The food at the Eight Treasures Pavilion suited Yu Xiu's palate best. More importantly, the prices were within his means.
After the staff led him to a table, Yu Xiu ordered several of his favorite dishes.
Once he'd eaten his fill and had his drink, Yu Xiu sensed faint, lingering gazes on him.
Someone had set their sights on him.
Here they come, just as I expected. Yu Xiu relaxed inwardly. Without drawing attention to himself, he paid the bill and left the Eight Treasures Pavilion, cutting from the main street into a narrow alley.
Soon, he disappeared into the stream of passersby.
Only after Yu Xiu entered the alley did four figures, who had blended into the crowd, gather together.
They were Yun Mo, Xu Fang, Wu Zheng, and Qiu Jing, all Outer Court disciples and members of the same little circle as Fang Jiming.
"What's he doing in that alley?" asked Wu Zheng, a dark-faced, rather ugly youth, cautiously. "Could he have noticed us and be trying to shake us off?"
Qiu Jing, a tall youth with a face that made him look older than his years, smiled knowingly. "People who practice martial arts are full of vigor. Yu Xiu hasn't been down the mountain in ages. He's probably itching for some fun."
Wu Zheng's eyes lit up. "In this alley..."
Qiu Jing rolled his eyes. "They're all old hags. How'd you get so desperate that you'll take anything?"
Wu Zheng chuckled. "The old ones cool your fire."
Xu Fang, a thin-faced youth, frowned. "If you want to cool your fire, do it after we're done. Then you can enjoy yourself all you like. First, catch up to him and cripple him."
Yun Mo, the last of them, had delicate, almost feminine features. He reminded them, "Don't let your guard down. Be careful you don't capsize in the gutter."
Wu Zheng strode ahead. "He's only just entered Qi Circulation. How capable can he be? He's hardly enough to make us capsize."
As they made their way down the alley, Wu Zheng's eyes lit up. Sure enough, deep in the alley, a middle-aged woman leaned in the half-open doorway of a house. Heavy makeup did nothing to hide the fine lines on her face or her coarse pores. Her clothes were skimpy, though, and Wu Zheng couldn't help feeling a stir of desire.
He swallowed and unconsciously stepped forward. "Miss..."
The middle-aged woman gave Wu Zheng an appraising look and smiled. "Young man, want to come in and have a heart-to-heart?"
"How much silver to come in and have a heart-to-heart?" Wu Zheng asked.
"Cheap. Only five qian of silver."
Wu Zheng tried to haggle. "Five qian is too much. Two, at most."
The smile vanished from the woman's face. "Young man, you must be joking."
If you looked half as handsome as that young man who just passed by, I'd do it for free. But you're black as coal and ugly as sin, and you still have the nerve to haggle!
She couldn't help thinking again of the young man who'd just passed by. He was so handsome!
If she could spend one night with him, she wouldn't mind paying him for it!
"Five qian of silver isn't worth it. Let's go." Qiu Jing, who was tall and looked older than his years, grabbed Wu Zheng and dragged him away.
As they walked, he mocked him. "You're only sixteen or seventeen, and you're picking an old hag like that? Can you really not find anyone else?"
Wu Zheng chuckled. "You wouldn't understand."
Yun Mo and Xu Fang said nothing, their faces dark with embarrassment.
Behind them, the middle-aged woman's furious curses rang out. "You're the old hag! Your whole family's full of old hags!"
"See? A hag that vicious—how could you stomach her?" Qiu Jing scolded, his face dark.
He hated being called old. He was only seventeen, after all.
"Stop wasting time," Xu Fang cut in. "Yu Xiu may not be strong, but if he escapes back to the Outer Court, we might not get another chance."
The four of them quickened their pace and soon reached the end of the alley.
Their eyes lit up.
It was a dead end!
Beneath the tall wall at the end stood a youth with his back to them. There was no mistaking that silhouette: it was Yu Xiu.
