Counterattack

The scar-faced middle-aged man watched Lu Ze, his expression changing rapidly. However, before he could react, a sense of crisis suddenly surged. He turned his head and saw Lu Ze charging towards him at an incredible speed, leaving multiple afterimages in his wake.

"Seeking death!"

The scar-faced middle-aged man was furious and swung his massive fist fiercely toward Lu Ze. The fist, as large as a cooking pot, struck with the formidable power of a cultivator at the Fifth Stage of the True Profound Realm.

"The one seeking death is you!"

Lu Ze's eyes flickered with a cold light. Unyielding, he threw a punch to meet the scar-faced man's attack.

"Bang!"

Their fists collided, creating a dull sound as if iron and gold were clashing. A visible shockwave spread in all directions.

Following the impact, the powerful gust of wind forced both men to take several steps back.

The scar-faced man stumbled slightly. That punch just now unexpectedly resulted in a draw with this kid? Lu Ze, on the other hand, quickly steadied himself after retreating a few steps. There was not a single injury on his body, only the bloodstains left by the killings.

"If you don't want to die, tell me who sent you here."

Lu Ze looked at the scar-faced man with a cold gaze and spoke icily.

"Hmph, a mere cultivator at the First Stage of the Innate Realm thinks he can contend with me with just one punch?"

The scar-faced man snorted coldly. His steel knife whizzed out, turning into a powerful blade wind and slashing toward Lu Ze.

The blade wind was sharp, tearing through the air with a piercing howl, carrying a destructive force.

Lu Ze's expression remained indifferent. He reached to his waist, drew out a soft sword, and blocked the powerful blade wind.

Immediately, the soft sword turned into countless sword shadows, enveloping all the blade edges within. Although Lu Ze had not learned any sword techniques, his senses were extraordinary, allowing him to perceive all of the scar-faced man's attacks. Moreover, the soft sword was flexible and precisely the nemesis of the steel knife.

For a moment, the clash of the blade wind and sword created a dense symphony of clangs.

"Damn it, what kind of monster is this kid? Why is he so difficult to deal with?" The scar-faced middle-aged man's proud knife techniques were completely suppressed by Lu Ze's soft sword, gradually crumbling, making him feel increasingly frustrated. Despite his superior strength, he was being thoroughly suppressed by Lu Ze, causing immense discomfort.

"Shoo!"

Just when the scar-faced man found himself in a difficult situation, about to be defeated by Lu Ze, an arrow shot through the air, cutting across the sky, and aiming directly at Lu Ze's forehead.

"Damn it!"

Lu Ze's expression changed dramatically, hastily evading. The arrow grazed his cheek and flew past, landing in the nearby bushes.

"Well done, Sixth Brother!"

Seeing this, the scar-faced middle-aged man rejoiced. Seizing the opportunity, he counterattacked, his blade flashing towards Lu Ze's neck, attempting to deliver a fatal blow.

"Bastard!"

Lu Ze's expression changed drastically, not daring to be sluggish. He quickly employed the Dragon Scale Step to dodge the incoming strike. However, in the next moment, a violent blade wind attacked again.

"Hahaha, kid, can't catch your breath now, can you? Weren't you quite arrogant before? How about now?!"

The scar-faced man, seeing Lu Ze in a miserable escape, couldn't help but laugh loudly. He swung his arms wildly, and the steel knife traced dazzling arcs in the air, slashing toward Lu Ze's vital points.

In a battle between experts, victory relied on who could gather their qi first. Once that qi dispersed, it usually took a while to gather it again. The scar-faced man had no intention of giving Lu Ze that time.

Meanwhile, the thin man hidden in the shadows also aimed his bow and arrow at Lu Ze. Every time Lu Ze attempted to gather his strength for a counterattack, he would shoot an arrow, attempting to disrupt his focus.

With the combined efforts of these two, Lu Ze found himself retreating step by step.

"Kid, you killed so many of our brothers, and acted so arrogantly. Now, it's time to pay for it!" The thin man perched on a tall tree, taking advantage of the high ground, pointed his arrow at Lu Ze while taunting loudly, trying to disturb his mental focus.

"You are the arrogant one!"

A cold shout suddenly sounded beside him. Simultaneously, a "puff" sound was heard, and a gleaming dagger had pierced through his back.

"What... what?"

