Practitioner

"Boy, you dare injure my wife! You're dead meat this time," the man's face, half-lit by the short sword in his hand, looked somewhat twisted, as he threw the huge crossbow aside and quickly retrieved a blood-red pill from his bosom and tossed it into his mouth.

Clearly, the attack he had just used, which was beyond the realm of normalcy, was not something he could execute at will.

Seeing this, Liu Ming yelled, "Watch the hidden weapon!" and with a single hand threw a white blob towards the still twitching ugly woman on the ground, while at the same time, his foot stomped the ground, propelling him like a crossbow bolt into the dense forest to one side.

The man was initially stunned by the action, then furious, but he couldn't just ignore the ugly woman on the ground to chase after the youth. He could only helplessly flicker his body in front of her while his wrist flicked the bone sword in the air towards the flying object.

With a "bang," the white mass was hit by an invisible force midair and unexpectedly exploded.

A cloud of gray-white powder spread overhead, covering an area of several yards around them.

The man in the blue robe gasped upon seeing this, not daring to let the powder reach his body, he swiftly brought the bone sword horizontally in front of him while pressing his other hand into the air and spat out the words "Yuan Barrier".

In an instant, the bone sword glowed faintly, and an invisible wave of energy rolled off it, sweeping away all the nearby powder.

Then, the man quickly bent down and touched some of the powder from the ground, sniffed it lightly under his nose, and immediately flew into a rage.

"It's just ordinary flour. You stinking brat, I'll tear you to pieces," he cursed several times, then checked on the ugly woman's condition.

Unfortunately, the woman was clutching her neck tightly, her breath was already faint, and it was clear that she was beyond saving.

"Don't worry, my dear, I'll go take that little bastard's life right now, I won't let you be alone on your journey," the man in blue swore through his teeth, then stood up again, gripped the bone sword tightly and shouted "Light Body" as he flew like the wind towards the direction the youth had fled.

His movements were drastically faster than before, resembling a ghostly apparition.

Although he didn't have much Yuan Energy left, with the help of the 'Qi Blood Pill' he had just consumed, he could perform a few more practices of a Qi practitioner during the time it would take to eat a meal. That would be more than enough to overtake and kill an ordinary man.

...

Liu Ming was desperately running and leaping through the forest, feeling his legs gradually becoming heavier, while the burning sensation on his chest was unbearable, and the blood from several wounds wouldn't stop due to his strenuous movements.

As for the old wound on his shoulder, it had completely flared up, rendering half his body almost numb and unresponsive.

Yet Liu Ming didn't even think of stopping to bandage his wounds; he just fixed his eyes on a direction and kept sprinting madly ahead.

Suddenly, the forest cleared before his eyes, and the boy found himself bursting out of the dense trees onto a wide-open space.

Not far from the edge of the clearing, there was a river, dozens of yards wide, with surging fierce waters that raised waves and hurtled downstream.

Upon seeing this, Liu Ming's heart leaped with joy, but suddenly his vision darkened, and he stumbled, nearly collapsing to the ground.

Startled, he bit his tongue hard, and a taste of blood immediately filled his mouth, enabling him to keep his mind clear and steady his footing once again.

But at that moment, from the dense forest behind him came the extremely vengeful voice of the man in the blue robe:

"Boy, there's nowhere to run!"

No sooner had the words left the man's mouth than a rush of wind followed. The blue-robed man appeared from behind a huge tree and leapt towards the youth, covering a distance of several yards and pouncing at the boy.

Glancing back, Liu Ming's heart chilled for a second. He violently threw the silver blade in his hand backward, then picked up speed again towards the riverbank.

The man in the blue robe merely waved the bone sword in his hand, deflecting the incoming silver blade and continued to float toward the youth without any pause.

In the blink of an eye, they had chased each other for dozen yards, one after the other.

After several leaps, Liu Ming finally reached the riverbank, and he vaulted into the air, about to plunge into the rolling waters.

The man in the blue robe was still a few yards away from catching up to the young boy. Seeing this, he was naturally unwilling to give up. He furiously mobilized all the Yuan Energy within his body and madly channeled it into the bone sword.

In an instant, the bone sword emitted a blinding white light!

The man let out a low shout as he slashed toward the distance, and a nearly invisible sword shadow burst forth from the blade, appearing behind the youth in a flicker and piercing through him.

A "puff" resonated!

Liu Ming was impaled by the sword shadow, his body going through the gut and fell heavily into the river. Engulfed by the churning foam, he disappeared without a trace.

It was only after a couple of bounds that the man in the blue robe arrived at the riverside, his brow furrowing as he gazed at the rolling waters in front of him.

Although he believed that with the amulet's full power strike, the chances of the other falling into the turbulent river and surviving were nonexistent, the lack of a corpse still left him uneasy.

