"Kid! Die!"
The tower-like brute roared and, without the slightest hesitation, raised both hammers and pressed his advantage!
Boom!
He swung straight at Qin Yu's face.
Despair filled Qin Yu's eyes.
Faced with this unreasonable monster of strength, how was he supposed to fight?
Just as he thought he was about to die beneath the man's twin hammers,
suddenly,
a hand seized his arm and yanked him back in an instant.
Thud! The twin hammers struck the empty ground, smashing two enormous pits into it!
"Who?!"
Seeing his prey snatched away at the crucial moment, the tower-like brute erupted with fury and bellowed!
"Easy, it's me!" the long-faced young man hurriedly said.
It had been this long-faced young man who'd stepped in at the crucial moment and saved Qin Yu.
Qin Yu was just as baffled. He'd only just escaped the jaws of death and was still shaken. He'd thought someone he knew had saved him, but when he turned around, he saw a strange martial artist in black with a long face.
What was going on?
"Kid, what do you mean by this?" Recognizing him as one of their own, the tower-like brute was still seething with anger!
"Big Brother, it's like this. We've received orders from above. This man has a secret..." the long-faced man said gravely, as if it were some earth-shattering secret!
As he spoke, his voice grew softer, and he drew closer to the tower-like brute!
Everyone was curious about secrets.
The tower-like brute had no time to stay angry. He immediately wondered what this secret could be.
"Big Brother, this secret absolutely can't get out. Come a little closer and I'll tell you..."
The long-faced man spoke with an air of mystery.
The tower-like brute didn't suspect a thing. He bent down and leaned in to listen.
The young man cupped one hand beside his mouth and was just about to say something.
The next second,
the long-faced young man's full Blood Refining Realm strength erupted!
Pfft!
The Life-Taking Curved Blade, its blood groove lined with barbs, suddenly pierced through the tower-like brute's neck!
"You—!!!"
Before the tower-like brute could finish speaking, his Blood Qi power erupted, and his entire head blew apart.
Qin Yu stared, dumbfounded. What on earth was going on? Had they turned on each other?!
"Senior Brother, it's me." The long-faced young man touched his face. His build changed as well, and a familiar face gradually emerged beneath the moonlight.
"Junior Brother Li Qiming?!" Qin Yu couldn't help exclaiming.
The long-faced man in black had transformed in the blink of an eye. He was actually Li Qiming!
"It's me, Senior Brother!" Li Qiming nodded.
In the end, he had chosen Entry 3: ten additional years of Blood Qi cultivation, allowing him to break through to the peak of the Blood Refining Realm in one fell swoop.
He had chosen to come back and kill!
Of course, if things went south, he could always run again. To his delight, after reaching the peak of the Blood Refining Realm, his lightness skill, Swallow Skimming Grass, had also fully reached the level of mastery!
His speed had nearly tripled compared to before!
Even Bone Refining Realm martial artists couldn't catch him.
Unless they had a lightness skill comparable to his. But ordinary martial artists needed at least ten or twenty years of practice to master a lightness skill.
In other words,
as long as Li Qiming stayed cautious, the danger here wasn't actually as great as he'd imagined.
That was the most important reason he'd dared to come back and "take a look."
"Junior Brother Qiming, how do you have a disguise-and-bone-shrinking technique like that?" Qin Yu asked.
Li Qiming had already thought of an explanation. "When I was begging in my early years, I met an old beggar who taught it to me."
On his way here, he'd come across the long-faced young man's corpse. He'd touched it, but there were no useful Entries—only ordinary ones—so he'd chosen the man's identity. With the mysterious power of the Entry, he had transformed into the long-faced man in black.
Qin Yu was taken aback. He naturally didn't doubt him, but could only marvel at his junior brother's disguise. It was so impressive that he hadn't seen the slightest flaw earlier.
His junior brother's honest, unassuming image now seemed to be cloaked in a veil of mystery.
