"Could she be using that thin thread to control the sword? But with something so fine… how could she make it turn like that?"
Qin Mu had no time to figure out the mystery. He sprinted forward, and with a sharp thud, the sword grazed past him and stabbed deep into a large tree.
The sword quivered twice inside the trunk as if it were alive. Unable to pull itself free, it stilled—just as the young woman floated over gracefully. Her slender hand closed around the hilt; she drew the blade out with a tug and said in irritation, "My White Tiger True Essence still isn't strong enough. I can't yet control it as naturally as an arm."
"Junior Sister Qing, being able to weave your true essence into silk threads and command a sword to kill is already remarkable."
The young man who had been gliding atop the waves with her came to her side, speaking gently with a smile. "What you lack isn't cultivation, but refinement. Master brought us to the Great Ruins this time precisely so we can make up for that. We've been training behind closed doors for too long, lacking real combat. And now this little demon brat is our sparring opportunity. You'll soon master controlling the sword with qi."
The other three youths arrived. One of them laughed and said, "That little demon turned into a deer, and deer are naturally swift—no wonder he could dodge Senior Sister Qing's sword."
Senior Sister Qing brightened at once. She sent the sword flying after Qin Mu again, giggling. "Senior Brother Qu, don't take action yet. Leave this little demon brat to me—I want to practice my sword!"
Senior Brother Qu—the young man walking the waves with her—nodded and smiled. "Then the three of us shall simply admire Junior Sister Qing's swordsmanship."
Qin Mu dodged the sword-light chasing him from behind with all his strength, confusion rising in his heart. Controlling a sword with qi? So that thread in her hand wasn't a real thread, but her vital energy? Qi can be refined to such a degree—fine enough to manipulate a treasure sword? Could I do that too?
He had learned butchering knife techniques from the Butcher, but the Butcher had only taught him to control a blade with his hands—never with qi. Qin Mu knew nothing about this aspect of cultivation.
Seeing Senior Sister Qing command her sword stirred his curiosity. If one could control a sword with qi, could he use qi to control other things as well?
But Senior Sister Qing's relentless sword pursuit left him no time to ponder. Besides, he had been transformed into an elk by Granny Si—his limbs were clumsy, and the vital energy within his body had become sluggish and dormant.
Shiiing—
The sword-light flashed again, striking from behind and slicing across Qin Mu's back. A cold shiver ran over him, followed by a burning pain. He instantly knew that Senior Sister Qing's sword had wounded him.
"This is bad… An elk may be fast, but it isn't as agile as my real body. Granny turned me into a deer, and now that I'm injured… I'm afraid I won't escape this time…"
The thought had barely formed when suddenly he felt his "mouth" splitting open.
It wasn't truly splitting—rather, the deer hide around his mouth had come loose from his body!
Qin Mu immediately recalled what Granny Si had done when she told him to run—how she'd secretly pulled a needle from the center of "his" brow. That very needle had been pinning down his celestial spirit!
Now, his head separated from the deer hide.
Behind him, sword qi tore through the air with a sharp hiss, slashing downward. Qin Mu threw himself forward with all his might, bursting out of the deer hide entirely. He tumbled more than ten yards across the ground, then leapt up and sprinted away at full speed.
Behind him, the deer skin was shredded by Senior Sister Qing's qi-controlled sword—her blade danced like falling flowers, moving as fast as lightning. Clearly, her swordsmanship had improved dramatically while chasing him.
Breaking free from the deer skin had delayed him for a split second, however. A teenager leaped through the air above the trees, landing in front of him to block his path.
They were only two or three zhang apart—close enough to meet face-to-face in an instant!
Qin Mu had no time to change direction, no thoughts left in his mind. His body instinctively unleashed the leg skills taught by the Lame Man: he flipped upside down, his legs sweeping out like a whirlwind!
"Azure Dragon Arm!"
The teenager, a few years older than Qin Mu, sneered, blocking with both hands. A dim blue light emanated from his arms, and dragon-scaled claws emerged from his skin. Qin Mu's legs collided with his arms with two clangs like steel hitting steel. The teenager's sneer froze as he grunted, losing his balance and being forced back.
