"Hah!"
With a sharp cry, Chu Qingyun threw a punch at the giant boulder blocking the cave entrance.
The power of a Fifth-level Martial Artist erupted, and the massive rock instantly crumbled, exploding into scattered fragnts.
After advancing to a Fifth-level Martial Artist, not only had his physical attributes been greatly enhanced, but with his Primordial Power growing purer, both his Sword Technique and Soul Techniques had improved significantly.
His overall strength had increased more than tenfold!
Stepping out of the cave and into the sunlight, Chu Qingyun felt a great sense of relief.
'So what if the Primordial Stones are gone? I can just earn more. Besides, this kind of expenditure is unavoidable anyway.'
'Primordial Stones sitting in a Storage Ring are ultimately just Primordial Stones. It's better to use them to increase my own strength.'
For a Martial Artist, strength was the foundation of everything.
Without strength, even if one had millions in assets, they would just end up as fish on soone else's chopping block, ready to be carved up.
And with great strength, what couldn't one obtain?
At the end of the day, the world was pragmatic and cruel, but the world of Martial Artists was even more nakedly so!
His ears twitched slightly. Chu Qingyun heard three people rapidly approaching.
'Hmph, it seems the Cao Family hasn't given up yet.'
Chu Qingyun sneered inwardly. In his current state, he wasn't afraid of a sixth-level Martial Artist like Cao Jingbin.
Soon, three figures burst out of the distant mist, and then they saw him: Chu Qingyun, sitting cross-legged in front of the cave.
"Boss, that's the kid the Patriarch wants us to find, right?"
"Should be. There aren't many people in the Mist Forest, and there's probably no one else in this area."
"Boss, I heard that kid is only a third-level Martial Artist, but you're a fourth-level Martial Artist. Why don't we hold off on the signal and just capture him ourselves? That would be a huge accomplishnt."
"Yeah, Boss! The Patriarch and Second Master hate that kid to the bone. If you capture him alive and bring him back, they'll definitely appreciate you more in the future."
"Alright, we'll capture him alive!"
Having made up their minds, the three n walked forward.
"Kid, did you kill that Demon Beast belonging to our Cao Family?" the leader of the trio, Cao Dezhi, said, pointing at Chu Qingyun.
"A Cao Family Demon Beast? Hmph. I've never heard that the Mist Forest was nad Cao."
A faint smile played on Chu Qingyun's lips.
One fourth-level Martial Artist and two second-level Martial Artists. He wouldn't have given this level of strength a second thought, even two days ago.
"You brat, still acting so arrogant when you're about to die! Today, I'll show you the power of a fourth-level Martial Artist!"
"Land Turtle Treasure Armor!"
Cao Dezhi shouted coldly and unleashed his Soul Technique.
A turtle Martial Soul flashed before him, and then his entire body was encased in what looked like a large turtle shell, protecting him from all angles without a single blind spot.
Primordial Power shimred on the shell as it slowly rotated, giving off an impression of thickness and durability.
'A decent Defensive Soul Technique. Too bad it's a turtle shell, otherwise it would've been nice to take... '
Chu Qingyun inwardly felt it was a bit of a sha.
He had little interest in Strong Attack Type Martial Souls, because compared to his Sword Technique, the power of Tier Two or Tier Three Soul Techniques was far too lacking.
However, Chu Qingyun was very interested in Defensive Type, Control Type, and Support Type Martial Souls. He had just encountered too few of them.
After a mont's hesitation, Chu Qingyun sighed.
'Forget it. Sporting a turtle shell is just too embarrassing. The Profound Celestial Divine Pattern is still very strong right now, so I don't have a particular need for a Defense-type Martial Soul anyway.'
"Kid, what are you shaking your head for?"
Cao Dezhi had no idea that he had just taken a stroll past the Ghost Gate.
If Chu Qingyun had taken a liking to his Martial Soul, he would have been a dead man.
"Nothing. I just think your turtle shell is pretty cool."
"Brat, you're courting death!"
Enraged, Cao Dezhi charged at Chu Qingyun and threw a punch.
As soone who possessed the Land Turtle Martial Soul, the thing he hated most was people ntioning words like "turtle" or "tortoise" in his presence.
"Heh heh, I'll smash your turtle shell!"
"Profound Celestial Divine Pattern!"
The dark gold Divine Patterns on his body lit up as Chu Qingyun smashed his fist forward.
No Primordial Power, no Fist Techniques and Montum. He was relying solely on his body, enhanced by the First-Layer Profound Celestial Divine Pattern, to counter a Tier Two Defensive Soul Technique with his bare fist.
CRACK, CRACK...
Centered on Chu Qingyun's fist, cracks spread across the turtle shell Soul Technique. Finally, with a BANG, the entire shell shattered, dissolving into dissipating Primordial Power.
"Fifth-level Martial Artist... You, how are you a Fifth-level Martial Artist...?"
Cao Dezhi's face turned white with fear. If he had known Chu Qingyun was a Fifth-level Martial Artist, he never would have attacked and would have definitely fired the signal flare at the first opportunity.
"Correct, but there's no prize!"
Chu Qingyun grinned and kicked him in the chest, sending him flying back, spitting blood. He collapsed to the ground, heavily injured.
Seeing that things had gone south, the other two n turned to flee.
But with a flash, Chu Qingyun appeared directly in front of them. With two swift kicks, he knocked them to the ground, and all three ended up in a heap.
"Do you want to live, or do you want to die?"
Chu Qingyun asked, looking down on the three of them.
"Live! We want to live..." the three answered hastily.
"If you want to live, then fire your signal and lure all the mbers of your Cao Family here for ."
Hearing this, Cao Dezhi and the other two stared with wide, astonished eyes.
'Fire the signal and lure the Cao Family here?'
'Did I hear that right?!'
Just now, when he was injured, Cao Dezhi had wanted to fire the signal, but he hadn't dared to for fear of angering Chu Qingyun.
And now, Chu Qingyun was actually telling him to do it?
"My lord, you... you're saying you want us to fire the signal and bring the Cao Family here?" Cao Dezhi asked cautiously, afraid he had misheard.
Chu Qingyun's brow furrowed. "Don't tell you don't have one. In that case, there's no point in keeping you alive."
"We do, we do! My lord, we have one! This lowly one will fire it right now!"
Cao Dezhi was overjoyed. He hastily pulled a bamboo tube-like object from his robes, aid it at the sky, and yanked the fuse at the bottom.
FWOOSH... BANG!
Accompanied by a piercing whistle, a streak of fire shot straight up, exploding with a bang high in the sky. Even in broad daylight, it created a conspicuous burst of light.
This was the Signal Flare the Cao Family gave to each of its mbers. Both its sound and light could travel a great distance, used to summon companions.
"My lord, the signal has been fired. All the nearby Cao Family mbers will now start heading over."
Cao Dezhi cautiously snuck a glance at Chu Qingyun's expression, only to find, strangely, that not only was there no trace of worry on his face, but there was even a hint of delight.
'Strange, what's this guy so happy about?'
'Does he really think that, as a re Fifth-level Martial Artist, he can take on our entire Cao Family? What a pipe dream!'
'Hmph, our Cao Family has both Fifth-level and sixth-level Martial Artists! You arrogant brat, you'll be crying soon enough!'
And in fact, Cao Dezhi had guessed correctly.
Chu Qingyun's goal was indeed to hold the entire Cao Family hostage...
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