The sword glared with white light, flashing out and retracting in an instant as the demon beast collapsed to the ground.
Chen Zong dug out the beast's horn and stored it in his bundle. Looking into the distance, he faintly discerned the outline of a city in the distance.
"Finally," Chen Zong said with a smile.
All told, he had spent nearly a month in the mountains, living like a wild man.
His heart racing with eagerness to return, Chen Zong sped forward. Even without fully activating the Wind-Treading Steps, each stride contained a hint of its mysteries. His steps were swift as the wind, his figure light and agile, moving with remarkable speed without draining his Qi Blood Power.
The further down he went, the fewer demon beasts he encountered. Even when he did, they were mere Low-Grade Level One Demon Beasts, no match for a single strike of his sword.
Finally reaching the foot of the mountain, Chen Zong rested briefly before emerging from the forest and hurrying toward the city.
Stepping onto the main road, Chen Zong confirmed that the city ahead was indeed Wind Martial City. He had traveled this road several times before, and the memory was vivid in his mind.
The main road was relatively deserted, mostly frequented by martial artists. Some walked alone, radiating a chilling aura, while others traveled in small groups of three to five. These were either like Chen Zong, descending from the mountains, or preparing to enter the mountains from the city.
Six figures approached from ahead. As they passed Chen Zong, one of them suddenly halted.
"Stop!" a furious shout rang out. "Finally, I've caught up with you! Seize him!"
Chen Zong turned around. The shouting man looked familiar—it was the Young Gang Leader of the Fine Rain Gang he'd encountered outside the Martial Proof Pavilion during Tang Junluo's Soaring Dragon Assembly. The Tang Clan guards had blocked Chen Zong from entering.
The two young men flanking the Young Gang Leader of the Fine Rain Gang immediately circled around Chen Zong with malicious grins. Chen Zong sensed their Qi Blood fluctuations—they weren't stronger than him, likely at the Fourth or Fifth Layer of the Qi Blood Realm. As for the Young Gang Leader himself, he was similarly ranked. The other three, however, possessed significantly stronger Qi Blood Power, possibly at the Sixth Layer of the Qi Blood Realm.
In the distance, other martial artists passed by, watching but showing no intention of intervening.
"Stop," Chen Zong commanded, his sword flashing with a chilling light, his eyes cold and fierce.
The Young Gang Leader of the Fine Rain Gang sneered, his voice dripping with malice. "Still daring to resist? Capture him! I'll break his limbs and toss him to the demon beasts in the mountains."
Two Fifth Layer Qi Blood Realm gang members charged from either side, their claw-like hands tearing through the air as they aimed for Chen Zong's shoulders.
Chen Zong shifted slightly, evading the claws. His sword trembled lightly, striking both attackers in the face and sending them flying. Their cheeks instantly swelled.
"This is a warning," Chen Zong declared coldly. "Come again, and you'll face death without mercy."
The Young Gang Leader's face darkened. "Useless trash!" he snarled at two nearby Sixth Layer Qi Blood Realm gang members. "You two, attack!"
The two charged forward. One drew his blade, its gleam slicing through the air at an eerie angle. The other's legs blurred like a gale-force wind, whistling through the air.
The two Fifth Layer gang members, their swollen faces still stinging, joined the attack, their clawed strikes now even more vicious.
Chen Zong took a deep breath, his frown smoothing as a glint of killing intent flashed in his eyes.
"Since you're courting death, I'll grant you your wish," he murmured. With a flicker of sword light, like the screech of a mighty eagle or the rumble of distant thunder, the blade split into four arcs, each hurtling toward one of the four assailants.
The two fighters at the Sixth Layer of the Qi Blood Realm dodged, countered, and retreated. The two at the Fifth Layer, however, had no time to react. Their throats were pierced in a single, fatal strike.
"Kill him!" The Young Gang Leader of the Fine Rain Gang's face twisted as he shrieked. Beside him, the middle-aged man bristled with fury.
