Li Qing smiled. "It's nothing. Having something to eat is good enough."
He finished the food in two or three bites, and a warm feeling spread through his stomach.
Everyone was eating, so Li Qing wasn't worried there was anything wrong with the food.
After they finished, everyone leaned against the carriage and began to rest.
Li Qing sat alone inside the carriage.
He toyed with the Hundred-Forged Steel Blade in his hand, recalling the various force-generating techniques in the Seven Star Blade.
Maybe I can give it a try.
He vaulted down from the carriage and walked a few meters away from the camp.
The Essence Blood Art circulated throughout his body, his vital essence flowing as a faint red glow hazily emanated from him.
Taking the stance of the Seven Star Blade, he began to swing the steel blade in his hand, one move at a time.
He felt out the many different ways of generating force.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh.
Swish, swish, swish.
The blade flashed, slicing through the air with a series of sharp whistles.
The vital essence within Li Qing even spread onto the steel blade, making it glow with a faint red light.
Under the influence of his vital essence, he mastered all the force-generating techniques of the Seven Star Blade in a short time.
A strange tingling sensation spread through his body. Each time he completed one of the techniques, his vital essence was affected by the exertion, coursing through the muscles, bones, and fascia involved.
It was as if his body were being tempered by his vital essence.
A muffled boom erupted. The red-glowing blade tip seemed to break through the air, producing a faint burst of airflow.
A wave of heat spread throughout his body. Li Qing felt subtle changes in his muscles and skin, and wielding the Seven Star Blade came as naturally as if he'd practiced it for years.
Clap, clap, clap.
Applause rang out nearby. Wang Kuohai had appeared beside the carriage at some point, his eyes filled with astonishment.
"Mr. Qin, your swordsmanship is simply supernatural."
"To think you've reached the point of striking the air itself. Only the most supreme experts in the martial world can do that."
Li Qing looked at Wang Kuohai, then asked in surprise, "Is it that difficult?"
Wang Kuohai's expression was complicated. "Mr. Qin, you must not be a martial artist."
"We martial artists train in all kinds of fist techniques and weapons, tempering our bodies in various ways, increasing our strength, and perfecting our methods of generating force."
"If you can reach the peak of martial arts before the age of thirty, your blood and qi will begin to decline afterward, and you'll gradually grow weaker."
"There's a legend that if a martial artist reaches their limit before turning thirty, there's a chance they'll condense the fabled blood and qi."
"Blood and qi is a mysterious power. It lets a martial artist remain at their peak even after the age of thirty, and they can maintain that state until they're sixty."
"The sign that a martial artist has developed blood and qi is the ability to strike the air: relying purely on their own strength, they break through the air with a boom, producing a force that surpasses what the body alone can manage."
"I'm already over forty, and my martial arts have declined. I have no chance of breaking through to blood and qi in this lifetime."
As he listened to Wang Kuohai reveal the secrets of the martial world, Li Qing pondered.
Blood and qi? Could that be a form of vital essence?
Entering the Dao through martial arts? It might not be impossible.
If I collect more martial arts manuals, use the Jade Tablet to optimize them, then use the vital essence from the Essence Blood Art to master them quickly, perhaps I can develop blood and qi.
Maybe I could even fuse it with the Essence Blood Art and become stronger.
Besides, martial arts have no drawbacks, so they're clearly very safe.
As the two talked, a commotion suddenly broke out in the camp.
"Something's wrong! Little Wang is missing!"
Wang Kuohai and Li Qing changed expressions at the words and hurried back to the camp.
Wang Kuohai looked at the panicked escort guards and barked, "What are you panicking for?"
"What happened?"
One of the escort guards said anxiously, "Little Wang went out to relieve himself just now, but it's been quite a while and he still hasn't come back."
"I went to look for him, but I couldn't find him anywhere."
Wang Kuohai's heart gave a sudden lurch. He turned to look at Li Qing.
"Mr. Qin, have we run into something again?"
Li Qing felt helpless. You've got to be kidding me. Again?
Just then, Li Qing's expression abruptly changed. His gaze fixed on a gap in the carriage.
A figure appeared there. Its hands were held out to either side, its neck was bare of a head, and it wore tattered clothes. With a single leap, it rose a full zhang into the air.
Li Qing shouted, "Get out of the way!"
By then, the figure had already pounced behind one of the escort guards.
A pair of pitch-black claws instantly seized the guard by the neck.
Crack.
The escort guard's body convulsed. His head lolled to one side, terror etched across his face, and he died in an instant.
The monster tore his head off and pressed it directly onto its own neck.
A strange pattern spread from its neck, quickly covering the escort guard's head.
"My head... my head... give me back my head..."
"My head..."
A hoarse, eerie voice, as if rising from the underworld, seeped from the escort guard's mouth.
His eyes turned completely black. He leaped up and attacked another escort guard.
Wang Kuohai roared, "How dare you!"
He leaped forward, his blade flashing from his waist as he slashed at the headless monster.
The monster sensed the attack, turned, and swung both claws at Wang Kuohai's blade.
A metallic clash rang out.
Its black arms were as hard as metal.
Wang Kuohai's expression changed drastically. He swung his blade again and again, spinning like a top as he attacked the monster.
The terrifying thing was that his blade strikes had no effect on it at all.
They left nothing but streaks of white. The monster seemed impervious to blades.
Li Qing's expression shifted slightly as he watched.
He took out the Spirit Summoning Tablet and immediately summoned the Flood Dragon's phantom.
"Moo!"
At the mysterious cry, everyone lost focus for the space of a few breaths.
The Flood Dragon lunged straight at the headless monster, but what happened next sent a chill down Li Qing's spine.
The Flood Dragon flashed through the headless monster, but it didn't pull out the monster's soul, spirit, or anything of the sort.
The monster's gaze fell on Li Qing, and it suddenly leaped at him.
Li Qing was terrified out of his wits and dodged the monster as it came at him head-on.
His heart pounded. He'd never fought a monster face-to-face before.
He gripped the Hundred-Forged Steel Blade tightly, his vital essence surging rapidly through his body. Using the Spirit Summoning Tablet just now had cost him a quarter of his vital essence.
The illusory Flood Dragon flashed back into the Spirit Summoning Tablet, and Li Qing's heart sank.
Damn it. This thing seems to be immune to the Spirit Summoning Tablet.
The monster hit the ground, then immediately sprang back into the air and lunged at Li Qing.
Li Qing's expression hardened. He dodged the attack with a clumsy roll.
At the same time, he swung his blade back at the monster's leg.
The strike combined the force-generating techniques of the Seven Star Blade with the power of his vital essence.
Red light flared along the blade, and the sound of it cutting into flesh rang out.