Zhaang Ye sucked in a sharp breath. 'Did this guy who fell from the sky cultivate his body to be as hard as iron, impervious to blades and spears? No, that can't be right. My last strike was powered by True Qi. It would have split even an iron man wide open! How is it possible for a man of flesh and blood to take a slash like that and be completely unharmed!?'
Zhaang Ye cautiously approached. The man he had sent flying with his saber was a bearded, middle-aged man in his forties, covered from head to toe in scars. To Zhaang Ye's horror, even after taking such a heavy blow, the bearded man wasn't dead! His eyes were tightly shut, but his chest was still rising and falling. He was clearly still alive!
'He took such a vicious slash and still isn't dead! This person is definitely an expert!' At this thought, Zhaang Ye's guard immediately went up, and he stopped in his tracks, keeping his distance.
As if sensing Zhaang Ye, the bearded man's eyes snapped open. They shone with a sharp light, not at all like those of a wounded person. He slowly turned his head, his gaze fixing on Zhaang Ye. After a moment, a hint of surprise appeared on his face. "You're practicing the Basic Inner Power from *Martial Arts Enlightenment*? I never thought someone could unleash such a fierce Saber Technique using only Basic Inner Power! You're quite impressive. But you shouldn't have been greedy for my things, so now you must die!"
As soon as he finished speaking, he raised a hand and struck!
The bearded man looked like he was on the verge of death, yet this casual palm strike was astonishingly powerful. The moment the Palm Force manifested, Zhaang Ye felt as if he were trapped in a raging sea. The surging True Qi was like a horde of invisible beasts, ready to tear him to shreds at any moment.
"Hah!"
Zhaang Ye roared, swinging the Thick-Backed Saber with lightning speed and executing the Gentle Wind Slash, slashing fiercely before him.
Zhaang Ye's Gentle Wind Slash had reached the Transformation Realm. As he brandished the Thick-Backed Saber, it instantly became a whirlwind of strikes, forming a barrier of wind directly in front of him.
BOOM!
The force projected by the bearded man was utterly tyrannical. It shattered the Blade Net Zhaang Ye had formed in a single blow, sending him flying back dozens of feet. However, Zhaang Ye's fierce counterattack had also managed to slice the man's projected force in two, saving him from being torn to shreds by the True Power.
Seeing that Zhaang Ye had actually weathered his strike, a look of surprise crossed the bearded man's face. "Kid, you're not bad. To think you could take one of my palm strikes with your paltry Mid-stage Second Layer cultivation! Even though that strike had less than five percent of my usual power, it's still quite remarkable! But you're still going to die!"
As he spoke, the man suddenly pulled something from his robes. With a flick of his wrist, a cold gleam shot toward Zhaang Ye like a bolt of lightning!
Zhaang Ye was already wary of this man and had assumed a defensive stance the moment he reached for something. Even so, he was badly startled by the cold gleam the man threw.
The cold gleam was as fast as lightning; Zhaang Ye felt he couldn't even follow it with his eyes. What was most terrifying was that it carried a suffocating, horrifying aura. From the very beginning, this aura locked onto Zhaang Ye, making him feel as if he'd been plunged into an ice cave. Not only was his body frozen in place, but even his thoughts seemed to have turned to ice. Moving even a single finger felt incredibly difficult.
"AHH—" At this critical moment between life and death, Zhaang Ye's eyes flew wide and he let out a sudden roar. Just as the white light was about to pierce his chest, he finally managed to move. Guided by a profound and mysterious feeling, one hand shot up with lightning speed and clamped down hard on the white light.
Feeling his hand close around the cold light, Zhaang Ye finally let out a breath of relief. Only then did he realize that in that brief instant, he had broken out in a cold sweat. His gaze fell to his hand. Blood streamed from it, and it had gone completely numb. In the center of his palm lay a palm-sized Blade Tip, radiating a faint, suppressive aura. Although the aura was faint, it exuded an indescribable feeling of nobility, majesty, antiquity, and vastness. It pressed down on Zhaang Ye like a colossal weight, making his entire body go cold.
