wake!
By the time the burly man realized what was happening, the blade's flash was already at his face.
He roared and swung his blade, but Qin Meng was faster. His blade shifted strangely, dodged the block, and stabbed straight for the man's throat!
"Pfft!"
The tip punched through his neck!
The light of life quickly faded from the burly man's eyes. His blade clattered to the ground.
[Life Source +18%]
Qin Meng pulled his blade free and quickly searched the body.
He could feel that the Life Source within him was nearing its limit.
Before long, he cut the throat of the fourth lone thug from behind.
[Life Source +14%]
At last, when the leader, Song Zhong, realized something was wrong—his men had fallen silent one after another, and no one answered his calls—he felt a chill of foreboding.
"Lao Liu! Heng San!" He backed up against a large tree and shouted in a low, fierce voice. His words echoed through the silent woods, but only his own voice answered.
An unknown fear coiled around his heart like a cold snake.
He realized that the four men he'd brought with him were probably already dead.
And that "sickly wretch" Qin Meng they'd underestimated was definitely hiding something.
"Qin Meng, get your ass out here! What kind of skill is this, skulking around like a ghost?" Song Zhong shouted, trying to sound intimidating despite his fear. Both hands gripped his Ghost-Head Blade, its surface marked with faint dark-red patterns. It was clearly a fine weapon.
His gaze swept the surroundings like an eagle's, and he pushed his Blood Changing Realm senses to the limit.
He could feel a cold killing intent locked onto him, but couldn't pinpoint its source.
Whoosh!
An arrow shot from behind a tree on his left, aimed straight at his throat.
A vicious glint flashed in Song Zhong's eyes. Rather than dodge, he stepped forward and swung his Ghost-Head Blade with a howl of wind!
Crack! He cleaved the arrow in two midair!
His swing didn't slow. It even cut through a nearby branch as thick as a bowl.
"Pathetic tricks!" Song Zhong scoffed.
But—
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh...
Three Chain Arrows shot toward him in a triangular formation, blocking off any chance of dodging to either side!
Song Zhong roared, his Ghost-Head Blade whirling into a curtain of light!
Clang! Clang! Clang! All three arrows were knocked away, but the impact numbed his arms. Shock filled his heart.
Those arrows had incredible force. Was this fucking sickly wretch really that strong?
His attention wavered for an instant. An arrow shot from a tricky angle and pierced his shoulder.
"Damn it, you little bastard..." Song Zhong cried out in pain, cursing as he snapped off the arrow shaft.
He spotted where the arrow had come from, drove off the ground, and charged like a cannonball toward Qin Meng's approximate hiding place.
For a warrior like him, several dozen paces meant only a few breaths.
Seeing him rush over, Qin Meng decisively threw his Hunting Bow aside and gripped his Ring-pommel Saber with both hands. He emerged from his hiding place to face Song Zhong head-on.
"Die!" Song Zhong launched a furious attack, his Ghost-Head Blade crashing down with the force of a mountain-splitting blow.
Qin Meng's feet shifted rapidly. At the very last instant, he moved aside, while his Ring-pommel Saber darted like a serpent's tongue, slicing toward Song Zhong's wrist from an angle.
Song Zhong hurriedly changed his move and swung his blade to block.
Clang!
A piercing crash rang out.
The web of Qin Meng's hand split open. His entire right arm went numb, and he staggered back two steps in shock. He'd underestimated the strength of a Blood Changing Realm warrior. Even with Song Zhong's injured shoulder keeping him from using his full strength, the gap between them was considerable.
Song Zhong's wrist also went numb, and he was even more startled. That blade work... was absurdly tricky!
Before he could think it through, Qin Meng had already growled and charged again. His blade flashed in an unbroken series of attacks, targeting the brief pauses and openings whenever Song Zhong shifted between moves.
Song Zhong roared and stopped bothering with feints. He used brute force to crush skill, sweeping and chopping with his Ghost-Head Blade as fierce gusts howled around him. Qin Meng was forced back again and again, each block sending his blood and qi roiling until blood trickled from the corner of his mouth.
