Forests dotted the Desolate Continent, where towering trees hundreds of meters tall were a common sight. As Zhaang Ye moved through these massive woods, he felt dwarfed by his surroundings.
After leaving the waterfall, he had run for dozens of miles without a break. Upon entering the forest, he finally breathed a sigh of relief. The woods spanned over forty miles across. As long as nothing went wrong, he could pass through them and return to Three Rivers Town.
Walking through the forest, Zhaang Ye couldn't help but think of the Blade Tip tucked in his robes. Recalling the bearded middle-aged man's dying words, he had a nagging feeling that the masters pursuing the man were actually after this very Blade Tip. The fact that a mere fragment of a blade could attract so many experts astonished him, and he secretly pondered its origins.
As Zhaang Ye mulled over the Blade Tip's history, he suddenly heard a voice call out from deep within the forest. "Huh? I hear footsteps over there. Quick, let's go check it out!"
At the sound of the voice, Zhaang Ye immediately heard the rustle of several sets of footsteps in the forest, closing in on him.
Zhaang Ye's expression changed slightly. He dove into a thicket of bushes. 'These people are obviously looking for someone. Could they be looking for me? How is that possible?'
A moment later, three figures emerged from the forest depths. All three were dressed in martial attire, and each possessed the strength of the Martial Arts Second Layer. They exuded a murderous aura, clearly seasoned killers.
After the three scanned the area with sharp gazes, one of them spoke in a low voice. "That's odd. I was sure I heard footsteps around here, but now that we're closer, there's nothing."
Another man snorted. "You yelled out when you were still a long way off. Even if someone was here, they'd be long gone by now."
The first man to speak grunted in dissatisfaction. "Our superiors want us to kill anyone who looks suspicious. We need to be thorough, or we're the ones who'll be in for it..."
One of the three had remained silent the whole time. His nose twitched, as if sniffing something in the air. After a moment, he said in a low voice, "Someone was definitely here just now! I can smell a human's scent!"
Hiding in the bushes, Zhaang Ye heard this and groaned inwardly. 'This guy's nose is way too sharp! He can smell lingering scents in the air like a hound. I'm in for it now...'
Trouble has a way of finding you when you fear it most. As Zhaang Ye worried, the man with the twitching nose was already making his way toward the very bushes where he was hiding. But at this moment, a sense of calm washed over Zhaang Ye. He clenched his fists, a glint of barely perceptible killing intent in his eyes.
Now that he was discovered, the only way out was to kill.
The man drew closer and closer. When he was about three or four meters away, Zhaang Ye leaped out like a panther and slashed with his saber!
Zhaang Ye had been training relentlessly in his Saber Technique. Though this was an instinctive strike, it was still incredibly fierce. The long saber was a blur, there and gone in an instant.
The man with the keen nose was also a Martial Artist at the Martial Arts Second Layer. He had already been on high alert before catching Zhaang Ye's scent, but he never imagined the attack could be so vicious. He sensed only a blur flash before his eyes as a fierce gust from the blade rushed toward his face. The force of it alone was enough to whip his hair into a tangled mess.
Terrified beyond belief, he reflexively threw his hands up over his head, intending to block Zhaang Ye's peerless slash.
But a saber is a saber. How could mere flesh and bone possibly block it? In a flash, Zhaang Ye's Thick-Backed Saber swept by like the wind, severing both of the man's arms before slicing him clean in half.
A Martial Artist at the Martial Arts Second Layer, killed in a single blow!
"Kid, you're courting death!" The other two were stunned to see their companion cleaved in two, unable to even withstand a single blow. They both lunged forward in a fury.
As they lunged, they simultaneously drew their weapons. Both men wielded Long Swords, the blades shimmering with a bluish glint, evidently coated with a deadly poison.
Zhaang Ye sneered and advanced to meet them in silence.
Although he had never experienced a true life-and-death battle, skill breeds confidence. After mastering the Gentle Wind Slash to the Great Success Realm, Zhaang Ye's own disposition had changed. He faced powerful foes without a trace of fear.
SWISH! SWISH!
Zhaang Ye's Thick-Backed Saber flashed as he unleashed two Gentle Wind Slashes in an instant.
At the Great Success Realm, the Gentle Wind Slash was described as "seeing only the wind, not the blade." In the dim light of the dense forest, Zhaang Ye's two slashes were completely invisible to the naked eye.
"Ah!" The first man to reach him never imagined Zhaang Ye's Saber Technique could be so fast. He only had time for a single cry before the Thick-Backed Saber cut him in two. The second man, lunging a moment later, dodged instinctively. He felt a sudden coldness in his arm and looked down to see it had been severed at the shoulder. Blood sprayed from the wound.
"AHHH—" The man let out a terrified scream, rolled to his feet, and turned to flee without another thought of fighting.
If this man escaped, Zhaang Ye's location would be exposed. A flicker of murderous intent crossed Zhaang Ye's eyes. With a flick of his wrist, he sent his Thick-Backed Saber flying—a streak of light aimed straight at the fleeing man's back.
The man was horrified. He twisted, bringing his Long Sword around to block the attack. But Zhaang Ye had practiced with his Thick-Backed Saber to the Realm of Wishing. With a slight twitch of his wrist, the Thick-Backed Saber curved around the man's block. With a soft SHINK, it decapitated him.
Three slashes, three dead enemies of the same cultivation level. The power of the Gentle Wind Slash was on full display.
Only after killing the last man did Zhaang Ye finally let out a breath. Strictly speaking, this had been his first real battle. Though he was confident in his Saber Technique, it would be a lie to say he hadn't been nervous when suddenly facing three opponents of the same level. Thankfully, his performance had been more than adequate; he had dispatched his enemies cleanly and decisively.
Looking at the bodies on the ground, Zhaang Ye's interest in the Gentle Wind Slash from the Nameless Saber Manual grew immensely. 'The Elder from the Library Pavilion was right after all. The Gentle Wind Slash is incredibly difficult to learn, but once you do, its power is phenomenal! Even someone like me, with no real combat experience, could easily kill opponents of the same level just by relying on it. It's truly astonishing!'
With that thought, Zhaang Ye efficiently dragged the three bodies into a pile. As he was wondering how to dispose of them, a small bottle fell from one of the corpses. Zhaang Ye picked it up, and his heart leaped with joy as he saw what was inside. It was a Body Tempering Pill!
'Killing and looting always go hand-in-hand,' Zhaang Ye chided himself. 'What's the point of killing if you don't take the spoils? These guys were Martial Artists at the Martial Arts Second Layer, after all. They must have had some good stuff on them. I'd be a fool to just leave it!'
At this thought, Zhaang Ye quickly began searching the three bodies. He found quite a few odds and ends, but the most useful items by far were two more Body Tempering Pills.
With the two he had just found, plus the one from before, Zhaang Ye now had a total of three Body Tempering Pills. For a Martial Artist at the Martial Arts Second Layer like him, Body Tempering Pills were the perfect cultivation aid. With these three elixirs, Zhaang Ye estimated he could drastically shorten the time needed to reach the Late-stage of the Martial Arts Second Layer.