Seeing Li Lu take the initiative to attack first, Qin Xiao did not dare to be overconfident. He quickly dodged, knowing that even a scratch would hurt.
However, Qin Xiao lacked combat experience. Although Li Lu was young, he often sparred with other disciples within his family, making his combat experience far superior to Qin Xiao’s.
Seeing Qin Xiao try to dodge, Li Lu changed his thrust to an upward flick, aiming at Qin Xiao’s arm.
Their reactions were similar, but Qin Xiao lost out in experience. Failing to dodge in time, his arm was slashed, and his clothes were torn open once more.
After landing the hit, Li Lu did not stop. He accelerated his attacks, forcing Qin Xiao into a frantic evasion as more and more tears appeared on his garments.
The burning pain made Qin Xiao want to curse, but his wild, uncoordinated counter-swings missed Li Lu entirely, grazing past him every time.
As the fight dragged on, Li Lu grew increasingly flustered. Although he connected almost every time and held nothing back, the opponent did not shed a single drop of blood.
“Could this be some sort of hard-body technique from the mortal world?”
Unable to inflict any actual injuries, Li Lu paused and began to wonder if the mortal realm possessed such body-refinement arts.
Even if such a technique existed, he was a Qi Refining cultivator now. No mortal body-hardening technique should be able to withstand him like this.
“Damn it. This is what I get for not knowing how to fight. I need to make up for that lack of experience.”
Qin Xiao looked helplessly at his tattered clothes. In three years as a mortal, he had given up on himself and never learned any proper fighting techniques.
“No matter. Even if he has some sort of hard-body technique, a person’s vital points are either the crotch or the eyes. Since he keeps guarding his crotch, that must be his weak spot.”
After a brief calculation, Li Lu launched his attack once again.
Seeing the opponent press forward, Qin Xiao hurried to evade. Though he had lacked experience initially, taking so many sword strikes had taught him a lesson, giving him a better grasp of Li Lu’s rhythm. This time, he managed to dodge cleanly.
“As expected.”
Having successfully avoided the blade through his own prediction, Qin Xiao roughly figured out how to deal with Li Lu.
In truth, Li Lu had used a feint, lying in wait for an opportunity to strike straight at Qin Xiao’s crotch.
After trading blows for a while longer, Li Lu finally found his opening. He pretended to lunge upward before thrusting downward toward his target.
Qin Xiao fell for the trap, bringing his High Grade Spirit Weapon up to guard his chest. Li Lu abruptly changed his movement, thrusting his sword toward Qin Xiao’s lower body.
Too late to recall his defense, Qin Xiao threw himself backward, barely managing to dodge the strike.
“You little bastard, playing dirty with me?” New chapters come out on g.com first.
Qin Xiao was truly angry now. Even if the blow would not castrate him, a hit there would hurt far more than anywhere else on his body.
“So your vital point really is there!”
Seeing Qin Xiao’s anger, Li Lu thought he had found his weak point and was about to rejoice.
Before he could rejoice, Qin Xiao’s furious sword attack came at him. This time Qin Xiao held nothing back, moving so fast that Li Lu could not dodge.
Every scratch Qin Xiao suffered healed rapidly. All the Spirit Liquid he had consumed was helping his body repair itself, and each recovery made him stronger. This too was part of body refinement: break down, then rebuild.
Li Lu had not expected Qin Xiao to move so quickly. Too late to dodge, he held his sword in front of himself and tried to block the attack.
He had forgotten, however, that his weapon was merely an ordinary mortal sword, whereas Qin Xiao wielded a High Grade Spirit Weapon. With a crisp, sharp snap, Qin Xiao’s blade sheared straight through the opponent’s sword and pierced deep into his abdomen, driving straight into his Dantian.
Li Lu felt his Dantian shatter, spiritual qi pouring out of him. In pain, he urgently called for help.
“Kid, if you hadn’t resorted to underhanded tricks, I would have at most taught you a lesson. But since you chose to fight dirty, destroying your Dantian is letting you off easy.”
With those words, Qin Xiao withdrew his blade and stepped back to his original position.
“Qin Xiao, you dare! You’re courting death!”
Li Cheng rushed forward to inspect Li Lu’s injuries, cursing bitterly all the while.
A quick examination only darkened Li Cheng’s expression further. Li Lu’s Dantian was thoroughly shattered beyond recovery; from this day on, he was nothing more than a cripple.
“Qin Xiao, you destroyed my cousin’s Dantian. I will definitely repay this blood debt! I am no longer speaking as an Immortal Sword Peak disciple, but as Li Lu’s cousin seeking vengeance.”
Li Cheng regretted his cousin’s crippling, but it also gave him the perfect pretext. He need no longer fear killing Qin Xiao. He could do Yao Kaidong a favor, too, and would never lack resources at Immortal Sword Peak again.
With that, Li Cheng walked slowly toward Qin Xiao. With every step he took, his Spiritual Qi surged higher, until he stood ten steps away, fully revealing his cultivation realm: early Golden Core stage.
“This kid Li Cheng is quite clever. He’d make a fine confidant.”
Watching the display, Yao Kaidong was thoroughly satisfied. There was no longer any need to manufacture an excuse.
“Disciple, what cultivation level is this?”
“Master, this is the early Golden Core stage, far beyond what the Qi Refining realm can compare to. Step back, Master-this battle is mine.”
Yun Man answered with an exasperated look, then stepped in front of Qin Xiao.
“Junior Sister Yun, what are you doing? This is a private feud between Qin Xiao and me. Once he’s dead, you can join Immortal Sword Peak, and we’ll be fellow disciples. There’s nothing to gain by defending him. Besides, you’ve seen that I’m at early Golden Core. You couldn’t help even if you wanted to.”
Not expecting Yun Man to stand up for Qin Xiao, Li Cheng quickly tried to reason with her.
In his calculations, Qin Xiao was bound to die today, and Yun Man would inevitably join Immortal Sword Peak, making them fellow disciples. He truly wished to avoid offending her, especially since her innate talent meant she would likely surpass him in the future.
“Qin Xiao is my Master. Defending my Master is my personal affair. Cut the nonsense-do you really think you are the only one in the Golden Core stage?”
As soon as she finished speaking, Yun Man’s spiritual power erupted furiously, climbing steadily until it leveled off at the early Golden Core stage.
The reason she had emerged slightly later was precisely because she was undergoing a breakthrough. Armed with seven consecutive days of Spirit Liquid and countless Spirit Stones, she had already pushed her foundation to the peak of the Foundation Establishment stage that very night. Subsequent days of uninterrupted cultivation had allowed her directly to break through into the Golden Core stage.
“What? That’s impossible! You only entered the sect seven days ago-how could you possibly reach the Golden Core stage? This is absurd!”
Li Cheng could hardly accept the reality before him.
“Possible or not, a fight will tell. Make your move.”
Having just broken through, Yun Man was eager to test her strength. Moreover, as a member of the Central Province Yun Family, she lacked neither techniques nor combat experience, and she was confident in her peerless strength within the same realm in the Tianyuan Sect.
“Even if you truly reached the Golden Core stage, your aura shows you only just broke through. I have spent half a year consolidating my foundation in the early Golden Core stage. Does Junior Sister Yun really intend to stand up for him?”
Li Cheng could no longer back down. He warned her once more; if that failed, he would have to offend her.
“Less talk, make your move.”
Looking impatient, Yun Man urged him forward, despising the lingering hesitation.
Realizing persuasion was useless, Li Cheng had no choice but to fight.
“In that case, forgive me!”