"Martial Brother, it was this brat! The Foundation Cultivation Pill you wanted was snatched away by him!" The menial disciple did not answer, instead pointing at Su Shi'er and immediately turning to the Sword-Bearing Youth.
"Brat, you're pretty arrogant! You even dared to snatch the Medicinal Pills I reserved?" The Sword-Bearing Youth glared down at Su Shi'er with an overbearing air.
In his eyes, this was merely a first-level Qi Refiner in the Qi Refining Stage, and a newcomer who had joined the sect less than half a year ago.
He did not believe the person before him could possibly be his match.
He was not the only one; the menial disciple beside him thought the same.
"What do the Medicinal Pills you reserved have to do with me? I merely took what was rightfully mine!" Su Shi'er said coldly, remaining secretly vigilant.
The moment these two appeared, he knew this matter would not end peacefully today.
Fortunately, although the Sword-Bearing Youth's spiritual power was not weak, it had not reached an unbeatable level.
Thinking of the gains from his training over this period, he felt that he was not without the strength to fight.
Besides, this was his own territory. If things truly went wrong, he had other methods.
"Rightfully yours? Brat, don't blame me for not warning you! If you know what's good for you, hand over the Medicinal Pills, then kneel and call me Grandfather three times. We'll write this matter off in one stroke." The Sword-Bearing Youth snorted, his face full of arrogance.
Before coming, he had already investigated clearly. The person before him was merely a nobody with Mixed Spiritual Roots, without anyone to rely on in the sect.
Otherwise, if it had been another disciple, even if he intended to make a move, he would not have acted so brazenly.
"You're courting death!"
At those words, Su Shi'er's blood rushed to his head, and his fury flared with a whoosh.
With an angry roar, he charged at the other party in a rage.
"Just what I wanted, brat. You fell for it!" One corner of the Sword-Bearing Youth's mouth curled up, revealing a wicked smile.
"Fire Control Technique! Go!"
The Sword-Bearing Youth remained perfectly composed as he raised his hand and launched a fireball.
It seemed that from the very beginning, he had intended to provoke Su Shi'er into anger.
In a battle, the greatest taboo was impatience and a restless heart.
The fireball came fast and viciously, shooting straight toward Su Shi'er.
For anyone else, at such close range, it would have been nearly impossible to evade.
But Su Shi'er had only just learned two techniques. Feeling the searing heat radiating from the fireball, his heart instantly calmed.
With a light tap of his toes against the ground, he leaped several meters to the side at the instant the fireball flew toward him.
As he evaded the fireball, his body surged forward with the momentum, and in the blink of an eye he reached the Sword-Bearing Youth. Power gathered in his palm as he slammed it fiercely toward him.
"What?!"
"A martial artist?"
The Sword-Bearing Youth and the menial disciple cried out at the same time, stunned by Su Shi'er's move.
"Wind Calling Technique! Go!"
Compared to the menial disciple, the Sword-Bearing Youth clearly possessed far greater combat experience.
At the critical moment, he swiftly retreated while forming hand seals with both hands. A powerful gale blew head-on toward Su Shi'er.
This wind was strange and urgent, several degrees more powerful than the Wind Calling Technique Su Shi'er could unleash at full strength.
As the gale swept over him, Su Shi'er's body tilted, and his attack naturally missed.
"Brat, you only learned a few lowly tricks, yet you dare make a fool of yourself before me. Today, I'll let you know what it means when one level of cultivation is one mountain apart!"
"Fire Control! Wind Calling!"
His hands formed seals again, and this time, three Fireballs appeared in his palms.
The instant the Fireballs left his hands, the Sword-Bearing Youth unleashed another Wind Calling Technique.
Bolstered by the fierce wind, the three Fireballs blazed fiercely and charged at Su Shi'er with the speed of thunder, too swift to cover one's ears.
Su Shi'er did not dare be careless. With Illusory Step beneath his feet, he swayed left and right in midair, barely evading the fireball assault.
At the same time, he was secretly alarmed. If he had not learned those two techniques beforehand, then facing this attack, he would likely have either died or suffered grievous injuries today.
"This person is only at the second level of the Qi Refining Stage, yet he's already this formidable?"
"But... after using so many techniques at once, can his True Yuan really hold up?"
While evading, Su Shi'er kept observing the Sword-Bearing Youth's condition.
Just as he had expected.
After activating so many techniques in one breath, the Sword-Bearing Youth was clearly showing signs of exhaustion.
