The Heavenly King Rebels

"Enemy attack!"

With a loud shout, the convoy stopped, and Lin Qing and the other two dismounted upon hearing the noise.

"Sir, a scout reports that the Heavenly King Army is driving and slaughtering refugees ahead. If we continue forward, we will encounter them within a quarter of an hour." A soldier rode up and reported loudly.

"The Heavenly King Army?" Lin Qing asked, puzzled.

"The Heavenly King Army is the largest rebel army in Shu Province. Its leader is named Shi Tiankai, who calls himself the Heavenly Stone Heavenly King. He was originally the chief of the Tiandang Mountain stronghold. Last year, he ordered dozens of mountain bandit groups in Shu Region to revolt, claiming to be the Righteous Gathering of Tiandang and the New Era. In reality, he is extremely brutal. Wherever he goes, he burns, kills, and plunders, committing all kinds of evil." The soldier shouted.

"Does Mr. Wei have any suggestions? Should we take a detour?" Lin Qing asked, turning his head.

He was unfamiliar with the roads in Shu Region, and had no idea of the strength of the Heavenly King Army, so it was obviously more suitable for Wei Hai to make the decision.

"There are no other roads leading to Shuzhou City nearby. If we take a detour, it will take three to five more days, and we might encounter other rebel armies along the way. I think we should continue forward. As long as we don't run into Shi Tiankai, I'm confident I can solve the problem for everyone else," Wei Hai said slowly.

"Alright, tell Commander Cao to continue forward. If any bandits block the road, kill them on sight!" Lin Qing said.

"Yes."

The soldiers rode away quickly, and soon the convoy started moving again.

Considering that a battle could break out at any time, Wei Hai chose to ride a horse instead of returning to the carriage.

Wei Dong, feeling too stuffy inside the carriage, also chose to ride a horse.

Thus, Lin Qing was given time to be alone. With a thought, a large number of martial arts techniques from Wan Ying appeared before him.

"Glinting Light Saber, Infernal Poison Blade, Poison Bone by Nature, Bloodied Frenzy Blade, Void-Treading Step-- "

Lin Qing glanced around and saw three Fourth Tier Combat Arts, one Saber Art called Bloodied Frenzy Blade, one hidden weapon technique called Glinting Light Saber, and one Lightness Skill called Void-Treading Step.

After a moment's thought, Lin Qing decided to inherit the Void-Treading Step.

He possesses the Unity Heaven Art and has tens of thousands of types of power to inherit, so training methods are no longer his first choice. As for Talent skills, apart from martial Talent, other types provide him with negligible help.

In terms of Combat Arts, Lin Qing prioritizes Lightness Skill, followed by Hardening Art, and lastly, Saber Art.

His priority is survival. He possesses the Rebirth Record, and as long as he doesn't die, he will eventually become a top expert. Moreover, his excellent Lightness Skill allows him to escape in time from enemies he can't defeat.

"Inherit the Void-Treading Step!"

In an instant, a flood of information rushed into Lin Qing's mind, and a massive amount of detailed techniques were poured into his body.

In less than a quarter of an hour, he had completely mastered this light-body Lightness Skill.

Compared to the Thousand Miles Without a Trace, the Void-Treading Step emphasizes leaping, allowing for brief suspension in the air and sudden changes of direction during a rapid forward dash, making it ideal for close combat and escape.

At that moment, he suddenly heard the sound of galloping hooves outside, and then the caravan stopped again, with someone shouting outside.

"Bandits are attacking! Prepare to fire arrows!"

Lin Qing got out of the carriage again, mounted a chestnut horse beside him, and followed Wei Hai quickly to the front of the convoy.

His gaze swept across the open field ahead, where a large number of ragged people were fleeing. Many of them were emaciated, pale and weak, and could not run for long before collapsing to the ground and being trampled to death by those behind them. The scene was chaotic and bloody.

Behind these thousands of refugees, hundreds of people with red headscarves were riding horses, each carrying a longbow and shooting as they went. Those who fell behind the crowd were immediately shot to death.

The scene resembled a shepherding of sheep, and the bandits seemed to think there was nothing wrong with what they were doing. While they were indiscriminately slaughtering, they would occasionally burst into joyful laughter.

"A bunch of beasts! Bah!" Wei Dong was furious at the sight and spat on the ground.

Commander Cao could no longer contain himself and immediately ordered a group of soldiers to ride horses straight into the chaotic army.

