A murderous intent ran deep!
Having just executed him with a single sword strike, Ye Qing felt no psychological burden whatsoever.
His gaze was icy cold.
Back in the heavenly prison, Ye Qing had kept company with slaughter every single day! He was long since used to it.
Wielding the Azure-Edged Sword, Ye Qing cut out the heart of the Purple-Sun Winged Fire Tiger!
Refining its heart would yield its primal blood!
That primal blood contained a blazing fire-attribute power!
Using it to treat his younger sister's cold constitution ailment would undoubtedly be far better than Open-Sun Pills!
Immediately, Ye Qing channeled his bloodline power, releasing a cluster of golden flames. He began refining the heart of the Purple-Sun Winged Fire Tiger.
Suddenly, Ye Qing's expression changed drastically!
A succession of footsteps sounded within the mountain forest!
Someone was coming!
Chapter 8: The Destined One
"I never imagined that you brat would actually kill the Purple-Sun Winged Fire Tiger!"
"Just as the Patriarch anticipated, your current strength is already comparable to the Yuan Condensation Realm!"
Two cold voices rang out.
The newcomers were none other than the Fifth Elder and the Sixth Elder of the Ye Family.
Trailing behind them were ten men dressed in black.
Each of them radiated a chilling murderous aura, like demonic lords who could kill without blinking an eye.
Their gazes were filled with bloodthirsty intent, devoid of the slightest trace of emotion.
Killing machines!
They were simply a group of killing machines!
The moment Ye Qing saw that group of men in black, he guessed their identity.
Death squads from the Prince's Mansion of Jizhou City!
Only those who had walked out of mountains of corpses and seas of blood could possess such a dense murderous aura.
Those ten men in black presumably shared the exact same experience as Ye Qing.
They had once been locked up in the heavenly prison of the Prince's Mansion, undergoing inhuman trials and torment.
However, Ye Qing was different from them.
They were killing machines.
Yet deep within Ye Qing's heart, there still remained a sliver of light.
That sliver of light was his younger sister!
"Ye Qing, today is the day you die! Before you draw your last breath, do you have any final words?"
The Fifth Elder sneered cruelly, looking as though he had already won.
He noticed the numerous scars covering Ye Qing's body. No doubt, he had fought fiercely against fierce beasts along the way, sustaining heavy injuries.
Furthermore, since Ye Qing had slain the Purple-Sun Winged Fire Tiger, he must have been wounded himself!
In the Fifth Elder's view, given Ye Qing's current state, it was a situation of certain death. Nobody could save him!
"As elders of the Ye Family, you actually bring death squads from the Prince's Mansion to encircle and slaughter a member of the Ye Family!"
"Hahahaha, how laughable!"
"Since when did the Ye Family become the running dogs of the Prince's Mansion?"
Ye Qing said every single word with biting coldness.
"Brat, spare us the nonsense! If you want to blame someone, blame your own bad luck. Your bloodline has been crippled, so naturally our family won't waste any resources on you!"
The Sixth Elder sneered, his gaze icy.
Ye Qing continued to laugh, laughing even more maniacally.
He felt ashamed to belong to the Ye Family.
A family like this always considered only interests, utterly devoid of any familial affection!
"Stop!"
"I won't allow you to hurt my brother!"
"Brother is also a member of the Ye Family! Why are you all so cruel?"
Ye Mengling suddenly cried out loudly.
Her illness was severe, and originally she hadn't even had the strength to speak.
Yet at this moment, her voice rang out like a great bell.
"Our Ye Family has no use for trash!"
"Ye Qing, you no longer hold any value for the family! Today, both of you siblings shall go together!"
The Fifth and Sixth Elders exchanged glances, ruthless malice flashing across both their faces.
The next moment, the two waved their hands.
The ten men in black at their side rushed forward simultaneously.
At the same time, not far away in the jungle, two female figures had appeared from who knows where.
One of them wore a long blue dress, possessed a slender figure, and exuded an ethereal temperament.
Her skin was like congealed lard, and her delicate facial features were completely flawless, like the most perfect creation of the heavens.
She was like an immortal fairy stepping out of a painting, untainted by mortal dust. Her beauty was so breathtaking it was intoxicating!
Beside her was a maidservant whose temperament was equally outstanding.
"Milady, is there truly someone destined for you in Jizhou City?"
"The Grand Astrologer's divination should be accurate," the fairy-like woman said softly.
In her hand, she held an astrolabe. The astrolabe was only the size of a palm, its light dim and utterly unremarkable to look at.
This was the astrolabe given to her by the Grand Astrologer, which could sense the location of her destined person!
