Chapter 46: First Encounter with Martial Arts

On his way back, Qin Shu employed the Hurricane Step, moving as swiftly as a flying car.

Suddenly, he felt an inexplicable sense of impending danger.

Is it finally happening?

Ever since leaving the free market, those eyes had been watching him continuously. Knowing that some things were inevitable, he made no attempt to evade them.

Within his sea of consciousness, the Nine Lives Doll gained another half-life, now totaling four lives—enough for him to afford being reckless.

In the next instant, heaven and earth transformed.

A Directional Teleportation Talisman?

Qin Shu surveyed his surroundings; he found himself outside Nine Yong City, seemingly far from its center.

“Clap, clap, clap!”

Applause echoed around him. “Not bad! You actually recognized this as a Directional Teleportation Talisman. I must say, your young master went to great lengths for you!”

Qin Shu’s gaze swept across the area, spotting a familiar group several hundred meters away on his right—Wang Yuanze’s gang.

However, the leader was not Wang Yuanze but someone who bore a striking resemblance to him.

“So it’s you, Little Swindler Wang,” Qin Shu taunted. “Growing bold, aren’t we? Daring to use a Directional Teleportation Talisman within city limits.”

“Hahaha!” Wang Yuanze sneered coldly. “As if anyone could pinpoint who used such a talisman. It’s not like they’ll come knocking at my door just because I happened to use one.” His tone turned icy. “That single talisman cost me fifty thousand spiritual soul coins. I’m going to wring every last bit out of you. A Mythical Rank spiritual soul should yield something truly exceptional.”

“Cut the chatter,” the leader snarled. “Are you Qin Shu? Do you like Lu Yixi?”

Qin Shu froze at these words. “Who the hell are you? Where’d you hear that from? I like Lu Yixi? How come I didn’t know about it?”

“My dear third brother, perhaps it’s that woman Lu Yixi who has a thing for this pretty boy,” Wang Yuanze suggested. “Her gaze was off when she looked at him back then.”

“I don’t care who likes whom,” Wang Yuankun cut in coldly. “All I know is, you’re staying here today.”

“Just the two of you?” Qin Shu asked incredulously. “Are you sure?”

A burst of Mid Core Formation cultivation base erupted from him.

“Mid Core Formation!” Wang Yuanze exclaimed, astonished. “Just months ago you were Late Foundation Establishment! How could your cultivation have advanced so quickly?”

“Hmph! Mid Core Formation is nothing,” Wang Yuankun retorted, revealing his own strength—Full Core Formation—and accompanied by the roar of a tiger.

Simultaneously, he drew a long blade. “Come at me, let’s see what you’ve got.” With those words, he struck first, extending a forty-meter-long blade aura and swinging it directly towards Qin Shu.

“What grudge do you hold against me? You’re going all out!” Qin Shu’s voice drifted slowly through the air from behind them, carried on a gentle breeze.

A bolt of thunderous blade energy carved a furrow three meters deep and forty meters long into the earth, its power lingering ominously at the depths.

“Wind Escape Technique!” Wang Yuankun spun around just in time to see Qin Shu materializing from the wind.

His brow furrowed deeply.

Qin Shu smiled faintly. “Courtesy demands a return visit!”

Out of nowhere, a cyan lotus appeared floating above Wang Yuankun.

“What?” Wang Yuankun looked up as the lotus blossomed, transforming into a ten-meter-long sword glare that descended vertically. “Shatter!” He swung his blade upward with a powerful slash.

The blade energy shattered the sword glare, but instead of dissipating, it scattered in all directions.

“Hurry, defend yourselves,” someone nearby shouted. Wang Yuanze and others who had been watching the spectacle hastily produced their spirit artifacts for protection.

As the sword glares struck their defensive shields, a symphony of clinks filled the air. The force of the impacts left them feeling as though they might cough up blood.

“Do you look down on me so much? Bring out your spirit artifact and let’s have a proper fight.” Wang Yuankun glared at Qin Shu, who stood there empty-handed.

