Ten-Year Spirit Herb

"Liu Kuang's here! Qin Hao is finished!"

"Qin Hao really has a death wish. Does he still think he's Tianshui City's number-one genius? He actually dared provoke the Liu family!"

"Liu Kuang has always been brutal. Qin Hao's in for it now!"

"Qin Hao! You dared hurt my second brother. I'll kill you!"

Liu Kuang's rough, furious voice reached them before he did.

Liu Kuang had planned to take Liu Feng to the outskirts of the Ink Forest Mountains to train and sharpen his fighting skills. Who would have thought Qin Hao would cripple Liu Feng before they even set out?

How could Liu Kuang not be furious?

"I'm done playing with you."

Qin Hao gave a cold laugh, used the Seven-Star Step, and headed straight out of the city gate.

Liu Kuang flew into a rage. "Stop him! Stop him!"

"Yes, young master!"

The two guards sprang up at once and moved in from left and right to block Qin Hao's path.

"You two think you can stop me?"

"Get lost!"

Qin Hao sneered. Without even drawing the Iron Sword at his waist, he threw both fists at once.

He had practiced the Tiger Roar Fist since childhood and mastered it in three months. After all these years, he had long since brought it to its peak; using it with both fists at once was child's play.

Bang! Bang!

Both guards were at the third layer of the Body Tempering Realm, but neither could withstand Qin Hao's mastered Tiger Roar Fist.

They grunted, their expressions shifting as they stumbled back several steps. Their arms throbbed with numbness, and shock filled their hearts.

Was Qin Hao really a First-Grade Martial Soul?

How could he be this strong?

Even someone who had mastered the Tiger Roar Fist should not have been able to take on both of them at once.

"Liu Kuang, if you want revenge for your brother, you'll have to prove you're capable of it!"

Qin Hao's feet tapped the ground in quick succession. His body seemed to turn into a shooting star, and in the blink of an eye, he was beyond the city gate.

"Qin Hao, you're asking to die! You're asking to die!"

Liu Kuang was livid. In his eyes, Qin Hao should have dropped to his knees and begged for mercy upon seeing him. Instead, he dared taunt him!

"Qin Hao, even if you run to the ends of the earth, you'll die!"

Liu Kuang roared, pushed off the ground, and charged in the direction Qin Hao had gone.

At the city gate, everyone stood dumbstruck.

They had all thought Qin Hao was finished. Who could have expected him to gravely injure Liu Feng and cripple his arm with a single punch?

"Could... could the rumors be wrong? Is Qin Hao not a First-Grade Martial Soul?"

"Impossible. An elder of the Myriad Phenomena Hall tested him personally. How could there be a mistake? Qin Hao is the Qin family's young master, after all. The Qin Family Head probably gave him plenty of Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures to force his cultivation up."

"Forced cultivation won't stand a single blow against a true genius. He provoked Liu Kuang—he's dead for sure!"

By then, Qin Hao had long since vanished.

Two hours later, a figure streaked into a Dense Forest like an unpredictable shooting star.

"The more I use the Seven-Star Step, the more naturally it comes. Treading the Seven Stars, I can follow like a shadow."

Qin Hao used the Seven-Star Step at full strength, deliberately choosing the roughest, most secluded trails. After just two hours, he could feel how much his footwork had improved.

He had now entered the Ink Forest Mountains.

Towering trees stood like ancient giants, their branches and leaves so dense that sunlight could not penetrate them.

And this was only the outskirts of the Ink Forest Mountains!

"Roar!"

Qin Hao had only just entered the mountains when a tiger's roar suddenly rang out.

The surrounding trees shook violently. With a few bounds, a White-Spotted Tiger several meters tall appeared before Qin Hao.

More terrifying still, thick waves of ferocious, baleful aura rolled off the White-Spotted Tiger!

"A Tier 1 Early-Grade Monster, the White-Spotted Tiger?"

Qin Hao held his breath and focused. A Tier 1 Early-Grade Monster was roughly equivalent to a warrior at the third layer of the Body Tempering Realm, but a Monster's explosive strength far surpassed a human's. One strike could match that of a warrior at the fourth layer.

What troubled Qin Hao more was the intense baleful aura surrounding this tiger. Sword and blade scars of every size covered its body. Many warriors had probably died in its jaws.

"Sword-Drawing Art!"

He did not dare let down his guard. When the White-Spotted Tiger came within three meters, Qin Hao moved.

At almost the same instant, his Martial Soul burst forth!

The Iron Sword at his waist flashed from its sheath with a clang, sending out a streak of sword light.

Slash!

The little golden sword clung to the Iron Sword, and Qin Hao's strike landed squarely on the White-Spotted Tiger's forehead.

It felt like striking a block of iron. Qin Hao's arm went numb.

"Roar!"

At the same time, the White-Spotted Tiger howled. Its lunging body slammed heavily to the ground.

A wound deep enough to expose bone had appeared on its massive head.

One strike.

The White-Spotted Tiger was grievously wounded!

"A Tier 1 Early-Grade Monster is this tough? That strike didn't even kill it outright."

Qin Hao's eyes narrowed. "It even knows to run?"

Fear appeared in the White-Spotted Tiger's huge eyes. It turned without hesitation and fled.

Qin Hao would not pass up such a good chance for combat practice. Sword in hand, he gave chase.

"Seven-Star Step!"

Man and beast raced through the Dense Forest.

In moments, Qin Hao had closed the distance. But suddenly, the giant tiger leaped into a patch of grass and vanished.

