"What?!"
Shadow Blade's eyes widened, the fist reflected in his pupils growing larger by the second.
He could hardly believe it. That kid still had strength left?!
Roar!
For a moment, he heard a tiger's roar!
Every part of his body had reached its limit. Faced with this punch, Shadow Blade wanted to swing his blade and block it, but his heavy arms turned the speed he prided himself on into a fatal weakness.
Smack!
Li Qiming's fist slammed into his opponent's cheek.
A surge of rich Blood Qi burst forth. Shadow Blade's entire face was knocked askew, and the force sent his body flying.
As Shadow Blade sailed through the air, Li Qiming burst forward with light footwork. He brought both fists together above his head and swung them down hard onto Shadow Blade's body!
Crack!
Li Qiming broke Shadow Blade's lumbar vertebrae with a mighty blow.
His body crashed heavily to the ground, as if it had been snapped in two.
Even Shadow Blade, who had always been so stoic, couldn't help letting out a hoarse, desperate roar.
"You shouldn't have chased me! You shouldn't have chased me!" Li Qiming's voice trembled, brimming with fury!
"And besides..." Li Qiming pulled the scabbard from his waist. "You're paying for my blade!"
As he spoke, Li Qiming swung the scabbard hard, striking Shadow Blade across the neck.
With a crack, Shadow Blade's neck twisted at an unnatural angle. His pupils then went unfocused, and his breathing stopped for good.
He never would have imagined that he would ultimately die at the hands of an obscure young man.
Li Qiming dropped onto his backside.
He panted heavily.
Staring at the corpse before him—the man he had killed with his own hands—Li Qiming felt a chill run through his entire body.
"I killed someone..."
His face was deathly pale. He seemed unable to accept it.
He had imagined something like this might happen during his time in this world, but he hadn't expected the moment to come so suddenly, so soon.
"I didn't want to kill you. You were the one who tried to kill me!"
"You deserved to die!"
Li Qiming murmured.
His gaze gradually grew resolute.
In this martial world that devoured people, if he didn't kill others, then others would kill him.
If that was how it had to be, then he would rather betray the world than let the world betray him!
Li Qiming took a moment to recover, and soon calmed himself.
Then,
he reached down and touched the corpse on the ground.
[Corpse Looting Entry Trigger] [1. Blade Like Wind: Century-Old Blade Dao Talent / Rare] [2. Assassin Experience: Life Experience / Precious] [3. Ten Years of Blood Qi: Martial Arts Realm Experience / Rare] ...
Li Qiming's heart stirred.
He looked at Entry 1.
[1. Blade Like Wind: Century-Old Blade Dao Talent / Rare] [Blade Like Wind: You have a natural affinity for blades. Your comprehension of blade techniques increases by one level, and you'll make twice the progress when practicing any blade technique! Your blade-swinging speed increases by 5%, up to a maximum of 25%.]
Li Qiming's eyes lit up. He had been fretting over his lack of Blade Dao talent lately, and now here it was!
This talent was especially tempting to him. It was practically made for him!
It directly increased his blade-swinging speed!
Even 5% was no small matter!
In a real fight to the death, whoever was faster by a second—or even a split second—could decide the outcome, and who lived or died!
Still,
he hesitated, then kept reading.
[2. Assassin Experience: Life Experience / Precious] [Assassin Experience: You will gain all of Shadow Blade's memories of his assassination techniques. This is extremely valuable experience. As long as you put in some effort, you should soon become a skilled assassin!]
Li Qiming shook his head.
It was useful, but not that useful.
Practical combat experience was certainly important in a fight, but choosing this now wouldn't give him any clear improvement.
"I'm not particularly interested in becoming a skilled assassin for the time being..."
Li Qiming shook his head.
This entry didn't appeal to him all that much.
His gaze shifted down.
He looked at Entry 3.
[3. Ten Years of Blood Qi: Martial Arts Realm Experience / Rare] [Ten Years of Blood Qi: You will gain ten years' worth of Blood Qi cultivation and break through in one fell swoop, becoming an expert at Great Perfection in the Blood Refining Realm! But you'll need to digest and adapt to this power yourself!]
Li Qiming was stunned.
He could gain cultivation power directly?
During this period of training, he had secretly calculated that with his Inferior Root Bone, reaching Great Perfection in the Blood Refining Realm would take him around ten years if he just kept practicing at his current pace.
But now the opportunity was right in front of him. With just a thought, he could break through immediately!
Looking at Shadow Blade's battered, bloodied corpse on the ground,
Li Qiming hesitated.
"Danger lurks everywhere in this world... My earlier idea of quietly cultivating for a thousand years before coming out was, honestly, pretty naive..."
What had happened today made Li Qiming understand all too well that once you entered the martial world, you had no say in your own fate!
The moment he stepped onto the martial path, he had to climb without stopping. If he slowed down even a little, others would trample him underfoot and kill him.
"I have to get stronger as quickly as possible... and seize every opportunity!"
Li Qiming murmured.
Although the Century-Old Blade Dao Talent, "Blade Like Wind," tempted him greatly, talent alone wouldn't do. He would still have to train hard... and the purpose of training was to break through to a higher martial realm.
If that was the case, why not break through directly and grow stronger right away?!
Most importantly,
Shadow Blade's pursuit had taught Li Qiming that running away wasn't the best answer.
When the moment called for it, he had to strike first and seize the opportunity. Only then could he overcome every obstacle.
Li Qiming raised his head and looked toward the mountainside.
Under the night sky, the bright moonlight spilled mercilessly across the valley. In the distance, the sounds of battle cries rose and fell.
His eyes darkened.
He thought to himself:
Wasn't this the perfect opportunity to grow stronger by looting corpses?!
Should he keep running, or turn back and give it a try?
As the saying went, the bold ate their fill while the timid starved...
Great risks often went hand in hand with great rewards!
Li Qiming lowered his head and looked at the three entries that had appeared.
"What should I do? Which one should I choose...?"
Qin Yu swung his blade at a black-clad martial artist.
Clang!
The man precisely blocked the blade with the pair of hammers in his hands.
A trace of a smile curled the black-clad martial artist's lips. He was tall as an iron tower, his thick muscles bulging beneath his black robes like inflated balloons.
"Kid, we've been at it for a while. Is this all you've got?" the towering man taunted.
As soon as he finished speaking, he jolted his hammers.
He sent Qin Yu stumbling back several steps.
"We're both at Great Perfection in the Blood Refining Realm. Why are you so strong?!" Qin Yu gasped. His hands trembled from the impact, and he couldn't help asking.
He had already realized that the iron-tower of a man before him had terrifying strength!
At the same realm, fighting him was an arduous struggle, and Qin Yu was at a disadvantage.
"Hahahaha!!!" The towering man burst into laughter. He slammed his two hammers together, making a series of booming clangs, then spoke with smug pride. "I was born with immense strength! At my realm, I've never lost a fight!"
"Kid! It's your honor to fight me! Now die!"
As he spoke, the burly man unleashed his full strength. Like a giant elephant, he swung his enormous twin hammers at Qin Yu!
Smack!
The blade in Qin Yu's hands shattered under the blow! His whole body went flying, blood spilling from his mouth, his face as pale as gold paper!
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