"Die, Zhao Er!"
"Winter Wind Frost!"
Chu Qingyun gave a cold, internal cry, and the Sword Momentum of the fourth move of the Gale Seven Swords converged into a single thrust, aimed straight at Zhao Er's heart.
The desolate, cold Sword Momentum made Zhao Er feel as if he had plunged into an ice pit, a chill seeping through him from the inside out.
The power of Chu Qingyun's condensed strike was even greater than a Soul Technique from an ordinary Tier One Martial Soul.
Zhao Er's large saber was knocked away, and the longsword pierced precisely into his heart. An eruption of Primordial Power shattered the organ.
With a single sword strike, Zhao Er was dead.
Zhao Guang was dead, and now Zhao Er was dead too.
In front of Chu Qingyun, neither of them had been able to put up any resistance. They were killed outright!
At that moment, Zhao Lan finally sensed something was wrong.
This masked fellow clearly had the aura of a Level 3 Martial Artist, yet the combat power he unleashed was even more terrifying than his own—and he was a Fourth Level Martial Artist.
Even he, Zhao Lan, would likely have been unable to kill Zhao Guang and Zhao Er instantly.
"Kid, you killed men from our Zhao Family Castle! You're dead!"
Zhao Lan shouted the threat, then turned and fled.
The powerful Sword Technique, the perfect control over his Martial Soul... The strength Chu Qingyun had displayed had thoroughly terrified him.
'Trying to run?'
'Not a chance!'
Chu Qingyun snorted coldly and quickly gave chase.
Aided by two ten-meter-long vines from his Three-Star Vine, Chu Qingyun surged forward and caught up to Zhao Lan in the blink of an eye.
Another vine, infused with Primordial Power, sharpened like a long spear and shot violently toward Zhao Lan.
SQUELCH!
The vine struck Zhao Lan squarely, piercing cleanly through his chest and pinning him to the ground.
"Zhao Lan, when you go down below, say thanks to Meng for me."
Chu Qingyun walked to his side and said softly.
"You, you are..."
Overcome with terror, Zhao Lan tried to say something more.
But Chu Qingyun gave him no such chance, piercing Zhao Lan's heart with his sword.
Zhao Lan and his two men had been relying on the reputation of the Zhao Family Castle to rob and murder many people from other villages at the Yuan Stone Ore Vein.
Today, they finally received their just deserts, all of them eliminated by Chu Qingyun.
After Zhao Lan died, Chu Qingyun summoned his Devouring Martial Soul and consumed the man's Vole Martial Soul.
Chu Qingyun turned over Zhao Lan's corpse, searched it for a moment, and found a parcel.
He opened it and found it filled with pale gray Primordial Stones.
'He must have harmed so many people to rob this many Primordial Stones...'
After absorbing the Martial Souls of Zhao Guang and Zhao Er as well, Chu Qingyun and Ye Qi left the Yuan Stone Ore Vein.
After they were a safe distance away, Chu Qingyun suddenly took off his mask and clutched his stomach, dry heaving.
It was his first time killing, and the feeling was deeply unsettling.
He had forcibly suppressed the feeling during the fight, but now he could no longer bear it.
The image of Zhao Guang's broken neck and the savage, resentful expressions on the faces of the dead Zhao Lan and Zhao Er flashed relentlessly through his mind.
"Chu Qingyun, I heard my dad say that it's inevitable to feel unsettled the first time you kill."
"But you have to understand that now that you've stepped onto the path of a Martial Artist, all of this is unavoidable."
"If you don't kill others, they will kill you."
Surprisingly, Ye Qi didn't mock Chu Qingyun. Instead, she tried to counsel him.
Chu Qingyun nodded and said, "I understand. I'll be fine after a little rest."
Ye Qi nodded, clearly satisfied with Chu Qingyun's performance.
'A fifteen-year-old Level 3 Martial Artist who defeated a Fourth Level and two Level 3 Martial Artists all by himself. His talent with the sword is incredible, and he has perfect control over his Martial Soul...'
