Rebellion Against the Lower Realm

The food at Eight Treasures Pavilion suited Yu Xiu's palate best, primarily because the prices were within his budget.

After the shopkeeper guided him to a seat, Yu Xiu ordered a few of his favorite dishes.

Once he had eaten and drunk his fill, Yu Xiu faintly sensed a gaze lingering upon him, now there and now gone.

He was being watched.

So, they've finally come. Yu Xiu felt a weight lift from his heart. Without drawing any attention, he paid his bill, left Eight Treasures Pavilion, and slipped from the main street into a narrow alley.

He quickly vanished into the bustling crowd.

It was only after Yu Xiu entered the alley that four figures, previously blended into the throng, converged.

They were Yun Mo, Xu Fang, Wu Zheng, and Qiu Jing, all fellow outer-sect disciples and members of the same small circle that Fang Jiming had once belonged to.

"Why did he duck into that alley?" Wu Zheng, a dark-faced and rather ugly youth, asked cautiously. "Could he have noticed us and is trying to shake us off?"

Qiu Jing, a tall youth with an aged appearance, smiled meaningfully. "Those who practice martial arts are full of vigor. Since Yu Xiu hasn't been down the mountain in a long time, he must be feeling pent up."

Wu Zheng's eyes lit up. "In this alley..."

Qiu Jing rolled his eyes. "It's all old hags in there. How could you be so starved that you aren't even picky?"

Wu Zheng chuckled. "Old ones are better at cooling the fire."

Xu Fang, a gaunt-faced youth, frowned. "If you want to cool your fire, you can do as you please after the job is done. Let's catch up first and cripple him."

Yun Mo, the last youth with a feminine face, offered a reminder: "Don't be careless. Watch out that we don't capsize in the gutter."

Wu Zheng took the lead. "He's just someone who's barely entered the Qi-Refining stage. What kind of skill could he possibly have to make us capsize?"

As they made their way into the alley, Wu Zheng's eyes brightened. Sure enough, deep in the alley, behind a half-open door, leaned a middle-aged woman. Even the heavy makeup couldn't hide the fine lines on her face or her coarse pores, though her clothing was revealing enough to make Wu Zheng feel a stir of impulse.

He swallowed his saliva and instinctively stepped forward. "Miss..."

The woman looked Wu Zheng over and smiled. "Little gentleman, want to come in and have a chat?"

Wu Zheng asked, "How much silver for a chat inside?"

The woman replied, "It's cheap. Just five coins of silver."

Wu Zheng haggled, "Five coins is too much. Two coins at most."

The smile vanished from the woman's face. "Little gentleman, you really know how to joke."

She thought to herself, If you were half as good-looking as that boy who just passed by, I'd take you for free. You're as black as a piece of charcoal and ugly as sin—how do you have the nerve to haggle!

She couldn't help but think back to the boy who had just passed by; he was truly handsome!

If she could have a night with him, she wouldn't even mind paying a little extra!

"Five coins isn't worth it. Let's go." Qiu Jing, the tall youth with the aged look, dragged Wu Zheng away.

As they walked, he grumbled, "You're a sixteen or seventeen-year-old lad; are you really so desperate that you're picking such an old hag?"

Wu Zheng chuckled. "You don't understand."

Yun Mo and Xu Fang kept their faces dark and remained silent, feeling embarrassed.

Behind them, the woman's furious cursing could still be heard: "You're the old hag! Your whole family is full of old hags!"

"See? Such a fierce old hag, how could you even stomach it?" Qiu Jing scolded with a dark expression.

He hated it when people called him old; he was only seventeen, after all.

"Stop wasting time," Xu Fang interrupted their bickering. "Although Yu Xiu's strength is mediocre, if he manages to escape back to the outer sect, we might not get another chance like this."

The four of them quickened their pace and soon reached the end of the alley.

Their eyes lit up.

It was a dead end!

Under the high wall at the end, they saw a youth standing with his back to them. Judging by his silhouette, it was undoubtedly Yu Xiu.

