https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-106-Desperate-Pursuit-A-Startling-Arrow/12619023/
https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-108-A-Master-of-the-Dao-of-the-Blade-Both-Gentle-and-Firm-Paying-Attention-to-the-Smalles/12619025/
Chapter 107: A Clash of Geniuses, A Heart of Assassination
The sudden sound of a voice caused Ma Gu and the youth in leather armor to start in surprise.
Just now, neither of them had realized that there was someone else in this valley.
The two men turned their heads abruptly and saw a figure standing with his hands behind his back on a large stone beside the waterfall up ahead.
"Brother Lu Qing?" Ma Gu exclaimed in disbelief when he recognized the figure, "What are you doing here?"
Could it be that in his panic, he had blindly fled all the way to the vicinity of Jiu Li Village? The thought flashed through Ma Gu's mind.
However, he didn't have time to consider whether this made sense. Seeing that Lu Qing didn't seem to grasp the seriousness of the situation, he hastily shouted, "Brother Lu Qing, run! This man is vicious and not to be trifled with!"
Ma Gu was not glad to see Lu Qing. He knew that Lu Qing's martial arts prowess was only at the Qi and Blood Realm.
He was no match for the youth in leather armor.
Intervening now would not only be of no help but would also cost him his life.
"Can you escape?" The youth in leather armor asked indifferently. "You vermin, who would have thought that not only will you not escape, but you'll also drag your friend down with you. Isn't that feeling even worse than death?"
"Brother Lu Qing, run! I'll try to hold him off, and you find a chance to escape!"
Ma Gu paid no heed to the youth's words. He struggled to his feet, gripped his knife with one hand, glared fiercely at the youth in leather armor, and growled.
"I didn't expect that a vermin like you would have some sense of righteousness."
The youth in leather armor was somewhat surprised to see Ma Gu's determined expression.
"However, do you have the qualifications to stop me?"
Ma Gu remained silent, his eyes fixed on his opponent as if searching for an opportunity to strike.
"I say, you two, why don't you ask for my opinion first?"
Lu Qing, standing nearby, sighed helplessly as he watched the two men converse without including him.
Ma Gu and the youth in leather armor paused and turned to look at Lu Qing, especially the youth, who seemed unable to believe that Lu Qing dared to interrupt him.
A hint of wariness crept into his heart, and he began to observe Lu Qing more carefully.
Unfortunately, Lu Qing was too far away for him to sense his Qi and Blood power, so he couldn't immediately discern Lu Qing's strength.
"Uncle Ma, could you explain what's going on here?" Lu Qing asked with a slight smile.
"Brother Lu Qing, you..."
Ma Gu was taken aback by Lu Qing's calm expression.
In his impression, Lu Qing was always quick-witted. His earlier words should have made Lu Qing aware of the seriousness of the situation.
But Lu Qing didn't seem the least bit flustered, which made Ma Gu unsure of Lu Qing's intentions.
"Let me tell you then."
At this moment, the youth in leather armor spoke up.
"This vermin overstepped his bounds and dared to hide the lady and young master of the Wei family. He's an enemy of ours. Are you sure you want to get involved, brat?"
Lu Qing looked at Ma Gu in surprise.
He hadn't expected Ma Gu to be so bold as to involve himself in the affairs between the Wei family and those mysterious martial artists.
"Don't slander me, sir. I don't know anything about the lady and young master of the Wei family. I was just hunting in these mountains. You attacked me without even finding out the truth. Regardless, it's still your fault, isn't it?"
Ma Gu refused to admit it.
"Go ahead and be stubborn. I hope your mouth is still this tough when I break your limbs and torture you slowly."
The youth in leather armor paid no attention to Ma Gu's denials.
By now, even if Ma Gu had nothing to do with the Wei family, he had to die.
From the moment Ma Gu dodged his deadly arrow, the youth in leather armor had decided that he must be tortured to death.
However, Lu Qing saw that Ma Gu had indeed waded into this quagmire.
Although he didn't know why Ma Gu, usually so cautious, would get involved in such a life-threatening matter, Lu Qing couldn't just stand by and watch him die in front of him since they had become acquainted.
