Chapter 15: Blood-Colored Evening

Looking around, Xu Qing realized that Sergeant Thunder was surrounded by Squad Bloodshadow!

The sun was setting, replacing daytime with the darkness of night. It wouldn’t be long before everything around them was pitch black. Sinister coldness proliferated, filling the area. The sun was like a dying old man who refused to breathe his last. It struggled to illuminate the area, and was barely able to penetrate the thick, leafy canopy.

Hidden at the top of the tree, Xu Qing was different. He looked down coldly, taking in the entire tableau.

There were five members of Squad Bloodshadow present. Two of them were fighting Sergeant Thunder, while the other three blocked off any possible avenues of escape. The latter group seemed about as strong as Graceful Raptor; they were in the third level. They didn’t dare to get too close to the actual fighting, and thus hovered on the periphery. That said, their mere presence was enough to keep Sergeant Thunder slightly distracted.

Of the two who were fighting, one had spirit power fluctuations only slightly weaker than Sergeant Thunder. He was in the sixth level of Qi Condensation, and he was also an old man. His hair was disheveled, and he had wild eyes. His clothes were tattered, revealing rippling muscles underneath. He was Captain Bloodshadow, leader of Squad Bloodshadow, and the same man who had feasted on Graceful Raptor’s dog.

Licking his lips, Captain Bloodshadow launched attacks with lightning speed as he glared at Sergeant Thunder, whose skin was slowly turning more and more green.

“Squad Thunderbolt is going to be expunged from the listings in the basecamp,” said the captain. “Why don’t you just kill yourself, Sergeant Thunder? That would be better than mutating like Savage Ghost did. At least you’ll have a normal corpse left behind. Hey, if you just commit suicide, I’ll make sure to take care of the rest of your squad.”

After the captain finished speaking, the other fighter chimed in. “That’s right. Don’t worry, Sergeant Thunder. After you die, we’ll take good care of Squad Thunderbolt. I’ve been wanting to see what Graceful Raptor tastes like. And that kid you took in would make us a lot of money as a living treasure.”

This other person was a middle-aged man who was nothing short of ugly. He had a deformed, hunched back, and only one good eye. The other eye was nothing but a mass of scar tissue. His spirit power fluctuations didn’t reach the same level as his captain’s. That said, he was stronger than Crucifix; in other words, he was at the fifth level of Qi Condensation.

However, his cultivation base didn’t seem completely stable, indicating he’d only recently made a breakthrough.

Both of Sergeant Thunder’s opponents were trying to get him riled up. But the sergeant’s face remained expressionless, and he had death in his eyes as he attacked with renewed vigor.

The two members of Bloodshadow obviously didn’t want to kill Sergeant Thunder at the price of being seriously injured in the process, so they were keeping their distance.

Meanwhile, Sergeant Thunder was obviously intent on taking out his opponents, even if he died in the process.

Killing intent swirled in Xu Qing’s eyes.

One in the sixth level. One in the fifth level. Three in the third level.

The truth was that he could just leave. But he valued gratitude, and Sergeant Thunder had treated him well. So he wasn’t going to leave. Instead, he took another look around the area. There wasn’t a lot of room to fight, as the trees were thick here. And the deepening darkness meant that there were ample places to strike from the shadows.

Having made a decision, he crouched on the tree branch, his eyes burning with murderous intention.

Then he jumped, tapping into all his strength to shoot down like an arrow released from a bow.

The third level of the Sea and Mountain Incantation combined with the power of the violet crystal, making his fleshly body incredibly strong.

He moved with such speed that he left a string of afterimages behind him. The people below had no idea what was coming. In the blink of an eye, Xu Qing was on the field of battle.

He appeared first next to a skinny youth who was watching Sergeant Thunder through narrowed eyes and completely unaware of Xu Qing’s presence.

However, when the wind brought by Xu Qing hit him, he looked over in surprise. And then… an iron skewer pierced his temple with terrifying force.

Before the body fell, Xu Qing was on the move again. Bending at the waist, he launched himself with cheetah-like speed toward the next person in his line of sight.