"He has nowhere left to run." The dark-faced Wu Zheng gave a sinister laugh and strode forward. "Yu Xiu, oh Yu Xiu, it seems your luck has run out."

Yu Xiu turned around and swept his gaze over the four of them. "You finally arrived."

Having been pestered by that middle-aged woman on the way, these fellows had actually made him wait for quite a while.

They were a bit slow.

Qiu Jing sneered, "A mere beginner at Qi-Refining, acting all high and mighty. Today, you've reached the end of your rope."

Yun Mo frowned. "You seem to have known all along that we were going to make a move on you?"

Xu Fang didn't care, speaking only with cold indifference: "Cripple him. Keep it clean."

Wu Zheng grinned hideously and lunged forward, reaching out to grab Yu Xiu's shoulder without even drawing his sword.

"It seems you are the only one among them with a brain," Yu Xiu said, addressing Yun Mo.

But Wu Zheng's movements were lightning-fast, and he was already right before him.

"Too weak." Internal energy surged from the sea of qi within Yu Xiu into his fingertips; moving second but arriving first, he tapped a finger against Wu Zheng's chest.

"Hm?" Wu Zheng's expression changed drastically. He felt a blur before his eyes as a sharp, overwhelming aura surged forth like a keen blade, unstoppable. His entire body was sent flying backward instantly, crashing to the ground and coughing up mouthfuls of blood.

"Something is wrong, attack together." Yun Mo's heart tightened, and he prepared to call out.

This Yu Xiu had clearly only entered the Qi-Conducting Realm for less than a month, so how could he possess such exaggerated strength?

What kind of medicine had he taken?

"Wu Zheng!" Qiu Jing looked at Wu Zheng, who had collapsed to the ground, coughing blood incessantly and already unconscious; he was overcome with fury.

"You deserve to die!" Just as he was about to draw his sword and step forward, a figure appeared before his eyes in a blur.

Yu Xiu!

So fast!

Before he could strike, Yu Xiu's finger had already tapped against his chest.

The next instant, Qiu Jing felt an extremely sharp Sword Qi enter his body, tearing through his internal organs and internal energy, before finally exploding within him. It sent him flying backward, his mind going blank as he lost all consciousness.

At the same moment, Yun Mo, who was just about to draw his sword, felt a breeze brush past his eyes. Immediately following it, a figure appeared, and a finger tapped against his chest!

"You..." Yun Mo was shocked to his core. Although Yu Xiu had not drawn a sword, the two fingers combined possessed an unimaginable sharpness that seeped straight into his bones, chilling him to the core upon contact.

This was definitely not strength that someone in the Qi-Conducting Realm should possess!

"He is in the Sea of Qi Realm!" Yun Mo screamed in alarm.

"Knowing it now is a bit too late." Yu Xiu tapped Yun Mo, sending him flying while vomiting blood; the latter had no chance to fight back at all.

"Sea of Qi?!"

Having only entered the Qi-Conducting Realm for less than a month, how had he become a Sea of Qi cultivator?

Had he been hiding his strength all along?

But just as Yu Xiu had said, knowing it now was indeed too late.

Xu Fang's eyes were wide with rage: "You were deliberately baiting us into your trap..."

How laughable that the four of them, at the second stage of Qi-Conducting, had been bold enough to ambush someone at the third stage of the Sea of Qi!

Was this not simply seeking their own deaths?

"Bang!"

Before he could make any move, Yu Xiu had already appeared, tapping Xu Fang away and leaving him silent.

In less than two breaths, Xu Fang, Yun Mo, and the other two outer court disciples of the Qi-Conducting Realm had all collapsed to the ground, unable to rise.

If he had held a sword in his hand, this time might have been even shorter by a breath!

The second stage and the third stage—there truly exists an insurmountable chasm!

Yu Xiu felt a realization.

Although he had only just entered the Sea of Qi and had not yet practiced any Sea of Qi realm techniques or sword arts, facing the four of them was still like crushing dry weeds and smashing rotten wood; it didn't take the slightest bit of effort.

Using one's realm to suppress others is actually not bad at all!

Suppressing those of a lower cultivation—wouldn't this make everything stable!