Chapter 72: Killed Your Son to Pay for the Meal
The butcher's madness seemed to have transferred onto him through the pig-slaying knife technique. The butcher's knife was, by nature, a mad knife, driven by one's own emotions!
"You use a blade?"
Fu Tingyue looked at the cleaver-sized knife in his hand and laughed scornfully. "What kind of blade is that?"
Qin Mu shifted his stance, and the blade's light suddenly exploded outward like a surging sea, layers of knife waves stacking as they slashed down toward Fu Tingyue!
Fu Tingyue kept both hands clasped behind his back, a cold smirk on his face.
A rapid series of *ding ding ding* clashing sounds rang out as a silver light continuously collided with the pig-slaying knife. That silver light was a tiny sword.
The sword was three inches long.
This minuscule sword darted up and down, coming and going like lightning. It was connected by a strand of primal energy, manipulating the small sword to fly around Young Master Tingyue, appearing and disappearing unpredictably!
Then seven more small swords flew out, blocking Qin Mu's storm-like assault, preventing his blade from breaking through.
His swords were spiritual weapons—able to lengthen or shorten, enlarge or shrink. Now, with his swords at three inches, they were harder to defend against, easier to control, and even more agile!
By infusing primal energy into the three-inch swords, he could enhance their strength and power!
He wielded eight three-inch small swords, controlled by the Eight-Phase Heavenly God Technique, appearing and vanishing unpredictably, making them impossible to guard against. As the number one martial artist of Xianglong City, his reputation was well-deserved!
He had experienced countless battles and killed who knows how many people, exuding a fierce, murderous aura that even ghosts and gods would avoid!
However, Qin Mu's knife grew heavier and heavier, each strike carrying more and more force. The relentless, storm-like blows made it increasingly difficult for his small swords to hold the line.
His sword-controlling technique was personally taught by the Lord of Xianglong City, his swordsmanship exquisitely refined. Otherwise, he could never have killed so many martial artists from the Great Wasteland without a single defeat.
His swordsmanship could block Qin Mu's blade, but the force transmitted through the knife gradually exceeded what he could withstand.
This meant that Qin Mu's primal energy was far more abundant than his own. The reason he had been able to block earlier was that Qin Mu hadn't fully mobilized his primal energy. But as Qin Mu swung his knife more and more, he summoned increasing amounts of primal energy, growing stronger and stronger!
Young Master Tingyue's face grew redder and redder, so red it seemed ready to drip blood. The force from Qin Mu's knife was too great, forcing his eight small swords to operate at shorter and shorter ranges.
Their blades and swords grew faster and faster, and their footsteps moved accordingly, their speed increasing. In the center of the platform, they circled each other, weaving back and forth, their attack speed so dizzying it was hard to follow!
Suddenly, Qin Mu's body pressed against Fu Tingyue's.
Fu Tingyue's heart jolted, and his scalp went numb. "A killing technique?"
He knew about killing techniques. When a martial artist trained in such techniques closed in, it meant they were about to deliver a fatal blow!
"Damn it!"
Inside Zhenjiang Tower, Fu Yundi's face changed drastically. He immediately rose and leaped into the air, charging straight toward the platform on the lake.
At the same time, every muscle and tendon in Qin Mu's body twitched violently, like venomous dragons and massive pythons coiling and intertwining, granting his body unparalleled power. The leaping muscles and tendons allowed him to sense every movement of his opponent, every shift and flow of their power!
Every action, every reaction of the enemy was reflected in his mind.
A cold glint flashed in Qin Mu's eyes. The killing move of the pig-slaying knife technique!
*Draw the knife and leave the forbidden grounds.*
*Draw the knife and leave the forbidden grounds, carriages and horses thunder like drums. Alone, I enter the imperial palace, hand seizing the king's head!*
Qin Mu's muscles twitched. The pig-slaying knife shifted from his right hand to his left. Holding it in a reverse grip, he stepped forward in a bow stance and slashed upward. The blade was forward, his hand behind, slipping between two small swords and cutting upward from between Fu Tingyue's legs!
A simple upward slash, gutting him open like a pig.
The butcher's pig-slaying knife technique.
At the same time, two small swords stabbed toward Qin Mu's eyes. Qin Mu flicked his right fingers, piercing them, but the two small swords were also knocked aside.
*Boom!*
Behind Qin Mu, a deafening explosion came from Zhenjiang Tower. The entire building suddenly split apart, cleaved in two by an indescribable force!
The tall building split in half and crashed into the lake, sending waves surging. The water extinguished countless lanterns in the hands of the girls on the shore, drawing a chorus of screams.
