Chapter 124

Chapter 124: Whetstone, Killing

. In the woods, Lu Qing was hotly pursuing the young man in white.

“Sir, a formidable Internal Visceral Realm expert, since you’ve arrived, why are you fleeing without a fight? Aren’t you afraid of being ridiculed by the world?”

Lu Qing exclaimed, gazing at the young man in white not far away.

Seeing Lu Qing chasing after him, the young man in white was

both furious and shocked. He was furious that a mere Bone and Muscle Realm brat had the audacity to mock him, showing him no regard.

He was shocked that Lu Qing had dared to pursue him so brazenly, suggesting he had someone to rely on. Perhaps the men who had killed the third and seventh brothers that day were nearby.

The thought of this infuriated the young man in white, and he wished he could turn around and capture Lu Qing immediately.

However, his pace quickened.

Always cautious, he had already decided to report the situation to his master and then invite his eldest brother to come.

Despite his jealousy of his eldest brother, the young man in white had to admit that he was far superior in strength.

The Neigu realm had reached perfection, reaching the limit of the postnatal realm. Without revealing their innate abilities, they would be practically the most powerful warriors.

As long as the eldest brother took action, he wouldn’t have to worry about the hidden master.

Then, it would be easy for him to control Lu Qing, a mere muscle and bone realm cultivator!

Seeing that the young man in white, undeterred, fled even faster,

Lu Qing sighed, knowing that trying to stop him by provoking him was unlikely.

His realm had recently surged, and he’d wanted to see if his current strength could hold his own against a Neigu realm cultivator.

He hadn’t expected the young man in white to be so cautious, not giving him even a single chance.

Seeing the young man about to escape from his sight, Lu Qing had no choice but to shout, “Xiao Li, stop him!”

As soon as he finished speaking, the young man in white felt a terrifying sense of danger piercing his back, sending a chill down his spine.

“How is this possible?!”

the young man exclaimed in shock.

Lu Qing should have been over twenty feet away. How could he be behind him so quickly?

Feeling the biting cold behind him, the young man in white desperately thrust backward with the jade fan he had closed in his hand.

Swish!

The young man’s thrust pierced the air with immense force, but the next moment, he felt his hand lighten. His   jade fan

, made of hard, cold jade and comparable to fine steel, had been instantly severed!

At the same moment, a pain pierced his hand. If he hadn’t withdrawn his hand quickly, his wrist would have been severed.

What?! The young man in white was horrified.   He abruptly stopped, ducking behind a tree so large it took a man’s arms to hug it, and looked back.   But this time, his pupils constricted sharply.   Behind him, he saw nothing, no one.   Lu Qing, the closest to him, was more than ten feet away, running towards him.   So, what had just attacked him?   Instantly, looking at the broken jade fan on the ground and the deep wounds on the back of his hand that reached the bone, the young man’s heart sank.   The unknown was the most terrifying.   He couldn’t imagine what attack could have so instantly crippled his hand.   But he knew it had to do with Lu Qing.   It was after Lu Qing’s earlier cry that he was attacked.   ”Watch out for the knife!”   the young man in white cautiously observed the movements around him, but Lu Qing paid no heed to his shock.   After seeing Xiao Li intercept the man, he continued to charge, unslowing his pace. He unsheathed the long sword behind him and, using the momentum, slashed forward with unparalleled force.   The aura seemed to cleave the young man in white, tree and all, in two!   Such swordsmanship!   Feeling the power of Lu Qing’s strike, the young man’s eyelids fluttered.   He, too, sensed the danger.   If he wasn’t careful, even he would be seriously injured.   A mere muscle and bone cultivator could unleash such swordsmanship. Who on earth was this kid?   The young man in white was shocked, but his reaction was not slow. With a single thought, he controlled the wound on his right hand, preventing the bleeding.   With a flick of his left hand at his waist, a streak of silver light swirled out like a venomous snake, piercing Lu Qing’s throat.   At this point, the young man in white had no time to consider what had attacked him. He simply had to apprehend Lu Qing with swiftness, forcing the mysterious being to act cautiously and giving him a chance to escape.   ”Soft sword?”   Lu Qing was surprised to see the silver light’s true form.   He had assumed the young man’s weapon was the jade fan, but he hadn’t expected his true skill to be swordsmanship, and the extremely difficult soft sword technique to master.   This, however, perfectly matched his treacherous and cunning nature.   The soft sword in the young man’s hand swirled like a venomous snake, moving with incredible speed. It instantly broke through Lu Qing’s blade’s momentum, striking first and aiming to pierce his throat.   This single move alone demonstrated the mastery of his swordsmanship.   Using the tree trunk as cover, he struck suddenly, like a venomous snake emerging from its lair. It was truly sudden, venomous, and exquisitely executed.   If it were an ordinary Muscle and Bones Realm warrior, even one at the Perfect Muscle and Bones Realm, it would be impossible for them to block this sword, and they would be pierced through the neck and die on the spot.   However, Lu Qing was obviously not an ordinary Muscle and Bones Realm warrior.

