Chapter 8: Supreme Sword Control Art

“There’s an enemy!”

Li Qingqiu immediately stood up. He picked up the heavenly rainbow sword beside him and rushed out of the house.

In the courtyard, Jiang Zhaoxia had already taken the lead and come out. Holding a wooden sword, he looked into the distance. Following his gaze, a figure stood atop the mountain gate, back to the bright moon, his white clothes fluttering in the wind. He wore a straw hat and held a saber in both hands.

From the opponent’s posture, it was clear he was an expert!

Zhang Yuchun and Wu Maner also walked out of the house, while Li Sifeng leaned on the windowsill, peeking out.

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Li Dongyue and Li Sijin were also leaning against the windowsills in their rooms, looking outside nervously.

This was the first crisis Li Qingqiu had encountered since becoming the Sect Leader. He was still a bit nervous, but he also had some confidence. After all, all members of the Qingxiao Sect had entered the Nourishing Origin Realm and possessed the strength to fight.

Yang Jueding leaped onto the eaves behind Li Qingqiu, staring at the white-clad swordsman from a distance.

“Luo Lie, you’ve chased me for a thousand miles, and you still won’t let it go?”

Yang Jueding asked, his voice booming and his tone filled with resentment.

The white-clad swordsman known as Luo Lie stood on the mountain gate, dozens of meters away from Yang Jueding. Despite the cold wind blowing, his figure did not budge. He lowered his head, his face hidden by the bamboo hat, as his voice rang out:

“Let it go? You offended the Qing Cult and still think you can walk away unscathed? Hand over that Secret Manual, and I’ll give you a quick death.”

Accompanied by the sharp sound of a blade being unsheathed, Luo Lie drew his saber and leaped, flying toward Yang Jueding like a startled swan.

Li Qingqiu narrowed his eyes. He could see some kind of energy pushing behind Luo Lie, making him look as if he were flying.

Was this Qinggong?

As he passed the eaves, Luo Lie’s toes tapped lightly like a dragonfly skimming the water. His movements were very fast; if Li Qingqiu hadn’t entered the Nourishing Origin Realm, it would have been difficult to see this.

Fortunately!

It wasn’t that supernatural. He needed to borrow force, which meant Luo Lie’s martial arts weren’t that outrageous.

Facing the aggressive Luo Lie, Yang Jueding, standing on the eaves, immediately took a horse stance. He pushed his right palm up from his waist, palm facing down, then flipped it to strike at Luo Lie.

Boom—

Accompanied by a thunderous roar, Li Qingqiu, Jiang Zhaoxia, and Zhang Yuchun saw Yang Jueding strike out with a vast burst of energy. Like a sea wave, it blocked Luo Lie in mid-air. Immediately after, Luo Lie was sent flying. He spun before landing and stood firmly in the courtyard.

Luo Lie looked up, his bamboo hat lifting to reveal a weathered face filled with terror.

“Your power… how is it possible? You were clearly poisoned. Could it be that you’ve mastered that Divine Technique?”

By the end, Luo Lie’s expression became distorted.

Yang Jueding jumped down from the eaves and landed on the ground. The corners of his mouth curled up as he said contemptuously, “I’ve traveled the Jianghu for so many years; how could I be harmed by your underhanded methods? As for the Divine Technique you mentioned, that thing is a fake. It’s impossible to master!”

Luo Lie snorted coldly and charged at Yang Jueding with his saber.

The two were a dozen paces apart. In an instant, Luo Lie reached Yang Jueding. The blade was sharp, and his movements were as fast as a ghost. Yang Jueding raised his palm to defend, facing the opponent’s blade without any fear.

Their figures intertwined as they fought in the courtyard, countering each other’s Moves. Energy flew everywhere, causing the snow on the ground to turn into rising mist.

Zhang Yuchun looked at Li Qingqiu, questioning him with his eyes.

Li Qingqiu shook his head slightly, signaling him not to act rashly.

This was a good opportunity to observe the strength of Martial Forest experts.