Fu Yundi stood on the ruins of Zhenjiang Tower, his face ashen, his teeth clenched, a trace of blood at the corner of his mouth.
In his desperation to save his son, he had rushed out of the tower but was intercepted halfway by the Demon Sect's Sect Leader's Wife. Caught off guard, he had taken the blow head-on and was severely injured!
His own injury was a minor matter, but he had failed to save his son!
Across from him, the Sect Leader's Wife raised a hand to smooth her hair, composed and unhurried, smiling. "City Lord, interfering in a duel between juniors is hardly proper, don't you think? Fortunately, I stopped you in time, so you didn't make a grave mistake."
Fu Yundi's lips twitched. He forced down the blood rising in his throat, swallowing it back, and barely managed a smile. "Madam jokes. My son's skill was inferior..."
His eye twitched with a hint of malice. "He deserved to die. I was momentarily anxious. Please forgive my rudeness."
On the lake platform, Qin Mu sheathed his knife and straightened up.
"My blade is called the Pig-Slaying Knife."
His twitching muscles slowly calmed, and he said calmly, "Young Master Tingyue, you were quite impressive. You managed to injure two of my fingers."
Before him, a line of blood appeared on Fu Tingyue's abdomen, spreading upward, rising higher and higher until it reached his throat, his nose bridge, his brow. Then his chest split open, and his body cleaved in two, blood splattering across the ground.
Qin Mu strode toward the stunned middle-aged man and grabbed the money pouch from the tray. The man's face turned ashen. He suddenly grabbed Qin Mu's hand and shouted harshly, "You killed Young Master Tingyue..."
*Shiiing!*
Qin Mu raised his knife and sliced off the man's head. He turned, flicked the pig-slaying knife clean of blood, sheathed it, and walked toward the collapsed Zhenjiang Tower.
Behind him came a *plop* as the man's body fell into the lake. Then the water churned violently as fish monsters beneath the surface frenziedly fought over the corpse.
Qin Mu walked across the water to the leveled Zhenjiang Tower. He looked up at the grim-faced Fu Yundi, then at the shocked and bewildered faces around him. The boy revealed a simple, honest smile, holding out the money pouch toward Fu Yundi. "City Lord, here are one hundred dragon coins. My meal money."
Fu Yundi's eye twitched, but he didn't reach out.
"I don't like owing favors. Since I ate the City Lord's meal, even if you won't accept it, I must pay. We abandoned people of the Great Wasteland may be poor, but we still have some backbone."
Qin Mu's smile was bright as sunshine. He let go of the pouch, and it fell to the ground. Dragon coins rolled out, scattering everywhere, some slipping through cracks into the lake.
"The meal is paid for. I should be going now. City Lord, everyone, this young man takes his leave."
He stepped back a few paces, turned, and walked away, treading on the waves as he went, laughing heartily. "Heroes fill the seats, drunk on wine; killed your son to pay for the meal! How satisfying, how satisfying!"
Ling Yuxiu blinked her bright, big eyes, wanting to call out to him, but she held back. After all, she was a guest of the City Lord's residence. Although she was an honored guest, Qin Mu had been brought in by her. Now that he had publicly killed the City Lord's son, it was unwise for her to be too closely associated with him.
The Sect Leader's Wife stepped in front of Fu Yundi, blocking his gaze toward Qin Mu, and smiled. "Since none of you dare to take the Great Cultivation Demon Scripture, I'll keep it. Farewell!" With that, she vanished in a flash.
"Stop!"
Black Venerable shouted and charged after her. The sallow-faced woman, the white-browed old man, and the others also rushed out, pursuing the Sect Leader's Wife. Fu Yundi hesitated for a moment, then summoned a cultivator from the City Lord's residence and said quickly, "Take some men and follow that boy. Kill him to avenge Yue'er! And give Yue'er a proper burial..."
With that, he too set off in the direction of the Sect Leader's Wife. Compared to avenging his son, the Great Cultivation Demon Scripture was far more important!
Ling Yuxiu quietly stood up and tiptoed toward the ruins of Zhenjiang Tower, but suddenly Qin Feiyue's tall figure appeared behind her.
"Princess, no more mischief."
Qin Feiyue's gaze was deep. "The Grand Preceptor's army is drawing near."
Ling Yuxiu slumped in defeat, muttering, "I haven't even had my fill of fun this time..."
Qin Feiyue's eyes softened, and he said gently, "If the Seventh Princess admires that boy, once the Great Wasteland is annexed into Yancheng territory, you can summon him to the palace and grant him a position as a eunuch overseer. Then he can accompany the Seventh Princess often."