Suddenly, the fairy-like beauty's eyes narrowed as she caught sight of Ye Qing not far away.
The astrolabe in her hand suddenly burst with brilliant light!
"Is it him?"
The woman's heart was shaken, though she failed to notice anything particularly extraordinary about Ye Qing.
"Milady, is he your destined person?" the maid asked in shock.
They were not far from where Ye Qing stood. However, a mysterious aura enveloped them, preventing Ye Qing from detecting their presence.
Even the Fifth and Sixth Elders of the Ye Family had no idea that others were nearby!
"I do not know, but the astrolabe has lit up. It is possible it is him," the woman murmured.
"But Milady, aside from being handsome, I see nothing remarkable about him! His cultivation is pitifully weak as well," the maid said, resting her chin on her hand.
The woman said nothing, merely standing there as if wanting to see what was so extraordinary about the youth who had made the astrolabe light up.
The jungle was permeated with an intense murderous aura, the air seemingly mixed with the scent of death.
"Ye Qing, go to hell!"
The Fifth Elder let out a low cry and charged forward, the vital energy within his body erupting like a volcano!
Martial artists in the Body Refining Realm focused primarily on tempering their physical bodies. Once cultivation reached the Yuan Condensation Realm, vital energy would be born within.
Practitioners of the Yuan Condensation Realm held a massive advantage in combat against those in the Body Refining Realm. Body-refining martial artists had not yet birthed vital energy internally and could only rely on physical strength!
The ten black-clad assassins had all reached the Ninth Stage of Body Refining, and every single one of them had crawled out from piles of corpses! Their combat prowess was terrifying!
"Brother, run!"
Still on Ye Qing's back, Ye Mengling's eyes were filled with anxiety as she struggled to jump down and shield Ye Qing from the enemies!
She knew her strength was insignificant, but she would rather die than watch her brother come to harm.
"Don't worry, little sister!"
"Brother is not going to die!"
"Brother promises you!"
As he spoke, Ye Qing summoned a bloody long sword!
The Shura Blood Sword!
Facing two Ye Family elders and ten death squads from the Prince's Mansion, Ye Qing had no choice but to use his trump card!
"Whoosh!"
In an instant, Ye Qing surged forward.
Gale Steps driven to their absolute limit!
His speed was blistering, like a sweeping gale, even faster than the Fifth and Sixth Elders of the Ye Family.
"Hum!"
In a flash, Ye Qing closed in on the Fifth Elder, the Shura Blood Sword in his hand slicing through the air.
The Fifth Elder sneered viciously and reached out to grab it, attempting to snatch the sword barehanded!
A layer of glistening white light flickered across the Fifth Elder's arm—vital energy protecting his body!
The next moment, Ye Qing's Shura Blood Sword was actually blocked by the Fifth Elder.
"Boom!"
The Fifth Elder unleashed a palm strike. Behind him materialized the phantom of a pitch-black leopard.
He had activated his Three-Star Black Shadow Leopard bloodline, manifesting a bloodline phenomenon!
A three-star bloodline could not be considered top-tier in Jizhou City, but it was far from weak. Combined with the Fifth Elder's cultivation at the First Stage of Yuan Condensation, his combat power was quite formidable.
With a violent crash, Ye Qing took a palm strike directly to the chest, spat a mouthful of blood, and stumbled backward!
"Brother!"
Ye Mengling cried out in alarm. Seeing Ye Qing injured and vomiting blood, she felt the pain as if it were her own, hurting far more than Ye Qing did and wishing she could bear the blow in his stead.
"Idol! Use your blood to sacrifice to the sword!"
Suddenly, Ye Qing heard a woman's voice—cold and aloof, reminiscent of the mysterious woman he had previously met on the first floor of the Myriad Realms Pagoda!
Chapter 9: Might of the Shura Blood Sword
Hearing the mysterious woman's voice, Ye Qing reacted instantly.
The Shura Blood Sword! True to its name, if one wished to unleash its true might, it required blood!
"Rip!"
Without the slightest hesitation, Ye Qing swung the Shura Blood Sword, slashing a bloody gash across his own arm!
Possessing the Six-Star Desolate Fire Dragon bloodline, Ye Qing's blood contained formidable bloodline power.
The Shura Blood Sword was stained with blood.
The next instant, it bloomed with an incomparably eerie, blood-red sword light. The blade trembled, emitting a humming hum of sword cries.
Not far away, the peerless beauty watching the battle flashed a look of surprise in her lovely eyes.
Clearly, the Shura Blood Sword in Ye Qing's hands was extraordinarily profound! Even with the peerless beauty's vision and knowledge, she could not see through its mysteries, knowing only that this sword was extremely bizarre!
