"Who?" Shen Jue cried out in alarm. He looked down and saw a man standing below the pavilion. It was none other than Lu Ming.
"You—how did you find this place?" Shen Jue's expression changed, and a flash of panic crossed his eyes.
Lu Ming saw Shen Jue's face. He hadn't expected Shen Jue to be plotting against him behind the scenes as well, and killing intent rose in his heart.
After the arena battle, he had returned to the Military Service Bureau, where Wu San and the others had intercepted him. Shen Jue must have been behind it.
He had quietly kept the matter in mind, planning to find a chance to get even someday. He hadn't made a move yet, and Shen Jue had struck again.
Well, he might as well settle things here!
As for how he had found this place? Heh. Feng Qingzhu had exposed the assassin's identity: he was from the Wei Yuan Escort Agency, not some ordinary bandit.
The Wei Yuan Escort Agency had also taken part in the arena battle. That meant today's attempt on his life was probably no coincidence.
And if it wasn't a coincidence, then this assassination had been carefully planned, and there had to be accomplices.
After all, without someone helping, how could they be sure he'd take this route? How could they be sure they wouldn't kill the wrong person and expose themselves too soon?
There were only a handful of high vantage points nearby. Lu Ming had concealed himself and checked them one by one, quickly narrowing it down to this abandoned courtyard.
Sure enough, he'd caught Shen Jue.
"I'm the Shen Family's legitimate heir. You can't kill me! No, I'm the one who's reached Major Completion in Skin Refining!" Shen Jue said, his eyes flashing with viciousness.
But before he could finish, Lu Ming abruptly raised his foot and stomped down hard.
Shen Jue thought Lu Ming was about to use his lightness skill to leap up to the pavilion, and had been preparing for it. But as Lu Ming's foot came down, the ground suddenly shook as if the world were turning upside down.
With a thunderous crack, a fissure split the ground, its depths pitch-black and impossible to see.
The pavilion had been abandoned for a long time and was in disrepair. As the ground cracked and its foundation crumbled, the whole structure collapsed.
Shen Jue stared at Lu Ming in utter horror.
What was this? Why had the ground split open at Lu Ming's stomp?
Still in shock, he failed to react in time. When he came to his senses, he was already airborne, with nowhere to brace himself. All he could do was watch as he fell toward the deep fissure.
"No!!!" Shen Jue screamed in terror.
At that moment, he saw the secret Lu Ming had been hiding. That godlike, demonlike power filled him with dread.
But there was no time left for regret.
With a wet crunch, Shen Jue plunged into the fissure and was pierced through at once. When Lu Ming used the Earth Splitting Divine Ability, he had deliberately controlled the ground, forcing it apart to reveal sharp stone spikes at the bottom of the gap.
The thick stench of blood filled the air. Even the dust from the collapsing pavilion and the musty odor of rotting wood couldn't conceal it.
"You fell in and died on your own. Whether you were the legitimate or illegitimate heir, what does that have to do with me?" Lu Ming gave a faint, cold smile.
He'd come after Lu Ming time and again. Did he really think Lu Ming had no temper?
With a thought, Lu Ming stamped the ground and activated the Earth Splitting Divine Ability again, shattering and erasing the footprints and all other traces beneath him.
He used Smooth Ascent to the Clouds to fly out of the courtyard and swiftly disappear into the distance. That left no loose ends.
Even if the Shen Family investigated, they'd only find that a sudden earthquake had struck and buried Shen Jue on the spot. They could only blame his bad luck; there'd be no way to trace it back to Lu Ming.
That was the might of the Earth Splitting Divine Ability!
Lu Ming returned safely to the Military Service Bureau and entered his courtyard, still secretly reliving the moment he had used his divine ability. His heart remained filled with excitement.
The divine ability was incredibly powerful. Even its first use had left him thoroughly satisfied.
There was just one regret: to make Shen Jue's death look natural, he couldn't go in and collect the spoils. Shen Jue had probably been carrying quite a bit of silver.
And the Earth Splitting Divine Ability consumed far too much energy.
Lu Ming looked down at his trembling legs and let out a slight breath.
One all-out use and one casual use had left his body completely exhausted. If he used it all-out twice, he suspected he'd collapse from sheer fatigue.
