Chapter 74: Blood God Sect Demons

In the instant he assassinated Jiang Long, Xu Jin formed a preliminary judgment of Yang Ba’s strength for having evaded the ambush.

When Yang Ba dodged just now, the star force aura he activated was stronger than Xu Jin’s but far weaker than Yue Chong, whom he’d seen at Golden Core Second Layer, and weaker than any Golden Core cultivator he’d encountered.

Thus, Yang Ba’s cultivation level was most likely Meal Mist Sixth or Seventh Layer.

Capable!

In an instant, Xu Jin unleashed his Flying Star Step and chased after the swiftly retreating Yang Ba.

Before closing in, he activated the alarm talisman clutched in his hand and hurled it into the sky.

The crimson alarm talisman shot skyward; Yang Ba, who had just escaped death, instantly shrank his pupils.

This Dao Academy disciple, Meal Mist Fifth Layer, had already called for help—his time was running out.

In an instant, Yang Ba made his decision.

He must end this swiftly.

He believed that as a Meal Mist Seventh Layer cultivator, he could still kill this Meal Mist Fifth Layer Dao Academy disciple.

The next instant, he realized he was wrong.

Xu Jin charged toward him—but not straight on; instead, he slashed diagonally past Yang Ba’s side. No attack?

But the next second, Yang Ba realized his judgment was wrong again.

It wasn’t that the bastard wasn’t attacking.

It was that the bastard’s attack was absurdly sneaky!

In the instant Xu Jin slashed diagonally past Yang Ba’s side, *shoo-shoo-shoo*—four star arrows slammed into him in a single breath.

Instant-cast star art?

Yang Ba’s heart jolted in shock.

He barely dodged and blocked the barrage, then immediately considered retreating.

He had trained for years and had never seen a Meal Mist Fifth Layer cultivator who could instant-cast star arts.

The next instant, another whistling sound pierced the air—again!

Just like before: as he slashed diagonally past, four star arrows fired in succession.

But this time, Yang Ba was wrong again.

While he was frantically fending off the four instant-cast star arrows, Xu Jin’s feet suddenly exploded with starlight, executing a sharp ninety-degree turn, his long blade streaking with two-foot-long starlight as it slashed toward him.

Under relentless assault, Yang Ba could only barely parry with the arm shield fixed to his forearm.

This arm shield was his custom-made star weapon, extremely practical—it had saved his life many times over the years.

*Clang! Clang! Clang!*

Blade met shield; Yang Ba blocked Xu Jin’s consecutive slashes but was forced back step by step.

Under Xu Jin’s continuous assault, a Meal Mist Seventh Layer cultivator was rendered utterly defenseless.

The next instant, Yang Ba suddenly saw Xu Jin’s star weapon long blade fly from his hand, launched like a hidden projectile toward him.

Yang Ba could only dodge again; in the flash of lightning, he had no time to think—he could only react to each move as it came.

The next instant, Xu Jin, now within three feet of Yang Ba, rapidly flicked both hands.

Each flick sent out a star arrow.

Both hands unleashed a relentless barrage.

Each star arrow struck a different target point.

The distance was minuscule, the speed of the arrows extreme, the frequency relentless.

Nearly all struck true.

Only two star arrows shattered Yang Ba’s protective starlight aura.

The third star arrow blasted a gaping hole through his abdomen; the fourth and fifth shattered his legs; the sixth and seventh obliterated his arms at the shoulders.

The eighth star arrow, Xu Jin slightly retracted his aim, and struck directly at Yang Ba’s chest star pattern—instantly, Yang Ba spewed blood, his entire body’s starlight dissolving.

Even if his chest star pattern hadn’t shattered, it was rendered useless in the short term.

Xu Jin finally exhaled in relief.

The threat was neutralized.

But the danger wasn’t fully gone.

Xu Jin glanced toward the distance—a streak of light was darting swiftly through the mountains; likely an instructor responding to the alarm, though he didn’t know which one.

Still clenched in his palm was a spinning blade talisman.

Xu Jin was certain there were no human scents within five hundred meters—no accomplices nearby.

But beyond that, he couldn’t be sure.

Even a thousand meters was just a dozen breaths away.

He still had to be cautious.

“Who are you? Who sent you?” Xu Jin called out from two meters away.

Earlier, he’d swiftly circled to the other side of the ravine and overheard them discussing how to drain his strength before attacking—he’d struck immediately.

He still didn’t know which side they belonged to.

Yang Ba spewed blood, writhing in agony, his gaze fixed on Xu Jin filled with hatred.

What the hell—where did this Meal Mist Fifth Layer idiot come from? His star arts were too damn flashy!

The next instant, Yang Ba’s head lolled, and he died.

Limbs severed, abdomen pierced by a gaping hole—death was inevitable. Xu Jin didn’t rush to search the corpse; instead, he scoured the surroundings again, activating star force to sniff the air, confirming no further human traces before relaxing slightly.