A long blade slashed down with blinding light and a shrill whistle that made the scalp tingle. Legs whirled in a dusty whirlwind—both clearly employing Low-Grade Human-Rank Martial Arts.
Chen Zong's eyes sharpened. A single glance revealed the flaws in their blade and leg techniques. These two had only achieved First Layer Minor Mastery in their Martial Arts realms.
His feet shifted like the wind, evading the leg strikes and stepping directly into the path of the blade.
He struck!
Swift Sword Stance!
The sword light condensed into a piercing, blinding line—impossible to look at directly. The sword moved with terrifying speed, tearing through the air in a series of four rapid thrusts.
The sword tip repeatedly struck the flaws in the opponent's blade technique, shattering the glint of his blade.
With his fifth strike, Chen Zong followed a sliver of an opening, moving with a speed the opponent couldn't react to, piercing the throat and leaving a crimson smear.
"What?!" The burly man beside the Young Gang Leader of the Fine Rain Gang stared in disbelief. He could sense the opponent's Qi Blood Power—clearly at the Fifth Layer of the Qi Blood Realm—and yet he had so easily killed a Sixth Layer martial artist.
Could he be a prodigy from some powerful faction?
Chen Zong's continuous breakthroughs in sword technique, his repeated brushes with death in battle, the progress of his cultivation techniques, and every aspect of his training had propelled his strength forward. He had progressed from barely being able to contend with Sixth Layer martial artists to effortlessly slaughtering them—a tremendous leap in power.
Exploding Sword Stance!
The sword struck like a cannonball, unstoppable. The fierce wind generated by the leg strikes was torn apart as the blade pierced through, leaving nothing in its path.
This strike was even more devastating than the Great Perfection Dividing Light Shadowing.
Even a Sixth Layer martial artist couldn't withstand it, especially when their weakness had been exposed.
In a single strike, the sword pierced the heart and exited through the back.
In mere breaths, Chen Zong had slain two martial artists at the Fifth Layer of the Qi Blood Realm and two at the Sixth Layer.
The Young Gang Leader of the Fine Rain Gang, his face contorted with shock, pointed at Chen Zong and barked at the last man beside him, "A'San, kill him!"
"Young Gang Leader," the middle-aged man replied gravely, "this man might be a prodigy from one of the great clans."
The Fine Rain Gang was merely a minor faction in Wind Martial City. The highest cultivation base within the gang was the Gang Leader, who stood at the Ninth Layer of the Qi Blood Realm. Within the Five Great Clans, he would barely qualify as a Hall Elder. Compared to the colossal powerhouses like the Three Great Clans and the Five Great Clans, the Fine Rain Gang was no more significant than an ant.
If this man truly was a prodigy from one of the great clans, killing him could bring utter ruin upon the Fine Rain Gang.
"A'San," the Young Gang Leader growled, his voice sharp with authority, "you were sent by my father to protect me. How dare you disobey my command!"
"Yes, Young Gang Leader," A'San replied, his expression shifting rapidly before settling into grim determination. He began advancing toward Chen Zong, step by step, channeling his Qi Blood Power. As the potent energy circulated within him, a surging aura radiated outward.
"Seventh Layer of the Qi Blood Realm!" Chen Zong said, his expression grave.
"If you blame anyone, blame yourself for provoking the Young Gang Leader," A'San said, stepping forward slowly. He drew his black iron staff from his waist, his aura growing stronger with each step, the pressure on Chen Zong mounting. Suddenly, he lunged forward, slamming the staff down with meteoric force, the impact shaking the very ground.
A fierce gust of wind roared, the pressure suffocating. Chen Zong felt as if he couldn't breathe.
"Seventh Layer of the Qi Blood Realm. Perfect for testing the Heavenly Light Cloud Shadow Sword's might," Chen Zong thought, unleashing a burst of Qi Blood Power and physical strength.
