Chapter Eighty: Just Take It by Force—Let Me Try Too

On a hill rising more than ten meters high and less than a kilometer wide, Lin Qingyun was locked in battle with a monstrous beast resembling a white rhinoceros, yet with limbs capable of standing upright like a black bear. This creature was not particularly fast, but its defense was truly formidable.

Each time Lin Qingyun’s fist struck its hide, a thunderous sound echoed as if beating a drum. The beast merely shuddered slightly before counterattacking with relentless force. Fortunately, its size was not overwhelming; even standing upright, it reached only about two meters, making it a relatively compact specimen among beasts of its rank. Its four hooves struck out with immense power, and its teeth and single horn posed a constant threat.

Lin Qingyun, however, moved with greater agility. Encountering this creature today provided the perfect opportunity to practice the art of layered and penetrating force—how to strike through barriers, how to build and unleash power in succession. Over these days, Lin Qingyun had been refining his combat techniques against various foes, perfecting his mastery of strength.

“Wave upon wave, mountain-breaching cannon, strike—”

He unleashed his signature moves, wave after wave, mountain-breaching cannon, relying solely on physical prowess, not spells. Layered strength gradually forced the beast to bleed from its mouth and nose, its internal organs beginning to fail. Lin Qingyun’s blows grew ever more potent, each force penetrating and exploding within, bypassing the creature’s terrifying defenses. With a final explosive sound, the beast’s organs were utterly destroyed, and it collapsed.

“Phew!”

Lin Qingyun felt his whole body flush with heat, an unprecedented sense of ease washing over him. These last ten days of varied combat had granted him fresh insights into himself, his spells, his speed. Most cultivators of the Heart of the Zither realm rarely found time to hone every aspect, focusing instead on stabilizing their nine foundational paths and preparing for the forging of their golden cores. At most, they would refine their favored martial techniques. In his previous life, Lin Qingyun had abandoned such pursuits, rising swiftly through ranks, relying on powerful magic and treasures.

“Whoosh, thud—”

Just as Lin Qingyun slew the beast and sat down to reflect on his progress, a sudden sound split the air. His senses detected an arrow whistling through the wind—not aimed at him, but piercing the beast’s eye, lodging deep in its skull.

“Haha, impressive! Third brother is getting more and more formidable—one shot, and the white-horned beast is dead!”

“We’ll have plenty to brag about now. The hide is intact—this is a windfall for us!”

…

At that moment, outside in the marsh, a wooden boat carrying more than a dozen people approached the hill swiftly. Six leapt ashore, while two remained on the vessel: one holding an oar, clearly the boatman; the other with a longbow, arrow nocked, subtly targeting Lin Qingyun.

The six who landed were led by a burly man wielding a mid-grade magical staff, his chin marred by a savage wound—a lasting reminder of a beast’s attack—making him appear fierce and intimidating.

“What are you staring at? We are the Ten Thousand Dragon Demon Hunting Squad. We just saved your sorry life; shouldn’t you be thanking us? Foolish, going toe-to-toe with a white-horned beast—what a reckless rookie…”

“Ha, but you have to admit, that creature’s defense is top-tier.”

The others laughed as they began to loot the white-horned beast’s carcass.

The white-horned beast was highly valuable; even split among them, each person could expect to pocket hundreds of thousands.

“Blatant robbery, huh? Let me try,” Lin Qingyun remarked, eyeing the leader, the burly man, who was also sizing him up. His words wiped the smirks from their faces.

“Kid, here’s your chance: join the Ten Thousand Dragon Demon Hunting Squad, or die,” the burly man threatened, his blade shimmering with a cold blue glow.

The others glared at Lin Qingyun, murderous intent clear. Here, killing for loot was commonplace. A wise man would retreat upon meeting them, avoiding conflict; after all, unnecessary casualties weren’t worth it. But facing just one lone cultivator who dared speak up, they had to eliminate him.

“Whoosh—”

Suddenly, a flying sword burst from the ground a hundred meters away from Lin Qingyun, racing towards the archer hundreds of meters off. At the same moment, Lin Qingyun launched himself forward like a cannonball, charging at the burly leader.

“Damn, kill him!”