Having sacrificed his blood to the sword, Ye Qing felt the tyrannical aura contained within the Shura Blood Sword. At that moment, he and the sword achieved complete oneness of mind!
Slaughter!
Slaughter was all that remained in Ye Qing's heart!
The Shura Blood Sword likewise thirsted for the enemies' blood.
"Rip!"
In a flash, a head flew into the air, and blood gushed wildly, staining the ground red!
The Fifth Elder of the Ye Family had perished utterly!
"This is impossible!"
The Sixth Elder's face drained of color in panic.
One had to know that Ye Qing's cultivation was merely at the Seventh Stage of Body Refining, and he had been under siege by a group of assassins besides. Yet with a single encounter, he had killed the Fifth Elder.
"Die!"
Just as the Sixth Elder was gripped with horror, a blood-red sword light flashed across the void.
The Sixth Elder's body was cleaved straight down the middle on the spot!
Both Ye Family elders had reached the First Stage of Yuan Condensation, yet before Ye Qing, they possessed zero ability to resist.
The power of the Shura Blood Sword was simply too formidable.
"Hum!"
The primal blood within the bodies of the Fifth and Sixth Elders was instantly sucked dry by the Shura Blood Sword. In the blink of an eye, their corpses withered away until they looked like dried mummies.
"This..."
"Oh no!"
The death squad members of the Prince's Mansion turned pale with shock.
They were all accustomed to death, having crawled out of piles of corpses. But the scene before them was far too bizarre.
Every single assassin from the Prince's Mansion present felt terror gripping their hearts to the extreme. Yet they did not flee; they had to carry out the mission assigned by the Prince's Mansion.
"Kill!"
The numerous assassins swarmed forward together. They refused to believe that Ye Qing—whose cultivation was inferior to theirs—could possibly defeat ten opponents single-handedly.
"Rip!"
Crimson blade lights flashed across the void.
The next moment, heads went flying one after another.
With the Shura Blood Sword in hand, Ye Qing executed the Wind Sword Technique, his sword speed terrifyingly fast!
Streaks of blood-red light swept horizontally across the air, turning the ten assassins into a pile of corpses in an instant.
Dead!
Every last one of them was dead!
Having finished off all his enemies, Ye Qing felt a wave of dizziness wash over him. He was extremely weak, his internal vital Qi severely depleted.
Using his blood to sacrifice to the sword exacted a heavy toll on him. However, successfully activating the Shura Blood Sword had allowed him to slay formidable enemies. Without it, dispatching them all in such a short time would have been virtually impossible.
"Little sister, are you alright?"
Ye Qing helped his sister sit down, leaning her against a large tree, while he continued refining the heart of the Purple-Sun Winged Fire Tiger to extract its primal blood.
This was the medicine that would save his sister's life.
"Brother, I am fine," Ye Mengling whispered, her expression appearing very weak.
"Good. Don't worry, little sister, Brother will cure your illness very soon!"
As he spoke, Ye Qing controlled the Desolate True Fire to accelerate the refinement process.
"What a bizarre sword!"
Suddenly, a woman's voice rang out through the jungle.
Immediately following, a peerless, fairy-like beauty appeared in Ye Qing's field of vision, walking leisurely toward him.
She looked like an exiled immortal, her temperament ethereal and untethered. Dressed in a long blue dress, her breathtaking beauty was peerless and transcendent!
Ye Qing had never laid eyes on such a gorgeous woman before. Her beauty was so stunning it seemed to eclipse heaven and earth!
Beside her stood a maidservant who was equally picturesque and outshone most beauties in Jizhou City.
"Who are you?"
Regaining his wits, Ye Qing asked with a vigilant gaze.
He was not the kind of man to lose his footing at the sight of a pretty face! Back in the Jizhou heavenly prison, Ye Qing had executed many beautiful women. To him, enemies were enemies; male or female made no difference whatsoever!
The peerless beauty's appearance was far too bizarre, and her cultivation aura was completely beyond his ability to fathom. He had no choice but to treat her with caution!
"Zhao Ruoning of the Great Zhou Empire," the ethereal beauty said softly, her gaze toward Ye Qing carrying a hint of complexity.
"You are Zhao Ruoning!"
A brilliant flash of light burst from Ye Qing's eyes.
Anyone with even the slightest discernment within the Great Zhou Empire could not possibly have failed to hear the name Zhao Ruoning.
The number one prodigy of the Great Zhou Empire! An existence that eclipsed countless other prodigies throughout the realm, leaving them utterly devoid of light.
"Correct."
"What is your name?"
