Chapter 21

"Damn it, of all times, it has to rain now."

Chen Hu's collar and hair were completely soaked, and his mood grew increasingly irritable.

He had thought this job would be easy, with the target being just a novice at the Seventh Level of Body Tempering, and he had set up a trap using Yuan Dashan as bait. Yet, the target still managed to escape.

"That Yuan Dashan was only at the Eighth Level of Body Tempering; how could such trash even qualify to join my team?" Thinking of Yuan Dashan, who was killed by an arrow, Chen Hu's face was cold and indifferent.

"Twang!"

The sound of the bowstring vibrating was barely noticeable in the torrential rain, but as a Qi Sea Realm martial artist, Chen Hu's senses were sharp, and his body instinctively moved half a step to the side.

"Thud!"

A silver-white arrow pierced the ground beside him, its tail feathers trembling violently.

"This is... a silver-iron arrow!"

Chen Hu's eyes narrowed as he looked in the direction the arrow came from. On a large tree branch, a figure in black with a hood held a long bow.

"It's you? Did you kill Chen Ping?"

Chen Hu's gaze was cold, his killing intent evident, as the archer in his team, Chen Ping, used silver-iron arrows.

"Snap!"

Luo Xiu leaped down from the tree, splashing through the rain, and sneered, "Not just Chen Ping, I killed all of them. Only you are left."

Hearing this, a hint of shock appeared in Chen Hu's eyes. Each of his brothers was at the Ninth Level of Body Tempering. How could a Seventh Level novice do this, and without even a chance to send a signal?

But Chen Hu quickly regained his composure and said coldly, "You have some guts, boy. Even if you killed the others, do you think you can be my match?"

Luo Xiu stepped forward, the rain pattering on his hood, a faint smile on his lips. "I'm eager to see the strength of a Qi Sea Realm martial artist. I hope you don't disappoint me."

"Haha... A mere Body Tempering Realm martial apprentice challenging a Qi Sea Realm martial artist?" Chen Hu laughed loudly, his eyes flashing with killing intent. "Brat, I'll make your death very ugly!"

Chen Hu was indifferent to the deaths of his companions. With his Qi Sea Realm strength, he could easily form a new team.

Holding an iron spear, Chen Hu exuded a killing aura, a cold and oppressive presence.

Luo Xiu drew his green saber, fully alert and ready. The Qi Sea Realm and Body Tempering Realm were two entirely different levels.

The Body Tempering Realm involved refining internal energy into the body, while the Qi Sea Realm martial artists gathered internal energy in the dantian, forming a sea of qi and condensing it into true qi.

The power of true qi far exceeded that of internal energy!

"Take this spear!"

Chen Hu suddenly charged, his iron spear slicing through the air with a whistling sound, glowing faintly with true qi.

"Snap! Snap! Snap!..."

The spear moved incredibly fast, the rain splashing aside, the spear shadow like a snake, a cold light flashing.

Luo Xiu's feet moved in a pattern, his body spinning, and he slashed with his green saber.

"Clang!"

The green saber met the iron spear, a powerful force transmitted through, causing Luo Xiu's sword to vibrate, his palm to ache, and he was forced to retreat several meters to dissipate the impact.

"Truly a Qi Sea Realm martial artist, completely overpowering me in strength," Luo Xiu thought.

"Boy, your footwork is good, but my cultivation far surpasses yours. One force can break all, you're dead!" Chen Hu sneered, his long spear trembling like a venomous snake, creating a flurry of spear shadows that enveloped Luo Xiu.

"Clang! Clang! Clang!..."

Facing the fierce attack of the Qi Sea Realm martial artist, Luo Xiu was completely at a disadvantage.

If not for his advanced footwork, any Ninth Level Body Tempering martial apprentice would have been killed on the spot.

"Crack!"

The green saber clashed with the iron spear again, a tiny spark leaping out. Luo Xiu quickly retreated, but his green saber was already broken.

"Haha, my Lingfeng Spear is a low-grade human rank battle weapon. Boy, prepare to die!"

Chen Hu forced Luo Xiu back with a sweeping strike, his long spear trembling, and a swift strike pierced through.

The green saber broke, but Luo Xiu remained calm, his feet shifting slightly. The Lingfeng Spear passed by his body, the wind tearing a wound in his chest, blood spurting out.

"Roaring Tiger Stance!"

At the critical moment, Luo Xiu punched Chen Hu's chest, and Chen Hu had no time to retract his spear.

"Can a mere Seventh Level Body Tempering Realm martial artist even hurt me?" Chen Hu's face was full of disdain. A Qi Sea Realm martial artist's true qi protected the body, and internal energy couldn't break through, let alone with the low-grade human rank light armor he wore.

"Bang!"

A dull sound echoed, and Chen Hu's face changed instantly.

"Spit!"

He spat out a mouthful of blood, quickly retreating, his eyes filled with fear and shock.

Luo Xiu pushed the Lingfeng Spear away with a horizontal palm strike, his inch-step technique bringing him close, his fists changing patterns, internal energy glowing.

"Rising Dragon Stance!"

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

Several more punches struck Chen Hu's chest. True qi and light armor could protect the body, but not the vital meridians.

"Thud!"

Chen Hu fell backward, spitting out blood, his eyes wide open, his chest bones shattered, internal organs damaged, and meridians severed, dying with his eyes open.

"I, a First Level Qi Sea Realm martial artist, actually died at the hands of a Body Tempering Realm boy?"

