Testing

"An entry-grade weapon?"

Qin Jiu was slightly surprised.

But the movements of his hands didn't stop.

If anything, they grew more and more savage.

"Clang, clang, clang!"

Inside the dim hall,

sparks flew everywhere.

The hall master had been terrified at first, but after exchanging more than ten blows, his expression gradually relaxed.

"He's only at the Second Refining stage."

"How dare you act so boldly?"

"Wretch! If our Fisher Gang chief were here, how could you have killed so many of my brothers?"

His face twisted into a savage grimace.

Only now did he realize that the sight of someone cleaving through a Second Refining martial artist with a single strike had scared him stiff from the very start.

After fighting for a while, he'd finally figured out the man's level.

He was merely at the Second Refining stage.

The only reason the other man had been able to slaughter the gang members was that he relied on an entry-grade blade.

The hall master thought of that,

and felt his heart bleeding.

The eleven gang members lying dead before him had all been elite fighters of the Fisher Gang. Seven of them were Second Refining martial artists, yet because they'd been cowed by the man's imposing aura right from the start, they'd all died in the blink of an eye.

"I hate—"

He ground his teeth, but just as the words left his mouth,

the force coursing through his body suddenly seized up.

His movements came to a halt, too.

"Pfft!"

The blades crossed in a flash.

A head shot high into the air.

"Enough with the blather."

Qin Jiu's expression remained impassive. He kept swinging his long blade until he'd chopped the hall master into minced flesh, just like the others. Only then did he pick up the entry-grade blade from the ground and hurry away from the Incense Hall.

It wasn't that he was born cruel.

The situation was unclear, and he didn't want to give himself away. Countless people in Songshan County used blades, but Tyrant Blade's swordsmanship was outstanding. If he left the bodies intact, someone might recognize something.

"Now, all that's left is to see how they react."

"The Fisher Gang chief... the Chai Gang, the Li Family, and those few others..."

In the woods by the riverbank,

Qin Jiu's gaze was dark and distant.

But soon his expression changed, and his stomach began to churn against his will.

It had nothing to do with whether this was his first time killing someone.

The slaughter just now had simply been too bloody. Dozens of people had been hacked into minced flesh, and he'd created the scene with his own hands. His body still couldn't adjust to it.

The next day,

the Outer City was in an uproar.

Apart from the Demon's recent rampage, this was the most shocking event in recent days. Everyone in the Fisher Gang except its chief—the gang's core members—had been slaughtered overnight. When the chief returned to the gang and saw what had happened, he was so overcome with rage that he fainted on the spot.

At Qin Mansion, in the East Wing,

Huang Jing animatedly recounted the news he'd gathered.

"They say that at the scene..."

"Even the County Office constables couldn't help wondering if a Demon had entered the city again."

"But the Chai Gang chief was there too, and he said the victims had been killed by a person. No one knows where that vicious murderer came from. He was truly brutal. You should've seen it, master—the ground was covered in minced flesh. Ugh..."

"That's enough. You can go now."

Qin Jiu nodded thoughtfully.

After Huang Jing withdrew,

he went into the courtyard and activated Blood Sha. He used the breathing method of the Taiyin Horizontal Training Body to guide the yin baleful energy into forging his bones.

This yin baleful energy had many uses.

For now, he had no plans to cultivate the Taiyin Horizontal Training Body. Martial arts were easy to learn but hard to master. Just perfecting Tyrant Blade would take a great deal of time and effort, so how could he possibly cultivate this body-hardening art as well?

But he could take its bone-forging section

and use yin baleful energy to forge his bones, driving the growth of his inner force.

The results were impressively quick.

"At this rate, in another half month I should be able to fill both arms with inner force and reach the minor-completion stage of the Second Refining."

Qin Jiu's eyes gleamed.

Inner force infused with yin baleful energy was no ordinary force.

Last night, during his fight with the Fisher Gang hall master, all he'd had to do was let his inner force invade the other man's body, and it had made the man's inner force seize up.

That had let him take the man's head with a single slash.

If he could bring his inner force to full mastery and fill his whole body with it, he might even be able to make a Three Refinements martial artist die with hatred on the spot.

"First, I'll focus on training."

"Tonight, I'll go check out the Chai Gang..."

Qin Jiu gathered his thoughts.

Then, while swallowing pills to refine his qi and blood, he guided the yin baleful energy into forging his bones.

The sun gradually slanted westward.

Yet before dusk had even drawn near,

Huang Jing came to the East Wing again to report. He bowed slightly and cupped his hands. "Young master, Li Mu, the eldest young master of the Li Family, sent someone with an invitation. He's inviting you to a banquet to discuss the Demons."

"Who?"

"The eldest young master of the Li Family?"

A strange smile appeared on Qin Jiu's face. "Where's the banquet being held?"

"At the Hundred Flower Pavilion in the Inner City."

"In that case, go fetch Qin Xudong and come with me. Let's see what they want to discuss."

Huang Jing cupped his hands in assent.

Then he went to the Martial Arts Arena and brought Qin Xudong over.

Afterward, Qin Jiu took the two men

straight to the Hundred Flower Pavilion.

It was a theater in the Inner City. Its spacious main hall was mostly empty, making it seem rather quiet. Someone onstage was singing in a lilting voice, while more than a dozen young men and women with different temperaments sat below.

Qin Jiu had a sharp eye.

At a glance, he spotted Han Qingyue among the crowd.

Had the Han Family been suspected, too?

A strange expression crossed his face.

Just then,

a handsome, refined young man stood up and bowed with cupped hands. "I am Li Mu, son of Li Shijing of the newly established Li Family in the Inner City. I've long admired the Qin family head's reputation."

"Likewise."

Qin Jiu smiled. "We're about the same age, so there's no need to be so formal. If you don't mind, just call me Brother Qin."

A flicker of amusement appeared in the young man's eyes.

He was just about to accept the offer

when Qin Jiu continued in an even tone.

"If Li, my good brother, lost his father, he could probably become the head of a family at a young age, just like me."

"There's nothing wrong with us being equals."

"..."

The young man's face turned livid.

Seeing this, Qin Jiu thought that the fellow had been far too quick to lose his temper. Then he looked around at the others without a care.

Beside Han Qingyue, aside from her younger sister, were disciples from Canghai Martial Arts Hall and another young man and woman. Qin Jiu didn't know which families they belonged to. As for everyone else, he knew them even less.

"Family Head Qin, allow me to introduce everyone."

On the other side,

Li Mu's expression had returned to normal. He came before the group and said, "This is the Han Family's eldest young lady. I'm sure you don't need me to introduce her, Family Head Qin?"

"And beside her..."

"I'm the chief disciple of Canghai Martial Arts Hall's inner sect, and Tang Yu is my master. A pleasure to meet you, Family Head Qin."

The man cut Li Mu off.

He said no more, then closed his eyes.

A flash of anger passed over Li Mu's face, but his tone stayed the same as he pointed to the others. "This is the Canal Gang chief's personal eldest disciple, and this is the son of Nan Zhenxiong of the Long Wind Escort Agency..."

"And this is the Chai Gang's young chief."

He introduced everyone in turn.

But Qin Jiu's gaze lingered only briefly on the Chai Gang's young chief.

Then he gave the others a slight nod.

"Qin Jiu of the Qin Family."

"To see so many outstanding young talents gathered here today, I can say my trip was worthwhile."

"I hear you're all here to discuss the Demons?"

As he spoke,

he plopped down in the seat of honor.

That had been Li Mu's seat. After all, he'd invited everyone here, so naturally he was supposed to sit at the head of the table. But no one had expected Qin Jiu to sit down so calmly.