Chapter 60: Killed with a Single Punch

Gu Changqing had long heard of Master Xu; on the road to Pingyao, he learned about him from the Yu family's disciples. Last night, Li Youling mentioned that several of Master Xu's students were guarding the city wall, so he threw the Fog Pouch near Jade Spring Monastery, luring those Daoists away. Now, seeing Master Xu with members of the Yu family, he immediately realized Xu was helping them hunt him down; how could he bear it?

He had just defeated five fourth-level Awakened, his own momentum and the intent of his Eight Desolation Fist elevated. Now, leaping down, his presence was overwhelming.

Master Xu looked up, sensing a terrifying aura. Worse still, from within Gu Changqing came the agonized wails of countless people, disturbing the mind. With such bearing, there was no need for further introductions.

"You fiend! How dare you attack me here? Today I shall capture you and hand you to the Yu family!" Master Xu was unafraid of Gu Changqing. Though only at the fourth level of Qi Refining, his Mystical Water Sword was exceptionally suited for defense.

With a clang, his long sword was drawn, and he leapt into the air. As the blade churned, waves seemed to roar from it, thickening even the air. Within, it felt like the depths of the sea, every movement resisted by mounting pressure. Hidden within the watery currents, sword lights flickered, ready to shred anything caught.

In his left sleeve, Master Xu gripped a palm-sized hammer: the Dao Demon Hammer, a magical artifact. Designed to strike the crown of the head, it could shatter weaker foes like a watermelon; even stronger opponents would be dazed if struck. Its only flaw was its slow speed, so it was reserved as a trump card. He always used the Mystical Water Sword to entangle his opponent, then threw the hammer—most often hitting his mark.

But Gu Changqing's fist unleashed a blood python, which was immediately ensnared by the Mystical Water Sword, writhing like it was trapped in a quagmire. Master Xu secretly cursed: that blood python could corrupt magical artifacts and spiritual light, weakening the layers of interception wrought by his sword.

Before he could act further, Gu Changqing's furious fist descended, tearing the air with a ripping sound, as if cloth were being violently torn.

Master Xu had not expected such ferocity—his expression changed dramatically. Yet, he had no time to react.

Bang!

Gu Changqing's fist crashed into Master Xu's chest, and countless blood prisons swarmed into his body. The force of the blow alone might not have killed Master Xu, but those blood prisons rapidly devoured everything within him, stripping him of all resistance in an instant.

The others had not expected Master Xu to fall without even blocking a single punch; their faces changed drastically.

"Master!" a Daoist cried in anguish, kicking off from his stirrups and charging at Gu Changqing with sword drawn.

The four Yu family disciples scattered, fleeing in all directions, tossing up signal flares that shrieked through the air and shot skyward.

"Trying to escape?" Gu Changqing sneered, unleashing twenty or thirty Blood Sea Bee Needles.

Half sped toward Master Xu's disciple, the rest aimed at the knees of the Yu disciples and their horses.

The Daoist managed to deflect only three needles before being riddled like a sieve, collapsing into blood beside Master Xu.

The other Yu disciples fell with their horses, Gu Changqing finishing them off, crippling their limbs. He then vaulted up the stone wall, grabbed Li Youling, and leapt back down.

Back on the road, Gu Changqing set Li Youling aside and tossed her the Jade Knife. "Finish them."

He reached out, and a mass of blood on the ground snaked back into his palm, flooding him with pure spiritual energy and blood essence, expanding the flow within his body.

The amount gained from Master Xu alone equaled the spiritual energy converted from the blood essence of two high-level Feathered-class monsters. While he had only just reached the third layer of Qi Refining, his spiritual energy now surged, halfway to the fourth layer.

Moreover, this punch had slain a fourth-layer Qi Refiner, further advancing his Eight Desolation Fist.

---

But what caught his attention most was something else. Gu Changqing shook out Master Xu's clothes, and a palm-sized hammer fell out.

It was azure-gold, octagonal-headed, with a handle at the tail. It had dropped from the left sleeve; Gu Changqing guessed it was a trump card unused before Master Xu's death.

There was also a whisk, an ancient-styled sword, and a leather pouch—far more refined than the one Gu Changqing had obtained before. He opened it to find a much larger space, about a meter square, and filled with items.

Delighted, he packed everything and prepared to leave, then glanced at Master Xu's shoes.

They looked like cloth boots, embroidered with cloud patterns. Gu Changqing suspected they were valuable, so he took them as well.

---

Li Youling gripped the Jade Knife, approaching two Yu disciples, their limbs crippled, writhing on the ground in pitiful pleas. Unlike her uncles, she was a stranger to these men.

