A cruel glint flashed in the sinister woman’s eyes.
She could already envision Ling Xiao’s miserable fate after being poisoned.
Blood streaming from all seven orifices, trapped in a state where he could neither live nor die!
But what she didn’t know was that Ling Xiao had entered an extraordinary state at that moment.
The sensation of the Mountain and River Martial Soul merging with his bloodline accelerated and amplified his thoughts by dozens, if not hundreds, of times.
He could even calculate the exact moment the poisoned crossbow bolts would reach his body, the potential damage they could inflict.
The time it would take for the stout old man to close in on him.
And the situation with the most powerful of the trio, the burly black-masked bandit.
The burly man’s behavior was odd, his Gang Qi was radiating outward, yet he showed no intention of attacking.
Ling Xiao was certain this man was controlling the spider.
If that was the case, things just got simpler.
The stout old man and the sinister woman were no match for him, and the burly man was distracted, manipulating the underground spider to evade his attack.
That made his next move crystal clear.
Pfft!
Pfft!
…
Several muffled sounds rang out as all of the sinister woman’s poisoned crossbow bolts struck Ling Xiao, not a single one missing.
The sinister woman giggled, her movements visibly slowing.
“Poor kid, I thought hitting him with one or two would be impressive enough, since the poison’s so potent it’d still work, but I didn’t expect every single one to land. Boss, I’ll say this kid’s lightness skill is top-notch, but his brain’s a bit dim!”
“Hahaha, facing your poisoned bolts, even the smartest guy would lose his wits for a moment.”
The stout old man burst into hearty laughter.
Even the burly man controlling the spider relaxed slightly.
“Something’s wrong! Kill him now!”
The burly man, with his higher cultivation and greater experience, sensed something off despite his brief lapse. Ling Xiao showed no signs of weakening, and that punch was still aimed precisely at the spider underground.
“Too late!”
A cold smirk curled Ling Xiao’s lips as his fist slammed into the ground.
Even with only fifty percent power, the Transcendent Meteor Fist turned the pitiful Level Three demonic beast into minced meat.
The burly man’s body trembled involuntarily, a trickle of red blood seeping from the corner of his mouth.
Clearly, controlling the spider through something like a mental imprint tied to his Gang Qi meant that killing it affected his body too.
Though the impact might be minor.
“Kill him!”
The burly man was furious. A mere peak Martial Vein Third Level martial artist had killed his beloved spider right under their noses, it was intolerable.
At that moment, Ling Xiao appeared to be poisoned, his body weakening, his aura fading.
The stout old man’s eyes gleamed with malice.
“Little punk, your life ends here!”
By now, they’d abandoned any thought of capturing him alive. Ling Xiao was too cunning, keeping him alive would only cause them trouble.
The stout old man wielded no weapon, but his palms were a dark purple-black, clearly a master of palm techniques. One strike from him, and Ling Xiao would be half-dead if not fully gone.
But just as the stout old man closed to within half a meter of Ling Xiao.
Ling Xiao smiled.
Meteor Killing Fist, Sixth Form—Meteor Instant Strike.
This sixth form traded some power for speed, requiring minimal Gang Qi.
In that instant, his entire aura shifted.
No longer weak!
Instead, it surged to unprecedented heights.
“Martial Vein Fourth Level!”
Those four words became the stout old man’s last.
He’d assumed Ling Xiao was just a peak Martial Vein Third Level martial artist.
He’d thought Ling Xiao had used all his strength in that last strike, unable to attack again so soon.
He’d believed Ling Xiao had been hit by the sinister woman’s poisoned bolts.
But the truth was.
The aura Ling Xiao unleashed was undeniably peak Martial Vein Fourth Level!
He’d only used fifty percent of his power to kill the spider, preserving enough for another strike in short order.
Most crucially, Ling Xiao hadn’t actually been hit!
In that split second, he’d precisely calculated where the poisoned bolts would strike, then focused his Gang Qi.
He channeled all the golden Gang Qi from the Nine Transformations Golden Body Art to those exact points.
Even though he hadn’t reached the Fifth Transformation, at those specific spots, he could achieve invulnerability to blades and spears.
Moreover, while the sinister woman was peak Martial Vein Fourth Level, her Gang Qi was pitifully weak, her attacks not even matching an average Martial Vein Fourth Level martial artist.
So, while it looked like the poisoned bolts had hit him, they’d merely lodged in his clothing.
Sadly, the stout old man would never understand this before his death.
Boom!
Ling Xiao’s punch, like a small meteor hurtling at breakneck speed, struck the stout old man’s chest and exploded on impact.
Bang!
The old man’s heart burst apart, no suspense, no chance to scream—he died on the spot.
With precise calculation, Ling Xiao achieved twice the result with half the effort.
He was increasingly grasping what Transcendent martial arts meant.
Martial arts weren’t just about raw power.
Different situations called for different moves.
Sometimes, a faster but less powerful technique was better;
Sometimes, a wide-ranging, moderately strong move was ideal;
Sometimes, a slow but devastatingly powerful strike was the key.
All of this required constant refinement and insight through combat.
Thanks to the Mountain and River Martial Soul, Ling Xiao’s comprehension far exceeded others’. Even with limited combat experience, he was already catching glimpses of Transcendent martial arts’ essence.
With more practice, future battles would become even smoother.
“Fat Old!”
The sinister woman gasped, her charging figure screeching to a halt.
She was scared!
She knew full well the stout old man’s close-combat prowess outstripped hers. If even he’d been taken out by this cunning kid, rushing in herself would be pointless.
“Boss, do something!”
She shouted to the burly man.
“Get back here!”
The burly man had assumed Ling Xiao was peak Martial Vein Third Level, confident the old man and woman could kill him.
His role was just to use the spider to prevent Ling Xiao’s escape.
But now, the situation had clearly shifted.
“Think you can escape?”
Ling Xiao, of course, understood the burly man’s intent, but he wouldn’t let this woman go.
Otherwise, she’d be a thorn in his side during his fight with the burly man.
“Whoosh!”
A sword beam shot from behind him, flashing like lightning, gone in an instant.
“Pfft!”
In a blink, it pierced through the sinister woman’s back and out her chest.
“Boss… Boss!”
She’d never dreamed that, after killing countless innocents with her hidden weapons, she’d die by someone else’s.
“Punk! You dare kill my wife!”
The burly man roared, he hadn’t expected such a massive loss today.
Three had come, and now only he remained.
“You’re allowed to kill me, but I can’t kill you?”
Ling Xiao said lightly.
Though his tone was casual, his heart was tense.
The sinister woman and stout old man were manageable, but this burly man was the real threat.
A peak Martial Vein Fifth Level martial artist wasn’t easy to handle.
Still, he had no intention of running.
A life-and-death battle like this was the best training, and besides, victory wasn’t entirely out of reach.
