C7 Black Spirit Grass

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, prompting him to ready himself for combat.

"Is someone fighting?" he wondered, spotting a severely injured saber-tooth tiger.

Hua Hsing's eyes lit up. He could tell that the tiger was gravely wounded, and with his skills, he could easily take it down.

"This is the perfect opportunity to complete my task," he thought.

With a quick push off his toes, Hua Hsing dashed toward the saber-tooth tiger, his sword slicing through the air.

He executed the first move of the Golden Light Sword Arts. A golden flash pierced the tiger's skull.

Even in death, the saber-tooth tiger couldn't believe it had fallen to a human warrior. With a final, defiant roar, it collapsed, lifeless.

"If it weren't already injured, I wouldn't have been able to kill it so easily," Hua Hsing admitted to himself.

He approached the tiger, intending to skin it and complete his mission.

Just then, five figures appeared in the distance, cutting through the air. Senior Brother Sunn and four others had caught up with him.

Their expressions shifted slightly when they saw the dead tiger. Senior Brother Sunn was the first to step forward.

"Thanks for helping us take down the saber-tooth tiger."

With that, Senior Brother Sunn gestured to the other four to carry away the tiger's carcass. Hua Hsing paused for a moment, then understood their intentions. It seemed these five were planning to claim the saber-tooth tiger's body for themselves.

"No need to thank me. I wasn't helping you; I was helping myself," Hua Hsing replied.

Upon hearing this, Senior Brother Sunn's expression darkened with displeasure. "The saber-tooth tiger was severely injured by the five of us working together. We were in pursuit when you happened to come across it and kill it. Are you planning to take what belongs to us?"

"You dare to snatch something from the Flowing Wind Sect? You're asking for trouble," one disciple scoffed.

"A mere Level Two Qi Refining Stage warrior daring to steal from the Flowing Wind Sect? You're courting death."

"Senior Brother Sunn, if he dares to make a move, we'll just kill him. Out here in the wilderness, no one would know."

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 eliminate Hua Hsing.

"You’re asking for it," Hua Hsing muttered, his voice low. In an instant, he unleashed the Golden Light Sword Arts.

A flash of cold light swept through, followed by a harrowing scream, and the next moment, a warrior lay lifeless on the ground.

"He actually killed Brother Lee," Senior Brother Sunn roared in fury upon witnessing the scene.

He had assumed Hua Hsing was just an ordinary Level Two Qi Refining Stage warrior, but he had misjudged. Hua Hsing had taken Brother Lee's life.

"Level Two Qi Refining Stage at its peak, huh? You killed Brother Lee, and now you’ll pay with your life," Senior Brother Sunn growled, clenching his fists and launching a series of punches.

Hua Hsing continued to wield the Golden Light Sword Arts with immense power. With each strike, another Flowing Wind Sect disciple fell.

"Let’s take him down together," Senior Brother Sunn shouted, finally realizing Hua Hsing’s extraordinary abilities.

"Senior Brother Sunn is already injured and weaker. I can take him down," Hua Hsing thought to himself while continuing his assault.

The clash of the Golden Light Sword Arts against Senior Brother Sunn's fists echoed, forcing Senior Brother Sunn to retreat.

"Darn it, if I hadn't been injured fighting that saber-tooth tiger earlier, I could have taken you down with one punch," Senior Brother Sunn fumed with anger.

As Senior Brother Sunn was forced back, Hua Hsing unleashed the Golden Light Sword Arts once more. A flash of cold light swept through, and the remaining two disciples at Qi Refining Stage Level Two were slain.

"I'm going to kill you!" Senior Brother Sunn roared, his eyes bloodshot, as he saw his four junior brothers fall to Hua Hsing.

Blasts of energy from his fists clashed directly with Hua Hsing's Golden Light Sword Arts. Over time, Senior Brother Sunn found himself at a disadvantage, completely overpowered by Hua Hsing.

"Darn it, I'm too injured to be a match for him," Senior Brother Sunn thought bitterly.

