Boom!
Inside the Ancient Temple, Blood Qi surged into the sky!
Murong Canghai was the first to move. He merely laid a hand on the hilt at his waist, yet his entire bearing changed in an instant!
An utterly terrifying, razor-sharp pressure swept across the scene!
He hadn't even drawn his blade, yet no one could move a muscle!
This was Blade Momentum!
Just then—
A deep, resonant cry rang out, like a dragon's roar.
It was Shen Changsheng!
He drew his sword, and its light flared in every direction, three times colder and clearer than the bright moon overhead!
The swordlight stabbed at Li Qiming's eyes. He couldn't help closing them. When he opened them again, ten Bone Refining Realm martial artists each had a bloody line across the throat!
Thud! The ten black-clad martial artists fell one after another, dead on the spot!
They were Bone Refining Realm martial artists—ten of them—and they had been killed in an instant!
A chill surged through Li Qiming's heart!
This level of combat was beyond him!
Either way, he was dead!
He made his decision at once, using Minor Accomplishment-level Swallow Skimming Grass. His figure blurred like a ghost as he vaulted straight through a broken window at the side!
Qin Yu, Mo Su, Wang Liang, and the other Dragon Roar Martial Hall disciples nearby, along with several Blood Refining Realm and Bone Refining Realm martial artists from the Weiyuan Escort Agency, froze in surprise. Then they snapped to their senses and hurriedly leaped out the windows after him!
"That kid's got some sense. The opening we created together didn't go to waste!" Murong Canghai watched Li Qiming's retreating figure and couldn't help praising him.
Shen Changsheng nodded. He hadn't expected that junior brother, who had seemed so dull-witted all along, to be so quick on his feet when it mattered.
The two of them had deliberately struck first to create an opening. If their junior brothers still didn't run, once the real fighting began, Shen Changsheng and Murong Canghai wouldn't be able to look after them!
"Don't worry. They won't get away."
Chen Shuang made no move to stop them. He didn't seem to care in the least.
At his words, Shen Changsheng's heart gave a thump. So there were more people from the Demon Sect waiting outside?!
"Now we can have a proper fight!" Chen Shuang's lips curled into a cold smile.
"Who do you want to fight?" Liu Yun, the Demon Sect elder who had remained silent until now, suddenly asked.
"Senior Murong and I both use blades, and we're both once-in-a-century Blade Dao talents. I'm curious—which is faster, my Demon Blade or his Canghai Blade Art?!"
Chen Shuang looked at Murong Canghai, his eyes blazing with battle intent!
Murong Canghai hadn't drawn his blade, but that Blade Momentum alone had already given Chen Shuang a vague insight!
At that very moment, Chen Shuang eagerly awaited his opponent's draw.
"You're using me as a whetstone?" Murong Canghai asked in a low voice.
"Exactly. I have a feeling that if I kill you, my Blade Momentum might finally take shape!"
As he spoke, Chen Shuang suddenly drew his blade!
The instant he struck, his figure vanished from inside the temple!
Shen Changsheng's eyelid twitched. He couldn't sense his opponent's position at all!
The Demon Blade was truly bizarre and unpredictable!
The next moment—
A flash of blade appeared nearby. Chen Shuang had materialized directly behind Murong Canghai, his blade glowing with an eerie red light as he brought it down!
"Watch out!" Shen Changsheng thrust his sword at Chen Shuang.
"Your opponent is me!" Liu Yun suddenly lunged forward, his pair of black iron fists crashing down like shooting stars!
Shen Changsheng could wound Chen Shuang, but he would likely be beaten to death by this Organ Refining expert!
His Sword Momentum faltered, and he turned his blade to defend!
Just then—
With a ringing clang—
Murong Canghai drew his blade!
Li Qiming was fleeing down the mountain as fast as he could!
Then, as though sensing something, he stopped and turned to look back.
The Ancient Temple halfway up the mountain glowed beneath the moonlight, its interior shining as bright as day with cold light!
