Chapter 101: Rupture

  Deep in the night, all is quiet, the moonlight shines down, and the insects chirp softly.

  Behind a dense forest, five tents stood, with no sound coming from inside the tents, as if everyone inside had fallen asleep.

  Suddenly, a figure emerged from each of the two tents, holding gleaming knives and swords, crouching low to the ground, tiptoeing towards a smaller tent.

  Two people stepped lightly on the ground, without making any sound. Soon, they were outside the tent.

  The two locked eyes, swords simultaneously raised, then arched their feet and leaned forward, in a posture ready to pounce at any moment.

  The cold moonlight shone down, illuminating the faces of the two people. From their eyebrows and eyes, it was surprisingly Xie Feng and Zeng Hua.

  "Take action." Xie Feng's lips moved, forming the shape of the words, but no sound came out.

  Hah! Hah!

  The sound of the canvas tearing apart rang out simultaneously. The two men, each holding a weapon, shot into the tent. The sharp blade cut the tent in half.

  Two people went in, the others didn't care at all, they just held their knives and swords and chopped fiercely towards a certain position. After chopping for a few times, the two of them suddenly changed their faces. Under their weapons, there was nothing.

  "Are you looking for me?"

  Suddenly, a cold and stern voice entered the ears of the two. Xie Feng and Zeng Hua's faces changed instantly, and they jumped out of the tent together, their faces terrified.

  The source of the sound was actually above them. The two looked up and found Qin Hao sitting on a branch, leaning against the trunk, with an ambiguous smile on his face.

  "It's midnight and you're still awake, what makes you so interested in finding me to practice swordsmanship?"

  Qin Hao stood up, brushing off the dust from his body, and jumped down from the tree, standing right in front of the two people.

  As he did this, Xie Feng and Zhen Hua's faces suddenly turned ugly. The two men quietly tightened their grip on the weapons in their hands and took a step back at the same time.

  "Now that I'm here, if I don't give you some advice, it won't be right."

  Qin Hao lifted his sleeve and rushed towards the two of them.

  "Kill him." Xie Feng roared, his feet trembling, but his hands moved with no hesitation.

  Zeng Hua danced up with a sword circle, and the sword tip went straight to Qin Hao's chest.

  The two joined hands, it was a killing move, without any intention of showing mercy.

  A flash of coldness flickered across Qin Hao's eyes. This time, his anger was finally unable to be suppressed.

  Qin Hao stretched out his two hands, drawing circles, one pushing and one pulling, deflecting the knife and sword to the side, each leaving a palm print on the chest of the two men.

  Bang! Bang!

  Two people flew out horizontally and dragged a long trail on the ground. From their mouths and noses, blood threads kept flowing out.

  Xie Feng and Zeng Hua struggled to get up, only to feel excruciating pain in their internal organs. Their feet kept trembling, with more and more blood seeping from their mouths and noses, and their faces were as pale as paper.

  Just two palms ago, Qin Hao had already used the power of a single Heaven-Shaking Palm. The shockwave had invaded their internal organs, severing their meridians, and the two men were now beyond hope of recovery.

  "What have you done to us?" Xie Feng's face was ashen, and he trembled with the question: "Why is there not even a wisp of spiritual energy left in my body."

  "It's impossible." Zeng Hua clenched his fist, but couldn't feel even a bit of strength. Overwhelmed with pain and anger, he suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood.

  "It's either death or life, depends on your luck." Qin Hao's tone was icy cold: "As for martial skills, don't even think about it. Your cultivation has been completely ruined."

  The two were shocked by these words and turned pale.

  At this moment, Shen Yue and Ye Ling's tent also had a movement. The two of them looked flustered and rushed out of the tent.

  Ye Ling grasped the hilt of that cyan longsword in his hand, while Shen Yue gripped a dagger. The two charged forward, their expressions vigilant.

  "Master Ye, he..." Xie Feng shouted out loud, his hand pointing at Qin Hao with a joyful expression on his face.

  But before he could finish speaking, his face suddenly changed color. A cyan long sword was stabbed in his chest. The long sword penetrated his heart, and the back end was inserted from behind. He opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but fresh blood poured out of his mouth and nose like a flood, even blocking his breath.

  Ye Ling's face was expressionless as he drew out his long sword. Xie Feng instantly fell to the ground, convulsing, and the light in his eyes gradually faded away.

  "Ye Ling, you..." Zeng Hua was both shocked and angry, but before he could finish his sentence, he felt a chill on the back of his neck.