“I didn’t realize you were such a braggart,” Qin Shu chuckled before summoning Flying Sand Sword. “Cut!”

Wang Yuankun roared, swinging his blade horizontally in a sweeping motion. The blade, charged with blade energy, moved with incredible speed, its momentum completely locking onto Qin Shu.

For Qin Shu to escape via wind manipulation, he would first have to break through this blade momentum before making his getaway.

However, breaking through the blade momentum would also trigger the arrival of the blade star.

Therefore, he had no choice but to face this attack head-on.

The Flying Sand Sword arced upwards, condensing cyan lotus sword energy into a solid form that extended forty meters, colliding with the Thunderous Blade Star.

Boom!

As the two forces met—half blade star, half sword energy—their impact carved out holes and deep grooves across hundreds of square meters of ground.

From several kilometers away, Wang Yuanze swallowed nervously. “Good thing we ran far enough.”

“Master,” one of his subordinates suggested uneasily, “perhaps we should return now. Even at their first exchange, such power is displayed—it truly worries me for your safety!”

“No, we can’t leave; if my dear Third Brother gets angry, none of us will escape then.” Wang Yuanze rejected the idea.

In the arena, feeling the might of this strike, Qin Shu remarked, “It seems you’ve chosen the path of martial arts. No wonder.”

“Martial arts may not be inferior to immortal cultivation after all. Your swordsmanship is commendable too, managing to block my Moonlit Night Slash,” Wang Yuanze couldn’t help but praise him briefly.

“It’s not your Lightning Crescent Slash,” Qin Shu said with a smile of relief. “That puts me at ease.” With that, a field of yellow sand spread beneath his feet, swirling upward in dense clouds.

Seeing Qin Shu make his move, Wang Yuankun declared, “Immortal Sword Technique is too slow! Vertical and Horizontal Across Heaven and Earth!” He raised his long blade high, unleashing an enormous slash that seemed to cleave the heavens themselves.

The blade descended upon the swirling sands.

Boom!

The sand shattered, yet it also blocked the blade. However, instead of falling back down, the scattered grains formed into countless lotus blossoms within the air.

As these myriad sand lotuses bloomed, Qin Shu thrust forward with his Flying Sand Sword. The sword energy coalesced into a surging river of sand, hurtling towards Wang Yuankun.

“Excellent challenge!” Wang Yuankun roared like a tiger, his spiritual longblade resonating with power. Electricity crackled around it as the blade split into three distinct streams, each forming a potent blade aura.

“Slash!”

These blade auras tore through the river of sand, sending sword energy scattering across the sky. Within moments, a two-kilometer-wide area was blanketed by swirling yellow sand.

Yet despite the relentless surge of sword energy, Wang Yuankun’s attack faltered, lacking follow-through strength.

Qin Shu released the Flying Sand Sword, his palm thrusting forward with explosive force.

The Flying Sand Sword, carrying the momentum of the Yellow Sand River, appeared before Wang Yuankun in an instant.

Clang!

Wang Yuankun raised his blade horizontally, blocking the sword with its flat surface while simultaneously using the force to leap backward.

True essence surged from within him, coalescing into a protective shield around his body to block the dispersing yellow sand sword energy.

“I’m not playing with you anymore,” Qin Shu said coolly.

“What?” Wang Yuankun suddenly felt a chill at both temples as he realized they had been pierced by something unseen.

His vision began to rise continuously upward.

The Thunder Flame Tiger spiritual soul was about to escape with his consciousness.

“Not good, Third Brother’s been killed by that kid. Avenge Third Brother.”

A hint of excitement suppressed beneath Wang Yuanze’s voice, “Bring them all out.”

“Yes, Young Master.”

One after another, round Heaven-Shaking Bombs flew towards Qin Shu.

“Heh! Go back!”

In an instant, heaven and earth seemed to shift. An invisible force snatched up the Heaven-Shaking Bombs and sent them hurtling back.

Next, the Thunder Flame Tiger spiritual soul also collided with this intangible barrier. Realizing escape was impossible, Wang Yuankun roared, “I’ll fight you to the death!”