More importantly, as Lu Qing looked at the youth in leather armor, a strange expression flashed in his eyes as he saw the information revealed in his vision.
At this moment, in his vision, the youth in leather armor was surrounded by a dense white light.
[Tong Canglang: Disciple of the Northern Border's Tian Cang Sect, a cultivator of the Innate Realm, and a disciple of Wang Cangyi. He is cruel, capricious, and enjoys torturing his opponents.]
[Cultivation: Late stage of the Post-Natal Tendon and Bone Realm. Due to the recent use of a secret technique, his strength is currently only 70% of its peak.]
This time, the information Lu Qing gleaned was more detailed than before.
It was a new ability he had discovered after his recent breakthrough to the Tendon and Bone Realm.
Chapter: Strengthened Ability
As his cultivation improved, his supernatural powers seemed to strengthen as well.
The speed at which he could scan items had increased, and the information he obtained was more detailed.
Upon seeing the note that appeared on the youth in leather armor, Lu Qing's mind raced with countless thoughts.
The note revealed a lot of information, all of which was quite important to him.
Whether it was the youth's background or his current physical condition, Lu Qing now had a good understanding of him.
"Brat, I don't know why, but I suddenly find your gaze very unpleasant," the youth in leather armor said, feeling uncomfortable under Lu Qing's stare.
"I've decided to make an example of you first!"
Ma Gu had already been heavily injured by him and was no longer a threat, but Lu Qing's background was still unclear to the youth.
However, he wasn't worried. Considering Lu Qing's age, which was much younger than his, even if he was a genius who had trained in martial arts from a young age, he couldn't possibly be very skilled.
Furthermore, the youth in leather armor didn't believe that in this remote area, there could be anyone with martial talent surpassing his, a disciple of the Tian Cang Sect's inner circle.
So, when he saw Lu Qing standing there with his hands behind his back, looking at him with an uncomfortable gaze, the youth in leather armor decided to make his move.
He stepped forward, closing the distance between them.
"Not good!"
Ma Gu, who had been keeping a close eye on the youth, immediately noticed his movement.
But before he could react, the youth was already rushing towards Lu Qing.
Already injured and weaker than his opponent, Ma Gu couldn't react in time.
He could only shout anxiously, "Brother Lu Qing, run!"
However, it was too late. As soon as he finished speaking, the youth in leather armor moved with incredible speed, closing the distance in a few strides and reaching Lu Qing in the blink of an eye.
He formed a claw with his hand, and the gust of wind from his movement swept towards Lu Qing's throat.
Ma Gu watched, his eyes wide with horror, as he imagined Lu Qing's neck breaking and his windpipe being torn apart.
Even the youth in leather armor believed that this claw attack was a sure hit.
The [Liefeng Zhua] was one of his proudest techniques, and even among the inner disciples of his sect, there were only a few who could cultivate it to a level higher than his.
Against a wild country brat, it should be an easy victory.
Just as the youth's claw was about to tear into Lu Qing's neck, a flash of blade light appeared in front of Lu Qing, slashing towards the youth's head.
"What?!"
This strike came out of nowhere and took the youth by surprise.
He realized that Lu Qing had been hiding a battle blade behind his back the whole time!
What a treacherous brat!
In a critical moment, the youth in leather armor tilted his head back, narrowly avoiding the deadly blade.
However, he couldn't dodge with the rest of his body in time.
Boom!
The blade light slashed across the youth's chest, and the powerful force sent him flying backward.
"Hmm?"
At the moment of impact, Lu Qing felt something was amiss.
The sensation wasn't like striking a person at all; instead, it felt like he had slashed something incredibly tough, like an extremely resilient leather.
He recalled the leather armor his opponent was wearing.
Without time to think, Lu Qing's battle instincts kicked in, and he leaped off the large stone, stomping the ground and sending dirt and pebbles flying.
In a few strides, he caught up with the youth, who was still in mid-air, and slashed downward with his blade once more.
Bang!
Another loud collision sound rang out as the youth in leather armor reacted just in time, drawing the short blade from his waist and blocking Lu Qing's attack.
However, although he managed to block the blade, he was unable to borrow any force in mid-air.
The youth tumbled on the ground, stirring up a cloud of dust and sand.