His sleeves burst apart, fluttering like paper butterflies, debris scattering everywhere. Intricate dragon claw tattoos wrapped around his arms—but after taking Qin Mu's two kicks, his arms instantly turned red and swollen.
"Do you have iron ingots hidden in your legs?!"
The teenager trembled in pain, shocked and angry, his gaze falling on Qin Mu's feet. "And iron shoes?!"
Qin Mu pushed off with both hands, landing on his feet and sprinting away.
But the teenager's words reminded him: he did have iron ingots bound to his legs. The Lame Man had required him to wear them day and night—while walking, sleeping, training—never to remove them until he could no longer feel their weight.
As Qin Mu's body grew stronger and his strength increased, the Lame Man had added more weight to the ingots. What's more, he had asked the mute blacksmith to forge a pair of iron shoes for Qin Mu to add even more heft.
Each thick-soled iron shoe weighed ten jin, each leg's iron ingots twenty jin—Qin Mu was carrying fifty jin of weight on his legs!
The Lame Man had said he could only remove them when he no longer felt their burden. Qin Mu had grown used to them these days, and in his rush to run, he had completely forgotten he was carrying such heavy loads.
Stopping to take them off would mean being caught, though—he dared not pause.
"Trample the Sumeru Mountain!"
Mid-run, Qin Mu suddenly pushed off with his right foot, unleashing the move. The thick sole of his iron shoe splattered like mud, shattering into pieces that flew everywhere.
At the same time, his calf muscles tensed, bulging and bursting the iron ingots apart—they shot into the surrounding trees like sharp arrows with thuds.
Qin Mu stepped forward with his other foot, smashing that iron shoe too and breaking free of its ingots.
Whoosh—
His body suddenly felt light as a feather, and he stepped onto a treetop before he could react, startling himself.
Barefoot, his toes pressed against the treetop, his body began to sink.
Beneath him, sword light flashed, stabbing upward—dozens of sharp sword tips filled his vision!
Senior Sister Qing's qi-controlled swordsmanship was growing more formidable by the moment: she was not wielding dozens of swords, but creating dozens of sword flowers with a single blade!
Qin Mu suddenly remembered the Lame Man's words: "Don't think about whether the ground beneath your feet can hold your weight. If you run fast enough, water becomes flat ground, grass becomes flat ground, air becomes flat ground—everywhere is a smooth path!"
He tapped his toes and sprinted forward. Behind him, sword energy soared, slicing the crown of the tree he had just stood on to splinters!
Two teenagers leaped up to the treetops, staring in shock as Qin Mu raced across the treetops like a hurricane—his speed was breathtaking!
"He's younger than us, but how can he run so fast? His cultivation seems... seems even stronger than ours..."
As the thought crossed their minds, Senior Brother Qu suddenly shot forward like a streak of smoke, chasing Qin Mu at an even faster pace.
"No wonder Senior Brother Qu is a peak Spirit Embryo martial artist—his strength is far beyond ours," they marveled. "With Senior Brother Qu personally making a move, this little demon spawn is doomed."
Just then, a huge shadow rose from the mountainside—a furry palm the size of a mat swung at Senior Brother Qu, slapping him hard as he raced through the air!
Senior Brother Qu spun like a top, flying backward and crashing to the ground, rolling dozens of times before stopping. He sat up, spitting out a mouthful of blood, and shouted sharply: "Don't go near! This is the fiend ape's territory—there's a fiend ape living here!"
The other four froze. The shadow in the mountains was indeed a terrifyingly large black gorilla, its eyes bloodshot, fangs protruding. It beat its chest at them, its roar like war drums: "Little ones! Die!"
Qin Mu, who had been sprinting ahead, had also been slapped down by the fiend ape, falling motionless beside its huge feet—no one knew if he was alive or dead.
Senior Sister Qing whispered: "Senior Brother Qu was seriously injured by that fiend ape's slap, and the little demon spawn took one too—he must be dead by now, right?"
Before she finished speaking, Qin Mu—lying beside the fiend ape—quietly opened his eyes and peeked at the ape. Senior Sister Qing jumped in shock: "He's not dead?!"