abcnovels
Chapter 87:
Chapter 87:
Chapter 87:
As Star Xuan Envoy looked at Qiao Mu’s face, the atmosphere in the room gradually became tense.
The swordsman with a bushy beard sitting closest to Qiao Mu also had a slight change in facial expression, quietly placing his hand on the sheath of his waist.
Only Qiao Mu remained calm and composed:
"You can simply call me Qiao Zhong. Tide Listening Building informed me that you want to hunt Saintess Wu Qingxin this time."
He embarked on this journey with love at first sight, to bid farewell, so he purposely changed his name to show his sincere affection for the Saintess.
At the same time, he didn’t forget to use Tide Listening Building as a shield.
If Tide Listening Building is an enemy of Wuji Association, then this action is like adding fuel to the fire.
If Tide Listening Building is on good terms with Wuji Association, then waving the big flag can help him blend in.
After saying these words, he carefully observed the expressions of everyone, trying to determine the relationship between the two organizations.
The Star Xuan Envoy was wearing a mask, so you couldn’t see any specific change in his expression.But the middle-aged strong man behind him started talking:
"Star Xuan Envoy, how about I find out his true abilities?"
After saying that, he stood up tall, leaped towards Qiao Mu, and threw a powerful punch towards his chest.
However, Qiao Mu didn’t dodge.
When he stood up from the bench, he secretly used his strong skill, Golden Bell Shield Iron Cloth Shirt Skill, ignoring the strong man’s punch. He also threw a punch towards the strong man’s abdomen, just like he did.
You fight your fight, I’ll fight mine.
Let’s see who’s tougher.
It would be best if you are stronger and can defeat me.
The strong man was about to pounce, although his face changed slightly, he couldn’t change his move while he was in the air.
Puff puff.
But with two consecutive muffled sounds, Qiao Mu’s robe was blown up by the strong wind, and a clear fist mark appeared on his chest. Under the impact of tremendous force, he took a slight step back.
Without considering Iron Crotch Skill, Qiao Mu has achieved a high level in two hard skills, Golden Bell Shield and Iron Cloth Shirt Skill.
Although it’s impossible to completely block the attacks of four 5th rank martial artists, it is possible to reduce the damage.
The strong man who was about to pounce stumbled and almost fell to the ground.
"Are you skilled in hard skills? It’s rare to live up to sixty years old." The strong man regained his balance and turned around as if nothing had happened.
Then, with his back to Qiao Mu, he rolled his Adam’s apple up and down, quietly swallowing a little blood that welled up in his throat.
The level of his internal strength is on par with Qiao Mu’s. If it were a normal fight, the outcome is still uncertain.
But Qiao Mu stubbornly refused to dodge and relied on his strong skills to face the challenge head-on, trying to prove that he was tougher than anyone else.
He was not good at using his strength and naturally found himself at a disadvantage.
"So you practice martial arts that rely on strength. It’s impressive that a martial artist who focuses on external techniques can live to this age," the strong man smiled.
The strong man was just testing the waters this time, showing off his strength in front of Wuji Association’s Star Xuan Envoy, but he had no intention of fighting Qiao Mu to the death. After one move, he turned and left.
After taking a few steps away, and seeing that Qiao Mu was far enough from him, he said again:
"Although your strength is admirable, it can only deal with martial artists like me."
"No matter how skilled you are in physical training, when facing Wu Qingxin’s Etching Bones Li Fire, it’s like using firewood against a blazing inferno."
The others nodded in agreement.
"In this room, there are several martial artists at the 4th rank of inner power."
"If placed in the old martial arts world, a fourth rank martial artist would already be considered a top-notch expert. It was only after the establishment of the Wuji Association that more fourth rank martial artists started to appear." The burly man calmly licked his Star Xuan Envoy badge.
"But even a third rank Spirit Refining martial artist, relying solely on internal strength, may not be able to withstand Saintess Wu Qingxin’s symbol fire."
The martial artists felt a sense of unease in their hearts.
Even the Star Xuan Envoy of the Wuji Association could only nod in agreement and said:
"That’s right. You all need to be careful of Wu Qingxin’s symbol fire."
"In the face of Etching Bones Li Fire, the only chance for a martial artist is to rely on evasion."
"By utilizing lightness skills to move swiftly within a small area and dodge the symbol fire."
"Is it really that powerful?" Qiao Mu questioned once again.
The Star Xuan Envoy glanced at him and said, "Once touched by the Etching Bones Li Fire, flesh, bones, skin, and blood will all burn to ashes."
"This Etching Bones Li Fire cannot be extinguished by water or buried by earth. Even if one’s internal strength erupts, it can only temporarily suppress the burning speed of the Li Fire, but cannot extinguish it."
"Once a martial artist is contaminated by it, there are only two options: either sever the arm for survival, or face death. There is no third possibility."
"Therefore, one can only rely on lightness skills to evade before being hit, and naturally it will be unobstructed."
Upon seeing the approving expressions of those around him, Qiao Mu also began to question in his mind.
Could he have chosen the wrong skill tree?
At present, besides his expertise in the Heavenly Demon Disintegration Method, he has actually practiced more in the realm of physical strength, including the Iron Crotch Skill.
Pure Yang Wuji Skill, as the top-notch martial art of Wudang, is also a martial art that cultivates both internal and external skills. It can be considered as a half-top-tier hard skill. Qiao Mu has now practiced it to the third level, which can also enhance his body’s resistance to attacks.
