Obtaining the Grandmaster-Level Movement Technique, Phantom Steps

The seventh strike followed immediately, now stacked to a terrifying degree.

The man in black looked up, his pupils suddenly contracting.

"This... this is Saber Force! You're only at the Early Hua Jin, how can you..."

Before he could finish speaking, the seventh stab was already upon him.

With a single slash, blood gushed into the air.

[Ding! Congratulations, host, for defeating a martial artist at the Hua Jin Perfection. You have obtained the Grandmaster- level movement technique: Phantom Steps.]

A system notification sounded in my mind.

Lu Feng sheathed his sword and glanced down at his hands.

He still had most of his internal Nei Jin remaining.

The Nine Layered Wave Slashes doesn't always require nine strikes. When he reached the seventh strike and saw that his opponent had already been killed, Lu Feng tried to sheathe his sword, and to his surprise, he succeeded.

This discovery brought him a slight sense of relief.

What he feared most was that once this move was used, it would be uncontrollable, leaving him exhausted after each use, which was too dangerous.

He walked up to the corpse of the man in black and used the tip of his knife to flick the black cloth off his face.

A middle-aged man's face, bearing a five or six-point resemblance to Zhao An, was revealed.

Lu Feng's gaze lingered on the face for a moment, then he slowly uttered a name.

Zhao Hu.

He had specifically researched the people in the Zhao family.

Zhao Hu, Zhao Long's younger brother, Hua Jin Perfection Realm and is just one step away from becoming Grandmaster.

He then used his knife to pry open the masks of the other two men, confirming that they were both skilled martial artists with the Hua Jin recorded in the Zhao family archives.

Lu Feng squatted down and took off the storage bags of the three people one by one, putting them into his pocket.

Then he got up and flew off towards the outer perimeter.

By this time, it was already dark, and most of the demon-slaying guards on the outskirts of Black Forest Mountain had returned to the city, leaving the forest deserted.

Lu Feng flew along without encountering anyone else.

Just as we were about to exit the Black Forest Mountain Pass, a white figure suddenly appeared ahead.

That figure was incredibly fast.

One moment it was just a white dot, the next it was clear enough to see her face clearly— Qin Shuang.

Deputy Commandant of the Commandant Su's Office, with the cultivation level of Grandmaster.

Dressed in white, she stood motionless in the mountain wind, not even disturbing a single fallen leaf beneath her feet.

"Lu Feng! Are you alright? Where are they?"

Qin Shuang landed in front of him, her gaze quickly sweeping over his entire body, pausing slightly when she saw the palm print on his chest.

"Thank you for your concern, sir. I have already killed the other party." Lu Feng bowed respectfully.

The fact that Qin Shuang was able to arrive here in such a short time after receiving the news shows that she hardly wasted a moment, and her concern was genuine.

"You killed him?"

Qin Shuang raised her eyebrows slightly and glanced at Lu Feng again.

This time, her gaze lingered on him for a few more moments. He had signs of a struggle and bloodstains on his clothes, but he was uninjured.

A beginner in the Early Hua Jin, facing an attack from two experts at the peak of the Hua Jin Perfection and the peak of the Nei Jin Perfection, not only escaped unscathed but also managed to kill them.

Do you know who the other person is?

"One of them seems to be Zhao Hu."

Qin Shuang's expression finally changed.

Zhao Hu Hua Jin Perfection.

He was Zhao Long's top fighter, the strongest in the entire Captain Zhao Commandery besides Zhao Long himself.

Her reaction lasted only a moment before she reverted to her usual aloofness.

"You go back first. I'll go check."

Before she finished speaking, she had already transformed into a white blur and disappeared in the direction of Black Forest Mountain.

Lu Feng stared at the spot where the white figure had disappeared, remaining silent for a moment.

"Is this what Grandmaster is?"

He muttered something under his breath, then turned and walked towards Jinguan City.

As soon as I returned to the gate of the Demon-Slaying Bureau, I saw two petite figures pacing back and forth in the distance.