The second scavenger saw him coming. The man’s pupils constricted, and he tried to jump away. But Xu Qing was too quick, arriving with a fist full of shocking power from the Sea and Mountain Incantation.

𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

The punch landed on the man’s chest, caving it in and causing blood to spray everywhere. In fact, an explosion of blood emerged from his back, along with the sound of shattering bones. At the same time, Xu Qing’s left hand swept through the air, sending his dagger flying with terrifying speed toward the third scavenger.

When the second man’s chest and back exploded, it alerted the third man.

However, despite being on guard, all he saw was a blur, along with a blast of wind that hit his face. Eyes wide, he used his last remaining bits of energy to reach up to his forehead, which was when he felt the cold dagger protruding from his face. The force of the dagger had crushed the bones, caving in the top of his face!

All of these things happened in the time it takes a spark to fly off of a piece of flint.

Xu Qing was moving so fast, and acting so decisively, that the first and third corpses dropped to the ground at the same time. A moment later, the man whose torso he’d crushed fell backward.

The toppling corpse revealed Xu Qing to the others on the battlefield. His long hair covered half of his face, and his glaring eyes made him seem like a wolf.

Sergeant Thunder and the two Bloodshadow members were all looking at him in surprise.

The wind seemed to go still.

Suddenly, the death in Sergeant Thunder’s eyes was drowned out by a ripple of light as his eyes focused on Xu Qing. “Get out of here, Kid!”

Xu Qing ignored him, and instead focused on Captain Bloodshadow, who looked past him at the three bodies, his cheek twitching. He had to admit that he had made some errors in assessing Sergeant Thunder’s sense of judgment. The first mistake was not realizing that Savage Ghost didn’t fear death. The second mistake was underestimating the Kid.

“Kill him!” Captain Bloodshadow said with a cold snort. As of this moment, he’d decided that this fight needed to end even if he got seriously injured in the process. Energy surged from within him as he made a fist and launched a blow at Sergeant Thunder.

The middle-aged man in the fifth level of Qi Condensation grinned viciously as he turned in Xu Qing’s direction. Spirit power surged as he walked forward and simultaneously cracked his knuckles.

He knew that this young man he faced was very quick on his feet. And he had just killed three enemies in the blink of an eye. But the man was still completely confident. Given that he’d just recently achieved a fifth-level cultivation base, he was certain he could kill this opponent with ease.

Xu Qing stared at him with eyes even colder than before. Based on his experience, he was confident that he could kill someone in the fourth level of Qi Condensation. As for someone in the fifth level… he wasn’t sure he could come out on top.

But there was only one way to find out.

He burst into motion, tapping into all the speed he could muster as he launched a fist at the middle-aged man.

The cultivator watched him come, a disdainful smile on his face.

Almost as soon as Xu Qing started moving, the middle-aged cultivator released a stream of spirit power fluctuations, which formed an invisible barrier in front of him. Xu Qing’s fist crashed into the barrier.

A boom rippled out, and cracks spread out across the barrier. However, it didn’t collapse, and there was even a powerful backlash that swept through Xu Qing, causing a crack to ring out from his wrist as it was dislocated.

Xu Qing’s eyes narrowed as he violently shook his right arm to force the wrist bones back into place. Then, vicious light shone in his eyes as, instead of backing up, he launched another blow.

Another boom rang out, and more cracks spread across the barrier. Then, it collapsed.

At the same time, a violent blast erupted from the other side of the barrier, causing dirt to spray everywhere as it enveloped Xu Qing.

The shattered remnants of the barrier seemed to form countless invisible blades that slashed numerous bloody wounds onto Xu Qing. He was sent staggering backward, blood spraying everywhere. The wrist he had just fixed was now dislocated again, and his arm hung limply at his side.

As dirt rained down around them, the middle-aged cultivator looked at Xu Qing scornfully and said, “Moron! You think a measly body cultivator can do a thing against someone who cultivates magic? That’s not to mention I’m three levels higher than you. You’ve bitten off a bit more than you can chew!”