Since he was not skilled in water, and given the rapid currents, even if he went in after the body, it would have long been swept away to who knows where.

With a low murmur, the man glanced down at the bone sword in his hand.

The artifact had lost all of its glow at this moment and completely reverted to its original, unremarkable appearance.

After lingering on the spot for a moment without seeing the youth's corpse floating nearby, the man could only leave in resignation.

...

Three days later, on the bank of an insignificant small river at the border between Fengyun and two counties of Chuzhou, two men in yellow robes—one tall and one short—stared blankly at a brocaded corpse on the ground before them, speechless to one another.

Besides the corpse in front of them, in the nearby grass, lay seven or eight other corpses dressed in gray, each showing signs of a horrific death—some cleaved in half, others with their massive heads half-exploded.

"What should we do? The Young Master died just like that; how can we go back and face the Family Head?" asked a thin man with a sword on his back. His face was gaunt, with a triangle-eyed look that made him appear inherently vicious. Yet now, his expression was one of worry as he spoke to his companion.

"Three Gu, you ask me, but who do I ask? Who knew this 'Young Master' was such a fool? As a low-ranked Qi Practitioner, he was easily approached by a mere bandit and his throat slit with a single stroke. Even if we have the Spirit Medicine given by the Family Head, there's no way we could save him," replied the other man, taller and with a square face etched with frustration.

"Family Head Guan, no matter how foolish he was, he was still the adopted son of the Family Head, and he wasn't sent there without spending a large amount of the family's resources to secure a spot. Now that he has died midway, how can we face the Family Head upon returning? I'm afraid a beating with the Death Rod is inevitable," Three Gu sighed, a hint of fear flickering across his face.

"Humph, if we could get by with just a beating with the Death Rod, we would be lucky," said Family Head Guan, his face twitching, startling Three Gu with his words.

"Family Head Guan, what do you mean by that? We are genuine mid-ranked Qi Practitioners. Even if the Family Head is extremely fond of his adopted son, he wouldn't really harm our lives over this, would he?" Three Gu looked at the rotund man, his eyes wide.

"Do you really think this kid's identity is as simple as being the adopted son of the Family Head? Although 'Young Master' has spiritual veins and is cruel and unpleasant by nature, not to mention his distant birth from the main line of the Family Head, why would he be suddenly favored and adopted, and treated with such indulgence? Let me tell you the truth. This 'Young Master' is actually the illegitimate son the Family Head left outside. 'Adopted son' is merely a nominal opportunity to bring him back under his wing," said Family Head Guan with a cold laugh, revealing the astonishing information that left Three Gu stunned.

"What, the 'Young Master' is actually the Family Head's own flesh and blood? Family Head Guan, how did you come to know of such a critical matter?" the skinny man stammered.

"Forget it, there's no need to hide it from you now. You know I'm on good terms with Ling'er, the personal maid of the Family Head's wife, right? She let it slip during one of her complaints about her master's injustice, could it be false?" Family Head Guan said with a sigh.

"So that's how it is. No wonder the Barbarian Ghost Sect, even though ranked a bit lower among the major sects of the Daxuan Kingdom, would allow an outsider to casually take a spot in the spirit-opening ceremony. That slot is incredibly precious, and once spirit-opening is successful, one becomes a true disciple of an upper sect—skyrocketing in status. If luck and fate allow for advancement to Spirit Master, even the current emperor would have to treat such a person with respect," Three Gu came to a realization.

"Being a disciple is not that easy! One must not only be a Qi Practitioner with spiritual veins but also under the age of fifteen to qualify for the spirit-opening ceremony. How many from the noble families who attend the ceremony actually pass, how many die on the spot, and even if they miraculously survive a failed spirit-opening, they must still stay as an ordinary Qi Practitioner at the upper sect for twenty years of arduous service. The Family Head sending his illegitimate son this time is probably akin to betting on a chance. The Bai Family has many descendants with spiritual veins, but those sent to other major sects for spirit-opening ceremonies have mostly failed, with only a few surviving to serve the upper sects. Only Miss Yan truly succeeded in spirit-opening and became a disciple of the Heavenly Moon Sect, but after all, as a daughter, she will eventually marry. Naturally, the Family Head still wished for his own son to become an upper sect disciple, securing the Bai Family's status as a Qi Practitioner family for many years to come," said Family Head Guan with indifference.

"It seems the Family Head had great hopes for this Young Master. But the higher the hopes, the less chance we have of surviving once we return. We might as well flee Daxuan Kingdom and never return to the Bai Family. With our status as mid-ranked Qi Practitioners, we can live freely wherever we go," said Three Gu, his eyes spinning rapidly before he set his jaw resolutely.