The thin man's face was full of astonishment, his eyes widened in disbelief. He struggled to take a breath, slowly turning his head. He saw Qi Ming, who had appeared behind him without him noticing, looking at him with a mixture of shock and fear. In Qi Ming's hand, a trembling dagger was still tightly gripped.

"Ah!"

It was Qi Ming's first time killing someone, and he was quite nervous. When the thin man suddenly turned his head towards him, Qi Ming screamed in fear and kicked him away.

"Thud!"

After a moment, the thin man fell to the ground, lifeless.

"Senior, I've already killed the person who shot the sneak attack. You have to keep it up!"

Qi Ming stood nervously on the tree, shouting loudly to Lu Ze.

"What?"

Hearing this, the scar-faced man was clearly distracted, and he paused for a moment. And in that brief moment, Lu Ze seized the opportunity.

Avoiding the scar-faced man's blade, Lu Ze discarded the soft sword that had been battered by blows. He closed in, taking advantage of the scar-faced man's distracted state. While the scar-faced man was momentarily dazed, Lu Ze approached.

During the moment of distraction, Lu Ze threw punch after punch, smashing into the scar-faced man's chest.

"Pound, pound, pound..."

Each punch caused the scar-faced man to cry out in pain. But Lu Ze did not stop, continuously pounding on his chest.

Lu Ze's physical strength was incredibly powerful, even a cultivator at the Fifth Stage Innate Realm would find it difficult to withstand such blows.

The scar-faced man took several punches in a row, suffering severe injuries. His bones shattered, and even his internal organs were crushed by the powerful punches.

In the end, he collapsed on the ground and his blood spurted out, obviously he was dead beyond any doubt.

"Huff, huff, huff..."

After killing the scar-faced man, Lu Ze finally couldn't hold on any longer and sat down on the ground, breathing heavily. Throughout the battle, he had been on the defensive, and the spiritual energy in his dantian was nearly depleted.

Now, he sit down to regulate his breathing, the surrounding spiritual energy rushed toward him, nourishing his exhausted body.

"Senior, are you okay?"

At this moment, Qi Ming hurriedly arrived, asking anxiously, "I'm fine, just a bit depleted of spiritual energy. Resting for a while will be enough," Lu Ze replied, shaking his head.

"Depleted spiritual energy? You just need to eat this, and you'll be fine!" Qi Ming said urgently, taking out a pill and handing it to him.

"A third-grade Qi Gathering Pill?" Lu Ze looked at the pill, slightly surprised, and glanced at Qi Ming with astonishment. Third-grade pills were precious in the Qiantian Sect; not only could they accelerate cultivation speed, but they could also restore the combat power of an Innate Realm cultivator. In the Sect's Pill Pavilion, it would cost thirty spirit stones to purchase one.

Qi Ming had actually given him such a pill so easily?

"Senior, don't worry, I have plenty of these pills. I can give you more if one is not enough!" Qi Ming nodded, displaying his generosity in front of Lu Ze.

Seeing this, Lu Ze couldn't help but smile wryly. He then accepted the pill and swallowed it. In no time, the pill dissolved, transforming into abundant spiritual energy that circulated through his limbs.

Lu Ze's depleted spiritual energy was fully restored, and he faintly felt a breakthrough looming in his cultivation. After intense battles and taking the third-grade Qi Gathering Pill, Lu Ze was showing signs of breaking through to the second level of the Innate Realm.

"Senior, do you know who these people are? Why are they trying to kill us?" Qi Ming asked, pointing to the corpses on the ground.

"I'm not sure, but they're probably hired by someone to eliminate us," Lu Ze shook his head and then began searching the scar-faced man for anything useful.

Before long, he found a brand-new storage pouch on the scar-faced man. Inside were a hundred spirit stones, obviously the payment these people received.

"Interesting, they're quite generous, offering a hundred spirit stones to kill us!" Lu Ze said with a dark expression, weighing the pouch in his hand.

A hundred spirit stones were a considerable reward for mercenaries. Lu Ze wondered who had such wealth to spare.

"What? Are these guys crazy? They want to kill us for just a hundred spirit stones?" Qi Ming, hearing this, was utterly astonished and indignant. For him, a hundred spirit stones were too little!

Lu Ze, hearing this, cautiously looked at him and asked, "How many spirit stones do you earn in Qiantian Sect each month?"

Qi Ming answered, "At least three hundred. What's the matter, Senior?"

"No, nothing. Let's continue on our way!" Lu Ze replied, not revealing his surprise.