In the next moment, he threw a punch with all his might, which Hua Hsing blocked. Just then, Senior Brother Sunn turned to flee.

"You think you can just leave?" Hua Hsing wasn't about to let such a threat escape and gave chase.

He was about to catch up to Senior Brother Sunn when suddenly, a dark iron shard appeared in Sunn's hand. He hurled it at Hua Hsing.

The shard exploded in mid-air, unleashing a powerful force that swept across the land. Hua Hsing braced himself against the blast.

When the explosion's force finally dissipated, Senior Brother Sunn was nowhere to be found.

Hua Hsing shook his head slightly. "The Flowing Wind Sect truly is a formidable sect. Even an outer sect disciple carries such a treasure."

After running for what felt like ages, Senior Brother Sunn finally stopped, feeling safe at last. He was out of breath, his face pale. "I won't let you get away with this," he vowed.

Back at the scene of the recent battle, Hua Hsing checked the four disciples from the Flowing Wind Sect. He found some spirit stones and a few herbs on them. But what thrilled Hua Hsing the most was discovering a space ring on one of the disciples.

He immediately used it and sensed the space within. "This is a low-grade space ring," he noted. The ring was small, about the size of ten saber-tooth tiger carcasses, making it the lowest tier of space rings. Space rings are categorized into five levels: low, medium, high, top, and supreme. Despite its low grade, Hua Hsing was overjoyed. Space rings are incredibly valuable and not easily purchased, even with spirit stones. In the Azure Edge Sword Sect, very few inner sect disciples possessed one.

"This outer sect disciple must have had quite the background," Hua Hsing mused.

He then discovered a hundred low-grade spirit stones, and with the stones from the other three disciples, he amassed a total of two hundred. "Besides the spirit stones, there are a few techniques, but none of them are noteworthy," Hua Hsing remarked after scanning the space 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 been searching 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 remarked.

After thoroughly checking the space ring, Hua Hsing stored the saber-tooth tiger's carcass inside and then left the area. His goal for coming to the Black Wind Mountain Range was achieved, but he wasn't planning to return just yet.

There were still twenty days until the annual Outer Sect Disciple Competition. Re Yunzheng had already made it clear 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 twenty days to significantly boost his strength.

In the days that followed, Hua Hsing continuously hunted demon beasts to solidify his power.

Unbeknownst to him, Hua Hsing's space ring had gradually filled with bodies, leaving no room for more. Meanwhile, time slipped away quickly.

Another ten days passed, and Hua Hsing had advanced to the second level of the Golden Light Sword Arts, while his Body Refining Fist 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 knew of his progress, they'd be speechless with shock.

In a secluded spot within the inner reaches of Black Wind Mountain Range, two disciples from the Azure Edge Sword Sect, both at the third level of the Qi Refining Stage, sat cross-legged.

"We need to team up to take down someone at the second level of the Qi Refining Stage. 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."

The two disciples, both at the third level of the Qi Refining Stage, chatted as they continued their search for Hua Hsing. The vastness of Black Wind Mountain made finding him quite challenging.

"The Outer Sect competition is in ten days. We need to find Hua Hsing soon."

Just as the taller disciple was about to speak, he sensed something amiss. He stood up, closed his eyes, and focused intently.

"Ma Shan, what's wrong?"

The portly disciple asked, "I smell blood."

"I smell it too," Ma Shan replied.

"Blood?"

At the mention of blood, the portly disciple exchanged a glance with Ma Shan, their eyes filled with a sinister smile.

"We can't let him get away."

Ma Shan took the lead, swiftly heading toward the source of the scent.

Meanwhile, in a clearing, Hua Hsing was battling a Gale Leopard. The leopard's strength was comparable to a mid-level fighter in the Qi Refining Stage, making it a formidable opponent. However, Hua Hsing's power had significantly increased during his time in the Black Wind Mountain Range.

"Though the Gale Leopard is fast, its defense is weak."

With the execution of the second strike of the Golden Light Sword Arts, the Gale Leopard fell to the ground, unwilling to concede.