"You left, didn't you? I thought you'd gone back to the Martial Hall to warn everyone there..." Qin Yu asked.
"I thought it over and still couldn't feel at ease, so I came back to take a look. Besides, it was a long way back, and I didn't have time to reach the Martial Hall. I'm unfamiliar with the surrounding terrain and had no idea where to run..."
Li Qiming answered honestly.
"Senior Brother Qin Yu, hurry and take a pill to recover. I'll stand guard for you," Li Qiming reminded him.
"Okay." Qin Yu knew this wasn't the time for a long conversation. He quickly put his thoughts aside, nodded, swallowed a Blood Recovery Pill, and sat cross-legged to circulate his Blood Qi and recover.
The tower-like brute's strength had left him seriously injured. He needed to recover as quickly as possible... The escort agency's martial artists and his junior brothers were still fighting the Demon Sect's black-clad martial artists. There was no time to lose!
While Qin Yu recovered,
Li Qiming turned to the tower-like brute's corpse and nudged it with his toe.
[Corpse Looting Entry Trigger] [1. Twelve Years of Blood Qi: Martial Arts Cultivation / Rare] [2. Demon Sect Blood Refining Realm Junior Officer: Identity / Precious] [3. Strength of a Tiger: Talent / Uncommon]
Li Qiming froze, then felt his heart jolt. What had he just seen? Twelve Years of Blood Qi?
He hurriedly looked closer:
[1. Twelve Years of Blood Qi: Martial Arts Cultivation / Rare] [Twelve Years of Blood Qi: Directly increases your Blood Qi power by twelve years. However... beware of your body exploding! Choose this Entry at your own risk!]
Li Qiming felt as if a bucket of cold water had been poured over him. After thinking it over, he understood.
After all, the power was being poured into his body. Even though the mysterious power of the Entries used the gentlest method possible, his body still couldn't fully adapt to such a sudden increase in Blood Qi power.
When he'd reached the peak of the Blood Refining Realm, ten years of Blood Qi power had been poured into him. The pain had been excruciating; he'd nearly passed out. It had felt as if his bones, meridians, blood vessels, muscles, and skin were being stuffed full and torn apart...
It had been awful!
His Blood Qi power had surged so much that he still couldn't control it at all.
Every part of his body ached faintly.
And his Blood Qi was extremely difficult to control.
That strike he'd used to ambush the tower-like brute had been too forceful; it had blown the man's head apart.
The dagger he'd used to kill the tower-like brute had naturally been Shadow Blade's dagger.
After all, Shadow Blade had broken Li Qiming's blade, so two daggers made them even.
Li Qiming gathered his thoughts and shook his head, then looked at the Entries the tower-like brute had revealed.
He really wanted to choose Entry 1, but the Twelve Years of Blood Qi cultivation was too hot to handle. He just couldn't take it.
If he chose it, there was a ninety-nine percent chance he'd die.
He sighed in mild regret, then looked at Entry 2.
[2. Demon Sect Blood Refining Realm Junior Officer: Identity / Precious] [You will take on the tower-like brute's appearance and have a chance to obtain several Demon Blade techniques... You will definitely obtain the second-rate technique Ape Hammer!]
"There's no need to choose this one." Li Qiming immediately made up his mind. What he needed most right now was an Entry like "ten years of cultivation poured into me"—something that could make him stronger immediately.
"Actually, I have another option: choose nothing!" Li Qiming suddenly had an idea and excitedly congratulated himself on it.
The Entries didn't disappear after he looted a corpse.
He could save them up.
Then, when the time was right, he could choose!
At that thought, he felt his idea was absolutely perfect!
Once his body had completely absorbed the "ten years of Blood Qi cultivation" poured into him, he could choose to have "twelve years of Blood Qi cultivation" poured into him. Wouldn't that work?
Just thinking about it made him excited!
Still, Li Qiming calmed himself and looked at Entry 3.
[3. Strength of a Tiger: Talent / Uncommon]
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