But Lu Qing didn't let up. Seizing the advantage, he stepped forward and slashed downward with his blade again.
"Damn it, are you ever going to stop?!" The youth in leather armor was frustrated and angry. He couldn't believe that he had been pushed to such a disadvantage due to a moment of carelessness.
Enraged, he stopped caring about anything else and frantically channeled his qi and blood energy, circulating it in a peculiar pattern.
Chapter: A Powerful Opponent
A surge of powerful energy suddenly rose within him.
"Get lost!"
Empowered by this energy, the youth in leather armor shouted and swung his short dagger, blocking Lu Qing's battle blade.
The force of this block was incredibly strong, even beyond Lu Qing's expectations. It shocked him so much that he almost dropped his blade.
He felt a chill down his spine and took a few steps back, creating some distance between himself and the youth.
This exchange came to a temporary halt, with Lu Qing gaining a slight advantage.
Ma Gu, standing nearby, was stunned with his mouth agape.
From the moment the youth in leather armor pounced on Lu Qing to Lu Qing's clever counterattack and the youth's subsequent retreat, it all happened in a matter of just over ten breaths.
The contrast between the beginning and the end was so stark that Ma Gu could hardly believe his eyes. He never expected that Lu Qing, who he thought would perish, would almost slice the youth in half.
The disparity was too great, and Ma Gu wouldn't have believed it if he hadn't witnessed it himself.
At this moment, only one thought crossed his mind: When did Lu Qing break through to the Tendon and Bone Realm?
Indeed, witnessing Lu Qing's formidable performance, if Ma Gu hadn't realized that he had entered the Tendon and Bone Realm, then all his years of cultivation would have been for naught.
But having recognized this, Ma Gu was even more astonished.
Because he knew that Lu Qing had only started practicing martial arts a few months ago, at most.
In just a few months, he had progressed from a beginner to a powerful Tendon and Bone Realm warrior.
Such cultivation speed was unheard of! Ma Gu had never even heard of a genius like this, not even in the provincial capital!
"Lu Qing, my young brother, what kind of cultivation monster are you?" Ma Gu thought in awe as he watched Lu Qing, momentarily forgetting about the pain in his shoulder.
As Ma Gu stood there dumbfounded, the youth in leather armor was also filled with shock. He looked at Lu Qing, who was holding the battle blade, with disbelief in his eyes.
"Tendon and Bone Realm... You're a Tendon and Bone Realm warrior?"
Moreover, Lu Qing was close to achieving the Small Accomplishment stage of the realm.
The youth in leather armor recalled Lu Qing's earlier display of strength. The power Lu Qing had exhibited far exceeded what a beginner in the Tendon and Bone Realm could unleash.
It was almost on par with his own strength.
The fact that such formidable power came from a boy much younger than himself left the youth in disbelief.
"What amazing leather armor," Lu Qing said, his gaze fixed on the youth's chest, a strange look in his eyes.
There was a slit in the youth's leather armor, from which a trace of blood was seeping.
It was clear that Lu Qing's blade had injured him, despite being blocked by the armor.
Although Lu Qing's words were complimentary, they sounded mocking to the youth.
However, the youth also felt a sense of relief. If not for the leather armor bestowed by his master, he would have been sliced in half.
The youth's heart chilled at the thought of Lu Qing's cunning. Despite his young age, he was already so treacherous.
"Kid, don't get cocky. That last strike was your best chance. Since you couldn't kill me, your end is near!" the youth in leather armor said, his eyes filled with murderous intent.
At the same time, his heart was filled with even more killing intent.
Upon realizing that Lu Qing was a Tendon and Bone Realm warrior, his desire to kill Lu Qing surpassed even that for Ma Gu.
Such a young boy had already reached the Tendon and Bone Realm and was close to achieving the Small Accomplishment stage. If given more time to cultivate, who knew what heights he would reach?
The youth in leather armor, who had always considered himself a genius, felt jealousy and wariness towards Lu Qing after realizing the extent of his talent.
At this moment, he had only one thought: This boy must not be allowed to live! Otherwise, not only him but even their Tian Cang Sect might face a calamity in the future!
(End of Chapter)
Chapter end
Report
