Chapter 30: Beat Them to a Living Death

A few people had just rushed over more than ten li when a sudden whooshing sound came from ahead.

Swish swish…

Seven or eight sharp arrows flew toward them, their tips glinting with a cold light.

Enemy attack.

Li Yunhua let out a furious roar and, with a single slash, cut the arrows before him, the forest ahead saturated with murderous intent.

At that moment, seven or eight warriors clad in sturdy armor emerged from a thicket.

The leader was tall and broad, his temples puffed out, clearly possessing impressive martial cultivation.

Lu Zhangsheng's pupils contracted when he saw the leader.

He had once seen this person in the city, back when he himself attended the DemonSubduingOffice assessment, the Wenxiang Sect Leader he had encountered.

Could these strange phenomena be related to the Wenxiang Sect? Who is the revered master they mentioned in the anomalies the group just slashed?

A cloud of doubt shrouded Lu Zhangsheng's mind, making him extremely vigilant.

Kill…

The Wenxiang Sect Leader swung his hand broadly, leading the group to charge at Lu Zhangsheng and the others.

Rustle rustle…

The cloaks of the group sliced through the forest, producing a series of whistling sounds.

The opponent came prepared; split up and withdraw.

Li Yunhua shouted loudly, showing no intention of leading the others in resistance.

He instead turned around and fled backward.

With a powerful kick he covered several meters, vanishing from sight in an instant.

The remaining few scattered and fled, sprinting along the mountain path.

Lu Zhangsheng activated the Perfect-grade stepping method, a fleeting flash, and rushed eastward.

His steps leapt over a yard with each bound, the speed astonishing.

The surrounding forest rushed backward at high speed.

He still surveyed the pursuers behind; each had two followers, while only one was behind him.

The opponent was a middle-aged man, his eyes flashing ferociously at Lu Zhangsheng.

After a continuous rush for over half a shi (about two hours).

When he reached a small hill, Lu Zhangsheng stopped, hands behind his back, turned and quietly gazed ahead.

"Kid, why stop running? Ready to die yet?"

The middle-aged man gave a cruel smile.

His steps gradually closed in on Lu Zhangsheng, his face full of mockery.

Lu Zhangsheng said nothing, raised his Pig Slaughter Knife, and struck forward fiercely.

Whoosh…

Even the void echoed with a series of slicing sounds, the blade's gleam flashing brightly.

This slash, from top to bottom, employed the Perfect-grade Five Tiger Gate-Cutting Sword technique, combined with his own eight‑thousand‑jin strength and the treasured blade, making its attack power terrifying.

Not good.

Facing the terrifying force ahead, the man wore a frightened expression.

With his Perfect Refining Skin strength, he felt an overwhelming, unstoppable force.

He hadn't expected the soft target he casually chose to be a sleeping ferocious tiger.

Now awakened by him, it filled his heart with dread.

He hurriedly drew his knife horizontally to block.

Clack…

With a light snap, the man's long knife split cleanly into two sections, the cut smooth and even.

Then, Lu Zhangsheng's Pig Slaughter Knife, still bristling with momentum, struck at the man's head.

Ah…

The man was sliced in half from head to toe, blood gushing out and staining the ground red.

At this point, Lu Zhangsheng hurried to the man's side, reached down, fumbled for a moment, retrieved a Secret Manual and several silver notes, then turned and walked away.

After slaying the pursuers, Lu Zhangsheng headed toward the county town at a steady pace.

………………

Midday.

Lu Zhangsheng walked along the mountain path, hands clasped behind his back, looking very carefree.

By now, more than a shi had passed since he slew the Wenxiang Sect pursuers.

He also did not intend to linger outside the county town, so he chose to return the same way.

Just as Lu Zhangsheng reached a small hill, his gaze turned cold.

Come out.

He stared at the thicket to his side, his face frosted with cold.

Soon, a youth with a grim, fierce face emerged from the distant thicket.

It was Li Yunhua.

Kid, you ran pretty fast, made it a real hassle for me to find you.

Li Yunhua looked at Lu Zhangsheng with a mocking grin.

With his Perfect Refining Skin strength, slaying an ordinary civilian warrior was virtually effortless.

You can also receive a reward, truly a win‑win.

As a member of the family, cultivation resources are limited and cannot be spent entirely on oneself.

As for camaraderie among colleagues, what is that? He has never regarded it.

"The scenery here is wonderful, perfectly suited for you."

Lu Zhangsheng smiled lightly and breezily. His words left Li Yunhua stunned, suspecting that Lu Zhangsheng was near death and beginning to hallucinate.

"Come die for me."

Li Yunhua's eyes flashed with murderous intent as he suddenly drew his blade and slashed forward.

