In the northwest corner of Feiyun Village, there was a row of worn-down houses.

Lin Xun knew he was fully surrounded and couldn’t retreat.

Ahead stood three guards in a triangular formation. Each one of them wore cold and fierce expressions and their eyes were filled with hatred and killing intent.

Behind him was Lian Rufeng holding his long blade in a tight grip and looking ready to battle.

There was no possible escape route for Lin Xun. 

However, he showed no hint of nervousness. Instead, a smile was playing at the corners of his mouth and his eyes were devoid of warmth.

Before the battle began, Lin Xun already knew the battle would be a tough one. Fortunately, only four people including Lian Rufeng were remaining and he saw no signs of the goateed old man.

Lian Rufeng laughed aloud, but his smile was sinister. “Little trash, why are you not running away?”

Lin Xun smirked, stood on his tiptoes, and suddenly spun around. He sped towards Lian Rufeng and thereby exposed his behind to attacks.

The three guards behind him were taken aback at first but then they swung their swords in joy and charged after him. 

Clang! 

A hatchet-wielding guard was first. 

However, Lin Xun suddenly halted as though it had frozen and then shot up like a spring. He rapidly rotated in mid-air. 

Shua! 

Lin Xun’s Skybreaker Blade whistled in the air as he drew a semi circle with a slashing stroke. 

From afar, Lin Xun appeared to have merged with the blade. They rapidly spun like a top in the mid-air. The blade seemed capable of whipping up thousands of waves!

It was the rotating move of the Six Word Blade. 

Rotating like a vortex with a blade, it was the most bizarre and ruthless move. 

Pu! 

As it rotated, the blade severed the hatchet-wielding guard’s arm. The guard was unable to stop himself from charging forward and ended up throwing himself into the blade vortex; his head was hurled out from the vortex the next second!

Blood sputtered everywhere. The scene was chilling and tragic.

The other two guards, who were only one step away, trembled as they watched their comrade’s death. Aghast, they threw themselves to one side to avoid the blade vortex. 

However, Lin Xun was already flashing across the sky like a rainbow. He repeatedly made several slashing strokes in the air, dazzling everyone’s eyes. 

“Bastard!” 

Roaring in fury, Lian Rufeng rushed forward, his face ferocious and his aura fierce. His blade resembled raging flames as he swung it with lightning speed. 

He had never thought Lin Xun would suddenly change targets and attack the three guards instead!

Lian Rufeng didn’t think highly of such a tactic but he was surprised that Lin Xun was still so fierce and brave in close combat. Lin Xun killed his subordinate in one slash and gave the subordinate no chance to fight back!

Seeing that Lin Xun was about to slay his other two subordinates, Lian Rufeng couldn’t contain his anger anymore. He directly charged towards him.

Wu! 

His long, narrow and dark blade produced a ghost-like wail in the air as it aimed for Lin Xun’s back like a venomous snake.

His attack was cunning. Lin Xun had to give up on his attack on the other two guards to protect his own life.

However, Lin Xun didn’t evade his attack as if he didn’t notice it and continued to pursue one of the guards.

He is seeking death! 

Lian Rufeng went wild with joy. How would he miss the chance to hack Lin Xun’s back? 

Bang! 

However, despite striking Lin Xun, the expected bloody scene didn’t happen. Instead, it created an ear-piercing clang like he struck a steel plate.

No. That little bastard is wearing armor!

Lian Rufeng’s heart sank and his face blanched.

Lin Xun borrowed the impact from Lian Rufeng’s attack to launch himself forward like a cannonball. At the same time, a waterfall seemed to gush from the tip of his blade and it beheaded the guard facing him. 

Hua!

Blood sputtered as the headless body smashed into the ground.

Lin Xun’s face also paled and blood pooled at the back of his throat. He almost coughed up blood but his eyes glinted fiercely and he suppressed himself. He charged towards the last guard.

The last remaining guard was so horrified by the unexpected turn of events that his liver and gall both seemed to be splitting from within. Seeing Lin Xun rushing towards him, he roared and bolted at full speed. 

His unexpected action surprised Lin Xun but also shocked Lian Rufeng. He didn’t think that his last remaining subordinate would be so spineless to flee. 

“You’re the only one left.” 

Lin Xun gasped for breaths and looked at Lian Rufeng.

Lin Xun had exhausted himself in the battle. If he hadn’t occasionally supplemented his energy with the Aeth Refining Liquid, he would have collapsed long ago.

After all, he was only a third-layer True Martial cultivator. Regardless of how pure and strong his aeth power was, it was still limited.  

Moreover, Lin Xun had suffered an internal injury when he took Lian Rufeng’s attack. Under such circumstances, Lin Xun could still keep going, and that made Lian Rufeng palpitate. 

He knew he couldn’t endure it.

However, Lin Xun was still standing. Except for the blood trickling down his blade, he seemed to suffer no other injuries. 

How could it be possible for a young man at the third-layer True Martial Stage to achieve that? 

Lian Rufeng couldn’t figure out the reason, but he could tell that Lin Xun had already consumed a lot of his strength. It was no exaggeration to say that Lin Xun was an arrow at the end of his flight and that calmed him a little. 

