Counterkill?

After leaving the Servant Peak disciples' quarters, Chen Huai'an discovered there was only one person following him. His chances of success had risen considerably.

What he needed to consider now was how to make his move.

After two days of cultivation, his strength had improved, but he was not quite sure exactly how much stronger he had become.

On Servant Peak, Chen Huai'an had seen Body Tempering disciples fight. A newly inducted servant disciple who had been robbed refused to accept it and was sent flying by a single slap, coughing up blood. The strength that person displayed was countless times greater than that of martial artists in the mortal world.

He could not take this risk. If he miscalculated, he would be left without even bones to bury.

What happened to the Su Family in Huai Tree Village had been an accident, but this time was different.

After descending the mountain, Chen Huai'an searched for an opportunity to strike.

Wang Tong was doing the same.

The disciples of Servant Peak were registered with the Qingyun Sect. If a disciple went missing or died, the sect would conduct a thorough investigation. This had to be done without anyone knowing, like spirits and ghosts.

The two of them could be said to be harboring their own sinister schemes.

"Where is this kid going? Could he be looking for that Spirit Spring?" Wang Tong, following behind Chen Huai'an, saw him heading toward the dense forest at the foot of the mountain. He rubbed his hands together, his face full of excitement.

Originally, he had planned to use threats and temptation to force Chen Huai'an to lead him to the Spirit Spring's location. But now there was no need at all. He only had to stay close behind him.

After entering the forest, Chen Huai'an began looking for favorable terrain. He had made two preparations: if he could win, he would fight; if he could not, he would run. Once he returned to Servant Peak, the sect would protect him and would not stand by while someone beat him to death.

But if the opportunity arose, he would definitely finish the other man off.

Chen Huai'an had another purpose for entering the forest: to look for medicinal herbs. Those could also assist cultivation.

"What is this guy doing? Isn't he looking for the Spirit Spring? Why is he just wandering around here?" Wang Tong nearly lost track of Chen Huai'an several times from behind and could not make sense of his actions.

"This is Solomon's seal." Chen Huai'an discovered a stalk of Solomon's seal, and his face lit up with delight.

Just as Chen Huai'an found that stalk of Solomon's seal, Wang Tong could no longer hold himself back and jumped out from the shadows.

"Who are you? What do you want?" Chen Huai'an looked at him coldly, his face filled with vigilance.

"What do I want? Tell me where the Spirit Spring Water is, and I can spare you today." Wang Tong stared at Chen Huai'an coldly.

As for the stalk of Solomon's seal Chen Huai'an had picked, he did not even spare it a glance.

Solomon's seal was a medicinal herb, but only plants that had grown for several decades were useful. A few-year-old stalk was of no use at all for their cultivation, though it could probably fetch a few taels of silver in the mortal world.

Chen Huai'an had not expected the other man to be so direct. The moment they met, he asked about the Spirit Spring Water.

The Spirit Spring Water was inside his Purple-Skinned Gourd Space. Not only was he unwilling to tell the other man, even if he did, no one would believe him.

"Senior Brother, what are you talking about? I don't know what Spirit Spring location you mean." Chen Huai'an played dumb while fully aware.

"You brat, you're not being honest. Are you forcing me to make a move?" Wang Tong sneered. He had to show this fellow a little color.

Wang Tong walked toward Chen Huai'an step by step.

Chen Huai'an was equally wary. His fists were clenched tight, and in his palm was a protruding stone he had found along the way as a weapon for retaliation.

"Kid, I'll give you one last chance. Are you going to talk or not?" Wang Tong had entered the sect before Chen Huai'an. He did not take a newly inducted disciple like Chen Huai'an seriously at all.

Before making his move, he had asked around. This fellow did not have good aptitude—he was just trash with a Five Elements Mixed Spiritual Root. Wang Tong did not even know how someone like that had managed to enter the Qingyun Sect.

He could crush such trash to death with one hand.

After cultivating on the Qingyun Sect's Servant Peak for more than a year, he had opened six primary meridians, eight collateral meridians, and dozens of smaller channels. His physical body had become absurdly powerful.

"I'll talk, I'll talk. If I tell you, will you let me go?" Seeing the other man approach, Chen Huai'an put on an extremely frightened expression.