The leader, himself a Heart of the Zither ninth-level cultivator, swung his staff, torrents of water-light swirling, his aura surging.

“Boom… boom…”

Simultaneously, two sword lights, several layers of water shields, and a yellow earthen wall appeared to block the attack. Their teamwork was flawless; the leader and two others were ninth-level, the remaining three eighth-level, forming a formidable force. Against a newly advanced cultivator, it would be difficult to break through.

These hardened survivors were always alert, their coordination far superior to the students undertaking their initial trials—more ruthless, more adept. Yet Lin Qingyun’s first strike denied them the chance to join forces. He could withstand a beast head-on, but not these men.

“Boom—”

The force exploded; staff and sword missed their mark, and Lin Qingyun didn’t collide head-on. Instead, he slipped underground, using earth techniques.

“Aah—”

A scream rang out as a flying sword burst from below, impaling one of them.

“Careful, he’s skilled in earth magic—boom!”

The leader thrust his staff into the ground, spinning it to shatter the earth around him.

“Clang—”

At that moment, the distant archer loosed an arrow, striking Lin Qingyun’s flying sword. Within his mental domain, the sword’s power was immense, but attacking outside that range weakened its effect.

“Boom—”

Besides the leader, another was adept at countering earth techniques. He formed a seal and struck the ground, unleashing a special shockwave. But Lin Qingyun was already beyond their reach, reappearing more than ten meters away.

They pounded the ground, believing Lin Qingyun to be an earth mage, unaware that he merely borrowed an earth artifact from Song Yichen to traverse the terrain.

During his underground movement, he manipulated his sword to strike unexpectedly, slaying one.

“Bang… bang…”

Their attacks unleashed clouds of poisonous smoke—materials Lin Qingyun had gathered and casually refined into poison pills. As the poison spread, some felt their magical energy boiling out of control, their minds clouded.

The three ninth-level cultivators dodged swiftly, their strength sparing them somewhat, but the other two failed to escape the toxic cloud in time. Blood poured from their orifices as they died in agony.

“Watch out… whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—”

The archer raced over, himself an eighth-level, his arrows deadly at range. In an instant, a dozen arrows sealed off Lin Qingyun’s escape.

“Antidote pill…” The survivors hurriedly took their antidotes, but while effective against ordinary second-level poisons, Lin Qingyun’s concoction—though not as meticulously crafted as the Xuan Yang Pill—was beyond their medicine’s reach.

“Clang, clang…”

The archer attacked relentlessly, hoping to buy time for his comrades. But Lin Qingyun didn’t bother dodging; his armguard transformed into a shield, allowing him to charge through the arrow storm and confront a startled enemy. Before the man could react, Lin Qingyun struck him from behind, sending him flying. Outwardly unscathed, but his organs shattered—dead in an instant.

“The poison isn’t working—retreat!”

The leader was filled with terror. Their squad, while not the most elite, was certainly among the top second-tier demon hunting teams. Only the most renowned experts or Cloud-stepping realm masters could defeat them outright—confidence they always carried.

As for robbing a lone hunter’s prey, that was routine. The strong claimed what they found.

Never would he have imagined the situation would turn so dire in an instant.

They weren’t deeply poisoned, but their strength was diminished by thirty to forty percent, and their antidotes were useless. The two most affected were already dead.

He tried to flee, but escape was impossible.

“Whoosh, whoosh… clang, clang, clang…”

Two flying swords shot out—not the ones Lin Qingyun had previously used, but new blades. One targeted the archer, forcing him to desperately defend a hundred meters away, while the other blocked the leader’s retreat.

Taking advantage, Lin Qingyun closed in on another ninth-level cultivator. Though his defenses were strong, Lin Qingyun’s mountain-breaching cannon had advanced over these days. In the blink of an eye, he unleashed a hundred punches, shattering the water shield, collapsing the man’s chest and face completely.

“Vice-captain Wang, retreat, quickly—”

The archer was already backing away, wielding his mid-grade magical bow as a weapon to fend off the flying sword. He realized rushing in was a fatal mistake; Lin Qingyun’s swords were formidable, and controlling two at once left them overwhelmed.