Cultivation begins with earning spirit stones

Chapter 14 Annihilate the Enemy

Zhang Lin no longer gave him another chance.

With a tremor, the iron sword unleashed a beam of light, carrying with it a powerful surge of true energy as it slashed towards Xiong Kui.

At the same time, he waved his left hand repeatedly, sending out two wind blades from the left and right, blocking all of Xiong Kui's escape routes.

Xiong Kui roared, holding his broadsword horizontally in front of him. He poured his true energy to the limit, and fine cracks appeared on the dark red blade.

"Clang clang clang—"

The sounds of metal clashing were as dense as rain.

Xiong Kui blocked the first wind blade, but his hand was split open, and blood flowed down the hilt of his sword.

He struggled to block the second wind blade, and several more cracks appeared on his broadsword.

In that instant, Zhang Lin's figure suddenly appeared behind him like the wind.

The silvery-white blade of the iron sword emerged from Xiong Kui's throat, its tip untouched by blood, its silvery sheen as ever.

Xiong Kui opened his mouth, then looked at the slowly dissipating afterimage in front of him, his eyes filled with disbelief.

Wow, that was fast.

This was his last thought.

Zhang Lin drew his iron sword, and Xiong Kui's body crashed to the ground, his blood seeping into the black soil of the bamboo forest, mingling with the withered branches and fallen leaves.

All around was silent.

Only the rustling of the wind through the bamboo grove and the mournful cries of a few startled birds in the distance remained.

Zhang Lin sheathed his sword and bent down to search Xiong Kui's body.

A cloth bag containing over seventy low-grade spirit stones.

A jade slip, inscribed with the three characters "Fireball Technique," shimmered with spiritual light, clearly indicating that it was a genuine jade slip, not a handwritten copy.

A dark cyan inner armor, a mid-grade magic weapon, heavy in the hand, tough in texture, and with a restrained spiritual light.

Zhang Lin unfolded the inner armor for a closer look and found a deep scratch on it, which was left by the wind blade earlier.

However, the material of this mid-grade magic artifact is extraordinary. Although the scratch is deep, it has not damaged the core and can be restored with a little care.

Without hesitation, he put on the inner armor and then covered it with the gray cloth Taoist robe, which fit him perfectly and remained inconspicuous.

They searched the other three cultivators and found over fifty low-grade spirit stones, several bottles of common pills, and two ordinary iron weapons, which were not worth much.

Zhang Lin carefully collected the spoils of war, then cleaned up the traces of the battle in the bamboo forest. He dragged the four corpses to a secluded ravine and covered them with withered branches and leaves.

He buried the weapons and the broken broadsword somewhere, planning to melt them down as materials someday when he learned weapon crafting.

After doing all this, he straightened up and let out a long breath.

This was the first time he had killed someone since he transmigrated.

There was neither the discomfort nor the excitement I had imagined.

He looked down at his hands; his ten fingers were long and slender, with distinct knuckles, just as they had been when he had wielded the sword to kill someone.

Zhang Lin found a secluded spot in the bamboo forest, sat down cross-legged, and summoned the system light screen.

"Concealing Breath Technique (Learned): First-tier spell. Can be enhanced, consumes twelve spirit stones. Enhancement effect: Spell rank is increased to third tier, two new random variations are added."

He counted out twelve spirit stones and placed them in front of him.

"Enhance your concealment technique."

The system light screen flickered slightly.

"Using twelve low-grade spirit stones, the Concealing Breath Technique is being upgraded..."

A mysterious feeling welled up from the depths of his consciousness.

Unlike when he was enhancing his Wind Control Technique and sensing the origin of the wind, this time, he sensed the hidden energy.

To hide, conceal, cover up, or disguise.

It's not simply about lowering your breath, but about fundamentally changing the frequency of your breath's fluctuations, making it blend into the surrounding environment.

First-level Qi Concealment: Conceal one's own aura, or release one's aura, making one's cultivation level appear to be one or two levels lower or one level higher than it actually is.

Second-tier Concealed Form: Changes the outline of the body, and can simulate the aura characteristics of others for a short time, even deceiving the spiritual sense detection of a fully refined Qi.

Tier 3 - Concealed Aura: Completely conceals one's aura; heartbeat, body temperature, and true energy fluctuations all return to zero, like a stone or a withered tree. Even if standing right in front of you, it would be extremely difficult to detect without seeing it with your own eyes.

Zhang Lin opened his eyes and activated his breath-concealing technique.