"Just telling me won't be enough. You have to take me there." Wang Tong had not expected Chen Huai'an to be so sensible.

"That place is dangerous. I don't dare go near it either, so I'd better just tell you. I have a map. I'll give it to you. I hope you'll let me go and stop coming to cause me trouble." As Chen Huai'an spoke, he reached into his clothes as though retrieving something.

Wang Tong, meanwhile, quickened his pace toward Chen Huai'an.

When Wang Tong was two meters away from Chen Huai'an, Chen Huai'an suddenly sprang into action. The sharp stone in his hand smashed straight at Wang Tong's face.

Wang Tong reacted quickly, raising his hand to block before kicking Chen Huai'an in the abdomen.

"Ah! Kid, you actually dared to hurt me! I'll kill you today!" Blood ran from Wang Tong's forehead. If he had not blocked it, Chen Huai'an's stone would have killed him.

Wang Tong was injured, but Chen Huai'an did not fare well either. The other man's kick landed squarely in his abdomen. He bent his body to disperse some of the force, but a violent power still churned his belly like a river overturning the sea.

One had a bleeding forehead, while the other had fallen into the bushes. Anyone with eyes could see that Wang Tong had suffered a major loss at Chen Huai'an's hands.

Wang Tong endured the pain and lunged at Chen Huai'an. Chen Huai'an neither dodged nor retreated, calm to a frightening degree. He knew that things had reached the point where either Wang Tong died or he did.

After that exchange, he knew Wang Tong was not invincible.

Even Chen Huai'an had not expected that after only two days of cultivation, he had improved so much.

The other man had cultivated for over a year, while he had cultivated for only a few days.

Time. He needed time—enough time to grow rapidly.

Wang Tong's eyes were venomous. He had been careless, which was why he had fallen for this fellow's trick. He reached toward his leg, where he kept a dagger on him.

"Die!" The moment Wang Tong moved, Chen Huai'an saw that he wanted to draw a weapon. He shouted furiously, kicked at the other man's abdomen, and continued smashing the stone in his hand toward his forehead.

Wang Tong had no choice but to switch moves and block. His fist slammed into Chen Huai'an's chest, while he leaned his head forward and pulled his abdomen back to avoid Chen Huai'an's kick.

Wang Tong had truly underestimated Chen Huai'an. This fellow was simply insane, fighting as if he did not value his life, trading injury for injury. Another stone smashed into Wang Tong's forehead.

After taking a second heavy blow, Wang Tong's head spun. He had not managed to draw the dagger from his leg before Chen Huai'an smashed another stone toward his forehead.

At this moment, Wang Tong's face was dyed crimson with blood, making him look like a vicious ghost. His counterattacks had lost all form and were nothing more than wild blocks.

Chen Huai'an, however, fixed on his head and struck it relentlessly.

Though Wang Tong's counterattacks were utterly unstructured, his strength was still there. Every counterattack he landed injured Chen Huai'an.

But this battle was one where either one died or the other did.

Chen Huai'an coughed up blood, gritting his teeth and holding on purely through sheer vicious resolve.

"You want me dead? Then I'll beat you to death first!" Wang Tong collapsed from exhaustion. Chen Huai'an threw himself on top of him and continued raining down blows.

Only when Chen Huai'an was completely exhausted did he collapse onto the ground, gasping for breath.

Wang Tong, not far away, had already been smashed beyond recognition, dead beyond all doubt.

"I killed someone. I actually killed someone." Once Chen Huai'an caught his breath, he felt somewhat afraid, but also somewhat excited.

"I need to destroy the corpse and erase the traces. I can't let anyone know I killed this guy." After a brief spell of fear and panic, Chen Huai'an began thinking about how to dispose of the body without leaving a trace.

He considered burning the corpse or digging a hole to bury it, but quickly rejected both ideas.

A skilled constable could infer many things from the slightest traces at a scene, let alone now, when he was exhausted and injured. Whether setting a fire or burying the body, he could not do either.

"My Gourd Space is large enough. If I could put the corpse in there first, then slowly think of a way to deal with it, that would be ideal." Chen Huai'an looked at Wang Tong's body and could not help frowning.

Destroying the corpse and erasing the traces was a headache.