C23 Killing

With a harsh slap, Lin Hao struck him across the face, exclaiming, "Fool, they're all from various factions. Why on earth would you tell them anything? Are you trying to get yourself killed?"

His tirade didn't end there; he rounded on the others as well. "And you! He was right there in front of you, and you couldn't even recognize the courtyard emblem. Do you even belong to Xianyang? A bunch of incompetents, all of you! You can't even find one worthless person, and yet you dare to claim you're part of the Black Armored Army? Split up and search. If you can't find him, don't bother returning!"

After they had put some distance between themselves and Lin Hao, one of the soldiers grumbled under his breath, venting his frustration, "He has the audacity to call us worthless when he's the one who let him slip away right under his nose?"

The most aggrieved of them all was the soldier who had interacted with Chu Tianyu the most. "Kid, you better hope I don't find you, or you'll wish dying was the easy part!" He was convinced that Chu Tianyu was the sole reason for his scolding, and his resentment ran deep.

Whether it was Chu Tianyu's good fortune or misfortune, he hadn't anticipated Lin Hao's determination to kill him. Despite running for miles, he couldn't shake them off. But, fortunately, he might only have to face one person instead of the formidable group of five, including the skilled Lin Hao.

Chu Tianyu's speed had already been at the Level Three Warrior standard, but after advancing to a Level One Warrior, his speed had significantly increased. While not yet on par with a Level Four, he was now among the elite of the Level Three warriors, leaving the soldiers trailing behind him.

In a dense thicket miles away, Chu Tianyu sat with his eyes tightly closed and his jaw clenched. Spiritual energy from the surrounding area surged towards him like moths to a flame, becoming a part of him. The tiny dragon, shimmering with golden specks of light, let out continuous roars, soaring through the clouds with unstoppable momentum. In half an hour, it had completed seven cycles, markedly faster than before and enduring an additional cycle.

After two more cycles of energy cultivation, my strength increased by an additional 400 pounds. My total strength has now surpassed 2,000 pounds and is quickly approaching 3,000 pounds.

Chu Tianyu was basking in his joy, barely aware that he could keep going. He would have been far less thrilled if he knew that a formidable soldier was within a mere hundred steps of him.

Luckily, it was just one of Lin Hao's men who had caught up, not Lin Hao himself. Unfortunately, this soldier was one of the three Level Four warriors, with a strength exceeding 30,000 pounds— at least fifteen times that of Chu Tianyu. A single slap from him could easily flatten Chu Tianyu!

"Damn it, wasn't he supposed to be a good-for-nothing? Struggling to breathe after a few steps? How is he outrunning me?" The soldier grumbled as he navigated the dense forest.

"What's this? A fluctuation in spiritual energy? Could there be someone ahead?" As a Level Four warrior, he was well attuned to the presence of spiritual energy and became instantly alert: "In the grass!"

The soldier cautiously approached the grass where Chu Tianyu was concealed.

At that moment, Chu Tianyu was struggling through his eighth Qi Circulation. "Just hold on, just a bit longer," he told himself. His meridians were ablaze with pain, yet he clenched his teeth and persisted.

"Rustle," the soldier carefully parted the grass in front of him, producing a barely audible sound, and finally laid eyes on the person cultivating there.

"It's him!" exclaimed the soldier in surprise. In his mind, Chu Tianyu was nothing but a worthless non-cultivator, inferior even to the average person. But the sight before him was entirely unexpected. Chu Tianyu wasn't just capable of cultivating; the gathering of spiritual energy around him was on par with a Level Four warrior!

Still, the soldier was merely astonished, not frightened. Being a Level Four warrior himself, with the strength to kill an elephant with a single punch, he could easily dispatch Chu Tianyu in a heartbeat. Especially since Chu Tianyu was in the midst of cultivation, completely defenseless—a Level One warrior could have taken him down.

"Hahaha, I'm really lucky today," the soldier chuckled heartily, making no effort to conceal his presence. "The lieutenant values this kid so much. If I kill him, I might just snag that centurion's position for myself!"