"He's out of road," Wu Zheng said with a sinister grin, striding forward. "Yu Xiu, Yu Xiu. Looks like your luck has run out."
Yu Xiu turned around and glanced over the four of them. "You finally came."
The middle-aged woman had held them up for a while on the way, so he'd had to wait.
They were a bit slow.
Qiu Jing sneered. "You've only just entered Qi Circulation. What are you acting so big for? Today, you're as good as dead."
Yun Mo frowned. "You seem to have known we were going to attack you."
Xu Fang didn't bother with questions. He spoke indifferently. "Cripple him. Keep things neat."
Wu Zheng stepped forward with a sinister grin, reaching for Yu Xiu's shoulder without even drawing his sword.
"Looks like you're the only one among them with any brains," Yu Xiu said, speaking to Yun Mo.
But Wu Zheng was fast, and he was already upon him.
Too weak. The inner qi in Yu Xiu's Qi Sea surged to his fingertip. His strike came late, yet arrived first, landing squarely on Wu Zheng's chest.
Huh? Wu Zheng's expression changed abruptly. His vision blurred, and a sharp, surging force rushed toward him like a sword, overwhelming him completely. He was flung backward, crashed to the ground, and coughed up great mouthfuls of blood.
"Something's wrong. Attack together!" Yun Mo's heart tightened, and he was about to call out.
Yu Xiu had only entered Qi Circulation less than a month ago. How could he be this powerful?
Had he taken some kind of medicine?
"Wu Zheng!" Qiu Jing looked at Wu Zheng, who lay motionless on the ground, coughing up blood and already unconscious. Fury surged through him.
"You'll die for this!" He was about to draw his sword and charge when his vision blurred and a figure appeared before him.
Yu Xiu!
So fast!
Before he could strike, Yu Xiu's finger had already landed on his chest.
In the next moment, Qiu Jing felt sword qi of utmost sharpness enter his body. It tore through his organs and inner qi before finally exploding inside him, hurling him backward. His mind went blank on the spot, and he lost consciousness.
At the same moment, Yun Mo was about to draw his sword when he felt a breeze brush past him. In the blink of an eye, a figure appeared before him, a finger striking his chest!
"You..." Yun Mo was horrified. Yu Xiu hadn't even drawn his sword, yet the force of those two fingers together held an unimaginable sharpness that pierced to the bone and chilled him to the core.
This was power no one in the Qi Circulation realm should possess!
"He's in the Qi Sea realm!" Yun Mo cried.
"You realized it too late." Yu Xiu struck Yun Mo with a finger, sending him flying as he spat blood. He hadn't had the chance to fight back.
"Qi Sea?!"
How had someone who'd entered Qi Circulation less than a month ago suddenly reached the Qi Sea realm?
Had he been hiding his strength all along?
But Yu Xiu was right: now that they knew, it was too late.
Xu Fang's eyes nearly bulged from their sockets. "You deliberately lured us into your trap..."
It was ridiculous. The four of them were only at the second level of Qi Circulation, yet they'd dared to ambush someone at the third level, the Qi Sea realm!
They'd walked straight into their own deaths!
"Bang!"
Before Xu Fang could make a move, Yu Xiu appeared and sent him flying with a finger. He fell silent.
In less than two breaths, Xu Fang and the other three Outer Court disciples in the Qi Circulation realm all lay motionless on the ground.
If Yu Xiu had been holding a sword, it might have taken him one breath less!
There really is an uncrossable chasm between the second and third levels!
Yu Xiu felt a realization stir within him.
Though he'd only just entered the Qi Sea realm and hadn't yet practiced its cultivation or sword techniques, facing Xu Fang and the other three had still been like crushing dry weeds and smashing rotten wood. He hadn't exerted the slightest effort.
Using my realm to crush them really isn't bad!
Defying the odds against lower realms—now that was a sure thing!
Before you continue