Chapter 23: Cruel and Ruthless

"Phantom!"

With a flicker of thought, Chu Fengmian activated the Phantom Movement technique once again.

Instantly, three figures split away simultaneously; it was nearly impossible to discern which one was the true body.

"Avatar illusions! This is something only an Earth-grade movement technique can achieve! This kid is practicing an Earth-grade movement technique! Catch him! If you catch him, there will be a heavy reward from this young master!"

Seeing Chu Fengmian split into phantoms, the greed in the eyes of the young hall master intensified, and he roared.

An Earth-grade movement technique had not even appeared within the Wusheng Academy. If one could obtain it, relying on such a technique would be enough to stand at the pinnacle of the Wusheng Kingdom.

"Truly troublesome," Chu Fengmian sighed inwardly.

As the three phantoms split off, the nine middle-aged men divided themselves into three teams of three. Without the slightest hesitation, they pursued and cornered all three phantoms.

With such coordination, there was almost no way to escape.

Chu Fengmian was now deeply surrounded; breaking out seemed nearly impossible.

"Kid, hand over your movement and sword techniques, and I can spare your life. This is your last chance."

The young hall master watched Chu Fengmian from the side, sneering incessantly.

"No matter how exquisite your movement technique is, you won't escape today!"

"Hand them over?"

Chu Fengmian's eyes turned cold.

This wasn't something that could be settled simply by handing over his techniques. No one wanted to let others possess such movement and sword arts; moreover, even if Chu Fengmian survived, he would at the very least be demoted to a slave and imprisoned.

Since escape was impossible, his only option was to fight—to fight with everything he had.

"Kill!"

A single, cold word escaped Chu Fengmian's lips.

He drew his sword. The Xuanqing Sword appeared with a roar in his hand, and the spiritual energy within his body swelled and erupted, circulating through his frame.

"Oh? An Earth-grade light sword?"

A hint of ruthlessness appeared in the young hall master's eyes.

"Kill this kid! Kill him and bring his corpse to my father. Father can then extract his soul and refine his spirit!"

"Yes!"

The nine middle-aged men responded in unison, each charging toward Chu Fengmian.

Every move and every strike was a killing blow.

These nine men had likely slaughtered countless martial artists; every single technique was designed to take a life.

Relying on his Phantom Movement, Chu Fengmian dodged them repeatedly.

"How vicious!"

Chu Fengmian looked at the young hall master, killing intent surging in his eyes.

Soul extraction and spirit refining were among the most heinous methods on the continent—to kill a person and then extract their soul to read their memories.

Once a person's soul was extracted and refined, they would not only endure immense agony but would also be unable to reincarnate, effectively dying a true death. Such methods were practically taboo, yet this young hall master was already so cruel at such a young age.

"Infinite Sword Dance!"

The sword in Chu Fengmian's hand moved. Accompanied by his movement technique, the sword danced continuously, appearing incredibly graceful within the jungle.

"What kind of ghost sword technique is this? Is he performing?"

Du Gu sneered upon seeing Chu Fengmian's movements.

"A little brat at the fifth level of the Bone Tempering Realm dares to oppose our Wuyan Hall? Such overconfidence! The world was created just to crush people like you!"

As Du Gu spoke, he drew a massive heavy sword. With a sudden movement, he lunged in front of Chu Fengmian and swung downward!

"Die!"

"Nothing but brute force! No understanding of sword intent," Chu Fengmian sneered inwardly as he watched Du Gu attack.

In his eyes, this style of swordsmanship was utterly crude.

"It is time I let you see true swordsmanship," Chu Fengmian thought to himself.

The Xuanqing Sword in his hand moved.

The strike appeared extremely slow, but in reality, it reached the tip of the heavy sword almost instantaneously.

The tip of a blade is where its power is weakest. Heavy swords like this relied on overwhelming force and the weight of the blade to suppress opponents; the power at the very tip was not significant.

With a flick of his wrist, Chu Fengmian parried the heavy sword, sending it flying out of Du Gu's grasp.

"What?"

Du Gu felt a massive force, and the heavy sword in his hand became uncontrollable, flying away.

Before he could even react, a blade was already pressed against his throat.

"Die!"

Without a moment's pause, a flash of sword light passed, and Du Gu's body fell straight to the ground.

An eighth-level Bone Tempering Realm martial artist had just died under Chu Fengmian's blade.

"What kind of sword technique was that!"

"Du Gu is actually dead!"

The remaining eight men were stunned by the sight and came to a halt.

Du Gu was the strongest among them, yet he had been killed in a single move by Chu Fengmian.

And Chu Fengmian was only at the fifth level of the Bone Tempering Realm.

"You bunch of useless trash, why have you stopped! He's just a fifth-level Bone Tempering brat; can you not even handle him?"

The young hall master shouted loudly from the side.

"Whoever kills this kid, I will give him an Earth-grade pill to give him a chance to break through to the Body Refining Realm!"

An Earth-grade pill was a massive sum; even as the young hall master, he would feel the sting of such a loss.

However, if they could truly kill Chu Fengmian and obtain his sword and movement techniques, it would all be worth it.

The young hall master could see that Chu Fengmian had killed Du Gu by relying on his eerie movement and exquisite swordplay, allowing him to kill an opponent three realms above him. He couldn't even imagine how powerful those techniques truly were.

But they were certainly far more profound than the sword techniques taught in the Wusheng Academy.

An Earth-grade pill! The Body Refining Realm!

These words instantly removed any hesitation from the middle-aged men.

They charged at Chu Fengmian once more.

These men were in their thirties and had only reached the eighth level of the Bone Tempering Realm; their talent was naturally low, and breaking through to the Body Refining Realm was nearly impossible.

Unless they had the help of medicinal pills, but the price of an Earth-grade pill was so high they could not afford it in a lifetime.

The young hall master's words showed them a glimmer of hope to reach the Body Refining Realm, making them fight even more desperately.

Sword blades slashed toward Chu Fengmian, every strike a lethal blow intended to end his life.

"You all must die!"

Chu Fengmian roared inwardly.

He had no original intention to kill, but these people had come with the sole purpose of exterminating him, shattering what little mercy he had left.

Since they wanted to kill, he would kill them all to his heart's content!

Facing enemies, there was only slaughter; he would not let a single one go!

A red light flashed in Chu Fengmian's eyes as he lunged toward one of the middle-aged men.

Seeing Chu Fengmian charging toward him, the man felt a surge of joy, as if he could already see the Earth-grade pill waving to him.

But before his heavy sword could even descend, a sword had already pierced through his chest.