Li Youling drew a deep breath, closed her eyes, and let all her past experiences flow through her mind. She knew her path was chosen—there was no turning back.

When she opened her eyes, they were resolute. She bit her lip, gripped the knife in both hands, and stabbed downward. Her delicate, youthful face seemed to have inherited some of Gu Changqing's fierceness.

With a wet sound, the first victim's blood essence entered Li Youling's body; she then dispatched the second.

The second kill was much quicker.

Once a person's bottom line is broken, it can always be broken further.

Though young and female, Li Youling was clever and decisive from childhood. At her first meeting with Gu Changqing, she weighed her options, killed her uncles, and determined to follow him, abandoning her family estate.

After slaying the two, her blood essence surged, making her movements swifter and stronger. She went to the other side and killed the remaining two Yu disciples.

She stood in a daze for a long time, lost in thought.

Turning, she found Gu Changqing smiling at her.

"How do you feel?" Gu Changqing asked, smiling.

"Youling is willing to follow you, sir, through death and despair!" Li Youling declared firmly.

"Tsk! A woman’s heart is truly ruthless!" Gu Changqing commented.

"Sir!" Li Youling protested, half laughing, half crying.

"Go kill the horse as well."

The horse Master Xu had ridden was magnificent, its four legs scaled, clearly not ordinary and likely expensive.

But too conspicuous.

Still, it shouldn’t go to waste.

Gu Changqing broke its spine with a punch, Li Youling finished the kill.

After killing four Yu blood-essence disciples and the horse, Li Youling's own blood essence was full. Her body agile and strong, her senses sharp—if she had any martial training, she'd be a blood-essence warrior herself.

"Let’s go." Gu Changqing glanced toward Pingyao and grinned, a chilling smile.

Once he reached the fifth layer of Qi Refining, opened his acupoints, and nurtured his first deity, he would deal with Yu Wentao.

With that, the two vanished into the mountains.

---

Yu Wentao arrived to find bones by the roadside and Master Xu’s shattered robes.

The sight sent his blood surging, his eyes fierce.

But he knew: trouble was brewing.

That fiend was growing bolder, slippery and elusive; even now, his appearance was unknown.

Judging from the distribution of the bodies, the killer had slain Master Xu first, then the others.

Master Xu’s Mystical Water Sword was famed for defense, yet he was slain on the spot, not even able to flee—proving the foe was stronger than anticipated.

Moreover, only a single corroded skeleton remained of Master Xu and his student. The Yu disciples, meanwhile, were left as dried corpses with knife wounds to their chests.

This proved the fiend was not alone—there were two.

But what technique did they use?

---

Before dusk, Gu Changqing and Li Youling stood halfway up a mountain, looking through dense woods at distant Shiqian, its city awash in rising cooking smoke.

"Sir, the Yu family will surely be on high alert in the city! We shouldn’t go," Li Youling said.

"We know the direction—let’s cross Shiqian, rest at Tongren. It’s near the prefecture; the Yu family wouldn’t dare act openly," Li Youling assured him.

"From Pingyao to Shiqian, the road is quiet enough, but from Shiqian to Tongren, it’s busier—more people, maybe even places to lodge."

"But you look rather fierce, sir. Ordinary people might be frightened! Leave it to me to handle," she offered.

"No need for such trouble," Gu Changqing scoffed.

Still, they avoided entering Shiqian, passing over it and resting by the official road.

From here, Shiqian was half an hour away at Gu Changqing’s pace; for ordinary travelers, it would be midnight before arrival.

"This ox cart... won’t do," Gu Changqing mused.

"When will we depart, sir?" Li Youling asked, holding her bundle. "Why not set out early?"

"You want to walk—I’d rather not!" Gu Changqing grumbled, feeling something was off along the journey.

He cursed inwardly; why did he have to drag a third wheel, as if he’d become her beast of burden?

Thinking this, he looked at Li Youling with disfavor.

"Did I say something wrong, sir?" Li Youling asked, uneasy.

"Damn it, I’ll settle accounts with you later!" Gu Changqing growled.

Just then, distant hoofbeats caught his ear; he perked up and strode forward.

His survival depended on relying on family at home, friends when away!

Li Youling sat nearby, stifling laughter, guessing what Gu Changqing was thinking.

Ahead, several riders appeared in tight-fitting attire, followed by a carriage.

The carriage looked fine, complete with a driver.

Seeing Gu Changqing in the road, the riders grew wary—his towering figure and imposing aura were hard to ignore. Even in the dim light, his savagery was palpable.

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(End of chapter)