In reality, he was astonished. Never could he have imagined that his spirit power barrier would collapse after only two blows. It was a good thing he’d recently reached the fifth level, allowing him to unleash the follow up attack after the barrier collapsed. Otherwise, he could tell his opponent would have fallen upon him in fury.

Xu Qing stood there with his brow furrowed as pain rippled through him, especially from his arm. Glaring at his opponent, he once again violently snapped his arm out to relocate the wrist.

When his opponent saw the brutal way Xu Qing treated himself, the man stopped in place with wide eyes. Then he put his hands together, performed an incantation gesture, and waved his finger in Xu Qing’s direction.

The spirit power around him converged, transforming into a head-sized fireball that rushed toward Xu Qing.

The fireball moved with shocking force, causing the air around it to ripple and distort from the heat.

As it neared, Xu Qing dodged to the side, yet the fireball followed him.

Killing intent flickered in the middle-aged cultivator’s eyes. Not bothering with another spirit power barrier, he performed another incantation gesture, sending a second fireball after Xu Qing, then a third.

Xu Qing could tell that the three fireballs were going to be impossible to escape. Seeing that he was right next to one of the bodies he’d just slain, he grabbed it and threw it at the nearest incoming fireball.

A whoomp rang out as the fireball hit the corpse, setting it ablaze. In only three breaths of time, the corpse had been transformed into ash.

That alone gave Xu Qing a clear understanding of how dangerous the fireballs were.

Even just the heat radiating off of them made his skin feel like it was burning. And before he could jump out of the way, the second and third fireballs closed in. Then, the cultivator’s eyes turned scornful as he unexpectedly detonated the fireballs.

RUMBLE!

Flames exploded everywhere, creating a stupefying level of deadly heat.

It was impossible for Xu Qing to fully avoid the attack. He was fast enough that he managed to stay out of the way of the main blast. Even still, the heat caused blisters to break out all over his body, and his internal organs felt like they were being cooked.

“Hurry up, Flamecrow!” shouted Captain Bloodshadow.

“I know, Captain! There’s no way this wolf pup can handle two more of my fireballs without becoming a corpse!”

Flamecrow grinned as he looked at Xu Qing. Eyes burning with brutality, he extended his right hand and he summoned two more fireballs and sent them flying. Fearing Xu Qing might dodge out of the way, he did the same thing as before, making sure to cut off all possible routes of escape.

The intense heat burned the ground and turned the trees into ash. Without the leaf canopy to block out the evening sun, brightness suddenly flooded the area, making it impossible for Flamecrow to clearly see the aftermath of his attack.

However, he was absolutely confident that, backed by the fifth level of his cultivation base, the fireballs would wipe out anyone in the third level or lower.

Panting a bit, he brushed off his hands arrogantly and turned to the fight between Sergeant Thunder and Captain Bloodshadow.

“Hey Sergeant Thunder,” he said. “Your people are worthless!”

He laughed coldly as he walked back to join the fight. However he didn’t have a chance to see any despair on Sergeant Thunder’s face. All he saw was his captain’s expression transform into one of shock.

Flamecrow reacted quickly and dodged to the side.

But he wasn’t fast enough. A scrawny form burst toward him with two fists that slammed into his spirit power barrier.

The barrier shattered, and Xu Qing was forced backward by the backlash. However, a dagger and an iron skewer appeared in his hands, and he hurled them out.

Because the barrier provided a modicum of resistance, the dagger slowed down enough that Flamecrow managed to avoid it.

Even still, it sliced through his ear, sending blood splattering out. As for the iron skewer, it stabbed right into his chest. Blood sprayed out of his mouth. However, the injury apparently didn’t hit any vital spot, and wasn’t enough to kill him.

Pain fueled the fury in Flamecrow’s eyes as he shouted in rage, then looked over his shoulder.

Kneeling in the flames only about twenty meters away was the bedraggled Xu Qing.

He was still covered in blisters and burns. But in the evening sun, his eyes… were as cold as ice, and raged with killing intent!

Deathblade's Thoughts

Thanks so much to Dao of Cheese, Gizrah, and Ludicrous Daoist for the reviews. Very much appreciated! 🙏