Shen Yi, deeply feeling that he had been deceived by the system, muttered a few curses under his breath. He quickly calmed down and reconsidered his current situation.
The secluded cultivation time would not actually be wasted.
Every bit of effort invested into his blade techniques and inner cultivation would be absorbed into his sinews, bones, blood, and veins.
It was only that Shen Yi's blade technique had reached perfection and his mental art had achieved great mastery. The advancement of his strength was bound to enter a relatively gentle bottleneck period.
Blindly investing secluded cultivation time would only be inefficient.
And if he wanted to break through the bottleneck—
On one hand, Shen Yi needed to seek out secret medicines that cleansed the meridians and purified the marrow, thoroughly eliminating the disadvantage of having begun martial training too late.
On the other hand, according to the path he had comprehended during secluded cultivation, Shen Yi next needed to draw nourishment from the strengths of a hundred schools.
As for the remaining eight months of secluded cultivation time—
It was neither much nor little.
For now, he would keep it in reserve for unforeseen needs.
As Shen Yi thought this, exhaustion surged over him like a rising tide. His eyelids fought each other, and before long, he truly drifted into sleep.
He was simply too tired.
Late at night.
The moon hid, and the stars were sparse.
Only the faint chirping of insects made the deep night seem all the quieter.
As Shen Yi slept, he felt as though a stone had fallen into the calm, rippleless platform of his spirit, sending layer upon layer of ripples spreading out.
His eyes snapped open.
He abruptly sat up.
In two strides, he reached the small window beside the wooden gate.
Outside the window, a group of black shadows gathered soundlessly at Old Jiang's gate across the way, like nightingales alighting in the dark.
Someone said in a low voice:
"Boss, we've searched the lower reaches of Clear River thoroughly."
"We didn't find Qin Jianghe's corpse."
"We found a small boat concealed beneath dead grass in the reed beds, then followed the traces here..."
"The tracks end in front of this house."
"That man must be hiding here."
The leading man looked at the silent courtyard wall. With a casual wave of his fan-sized hand, he said indifferently:
"Find him."
Someone asked:
"Boss, what about the others?"
"Kill them."
That voice, calm as stagnant water, casually decided the life and death of Old Jiang's entire family.
Shen Yi narrowed his eyes.
One hand rested on the hilt of his blade, slowly tightening.
Though he did not know whom these shadows were seeking, nor why they were cruel enough to slaughter others so easily—
Given Shen Yi's nature—
He would not stand by and watch from the sidelines.
Even if it brought trouble upon himself, he would follow where his heart led him.
To repay the meal they had just given him.
What was more, in his eyes, these people had automatically become equivalent to secluded cultivation time.
Such killing, so perfectly in line with his heart—
Shen Yi naturally would not hesitate to step in for justice.
Thus, just as the black shadows all leaped onto the wall—
Shen Yi suddenly kicked out!
Bang!
Accompanied by a crisp, thunderous crash!
The wooden gate behind the man abruptly tore free of the wall and came howling toward his face!
The sound was like a thunderclap exploding through the silent night.
It not only made the black shadows who had come to kill turn back in shock—
It also made Old Jiang's sleeping family—
Jolt awake from their beds.
What?!
The leading man spun around in alarm, just as a crisp metallic clang rang in his ears.
With a crash, the door panel split in two before him.
A snow-bright blade light thrust out from between the halves.
Like starlight gathering together and descending from the sky, falling from above into the boundless wilderness—this was called "Stars Hang Over the Vast Wilds."
It was a vertical slash!
The leading man barely managed to react.
He raised his hand with astonishing speed.
Clang!
Shen Yi's horizontal saber struck heavily against a pitch-black steel fork. At the point where their weapons met, two currents of inner force erupted with a bang.
A surging blast of air rippled outward.
Shen Yi's heart stirred. Judging from the feedback of their inner force, the other man was likewise a Second-Class Realm expert.
Only, Shen Yi had been waiting with his momentum gathered.