  Qin Hao saw a sword shadow flash by, and Zeng Hua's expression froze. In an instant, a head flew up, and blood mist surged into the sky. Zeng Hua's head rolled on the ground, his eyes wide open, still with a hint of disbelief...

  Ye Ling wiped the sword's edge, nodded to Qin Hao and said with a hint of apology: "Sorry, Tian brothers, I didn't expect such scum in this Blackstone City branch. They broke the rules and had ill intentions, only death awaits them. To think about it, I misjudged people and almost let Tian brothers get hurt."

  As he spoke, Ye Ling stepped forward one step at a time until he was in front of Qin Hao, as if to apologize and make amends.

  "It doesn't matter." Qin Hao's face was expressionless, and he nodded slightly.

  Ye Ling continued to move forward, and when he was three steps away, the tip of his long sword suddenly shot out, swift as a spirit snake. But in the next moment, his face completely changed, that sharp long sword was firmly grasped in Qin Hao's palm, not moving at all.

  Qin Hao revealed a cold smile, and with one swift kick, he sent Ye Ling flying back. His right hand stirred up the mysterious energy, and with a forceful grip, the sharp weapon in his hand suddenly broke into pieces, segment by segment, falling to the ground.

  Shen Yue's eyes were filled with incredulity, and she suddenly pulled out a dagger, blocking Qin Hao in front of her. She glared at Ye Ling, who had just gotten up, and shouted loudly: "Ye Ling, what is going on here?"

  "It's different from what I've heard." Qin Hao sneered, "The grandson of Old Man Mu shouldn't be arrogant and overbearing, but rather sinister and venomous instead."

  Ye Ling's face was pale, but he still had a smile on his face. He clapped his hands and said, "Very clever, I really didn't think you could be deceived."

  "What you said about hunting the Ice Fox is false, right?" Qin Hao looked at him and asked lightly: "The Ice Fox was just a tool for you to test your strength and select some powerful warriors. Your real goal is the Gold-Eating Spider in the mountain cave, as well as the scroll in its belly. That mountain cave, it's not your first time going there, nor was it an accidental discovery."

  "Alright." Ye Ling clapped his hands and then covered his chest, forcing a smile as he said, "Continue speaking."

  "You discovered that cave and guessed that the Golden Spider might have swallowed the Warrior's treasure. You couldn't get it by yourself, so you intentionally posted this quest. Although your grandfather is an elder of the Blackstone City branch, his identity can't just leave Blackstone City at will. If you ask for help from a core disciple of the Hunting Alliance, the martial skills you obtain would have to be handed over to the Hunting Alliance. That's why you came looking for me."

  "That's right." Ye Ling's smile grew more apparent: "I'm not the first to discover this place, Floating Light Flashing Shadow Body Technique, I've seen it before. It was swallowed by that beast, I couldn't get it."

  "So, when you're fighting against the Ice Fox, you don't need to use the ultimate martial skill 'Hundred Flowers Entwined' or the 'Sealing Mysterious Array', because these things, you originally wanted to save for dealing with me." Qin Hao let out a cold laugh: "Wait until I'm evenly matched with the Golden Spider and then use these things to kill me off. You'll be able to monopolize the martial skills. When you return to the Hunting Alliance, you won't receive any blame either, at most you can just shift the responsibility onto the demonic beast."

  Ye Ling coughed and smiled, "That's right, I just didn't expect that golden spider to be so powerful, forcing me to use my trump card. And even more unexpected, you were able to completely resolve it without being injured at all."

  "So, afterwards you instigated Xie Feng and Zeng Hua. These two people were previously completely unaware of your plan. Otherwise, they wouldn't have foolishly discarded the corpse of the Golden Spider, revealing the ring and martial arts scroll inside."

  "Alright." Ye Ling's face gradually regained its rosiness: "To be honest, I didn't want you to die either. Unfortunately, this martial skill is something I must obtain."

  In the end, his face was ferocious and unparalleled, without concealing the greed in his heart.

  Qin Hao moved his hands and feet, revealing a mouthful of teeth, and smiled coldly: "Then come on. I just don't know where your confidence comes from."

  "Nature is me."

  Shen Yue suddenly turned around and thrust a gleaming dagger towards Qin Hao's abdomen.

  Qin Hao casually stretched out two fingers, pinched off the dagger, and slammed a palm on Shen Yue's chest, sending her flying several meters away.