For an instant, he seemed to glimpse a sea of deep blue, surging and crashing through the temple!
Though it lay far away, a chill prickled across his whole body, like needles piercing his skin!
"Is this... Blade Momentum?!"
It was hard to imagine how Chen Shuang and the others could face this strike!
"Junior Brother, stop looking! Keep moving!"
Qin Yu and the others caught up. They were still shaken, and they looked at Li Qiming in surprise. No one had expected that the usually honest-looking Li Qiming could run so fast when it mattered!
Even Qin Yu, who had reached the peak of the Blood Refining Realm, had nearly failed to catch him!
During this time, Li Qiming had made no progress in blade techniques, but he hadn't neglected his footwork. His Swallow Skimming Grass had improved.
Swallow Skimming Grass (Minor Accomplishment): 45/100
On the day of the disciple assessment, Li Qiming had broken through to the middle stage of the Blood Refining Realm, and Swallow Skimming Grass had advanced to Minor Accomplishment. His progress in it had been remarkable since then.
"Senior Brother, what do we do now?" Li Qiming asked.
His heart pounded. It was his first mission, and he had run into a crisis like this. If he'd been just a little slower, if he'd hesitated even slightly, he'd have been left for dead in the Ancient Temple today.
"You all go back to the Martial Hall and ask the elders and Pavilion Master for help! Wang and I will cross the mountain to Zhennan Prefecture City. There are several renowned clans there. They'll surely help us!"
Qin Yu pondered for a moment, gathered his thoughts, and spoke.
The "Wang" he meant was one of the escort agency's several Bone Refining Realm martial artists.
Everyone nodded in agreement.
Li Qiming thought the plan made sense too. Longquan City was a considerable distance away. Even at full gallop, it would take a whole day to get there.
Distant waters couldn't put out a nearby fire!
But Zhennan Prefecture City was close. The escort agency's Bone Refining Realm martial artists could reach it in less than an hour!
Just as they were about to split into two groups—
"You're not going anywhere!"
A mocking voice suddenly rang out.
Rustle, rustle!
A group of black-clad martial artists burst from the surrounding forest. Several of them were in the Bone Refining Realm!
They were dressed just like Chen Shuang and the others!
"The Demon Sect had an ambush waiting too?!" Qin Yu cried out in shock, his heart sinking to the bottom.
Li Qiming took a quiet look around, and despair seized him. There were at least seven or eight Bone Refining Realm martial artists among the black-clad figures. One of them was a fourteen- or fifteen-year-old boy carrying a blade. He looked remarkably like Chen Shuang—there was a strong resemblance between them.
"Everyone knows my brother Chen Shuang has astonishing Blade Dao Talent, but no one knows that I, Chen Ajiu, have Blade Dao Talent that stands unmatched across the ages!"
Chen Ajiu hugged his blade and glared at everyone, his face fierce. He seemed deeply displeased that nobody recognized him!
It was only his martial cultivation that hadn't kept pace.
In a couple of years, when he was older, he would make his blade famous across the world!
What shocked Li Qiming most was the gray-robed old woman standing beside Chen Ajiu. She leaned on a redwood staff carved with a snake's head. Her aura was concealed, but she was undoubtedly an Organ Refining Realm martial artist!
Li Qiming was horrified!
So he was sure to die today?!
"None of you move. My Bloodthirsty Mad Blade can't be held back any longer!"
Though Chen Ajiu was the youngest, his martial cultivation had already reached the early stage of the Bone Refining Realm!
He certainly had reason to be proud!
The next moment, he drew his blade—and suddenly, Chen Ajiu's figure filled the air!
Dozens of blade phantoms, steeped in a thick, bloody Killing Intent, came crashing down on Li Qiming and the others!
Every blood-red blade phantom was real, imbued with terrifying power!
Wang and the other Bone Refining Realm martial artists from the escort agency felt their scalps go numb.
No one here could take this strike!
Before you continue