First Blood

"Hiss!"

An exceedingly faint sound of clothing brushing over a wall suddenly came from behind him.

Every hair on Fang Han's body stood on end.

His senses, sharper than those of ordinary people, and his nerves, which had remained taut all this time, sounded a piercing alarm at that instant.

Without a second thought, he drove force through his waist and hips, his body shooting half a step diagonally forward like an arrow loosed from a powerful bow, while he spun around sharply.

"Who goes there?"

What entered his sight was a small, scrawny figure lunging out of the shadows, with a rat-like face and vicious eyes. It was none other than the "Black Rat" from the portrait.

After his trail had been exposed, Black Rat had not fled far at all. Instead, he had pretended to escape before lying in ambush, intending to turn around and kill whoever had set their sights on him. That was how the earlier sneak attack had come about.

"Whoosh—!"

Two short blades glinting with a sinister sheen, like the fangs of venomous snakes, had already stabbed to within a foot of Fang Han's chest and abdomen.

They were astonishingly fast.

The icy killing intent made Fang Han's skin tremble.

At the threshold between life and death, two years of bitter training and the instincts forged from tens of thousands of sword swings overwhelmed every stray thought.

"Clang—!"

The dragon's cry of the Azure Edge Sword leaving its sheath tore through the silence of the alley.

There was no thought, no hesitation. Fang Han's body reacted naturally.

Wind Sweeps Away Clouds, the move in the Breeze Sword Art most adept at blocking and counterattacking, was already unleashed.

His sword light was like a sudden surge of azure waves, sweeping with pinpoint precision toward those poison-coated short blades.

"Clang! Clang!"

Two piercing clashes of metal erupted almost on top of one another.

Sparks flew in all directions!

Having struck in haste, Fang Han had been unable to use his full strength. A heavy, forceful power traveled through the twin blades, leaving his wrist slightly numb.

This Black Rat was not at Flesh Refining Late-Stage at all—he was already at Tendon Refining Early-Stage. Coupled with his ambush using poison-coated twin blades, he was exceedingly dangerous.

Fortunately, Fang Han was already at Tendon Refining Mid-Stage. Only then had he managed to block that unexpected ambush.

"What?!"

When his sneak attack was blocked, immense astonishment and terror flashed through Black Rat's eyes.

His technique of ambushing and counter-killing had never failed him. Countless pursuers had fallen to it, yet this young boy had neutralized it so easily?

The rebounding force from the other side's block was powerful and domineering, and his strength even exceeded Black Rat's own. He was very likely a Tendon Refining Mid-Stage martial artist.

"Run!"

If one strike failed, flee a thousand miles away!

Black Rat did not linger in battle. Borrowing the rebound from the collision of blades, his scrawny body drifted backward as though weightless, about to melt into the shadows and escape.

"Trying to run?!"

Fang Han broke out in a cold sweat, then a surge of fury shot straight to his head.

If he had not remained vigilant all along, if his swordsmanship had not already become instinct...

After the lingering fear came chilling killing intent!

"Breeze Chasing Shadow!"

Fang Han stamped down, cracking the ground slightly beneath his foot. His figure shot out like an arrow released from the string, the Azure Edge Sword in his hand transforming into countless specks of cold starlight that shrouded every vital point on Black Rat's body like a shadow that never left its form.

The sword light was dense, swift, and fierce. The Breeze Sword Art, brought fully to great mastery, unfolded completely, sealing off every possible direction in which Black Rat could evade.

"Clang clang clang clang—!"

Black Rat was terrified out of his wits. His twin blades whirled frantically as he desperately blocked.

The dense clashing rang out like a torrential downpour pounding lotus leaves, unceasing and relentless.

With every sword strike he received, his arms grew another degree more sore and numb. Before long, the web between his thumb and forefinger split open and bled.

Fang Han's sword moves were not merely fast; they carried an incomparably condensed penetrating force that sent Black Rat's blood and vitality churning, as though his internal organs had all been knocked out of place.

The longer he fought, the more terrified he became, his heart turning ice-cold.

He had definitely encountered a scion of a great clan—and one of their genius heirs at that.

Today, he would very likely die here.

"Die!"

A fierce gleam filled Fang Han's eyes.

A streak of azure light slipped through an opening, easily piercing Black Rat's whirling net of blades like a hot knife cutting through butter, then plunging precisely into his chest.

"Pfft—!"

All of Black Rat's movements froze instantly.

He lowered his head in disbelief, staring in horror at the Azure Edge Sword that had nearly completely pierced his heart.

"Urgh..."

He wanted to say something, but only hot blood tasting of rust poured from his mouth.