His aura receded like the tide, dropping from the mid-stage of Qi Refining all the way down to the early stage, then down to Qi Induction, and finally disappearing completely.

The chirping of insects and birds in the bamboo forest remained unchanged, unaffected by his presence.

He was like a stone, a withered tree, blending into the bamboo forest, inseparable from it.

Zhang Lin nodded in satisfaction, released his aura again, and returned to the level of mid-stage Qi Refining.

Don't be too high-profile.

In a place like Qingyun Town, being at the mid-stage of Qi Refining is just right; it won't attract attention or make you seem easy to bully.

Zhang Lin took out the fireball spell jade slip again, placed it on his forehead, and probed into it with his senses.

Images and mnemonic devices flooded my mind like a tidal wave.

Fireball Technique, a first-order Five Elements technique, can be learned in the mid-stage of Qi Refining. It uses true qi to draw upon the fire elemental energy between heaven and earth, condensing it into a ball, which is then released to injure the enemy.

Its power increases with cultivation level and the density of true qi. The limit of the first-order fireball technique is that it can melt gold and fossils.

Zhang Lin put the jade slip away, not in a hurry to study it.

He looked at the remaining spirit stones. Xiong Kui and the other three had contributed 130 stones, 12 of which were used to strengthen the Concealing Breath Technique, and 10 more spirit ginseng were needed to strengthen the technique.

With a slight thought, a new entry appeared on the system screen.

"Fireball (Unlearned): Tier 1 spell. Must be learned before it can be enhanced. Enhancement costs: 12 spirit stones. Enhancement effect: Spell rank is increased to Tier 3, two new random variations are added."

Twelve pieces.

Zhang Lin nodded slightly.

This number was within his expectations, the same as the Wind Control Technique and Breath Concealment Technique.

He temporarily suppressed the idea of ​​strengthening it, put the jade slip into his pocket, and then placed his hand on the mid-grade inner armor that he had taken from Xiong Kui, examining it carefully.

The dark blue inner armor, with a texture that is neither silk nor leather, feels cool and smooth to the touch, and faint runes appear as it shimmers with a spiritual light.

The inner armor consists of two pieces, front and back, sewn together with an unknown type of silk thread, protecting the chest, back, and ribs. There are adjustable buckles at the shoulders and waist.

"Mid-grade magic weapon: Azure Scale Armor, made primarily from the scales shed by the Azure Scale Python. It can be enhanced, and enhancement consumes 500 low-grade spirit stones."

"Enhancement effect: Top-grade magic weapon, can withstand the full force of a top-grade magic weapon, greatly reduces elemental spell damage, and adds a random trait."

Now that he didn't have enough spirit stones, Zhang Lin put his Azure Scale Armor back on, adjusted the buckles to make it fit his body well without hindering his movements.

With this inner armor, his survivability has reached a new level.

The low-grade magic weapon, the Iron Sword, is primarily for offense; the mid-grade magic weapon, the Azure Scale Armor, is primarily for defense; the third-tier Wind Control Technique balances movement, defense, and attack; and the third-tier Breath Concealment Technique hides one's aura.

It possesses all four abilities: offense, defense, escape, and concealment.

Zhang Lin stood up, dusted off his Taoist robe, slung his bamboo basket over his shoulder, and continued walking along the mountain path toward Qingyun Town.

The Black Wind Society's affair is not over yet.

Today he killed Xiong Kui. There is also a Xiong Ye in the Black Wind Society, the true leader of the late-stage Qi Refining Realm.

With his current strength, he is more than capable of dealing with mid-stage Qi Refining experts, but his chances of winning against a veteran late-stage Qi Refining expert are slim.

The difference in true qi between the middle and late stages of Qi Refining is more than five times, which cannot be easily compensated for by the techniques and magical artifacts he currently possesses.

But Zhang Lin wasn't in a hurry.

With the system at his disposal, as long as he has enough spirit stones, his strength can steadily improve, and he is very envious of top-grade magic weapons.

But before that, there was one more thing he had to do.

They tried to lure the snake out of its hole, but only a small snake came out.

The bigger fish is yet to come.

As Zhang Lin walked, he mentally planned his next move.

The Black Wind Society members know he killed Xiong Kui, and they will definitely not let it go.

That Master Xiong will either take action personally or send more people to intercept and kill him.

Regardless of the type, he needs to prepare in advance.

The outline of Qingyun Town gradually came into view.

Zhang Lin quickened his pace, his figure disappearing into the morning mist.