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Fang Xi moved with incredible speed, as if propelled by wind, yet closely pursued by none other than Huang Yuanwu!

Originally, with his full effort, he could easily shake off any pursuers and vanish using the camouflage robe, becoming undetectable even to Nine Lives Mastiffs.

Such were the capabilities of a cultivator, forming the basis of his confidence to cause chaos in Three Origins City!

However, since his target tonight was Huang Yuanwu, he naturally had no intention of fleeing.

In a chase that lasted mere moments, they reached the overgrown garden behind an abandoned residence.

The garden featured scattered artificial mountains amidst patches of yellowed weeds. A once-lush pond now lay stagnant, emitting a foul odor.

Under the moonlight, Fang Xi turned around, calmly gazing at Huang Yuanwu. “You dare to follow me? Quite bold!”

“Ha…a mere novice martial artist, blowing such hot air!” Huang Yuanwu, with his muscular arms and slender waist, stood unmoving, exuding an aura of deep tranquility like a towering peak.

Beside Fang Xi, the pitch-black Nine Lives Mastiff growled menacingly.

“Since Nine Lives is here, I can confirm there are no hidden ambushes nearby… but you!” Huang Yuanwu’s gaze turned slightly serious. “During our earlier encounter, I determined that despite lacking condensed fist intent, your strength rivals that of a second-step martial artist. Truly a genius! However, provoking the Huang Family means certain death, regardless of your backing!”

It seemed he had mistaken Fang Xi’s identity.

Indeed, given that Fang Xi had just broken through to the martial artist realm yet displayed power comparable to a second-step martial artist, it appeared as if he was an exceptionally gifted prodigy, likely mentored by renowned masters from a powerful faction!

If Huang Yuanwu knew the truth—that Fang Xi was merely a penniless martial artist, driven by desperation to steal the Huang Family’s secret manuals—he would have been utterly speechless.

“Enough with the chatter… Your reinforcements won’t arrive for another fifteen minutes.” As Fang Xi spoke, Primordial Strength surged throughout his body, causing him to suddenly rise higher on his stance.

In the next moment, the ground seemed to tremble as a terrifying force built up beneath his feet, coursing through his waist, spine, and arms… culminating in a lethal, explosive punch!

“Today, I’ll make you understand that an unproven genius is no genius at all!” Huang Yuanwu roared, his hands pushing forward as if moving mountains.

Whoosh!

Fang Xi’s fist struck Huang Yuanwu’s palms like a tempest crashing against rocks. Despite the ferocity of Fang Xi’s Primordial Strength, it was ultimately shattered, dispersing like splashing waves.

As a Third Step martial artist and one of Three Origins City’s top experts, Huang Yuanwu naturally surpassed Fang Xi in power!

With a menacing grin, he prepared to counterattack with his terrifying True Force.

However, something felt suddenly amiss!

A horrifying penetrating force, akin to a sharp needle, pierced through his hand, tearing flesh and even damaging bone!

In that instant, just before Fang Xi’s fist dissipated, a pitch-black needle burst forth—a Bone Piercing Nail, a single-use magical artifact!

“You… despicable!”

Huang Yuanwu stumbled back three steps, staring at his palm where a dark hole bled profusely.

“Damn, body cultivators are such a hassle!” Fang Xi internally grumbled, unaware of Huang Yuanwu’s thoughts.

If this attack had been directed at a cultivator, the Bone Piercing Nail would have easily pierced their palm and continued straight to puncture their heart.

However, as a Third-Step martial artist, his physique was truly remarkable. Despite the Bone Piercing Nail’s power nearing the limit of low-grade magical artifacts, it got lodged within his iron-hard bones.

“How dare you resort to such despicable tactics! Vile!”

Huang Yuanwu frowned, attempting to apply True Force pressure on the wound but found he couldn’t stop the bleeding at all. Even worse, intense pain radiated throughout his entire arm, eliciting an involuntary curse.

“Chuckles… With scum like you, there’s no need for fairness in the jianghu.”

Fang Xi swiftly turned and delivered a palm strike directly onto the head of the Nine Lives Mastiff.

The demihuman had taken advantage of Fang Xi’s confrontation with Huang Yuanwu, sneaking behind them for a surprise attack. However, instead, it met Fang Xi’s furious headlock!

With a terrifying burst of True Force, Fang Xi sent the Nine Lives Mastiff flying, crashing into the pond and causing a massive splash.

Unfazed, Huang Yuanwu suddenly turned to flee!

His one arm hung limp, clearly unusable for the moment. As a Third-Step martial artist, fighting another with one hand immobilized would put him significantly at a disadvantage.

Before Huang Yuanwu could leap over the wall, he felt a menacing force hurtling towards him.

Thud!

A burst of dark light transformed into a ghostly broadsword and viciously struck him.

“Ah!”

Huang Yuanwu screamed as he fell back into the courtyard, revealing a deep gash on his chest that nearly exposed his bones.

“You…who exactly are you?” His eyes filled with despair, unable to recall when the Huang Family had offended someone with such extraordinary abilities!

“I am the one who will take your life!” Fang Xi replied with a grin, pulling out more paper talismans.

Meanwhile, he internally compared the situation:

‘Martial artists may be equivalent to cultivators at the second stage of Body Tempering, but they are much easier to handle…’

‘If this were a body cultivator, they wouldn’t expose such glaring weaknesses. Martial artists simply lack experience dealing with cultivators…’

‘Furthermore, body cultivators often augment themselves using various paper talismans and even magical armor…’

‘The martial artists of Great Liang are truly too inexperienced…’

Without hesitation, Fang Xi activated a ‘Golden Light Shield’ talisman, charged forward, and engaged Huang Yuanwu in a brutal exchange of blows…

In no time, carrying the now limbless Huang Yuanwu, Fang Xi leisurely departed from the deserted residence.

