He Cut Down Two in Formation, His Life Hanging by a Thread

Late at night, Rubble Ward was silent. Every household had shut its doors, and every lamp had gone out.

Several men in black crept onto Chen Mu's roof and listened for quite a while before confirming that the front courtyard was empty.

"Damn it, where did that brat go?!"

"Could he have known the cat was out of the bag and fled the city ahead of time?"

Yan Rong tore off the black cloth covering his face, spat under his breath, then waved for the others to spread out and search the courtyard.

"Spread out and search. Find the Waterway Map first. Send two men into the inner courtyard."

At the order, the men immediately scattered in all directions, barging into the various rooms to rummage through them.

Yan Rong alone remained in the front courtyard without entering any room.

He came to the corner of the courtyard where Chen Mu usually trained and crouched beside the bluestone well to inspect it.

This fellow was an old hand of the martial world. With his formidable Body Tempering Fourth Tier cultivation, his eyesight was excellent and his five senses keen.

At a glance, he spotted the many footprint craters Chen Mu had left in the ground.

"With this kind of force, no wonder Ma San was the one who died..."

Yan Rong touched the mud inside one footprint, feeling the rammed earth that had been compacted as hard as stone. He put away some of his contempt.

Just as he silently assessed Chen Mu's strength, his gaze suddenly froze.

He saw the bluestone Chen Mu had cut apart while practicing his saber.

Under the dim moonlight, the cut gleamed with an eerie, frigid sheen, smooth as a mirror.

"Impossible! Could that brat have cultivated true qi?!"

Yan Rong was greatly alarmed, but he soon dismissed the absurd thought.

According to the intelligence, that brat was merely a butcher who had only just broken through to Hundred Blood and had yet to formally join the Azure Dragon Martial Academy.

Otherwise, the Red Whale Gang would not have dared touch him so easily.

After a brief thought, understanding dawned on Yan Rong.

That brat had likely cultivated some secret art, with an exceedingly powerful life-or-death killing move.

"Interesting."

The dark-faced man rose from where he stood, hefted his Ghost-Head Nine-Ring Saber onto his shoulder, and the ferocious gleam in his eyes surged.

He could hardly wait to catch Chen Mu.

Such exquisite martial arts were worth a fortune. It seemed this trip tonight would not be in vain.

Just then, a brief scream suddenly rang out from the inner courtyard.

Yan Rong's expression abruptly darkened. He recognized the voice as one of the helpers who had come with him.

"Can't stay hidden any longer? Perfect timing."

He gave a savage grin and strode toward the inner courtyard with murder in his steps.

In the inner courtyard, separated by only one wall, two corpses already lay at Chen Mu's feet.

The door to the main room had not been breached, and A-Ning had taken her medicine and was still sleeping soundly.

When Chen Mu returned, he happened to see those two men trying to sneak into the main room. Without a second thought, he sprang through the air and attacked, striking successfully in a single blow.

Both men were at the Body-Tempering First Stage.

Killing them gave Chen Mu a small amount of Blood Essence, enough to replenish the physical exhaustion from racing back.

Just as he was about to move the two corpses into a corner and hide them, hurried footsteps suddenly sounded at the courtyard gate.

"No need to hide them, brat. You killed men from my Red Whale Gang. You really have guts."

"Surround him! Watch the exits!"

Yan Rong stepped inside and suddenly raised an arm with a roar.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Three black-clad men leaped down from the wall, each holding a single saber as they blocked Chen Mu's retreat.

"Is that all of you?"

Chen Mu drew his saber and stood before A-Ning's door, his eyes swiftly searching for an opportunity.

Yan Rong laughed in anger. "What a boastful mouth. I wonder how much skill you truly have."

As he spoke, he strode forward, saber in hand, closing in.

Chen Mu's heart tightened as he roughly judged his opponent's strength.

The auras of those three men were all between the Body-Tempering First Stage and Body Tempering Second Layer. If he dealt with them carefully, Chen Mu was confident he could cut them down one by one.

But the aura of the man before him was as vast and heavy as a mountain. He was absolutely a great expert at Body Tempering Third Tier or above.

Such an expert possessed Bronze Skin and iron bones, immense strength, and a body capable of fighting a tiger barehanded.

Chen Mu no longer dared hold anything back and summoned the Slaughter Register in his mind.

"I can only gamble everything. Add points!"

Before Yan Rong could approach, he poured all 20 points of Karmic Slaughter he possessed into the internal cultivation method, "Rampaging Bull Force"!

[ Ding! Point allocation complete! Infusing martial cultivation! ]

[ Slaughter Register · Chen Mu (Common Bone) ]

[ Realm: Martial Master · Body Tempering Second Layer (Bronze Skin) ]

[ Martial Arts: Rampaging Bull Force · Beginner's Glimpse → Entering the Hall (200/1000) ]

[ Blood Essence: 1170 → 1450/2000 ]

[ Karmic Slaughter: 20 → 0 ]

In an instant, Chen Mu heard what seemed like the ringing of metal in his ears, while everything around him appeared to freeze.

Rampaging Bull Force forcibly broke through to Entering the Hall, generating surging Blood Essence that poured into his body!

The Mighty Bull Fist rose in tandem, memories of every move carving themselves into his bones and marrow.