It is also with the help of these several hard skills that he was able to withstand the attack from the strong man just now, only sustaining minor injuries.
In the battles Qiao Mu has experienced in the past, almost all of them were one against many, fighting for life with life. He could only last longer with the help of his physical strength.
And in a battlefield with one against many, there’s not much room for displaying light skills.
If it hadn’t been for Sheriff Qian giving him a book called "Shadow Step" a few days ago, he still wouldn’t have practiced at all.
"Your strength is good, and you excel in hard skills. Your internal strength has reached the fourth rank," Star Xuan Envoy looked at Qiao Mu and commented.
"And you’ve also practiced the ‘Martial Saint Spiritual Technique’, so you can also be considered as a half member of the Wuji Association."
"Although it’s an uninvited guest, it’s still acceptable."
Just like the speculation of the Tide Listening Building’s fake capture head, the Star Xuan Envoy of the Wuji Association quickly accepted this unexpected guest after seeing Qiao Mu’s skills.
The Star Xuan Envoy naturally knows the secrets of the "Martial Saint Spiritual Technique."
Regardless of what this unexpected guest Qiao Mu wants to obtain, he will eventually become the Martial Saint’s nourishment, so the Star Xuan Envoy doesn’t pay too much attention to it.
"Well then, let’s depart," the Star Xuan Envoy said.
"Among the eight of you, there are four people who are at the 4th rank and four people who are at the 5th rank. This is a team with the potential to break through and become high-ranking officials in the government and governor’s mansion."
"Among you, there are members from the Wuji Association as well as skilled individuals from outside. But that’s not important."
"Whoever can kill the traitor Wu Qingxin, regardless of background or origin, will receive generous rewards. This is a rule set by Martial Saint."
With that, the Star Xuan Envoy paused and continued, saying:
"Xu Cheng has already taken the lead. He has also practiced the ‘Martial Saint Spiritual Technique’ and can use his intuition to locate Saintess Wu Qingxin."
"Just now, he has already sent me a signal, indicating that he has found the trace of Wu Qingxin… There’s no time to waste, let’s set off!"
Including the Star Xuan Envoy, the group of eight people left the inn, mounted the pre-prepared horses, and rode off.
……….
With this, Qiao Mu and the others left the city through the west gate.
"Old Hu, how strong is that soul-captivating hand Xu Cheng that the Star Xuan Envoy mentioned?"
Qiao Mu rode his horse alongside the bearded swordsman he had spoken to earlier and asked at the same time.
The bearded swordsman called himself Old Hu and didn’t give a specific name.
The other seven people were similar, either only giving their last names or using titles like "Thunder Hand" or "Jade Faced Flying Dragon." Qiao Mu was the only one who gave his full name.
"So, this Xu Cheng with the soul-captivating hand is a famous 4th rank expert, just like you. It is said that he once fought against two 4th rank martial artists at the same time and managed to kill one and escape from the other by risking his own life," the swordsman said.
"As long as they haven’t reached the level of spiritual refining and are just cultivating their internal strength, they are considered 4th rank. Therefore, there can be a significant difference in strength among 4th rank martial artists, and Xu Cheng is obviously one of the stronger ones."
"Among all of us, he is the most well-known person. Even if he’s not the strongest, I’m afraid he’s not far behind."
"The ‘Martial Saint Spiritual Technique’ is a mysterious technique created by the Martial Saint. It focuses on spiritual cultivation and those who can master it have the potential to reach the level of spiritual refining, including Xu Cheng… and you, by the way."
The swordsman was talkative and spent the whole journey chatting with Qiao Mu, giving him a lot of knowledge about the martial world.
As time passed, the group of people rode their horses wildly for ten miles, but the Star Xuan Envoy at the front suddenly pulled on the reins, gesturing for Qiao Mu and the others to be on guard.
They saw a bright flame lighting up beside the road ahead.
As they approached, they realized that the flame was a blazing fire with a blurry human figure inside.
A sharp wooden stake pierced through the lower part of the blurry figure, emerging from its mouth, pinning the person to the burning side of the road.
"Our instinctual guide has led us here. He just died recently," the swordsman in white named "Jade faced Flying Dragon" furrowed his brow and spoke.
"Is he Xu Cheng?"
The group gathered around the blazing wooden stake for a while, and the atmosphere grew heavy.
"The soul-fetching hand Xu Cheng is dead. We just left the city and haven’t even seen the Saintess yet," the swordsman with a stubble sighed.
"This Wu Qingxin is just as ruthless as that Martial Saint."
Everyone understood that Wu Qingxin’s action was meant to intimidate.
The death of a skilled person, especially in a horrifying way, naturally brings fear.
"He was just burned to death. Wu Qingxin deliberately controlled the burning speed of Etching Bones Li Fire to make this person barely alive, attracting our attention and leading us here," Qiao Mu explained, drawing from his experience.
"So dealing with Wu Qingxin requires caution and not relying solely on physical strength," Star Xuan Envoy warned.
"If we let our guard down, we could end up like Xu Cheng, turning to ashes."
"Xu Cheng made the mistake of relying too much on his strength and went after Wu Qingxin alone. My intention was only for him to delay Wu Qingxin, but unfortunately, we were too late."
Xu Cheng was already dead, but there were still several people in the group who had practiced the Martial Saint Spiritual Technique. After a brief moment of shock, they followed their instincts and continued on the journey.
As long as they weren’t completely dead, Wu Qingxin wouldn’t be able to escape.