"How is that possible? You actually evaded an attack like that?!" Panting heavily, the Sword-Bearing Youth wore an ugly expression as his body slowly retreated.
He appeared to be unable to win and preparing to flee.
At the side, the menial disciple's legs had gone weak with fright, and he groaned bitterly inside.
No way... Martial Brother Zhao Yu is at the second level of the Qi Refining Stage. He actually isn't this brat's match?
"Eight Extremes Mountain Collapse!"
Seizing the opportunity, Su Shi'er shouted in a low voice, pushing Shadowless Illusionary Steps to its utmost limit.
The veins all over his body bulged as he shot toward the Sword-Bearing Youth like a cannonball.
His fists clenched tight, and his opening move was the killing technique of the Eight Trigrams Eight Extremes Fist!
At the moment of extreme peril, the Sword-Bearing Youth suddenly smiled, looking as though his scheme had succeeded.
"Hmph! You dared to come close to me? You're dead for sure!"
As soon as the words left his mouth, the Sword-Bearing Youth suddenly gripped the longsword on his back. Having cultivated for many years, he was no rash fool.
His seemingly mindless squandering of True Yuan had been meant to make his opponent lower his guard.
"Clang!"
With a sharp ring, Su Shi'er saw a dazzling flash before his eyes. In an instant, the hairs on his back stood on end, and an intense sense of danger rose from the depths of his heart.
Fortunately, he had been prepared. The moment the white light flashed, he had already cast Wind Calling Technique upon himself.
His toes tapped lightly against the ground, and as the fierce wind blew, his body soared diagonally upward.
In the span between a rabbit's rise and a falcon's fall, he landed atop the nearby wall. The instant he touched down, he saw a streak of sword light slash across the ground, carving a long, narrow crack.
Su Shi'er's pupils shrank, and he secretly rejoiced at his own caution.
Had he not evaded in time, that attack would have left him either dead or with broken arms and legs.
After unleashing that sword strike, the Sword-Bearing Youth's face visibly turned several shades paler.
Holding a two-foot longsword, he stared at Su Shi'er. Though he appeared calm on the surface, his heart was filled with indescribable shock.
"How is this possible? What kind of method was that? He actually evaded my fatal strike?"
"Damn it! Is this brat really just a newcomer?"
He had used these methods to defeat many opponents, and even cultivators at the third level of the Qi Refining Stage had gained no advantage against him.
Yet today, he had actually suffered a setback at the hands of a little brat.
From atop the courtyard wall, Su Shi'er immediately saw that the longsword in the other party's hand was extraordinary, making him deeply wary.
But he knew well that his cultivation was inferior to his opponent's. The True Yuan within him could support at most three uses of techniques. If they competed in techniques, he had no chance of winning.
Gritting his teeth, he leaped down and closed in on his opponent again.
"Courting death!"
Relying on the Precious Sword in his hand, the Sword-Bearing Youth feared nothing. With True Yuan surging through it, another wave of sword qi burst forth.
But in the next moment, a fierce wind swept in. Su Shi'er rode the wind forward, suddenly accelerating and landing behind him.
"Bang!"
A fireball was slapped onto his back by Su Shi'er's palm.
The scorching heat directly burned his back, while the terrifying force sent him flying.
"Pfft!"
The moment he landed, the Sword-Bearing Youth spat out blood. He looked grievously injured, and the sword in his hand fell to the side.
Su Shi'er was quick-eyed and quick-handed, snatching up the Precious Sword. The moment it entered his grasp, he felt even more keenly how extraordinary it was.
But he had no time to think further. A cold light flashed in his eyes as he raised the sword and thrust it toward his opponent.
Though he had never killed anyone, half a year of battling all kinds of ferocious beasts and demon beasts had long honed a savage ferocity in him.
His opponent had shown no mercy when attacking, so he had no need to show mercy either.
As the sword light came streaking toward him, the Sword-Bearing Youth's pupils constricted, and his eyes nearly split apart.
"Brat, sooner or later, I'll settle this score with you!"
As he spoke, the Sword-Bearing Youth gritted his teeth. An earthen-yellow talisman appeared in his hand—it was a Level One Escape Light Talisman.
As True Yuan flowed into it, an earthen-yellow glow enveloped him.
Before Su Shi'er could react, the earthen-yellow light flashed, and the Sword-Bearing Youth had vanished without a trace.
Before you continue