Testing

Outside the inn, Lu Li paused slightly and turned toward the sound.

He saw a refined middle-aged man in his forties, dressed in a blue robe, step forward and cup his hands in greeting.

"Little brother, you look unfamiliar and seem to have come from outside the city. Have you seen these two men?"

With that, the refined man produced two portraits. The facial features in them were clear and distinctive. One depicted a vicious-looking man with a mole at the corner of his eye, while the other had earlobes hanging to his shoulders and curled hair resembling Maitreya's.

Hm?

Lu Li's gaze shifted. Looking at the two portraits, memories surfaced. There really had been information on this pair in the game.

The Myriad Life Sect's Flow-Ring Blade and Red Ghost Buddha.

The Myriad Life Sect was a notoriously vile force in the martial world, despised by all.

The gang had only around a hundred members, and every one of them looked unlike ordinary people. They were either dwarves, covered in facial sores, small-eyed and hare-lipped, or otherwise grotesque and ugly.

Most of them survived through fraud, deception, and swindling, drifting through all parts of the Jing Dynasty's martial world.

Because of their physical defects, most Myriad Life Sect members were mediocre martial artists. They could only barely be considered a third-rate force.

However, the Myriad Life Sect's sect master had some connection to the Merging Cavern, which had secretly driven the fall of Cloud Province City.

Lu Li's gaze lingered on the portraits briefly before falling upon the man and those behind him.

Two people stood behind the refined man. One was a tall, burly fellow with a rugged face; the other was a black-clad swordsman wearing a conical hat, a saber hanging at his waist.

Lu Li did not know their motives, but he did know something about the Myriad Life Sect.

The Myriad Life Sect's deeds were brutally inhuman. Every member was evil, engaging in the harvesting and mutilation of living people. In the game, he had killed them on sight as well.

"No."

Lu Li remained wary. He glanced at the refined man, then headed toward the inn.

Yet in the eyes of the three men, his actions seemed highly suspicious.

"Hey, Uncle Tong, why waste words with him? Take him down first. If it turns out to be a misunderstanding, we can apologize afterward!"

The black-clad swordsman moved. In a single step, he crossed several yards. His saber remained sheathed as he swung the entire scabbard at Lu Li.

Hm?!

With the Weapon Lord divine ability empowering him, Lu Li could sense the movements and condition of weapons.

The black-clad swordsman's aura was exposed—he was at least at the Three Meridians level. The saber in his hand was no fine weapon, merely an ordinary iron blade, while its outer scabbard was solid wood. As it swept over, the wind howled!

If that strike landed, a mild concussion would be unavoidable.

Lu Li's eyes turned cold. Though he had opened only one meridian, his vigorous blood and qi, demonic passive abilities, and martial internal energy had already transformed his strength.

He held Liu Yueling in one arm. With the other, he circulated Intransigent Qi into his palm, twisted at the waist, spun around, spread his five fingers, and slapped the side of the scabbard.

The swordsman had not used his full strength, as the strike had been intended as a test. But when he felt the tremendous force coming from the scabbard, his expression changed abruptly.

It felt as though his scabbard had struck a speeding carriage. Powerful force surged through it, numbing the web between his thumb and forefinger.

The saber was sent flying. Lu Li's palm continued onward, his five fingers dropping as they reached for the black-clad swordsman's face.

The black-clad swordsman clenched his teeth, his pupils shrinking slightly. He hastily raised both arms to block and used the force to retreat several yards.

Lu Li did not pursue. Holding Liu Yueling in one arm, he stood still and glanced toward the inn entrance from the corner of his eye.

Once he entered Lixi Inn, these three would not be able to do anything to him.

But that was only a delaying measure. If they learned that he had information about the Myriad Life Sect, they would surely cling to him like wild dogs.

As his thoughts turned, Lu Li saw the black-clad swordsman's body tremble faintly. The man's arms had visibly swollen.

After stepping into Meridian Opening, Lu Li's strength had greatly increased. Empowered by Intransigent Qi, that blow had been like a massive hammer strike. The black-clad swordsman's heart shook, and his expression shifted.

