C8 Killing Intent

His spirits lifted instantly.

It was common knowledge that Mo Le had impeccable taste; everything he carried was of the finest quality, particularly his healing pills. This time, he had parted with a premium Violet Victory Pill to quell the turmoil caused by the old man, no doubt at great personal cost.

If Mo Le ever found out that Qin Xiao ended up with the pill, he'd likely be livid enough to cough up blood.

Of course, Qin Xiao hadn't anticipated how easily the old man could be swayed, to the point of gifting him such a valuable pill.

This thought sparked a twinge of guilt in Qin Xiao, but he quickly dismissed it. After all, he wouldn't have resorted to such tactics if the old man hadn't tried to extort him.

He was simply defending himself!

Beyond a stretch of pine forest lay the small courtyard. This had been Qin Huan's home before she joined the Inner Sect, leaving Qin Xiao to live there alone.

The courtyard was pleasant—spacious and serene. Its only flaw was its seclusion.

But as Qin Xiao reached for the gate, a chilling sensation crept up his spine like a centipede, prompting him to instinctively leap to the left!

"Clang!"

The crisp sound echoed as Qin Xiao glanced back to see a thick black iron nail, over a meter long, embedded three inches deep into the hard greenstone tiles where he had just stood. Had he not dodged in time, it would have impaled him.

A mix of fear, relief, and rage flooded him. Someone within the sect was actually trying to kill him!

He looked up sharply, peering through the shattered wooden gate into the courtyard. There stood a figure in green, his face cold and haughty, radiating an intense aura of malevolence.

"Fortunate, aren't you, to have dodged my strike. But I wonder if your luck will hold for the next," the voice taunted, icy and merciless, as if Qin Xiao's life was as insignificant as an insect's.

"Feng Lia!"

The name escaped Qin Xiao's clenched teeth as he stared down Feng Lia with a dark, penetrating gaze. He remembered Feng Lia as Qin Huan's vanquished foe, who harbored resentment not only against Qin Huan but also against Qin Xiao, bound to her by blood.

With Qin Huan's disappearance, the perfect moment had arrived for him to strike.

"You want my life just because you couldn't beat Qin Huan for the Inner Sect disciple spot?" Qin Xiao inquired, his tone incredulous. Truth be told, Qin Xiao had never once antagonized Feng Lia, yet Feng Lia had turned his wrath upon him, even harboring murderous intentions.

To Feng Lia, it seemed, Qin Xiao's life was as insignificant as an ant's—easily snuffed out on a whim.

"So what if I do? Qin Huan is dead, and you're without a protector. Killing you would be as effortless as slaughtering a chicken!" Feng Lia's laughter was laced with unchecked arrogance. "But if you grovel, perhaps I might spare you."

Qin Xiao didn't buy it for a second. Feng Lia's aura was thick with malevolence; he was clearly not one to show mercy. His offer of clemency was nothing more than a ruse to degrade Qin Xiao further.

Yet, Qin Xiao, at the third layer of the Congealing Water Stage, was vastly outmatched by Feng Lia of the Boundless Ocean Stage. Engaging Feng Lia now would be futile, akin to a futile attempt to shatter stone with an egg, and escape was not an option.

As Qin Xiao's mind raced for a survival strategy, his expression remained stoic. "The sect forbids infighting," he stated coolly.

"You think you can use the sect's rules to intimidate me?" Feng Lia's laughter boomed, as if he'd heard the punchline to a joke. "Do you really believe the sect's rules will shield someone like you, who hasn't even awakened their martial soul?"

"The sect's decree, not yours, will determine my fate. Even as a nominal Outer Sect disciple, you have no authority over my life or death." Facing imminent peril, Qin Xiao refused to lose his dignity before Feng Lia.

Feng Lia's face darkened, his demeanor turning icy as he displayed a look of sheer brutality. "Once I've killed you, you'll realize just how inconsequential you are. The sect won't bother to investigate your death. At best, they'll wrap you in a mat and discard you at the Unmarked Common Graves. Qin Xiao, I'll show you what true suffering is!"

With those words, Feng Lia flung out his hand, and the black iron nail trembled violently before hurtling towards Qin Xiao with ferocious speed and boundless killing intent.

Qin Xiao's gaze was locked tightly on the dark silhouette, its speed too swift for him to discern the details of the iron nail. However, he could approximate its position, and that was all he needed.

"Rip!"

As the black iron nail tore through his clothing, Qin Xiao drew his longsword with no hesitation, channeling his Origin Energy into the blade in a fluid motion.

A gust of wind erupted, and the falling leaves mingled with the black iron nail in a violent dance, sparking a burst of crimson flames.

Feng Lia narrowed his eyes. "So, you've actually awakened your martial soul?"

He had never expected Qin Xiao to awaken his martial soul, and while he was somewhat taken aback, it was a fleeting surprise. Awakening a martial soul at fifteen in the Aberrant Realm indicated limited talent. Even with an awakened martial soul, it was likely to be a worthless one.

"No wonder you could withstand my strike. But let's be clear, I exerted less than a tenth of my power," Feng Lia said with a sneer.

His expression then turned malevolent. "Qin Xiao, you might have been spared, but awakening your martial soul seals your fate. I can't allow a potential threat to flourish. Today, you must die!"

Qin Xiao's expression remained serene, yet inwardly, he scoffed. Whether he had a martial soul or not, Feng Lia was never going to spare him. His only option was to fight, regardless of the hopelessness of the battle.

Feng Lia's cold smile widened upon seeing Qin Xiao's lack of response; the man was as good as dead and still putting on airs.

"Finish him!"

At Feng Lia's command, the black iron nail rebounded from Qin Xiao's sword, tracing a wide arc in the air before shooting towards Qin Xiao's throat with lightning speed.

Feng Lia didn't spare Qin Xiao another glance after his attack, turning to walk away. His black iron nails, crafted by the master smith Huang Yi, could slice through metal like clay. Qin Xiao had only blocked his previous attack because Feng Lia had underestimated him, not expecting the awakening of a martial soul. This time, he had used a full 30% of his strength, enough to crush Qin Xiao, at the Congealing Water Stage, as effortlessly as one would crush an ant.

In Feng Lia's mind, Qin Xiao was as good as dead, and it wasn't worth the time to check whether he was alive or not.

As Feng Lia was stepping through the wooden door, a blinding light burst forth into the heavens, creating ripples of Yuan Qi that danced in the midair. Simultaneously, billowing clouds of dust surged forward like a tempestuous sea, swiftly coalescing into a towering wall of wind.

The howling wind carried the ferocity of a hidden dragon's roar.

Battle-hardened, Feng Lia summoned his Yuan Qi to fend off the gale, but it was too late. His clothes, once pristine, were now wrinkled, and his once sleek black hair was tangled and twisted. His face was a canvas of dust, peppered with the remnants of leaves and petals.

He was the picture of dishevelment.

Whirling around, Feng Lia's gaze fell upon Qin Xiao at the eye of the storm, his pupils constricting, his expression turning stormy.

Qin Xiao was alive!