Chapter 71

Chapter 72: The Clash of Martial Paths (Major Chapter, Seeking Votes)

The journey from the capital to Donghe County is long, and there is a desolate stretch of the imperial road that spans several dozen miles without any signs of human habitation. The State of Qi has established a relay station in the middle of this stretch.

The relay station is adjacent to the Endless Mountains, about a hundred miles from Yunshan County. Due to the State of Qi's enthusiasm for seeking out great masters, many high-ranking officials and nobles from the capital would enter the Endless Mountains from here.

Therefore, they would choose to stay briefly at the relay station, which has increased its staff to serve these officials and nobles.

On this day, a figure flew out from the Endless Mountains.

It landed directly at the relay station.

"You are..."

A minor official at the relay station, upon seeing Xue Wuxin descend from the sky, was first startled, then overjoyed!

Is my opportunity here?

Thud!

He immediately knelt down and kowtowed.

"Great master, Ma Xiaoer pays his respects to the great master. I humbly request that the great master take me as a disciple..."

Xue Wuxin was taken aback. Are people in the borderlands so straightforward?

Kneeling and kowtowing to ask for discipleship at first sight?

"Ha ha..."

He laughed sinisterly and said, "Blood food, you are not worthy to be my disciple!"

The minor official was stunned. Blood food?

Thud!

Suddenly, he felt a sharp pain in his chest. Looking down, he saw a thin thread piercing his heart, as if his blood was being drained.

"Help..."

Before he could cry for help, he fell to the ground, turning into a shriveled corpse.

Xue Wuxin frowned. "The essence and blood here is too poor. In the borderlands, the spiritual energy of heaven and earth has diminished, even the people here have impure essence and blood."

From his body, threads extended and instantly pierced the hearts of the other minor officials at the relay station.

Thud!

Shriveled corpses fell to the ground.

There were no survivors at the relay station.

"The essence and blood are impure. Each time, I need to purify it before I can use it. This means I need a vast amount of blood. Even if I perform a blood sacrifice of tens or hundreds of thousands of people, it might not be enough to break through a minor realm."

Xue Wuxin frowned slightly.

"Currently, I can only endure. If a million is not enough, then ten million..."

"The borderlands are not short of people. Even if I perform a blood sacrifice of all of them, what can be done?"

Xue Wuxin's eyes glinted with a bloodthirsty light.

However, to perform a blood sacrifice of so many people and purify the essence and blood will take a considerable amount of time.

"I will first slaughter a city to recover my injuries, then find a few suitable disciples to cultivate as blood disciples to perform blood sacrifices and purify the essence and blood for me.

"Within ten years, I must break through to the Great Master realm!"

Xue Wuxin turned to look in the direction of the Endless Mountains, his eyes filled with a ruthless expression.

"Within ten years, I will return to the Inner Domain!"

Leaving the relay station, he was about to head to the nearest city to perform a blood sacrifice and purify the essence and blood to recover his injuries.

...

Xu Yan left the capital, filled with questions, eager to find his master for answers.

He directly used his martial technique and rushed straight to Donghe County.

With his current strength, even a thousand-mile horse would be far slower than him. Therefore, Xu Yan did not choose to ride a horse. His qi and blood circulated, and his figure moved like the wind, heading straight for Yunshan County.

"It's not a zombie. What kind of monster could do this?"

Xu Yan was still pondering what could have drained the bodies.

"Almost to Yunshan County."

Ahead was a relay station, and a hundred miles beyond was Yunshan County.

"Let's rest and calm down."

Xu Yan slowed his pace, preparing to rest at the relay station and inquire from the officials if they had heard of any blood-sucking monsters.

The relay station is adjacent to the Endless Mountains. As an official of the relay station, the information would be more reliable, and he would know more about the legends of the Endless Mountains than outsiders.

After traveling non-stop from the capital, his qi and blood had been somewhat depleted. He could not meet his master in this state; if his master thought he was hasty, it would not be good.

"One must not be hasty in dealing with matters!"

Xu Yan thought to himself.

As he stopped using his martial technique, his depleted qi and blood quickly recovered. His jade bones seemed to glow, demonstrating the strength of his jade bone foundation.

By the time Xu Yan entered the relay station, his qi and blood had almost fully recovered.

"Something's wrong!"

Suddenly, Xu Yan's expression turned serious!

A martial artist's keen senses made him immediately notice something amiss. His qi and blood instantly circulated, ready to fight, entering a state of alert.

He sensed a danger lurking nearby.

This was the first time he felt this way since becoming a martial artist.

Xu Yan immediately realized there was danger in the relay station!

And this danger could actually threaten him!

"What is it?"

Xu Yan felt his qi and blood boiling, a fierce fighting spirit rising in his heart, and he had a desire to battle this unknown danger.

He stepped into the relay station.

Suddenly!