I can't accept it! I can't accept it!

Luo Xiu also coughed up blood, injured by the true qi protecting Chen Hu's body.

The rain poured down, water splashing. Looking at the fallen Chen Hu, Luo Xiu finally breathed a sigh of relief. The life and death qi circulated in his body, repairing the vital meridians in his chest, and the wounds began to heal visibly.

Luo Xiu knew that if not for the technique that damaged the vital meridians, he would not have been Chen Hu's match. The gap between the Qi Sea Realm and Body Tempering Realm was still significant.

...

The rain poured for half a day, and Luo Xiu emerged from the Eight-Headed Mountain, his harvest substantial.

Especially by killing Chen Hu, Luo Xiu obtained the Lingfeng Spear, a low-grade human rank light armor, and even a second-grade storage array device!

On his left wrist, Luo Xiu wore a bronze-colored wrist guard, where all his items were stored.

This storage device could be used to retrieve or store items by injecting internal energy.

In the Eight-Headed Mountain base, many hunters were complaining about the rain, as such weather increased the difficulty and danger of hunting.

Luo Xiu sold some of the materials from the demon beasts directly at the base, exchanging the silver for over 180 low-grade essence stones.

He then went to a weapon shop to sell the weapons of Chen Hu and his team.

The shopkeeper was a middle-aged man with graying temples. When Luo Xiu took out the weapons, a hint of surprise flashed in his eyes.

"Lingfeng Spear? Isn't this Chen Hu's weapon?" The middle-aged shopkeeper couldn't help but exclaim when he saw the long spear.

Luo Xiu's face changed; he hadn't expected Chen Hu's weapon to be recognized, and he felt a sense of unease.

After all, he was still a novice in various aspects of experience and knowledge.

"Sorry, sir, I lost my composure." The middle-aged shopkeeper immediately realized the situation and apologized.

Luo Xiu's face was dark. "Shopkeeper, you won't spread this around, right?"

"Of course not, sir, you can rest assured. People die every day in the Eight-Headed Mountain, and I've done similar business before. I will keep it confidential for my customers," the middle-aged shopkeeper said.

"You might not know, but Chen Hu was notorious in the Eight-Headed Mountain area, killing without mercy. He didn't dare provoke teams led by Qi Sea Realm martial artists, but many teams didn't have such members."

The middle-aged shopkeeper sighed. "Chen Hu killed in the mountains, leaving no evidence, so others couldn't do anything about it. It's karma that he was eventually killed."

Hearing this, Luo Xiu felt slightly relieved. If news of him killing Chen Hu spread, it could bring unnecessary trouble.

Besides the Lingfeng Spear, the silver-iron bow and other weapons were ordinary, selling for a total of over 700 essence stones.

Adding the silver notes and essence stones from Chen Hu and his team, Luo Xiu now had over 1,300 low-grade essence stones!

In the following days, Luo Xiu continued to cultivate in the outer regions of the Eight-Headed Mountain.

In a safe and secluded spot in the forest, Luo Xiu sat cross-legged, activating a first-grade spirit-gathering array device, drawing in the essence of heaven and earth.

Combined with the life essence of the forest and the effects of the Qi Nourishing Pill, he could feel his cultivation steadily improving.

At the Eighth Level of Body Tempering, the focus was on refining blood and qi. As his internal energy continued to refine, Luo Xiu could clearly feel the blood and qi in his body surging and growing stronger.

The Pure Yang Technique lived up to its reputation as a top-tier third-grade internal technique, with excellent cultivation effects. After he visualized and improved the life and death meridian diagram, the effects were even better.

Suddenly, Luo Xiu took another Qi Nourishing Pill, and the powerful medicinal energy spread through his body, accelerating the refinement of internal energy.

"Rumble..."

In a daze, Luo Xiu seemed to hear the sound of his blood and qi surging like a river. His body emitted a black and white light, and a faint aura of power emerged.

After a moment, Luo Xiu's aura began to converge, and he opened his eyes, a gust of qi spreading out, blowing up nearby branches and leaves.

"Eighth Level of Body Tempering!"

Luo Xiu's eyes shone with excitement, his pupils gleaming.

By circulating internal energy, he could feel the pure internal energy stored in his blood and qi. He opened his palm, and internal energy condensed into a ball of black and white light.

With a thought, the light in his palm turned white, full of vitality, and then turned black, full of deathly aura.

This was the life and death qi. At the Eighth Level of Body Tempering, his cultivation was more profound and pure, allowing him to control internal energy skillfully.

"At the Seventh Level of Body Tempering, my internal energy could match that of a Ninth Level, and now at the Eighth Level, with the life and death qi, no one below the Qi Sea Realm can match me in internal energy!"

Luo Xiu felt a sense of accomplishment, believing that with his cultivation speed, becoming a Qi Sea Realm martial artist was just a matter of time.

He could even feel that due to the abundance of internal energy, some of it was flowing through his meridians and gathering in his dantian.

Typically, only when a martial artist reached the peak of the Ninth Level of Body Tempering would internal energy gather in the dantian. Once the sea of qi was opened, internal energy would condense into true qi, allowing them to enter the Qi Sea Realm.

Luo Xiu, at the Eighth Level of Body Tempering, already had internal energy gathering in his dantian, indicating that his internal energy was at the peak of the Ninth Level of Body Tempering!

"I wonder how I compare to the elites in the higher classes of the Martial Hall," Luo Xiu couldn't help but think.