Kill Shen Jue, the Strong Arrive!

"Who?" Shen Jue exclaimed in alarm, then suddenly looked down. Standing below the pavilion was none other than Lu Ming.

"You—how did you find this place?" Shen Jue's face changed, a flicker of panic in his eyes.

Lu Ming took in Shen Jue's face. He hadn't expected Shen Jue to be scheming behind the scenes, and killing intent surged in his heart.

Earlier, after the arena battle, he had returned to the Military Service Bureau only to be intercepted by Wu San and his men. Shen Jue must have been behind that.

He had silently noted this matter, planning to seek revenge when the opportunity arose. He hadn't expected Shen Jue to strike again before he could act.

Well then, he might as well settle it here!

As for how he found this place? Heh. The assassin's identity had been exposed by Feng Qingzhu—he was from the Wei Yuan Escort Agency, not an ordinary bandit.

The Wei Yuan Escort Agency had also participated in the arena battle. So today's assassination attempt was likely no coincidence.

Since it wasn't a coincidence, the assassination must have been carefully planned, meaning there had to be accomplices.

After all, without someone coordinating, how could they guarantee he would take this route? How could they ensure they didn't kill the wrong person and expose themselves prematurely?

There were only so many elevated positions in the vicinity. Lu Ming had concealed himself, investigated and analyzed each one, and quickly locked onto this abandoned courtyard.

Sure enough, he had caught Shen Jue.

"I am the legitimate son of the Shen Family! You can't kill me! No—I'm the one at Skin Refining Perfection!" Shen Jue said, a vicious glint flashing in his eyes.

But before he could finish, he saw Lu Ming decisively lift his foot and stomp heavily downward.

Shen Jue thought Lu Ming was about to use lightness skill to leap onto the pavilion and was secretly preparing himself, but then, with that single stomp, the ground around them suddenly shook.

With a loud crack, a fissure split open in the earth, dark and bottomless, its depth unknown.

This pavilion had long been abandoned and neglected. As the ground split, its foundation shattered, and the structure collapsed in a heap.

Shen Jue stared at Lu Ming in utter horror.

What was this? How had the ground split open with just one stomp from Lu Ming?

In his shock, he failed to react in time. By the time he came to his senses, he was already falling through the air with no foothold, watching helplessly as he plunged toward the deep chasm.

"No!!!" Shen Jue roared in terror.

In that moment, he saw Lu Ming's hidden secret—this godlike, demonic ability filled him with dread.

But he had no time left for regret.

Squelch! When Lu Ming had activated the Earth Splitting Divine Ability, he had deliberately controlled it. The earth split apart on both sides, and at the bottom of the gap, sharp stone spikes jutted out.

Shen Jue fell into it and was immediately impaled. The thick smell of blood could not be masked, not even by the dust of the collapsed pavilion or the stench of rotting wood.

"You fell and died on your own. Whether you're a legitimate son or a bastard son, what does that have to do with me?" Lu Ming sneered coldly.

Coming after him again and again—did they really think he had no temper?

With a thought, he stomped hard on the ground, activating the Earth Splitting Divine Ability once more to shatter and erase all traces of his footprints and other marks.

Then he used Smooth Ascent to the Clouds to fly out of the courtyard and quickly retreat into the distance. It was a flawless cover.

Even if the Shen Family came to investigate, they would only find that an earthquake had suddenly occurred here, burying Shen Jue alive. They could only blame his bad luck—they would never trace it back to him.

Such was the power of the Earth Splitting Divine Ability!

Lu Ming returned safely to the Military Service Bureau and entered his own courtyard. As he quietly recalled the scene of using his divine ability, his heart still raced with excitement.

This divine ability was far too powerful. His first use had left him thoroughly satisfied.

There was only one regret: to fake Shen Jue's death as natural, he couldn't go in to collect the spoils. Otherwise, Shen Jue was probably carrying quite a bit of silver.

Moreover, the Earth Splitting Divine Ability consumed too much energy.

Lu Ming looked down at his trembling legs and took a few shallow breaths.

One full-powered use and one casual use had left his body utterly exhausted. If he used it at full power twice, he suspected he would collapse outright.