Su Qiaoqiao and Lin Miao, one rubbing her hands and the other biting her lip, occasionally tiptoed to look towards Black Forest Mountain.

Upon seeing Lu Feng appear at the street corner, their eyes lit up simultaneously, and they ran towards him together.

"Sir! Are you alright?"

Lin Miao ran up to him and looked him up and down. When she saw the handprint on his chest, her eyes reddened.

"Isn't that why I'm back?" Lu Feng waved his hand.

"Thanks to you all, your timely message allowed Deputy Commandant Qin to arrive so quickly."

"We didn't do anything, it was you, sir..."

Su Qiaoqiao was about to say something when Lu Feng raised his hand to interrupt her.

"Alright, go back and rest!"

After exchanging a few words with the two, Lu Feng returned to his cave dwelling.

He closed the door to the secret room and placed the three storage bags in front of him one by one.

First, open those two storage bags with Nei Jin Perfection.

Inside, there was a Tier 2 weapon, a long whip, and a pair of iron claw gloves, all in decent condition.

Besides these, there are some commonly used Nei Jin pills: Jin Recovery Pill and Healing Pill. There are quite a few of them, but none of them are particularly rare.

Lu Feng picked out the weapons and useful pills and put them away, then opened Zhao Hu's storage bag.

The moment the bag was opened, his breath hitched slightly.

Tier 3 weapon.

Those jet-black gloves were the ones Zhao Hu used when he fought him.

The gloves have fine metal scales embedded in the knuckles; when the fist is clenched, the scales automatically interlock to form a hard protective armor.

Lu Feng picked it up and examined it carefully for a moment before putting it down.

He was using a knife, so the gloves weren't of much use to him for the time being.

However, a Tier 3 weapon is quite valuable, and you can exchange it for a better sword of the same tier later if you have the chance.

He continued searching.

Five Origin Recovery Pill, second-tier pills that quickly restore Nei Jin, each worth 1,500 merit points. Five pills would be worth 7,500 merit points.

Lu Feng put the five Origin Recovery Pill into his own pill bottle, then picked up another jade bottle.

The bottle feels warm and smooth to the touch, and its texture is clearly a grade higher than other elixir bottles.

He uncorked the bottle, and a milky-white pill lay quietly at the bottom, emitting a faint glow.

Lu Feng's gaze lingered on the pill for a full three breaths.

"Force Comprehension Pill."

An essential elixir for those at the Hua Jin Peak Realm attempting to break through to the Grandmaster Realm.

After taking it, one can enter a state of enlightenment for the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, greatly increasing the probability of comprehending a powerful concept.

The most fundamental difference between Grandmaster and Hua Jin expert is that only after mastering the momentum can one break through that threshold.

The Force Comprehension Pill is the key to opening that door.

One coin costs 8,000 merit points, and it's often in short supply.

He put the Force Comprehension Pill bottle into his storage bag, then looked at the last few items at the bottom of the bag.

Five fist-sized transparent crystals.

The crystal's surface is as smooth as a mirror, with a faint, flowing light within. Holding it in your hand, you can feel an extremely pure energy fluctuation.

"Origin Crystal."

Only those with cultivation levels of Grandmaster or higher can absorb and refine Origin Crystal, which also serve as a common currency among Grandmaster.

In the eyes of Grandmaster, gold is no different from garbage; the only truly valuable hard currency is the Origin Crystal.

He didn't know exactly how many merit points five Origin Crystal could be exchanged for, but anything that Grandmaster could use for cultivation was definitely not cheap.

After sorting and putting everything away, Lu Feng sat cross-legged on the futon and opened the system panel.

[Host: Lu Feng]

[Cultivation Level: Early Hua Jin]

[Cultivation Techniques: Five Elements Primordial Chaos Art (Progress 0%); Phantom Steps; Hundred Beasts Body-Tempering Art;]

[Perfected Martial Arts: Nine Layered Wave Slashes (Level 3), Gale Slash, Gale Saber Art, Carefree Steps, Treading on Snow Without a Trace, Cold Plum Jin, Golden Bell Shield, Iron Cloth Shirt...]

[Demon Points: 171700]