Soon the two groups clashed and engaged in fierce fighting, making the situation even more chaotic.

Commander Cao clashed with a bald, burly man wielding two hammers. The clash of sword and hammers sent shockwaves flying, and the battle was extremely fierce.

This man was the leader of the rebel army, and the two fought fiercely for more than ten rounds.

"Die!"

Suddenly, the burly man roared and slammed his hammer down, knocking the knife out of Commander Cao's hand. The second hammer slammed down, and Commander Cao was unable to dodge in time, being hit on the shoulder and flying more than ten steps backward before crashing to the ground.

"Haha, you corrupt officials, how hard is your Grandpa Shi's hammer?" The big man laughed loudly.

Suddenly, he sensed something and turned around sharply, only to see a figure rushing towards him at breakneck speed, covering a hundred paces in the blink of an eye.

"Not good!"

He was about to raise his hammer to block, but he was a beat too slow. A flash of curved blade light passed by, and the big man's head fell to the ground, blood gushing into the sky.

Lin Qing landed and sheathed his sword, his face cold and stern, exuding a chilling aura.

Commander Shi is dead!

"Run!"

In an instant, the other bandits were thrown into great panic and scattered in all directions, only to be gradually killed by arrows.

In a short while, the bandits were killed, the refugees were all gone, and the chaos was quelled.

Lin Qing reached out and placed his hand on Shi Tiankai's corpse in front of him. Flaming Gang Qi surged and quickly burned it to ashes.

Commander Cao, having rallied his troops, approached, one hand on his shoulder, his eyes filled with admiration.

"Lord Lin's Lightness Skill is truly remarkable, I admire it!"

Just now, Lin Qing was too fast, so fast that he couldn't even see Lin Qing's movement trajectory. He only saw a black shadow flash by, and the battle was over.

Lin Qing nodded slightly, quickly reviewing the battle in his mind.

His swift victory was indeed largely due to his superior Lightness Skill, especially after the Void-Treading Step was added to his Equipment Slot. This further enhanced his Lightness Skill, allowing him to reach his target almost instantly, leaving the enemy no time to react before being killed with a single strike.

"Commander Cao, what about your injury—?" Lin Qing asked again.

"It's nothing serious. I have Body-Hardening Art skills to protect me, and I'm wearing inner armor, so the injury isn't severe," Commander Cao said.

"Alright, we'll rest for a bit before setting off," Lin Qing said.

A moment later, everyone returned to the convoy.

Commander Cao rallied his soldiers and ordered them to rest on the spot, while the thousands of refugees scattered and fled.

Commander Cao ignored it, and the others were helpless.

Lin Qing immediately absorbed the soul of the bald, burly man, and numerous images flashed through his mind.

"Shi Yi, the younger brother of Shi Tiankai, the leader of the Heavenly King Army, was originally the commander of the bandit stronghold in Tiandang Mountain. He was brutal and ruthless, and killed without hesitation."

As the image faded, Lin Qing had roughly seen the man's life; he was utterly wicked and deserved to die.

Next came a list of martial arts techniques, which Lin Qing quickly flipped through from top to bottom.

This person is True Essence Realm Martial Artist with two fourth-grade Combat Arts. One is called the Heaven-Shaking Earth-Sundering Hammer, and the other is Hardening Art called the Water-Fire Primal Unity Body.

Lin Qing naturally didn't need the hammer technique, so he chose this external Body-Hardening Art without hesitation.

In an instant, a wealth of information flooded his mind, all of which were detailed techniques related to this type of Body-Hardening Art.

" To Water-Fire Primal Unity Body, one must undergo Fourth Tier of Hardening Art. Each day, one must soak in frigid water for half an hour, then apply vermilion Vermilion Cinnabar from top to bottom, using its fiery essence to refine the skin. This alternating water and fire training, day after day, requires nine years of arduous practice to Minor Mastery."

A moment later, Lin Qing opened his eyes and had already received all the information.

"Indeed, every Body-Hardening Art requires enduring a great deal of pain and consuming a great deal of time and energy; its demands on physical strength and physique far outweigh its demands on comprehension."

"This Water-Fire Primordial Unity Art can only be learned after one has reached the True Essence Realm."

"However, my physique far surpasses that of ordinary True Essence Realm Martial Artist, so there's no need for me to worry."

As Lin Qing pondered, his skin and flesh began to transform rapidly. In an instant, his blood and energy surged and were consumed in large quantities, causing a faint pain to emanate from his entire body.