Sensing the white-robed youth’s flexible sword, faster than his own saber, he instantly changed his tactics.

The force of his sword, once fierce and powerful, instantly transformed into a lingering stream, knocking the sword aside with a single powerful strike.

Then, with a twist of his wrist, his body followed the sword’s movement. Like the swift flow of mountain water, the sword in his hand slashed in a mysterious arc, skirting the tree trunk and slicing towards the white-robed youth’s neck.

“Huh? This boy’s swordsmanship!”

This sudden change of tactics caught the white-robed youth off guard.

Seeing the sword about to strike his neck, he quickly ducked his head, narrowly avoiding the blade. He

then rolled low, instantly creating distance, and stared at

Lu Qing in astonishment. He couldn’t count how many times he had been surprised since meeting Lu Qing.

But Lu Qing’s swordsmanship was truly beyond his expectations.

From the most rigid to the most flexible, this boy could switch so smoothly and effortlessly, without even a hint of effort.

Even he had never seen such a level of swordsmanship before.

“A combination of hardness and softness, meticulous and detailed, a master of swordsmanship! Boy, did you kill Old Seven?!”

In an instant, the young man in white remembered the death of Old Seven he had seen in the nameless valley, and he cried out in surprise.

Old Seven was killed by someone chopping off his head, and his leather armor was also cut, but the scars on his body were not serious.

It was obvious that the enemy was not strong enough to cut Old Seven in half with a single blow.

At that time, he was a little puzzled. If he was not strong enough, why could he kill Old Seven so easily?

Now, when he saw Lu Qing’s swordsmanship, he finally understood.

If it was the boy in front of him, then Old Seven would indeed have no power to fight back.

Lu Qing turned a deaf ear to the young man in white’s shouts.

He knew that the Old Seven the other party was talking about should be Tong Canglang.

But he would not answer such a question at all. Taking advantage of the young man in white’s loss of concentration, his eyes flashed, he strode forward, and slashed again with his sword.

“Hmph, so what if you’re a master of swordsmanship? You’re only at the Muscle and Bones Realm. How could I possibly be afraid of you?”

The young man in white was equally furious when Lu Qing ignored him.

He didn’t know how Lu Qing, at such a young age, had cultivated his swordsmanship to such a high level.

But even a realm requires strength to support it.

If a warrior at the Inner Viscera Realm, even one who had just entered it, had used a master-level swordsmanship, he would have been forced to flee.

But the situation at the Muscle and Bones Realm was different.

The gap in cultivation between the major realms wasn’t easily bridged.

Facing Lu Qing’s ferocious strike, the young man in white shook his soft sword, thrusting it out with equal swiftness, aiming directly at Lu Qing’s wrist.

Lu Qing dodged the thrust with a twist of his wrist, maintaining his momentum as he slashed forward.

Ding, ding, ding…

the clash of swords continued, a crisscross of silver light.

In a split second, the two had exchanged dozens of blows.

One possessed profound cultivation, immense strength, and astonishing sword speed.

The other possessed a profound saber technique, exquisite blade moves, and flawless execution.

For a moment, neither could defeat the other.

Ding!

Another resounding clash echoed,

and the young man in white’s killing move was once again easily blocked by Lu Qing. The recoil of the sword’s blow allowed the young man to retreat far back, temporarily out of Lu Qing’s range.

This time, Lu Qing didn’t pursue, but also stood his ground.

Seeing Lu Qing’s composure, the young man in white felt a surge of resentment.

If it weren’t for his right hand injury, and his left-handed swordplay still being somewhat rusty, Lu Qing would never have been able to block his sword strikes so easily.

Now, a dignified Neigu Realm cultivator, he was effectively tied with a Jingu Realm cultivator—a humiliation!

Seeing the young man in white’s grim expression, Lu Qing sighed.

He saw that, while his swordsmanship was formidable, there was a slight incoordination between his moves.

This was likely due to his lack of left-handed swordplay.

Otherwise, he would have struggled even more.

Similarly, Lu Qing knew that his ability to block the young man’s attacks was largely due to his wielding of a soft sword.

Soft swordsmanship employed a light, subtle, and unexpected style. Because of the weapon’s power, no matter how powerful it was, it couldn’t match his sword.