Qin Hao paused, startled.

"Wait. Why is the spiritual energy so dense here? Could it be..."

Qin Hao leaped into the grass after it. Sure enough, a well-hidden tunnel lay concealed within.

The White-Spotted Tiger lay inside the tunnel, barely breathing. Its aura was extremely weak. At the sight of Qin Hao, ferocity flared in its eyes, but it could not move.

Beside it was a small green-and-white herb, swaying gently.

"Is that... a Ten-Year Spirit Herb?"

Qin Hao was overjoyed.

A Ten-Year Spirit Herb was rare even in Tianshui City. The spiritual energy it contained was extraordinarily dense and greatly helped warriors in the Body Tempering Realm cultivate.

Paired with the Great Dao Spirit-Seizing Art, it might have an effect beyond anything he expected.

"Even the heavens are helping me!"

Qin Hao finished off the White-Spotted Tiger with one strike, then plucked the Ten-Year Spirit Herb without hesitation.

"First, I'll refine this Ten-Year Spirit Herb."

Qin Hao sat cross-legged, anticipation showing on his face.

He put the Ten-Year Spirit Herb into his mouth and swallowed it whole. A hot current immediately spread from his stomach through his limbs.

Its medicinal effect was dozens of times stronger than a Body Tempering Pill's!

"Great Dao Spirit-Seizing Art!"

With Qin Hao at its center, great quantities of Heaven and Earth Spiritual Energy surged together and poured into his body through every limb and bone.

The hot current within him grew more powerful. As the Great Dao Spirit-Seizing Art circulated, it rapidly turned into energy and merged with his body.

Spiritual energy and medicine bolstered him together!

Hum!

In an instant, Qin Hao's entire body shook, and a vast power radiated from within him.

"The early stage of the fourth layer of the Body Tempering Realm!"

Joy spread across Qin Hao's face.

Heaven and Earth Spiritual Energy continued to gather. In another instant, Qin Hao broke through again to the middle stage of the fourth layer!

Even then, some of the herb's potency remained inside him.

Qin Hao did not push for another breakthrough. Instead, he held his cultivation steady and let the remaining medicinal power settle into his body.

The essence of the Body Tempering Realm was tempering the body. Breaking through too quickly could leave one's foundation unstable.

"If I met a White-Spotted Tiger now, one strike would be enough!"

Qin Hao was pleased.

The Ten-Year Spirit Herb contained tremendous medicinal power. For anyone else, it would certainly have raised their cultivation by more than just two stages.

But they could never have refined it so quickly, either.

He cultivated the Great Dao Spirit-Seizing Art. Each advance required several times more spiritual energy than it did for warriors at the same level, but he also refined it several times faster.

"As expected, risk comes hand in hand with opportunity. Let's see if there are any more Monsters nearby."

Qin Hao cut off the White-Spotted Tiger's sharp claws and tucked them into his pack, then walked out of the tunnel.

Many warriors entered the Ink Forest Mountains not only to gather herbs, but also to hunt Monsters for materials. The White-Spotted Tiger's claws alone were worth a fair sum.

Naturally, Qin Hao would not waste them.

Bang! Bang!

At almost the same time, in another part of the Ink Forest Mountains' outskirts...

"Damn it! A Tier 1 Mid-Grade Monster—a Color-Scaled Python!"

Liu Kuang's face was pale. Directly ahead of him lay an enormous python over ten meters long, its scales gleaming with a riot of colors.

The Color-Scaled Python opened its blood-red maw, bared its sharp fangs, and lunged to bite him.

"Qin Hao! If it weren't for you, I never would have ventured this deep into the Ink Forest Mountains!"

Liu Kuang burned with rage.

He had chased Qin Hao from Tianshui City, only to lose sight of him along the way.

He knew Qin Hao had entered the Ink Forest Mountains, but the range was vast. Finding one person here was like searching for a needle in a haystack.

Without realizing it, he had ventured deep into the mountains and come under attack from the Color-Scaled Python.

Though Liu Kuang was at the peak of the fifth layer of the Body Tempering Realm, he still struggled against it.

"Get away!"

"Frenzied Blade Art!"

Liu Kuang roared and brought his saber down.

Bang!

The Great Saber struck the Color-Scaled Python's head as if it had hit solid stone. Liu Kuang's arm went numb. The python shrieked, its head crashing to the ground and throwing up clouds of dust.

"Die!"

His body sprang upward. Gripping the Great Saber in both hands, he hurtled toward the Color-Scaled Python like a cannonball.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Liu Kuang felt power pouring through him without end. With a hum, it was as if a shackle had broken, and that power grew fiercer still.

The sixth layer of the Body Tempering Realm!

At the critical moment, Liu Kuang had broken through his bottleneck and reached the sixth layer.

"Die! Die!!!"

Liu Kuang growled and struck again. This time, cracking sounds rang from the Color-Scaled Python's hard scales. Large patches broke away, and the Great Saber bit into its body.

Hissss...

The Color-Scaled Python shrieked and writhed in pain, then slowly went still.

The Tier 1 Mid-Grade Monster, the Color-Scaled Python, was dead!

Liu Kuang stood covered in blood, his eyes scarlet and his face twisted into a savage snarl.

Though he had killed the Color-Scaled Python, the rage on his face only grew.

"Qin Hao! Even if you flee to the ends of the earth, I, Liu Kuang, will kill you!"

Liu Kuang gripped his Great Saber tightly and roared.

At once, as if answering him, Monster roars rose and fell throughout the Dense Forest.