Zhao Ruoning parted her rosy lips, her tone approachable and easy-going. He felt no airs radiating from her. Some prodigies, possessing a bit of talent, acted arrogant and overbearing—but Zhao Ruoning did not.
"Ye Qing."
"You are a member of the Ye Family of Jizhou City?"
"Correct."
"Ye Qing, your talent is quite good. If you ever leave Jizhou City in the future, you may go to the Emperor Star Academy in the capital."
With those words, Zhao Ruoning produced a jade talisman. Carved onto the talisman was a single word: "Emperor"!
This was the identity jade talisman of the Emperor Star Academy!
Possessors of this talisman could bypass examinations and enter the Emperor Star Academy directly!
The premier academy of the Great Zhou Empire was none other than the Emperor Star Academy! It was the place dreamed of by countless martial artists!
If he could go to the Emperor Star Academy to cultivate, given Ye Qing's talent, he would undoubtedly rise powerfully in the future!
Ye Qing caught the talisman without putting on false modesty. Right now, he truly needed an opportunity—an opportunity to grow strong!
The Emperor Star Academy could provide him with a much grander stage. He needed to become stronger in order to protect his younger sister well!
"Thank you!" Ye Qing said solemnly.
"Your younger sister's physical condition is poor; she can make use of this pill."
As she spoke, Zhao Ruoning produced a crystal-clear medicinal pill. In an instant, a refreshing fragrance of alchemy radiated outward.
"This is a Xuan-tier Earth-Sun Pill!"
Ye Qing was overjoyed!
The effects of an Earth-Sun Pill were far superior to those of an Open-Sun Pill!
In this martial arts world, medicinal pills were graded into Huang-tier, Xuan-tier, Earth-tier, and Heaven-tier, with each tier divided into lower, middle, upper, and supreme grades.
The Open-Sun Pill was a Huang-tier supreme-grade pill, which was already considered an extremely precious treasure within Jizhou City.
As for Earth-Sun Pills, they practically didn't exist in Jizhou City. Within the Jizhou Prince's Mansion, Xuan-tier Earth-Sun Pills might exist, but they would certainly carry an astronomical price!
For Zhao Ruoning to gift a Xuan-tier Earth-Sun Pill upon their very first meeting could truly be called a magnanimous gesture!
"Thank you!"
Ye Qing did not hesitate, accepting it directly. Right now, he genuinely needed the Earth-Sun Pill.
The primal blood of the Purple-Sun Winged Fire Tiger fell short of the Earth-Sun Pill's efficacy; obtaining it would likely only alleviate his sister's condition rather than cure it completely.
With the Earth-Sun Pill, he would have much greater certainty in treating his sister's cold constitution ailment.
"Think nothing of it."
With that, Zhao Ruoning turned and began to walk away.
"Wait!" Ye Qing called out to stop her.
Zhao Ruoning turned around, her lovely eyes gazing steadily at him. Her breathtaking beauty remained intoxicating.
"You and I are complete strangers. Why would you gift me a talisman and an Earth-Sun Pill?"
Ye Qing felt deeply grateful to Zhao Ruoning, but what reason did the other party have to help him? He had to ask clearly!
"Does a reason matter?" Zhao Ruoning turned back, her voice lingering softly.
"Of course!" Ye Qing answered earnestly.
Zhao Ruoning arched her delicate brows slightly, as if pondering.
Chapter 10: Zhao Ruoning's Kindness
The next moment, Zhao Ruoning suddenly smiled with a soft, charming chuckle.
"Because you look quite good."
"I appreciate handsome youths."
With those words, Zhao Ruoning floated gracefully away.
Beside her, the maidservant burst into a giggle.
Ye Mengling smiled as well, the smile on her face blossoming like a flower.
"Brother, that older sister has quite a good eye!"
"Brother is the most handsome person in the whole world!" Ye Mengling covered her mouth in amusement.
Ye Qing twitched the corner of his mouth.
What kind of reason was that?
Although Ye Qing's appearance was indeed very handsome—standing tall, with a face like jade, sword-like brows, star-bright eyes, clad in white robes, and possessing an extraordinary temperament—he didn't believe that someone would gift him two grand treasures upon a first meeting simply because of his good looks!
There had to be some other reason; Zhao Ruoning simply didn't wish to say it.
"Zhao Ruoning, number one prodigy of the Great Zhou Empire... I will remember this kindness!"
"In the future, I will surely repay it handsomely!" Ye Qing murmured.
He didn't know whether Zhao Ruoning could still hear him, but he had to say it regardless.
A true man stood tall and upright; debts of gratitude and enmity were kept strictly separate.
Wrongs must be avenged, and kindness must be repaid!