But with the Young Gang Leader still present, Chen Zong dared not use his full strength.
Eighty percent!
Blinding light descended from above, illuminating a four-meter radius. Shadows rippled and merged, creating a dazzling, disorienting effect. The Seventh Layer martial artist's vision went white, as if pricked by needles, his eyes watering from the pain.
Blind and disoriented, he swung his staff downward with brutal force, only to strike empty air.
Before he could react, a searing pain erupted from his chest and radiated throughout his body. It felt as if his body had been severed in two.
The illusions vanished. The Young Gang Leader of the Fine Rain Gang saw a body lying in a pool of blood—it was his guard, A'San. A diagonal sword wound slashed across his chest, nearly cleaving his body in half.
"You... you... you actually killed A'San..." The Young Gang Leader stammered, terror gripping him. A'San had been his most trusted protector, yet the enemy had slain him with a single sword strike. Now, as the killer approached, each step radiating murderous intent, the Young Gang Leader's face turned ashen.
"I'm going to kill you too," Chen Zong said, suppressing the discomfort from using up eighty percent of his strength. His pace quickened.
He had already killed five. What was one more? Especially the mastermind behind it all.
"Don't come any closer..." The Young Gang Leader whimpered, nearly wetting himself. His cultivation base was only at the fourth layer of the Qi Blood Realm. If even A'San, at the seventh layer, had been slain, how could he possibly stand a chance? "I'm the Young Gang Leader of the Fine Rain Gang! If you kill me, my father will never let you live!"
"My name is Chen Zong. You've surely heard of me," Chen Zong said with a faint smile. As expected, the Young Gang Leader of the Fine Rain Gang paled at the name.
"Chen Zong... the Chen Zong of the Chen Clan... True Sword Chen Zong of the Wind Martial Four Young Heroes..." the Young Gang Leader stammered, trembling.
"You shouldn't have provoked me," Chen Zong said, stepping forward and closing the distance to the retreating Young Gang Leader. His Precious Iron Sword flashed like lightning streaking across the sky, its speed astonishing.
Sheathing his sword, Chen Zong watched as a single crimson drop appeared on the Young Gang Leader's throat, blood trickling down.
One strike, one kill!
With the enemy slain, it was time to claim his spoils. From the six bodies, Chen Zong collected a total of one thousand paper money notes, three Purple Jade Coins, five Red Jade Coins, fifty White Jade Coins, twenty Vitality Pills, seven Beast Blood Pills, and some dry rations—most of which came from the Young Gang Leader of the Fine Rain Gang.
The dry rations were useless to Chen Zong, so he discarded them. He kept everything else.
Chen Zong took out two Vitality Pills and one Beast Blood Pill, swallowing them down. A surge of warmth flowed through him as his physical strength and Qi Blood Power rapidly recovered. He then strode purposefully toward Wind Martial City.
Few people had witnessed the battle, which had lasted only a short time but produced a shocking outcome.
"It was actually True Sword Chen Zong!"
"I never expected it to be him! His strength is terrifying! To think he could kill a Seventh Layer Qi Blood Realm martial artist with a single sword strike—it's unbelievable!"
"I remember Chen Zong only broke through to the Fourth Layer of the Qi Blood Realm less than a year ago. Could his cultivation base already have reached the Seventh Layer?"
"Absolutely not. The intensity of his Qi Blood Power when he unleashed it was clearly only at the Sixth Layer."
"The person killed was the sole son of the Fine Rain Gang Leader. This is going to get messy."
"I doubt it. Chen Zong is a member of the Chen Clan and one of the Wind Martial Four Young Heroes. Comparing the Fine Rain Gang to the Chen Clan is like pitting a kitten against a ferocious tiger. How dare they provoke such a force? Those six deaths will likely be in vain."
Amid the crowd's astonished discussions, Chen Zong caught sight of the gates of Wind Martial City.