  "Alright, I've played along with your drama. " Qin Hao's palm emitted a burst of dark energy, his entire aura rising steadily.

  Once and again, again and thrice, pressing him tightly, had thoroughly stirred up his murderous intent.

  "You've been on guard against me all along?" Shen Yue stood up, gritting her teeth, looking extremely regretful.

  "From the beginning in Heishi City, asking about my martial skills, to later deliberately showing off, how can I still not see through it?" Qin Hao moved his neck slightly, with a cold smile in his heart.

  If he still can't see her purpose after this, then all those years he spent in Free Territory would be for nothing.

  "You're very cautious." Shen Yue suddenly flashed a smile, smiling so charmingly: "Just like that fat guy last time, am I really that uncharming?"

  Fatty!

  Qin Hao's heart moved slightly, but he didn't say anything and waited for them to continue speaking.

  As expected, Ye Ling's face was filled with pity as he said: "That fatty was chased by the hunting alliance disciples I sent and was left in a miserable state. Of course, you'll have better luck and be able to die quickly."

  "Too much nonsense! Today, no matter who it is, can't save you guys."

  Qin Hao walked step by step forward, his pace neither fast nor slow, the aura on his body suddenly rising to its peak. The intention to kill had been formed, no matter what, he would never have any mercy again.

  He has tolerated this hunting alliance branch many times, and this time he has reached his bottom line.

  "That's not necessarily true." Shen Yue sneered, suddenly taking out a crystal clear Void Crystal. As she moved her hand, hundreds of red lights suddenly jumped out from the crystal.

  The red light danced in the air, and it was actually a living thing. The Taohuajing stone also had three, six, and nine grades, with high-grade stones even able to contain living creatures, storing some small demonic beasts.

  Those hundreds of red lights in the air, each one is a tiny monster.

  "Fire Ant."

  Second-order primary demon beast, each one is extremely powerful, its body is several times harder than refined iron, shattering jade and breaking gold, invincible in battle, but this kind of demon beast is born with a gentle nature and never launches a surprise attack.

  Qin Hao's footsteps didn't stop, and he lightly said, "Taking out this demon beast will save you?"

  Shen Yue's smile didn't diminish as she said, "Fire ants aren't always non-aggressive either."

  Shen Yue's smile grew brighter and more confident, with an air of being in control and assured of victory.

  Qin Hao gave her a disdainful glance before turning to Ye Ling, who was the person he most wanted to kill at that moment.

  Bang! Bang! Bang!

  The footsteps were getting closer and closer...

  As Qin Hao advanced, the fire ants remained motionless. After hovering in mid-air for a moment, they transformed into tiny red lights and scattered in all directions, disappearing from view before them.

  "How could this be? I clearly sprinkled Ice Rock Leaf Powder on you." Shen Yue exclaimed in a shrill tone.

  Ice Rock Leaf Powder is the only thing that can make Fire Ants violent, and using this property to manipulate Fire Ants for attack is a special usage of Ice Rock Leaves.

  And this was also the last special note that Qin Hao saw in the classics. Also because of this, Qin Hao thoroughly became wary of her.

  Qin Hao's body emitted a growing red glow, as if he was a fierce god walking out of flames.

  "A hundred flowers in bloom."

  Ye Ling's face changed greatly, and he didn't know why his killer move had lost its use. Gnashing his teeth, he launched an attack first.

  Thousands of blue-colored mystic flower buds descended from the sky, and within a radius of ten zhang around them, they transformed into an ocean of flowers. As each flower bud floated down, its petals gradually unfolded.

  When the flowers were fully open, thousands of mysterious energy flowers suddenly moved and flew towards Qin Hao at the same time.

  "Form is empty."

  Qin Hao's right palm was brewing a fist intent, his left hand casually blocking in mid-air the densely packed petals that fell like raindrops, which were unable to penetrate within ten paces of Qin Hao.

  "Seize."

  Ye Ling let out a loud shout, and more and more flowers appeared, filling the sky with petals that seemed to transform into sharp arrows, spinning and shooting towards Qin Hao.

  "Broken."

  Qin Hao's right palm lightly drew a faint stroke, as if he had struck out a wave of madness. His protective Xuan Qi suddenly shook violently, shaking off the petals that were shooting towards him.

  Ye Ling wanted to resist again, but Qin Hao's body swayed and he leaned forward, one hand grasping his neck.

  "No!" Ye Ling shouted out loud.

  Shen Yue's face also changed greatly, and she charged over with a dagger in hand. Qin Hao swept his right foot across, directly kicking her out.

