C7 Chapter 7

Hua Hsing had just entered the inner region of the Black Wind Mountain Range when he heard the sounds of battle. The next moment, he sensed a powerful presence approaching him and immediately readied himself for combat. "Is someone fighting?" he wondered as he caught sight of a severely injured Saber-tooth Tiger. Hua Hsing's eyes lit up. He could tell that the tiger was gravely wounded, and with his current strength, he could kill it with ease. "This is the perfect opportunity to complete my task," he thought.

With a light push off the ground, Hua Hsing dashed toward the Saber-tooth Tiger. At the same time, the long sword in his hand slashed through the air. He unleashed the first move of the Golden Light Sword Arts, and a streak of golden sword light shot straight into the tiger's head. Even at the moment of death, the Saber-tooth Tiger could hardly believe that it had fallen to a human warrior. With one final unwilling roar, it collapsed heavily to the ground and lost all signs of life.

"If the Saber-tooth Tiger had not already been seriously injured, I would never have been able to kill it so easily," Hua Hsing said to himself. He walked to the tiger's side, preparing to cut off its fur and take it back to complete the mission. At that moment, however, five sharp rushing sounds came from the distance as Senior Brother Sunn and four others caught up with him.

When they saw that the Saber-tooth Tiger was already dead, their expressions changed slightly. Senior Brother Sunn was the first to step forward and walk to the tiger's side. "Thank you for helping us kill the Saber-tooth Tiger." After speaking, Senior Brother Sunn signaled to the other four men to carry away the tiger's corpse. Hua Hsing paused for a moment, then immediately understood. It seemed that the five of them intended to seize the Saber-tooth Tiger's body.

"No need to thank me. I was not helping you. I was helping myself," Hua Hsing said. Hearing this, a trace of displeasure appeared between Senior Brother Sunn's brows, and he spoke in a deep voice. "The Saber-tooth Tiger was severely injured by the combined efforts of the five of us. We were pursuing it, but I did not expect that you would happen to come across it and kill it. Are you trying to take our Saber-tooth Tiger?"

The mention of the Flowing Wind Sect made Hua Hsing pause. No wonder they were so brazen; they were disciples of the Flowing Wind Sect. This sect was one of the more powerful ones in Azure Cloud County, much stronger than the Azure Edge Sword Sect. Senior Brother Sunn and the other four were Outer Sect disciples of the Flowing Wind Sect. Hua Hsing glanced at the five of them, then swiftly moved to skin the Saber-tooth Tiger. Seeing the scene unfold, Senior Brother Sunn felt a surge of anger and said coldly, "You've gone too far. Don't blame us for what's about to happen." As soon as Senior Brother Sunn finished speaking, the four disciples behind him immediately launched their techniques, aiming to kill Hua Hsing.

"You're asking for it," Hua Hsing muttered in a low voice as he instantly unleashed the Golden Light Sword Arts. A flash of cold light swept through, followed by a harrowing scream, and in the next moment, a warrior lay lifeless on the ground. "He actually killed Brother Lee," Senior Brother Sunn roared in fury when he saw the scene. He had assumed Hua Hsing was just an ordinary Qi Refining Stage Level Two warrior, but he had misjudged him badly. Hua Hsing had killed Brother Lee.

"Qi Refining Stage Level Two at its peak, huh? You killed Brother Lee, and now you'll pay with your life," Senior Brother Sunn growled.

Senior Brother Sunn let out a low shout, clenched both fists, and threw punch after punch. Hua Hsing continued to use the Golden Light Sword Arts, its power exceptionally fierce. With one slash, another disciple of the Flowing Wind Sect fell. Seeing this, Senior Brother Sunn finally realized that Hua Hsing was no ordinary opponent and shouted, "Let's attack him together." As he fought, Hua Hsing thought to himself, "Senior Brother Sunn is already injured and his strength has declined. I can kill him."

The Golden Light Sword Arts collided with Senior Brother Sunn's fists, producing a sharp burst of sound as he was forced backward. Furious, he snarled, "If I hadn't been injured in my earlier fight with the Saber-tooth Tiger, I would have crushed you with a single punch." The instant Senior Brother Sunn was driven back, Hua Hsing unleashed the Golden Light Sword Arts once more. A flash of cold light swept past, and the remaining two disciples at Qi Refining Stage Level Two were both killed.

"I'm going to kill you!" Senior Brother Sunn roared, his eyes bloodshot as he watched his four junior brothers die at Hua Hsing's hands. Streams of fist force slammed directly against Hua Hsing's Golden Light Sword Arts. As the fight dragged on, Senior Brother Sunn gradually fell into a disadvantage and was completely suppressed by Hua Hsing. "Darn it, I'm too badly injured. I'm not his match," he thought bitterly. In the next instant, he threw a punch with all his strength. After Hua Hsing blocked it, Senior Brother Sunn turned and fled.

"You think you can leave?" Hua Hsing was unwilling to let such a threat escape and immediately gave chase. He was just about to catch up when a dark iron shard suddenly appeared in Senior Brother Sunn's hand and flew toward him. The shard exploded in midair, releasing a powerful force that swept across the ground. Hua Hsing steadied himself against the blast. By the time the force of the explosion dissipated, Senior Brother Sunn had vanished.

Hua Hsing shook his head slightly. "The Flowing Wind Sect truly is formidable. Even an Outer Sect disciple carries such a treasure." After running for what felt like a long time, Senior Brother Sunn finally stopped and felt somewhat safe. He was gasping for breath, his face pale as he vowed, "I won't let this end here."