That brief test had already given him minor fractures in both arms. His muscles were swollen, and the pain burned fiercely.

"Damn it!"

The black-clad swordsman gritted his teeth and lunged forward again, drawing the saber at his waist. Having suffered a loss, he wanted to recover his dignity.

Lu Li neither dodged nor retreated, instead meeting him head-on. He circulated Poison Blood Hand, a faint poisonous glow spreading over the fingers of his right hand. With Intransigent Qi reinforcing it, he reached for the saber.

"Catching my blade with your bare hand?"

The black-clad swordsman hesitated at once. He had only meant to test Lu Li and had no intention of taking his life for the moment, but if Lu Li caught the blade barehanded, a slight mistake could cost a life.

Clang!

As the black-clad swordsman hesitated, Lu Li caught the saber with his bare hand, and the sound of metal striking metal rang out.

What?!

The refined man and the burly fellow watching from behind widened their eyes in shock.

The instant he caught the saber, Lu Li activated Weapon Lord before the other man could pull the blade free.

Weapon Lord could extract a weapon's durability and enhance its wielder.

In the demonic version, some weapons had been forged from demonic materials and could not be extracted. But in this version, unless it was a master-bound divine weapon listed on the Divine Weapon Ranking, any weapon could be extracted by Weapon Lord.

The black-clad swordsman was also shocked. A body-tempering art—catching a blade barehanded!

In the martial world, body-tempering arts were widely acknowledged as difficult to practice. They demanded great talent and temperament, but once mastered, their combat strength far surpassed others at the same level. Moreover, when paired with any martial art, the result was more than the sum of its parts.

At the same time, what shocked them even more was not that.

The instant Weapon Lord activated, Lu Li felt a cold current pass from the blade through his palm and into his body.

So that's how it is... The weapon durability extracted can be converted into Intransigent Qi, and it even increases its quality.

Lu Li's heart stirred. At the same time, all durability within the saber was extracted. He circulated Poison Blood Hand again, and his five fingers became like iron claws crushing porcelain.

Crack!

Cracks spread across the blade, splitting it apart before it broke into several pieces.

Breaking a blade barehanded!

The black-clad swordsman was horrified.

The weapon in his hand was no treasured blade, but it had still been forged from refined iron. It might not slice through iron like mud, but it could barely cut steel.

Yet it had now been ripped apart with ease?!

If those claws landed on his body, would they not tear out his bones together with his tendons?

Shock flashed through the refined man's and burly fellow's eyes as well. They felt that Lu Li's martial arts far surpassed their own.

Lu Li calmly withdrew his hand, glanced at them, and spoke in an indifferent voice carrying a chill.

"I haven't seen the people you're looking for. But if you insist on pestering me, once I settle this little girl, I'll gladly keep you company!"

After he spoke, the black-clad swordsman and the others froze. Lu Li stepped into the inn.

If he did not leave now, he truly feared the three of them teaming up against him.

Though he possessed demonic martial arts, his cultivation realm was still low. The three men from earlier had clearly possessed at least the cultivation of Three Meridians. If he fought them alone, he would likely be outmatched.

But that was only temporary.

Once he refined the blood and qi in his body, he would naturally have nothing to fear.

Inside Lixi Inn, quite a few drinkers had witnessed the scene outside. The looks they gave Lu Li had all turned to reverence.

"Kid Qiao, breaking a blade barehanded requires at least a Meridian Opening fourth-stage expert. That man definitely isn't a kidnapper. You were too impulsive just now."

The burly fellow walked over, staring at the broken blade fragments on the ground and clicking his tongue in amazement.

He handed over a bottle of medicinal ointment for external injuries. Looking at the black-clad swordsman's swollen arms, he suddenly felt fortunate.

Body-tempering experts were not merely outstanding in defense. Those who truly mastered such arts were, without exception, immensely strong. Ordinary people could not withstand even one blow from them.

Though he was sturdy, thick-skinned, and tough, he had no desire to casually test the strength of a body-tempering expert.