"Chapter 4" Misunderstanding

The moment the two men entered the shop, making a commotion, the owner shoved the token into Ye Xuan's hands with a panicked expression.

Ye Xuan turned back to see the two burly men he had seen earlier after entering the city. The looks in their eyes indicated that they weren't there with good intentions.

"What is that?" one of the burly men asked, approaching Ye Xuan as he saw the owner of the shop hand something to Ye Xuan.

Ye Xuan pretended to be confused, raising his hands in a questioning gesture to show the men. "What?"

"Boy, what are you hiding in your hand? Hand it over," the burly man ordered, shoving the blade of his big sword against Ye Xuan's neck.

Ye Xuan, in response, opened his palm and showed it to the two men. The burly man felt confused when he saw Ye Xuan's empty hand. His sword was poised to penetrate Ye Xuan's skin, but when the man forced it, he couldn't even succeed in making a mark on Ye Xuan's neck.

"You..." The burly man realized he had provoked someone he shouldn't have, but before he could think of a way out, a loud blast shook the air and the roof of the shop blew away.

"Boom!"

Ye Xuan's eyes wandered outside to see a woman wielding an azure long sword, fighting fiercely with the people who were once guarding the town.

Another burly man turned, and fear could be seen in his eyes, while the one holding the sword against Ye Xuan's neck looked back, only to have Ye Xuan shove the sword into his own heart.

"Too late."

The remaining burly man reacted quickly and decided to attack Ye Xuan, whose sword was still lodged in the body of the other man. But Ye Xuan didn't wait, and with a swift kick, sent the lifeless body flying, freeing his sword.

He then met the burly man's attack head-on, their blades clashing, but it was clear that Ye Xuan had the upper hand. With a swift and deadly strike, he cut the man's neck, ending his life instantly.

"Go hide somewhere," Ye Xuan turned back to the shop owner, who was already hiding behind a wooden block.

Xuan then ran out of the shop, only to be met by more men attacking him. Mistaking him for one of the town's attackers, they charged at him with hostility.

Forced to defend himself, Xuan fought back and took down three more attackers until a notification interrupted him.

[System Notification]: You have killed a horde of bandits.

[Reward]: 100x Experience, 1000 Spirit Stones, and a random Martial Skill.

Xuan didn't get much to see, except that the people he was fighting were bandits, when more attackers came and he began sweeping them.

One... two... three... And like that, he almost killed twenty of them when the bandits finally stopped coming towards him.

The bandits were all low-level cultivators, with the highest being a 4th-level Qi Awakening stage cultivator, while the majority were first or second-level cultivators, and a few were just simple mortals.

"What are so many bandits doing in this small town? Is the whole town filled with them?" But he soon realized that there were villagers present too, which meant the bandits were the reason for the gloomy atmosphere in the village.

Then, his eyes locked onto a bandit who was running towards him, fear etched in his eyes.

It was clear he was fleeing from someone, but unfortunately, he ended up in front of Xuan. Instead of killing him, Xuan grasped the bandit by the collar, holding him in place.

"Tell me, why are there so many bandits hiding in this town? What are you after?" Xuan's grip on the bandit's collar tightened, his eyes blazing with intensity as he glared directly into the bandit's terrified gaze.

The bandit, one of the few mortals in the group, trembled with fear, cursing his luck as he gazed upon the pile of dead bodies surrounding Xuan. He knew, with a sinking feeling, that the man in front of him must have been the one to kill them.

"I just ran from a female demoness, only to run into him," the man cursed himself, his body shaking uncontrollably as fear took hold of him.

Knowing the bandit was just a mortal, Xuan decided to spare his life, but on one condition: he had to answer Xuan's questions.

"If you wish to live, then start telling me everything you know," Xuan threatened, his words effective as the man began answering in a stuttering tone, "W-we're here to find s-something."

"find what?" Xuan asked.

"I don't know," the man confessed, "I only know it's an old token, and we were told to find it in these areas. In return, we were promised that we'd be able to become cultivators." The man revealed everything he knew, hoping to save his life.

Just as promised Xuan freed his hold on him and the man began to run while Xuan thought, 'are they behind the token given to me by the meat shop owner, to think that thing was under their nose.'

As promised, Xuan released his grip, and the man took off in a frantic sprint. Meanwhile, Xuan's thoughts, "Are they behind the token given to me by the meat shop owner? To think that it was right under their noses."

Xuan's thoughts were interrupted by the sight of a head flying through the air from his side. The head belonged to the man he had just freed, and a look of terror was frozen on his face, a testament to the fear he felt in his final moment.

As Xuan gazed at the severed head, he sensed a presence behind him. Turning around, he saw the woman approaching, her sword dripping with fresh blood.

Without giving Xuan a moment to react, she launched a deadly attack, not giving him time to counter.

But just as her sword was inching close to Xuan, his own sword swiftly intercepted hers, stopping it with a loud clash.

He then flipped backward, creating a safe distance between them.

A murderous look was clear in her eyes. "I knew there must be a cultivator pulling the strings behind these bandits," she spat, her words venomous.

After spitting out her words, she attacked again, this time employing a powerful cultivation technique.

Her sword began to vibrate violently, and she raised it slightly higher before slashing towards Xuan.

A cold, chilling air brushed against Xuan's face, and then an azure sword phantom materialized, cutting through the air towards him.

Xuan employed the Elite Sword Art to intercept the attack, but his strike was overwhelmed by the woman's technique, dissipating harmlessly against her assault.

Fortunately, the brief clash gave Xuan just enough time to dodge the attack, narrowly avoiding the deadly blow.

"Wait! This is all a misunderstanding!" Xuan exclaimed, but his words fell on deaf ears as the woman unleashed another attack, her sword slicing through the air towards him with deadly precision.

The woman was a formidable 9th-level Meridian Unlocking stage cultivator, while Xuan was only a 9th level Qi Refinement stage cultivator. The vast disparity in their cultivation levels made Xuan's chances of winning exceedingly slim, but...

He recalled the new, mysterious martial art skill he had randomly acquired. Deciding to put his faith in it, Xuan unleashed the technique.

With a sudden burst of speed, he dodged the woman's attack with ease, his movements as swift and elusive as the wind.

[Martial Arts]: "blur Wind Steps"

Withing short steps you can move like a wind. your movement will be akin to blowing wind, easy to control, hard to predict.

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