"Die!" Song Zhong spotted an opening. His blade suddenly accelerated and came crashing down like a mountain.
There was nowhere left to retreat. A fierce glint flashed in Qin Meng's eyes. Instead of blocking or parrying, he shot forward like a taut bowstring, his Ring-pommel Saber turning into a cold, murderous flash aimed straight at Song Zhong's exposed throat.
A life for a life!
Song Zhong's hair stood on end. With a wild roar, he twisted and swung his blade back. Shhk! The blade grazed his neck, spraying blood, while Qin Meng's shoulder was torn open to the bone, blood spattering everywhere.
The two abruptly separated, panting like oxen.
Song Zhong clutched his aching neck and felt the warm blood coating his hand.
Then he abruptly looked up, staring fixedly at the exquisite, decisive path of Qin Meng's blade. A thought that made his scalp prickle burst into his mind:
This was no backwoods fighting style. It was a method that could channel qi and blood to unleash true killing power.
"A Martial Skill? You know a Martial Skill?"
Martial Skills were ranked Heaven, Earth, Profound, and Yellow, each further divided into upper, middle, and lower grades. Even a lower-grade Yellow-tier skill required a Body Forging Realm warrior to master.
Where had this sickly wretch, who hadn't even cultivated, learned it?
Qin Meng's face was as pale as paper. Blood streamed from his shoulder, yet his hand remained steady on his blade. He seemed not to hear Song Zhong's astonishment.
"He has to die!" Song Zhong's shock became an even more frenzied killing intent. His eyes turned bloodshot as he burned through all his qi and blood. His Ghost-Head Blade became a storm of scarlet, and he attacked without regard for injury, fighting as if every blow were a wager of life and death.
He knew he absolutely could not let this boy, who knew a Martial Skill, live!
The pressure surged.
Qin Meng was like a lone boat in raging waves. New wounds opened across his body, blood nearly soaking his clothes. His steps began to falter, and his blade's light dimmed.
"Die!" Song Zhong finally seized the moment Qin Meng's strength gave out and his movements slowed. His eyes blazed with delight and cruelty as the Ghost-Head Blade gathered into a streak of blood-red light and came crashing down toward Qin Meng's head with the force of splitting heaven and earth.
That strike was fast, vicious, and utterly decisive. There was no possibility of changing it!
Qin Meng's pupils contracted to pinpricks. In that moment between life and death, every distracting thought fell away. All that remained was the instinct forged through countless brushes with death, and the blade art branded into his soul.
He squeezed the last shred of strength from his meridians. Even the agony of his wounds tearing open again became fuel for one final, resolute push. He drove both feet into the ground and turned his body and blade into a straight, brutal line that charged forward without hesitation—
Though he moved last, he struck first!
Pfft!
The dull sound of a sharp weapon piercing flesh rang out with startling clarity.
The tip of Qin Meng's Ring-pommel Saber protruded half an inch from Song Zhong's back, without a drop of blood on it.
Song Zhong's charge stopped dead. His Ghost-Head Blade halted half a foot from Qin Meng's forehead, then crashed to the ground.
He looked down in disbelief at the bloodied blade tip protruding from his chest. His mouth opened. He rasped twice. The madness, shock, and unwillingness in his eyes finally faded into lifeless gray, and he fell backward.
Qin Meng staggered one step and leaned on his blade, barely keeping himself from falling. Bathed in blood, he saw blackness swimming before his eyes. That strike, in which he'd poured every ounce of his strength and spirit, had nearly drained him dry. He had truly brushed with death and returned.
After catching his breath, he gritted his teeth, stepped forward, and cut off Song Zhong's head.
[Life Source +22%]
[Current Life Source: 100%. Can strengthen one's own origin]
The Life Source grew incredibly active, surging through his body in scorching waves.
Transformation was within reach!
Qin Meng clenched his teeth and suppressed the intense urge to sit down at once. He cleared the battlefield as quickly as possible, shoving whatever he looted haphazardly into a cloth sack.
He picked up Song Zhong's Ghost-Head Blade and took one long look at the woods, thick with the stench of blood. Then he left without looking back. He had to find a safe place to face his transformation.
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