It had to be said that Yang Jueding and Luo Lie were indeed powerful. Judging by their reaction speed and strength, they had already far surpassed ordinary people. A Cultivator at the Nourishing Origin Realm, First Layer might not necessarily be able to take them down.

Of course, Li Qingqiu was referring to child Cultivators like Li Sifeng and Li Sijin.

If it were him, he was confident he could kill these two in an instant.

Although their Moves were flashy, Li Qingqiu’s speed in exhaling Origin Qi was faster. He could kill them instantly as soon as the fight started.

Furthermore, Li Qingqiu discovered that the gap between Internal Qi and Origin Qi was enormous. Don’t be fooled by Yang Jueding’s thick Internal Qi and his grand, sweeping Moves that sent snow flying; if he truly faced Origin Qi, his Internal Qi would be pierced through in a single strike.

Looking at it now, even if Jiang Zhaoxia hadn’t broken through to the Nourishing Origin Realm, Second Layer, Luo Lie wouldn’t pose any threat.

The only variable was if they were careless and not decisive enough.

Zhang Yuchun watched for a while, and his expression also relaxed.

As for Jiang Zhaoxia, a contemptuous smile had been on his face from beginning to end, completely disregarding Luo Lie.

After thirty rounds of fighting, Luo Lie struck with a palm. His surging Internal Qi actually caused his palm to turn scalding red. Yang Jueding did not dodge and raised his palm to counter the Move.

Boom—

The two powerful bursts of Internal Qi collided, causing the eaves and tiles on all sides of the courtyard to tremble, and the windows to creak.

Luo Lie’s bamboo hat was blown away. With his hair disheveled, he gritted his teeth and contested Internal Qi with Yang Jueding. Yang Jueding wore a haughty smile, as if he had Luo Lie right where he wanted him.

Li Qingqiu, however, could see that Yang Jueding was forcing himself. This fellow’s injuries hadn’t fully healed, and his Internal Qi hadn’t returned to its peak state.

After a stalemate of three breaths, Yang Jueding shook his arms and knocked Luo Lie back. Luo Lie retreated a dozen steps before stabilizing himself, then knelt on one knee and spat out a mouthful of blood onto the ground.

Yang Jueding withdrew his hands with the air of a martial arts Grandmaster. He pointed at Luo Lie and said, “Get lost. Go back and tell the people of the Qing Cult that if they come again, I won’t show mercy.”

Luo Lie looked up. Holding his saber with one hand, he wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth with the other and sneered, “Let me leave? It seems you aren’t as strong as you appear on the surface.”

Yang Jueding’s face turned cold as he said, “Do you insist on me beating you to death?”

As soon as he finished speaking, his expression changed drastically. He looked down and saw a red rash appearing on his right palm, quickly forming blisters as if he had been burned.

“You dare to take any palm strike, Dragon-Subduing Hero? You didn’t stop to think about how famous your palm power is!” Luo Lie stood up and laughed mockingly.

Yang Jueding thought to himself that things were bad. He had only wanted to quickly scare off Luo Lie and then flee with Li Qingqiu and the others, so he had been somewhat negligent during the battle.

He hurriedly used his left hand to tap the Acupoints on his right arm and circulated his power to expel the poison.

Luo Lie walked toward Yang Jueding with his saber, about to speak.

Swish—

A sound of something piercing the air rang out. Luo Lie’s eyes instinctively widened, and his expression froze. Yang Jueding, facing him, clearly felt a sharp surge of energy flash past his cheek, causing a stinging pain.

Yang Jueding looked closely and saw a blood hole appearing on Luo Lie’s forehead.

Thud!

Luo Lie fell straight down. Yang Jueding then saw Jiang Zhaoxia’s figure; Jiang Zhaoxia was still maintaining his hand-raising posture.

“Too much nonsense!”

Jiang Zhaoxia snorted coldly.

Zhang Yuchun, along with Li Dongyue, Li Sifeng, and Li Sijin inside the house, were all startled. They had seen Jiang Zhaoxia’s Origin Qi and hadn’t expected him to dare to kill someone.

“You…”

Yang Jueding looked at Jiang Zhaoxia, his face full of shock, unable to speak clearly.