His pupils constricted as he saw a shriveled corpse!

The corpse of a minor official at the relay station!

A shriveled body, identical to the corpses of the Secretary of War's son and his companions!

"Is it that monster?"

Xu Yan's heart tightened, his keen senses alerting him to the surroundings. He gradually pinpointed the source of the danger in a room at the relay station, where the enemy was standing behind the door!

"It's not a monster, it seems to be a human!"

At that moment, Xu Yan's heart skipped a beat. Could it be a martial artist like himself?

A martial artist from the martial world?

Where did they come from?

Why did they kill the minor official?

And... drain the official's blood!

What kind of martial artist is this?

Thud!

Suddenly, a cold, nearly transparent thread pierced through the door, shooting straight at his heart. The attack was incredibly fast, and the power of the strike was extremely strong!

In the room, Xue Wuxin was shocked.

How could there be a martial artist in the borderlands?

Moreover, this young martial artist seemed unusual!

He was about to leave the relay station to head to a nearby city to perform a blood sacrifice and recover his injuries.

Suddenly, he sensed a powerful aura approaching on the imperial road. The abundance of blood qi made him feel alarmed.

"Is it a martial artist from the Inner Domain who has come to hunt me?

"No! That's not right, why is the blood qi so terrifying?"

Xue Wuxin was shocked. He moved and hid back in the relay station.

The powerful aura was too overwhelming, too surging, and the strength of the blood qi was simply terrifying!

How could there be someone with such terrifying blood qi in the world?

"If I could devour his blood qi, wouldn't I instantly recover my injuries and even advance in strength?"

The more he thought about it, the more excited Xue Wuxin became.

"In the borderlands, the spiritual energy of heaven and earth has diminished, making it impossible for martial artists to appear. But in the Inner Domain, there are no martial artists with such terrifying blood qi. Even a Great Master would not have such abundant blood qi."

Xue Wuxin was increasingly puzzled.

"Could it be that martial arts can now be cultivated in the borderlands?

"No, that's impossible!"

As Xu Yan entered the relay station, even after stopping his martial technique and concealing his blood qi, Xue Wuxin, with his keen sensitivity to blood qi, could still sense the vast amount of blood qi within Xu Yan.

The more he sensed, the more alarmed he became.

"Is this blood qi? It feels different, and why does it feel so intense, like a raging fire? It seems boundless. This isn't blood qi, is it?"

Xue Wuxin was full of questions.

"Kill him. I can sense that if I can devour his blood qi, not only will I recover my injuries, but my foundation will be more solid, and I might even break through!"

Xue Wuxin's eyes glinted with a bloodthirsty light.

He flicked his finger, and the blood-sucking threads shot out, aiming straight for Xu Yan's heart.

The moment he attacked, he saw the young man strike with a palm, and with a loud boom, a giant red dragon, carrying a terrifying force, charged at him.

"What kind of technique is this!"

Xue Wuxin was horrified.

Boom!

The room collapsed, debris flying everywhere. Xu Yan raised his hand and struck again, a giant red dragon sweeping down from the sky.

The fierce and dominant Dragon Subduing Palm Force directly vaporized the blood-sucking threads. Xu Yan's expression was serious, and his eyes showed some confusion.

Looking at Xue Wuxin, who had leaped into the air to avoid the attack, he was deeply shocked.

"A martial artist at the Innate Realm? Is that true qi?"

The cold thread seemed to be condensed true qi.

"No! That's not right, true qi isn't that weak!

"The Innate Realm isn't that weak either. What's going on with him?"

Xu Yan was full of questions.

Xue Wuxin stared at Xu Yan, becoming more and more shocked!

"A martial artist! It's really a martial artist!"

"Is he from the Inner Domain? No! That's not right. If he were from the Inner Domain, he would already know who I am."

Xue Wuxin ruled out the possibility that this was a martial artist from the Inner Domain.

Clearly, this young man was a martial artist from the borderlands!

"Is he a Third Rank martial artist? No, he's stronger than a Third Rank. Second Rank? No, that's not right either. Second Rank isn't that strong. First Rank?

"Such a young First Rank martial artist?

"That's not right. What kind of martial artist is this? A First Rank martial artist shouldn't be this strong!"

Xue Wuxin was shocked and puzzled.

"Is his blood qi like a gale? What kind of martial artist, what kind of martial path, what kind of technique? A First Rank martial artist cultivates gale force, but it's not as vast and dominant, and it doesn't have such power.

"Why does it feel like a Master of Qi?

"But this isn't the inner qi of a Master. It seems to be just blood qi. Why is the blood qi so strong?"

Xue Wuxin felt his mind was a bit chaotic.

What the hell is going on?

Xu Yan was also confused. Xue Wuxin emitted a cold aura, and the powerful force seemed to be true qi, but it was weaker than true qi and did not have the strength of innate true qi.

