Just Learned

Two streams of inner qi?

Xianyu Tu had traveled throughout Jing Prefecture and knew that the descendants of certain great Lineages and major powers were heaven's chosen. Most cultivated a single powerful and extraordinary stream of inner qi; there were also geniuses who cultivated two or three streams, and even peerless monsters capable of cultivating more than six.

But all of them came from great Lineages and major powers.

For ordinary martial artists, bringing even one stream of inner qi to perfection was no easy task, much less cultivating two or even more at once.

Qingfeng County.

A tiny county beneath Baishui Commandery in Jing Prefecture, ranked near the bottom even among the hundreds of counties in Jing Prefecture.

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Such a genius had actually appeared here?

As Xianyu Tu's thoughts turned, a trace of burning desire gradually surfaced in the depths of his eyes.

Luck. This was truly heaven-sent luck.

He had thought obtaining Yan Qing, such fine material for refining a Human Elixir, was already a marvelous stroke of fortune. Who would have thought that a genius like Zhao Zhi would appear as well?

Since you are seeking death, do not blame this old man for being ruthless.

Xianyu Tu took a dark-red pill from his robes and was about to swallow it. A large hand seemed to appear from thin air, carrying fierce palm wind as it smashed toward his cheek.

Xianyu Tu's expression changed sharply. With no time to take the pill, he swiftly raised an arm to block.

Smack.

The palm struck solidly.

The Giant Gate Palm, driven by surging inner qi, seemed to contain the force of a thousand jun. It blasted Xianyu Tu seven or eight meters away, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth.

He forcefully steadied himself, trying to widen the distance.

Riiip.

A shrill sound of tearing air rang out. A constable's saber, gleaming with cold light, suddenly cleaved down with savage ferocity.

Xianyu Tu could only retreat another step, narrowly avoiding the strike.

Though he avoided the first slash, the second came down immediately afterward.

Zhao Zhi gripped his constable's saber tightly and unleashed the Wild Wind Saber Technique with unrestrained vigor. The bright silver saber light was like cold water pouring from a shattered silver flask, shrouding Xianyu Tu and forcing him back again and again.

Xianyu Tu narrowly evaded strike after strike. Anxiety gradually appeared on his gloom-filled face, while vicious resentment surfaced in his deep-set eyes.

Damn it.

He did not even have a moment to catch his breath.

He had no chance at all to swallow the pill.

After only a brief exchange, Xianyu Tu understood one thing: his strength and Zhao Zhi's were roughly evenly matched. If anything, he might even be weaker than Zhao Zhi.

Xianyu Tu had used the Little Netherworld Sword twice in actual combat to grievously wound Zhao Zhi, and the expenditure of inner qi had been considerable.

If he forcibly continued fighting Zhao Zhi, he would inevitably be the one to lose in the end.

Therefore, he needed to swallow the pill.

Yet Zhao Zhi had given him no such opportunity at all. Ignoring the codes of the martial world and the conventions of the world, Zhao Zhi forcibly prevented him from taking it.

I have to swallow it.

Xianyu Tu gritted his teeth viciously. His footwork halted as he forcefully circulated his inner qi at high speed, gathering the surging qi upon his sword fingers. His finger shot out like racing thunder, precisely and ingeniously striking Zhao Zhi's constable's saber.

Clang.

A crisp ring of metal striking metal sounded.

The standard-issue constable's saber in Zhao Zhi's hand snapped with a clang. The broken blade flew backward and embedded itself in a building behind them.

Seizing the chance, Xianyu Tu swiftly retreated a step. His face was pale, and his blood and qi were depleted.

He quickly pinched up the pill again and prepared to swallow it in one gulp.

Hiss.

A dim ray shot over at astonishing speed. Like a divine weapon, it slashed diagonally through Xianyu Tu's palm, pierced one of his ears, and gradually vanished into the distance.

Half a palm, along with the dark-red pill, fell to the ground. The pill rolled away with the momentum.