Jiang Zhaoxia glanced at Zhang Yuchun and said, “Second Senior Brother, bury him.”

Zhang Yuchun snapped out of it, nodded quickly, and instinctively walked toward Luo Lie’s corpse.

“Wait, check if he has anything on him first.”

Li Qingqiu followed Zhang Yuchun. He wasn’t too surprised; instead, he was satisfied with Jiang Zhaoxia’s ruthlessness.

As for tonight’s matter, as long as Luo Lie left the mountain, the Qingxiao Sect might be in danger. Killing him here was the best outcome.

Yang Jueding came to his senses. Looking at Jiang Zhaoxia, he couldn’t help but ask, “Why did you kill him? Aren’t you afraid of retaliation from the Qing Cult?”

Jiang Zhaoxia said disdainfully, “If we don’t kill him, will the Qing Cult let us go? Besides, since you are already a Disciple of the Qingxiao Sect, him looking for trouble with you is looking for trouble with us.”

He was clearly only fifteen years old, but speaking these words made him appear very dominant, causing Yang Jueding to be momentarily dazed.

“Just what is your background?” Yang Jueding asked blankly.

Jiang Zhaoxia turned and walked toward the house, saying without looking back, “Vice Sect Leader of the Qingxiao Sect.”

Li Qingqiu, who was stripping Luo Lie’s clothes, heard this and couldn’t help but look up and say, “Did I agree? You’re just claiming titles now?”

This kid is quite good at acting cool!

Jiang Zhaoxia didn’t answer and quickly went back inside. As soon as he entered, Li Sifeng came out, and even Li Dongyue and Li Sijin walked out of the female Disciples’ room.

Li Qingqiu sighed to himself.

It was clearly Jiang Zhaoxia’s first time killing someone, but he put up a seamless front. When he entered the door just now, Li Qingqiu noticed that the hand he used to kill Luo Lie was trembling.

After searching for a long while, Li Qingqiu only found hidden weapons, dry rations, and a token on Luo Lie. This made him very dissatisfied. Afterward, he arranged for his three Junior Brothers to go and bury him.

He stood up and walked toward Yang Jueding, who was circulating his power to force out the poison. Yang Jueding was still in a daze and hadn’t quite processed everything yet.

“What is that Secret Manual he mentioned? Hand it over to me as repayment for saving your life tonight,” Li Qingqiu said, staring at Yang Jueding.

Yang Jueding said helplessly, “That Secret Manual is a fake; it doesn’t work at all.”

“Hand it over.”

“Wait.”

Yang Jueding stopped his exercise, then took off his shoe and pulled out a thin piece of skin from the sole. Once unfolded, it was as large as a human face.

Li Qingqiu took the item with disgust and then threw it to Li Dongyue, telling her to wash it.

Li Dongyue gave him a resentful look, took a piece of cloth from her bosom, wrapped the thin skin on the ground, and walked toward the well.

“Does this person have any companions?” Li Qingqiu asked Yang Jueding.

Yang Jueding shook his head. “It was just him chasing me. He took advantage of me being heavily injured from a duel and ambushed me. He’s utterly detestable.”

Hearing this, Li Qingqiu was instantly relieved.

He told Yang Jueding to tend to his own injuries, then walked over to Li Dongyue. After she finished washing it, he took the thin skin back to his room.

The skin was as thin as a cicada’s wing and felt very cold to the touch. It was covered with tiny characters. He seriously suspected it was a piece of human skin.

Back in his room, he didn’t close the door to avoid any accidents outside. He sat at the table, lit a candle, and examined it carefully.

“Eh?”

Li Qingqiu raised an eyebrow and let out a sound of surprise.

No wonder Yang Jueding thought this Secret Manual was fake; it was actually a Spell.

This Spell didn’t record how to absorb Qi; it directly explained how to circulate Qi. Some Acupoints were different from those in martial arts, so in Yang Jueding’s view, it was complete nonsense.

It wasn’t until the very end that Li Qingqiu learned the name of this Spell.

Supreme Sword Control Art!