  "Spare me." Ye Ling's face was flattering, his nose and eyes were almost in tears, completely gone was the calm and ruthless demeanor from earlier. He forced a smile and said: "Killing me won't do you any good, my grandfather is an elder of this Hunting Alliance. If I die, you'll stir up a lot of trouble. How about I teach you some martial skills instead? The Sealing Mysterious Array too."

  Qin Hao shook his head and with a swift motion of his right palm, a burst of light shot out and struck him in the chest.

  Bang!

  Ye Ling's mouth spewed out fresh blood, his face turned pale, the blood from his nose and mouth grew more and more, directly staining the front of his long gown red. His eyes also gradually lost their luster.

  Qin Hao threw him aside like a broken sack and didn't bother with him anymore, instead walking towards Shen Yue.

  Shen Yue's face was ferocious, and he drew out a dagger, continuously stabbing towards Qin Hao.

  Qin Hao stretched out two fingers and clamped down on the dagger. He punched towards Shen Yue's abdomen.

  Shen Yue's dagger was snatched away by Qin Hao, and his body was beaten so badly that he flew out several meters, hugging his abdomen with both hands, curled up and groaning constantly.

  Qin Hao's face was cold and expressionless as he walked over with a dagger in hand.

  If they don't lay a hand on him tonight, then he can forget about what happened before.

  In the hunting alliance, he had another close friend after all. However, from the moment they used their killing moves on him, there was no room for maneuver left.

  "Spare my life, please." Shen Yue struggled to get up, revealing a charming smile, and said pitifully: "Actually, I was forced by Ye Ling. He has a powerful backer, so I had no choice but to help him. Let me go, and from now on, you can ask me to do anything."

  As she spoke, two bright red flushes flew up on her face, looking extremely charming and flirtatious. Her eyes were even more tender and gentle, with a hint of teasing in her gaze.

  She just said she was going back, but her right hand secretly hid behind her back and secretly grasped three daggers, ready to strike.

  "It's late."

  Qin Hao's dagger flew out and stabbed directly into Shen Yue's heart, shooting out from her back and deeply into the ground.

  Shen Yue's eyes widened, and the sparkle in her eyes grew increasingly dim. After a few gasps, they completely lost their luster and dispersed, losing all radiance.

  "Tian Lang, I'm dead, and you will absolutely not be better off."

  In the distance, Ye Ling exerted all his strength to shout out this sentence. Suddenly, he held a jade stone in his hand, and a drop of bright red blood was rolling around inside the jade stone.

  Ye Ling's words caused the blood to gush out even faster. Yet, his face showed no fear, only a ferocious expression.

  Qin Hao's face changed in an instant.

  That drop of crimson blood was the blood of the Qingyu bird. This jade stone, and the one that Wang Wu and Wang Hun had entrusted to him, were exactly alike. If Ye Ling crushed the jade stone, the Hunting Alliance would receive the news immediately.

  Qin Hao hastily activated his movement technique and rushed over.

  However, Qin Hao was quick, but Ye Ling's movements were even faster. With a burst of force from his two fingers, the jade stone in his hand shattered into several pieces, and that drop of bright red blood appeared in mid-air before instantly dispersing and vanishing.

  Ye Ling slowly fell down, his body stiffened, his pupils completely scattered, and a sinister smile still remained on his face.

  Qin Hao felt a heavy sense of foreboding in his heart. His original plan to disguise it as the work of a demon beast was completely ruined by Ye Ling's move.

  He hastily pulled out the map of Wan Shou Gu, found a route, and then rushed quickly towards the depths of Wan Shou Gu. It won't be long before the hunters from the alliance will come after him. He couldn't stay here any longer.

  Hunters' Guild Branch, second floor library.

  An old man with a wrinkled face, wearing a blue long gown, stood in a room, flipping through ancient books. The old man's eyes were focused and extremely serious. Between his eyebrows, he could vaguely be identified as the same old man Qin Hao met for the first time when he entered the library.

  The old man's expression was serious, his spirit fully immersed in the classics. Suddenly, a movement appeared on the chest of his long gown. The old man's face changed, and his dry palm reached in to pull out a milky white jade stone.

  In the jade, a drop of blood rolled around, red to the point of being dazzling. On the jade, suddenly appeared a crack, the crack gradually extended, until finally, the crystal jade completely cracked open, and the drop of blood dripped into the ground.

  A loud crackling sound echoed through the stone chamber for a long time...