The Earth Splitting Divine Ability was powerful, but it also took a heavy toll. It was nothing like the Acupoint Divine Ability, which consumed very little and could even raise his momentum by striking the Black Leak Point with the Heaven Leak Divine Ability.
Next, he would focus on cultivation and try to evolve a third Acupoint Divine Ability as soon as possible!
Lu Ming took the large bundle from his back and felt the Qi-Enhancing Pills and Sweet Dew Powder ingredients through the wrapping, anticipation stirring within him.
He didn't waste the day. That afternoon, he continued cultivating.
To his delight, the Qi-Enhancing Pill worked very well. Its medicinal power was gentle and long-lasting, and it was easy to absorb. It outperformed Qi-Nurturing Powder in every way.
Lu Ming took one pill and cultivated until nightfall, taking a medicinal bath with Sweet Dew Powder once in the meantime.
[Currently evolving Palm Path Divine Ability (20/100)...] [Currently evolving Acupoint Divine Ability (2392/10000)...]
Late that night, utterly exhausted and drenched in sweat, he looked at the results of six hours of grinding and couldn't help smiling.
With Sweet Dew Powder to ensure he could keep cultivating, his Acupoint experience gain had returned to normal. It wouldn't be long before he evolved his third divine ability.
The Palm Path Divine Ability gained ten experience points a day, so it would reach its limit even sooner.
Thinking about all this, he felt a quiet sense of satisfaction. After washing up, he fell into a deep sleep.
The next day, he got up early and began cultivating.
But before long, someone knocked on his door.
"Li Hu?" Lu Ming said when he saw who it was. "What's the matter? Come in and tell me."
Li Hu no longer looked as timid as before. There was a hint of confidence in his face, for he had traded his gray training clothes for a white set.
A few days earlier, Li Hu had achieved Three Breaths Nine Echoes and passed the ordinary Nine Palaces Stakes, taking his first step into martial arts.
He had come to pay Lu Ming a visit and thank him for giving him medicine for his injuries.
It was worth mentioning that Li Hu had passed the Nine Palaces Stakes using the method of finding the path that Lu Ming had suggested. That had surprised Lu Ming. So it really worked?
It also showed that Li Hu was exceptionally good at finding things.
Lu Ming was wondering what Li Hu wanted this time when he noticed the worry on his face. Li Hu said:
"Senior Brother Lu, I won't come in. Have you heard? Something's happened to Shen Jue!
"His second brother, Shen Changfeng, came here and said you had something to do with his death.
"Master Wei asked me to bring you to the Martial Arts Arena."
He really had come looking!
A flicker of understanding passed through Lu Ming's eyes. He put on a look of surprise and annoyance.
"Shen Jue's dead? But what does his death have to do with me?"
"Exactly! Shen Jue's from a lineage family. It's bad enough when they come after us. Why would they suspect us of this?"
Li Hu sounded indignant, clearly worried on Lu Ming's behalf.
"Since Master Wei sent for me, I'll go see what this is about." Lu Ming composed himself and followed Li Hu out to the Martial Arts Arena.
All four hundred disciples were gathered at the Martial Arts Arena, including the rarely seen experts Feng Qingzhu and Liu Yiyi. It seemed something had happened even before they arrived.
Wei Jinlin stood on the high platform. Between him and the four hundred disciples stood a young man with a sharp gaze, a long sword on his back, and a murderous aura about him.
Even from more than a dozen yards away, Lu Ming could feel that the man's "force" was formidable, far stronger than his own.
He heard the disciples around him whispering:
"Lu Ming's in trouble now. He actually offended the Shen Family. That Shen Changfeng is a Tendon Refining expert!"
"Yeah, and I heard he's an officer of the Sword Qi Sect, with a very distinguished position."
"Though the Sword Qi Sect isn't even a Third-Rate Sect, honestly, I'd be happy just to join it. That's my goal."
The Sword Qi Sect?
Lu Ming had heard of it. It was a small sect near Red Cloud County.
It was only an Unranked Sect, but it had held sway over Black Cloud Mountain near Red Cloud County for a hundred years. In terms of strength, it comfortably surpassed the first-rate forces within the city.
Wei Jinlin stood on the high platform, his expression unreadable.
Lu Ming stopped seven yards from Shen Changfeng, bowed to Wei Jinlin, and asked, "Master Wei, why did you send for me?"
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