Zhaang Ye struggled to raise his head and look at the bearded man who had attacked so suddenly. Just as he was about to speak, he heard the man say in surprise, "Huh? You actually withstood the Spiritual Attack from this Blade Tip! I never would have thought your Soul Power was so strong! Kid, count yourself lucky. This Blade Tip is yours now. I hope you live long enough to comprehend it... *cough*..."
The bearded man's voice trailed off, growing fainter until it was gone.
Just as Zhaang Ye was about to go and check if the man was truly dead, he heard a few soft, wet cracking sounds. Blood suddenly gushed from the bearded man's body like a fountain, and his entire frame shriveled. He was obviously dead.
After a long while, Zhaang Ye cautiously approached. He saw that the bearded man's body was covered in wounds, at least thirty of which were grievous. He had no idea how the man had managed to survive for so long.
Looking at the wounds, Zhaang Ye couldn't help but suck in a sharp breath. 'This man... he suffered such heavy injuries, and on top of that had the bad luck to take a heavy blow from my saber. His bones must have been shattered, yet he still managed to cling to life for a while. It's truly unbelievable!'
After examining the man's wounds, Zhaang Ye's gaze shifted and he suddenly noticed a palm-sized box next to the body, faintly inscribed with mysterious lines. An idea struck him. He picked up the box and placed the Blade Tip he was still clutching into it.
The box was truly a miraculous thing. Although the Blade Tip was just an inanimate object, it had been constantly radiating a faint Suppression. The moment it was placed inside the box, that aura vanished without a trace.
Zhaang Ye put the box away and was just debating whether to search the bearded man's body when he heard a clear whistle from far upriver of the waterfall. The sound was long and resonant; the person whistling was clearly an immensely powerful expert. In response to the whistle, several others answered from different directions. They were obviously part of the same group.
Hearing the whistles, Zhaang Ye immediately realized he was in serious trouble. 'This bearded man was covered in wounds; he must have been attacked by a group. This place is remote and rarely visited, so for so many people to show up at once... they must be the ones looking for him! That means they're the ones who beat this expert with his tyrannical Martial Arts half to death! If they find me, the consequences will be unimaginable!'
Realizing this, Zhaang Ye knew this was now a place of trouble and didn't dare to delay for a moment. With a silent, 'My apologies,' he threw the bearded man's corpse into the river. After disposing of the body, he quickly threw his own belongings into the river as well.
Zhaang Ye was only a boy of twelve or thirteen, but ever since his memories had awakened, he was like a completely different person. He handled the task of destroying a corpse and erasing all traces with a clean and decisive efficiency that even a seasoned veteran would have to admire.
After one last glance at the items being swept away by the river, Zhaang Ye didn't dare to hesitate and quickly left the area.
Less than an hour after Zhaang Ye left the waterfall, several figures tore through the air and arrived. The man in the lead was tall and powerfully built, dressed in a sweeping red robe with a gleaming saber strapped to his back. He exuded an intensely oppressive aura, a sign of his unfathomably deep Cultivation.
"Master, the target's last known location was right here." A short man's nose twitched as he sniffed the air for a moment before pointing to the spot where the bearded man had been. "Look, there's still a large amount of blood."
The red-robed man said slowly, "Keep searching."
The short man's brow furrowed. "Master, I've lost his trail. I suspect the target escaped through the river..." He hesitated for a moment, then added, "I also smell the scent of a second person near the waterfall. I'm not sure if they were the one who helped the target get away."
"The scent of a second person?" The red-robed man's expression changed slightly, and he immediately issued a command. "Notify the outer perimeter! Lock down a hundred-li radius. Hunt down and kill any and all suspicious individuals! We'll search along the river. We are not to return until we find the target!"