First Kill: Da Dou Shi

That night, Qin Yu left the city and lay in ambush along the only route Jia Lie Nu had to take to reach that city.

After arriving, Qin Yu cultivated instead of resting, quietly waiting for Jia Lie Nu to appear.

The next day, near noon, a carriage came hurrying from the direction of Wutan City.

"Two-Star Da Dou Shi. That should be him."

The sound of wheels rolling over the road roused Qin Yu from his cultivation. He looked down at the carriage rushing past below.

Inside the carriage, Jia Lie Nu propped up his head, swaying as though he were about to fall asleep.

"Haaah~"

"That damned bastard. The Jia Lie Household only had minor grudges with him. Was there really any need to be so ruthless?"

Jia Lie Nu had nearly worked himself mad these past few days. Today, he even had to make a personal trip to invite a One-Grade Alchemist to help the household weather this crisis.

"Still, to kill three High-Rank Battle Masters in such quick succession, he must at least possess strength comparable to mine."

All of a sudden, Jia Lie Nu felt an overwhelming aura close in around the carriage.

Before he could think further, he hurriedly jumped out of the carriage to evade it.

Boom!

Following a deafening crash, the carriage and driver were thrust upward, then crushed to pieces by the ground that had bulged and converged beneath them.

Jia Lie Nu immediately drew his spear, its tip aimed at the young figure ahead. The fury on his face slowly turned grave.

"Sir... aren't you going too far?!"

Judging by the destructive power of this Dou Technique, Jia Lie Nu estimated that it was at least a Mystic Tier High-Rank technique.

Could this man really be Qin Yu, the one who had returned from Jia Nan Academy and had only been a One-Star Dou Practitioner a year ago?

"My Jia Lie Household's three High-Rank Battle Masters were all killed in a single day. Isn't that enough?"

He truly could not understand it. After killing three High-Rank Battle Masters, Qin Yu still refused to stop. He had even dared to ambush him here, a Two-Star Da Dou Shi.

He was determined to wipe out their Jia Lie Household!

Qin Yu did not answer. He stepped forward with his right foot, causing the ground beneath him to sink slightly, then shot toward Jia Lie Nu like an arrow loosed from a bow.

Since the other party had no intention of talking, Jia Lie Nu stopped wasting words. He spun the spear shaft in his hand and thrust toward Qin Yu.

Qin Yu shifted sideways, his right fist wrapped in earth-brown Dou Qi as he slammed it toward Jia Lie Nu's face.

Jia Lie Nu snorted coldly, drawing back his spear and holding it horizontally before him.

The fist struck the spear shaft with a dull metallic clang.

Jia Lie Nu felt a tremendous force travel through the shaft. His palm went slightly numb, and his feet slid half a step backward.

This brat's fist is unbelievably heavy.

Qin Yu did not pause after the first strike. His left fist followed immediately.

Jia Lie Nu blocked again and retreated another half-step.

A third punch, a fourth punch, a fifth punch...

Qin Yu's assault came in endless waves. Every fist carried vigorous Earth-Attribute Dou Qi, and every blow made Jia Lie Nu's palm grow a little more numb.

The longer Jia Lie Nu fought, the more something felt wrong. How could this fellow's strength show no sign of weakening after fighting for so long?

Nearly half of his own Dou Qi had been consumed, yet Qin Yu's breathing remained steady and deep. The Dou Qi wrapped around his fists was even more powerful than it had been at the start.

"There's something wrong with this brat!"

Alarm bells rang in Jia Lie Nu's heart. He drove his spear shaft fiercely into the ground and used the force to leap several yards backward, opening up the distance.

First Soul Skill, Blue Silver Pole Vault?

The instant his feet touched the ground, Jia Lie Nu took a deep breath and poured his Dou Qi into his spear. With the tip slanting toward the earth, he traced several arcs across the ground.

Mystic Tier Low-Rank Dou Technique, Wave Overlap.

This was Jia Lie Nu's trump card. During all his years in Wutan City, very few people had forced him to use this move.

Qin Yu stood where he was, watching the pale blue halo on the ground continuously expand. He raised his right foot and stomped down hard.

The ground beneath him trembled violently, and a visible yellow-brown ripple spread outward from him in every direction.

At the same time, he clapped his hands together before his chest and interlocked his fingers.

Clap.

The next moment, the earth began to quake violently. The ground beneath Qin Yu seemed to be lifted from below by an invisible giant hand.

Brown light erupted from cracks in the ground. The entire earth rolled and surged like ocean waves, bulging upward before crushing forward.

Earth Dragon Overturning.

Jia Lie Nu's Wave Overlap also flew from his grasp at that moment. The pale blue halo transformed into layer upon layer of waves and surged toward Qin Yu.

The two forces collided with a thunderous crash. Jia Lie Nu gripped his spear shaft tightly, his gaze fixed on the dust-shrouded center.

Wave Overlap was his strongest Dou Technique. Even a Two-Star Da Dou Shi of the same rank would not come away unscathed from taking it head-on.

The dust gradually dispersed.

Qin Yu stood in place without moving an inch. The layer of light still circulated around his body, even thicker than before.

"That's impossible!"

The instant Jia Lie Nu spoke, Qin Yu crossed several yards in a flash and appeared before him. The three layers of force from the Qilin Fist stacked together as they blasted toward his chest.

He had no time to dodge. He could only push his Dou Qi to the limit and condense the Dou Qi Armor unique to a Da Dou Shi over his chest.

Bang!

A dull impact rang out, like a hammer smashing against a stone slab.

The Dou Qi Armor on Jia Lie Nu's chest cracked instantly. Cracks spread from the edges of the fist mark in every direction, dense as a spiderweb.

"It worked!"

Though it did not feel good, he had ultimately blocked Qin Yu's punch.

But the next second, Jia Lie Nu's body flew backward like a kite with its string cut, his back slamming hard into a large tree.

The trunk let out a groan of unbearable strain and snapped in half at the point of impact.

Jia Lie Nu's momentum did not lessen. He rolled across the ground several more times before finally coming to a stop.

"Hidden... hidden force?"

Jia Lie Nu forced himself to raise his head, wanting to see Qin Yu's position clearly. But the moment he looked up, a fist was already before him.

Qin Yu's right fist swung in from the side, its knuckles aimed straight at Jia Lie Nu's temple.

However, because Jia Lie Nu had raised his head, the punch missed his temple and landed squarely on his left cheek instead.

The left side of Jia Lie Nu's face instantly caved in. Several teeth flew from his mouth along with blood and spittle.

His body was sent flying again like a discarded rag, tracing an arc through the air before crashing heavily onto the ground.

Jia Lie Nu lay prone on the ground, bracing himself with both hands as he tried to rise.

But his arms trembled violently. Halfway up, they gave out, and he collapsed facedown once more.

"Ugh... ah..."

He opened his mouth, wanting to say something—whether to negotiate or beg for mercy—but his shattered cheekbone prevented him from uttering a complete sentence.

His lips moved for a long while, yet only a few muffled syllables escaped. Mixed with blood and saliva, they dribbled from the corner of his mouth.

The next second, Qin Yu's fist came down.

"Hah... I won't wait until you people actually do something before dealing with you."

Only after removing the Storage Ring from Jia Lie Nu's hand did Qin Yu turn and leave.

Before leaving, Qin Yu threw a few more punches at his head, ensuring that Jia Lie Nu was truly dead.

Oh, right. There was also the driver. Qin Yu specifically went over to take a look and gave him a few more punches.