The viciousness and cunning in his eyes swiftly faded, replaced by the scattered ash-gray of death.

Fang Han flicked his wrist and withdrew the sword.

A stream of warm blood sprayed out with it. Several droplets even splashed onto his wrist and lapel, carrying a thick, nauseating stench.

Black Rat's corpse crumpled limply to the ground with a dull thud, his eyes wide open, unable to rest in death.

The alley fell silent once more.

"Whew—"

Fang Han stood holding his sword, breathing lightly as his chest rose and fell.

Looking at the dark red blood spreading rapidly across the ground and smelling the thick scent of blood in the air, his stomach churned violently and his face turned slightly pale.

In both his past life and this one, this was his first time... killing someone.

"Young Master Han!"

The lean, capable man, skilled at tracking but not at fighting, hurried forward when he saw the battle was over, his face filled with lingering fear and concern.

"Are you all right? Were you hurt?"

Fang Han drew a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the discomfort in his throat and the faint trembling in his arm. He slowly sheathed his sword and shook his head.

"I'm fine."

His voice was a little dry at first, but it quickly steadied.

Only then did the man let out a great sigh of relief. Still shaken, he said, "That bastard was truly crafty and vicious. He actually wanted to turn around and ambush you. Had you not been vigilant enough, Young Master, the consequences would have been unthinkable!"

He crouched down and skillfully began searching Black Rat's corpse.

Soon, he pulled a small, bloodstained coarse-cloth purse from Black Rat's inner garments. He weighed it in his hand, then offered it to Fang Han.

"Young Master, there are a little over seven taels of loose silver inside."

Fang Han glanced at the bloodstained money pouch but did not take it. "Keep this silver. Consider it payment for helping me search for him. The fifty-tael bounty from the authorities afterward will be mine."

The man froze for a moment, then delight appeared on his face.

He had never expected the fifty-tael bounty. To him, more than seven taels of silver was already an enormous windfall, far exceeding what he had anticipated for running this errand.

He immediately bowed, his tone growing even more respectful.

"Thank you for your reward, Young Master Han!"

"I'll leave the aftermath here to you. Handle the corpse properly, then send it to the authorities for verification and claim the bounty."

Fang Han gave the order, no longer looking at the corpse on the ground.

"Rest assured, Young Master! I will take care of everything properly!"

The man patted his chest in assurance.

Fang Han nodded and said nothing more before turning to leave.

He walked down the narrow alley, the setting sun stretching his shadow long behind him.

That faint scent of blood seemed to still linger in the air, while the few dark red stains that had already dried on his wrist stood out with particular clarity.

He clenched his fist slightly, feeling his heart pound faster within his body after the battle.

The path of martial arts would ultimately have to see blood.

Today was only the beginning.

After returning to Fang Mansion, Fang Han went to report back to Elder Fang Yuan.

After learning what had happened, Elder Fang Yuan was fairly satisfied with Fang Han's performance and offered him a few words of encouragement.

For the period that followed, the family assigned no new tasks. Fang Han once again threw himself wholeheartedly into cultivation.

The benefits of having an independent Martial Dao Room now became clear—he could focus without distraction or interruption.

Time quietly passed amid torrents of sweat.

At the end of the month, Fang Han received his reward for ranking tenth on the Martial Dao Stele. Two weighty wooden boxes were delivered into his hands.

"Twenty Blood Vitality Pills."

Opening one of the wooden boxes, Fang Han found two small white porcelain bottles decorated with blue patterns.

Each bottle contained ten Blood Vitality Pills, for a total of twenty.

Even though he was now at Tendon Refining Mid-Stage and consumed more Blood Vitality Pills, twenty were enough to last him a month.

"Twenty taels of silver..."

Fang Han opened the other wooden box. Inside were two ten-tael silver ingots, twenty taels in all.

This was already equivalent to a month's wages for his father, a restaurant manager. For a family disciple still receiving training at the Martial Hall, it was undoubtedly an extremely generous monthly allowance.

"Twenty taels per month, plus the fifty-tael bounty for the wanted criminal. I only need nine months to gather one thousand taels..."

Fang Han calculated how long it would take to amass one thousand taels.

Nine months was still somewhat long, but it was much shorter than the previous estimate of over three years. It was barely acceptable.

"And if I can obtain a higher ranking..."

Fang Han thought of the rewards for higher rankings.

Without question, the higher the rank, the greater the monthly rewards.

And if he could attain a higher ranking, the time required would undoubtedly be greatly shortened. In the end, it should take far less than nine months.

His anticipation of raising his rank grew even stronger.