In less than the blink of an eye, he entered Flesh Refinement Minor Achievement, and the muscles across his shoulders and back abruptly swelled.

Yet this forced breakthrough brought not only strength, but agonizing pain that seeped into his bones.

It was as though someone were using a saw blade to carve apart every tendon, bone, and strip of flesh in his body.

Chen Mu hunched over with a pained low growl. His dragon spine cracked section by section, and the Blood Essence throughout his body instantly boiled like a sea.

Yan Rong had only just stopped three paces away when he saw this drastic change, and his heart suddenly clenched.

"Brat, what did you do?"

His face grew grave as he shouted the question, secretly signaling the other three to guard the escape routes closely and prevent Chen Mu from breaking out.

There truly was something strange about this brat. He looked as though he had used some life-risking secret art, and his momentum had soared by thirty percent in the blink of an eye!

He could not be allowed to escape!

Chen Mu did not know what Yan Rong was thinking. His throat hurt so badly that his voice was hoarse as he gave a bitter laugh and growled,

"You ask too many questions. Go ask in the underworld!"

Chen Mu suddenly raised his eyes. Their depths were pitch-black, unfathomably deep.

With that furious roar, the muscles in his shoulders and arms violently bulged. He stepped forward in a charge, and cold light blossomed from his blade!

Chen Mu had actually struck first, launching a fearless killing assault!

Yan Rong immediately sneered. "Courting death! All of you, spread out and guard the gate!"

With a sharp shout, he forced his subordinates back, raised the nine-ring ghost-head saber in his hand, and hacked heavily down at Chen Mu.

Bang! The strike smashed straight onto Chen Mu's Goosefeather Saber like a massive hammer.

The terrifying shockwave immediately blasted Chen Mu several meters away. Only by bracing himself against the bluestone steps beneath the eaves did he steady himself.

Yan Rong pressed his advantage, his nine-ring saber howling as it chopped down again. He shouted,

"Brat! I advise you to surrender without resistance. You'll suffer less that way!"

Chen Mu swiftly kicked off the ground and flipped upright, killing intent flashing fiercely in his eyes.

After that single exchange, he had already seen that this man had more than enough strength, but his movements were rather slow.

Chen Mu made his decision at once. Using the momentum of his kick, he suddenly lowered his body and shot toward the left front, the saber light in his hand thrusting out with lightning speed.

He had actually risked abandoning the troublesome Yan Rong, changed targets, and suddenly attacked the man on the left.

That saber-wielding man never expected Chen Mu to be so arrogant as to attack him.

"Trying to run? You're courting death!"

He roared and raised his saber to block, but he had greatly underestimated Chen Mu's killing intent.

Having broken through twice in succession, Chen Mu's momentum was like a rainbow piercing the sky. As he unleashed the Hundred-Slash Saber Art, icy blade light layered upon itself like rolling waves.

In a single instant, Chen Mu slashed out seven or eight streaks of cold light.

The black-clad man was likewise at the Body Tempering Second Layer, yet he could not withstand Chen Mu's ferocity.

A series of clangs rang out, and the man's expression abruptly changed.

"Not good! Hall Master, save me!"

His soul nearly fled from his body. The moment one move failed him, Chen Mu's saber immediately struck his neck!

Splat! That fine head flew into the night sky, blood spraying everywhere.

Only then did Yan Rong turn around, his eyes instantly turning bloodshot.

His previous heavy slash had missed and smashed into the bluestone steps, blasting shattered rocks across the ground.

No more than two or three breaths had passed. He had only just drawn back his saber, yet Chen Mu had already beheaded one man!

[ Ding! Slain a Body-Tempering Martial Master. Seized Blood Essence: +120. Gained Karmic Slaughter: +5 ]

With that kill, surging Killing Intent immediately began to coil around Chen Mu's blade.

"Bold indeed! Attack him together! Take him down!"

Yan Rong was beside himself with rage. Amid his shouted orders, he charged in with his saber again, intending to seize Chen Mu in one stroke before he could regain his footing.

Chen Mu had focused only on fierce offense just now. It was already too late for him to retreat.

He could only twist aside and clash head-on with this vicious man!

Clang! Chen Mu's Goosefeather Saber nearly flew from his hand as he was sent flying diagonally away, smashing into the courtyard wall.

Before he could turn over and regain his feet, the remaining two men seized the chance to surround and attack him.

"Kill!"

Seeing blade light descend upon him, Chen Mu too became ruthless. He exposed the opening in his shoulders and back, lowered his head, bent low, and rammed forward with savage force!

He had actually abandoned his saber technique and used the elbow-strike killing move from the Mighty Bull Fist!

The change came too swiftly. The man directly before him was caught completely off guard, taking the elbow strike squarely in the chest!

Boom!!

A thunderous crash exploded through the courtyard!

The man flew backward and crashed toward Yan Rong, his breastbone caved in as blood gushed wildly from his mouth. He was clearly not going to live.

But Chen Mu's desperate strike had exposed too great an opening. The remaining Body Tempering Second Layer saber wielder had already gone red-eyed and swung his blade with an enraged roar.

"Brat! Hand over your life!"

He had actually forgotten the order to capture Chen Mu alive and slashed toward Chen Mu's neck!

Chen Mu's forward momentum had yet to stop. Suspended in midair, he had no way to dodge. His life hung by a thread!