With half his hand gone, thick blood gushed desperately from Xianyu Tu's wound. In the blink of an eye, it had dyed his entire hand red, and even pooled into a puddle on the ground. Bright blood also gathered on his pierced ear, dripping from his earlobe in thin threads, drop by drop.

Excruciating pain struck, exploding through his entire body.

Yet Xianyu Tu did not cry out.

His eyes were wide, his expression filled with shock, astonishment, shock, and incomprehension. Those emotions completely suppressed the pain constantly erupting from his nerves.

"Little Netherworld Sword."

Xianyu Tu cried out, his wide eyes staring fixedly at Zhao Zhi.

"Why do you know the Little Netherworld Sword? Why?"

"Just learned it."

Zhao Zhi smiled softly. Before Xianyu Tu's astonished gaze, inner qi left his body and condensed into a dim Sword Qi that pierced through Xianyu Tu's brow, claiming his life.

The horror and unwillingness in Xianyu Tu's eyes gradually faded along with the light in his gaze. His body collapsed limply toward the ground.

[You successfully stopped a martial artist who was about to sink into pills. Merit +255.]

The Merit gained surpassed what he had received from Ma Zhuo. As expected of Ma Zhuo's master.

Zhao Zhi's face turned slightly pale as tearing pain surged through his meridians.

I should not have shown off.

The Little Netherworld Sword's power was astonishing, far beyond any Xiantian martial art, and its consumption of inner qi was terrifying.

Although Zhao Zhi cultivated the Innate Unity Qi Technique and the Iron Horse Grounding Stance, possessing two streams of inner qi and a foundation more robust than that of many martial artists, it was still like using a cup of water to douse a cartload of fire before a martial art like the Little Netherworld Sword, which surpassed Xiantian martial arts.

What was more.

Zhao Zhi had not merely used the Little Netherworld Sword. He had sent it flying out of his body.

Before a martial artist entered the Meridian Opening Realm, the meridians within their body were neither tough nor strong, but exceedingly frail. They could only withstand a certain amount of inner qi circulation. If one forcibly pushed a powerful force through the meridians and expelled it from the body, the burden upon the meridians would be immense.

The Little Netherworld Sword was precisely such a powerful, savage force.

That was also why Xianyu Tu had relied on his sword fingers rather than sending it out of his body when using the Little Netherworld Sword.

Xianyu Tu was dead. Ma Zhuo was dead as well. Together with Third Chief Li Muguang, Fourth Chief Ge Zhou, and Fifth Chief Wu Jiu, whom Zhao Zhi had killed earlier—

Nearly all of Flying Cloud Stronghold's upper ranks had died at Zhao Zhi's hands.

Now, one important person remained.

Flying Cloud Stronghold's Second Chief, Luo Yun.

Zhao Zhi looked around carefully, but he did not find any trace of Luo Yun.

Luo Yun, the Second Chief praised as Flying Cloud Stronghold's strategist despite his utterly ordinary appearance, had likely hidden himself away long ago. It seemed that completely eliminating this future threat would require some time.

For now.

He needed to deal with what lay before him.

With Flying Cloud Stronghold's upper ranks either dead or missing, the remaining bandits were no longer much of a force. If he killed them all, he might gain a considerable amount of Merit.

The thought paused in Zhao Zhi's mind for only half a breath before he swiftly cast it aside.

Merit was good.

He needed Merit.

But Zhao Zhi did not want to become someone who killed without end merely to obtain Merit.

The surviving bandits of Flying Cloud Stronghold could be left for others to handle.

Zhao Zhi's gaze fell upon the people of Profound Nether Platform. This group of martial artists, extraordinary in dress and bearing, and not weak in strength, should be capable of handling this matter well.

After taking pills and resting briefly, Yan Qing, who had been grievously wounded by Xianyu Tu, gradually regained a trace of color in her pale face. She glanced at Xianyu Tu's corpse and walked toward Zhao Zhi.