The blade gleamed brilliantly, its momentum as terrifying as a mountain crushing down.

"Die."

Lu Zhangsheng also struck with a blade, but it seemed light and unremarkable.

In an instant, the two blades collided.

"Boom— Boom— Boom…"

The violent clash echoed through the forest; Lu Zhangsheng's Pig Slaughter Knife instantly cleaved the opponent's long sword and then slashed at his head.

"Impossible. Who are you? How can you have such power?"

Li Yunhua's face was filled with terror, as if he had seen a ghost.

The usually harmless Lu Zhangsheng instantly transformed into a ferocious dragon.

And the moment they made contact, he felt an overwhelming force suppressing him, impossible to resist, leaving him deeply shocked.

Such a disparity in strength only occurs at the highest levels.

He had already reached the peak of Refining Skin, so Lu Zhangsheng must possess Refining Meat power.

"Spare me… I am the legitimate heir of the Li Family…"

Li Yunhua blurted out hurriedly, still young with limitless potential in the martial path, unwilling to fall here on this desolate ridge.

But what met him was only a cold steel blade.

"Ah…"

A torrent of blood erupted everywhere, leaving only a mournful scream in the void.

As consciousness neared extinction, Li Yunhua deeply regretted that he should not have provoked the wrong person over fleeting greed and pride.

After slaying Li Yunhua, Lu Zhangsheng sheathed the Pig Slaughter Knife.

The result of this strike was as expected.

With his eight‑thousand‑jin might, killing a few Refining Skin cultivators was a dimensional‑reduction strike.

The opponent wielded at most a little over two thousand jin, a gap so vast it could not block a single move.

Not to mention he also wielded a weapon‑grade treasure sword.

With Lu Zhangsheng's current strength, even a Refining Meat‑level master striking personally would be a mere tussle.

This is one of the benefits of a perfect breakthrough beyond Refining Skin—combat power becomes astonishing.

Then Lu Zhangsheng approached the corpse, reached out, and retrieved a Secret Manual and several silver notes.

He quickly slipped them into his pocket, then took out a bottle of Corpse Turning Powder and poured it onto the body.

"Sizzle…"

After a puff of white smoke, only a blackened patch remained on the ground, the clothing completely corroded away.

At this point, Li Yunhua was reduced entirely to ash.

Lu Zhangsheng killed, handled the corpse, destroyed it and erased all traces in one fluid motion, as if he had rehearsed it countless times.

Afterward, he continued toward the county town.

………………

A few hours later.

Lu Zhangsheng returned to Changping County, filed a report at the DemonSubduingOffice, and then went back to his own courtyard.

In just a few days, after the DemonSubduingOffice completes verification, a Small Merit will be credited, very convenient.

He entered the bedroom and began tallying his gains.

Dozens of silver notes were laid on the nightstand, each ten taels, issued by the Great Zhou Imperial Merchant, redeemable anywhere.

He counted them, totaling over five hundred taels, enough for him for a long time.

Then his gaze fell upon two Secret Manuals.

"Whirlwind Chaotic Shadow Blade", "Great Strength Bull Demon Fist", the bold characters were engraved on the covers of the two manuals.

At a glance he knew these two manuals were quite excellent, far beyond ordinary trinkets.

Moreover, the Great Strength Bull Demon Fist is a Meat Refinement Level cultivation method, progressing from Refining Skin to Refining Meat in detail, complete with various medicinal bath techniques.

Lu Zhangsheng no longer hesitated and began leafing through the two manuals.

Soon, a crisp Prompt Sound rang in his mind.

"Detected Great Strength Bull Demon Fist, add to collection?"

"Detected Whirlwind Chaotic Shadow Blade technique, add to collection?"

"Add."

Lu Zhangsheng nodded inwardly.

Seeing the two manuals appear on the panel, he did not prepare to cultivate immediately.

His immediate priority was to extrapolate the Iron Cloth Shirt into subsequent techniques to swiftly breakthrough Refining Meat.

The situation grew increasingly murky; even the Wenxiang Sect cultists dared to openly assassinate him and others, indicating a massive conspiracy and many hidden forces, making him feel urgent to break through his realm quickly.

Ahead lay threats from the Sanhe Gang.

Not only that, the Li Family's affairs will be exposed sooner or later, but for now they can still use the Wenxiang Sect to deceive for a while.

Only after entering the Refining Meat realm does one cease to be considered weak throughout Changping County.

Some gang Guardians, Yellow Rank True Guardians, and many veteran escort masters are all of this level.

Among the countless martial artists, they belong to the mid‑tier force.

Moreover, having perfectly broken through the Refining Skin, their strength in Refining Meat ranks among the upper tier.

(End of chapter)