“I can kill you alone!”  

With that thought, Lian Rufeng strode forward, his aura terrifying and imposing. He swung his long blade. 

Compared to Lin Xun, he hadn't consumed much strength. He dominated in terms of imposing aura. 

Most importantly, his cultivation level was one higher than Lin Xun’s!

Shua!

The blade flashed blindingly bright as aeth power gathered.  

Lian Rufeng hated Lin Xun to the bone and he didn’t want to give him a chance to breathe again.

Bang— 

The two had exchanged dozens of attacks in just one breath.

Lin Xun’s face worsened, but his blade moves were unaffected. His every stroke and slash was skillful and effortless.

He was about to exhaust all his aeth power, but he still had physical strength remaining. Given his elemental understanding of the Six Word Blade Art, he could dispel all attacks with the coiling move of the Six Word Blade. 

The coiling move was an indirect way of fighting. 

The coiling move of the Six Word Blade suppressed the enemy using the enemy’s momentum against them and used minimum strength to skillfully deflect the enemy’s attack.  

In Lin Xun’s hand, the coiling move was like silkworms producing silk threads, like uninterrupted spring rain, and like the soughing waves. The key point was that he was using the enemy’s strength against them. 

Lian Rufeng's face darkened. He felt Lin Xun was like a slippery loach and his every attack at Lin Xun only struck mud. He couldn’t accept it. 

What kind of blade art is that? 

Lian Rufeng had traveled between Feiyun Village and the Qingyang Tribe ever since he started his cultivation. He had even been to Donglin City where he had met many powerful masters and saw their techniques.

However, he had never seen one as mysterious as Lin Xun’s blade art.

However, Lian Rufeng soon noticed that Lin Xun was growing paler and his whole body soaking in cold sweat. He clearly couldn’t endure much longer. 

“Maybe I can take the cultivation arts he has learned after killing him.”

Lian Rufeng’s heart fluttered with excitement and was even more determined to kill Lin Xun.  

That kid has a mysterious background. He possesses such terrifying power despite only being a teenager. Won’t there be trouble in the future if I let him live?

Chi! 

Suddenly, a bone spear thrust through space. Its body shone like stars in a clear sky.

Huh? 

Lian Rufeng’s pupils shrank. That’s—?

Pu! 

Before he could react, a rush of sharp painful sensations shot through his chest. His vision went dark and he completely lost consciousness. 

Lin Xun was taken aback at first, and then he exhaled a long turbid breath. An indescribable exhaustion flooded his body like a tide.

He bit the tip of his tongue to regain his spirit and reminded himself to not rest at such a time. 

“Everyone is dead.”

A sweet voice sounded in his ear, like a spring breeze.

“Everyone is dead?”

Wu Henshui’s face flashed in Lin Xun’s mind and he went into a trance. 

“Huh?”

Xia Zhi raised her fair and beautiful face to look at Lin Xun. His deathly pale face made her scrunch up her face and said seriously, “You should rest.”

Regardless of whether he agreed or not, she grabbed Lin Xun by his lapel and lifted him up.

“The little girl is carrying me again…”

Lin Xun smiled bitterly, feeling ashamed. But a flurry of fatigue swept over him and his exhaustion took over and he drifted off to sleep.

All sixteen people including Wu Henshui and Lian Rufeng were wiped out!

The corpses strewn about in different corners of Feiyun Village looked even more horrifying under the blood-red glow of the sunset. 

……

Lin Xun had a dream. 

In his dream, he heard a familiar cold voice.

“Dao Seeker, the Omega Secret Realm will open in three months. The second test of the Great Azure Cloud Path is called Body Tempering. There are one hundred and eight chances to pass. If you fail in the end, the Omega Secret Realm will return to a sealed state until one thousand years later when there’s an opportunity to open again…"

“Three months? There isn’t much time left!”

Suddenly, Lin Xun snapped awake from his dream.

Seeing the familiar house layout and furniture, he pondered for a good while and finally shook his head to not think about the upcoming test. There was still some time before the Omega Secret Realm opened again. It was useless to worry about it.

He got up and realized he had recovered from his fatigue and he only felt a little weak.

Xia Zhi pushed open the door and didn’t seem surprised to see Lin Xun getting up. She simply said, “I’m hungry.”

Lin Xun was a little taken aback. He thought Xia Zhi would warmly check on him but instead, she urged him to cook as soon as he woke up.

He shrugged helplessly. “I’ll go cook now.” 

He suddenly asked, “How many days have I been asleep?” 

“Four days.”

Lin Xun’s eyes went wide. “You haven't eaten anything these four days?”

Xia Zhi nodded.

Lin Xun immediately rushed into the kitchen. His heart ached a little knowing that he had starved his “savior” for four days.  

While Lin Xun was busy in the kitchen, Xiao Tianren anxiously rushed into his house. He exclaimed when he saw Lin Xun's figure, “Lin Xun, you finally woke up!”

“Uncle Xiao, is there a problem?” asked Lin Xun while cooking. 

Lin Xun’s preoccupied look made Xiao Tianren speechless. Such a huge matter happened four days ago. Isn't that a problem? You have been unconscious for four days, isn't that a problem?