Even a Neigu Realm cultivator couldn’t withstand his sword

strike head-on. He could only use deft swordplay to exploit his weaknesses and deliver a decisive blow.

Unfortunately, the white-robed youth’s swordsmanship was far inferior to his own saber skills.

His moves weren’t as refined, nor was his power overwhelming, which was why the white-robed youth felt so frustrated.

He, with his ethereal and uncanny swordsmanship, was precisely what he was restraining.

However, despite his favorable timing and personnel, Lu Qing knew this was his limit.

At best, he could only manage a draw with the white-robed youth; killing him would be extremely difficult.

The Internal Viscera Realm was indeed formidable; even in its wounded state, it was still far beyond the reach of a Bone and Muscle Realm cultivator like him.

If the white-robed youth knew Lu Qing’s inner thoughts, he would surely be even more enraged.

A mere Bone and Muscle Realm scout, unsatisfied with a lucky draw, even dreamed of defeating him personally—utterly arrogant!

But the white-robed youth was struggling.

At this point, ordinary combat was no longer enough for him to defeat and capture Lu Qing.

Should he resort to secret techniques?

The white-robed youth hesitated.

The secret technique could instantly double his combat power. Once activated, defeating Lu Qing would be a piece of cake.

However, it was his final trump card, a defense against the mysterious entity that had previously injured him.

If he used it now, he would be left with nothing when that entity emerged.

Furthermore, after using the secret technique, he would be weakened, his strength plummeting.

If he couldn’t defeat Lu Qing quickly, it would be his demise.

“Xiao Li, attack!”

However, just as the young man in white was still hesitating, Lu Qing suddenly gave Xiao Li an order.

Having already tested his current strength, Lu Qing naturally wouldn’t engage the young man in battle.

This sharpening stone was no longer valuable.

After giving Xiao Li the order, he also rushed forward, sword in hand. He

was actually going to abandon martial ethics and join Xiao Li in a siege.

The young man in white was shocked when Lu Qing called out that name again.

The chill he felt before resurfaced in his heart.

Without a second thought or hesitation, he immediately circulated his Qi and blood, stimulating the major acupoints throughout his body.

As the secret technique began to flow, a powerful force surged from the depths of the white-robed youth’s body.

The next moment, a chill surged through his heart. Suddenly, a small white claw emerged from the void in front of him and clawed at his chest!

What the hell?!

The white-robed youth was horrified. He had never expected such a bizarre event.

Without a second thought, the soft sword in his hand trembled violently, and like a slithering venomous snake, it stabbed at the strange claw at top speed.

Ding!

Just as the strange claw was about to be pierced by his sword, the next moment, a blade tip appeared in front of him, deflecting his soft sword.

Immediately afterwards, a strange black beast leaped from the void in front of him, nimbly dodging the sword’s edge and lunging at his chest. With a dull

thud

, the white-robed youth felt a pain, as if something had left his body, causing his entire body to freeze.

All the strength in his body began to drain away rapidly.

The young man in white looked down and saw that a huge hole had been torn in his chest, running through front and back.

The heart that should have been beating inside his body was long gone.

The special inner armor worn beneath his clothes seemed to offer no protection at all.

The young man in white looked up in disbelief, about to say something, when he saw a blade approaching him, slicing his head off with one blow.

As the world spun, the young man’s dying consciousness suddenly recalled everything he had witnessed that day in the Nameless Valley. A

sudden realization struck him.

So, this was how the third brother had died.

With a click,

Lu Qing’s expression remained unchanged as the young man’s head fell to the ground.

Xiao Li alone could have been enough to kill the young man in white.

However, to avoid complications, he opted for a quick and decisive battle.

Looking at the young man’s corpse, Lu Qing lamented.

It seemed he and Wang Cangyi hadn’t quite matched up.

In just a short time, three of their disciples had died at his and Xiao Li’s hands.

If that Xiantian Realm master knew his identity, he would surely seek revenge on him, even in the most elusive of circumstances.

Thinking of this, Lu Qing immediately grabbed the corpse and head of the young man in white and went deep into the mountains.

Finally, he found a valley where few people went and buried it.

After doing all this, he relaxed a little.

The mountains are vast, and it is extremely difficult to find a living person.

Let alone a corpse.

It would be extremely difficult for Wang Cangyi to find the body of his second disciple.

Although this could not completely hide it from the other party, as long as he did not see the disciple’s body for one day, Wang Cangyi would not dare to confirm that he was really dead.

As long as he could delay for some time and wait for the master’s strength to improve, the situation would be different.

(End of this chapter)