"Hey, hey, look at that kid. Isn't he the one the gang leader put a bounty on a couple of days ago?"
As Lin Yiqing had just passed through Yan City's gates, two middle-aged men in a nearby tea stall brightened at the sight of him. They began discreetly pointing him out. It seemed they had been keeping watch here.
Unfortunately for them, they hadn't expected Lin Yiqing's spiritual perception to have grown so keen it was almost unimaginable. The instant they pointed at him, he noticed them.
"What gang leader... put a bounty on me?"
With his powerful mental energy spread over the area, every hushed word they spoke rang clearly in his mind. Lin Yiqing's heart sank.
"Keep your voice down. The gang leader said that kid's a Two-Seal Symbol Master, and he's very capable. Be careful he doesn't hear you."
One of the men's expression changed at once. He warned his companion to keep an eye on Lin Yiqing, then discreetly got up and hurried down a nearby alley.
"Please. He's just a kid. There's no need to make him sound so terrifying."
The man in gray waved a hand and curled his lip, unconcerned as he watched his companion leave. His eyes were full of contempt. He didn't believe anyone could hear their conversation from that far away.
"Gulp!"
But just as he turned and lifted his teacup, the sight before him drained the color from his face.
"Oh, are you talking about me—the one some gang leader put a bounty on?"
Across the tea table where the man in gray sat, Lin Yiqing smiled at him as he asked. Even he was a little confused by all this.
He wasn't someone who went looking for trouble. Most days, he spent his time cultivating in the mountains. He had no idea why anyone would put a bounty on him.
Compared with Lin Yiqing's relaxed, carefree manner, the man in gray was a wreck. His face had gone white, and he trembled from head to toe.
"Y-you... what are you talking about? I don't even know you. Get lost!"
Suppressing his panic, the man in gray forced himself to appear calm and waved Lin Yiqing away impatiently, putting on an utterly bewildered expression.
"Heh."
A cold smile appeared on Lin Yiqing's face. The man's trembling body and voice had given him away completely.
"If you weren't talking about me, why are you so guilty? If you don't confess, don't blame me for what happens next."
As he spoke, a glint flashed in his eyes, and a powerful wave of mental energy instantly enveloped the man.
The street was still bustling with pedestrians and carts, but to the man in gray, the entire world turned gray. An overwhelming pressure bore down on him, nearly knocking him unconscious. It felt as though he would burst apart at any moment!
"I... I'll talk!"
On the verge of passing out, the man in gray finally broke and confessed.
The man belonged to the Sky Wolf Gang, a second-rate force in Yan City. Like most other factions, they were affiliated with the Blood Wolf Gang.
As for why they had put a bounty on Lin Yiqing, the man in gray explained that their gang leader, Yuan Li, had told them Lin Yiqing once ruined an important affair for the Sky Wolf Gang.
"Rumble!"
Suddenly, several scarlet horses thundered down the street, kicking up clouds of dust and sending pedestrians on both sides crying out in alarm.
The man at their head looked to be in his thirties or forties, exceptionally sturdy and built like an iron tower.
"So you're Lin Dong?"
The man didn't even dismount. He stared down at Lin Yiqing with icy eyes and demanded the answer.
"G-Gang leader, save me!"
Hearing the man in gray cry out beside him, Lin Yiqing understood. This must be Yuan Li, the Sky Wolf Gang's leader.
"Hmph! Useless. You, kid—come here and die!"
Yuan Li cursed at the man in gray, then white energy surged from every pore in his body. He leapt off his horse and slammed a punch toward Lin Yiqing.
"Pure Origin Gang Qi!"
Lin Yiqing's expression turned grave. He hurriedly leapt aside and soared into the air atop the Azure Steel Sword, avoiding the attack.
"Bang!"
Yuan Li's fist energy was extremely domineering. In an instant, it shattered everything around them!
The white energy looked fragile, but it could split mountains and shatter stone with ease. When cultivators advanced to the Origin Pellet Realm, the Yuan Power in their dantian was compressed into a far more powerful and domineering force. That force was known as Pure Origin Gang Qi.
In both lethality and defense, this sort of gang qi far surpassed anything a cultivator below the Origin Pellet Realm could withstand. That was why even Lesser Origin Pellet experts could slaughter a whole group of Heaven Origin Realm cultivators.
"Kid, you've never seen Pure Origin Gang Qi before, have you? To be honest, I can't understand how that Duan Wuxin fellow managed to die at your hands. He must've been as stupid as a pig!"
Yuan Li lifted his chin, his face full of murderous intent. He had never believed the rumors that Lin Yiqing had killed Duan Wuxin.
"You're pretty good at using mental energy. A Two-Seal Symbol Master has a few tricks up his sleeve, but that's all you've got!"
Watching Yuan Li, Lin Yiqing grew increasingly wary. Yuan Li was clearly much stronger than Duan Wuxin, the Lesser Origin Pellet expert Lin Yiqing had killed while he was gravely wounded.
"Whew, Small Perfection of the Origin Pellet Realm!"
Lin Yiqing shifted, and the Azure Steel Sword beneath his feet shot forward like a swimming dragon. Its terrifying speed brought a shrill howl as it sliced through the air.
"At least you've got a decent eye!"
Violently surging gang qi wrapped around Yuan Li's right arm. He stamped his foot, and his whole body shot toward Lin Yiqing like a cannonball, smashing into the Azure Steel Sword.
"Clang! Clang!"
The sword edge sliced against the Pure Origin Gang Qi, scattering sparks, but it couldn't break through at all. As Yuan Li's fist crashed down, the Azure Steel Sword was sent flying.
"Forget being a Two-Seal Symbol Master. Even if you were a Three-Seal Spirit Rune Master, you'd still die today!"
Before Yuan Li's next punch could land, a streak of silver shot from Lin Yiqing's sleeve and pierced toward Yuan Li's neck.
"Crack, crack, crack!"
As Yuan Li surged forward, he could only twist his body at the last second. His bones creaked as he spun aside and dodged the sword!
The silver streak was the Refined Iron Dagger Lin Yiqing had hidden in his sleeve. After buying the Azure Steel Sword, he had strapped the dagger inside his sleeve for just such a surprise attack.
Unfortunately, his opponent was Yuan Li, a Small Perfection of the Origin Pellet Realm expert. Yuan Li had managed to evade it.
"What a vicious brat. So that's how you killed Duan Wuxin, is it? Do you have any other tricks? If not, prepare to die!"
After dodging the sword, Yuan Li's face turned furious, though he also felt a lingering fear. He hadn't expected Lin Yiqing to have a short sword hidden in his sleeve. If Yuan Li had been caught off guard, he would surely have died.
"Sky Wolf Fist!"
Yuan Li roared. Pure Origin Gang Qi gathered around his arm, shining brilliantly, and his whole body shot forward.
As the gang qi surged, it set off a series of explosive booms that sounded like wolf howls. The sight was truly terrifying.
"Whew, I can only meet him head-on."
Lin Yiqing raised a hand and recalled the Azure Steel Sword. Yuan Power surged wildly in his dantian, and the Greater Yin Qi and Sun Qi seemed to sense his intent. Powerful waves of Yuan Power instantly gathered in his hand.
"You were curious how Duan Wuxin died? Like this!"
"Thousand Rivers Reflecting Moon Sword!"
Before you continue