Shortly after, skilled members of the Huang Family and their guards arrived, panting heavily. They surveyed the scene’s chaos, exchanging glances…

The next day.

At the Monster Hunter Union:

“Have you heard? The Huang Family suffered a major calamity.”

Some cultivators whispered amongst themselves, their expressions animated with evident schadenfreude. After all, the Huang Family had long been notorious for their arrogance and tyranny.

“Just yesterday, the second daughter of the Huang Family provoked someone she shouldn’t have and was killed on the spot… And guess what happened after they threatened retaliation? That very night, Second Master Huang went missing…”

“But he’s a military commander! Who would dare to challenge both the imperial court and the Dingzhou Army?”

“Who else but an exceptionally fearsome villain… He appears to be around twenty years old, with a scholarly demeanor. In the jianghu, they call him ‘Ghostweary’!” One cultivator boasted proudly, clearly well-informed, as he began recounting the tale.

“Oh? Why is he called Ghostweary?” another cultivator hastily asked.

“Naturally, it’s because his origins are unknown, yet his martial prowess is incredibly strong. He acts recklessly, treating the laws and authority of officials like child’s play… Even more terrifyingly, his character is quite… vile. Do you know under what pretext he attacked the Yellow Mansion last night? Apparently… just because its inhabitants stepped out leading with their left foot, which violated his superstitions…”

The surrounding cultivators fell silent, their faces grim.

Another individual chimed in, “I heard… it was because he stepped with his right foot first?”

Despite this absurdity, everyone’s scalps tingled, and they involuntarily glanced at their own legs, wary of inadvertently provoking such an unpredictable enemy.

“Heh heh… do you really think Second Master Huang’s disappearance last night marked the end?” The initial speaker chuckled slyly. “That Ghostweary is incredibly audacious! After abducting the second master, he stealthily returned to the Yellow Mansion. Rumor has it, he went on a killing spree, taking many lives… Even Huang Yuanding, the patriarch of the Huang Family, sustained severe injuries. If not for timely intervention by the local authorities and Dingzhou Army, he might have been beaten to death!”

“Even without dying, after such a calamity, the Huang Family is likely to decline rapidly… Not only that, but they don’t even know who their true enemy is. Tell me, isn’t that infuriating?”

An elderly man set down his teacup with a soft sigh, “The Huang Family reaped what they sowed; they brought this upon themselves!”

“Haha, indeed. Let’s continue enjoying our tea…”

Unaware of the tumult unfolding outside and having no interest in it, Fang Xi was focused within a room, diligently studying a secret manual in his hands.

The previous night, he had taken Huang Yuanwu captive and extracted vast amounts of information using the Soul Confusion Technique. Immediately afterward, he launched a surprise attack on the Yellow Mansion, causing chaos—his true aim being to search for secret manuals and the Divine Intent Diagram. Injuring the Huang Family Patriarch was merely collateral damage…

“An ancestor of the Huang Family once trained at Yuanhe Mountain, reaching the realm of Fourth Step Martial Artist, just a step away from becoming a Zongshi… Upon descending the mountain, they passed down this ‘Heavenly Wind Secret Manual’!”

Fang Xi meticulously examined the ancient text, which included the original version with the Divine Intent Diagram. By taking this manual, the Huang Family’s lineage of the Divine Intent Diagram would likely be severed…

“The cultivation path of a martial artist consists of five steps: First Step, condensing fist intent; Second Step, breaking through Pangu’s Pith; Third Step, forging steel-like bones; Fourth Step, merging divine essence with physical strength… Following that is the pinnacle, where one harmonizes with the universe, achieving unity as a Zongshi!”

Fang Xi gleaned the first two steps from Linghu Yang’s memories. However, Linghu Yang only knew these stages by hearsay from his master, without any specific details on cultivation!

But the “Heavenly Wind Secret Manual” contained exactly that!

Fang Xi understood his own limitations well—he had just recently broken through to become a martial artist and hadn’t yet reached even the First Step.

However, with his immense reserves, blood qi surpassing human limits, exceptional innate talent, and mastery over multiple major techniques, Fang Xi had developed the self-created Primordial True Art. Consequently, his strength was astonishing, allowing him to engage even second-step martial artists!

By incorporating some minor cultivator tricks, he could potentially overcome third or fourth-step martial artists as well.

But against a fifth-step Zongshi, also known as a True Astral Martial Saint, it became far less certain.

“Martial artist cultivation has only four steps; reaching the fifth step transforms one into a Zongshi, a Martial Saint! Phew, that’s a relief… I thought there would be at least nine steps, maybe even subdivided into half-steps, half-step peaks, and half-step great circles!”

Currently, Fang Xi had no intention of confronting a True Astral Martial Saint.

His philosophy always revolved around overwhelming opponents through sheer power. Engaging enemies from a slightly higher realm was preferable, while crushing them from a significantly greater realm was ideal. The best outcome, however, would be victory without direct combat!

The path of immortality values life; excessive fighting and killing is unbecoming. Moreover, a True Astral Martial Saint roughly equates to a Late Stage Qi Refinement cultivator in the third stage of Body Refinement. Asking him to leap across just a small realm for such a challenge? No thank you…

Although most Martial Saints in this world would likely perish against cultivators in the third stage of Body Refinement, one must not underestimate them either.

‘Cultivators in the third stage of Body Refinement have an advantage due to their access to resources from the cultivation world, utilizing external aids… However, when it comes to mental fortitude and willpower, they may not necessarily surpass the Zongshis of this era…’