Sword Qi

Song Xuan did not go looking for Lu Xiaoliu. Instead, he left the city and headed into a wooded stretch of hills on the outskirts.

Dressed in white robes, he sat cross-legged atop an ancient tree, facing the newborn morning sun as he regulated his breathing and drew in the spiritual energy of heaven and earth.

From afar, faint wisps of mist could be seen shimmering above Song Xuan's head, drifting with the breeze and lending him the air of an immortal.

After his recent bouts of killing, Song Xuan felt that his cultivation was nearing the threshold of a breakthrough. All he needed was an opportunity, and he might advance to the Xiantian Realm.

Yet he could not say what that opportunity might be. It was merely a feeling he could neither explain nor put into words.

Near noon, Song Xuan finished cultivating. He looked up at the vast, ethereal expanse of the boundless sky and gently exhaled a breath of stale air.

Perhaps what he lacked for a breakthrough was a thoroughly exhilarating battle, one that could put him under real pressure.

After leaving the woods, Song Xuan did not head straight home. Instead, he strolled leisurely along the main road.

He occasionally passed travelers on the road. Some recognized him and immediately greeted him with ingratiating smiles.

"Brother Xuan, have you had lunch? Why don't we grab something together?"

Song Xuan occasionally nodded in greeting, while his mind remained occupied with how to break through and advance to the Xiantian Realm. His eyes gradually grew unfocused.

Suddenly, while lost in thought, he felt something brush against his waist. The money pouch hanging there vanished without a trace.

Before Song Xuan's thoughts had even returned to the present, his half-lidded eyes snapped open, and the sword at his waist flashed from its sheath!

"Slash!"

The word left his lips in a detached voice, untouched by the slightest hint of worldly emotion. Then his sword swept out, without any flashy flourishes, looking almost unremarkable.

Yet the instant that unremarkable stroke fell, a streak of Sword Qi like a long crimson dragon erupted, resembling a blazing sun bursting through the clouds and tearing apart the gloom.

Riiip!

The Sword Qi flashed like a startled swan, like lightning cleaving the air, like a great rainbow startling the heavens. It shot forth with a sonic boom, unfurling between the vast earth and sky.

Boom!

The Sword Qi ran rampant. The repeated hissing of its passage as it tore through the ground sounded like heavenly thunder, leaving everyone's ears ringing.

The handful of travelers on the main road collapsed to the ground in fright. At that moment, their ears failed them, and all they could see was a sea of crimson. They had no idea what was happening.

Only after delivering that instinctive slash did Song Xuan's thoughts return. He looked at the terrified travelers lying around him, then at the long trench carved into the ground before him, disbelief in his eyes.

Did I unleash that streak of Sword Qi just now?

Sword Qi was a killing move reserved for Xiantian experts who specialized in swordsmanship. Even some Xiantian experts could not claim to be capable of unleashing such a supreme technique.

Yet just now, he, Song Xuan, had unleashed a streak of Sword Qi while in some inexplicable state!

Could I have already broken through?

Instinctively, he circulated his inner force to examine his condition, but a faint disappointment soon settled in his heart.

His cultivation was still at the ninth level of the Houtian Realm. He had not entered the Xiantian Realm.

The main reason he had been able to unleash Sword Qi was that his pure yang inner force was so condensed and abundant that it could fully sustain the expenditure required for its eruption.

On top of that, he seemed to have entered a mysterious state just now, allowing him to discover how to unleash Sword Qi.

Although his cultivation had not advanced, he had grasped how to activate a devastating killing move like Sword Qi. That counted as an unexpected windfall.

In a good mood, Song Xuan lowered his gaze toward the young thief who had stolen his money pouch and now lay half-reclining on the ground nearby.

The thief looked young, perhaps in his teens. He was thin, with messy short hair and a face full of terror.

The Sword Qi Song Xuan had just unleashed had barely skimmed past his shoulder. Had it strayed just a little farther, he would have been dismembered on the spot.

Seeing Song Xuan look his way, the young thief raised the money pouch in trembling hands, his voice carrying a hint of tears.

"I only stole a money pouch. Was that really necessary...?"

Sword Qi... Even back home, his father would not casually unleash a killing move like that. Since sneaking away from home, he had not encountered a single Martial Arts Expert capable of producing Sword Qi either.

He had never imagined that a sudden, inexplicable whim to experience stealing something today would nearly cost him his life.

Song Xuan stared at the money pouch held up in the thief's hands. Instead of reaching for it, he said, "Your Lightness Skill is quite good."

The young thief had slipped up beside him unnoticed, stolen his money pouch, and even narrowly evaded his Sword Qi. His Lightness Skill was far more than merely good-it was exceptional.

Although this had been Song Xuan's first time unleashing Sword Qi and he was still unfamiliar with it, its speed was astonishing. Yet this young thief had reacted in an instant, shifting his body sideways and barely escaping the deadly slash.

Song Xuan had to admit that this was the finest Lightness Skill he had encountered in this world!

The young thief's face was so filthy that his features were impossible to make out. At those words, he shrank back with an awkward smile. "However fast my Lightness Skill is, it's still not faster than your Sword Qi.

"Young hero, I only stole something. That doesn't warrant death, does it?"

Song Xuan did not answer him. Instead, he said evenly, "I'll give you a chance to live. Trade the Lightness Skill you just used for your life!"

The young thief hastily shook his head. "Young hero, who carries a secret manual around when they're away from home? Don't you agree?

"How about you come home with me? I'll fetch it for you myself."

Song Xuan shook his head. "You may not have the manual, but surely you know how to practice it? Write it down, and I'll let you go!"

As he spoke, he looked up at the dark clouds that had gathered overhead at some point, then glanced around at the passersby, who did not dare breathe too loudly. He waved a hand. "It's going to rain. Don't you need to go home and bring in your laundry?"

At his words, the passersby came to their senses one by one, as though waking from sleep.

"Ah, it's going to rain! I really do need to go home and bring in the laundry!"

"Oh, I just remembered-my wife's giving birth today. Gentlemen, I'll be off first!"

"What a coincidence! My wife's giving birth too. Let's go together!"

Watching the passersby scatter in haste, Song Xuan withdrew his gaze and looked at the visibly conflicted young thief. He said slowly, "I'm not asking for the original manual. You only need to write it down.

"Surely you can tell which matters more, your life or a secret manual?"

"You're using your strength to bully the weak!" The young thief was surprisingly stubborn and still refused to yield.

"You're a thief!" Song Xuan said calmly.

"You're an expert who can unleash Sword Qi, yet you're bullying a newcomer who's only just entered the martial world. You have no martial honor!"

"You're a thief!"

"Stealing someone else's secret manual is a grave taboo in the martial world!"

"You're a thief!"