The mechanical arts of the blue-eyed clan were indeed formidable, but this was precisely why warriors never dared to slack in their martial cultivation.
No matter how powerful the tools you held, if your own strength was lacking, you might not even get the chance to use them before someone took you down. At that point, no treasure would be of any use.
“Little beast, die! Hahaha!”
The blue-eyed clan boss’s face contorted into a savage grin as he imagined Ling Xiao being blasted into fragments by the Void Strike.
“Serves you right! If you hadn’t clung to me so relentlessly, you wouldn’t have to die. Go regret it in hell!”
He didn’t attack immediately.
He was waiting.
Waiting for Ling Xiao to draw closer—close enough that dodging would be impossible.
His low-grade spirit stones only allowed one shot with the Void Strike, so it had to hit. Otherwise, he’d be like a fish on the chopping block, helpless.
He was tense yet exhilarated.
Life or death would be decided in a single move!
Just a bit closer!
Within ten zhang, he was utterly confident he could obliterate Ling Xiao in one strike.
“Hm? Petals?”
As his ferocious grin spread, a petal suddenly landed on his face.
“Cherry blossoms?”
“Strange—there are no cherry trees in these deep mountains. How…?”
“Forget it, no time for that. That kid’s getting closer—just a bit more, and he’ll be within ten zhang!”
The petals multiplied.
The blue-eyed clan boss grew increasingly uneasy.
He couldn’t help but look up.
Only then did he notice a vortex of cherry blossoms swirling above his head.
“Not good!”
Sensing something was wrong, he didn’t wait for Ling Xiao to enter the ten-zhang range. He moved to trigger the Void Strike.
But it was too late.
The cherry blossom petals enveloped his arm, severing the connection between his true essence and the Void Strike.
Without true essence to activate it, the Void Strike couldn’t fire.
Worse, the petals grew denser, swiftly encasing not just his arm but his entire body.
“Cherry Tree Martial Soul! A complete soul! How is this possible?”
In the moment he was fully engulfed, the blue-eyed clan boss finally realized this少年was far more terrifying than he’d imagined.
Not yet a martial master, yet wielding a complete martial soul—and possessing broken ones too.
A sudden thought hit him—an ancient legend.
When the Mountain River Martial Soul appears, the revival of the human race becomes inevitable.
Could this少年actually possess the legendary Mountain River Martial Soul?
Sadly, though he’d figured it out, he’d never get the chance to pass that knowledge on.
As the cherry blossom petals encased him, tiny bursts of energy, sharp as steel needles, erupted within, shredding his organs.
A mere peak seventh-level Martial Vein warrior, not a transcendent one, he couldn’t withstand such a horrific attack. His life slipped away, and he fell from the sky to the ground.
Whoosh—!
The cherry blossom petals dispersed.
Ling Xiao recalled the Cherry Tree Martial Soul.
He really didn’t like using a complete martial soul for offense. With his current cultivation, the cost was astronomical.
Even uninjured, his true essence was nearly drained, leaving just a wisp of gang qi in one martial vein to sustain him.
But despite his exhaustion, Ling Xiao didn’t forget to loot the blue-eyed clan boss’s possessions.
The two from the dream pill factory had low-grade storage rings, so naturally, this big boss did too.
A big boss was a big boss—his haul was substantial.
Nearly ten thousand taels of silver, ten thousand taels of gold.
Ling Xiao wasn’t too concerned with those. What caught his eye were the three martial art manuals on the boss.
One entry-level top-tier martial art, one rare top-tier martial art, and one superior top-tier secret technique.
The real treasures were the Void Strike and a hundred seventy low-grade spirit stones.
The moment Ling Xiao touched the Void Strike, his Mountain River Martial Soul provided a detailed analysis of its specs.
“Good thing I stopped this guy from using it. A full-strength strike from a peak seventh-level Martial Vein warrior—I wouldn’t have survived that.”
“Hm? What’s this?”
Inside the storage ring’s space were dozens of letters—secret correspondence between the blue-eyed clan boss and someone claiming to be the steward of the Governor’s Mansion.
He skimmed them. They didn’t mention Baiyun Governor Wan Ben.
Wan Ben was cautious, it seemed.
Even so, the Governor’s Mansion’s steward colluding with dream pill traffickers—these letters would surely intrigue Lin Ze.
“Who’s there!”
Just as Ling Xiao was about to pocket the storage ring, a sword light shot from the depths of the dense forest.
Startled, he dodged quickly.
Even so, the sword light left a deep, bone-exposing gash on his arm.
“Careless!”
Ling Xiao took cover, clutching the Void Strike. Based on the sword light, the attacker was at least an early seventh-level Martial Vein warrior.
In his current state, escaping would be tough. He’d have to rely on the Void Strike.
“Heh, think you can hide?”
A figure emerged from the forest. Though dressed casually, their face was masked.
Likely someone familiar, hiding their identity.
“Afraid I’ll recognize you?”
Ling Xiao frowned. In Qianlong Camp, only three disciples were at the martial master level: Chief Captain Dai Yuling, Deputy Commander Shi Lei, and Hua Nongying.
Dai Yuling?
Or Hua Nongying?
He was certain it wasn’t Shi Lei—he’d recognize Shi Lei’s aura after fighting alongside him.
Ling Xiao stayed silent. He knew the attacker was baiting him. With the Mountain River Martial Soul’s template, he could completely conceal his presence. As long as he didn’t speak or move, they’d struggle to find him.
“Think I can’t find you if you stay quiet?”
The figure snorted coldly, their longsword sweeping around them in a circle.
Trees and rocks shattered and exploded, exposing Ling Xiao’s hiding spot.
At that moment, Ling Xiao was chewing something, gripping the Void Strike.
Despite the danger, he wasn’t giving up.
He was eating a Golden Snow Lotus from the Mountain River World to speed his recovery.
The attacker paused their assault upon seeing the Void Strike, clearly wary.
“What do you want?”
Ling Xiao asked cautiously.
“Hand over those letters. I don’t care about the rest, and you can live.”
The attacker didn’t even use their real voice, altering it with some method.
“What if I say no?”
Ling Xiao wasn’t about to back down. Hand over the letters and live?
Only a naive fool would buy that.
“Then die! A mere Void Strike doesn’t scare me!”
The attacker was indeed wary of the Void Strike, but while its power was immense, its cost was steep. For a warrior below the martial master level, carrying a few dozen low-grade spirit stones was already impressive.
Over a hundred? That was the realm of wealthy clans like the Governor’s Mansion or the Border General’s Mansion.
The Void Strike consumed a hundred low-grade spirit stones per shot.
They figured Ling Xiao could only fire it once. If they dodged it, they’d have nothing to fear.
