“The old man will make sure you have a grand time. There are plenty of slaves in Circle Two, and they’re probably all drooling over a delicate beauty like you!”
The lecherous old man, enraged, began spouting nonsense.
But he didn’t realise his words had touched Leng Mei’s sore spot.
Initially, Leng Mei had no intention of killing him, but now a black shadow darted out, and the old man’s head slid off his neck in an instant.
“What an idiot. Spared your life, yet you still provoke. Can’t you tell who’s stronger?”
Ling Xiao shook his head, looking at the old man’s corpse.
These days, there were plenty of smart people, but those seeking death were also abundant.
“Impressive!”
“She looks cold as ice, but her strength is terrifying. The Leech Heavenly Venerable’s lackeys have met their match today.”
“Kill them!”
The onlookers, watching from the shadows, were seething with anger. They despised the Leech Heavenly Venerable and his minions but never had the courage to act.
“Kill our people? Everyone, attack together! Take these two down, or the Leech Heavenly Venerable will lose face!”
One of the Leech Heavenly Venerable’s underlings, a minor leader, shouted.
“Charge!”
“There’s only two of them, nothing special!”
“Kill them!”
Perhaps used to being arrogant, or confident in their strength, they charged.
To serve the Leech Heavenly Venerable, one needed at least the cultivation of the Three Talents Heaven. Some among them even had Four Symbols Heaven cultivation.
Dozens attacked together, believing they could overpower Ling Xiao and Leng Mei, so they feared nothing.
“Leng Mei, hold off. Let me handle this. I haven’t tested my new technique yet.”
In the past twenty days, besides advancing to the early stage of Three Talents Heaven, Ling Xiao’s Light and Shadow Mysteries had both reached the third step, gaining new abilities.
The first step was defence; the second, single-target attacks; the third, group attacks.
Facing dozens of strong opponents, Ling Xiao smiled slightly, summoning his Golden Crow Sword.
The third technique of his Light Mystery was tied to this sword.
“Golden Crow Soars Over the Sun!”
Ling Xiao raised the Golden Crow Sword, and suddenly, its blade transformed into a massive Golden Crow, charging at the oncoming crowd.
The Golden Crow seemed alive, radiating blinding light, searing heat, and terrifying sword energy.
In an instant, dozens charged forward.
And dozens were sent flying back, spitting blood, collapsing motionless on the ground.
“Not bad. Similar to the old Rising Sun Sword Light, but much stronger in power and effect,” Ling Xiao mused, holding the sword, ignoring the fallen enemies.
He’d noticed that while each step of a mystery produced fixed techniques, he could tweak them to suit his style.
“Die!”
As Ling Xiao pondered refining his technique, the minor leader lunged from the side, his sharp blade aimed at Ling Xiao’s back.
This man, at the late stage of Four Symbols Heaven, was only slightly weaker than the lecherous old man and Ximen Bo.
“Master, be careful!” Leng Mei moved to intercept.
The attack was sudden, and the enemy’s speed was alarming, already close to Ling Xiao.
“No need to worry. He shouldn’t have attacked now, because I’ve got one more move to test.”
Ling Xiao smiled, casually flicking his sword. No one saw anything emerge.
Suddenly, the lunging leader was bitten in half mid-air by something invisible.
The horrific scene left everyone stunned.
“Void Shadow Crocodile, a fitting name,” Ling Xiao nodded. The Shadow Mystery’s techniques were always stealthy, no wonder no one noticed.
“Look, what’s that?”
Finally, someone spotted something odd.
“It’s like a crocodile’s shadow? But where’s the crocodile?”
“And why does the shadow have wings?”
“I saw it! That shadow crocodile bit the man’s shadow, and he died, his body split in half!”
A terrified martial artist sat on the ground, shouting.
“Nonsense! How can harming a shadow hurt the body?”
“I’m telling the truth, I saw it with my own eyes!”
He was right.
The Void Shadow Crocodile’s terror lay in attacking not the body but the shadow.
Any damage to the shadow affected the body.
This covert, unique attack would trouble even martial artists stronger than Ling Xiao.
Ling Xiao didn’t explain, calmly addressing the trembling Leech Heavenly Venerable’s men, “Go fetch your master now. Don’t think I can’t kill you. I just don’t want to bother.”
“You’ll regret this, kid. Cross the Leech Heavenly Venerable, and you’ll die horribly.”
Among the group, a few still had some backbone, threatening Ling Xiao as they left.
“I’ve heard such empty threats before. I doubt your boss has the strength.”
Though only at early Three Talents Heaven, Ling Xiao could easily handle Five Elements Heaven martial artists.
The Blood Skeleton might be tougher, being a genius, so Ling Xiao planned to boost his strength before returning to the imperial city.
Sparring with experts and seizing Tianyuan Crystals was the best way.
Since the Leech Heavenly Venerable was no saint, Ling Xiao felt no guilt.
The underlings fled to their master’s cultivation site.
Though also a slave living in a cave, the Leech Heavenly Venerable’s was lavishly decorated, like a grand palace, with scantily clad female slaves attending him.
Interrupted, he seemed displeased.
“What’s this? Why the pathetic faces? Ran into a tough rebel?”
As the boss here, rebellion was common. The Leech Heavenly Venerable had dealt with it before, crushing those who dared resist.
Though Pixiu Island disliked deaths, killing one or two was fine. They relied on him to manage the slaves, so they gave him some leeway.
