Young Prodigy: Mu Yunzhou

Clang! Clang! Clang!

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Steel rang against steel in a rapid patter as the two exchanged blows.

But the gap in their cultivation, martial arts, and weapons soon gave Lin Chen the upper hand. The black-clad leader could only struggle to hold on.

Pfft!

After another head-on clash, the black-clad leader could take no more. He spat blood and staggered backward.

Lin Chen seized the chance to close in, pressing him step by step.

Just then, a vicious glint flashed in the black-clad leader's eyes. With a furtive flick of his left hand, he sent three tiny poisoned needles straight toward Lin Chen's face, chest, and abdomen.

The timing was treacherous, the attack vicious beyond measure!

But Lin Chen seemed to have expected it. His footwork suddenly shifted, his body swaying and twisting within a hand's breadth like a fish swimming through water.

The needles skimmed past his hair and the hem of his robe. Thunk, thunk, thunk! They struck the tree trunk behind him, their tails quivering.

Riding that motion, Lin Chen stepped forward. Like a phantom, he appeared before his opponent in an instant.

The next moment, Sword Qi streaked through the air like thunder. The black-clad leader felt a chill at his neck, and the world spun before his eyes.

His head rolled to the ground, blood staining the dead leaves red.

The black-clad leader was dead!

On the other side, the two black-clad men pressing their attack saw their leader beheaded and felt their courage shatter.

"The boss is dead! Run! Hurry!"

With no will to fight left, they abandoned the blue-robed youth, who had been on the verge of defeat, and fled for their lives in opposite directions.

"Think you can leave?"

Lin Chen raised a brow.

Now that he had acted, he would finish the job cleanly.

He unleashed the Swimming Body Step and shot forward.

The black-clad man on the left had fled several dozen yards when wind suddenly rose behind him. Before he could turn, a flash of lightning pierced his chest.

The man on the right heard the scream and fled in terror. But he had not gone far when his vision blurred and a figure in blue blocked his path.

"Spare—"

Despair filled the last man's eyes. Before he could finish speaking, the sword flashed and killed him with a single stroke.

And just like that, the three black-clad men were wiped out with lightning speed!

Lin Chen sheathed his sword, quickly searched the bodies, then flicked out several wisps of searing flame converted from spiritual power. Corpses and traces alike burned away, leaving only ashes to scatter in the wind.

The blue-robed youth stared as Lin Chen expertly destroyed the bodies and erased the evidence. It took him a long moment to recover.

He drew a deep breath, straightened his torn robes, and endured the pain as he stepped forward. He bowed deeply to Lin Chen.

"I am Mu Yunzhou. Thank you for coming to my aid, my friend!"

Only then did Lin Chen look up and size up the youth before him.

The youth was only seventeen or eighteen and at the First Level of the Spirit Martial Realm, yet he had held out so long against three attackers, one of them at the Third Level of the Spirit Martial Realm. He was clearly no ordinary person.

More importantly, even in danger, the youth had called out a warning to him. That said much about his character.

Still, a youth who could fight above his level and remain calm in a crisis clearly had something to rely on. Lin Chen had no desire to invite potential trouble.

So Lin Chen gave a simple reply.

"I wouldn't call it helping you. Those men wanted to kill me, so I killed them. That's all."

With that, Lin Chen turned to leave.

Mu Yunzhou froze, apparently not expecting such a blunt response. As Lin Chen walked farther away, he called out again.

"Wait, my friend!"

Mu Yunzhou caught up to Lin Chen and took a scroll from his ring. "I cannot repay you for saving my life, but an elder of my family happened upon this. Please, you must accept it."

Lin Chen thought for a moment, then accepted the scroll without protest. Channeling his spiritual power, he leaped away.

After Lin Chen left, Mu Yunzhou stood where he was. The joy of surviving the ordeal gradually faded from his face, giving way to thought.

He lowered his gaze to the plain-looking black ring on his left index finger.

"He's gone."

A faint, almost imperceptible glow passed over the ring. Then an aged, gentle voice sounded directly in Mu Yunzhou's mind.

"Teacher," Mu Yunzhou answered respectfully in his thoughts. Then he could not help asking, "What did you think of that man?"

The voice in the ring pondered briefly before replying.

"His foundation is solid enough. His spiritual power came from his own arduous cultivation, not from relying on pills. But his swordsmanship is ordinary; he has yet to touch upon its true essence."

"Still, judging by his bone age, he is only in his early twenties. Reaching the Fourth Level of the Spirit Martial Realm at his age makes him a talent here in Cloud Province."

"However..." The aged voice changed tack.

"Yunzhou, you must understand how vast the world is. Never mind the whole Primordial Martial World; even within the borders of the Great Qian Dynasty, true prodigies are as countless as carp crossing a river."

"That young man may be called talented, but compared with the true dragons and phoenixes on the Great Qian Dynasty's Heaven's Chosen Ranking... he falls far short."

Mu Yunzhou's gaze sharpened.

Of course he had heard of the Heaven's Chosen Ranking. It gathered the finest young talents from countless sects and clans across the dynasty's Nineteen Provinces. Everyone on it had the potential to reach the Heavenly Martial Realm!

By comparison,

the man from earlier might have been impressive, but in a provincial capital, he would no longer stand out—let alone shine beside those on the ranking.

"Teacher." Mu Yunzhou drew a deep breath, then recalled a detail from the attack. "When that man was leaving, why did you specifically send me a message telling me to give him the Sword Diagram?"

His teacher replied earnestly.

"You entered the mountains to temper yourself. Those three bandits were capable enough to serve as opponents. I had intended to step in only when you could hold out no longer, but someone unexpectedly intervened and saved your life by chance."

"A cultivator must keep his thoughts free of burdens."

"He did you a favor. Giving him the Sword Diagram settled that debt."

The aged voice was calm and clear, with a trace of detached superiority.

"His aptitude is ordinary. Though he is at the Fourth Level of the Spirit Martial Realm now, his future achievements will likely end at the Profound Martial Realm."

"His potential and opportunities will not be enough to carry him into the wider world. The world you will enter one day is even less likely to intersect with his. This meeting was probably no more than a chance encounter—two hurried travelers unlikely to meet again.

"So the sooner this debt is settled, the better. If you wait until your cultivation advances and your standing changes, it may become an unseen bond that hinders your resolve."

Mu Yunzhou listened and was thoroughly convinced.

"Teacher, you are quite right."

Then Mu Yunzhou swallowed a pill and sat cross-legged.

"Please guard me for a while, Teacher. Once I've recovered, I'll head deeper into the Vast Mountains to temper myself through life-and-death trials!"

"Mm."

The ring glimmered faintly. An invisible ripple spread out, covering the surrounding area.

About an hour later, Mu Yunzhou opened his eyes. His injuries had stabilized, and most of his spiritual power had returned.

He rose and walked step by step toward the more dangerous depths of the Vast Mountains.