While the other party had responded in haste.
Their inner forces remained locked for only a breath.
Bang!
The black-clad man was immediately sent flying backward by Shen Yi's slash. With a thunderous crash, he smashed through the wooden gate and fell into Old Jiang's courtyard.
"Boss!"
The other black-clad men cried out instinctively.
Before their words had even faded, Shen Yi had already crossed the threshold with his saber raised.
Like a leopard, he pounced forward with his horizontal saber.
The black-clad leader was, after all, a Second-Class Realm expert. He flipped to his feet and cursed:
"Damn it, Qin Jianghe must be inside."
"Leave one man to help me. The rest of you, go in and search!"
"Yes!"
The leader immediately twisted his steel fork, sending several fork shadows dancing out as he charged Shen Yi head-on.
The two instantly became locked in battle.
On the other side, four black shadows rushed to the man's side, one stepping forward to swing his blade and assist in the fight.
The other three moved like vicious wolves.
Pouncing toward the rooms in the front and rear courtyards.
Old Jiang's family had actually already been awakened.
But how could they dare show themselves?
As for Qin Jianghe, whom they had rescued—
Their own lives were already hanging by a thread.
How could they spare the thought to worry about anyone else? Old Jiang had even begun to regret why he had tried to play the hero for no reason!
Bang!
The doors of the side room and main room were kicked open at the same time.
The three black-clad men strode viciously into the rooms, only to find both rooms completely empty.
Axiu hid inside a wardrobe.
One hand covered her mouth.
Her bright eyes peered through the crack in the wardrobe at the flickering light outside, filled with fear.
She could hear the approaching footsteps.
Every step seemed to stomp viciously upon her heart.
Making her heartbeat race and her breathing turn ragged.
"Hehe, a little girl's room..."
"Little girl, stop hiding. I know where you are."
The lewd, heavy voice came through the wardrobe, making Axiu's limbs grow even colder.
The man's rough breathing was like that of a beast.
It carried endless greed and lust.
Tap.
Axiu heard the footsteps drawing nearer and nearer. The light and shadows at the wardrobe's crack flickered once, then turned dark.
Thump, thump, thump.
It was her own heartbeat.
So clear in the darkness.
"Hehehe..."
A wild, tyrannical lecherous laugh rang out beyond the wardrobe. Then, with a smack, the wardrobe doors were violently flung open.
A vicious, lecherous, ugly face abruptly appeared before Axiu. The man's coarse voice boomed like a great bell:
"Little girl!"
"I found you!"
Axiu's mind instantly went blank. She let out an instinctive, piercing scream that nearly tore through the night sky.
"Aaaaah!"
In the courtyard.
Shen Yi fought one against two.
His horizontal saber danced out layer upon layer of blade shadows, clashing against the leader's steel fork and another black-clad man's long blade.
The perfected Wind Severing Blade.
Allowed Shen Yi to fight fewer against more without falling even slightly behind. In fact, as the Array Breaker Art circulated, his fighting spirit continuously accumulated.
His blade momentum grew ever heavier.
Every slash and every move left the black-clad leader's hands numb and his arms trembling, while several more wounds appeared upon the man's body.
Without support from others—
His defeat was already as certain as a nail driven into a board.
The black-clad leader cursed inwardly. Those useless bastards were dawdling over finding one person.
Little did he know—
He and Shen Yi had exchanged blows for only a few short breaths.
Suddenly.
Axiu's terrified scream from the side room rang in everyone's ears.
Shen Yi hesitated almost not at all.
With a shake of his blade, he knocked aside the black-clad leader's steel fork.
He spun, stamped against the ground—
And crashed through the side room's window like a fierce tiger.
I'm such a fool.
Why was I wasting my effort fighting a tough bone?
As the thought passed through Shen Yi's mind, a snow-bright blade light, like a full moon sinking into the river, vast and mighty, swept toward the black-clad man standing before the wardrobe.
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