Back at the scene of the battle, Hua Hsing searched the four disciples from the Flowing Wind Sect. He found some spirit stones and a few herbs, but what excited him most was the space ring on one of them. He immediately examined it and sensed the space inside. "This is a low-grade space ring," he said. The ring was small, with enough room to hold about 10 Saber-tooth Tiger corpses, making it the lowest tier of space rings. Space rings were divided into five levels: low, medium, high, top, and supreme. Even so, Hua Hsing was overjoyed. Space rings were extremely valuable and could not easily be bought, even with spirit stones. In the Azure Edge Sword Sect, very few inner sect disciples possessed one.

"This Outer Sect disciple must have had an unusual background," Hua Hsing mused. He soon discovered 100 low-grade spirit stones inside, and after adding the stones taken from the other three disciples, his total reached 200. "Other than the spirit stones, there are also a few techniques, but none of them are worth mentioning," Hua Hsing said after scanning the contents of the space ring.

Senior Brother Sunn was filled with unwillingness. In the next moment, he threw a punch. Hua Hsing blocked with all his strength, but just then, Senior Brother Sunn turned and fled. "You think you can leave?" Hua Hsing naturally would not allow such a future threat to remain, so he immediately gave chase. He was just about to catch up to Senior Brother Sunn when, all of a sudden, a pitch-black iron shard appeared in Senior Brother Sunn's palm. He violently hurled it at Hua Hsing. The iron shard exploded in midair, and a powerful aura swept across the land. Hua Hsing defended with all his strength. By the time the force of the explosion had dissipated, Senior Brother Sunn had already vanished without a trace. Hua Hsing shook his head slightly. "The Flowing Wind Sect truly deserves its reputation as a major sect. Even an Outer Sect disciple carries such a precious treasure."

After fleeing for a long time, Senior Brother Sunn finally felt safe enough to stop. He was gasping for breath, his face pale. "I definitely won't let you off."

Returning to the site of the battle, Hua Hsing inspected the four disciples of the Flowing Wind Sect. He found some Spirit Stones and several spirit herbs on them. Most surprising of all, he discovered a Space Ring on one of the disciples. Hua Hsing immediately used it and instantly sensed the space within the ring.

For Hua Hsing, Spirit Stones were quite useful, but subpar techniques held no value. "They even have spirit herbs," Hua Hsing suddenly noticed a black spirit herb in the corner of the Space Ring and became instantly intrigued. Upon closer inspection, his face lit up with excitement. "This is actually Black Spirit Herb." He had searched for five days without finding any Black Spirit Herb, but unexpectedly, he discovered it inside the Space Ring. "This is fantastic. Hsu Feng's injuries can be fully healed," Hua Hsing said.

After thoroughly checking the Space Ring, Hua Hsing stored the Saber-tooth Tiger's carcass inside and then left the area. His goal in coming to the Black Wind Mountain Range had already been achieved, but he was not planning to return just yet. There were still 20 days until the annual Outer Sect Disciple Competition. Re Yunzheng had already made it clear that he intended to cripple Hua Hsing during the competition. Although Hua Hsing's strength had improved rapidly, dealing with Re Yunzheng would still be challenging. "Right now, I can handle disciples at the early stage of Qi Refining Stage Level Three, but dealing with Re Yunzheng is tough," Hua Hsing acknowledged. He planned to use the next 20 days to significantly boost his strength.

In the days that followed, Hua Hsing continuously hunted demon beasts to consolidate his power. Unbeknownst to him, his Space Ring had gradually filled with corpses, leaving no room for more. Meanwhile, time slipped away quickly.

Another 10 days passed, and Hua Hsing had advanced to the second level of the Golden Light Sword Arts, while his Body Refining Fist had reached the sixth level, significantly boosting his strength. At this point, Hua Hsing was no longer the "nobody" the Outer Sect disciples had once called him. If they had known of his progress, they would have been speechless with shock.

In a secluded spot within the inner reaches of the Black Wind Mountain Range, two disciples from the Azure Edge Sword Sect, both at Qi Refining Stage Level Three, sat cross-legged. "We need to team up to take down someone at Qi Refining Stage Level Two. Senior Brother Re is being overly cautious."

"Better safe than sorry. Hua Hsing is a bit strange, and Senior Brother Re doesn't want any mistakes."

"Don't worry. Hua Hsing won't be leaving Black Wind Mountain alive."

"This is a low-grade Space Ring." The Space Ring was very small, only about large enough to hold 10 Saber-tooth Tiger corpses, making it a low-grade Space Ring. Space Rings were divided into five grades: low, middle, high, top, and supreme. Low-grade Space Rings were the lowest grade, and their storage space was also the smallest. Even so, Hua Hsing was still extremely excited. Space Rings were very valuable. Even with Spirit Stones, one might not be able to buy one. Within the Azure Edge Sword Sect, even among the Inner Sect disciples, only a very few possessed a Space Ring. "This Outer Sect disciple probably had an unusual background," Hua Hsing said.

Soon after, Hua Hsing found 100 Low Grade Spirit Stones, and together with the Spirit Stones taken from the other three disciples, he had obtained a full 200 Low Grade Spirit Stones. "Aside from the Spirit Stones, there are also a few cultivation methods, but they are all low-level techniques," Hua Hsing said after scanning the contents of the Space Ring. Spirit Stones were quite useful to Hua Hsing, but those low-level techniques were of no use to him.

"They actually have spirit herbs." Hua Hsing suddenly noticed a black spirit herb in the corner of the Space Ring, and his interest was instantly stirred.

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