However, the enemy could fly, which was clearly a sign of the Innate Realm.

If he were at the Innate Realm, why was he so weak?

"Could it be because of the strength of the technique I cultivated?"

Xu Yan fell into deep thought.

"That's not right. Why do I feel his physical body is not strong? It seems his martial foundation is not solid, and it seems he hasn't cultivated blood qi?

"That's strange. Is he really an Innate Realm martial artist?

"Looking at him, he doesn't seem like a good person. I need to be careful!"

His blood qi surged, a giant dragon coiled around his body, another dragon hovered above his head, and two more dragons raised their heads, ready to strike at any moment.

Facing a strong enemy, Xu Yan did not dare to be the slightest bit careless.

Xue Wuxin's pupils constricted. The terrifying blood qi, intense like a raging fire, gave him a strong sense of threat and a sense of longing.

His intuition told him that if he devoured the opponent's blood qi, he would not only recover his injuries but also break through in strength!

His eyes flashed with a bloodthirsty light.

His already pale face became even paler, and a cold aura spread around him.

He drew a long, narrow, cold-glowing knife from under his robe.

Xu Yan's gaze sharpened. He sensed a threat from the enemy's knife.

"It's a treasure knife!"

The knife was similar to the sword and knife he obtained from the royal treasury of the State of Qi, neither of which were made of steel.

"I don't have my sword with me!"

Xu Yan's mind tightened.

"After I return, I need to learn sword techniques!"

He made up his mind to find his master and learn a sword technique after returning.

Buzz!

Xue Wuxin's long knife emitted a cold, buzzing sound. The knife light spread, and a cold aura filled the air. Around the knife, thin threads floated like long needles.

"Strike first!"

Seeing this, Xu Yan immediately pushed his hand, and with a loud boom, the Dragon Subduing Palm Force erupted.

Xue Wuxin's eyes were cold, and he slashed with his knife.

The cold knife aura, accompanied by the thin threads, was incredibly sharp, slicing through the Dragon Subduing Palm Force in one strike.

Boom!

The knife aura spread, and a cold aura filled the surroundings, lowering the temperature.

Xu Yan waved his hands, and the Dragon Subduing Palm Technique unfolded. Instantly, nine dragons charged at Xue Wuxin from all directions, his terrifying blood qi like a raging flame.

The cold aura was instantly vaporized by his intense blood qi.

"This boy must not be left alive!"

Xue Wuxin's killing intent was intense. The intense blood qi of the opponent actually had a restraining effect on his inner qi, reducing his strength by more than twenty percent.

If not for his higher realm, he would have been overwhelmed in an equal match!

At that moment, the knife light swept, and the thin threads coiled like spider silk, forming a giant net.

Boom!

Nine giant dragons charged at Xue Wuxin from all directions, the dominant palm force layer upon layer, seemingly endless. However, Xue Wuxin's knife light was even more ruthless and sharp.

With each strike, he shattered the dragons, moving swiftly and relentlessly advancing.

The relay station had become a ruin in the battle.

"Too strong!"

Xu Yan's mind tightened. The enemy's knife technique was ruthless, and the knife aura was overwhelming, shattering his Dragon Subduing Palm Force. However, he did not retreat but was instead invigorated.

Finally, he had found a worthy opponent.

He could fight to his heart's content!

Fighting the Divine Army, he could not fully enjoy himself.

Now, he could!

A martial artist is meant to fight!

His blood qi surged, and the Dragon Subduing Palm Force grew stronger. With a loud boom, the tenth dragon emerged, ten dragons coiling and intertwining, their power increasing.

"Why do I feel he isn't that strong? An Innate Realm martial artist shouldn't be this weak."

Although the enemy temporarily had the upper hand, Xu Yan was not worried and was puzzled.

The enemy was too weak, far from the strength of an Innate Realm martial artist.

If his blood qi were full, he would surely defeat the enemy!

Xue Wuxin was increasingly alarmed as the battle continued. Although he had the upper hand, defeating the opponent was extremely difficult.

The dragon-shaped palm force was dominant and intense.

Moreover, the dragon-shaped palm force could change its attack. The dragon's head would strike, but halfway through, it would coil and turn into a tail strike!

What kind of palm technique could do this?

"That's not right. What technique is he cultivating? Judging by his strength, he seems to be a First Rank martial artist. But a First Rank martial artist shouldn't have this kind of strength or such overwhelming power!"

Xue Wuxin took a deep breath. He must end the battle quickly!

He slashed with his knife, and countless blood-sucking threads coiled around the dragons, hindering their changes and flexibility, slowing their attack speed.

As he moved, he suddenly seized the moment when Xu Yan's Dragon Subduing Palm left an opening above, leaped into the air, and stabbed down with his knife!

Four thousand-word major chapter update, trying to maintain two updates per day; seeking monthly votes^_^