Having a hundred sergeants under one's command, especially in the Black Armored Army, was a matter of great pride. How could he not be thrilled by the prospect of such honor?

"This is bad," Chu Tianyu muttered to himself, realizing the gravity of his situation. He hadn't expected Lin Hao's men to pursue him for miles, especially not during the critical moment of his cultivation. If they had arrived just a bit later, he would have already ceased his practice and escaped.

"Just one-tenth of the cycle left. Come on, faster!" Chu Tianyu urged himself, ignoring the searing pain in his meridians as he pushed his Genuine Qi to its limits.

He couldn't afford to stop his cultivation abruptly; the rampant Genuine Qi could potentially wreak havoc on his meridians!

Seeing Chu Tianyu's profuse sweating, the soldier felt confident of his impending victory. "Does it hurt? Don't worry, I won't kill you too quickly. I plan to slice you up first, let you bleed out slowly."

The soldier wasn't foolish. The man before him was the South Guarding Marquis's eldest son, and if word got out that he was the killer, the consequences would be dire. However, if Chu Tianyu were to perish from Qi Deviation during his practice, that would be another matter entirely.

As the spiritual energy around Chu Tianyu grew more turbulent, the soldier redoubled his efforts. "You probably can't even begin to imagine what it's like to be cut dozens of times. You're the Young Prince, likely never having seen blood. Oops, I digress."

Unfazed, the soldier continued, "The scene would be gruesomely indistinct, almost like minced meat. No one would guess you were once the noble Young Prince. And with wild beasts all around, they'd leave nothing of you behind!"

Overhearing the soldier's monologue, Chu Tianyu felt no urgency. The soldier was truly one of a kind, and he owed him a 'thank you' for later.

The corner of Chu Tianyu's mouth curled up slightly, but he maintained a facade of fear. "Go on, the longer, the better!"

The soldier persisted in his intimidation, yet the anticipated demise of Chu Tianyu did not occur. Instead, the spiritual energy around him had become much more subdued, though Chu Tianyu was still sweating profusely.

"Kid, you've deceived me, how dare you!" The soldier was irate. Despite his usual nonchalance, he realized he'd been duped by someone he once considered worthless.

"I'm going to kill you!"

Clutching his steel knife, the soldier wore a savage expression as he stepped forward to confront Chu Tianyu. Raising the knife high, he gazed indifferently at Chu Tianyu, who in his eyes, was as good as dead. The gleaming blade that could cleave a boulder seemed overkill for such a slight frame.

Chu Tianyu's eyes snapped open, meeting the soldier's gaze with an icy stare. Moments before, he had completed the eighth cycle of circulation, with robust Genuine Qi coursing through his meridians, begging for release.

With a shout, Chu Tianyu rose to his feet and advanced rather than retreated. His delicate, seemingly frail hands lightly touched the soldier's chest, as gentle as a caress. But in the next instant, the potent Genuine Qi surged from his dantian through his hands and into the soldier's body!

The Genuine Qi, now uncontrolled, transformed from a docile kitten into a ferocious tiger, rampaging through the soldier's insides.

"Ah!" The soldier's eyes bulged, his ferocious look swiftly overtaken by agony and horror.

Chu Tianyu withdrew only after his dantian was drained, stepping back to catch his breath, utterly spent.

"You..." The soldier felt his body's strength and vitality vanish in an instant. He stared at Chu Tianyu, terror-stricken and speechless, utterly dumbfounded.

"You're wondering how I could possess such potent Genuine Qi, aren't you? It's because I expelled it all. Truthfully, I should thank you. That sound was so exquisite; without it, I would've been dead long ago!"

With those words, Chu Tianyu flashed a sincere, toothy grin at the soldier.

Overcome with rage, the soldier felt the Genuine Qi within him unravel even faster. A gush of blood spurted from his mouth before he collapsed, succumbing to his fate.

Upon realizing the soldier had perished, Chu Tianyu finally exhaled in relief, his life mercifully spared.