Mostly because his strength was still too low—he had to be this cautious.

A hundred breaths later, a streak of starlight shot into view not far from Xu Jin.

It was Zhang Yunliang, the Flag Master of the Patrol Star Guard.

“Did you kill these two?”

“Yes. They ambushed me—I ambushed them first and killed them.”

Zhang Yunliang glanced at Xu Jin in surprise—only one word came to mind: impressive.

He scanned the scene once and judged the residual auras: one Meal Mist Seventh Layer, one Meal Mist Sixth Layer.

With premeditation, two of them ambushed a Meal Mist Fifth Layer—and were killed without loss.

Were these two just weaklings, or was this boy terrifyingly strong?

So far, Zhang Yunliang detected no talisman or other power signatures—meaning this boy had killed them purely by his own strength.

“What’s your name?” Zhang Yunliang had seen Xu Jin a couple times but didn’t know his name.

“Flag Master, my name is Xu Jin.”

“Xu Jin?”

Zhang Yunliang turned, stunned. “You’re the kid who killed the star beast Qing Snake and only skinned it without taking the star core?”

Xu Jin: “???”

“Zheng Jiaoxi said it—looks like you’re really that idiot. Bold, and reckless! These are Blood God Sect demons!” Zhang Yunliang rummaged through the bodies and found the Blood Guides and Blood Jade on their chests.

Xu Jin was starting to understand.

So Zheng Jiaoxi, that beefy, loudmouthed brute, wasn’t just talkative—he was a gossip. He’d already spread the word.

“All loot from these two is yours, but I must take back the Blood Guides and Blood Jade! By the way, you killed two Blood God Sect demons at Meal Mist Layer—do you want to record this as combat merit or special acquisition?” Zhang Yunliang suddenly asked.

“What’s the difference?”

“Special acquisition means it’s tallied as loot, converted to silver, and paid out to you as material reward—each Blood God Sect demon is worth over a thousand taels.

If you record it as merit, killing two Blood God Sect demons at Meal Mist Layer grants you ten minor merits. Accumulate a hundred minor merits, then earn one major merit, and you can be promoted to Patrol Star Guard Flag Master.” Zhang Yunliang added, “Merit grants military rank advancement, which comes with many benefits—but once your strength grows, earning minor merits becomes easier.”

Xu Jin understood Zhang Yunliang’s implication.

At his current stage, special acquisition was better—he desperately needed cultivation resources.

“Then record it as special acquisition.”

“Good. Special acquisition must be recorded after returning to the Dao Academy—don’t rush. Will you stay here, or shall I take you back?” Zhang Yunliang asked.

“Stay.”

“Alright. Stay safe! I’ll patrol the surrounding area for you.”

As Zhang Yunliang leapt into the air, he suddenly called out, “Next time, don’t forget to extract the star core from star beasts!”

Xu Jin: “.”

He’s a good man, truly—

With Zhang Yunliang patrolling nearby, Xu Jin didn’t rush to leave the area; he searched thoroughly and broke into a grin.

The haul was substantial.

It really did feel like killing people and burning houses to find a golden belt.

On the two Blood God Sect demons, Xu Jin found little silver—only a little over two hundred taels, one and a half bottles of Star-Replenishing Pills, six Spirit-Reviving Pills, and some wound salves.

But inside their backpacks were numerous herbs, even rare celestial treasures—small quantities, but highly valuable.

At least two thousand taels in acquisition value!

Also one arm shield star weapon—he’d already seen how practical it was in battle.

Xu Jin immediately strapped it to his left arm.

When he found a Jinshan Dao Academy waist token on one of them, his expression darkened—he knew the source.

These two had ambushed at least one Jinshan Dao Academy disciple.

If he hadn’t been alert, he might have ended up dead too.

In the next instant, Xu Jin’s gaze sharpened; he pulled from Yang Ba’s embrace a small packet sewn into his inner tunic, containing two small booklets: one was the Blood Guide Casting Star Art he had seen before, the other was the Blood Guide Beast Taming Art.

Xu Jin studied them carefully, then destroyed them on the spot.

The Blood Guide Beast Taming Art seemed more practical, but it required Blood Guide Blood Jade to function.

Useless.

A few breaths later, Xu Jin stopped before the corpse of Jiang Long, killed by Xing Shi, his brow furrowed.

For on Jiang Long’s clothing, he detected at least nine living human scents.

Most people would miss such details, but under the enhancement of his Spirit Sniffing Star Pattern, he distinguished them clearly.

Two of them belonged to Xu Jin and Zhang Yunliang; one belonged to the slain Yang Ba.

That meant six other living scents had come into close contact with Jiang Long very recently.

In other words, at least six more Cult of Blood God cultists were hiding in these woods?

A few breaths later, Xu Jin memorized the six living scents, then turned and vanished into the distant forest.

(End of Chapter)