The Earth Splitting Divine Ability was powerful but costly. Unlike the Acupoint Divine Ability, which had little consumption and could even boost momentum by striking black acupoints with the Heaven Leak Divine Ability.

For now, he would focus on cultivation and strive to evolve his third acupoint divine ability as soon as possible!

Lu Ming took down the large bundle from his back and squeezed it through the cloth, feeling the Qi-Enhancing Pill and Sweet Dew Powder ingredients inside. Anticipation stirred within him.

He didn't waste the day. In the afternoon, he continued his cultivation.

To his pleasant surprise, the Qi-Enhancing Pill was indeed effective. Its medicinal power was gentle and long-lasting, easy to absorb, and far superior to the Qi-Nurturing Powder in every way.

Lu Ming took one pill and cultivated until nightfall, pausing once for a Sweet Dew Powder medicinal bath.

[Palm Path Divine Ability evolving (20/100)...]

[Acupoint Divine Ability evolving (2392/10000)...]

Late into the night, utterly spent and drenched in sweat, he looked at the results of six hours of grinding and couldn't help but smile.

With the Sweet Dew Powder ensuring his cultivation time, the acupoint experience gain had returned to normal. Soon, he would be able to evolve his third divine ability.

The Palm Path Divine Ability gained 10 experience points per day, so it would be maxed out even faster.

Thinking of all this, a faint sense of satisfaction filled him. After a quick wash, he fell into a deep sleep on his bed.

The next day, he rose early and began his cultivation.

But before long, someone knocked on his door.

"Li Hu?" Lu Ming said upon seeing who it was. "What's wrong? Come in and talk."

Li Hu's face no longer bore its former cowering look; there was a hint of confidence now, simply because he had shed his gray training uniform and donned a white one.

A few days ago, Li Hu had reached Three Breaths Nine Echoes, passed the ordinary Nine Palaces Stakes, and made his martial arts debut.

For that reason, Li Hu had specially come to visit him, grateful for the injury medicine he had given.

It was worth mentioning that Li Hu had used the pathfinding method Lu Ming suggested to pass the Nine Palaces Stakes. This secretly surprised Lu Ming—it actually worked?

It also showed that Li Hu truly had a knack for finding things.

Just as Lu Ming was wondering what Li Hu wanted this time, he saw a look of anxiety on Li Hu's face, and the latter said:

"Senior Brother Lu, I won't come in. Do you know? Shen Jue is in trouble!

"His second brother, Shen Changfeng, came and actually said his death is related to you.

"Master Wei told me to call you to the Martial Arts Arena."

So they really did come looking!

Lu Ming's gaze flickered, a hint of surprise and frustration on his face:

"Shen Jue is dead? But what does his death have to do with me?"

"Exactly! He was a family disciple. It would've been good enough if he didn't come looking for trouble with us. How can they suspect us?"

Li Hu was somewhat indignant, quite worried for him.

"Since Master Wei has summoned, I'll go take a look." Lu Ming calmed down, followed Li Hu out, and arrived at the Martial Arts Arena.

At the Martial Arts Arena, all four hundred disciples had gathered, including hard-to-see experts like Feng Qingzhu and Liu Yiyi. It seemed something had already happened.

Wei Jinlin stood on the high platform. Between the platform and the four hundred disciples stood a young man with sharp eyes, a longsword on his back, and an aura of fierce killing intent.

Even from over ten zhang away, Lu Ming could feel the strong "presence" emanating from that man, far surpassing his own.

He heard the surrounding disciples murmuring:

"Lu Ming is done for. He actually offended the Shen Family. That Shen Changfeng is a Tendon Refining expert!"

"Yeah, and I heard he's also an executor of the Sword Qi Sect, a prestigious position."

"Even though the Sword Qi Sect isn't even a third-rate sect, to be honest, my goal is just to join the Sword Qi Sect."

Sword Qi Sect?

Lu Ming had heard of it—a small sect on the outskirts of Red Cloud County.

Though it was an unranked sect, it had been entrenched on Black Cloud Mountain near Red Cloud County for a hundred years. In terms of strength, it stood firmly above the city's first-rate powers.

Wei Jinlin stood on the high platform, his expression unreadable.

Lu Ming stopped seven zhang away from Shen Changfeng, bowed to Wei Jinlin, and asked:

"Master Wei, what business do you have with me?"