"Chu Qingyun, I have a Swordsmanship Secret Manual here. If you can master the first technique, come find me in Qingshan City."
As she spoke, Ye Qi took a thin Secret Manual from her clothes, tore off the front section, and handed the rest to Chu Qingyun.
"Celestial Sword Three Techniques?"
Taking the yellowed, ancient fragment of the manual, Chu Qingyun saw four large words written on the cover.
A flicker of awkwardness crossed Ye Qi's face when she heard the name.
This Secret Manual was one her father had obtained at great cost, but Ye Qi had studied it for several years and had not even mastered the first technique.
"Ahem, if you can master the first technique, then you'll *barely* be worth my notice. Come find me in Qingshan City when you do."
Ye Qi waved her hand and walked in the direction of Qingshan City.
Watching her walk away, Chu Qingyun felt a sense of clarity.
He had already guessed that Ye Qi might not be from a nearby village. A Fifth Level Martial Artist so young, with a Tier Two Martial Soul, would never have gone unnoticed in the Chu Family Village area.
'A Martial Artist from Qingshan City...'
Chu Qingyun silently tightened his grip on the Celestial Sword Three Techniques manual.
He could see from Ye Qi's example that the Martial Artists of Qingshan City were far stronger than those from the surrounding villages.
Of course, he had no way of knowing that even among the younger generation of Martial Artists in Qingshan City, Ye Qi was considered quite formidable.
Before long, the sky had completely darkened.
Chu Qingyun caught a small wild boar in the mountain forest for dinner and rested outside for the night.
The next day, he disposed of the mask and his outer clothes, changed into clothes he had prepared in advance, and got ready to return to the village.
Unexpectedly, at the village entrance, he ran into Chu Lie, Chu Xingwei, and their companion.
At this time, Chu Lie's injuries had healed a little, but his face was still very pale, without a trace of color.
"Morning, Qingyun."
Seeing Chu Qingyun, all three of them greeted him with a smile.
"Morning, Wei, Lie, Bo."
"Huh? Lie, you look injured."
Chu Qingyun said, feigning surprise.
"Haha, Qingyun, you have no idea! This time, I went with Lie and Bo to the Yuan Stone Ore Vein, and that place is just crawling with Martial Artists."
"A Level 1 Martial Artist like me is practically nothing there."
"What's even more infuriating is, when we were leaving, guess who we ran into? The murderer who killed Meng—Zhao Lan from Zhao Family Castle!"
"They even tried to kill us! But then, you'll never guess what happened. A masked expert showed up and took care of those three idiots with a wave of his hand!"
"Haha, you should have seen it! That masked expert was incredibly strong! He used his Three-star Vine Martial Soul so unpredictably, it was like magic. And his Sword Technique was amazing, too. If only I had that kind of strength..."
Chu Xingwei slung an arm around Chu Qingyun's neck, his face flush with excitement.
Chu Qingyun managed a tight smile, momentarily at a loss for words.
'Chu Xingwei would never guess in his wildest dreams that the masked expert he'd been idolizing was right here, under his arm…'
"Ahem, Xingwei."
Chu Lie coughed lightly and gave Chu Xingwei a meaningful look.
Chu Xingwei suddenly remembered something, and with an awkward expression, said, "Qingyun, I didn't mean anything by it, I was just talking..."
Chu Qingyun smiled, not minding it. "It's fine, Lie. You guys should go get your injuries treated. I'm heading back."
After watching Chu Qingyun walk away, Chu Lie looked at Chu Xingwei and said reproachfully, "Xingwei, you know that Qingyun doesn't have a Martial Soul. In the future, try not to talk about Martial Artists in front of him."
Chu Xingwei scratched his head awkwardly and said, "Lie, I just got excited after seeing that masked expert. I'll be more careful next time, definitely."
Chu Lie nodded, then suddenly looked in the direction Chu Qingyun had gone. "Did you guys notice? There was something... familiar about the way Qingyun looked from behind..."