"AAAAAAAAAAAH!"

They pierced into a disciple's wrists.

Van yanked his harpoons back.

They sailed through air, legs kicking wildly and faces bloodless with fear.

Van estimated that the strength of the harpoons was probably only 10% of what they could perform if he had a proper skill to go with them. His skill with the harpoons was limited to this grabbing and pulling motion. The damage of the harpoons was still better than they should be due to Van's high level of body cultivation.

The harpooned disciple shot through the air. Van pulled back a fist, ready to deal a powerful blow.

At that moment, one of the other 3rd level Qi Distillation disciples intervened. He dashed forwards and raised a hand.

"Wind Palm!"

A gust of air blew against the harpooned disciple. He was trying to dislodge the two silver weapons. However, the pulling motion caused the injured disciple to scream louder. The reverse barb on the harpoon tip ripped his flesh as they exited.

Blood spurted.

The other 3rd level Qi Distillation disciples paled from seeing the blood splatter everywhere.

The harpoons were dislodged. However, the injured disciple was still flying towards Van!

Van retracted the harpoons into his sleeve. He stood still.

The other disciples glanced at each other.

[Who is this kid…?]

They communicated with subtle sign language. Quickly, they decided to attack Van all at once while he still stood still.

Van saw them gather up into a formation and smiled.

[How convenient that they bunch up like that.]

He sent the harpoons back up his sleeves, "Tide Swallows the Earth!"

A freezing cold qi emanated from his raised palm. The air chilled. The sun disappeared.

A ma.s.sive wave crashed down.

Dark, cold qi attacked the four 3rd level disciples.

[Not good!]

The strength of this kid's Dark Seas Palm seemed to have already reached the middle level! This strength seemed way to strong for a 3rd level Qi Distillation cultivator – he must be in the 4th level!

As the two 4th level disciples watched this scene, their expressions became ugly.

The 3rd level gang members did not get away in time. First, the cold power in Dark Seas Palm slowed their reaction speed and then weakened their limbs with the cold. Then the sheer power of the wave hit them.

One of them screamed.

The four disciples were knocked to the ground. None got up again.

The remaining 4th level Qi Distillation disciples looked at each other. Their thoughts were the same:

[Who the f.u.c.k is this kid?]

Van ran forward.

A chill ran down the backs of the two remaining members of the Blood Crow Gang. They stiffened their spines and put on an expression full of bravado.

"Kid! I'm warning you now, don't be too overconfident. There is one of you and two of us! You won't get hurt as long as you hand over that bamboo box!"

Van sneered. So, he should just roll over and let them do whatever they want?

"Stop talking s.h.i.+t," he said, "Only the winner can decide the rules!"

At that moment, the two disciples threw two talismans at him.

BANG! BANG!

Just as the talismans reached Van, his body seemed to flicker and disappear.

One of the disciples looked hesitant.

"Isn't this…Scattering Smoke Steps…?"

The other 4th level disciple sucked in a cold breath. A sheen of sweat formed at the back of his neck.

A strong blow to his back flung him forward. He crashed into the stone pavement and coughed. Blood splattered onto the ground. His thoughts went wild.

[It really is Scattering Smoke Steps! This is very bad; the last person who tried to train this skill was the late Sect Master's genius little brother – and he failed!]

[In other words, this kid is a genius that surpa.s.ses the late Sect Master's younger brother!]

Van laughed. He pulled out the big axe from its shoulder harness.

The other disciple paled when he saw the deadly black axe. They had not seen it before because it had been hidden behind the kid's back.

In the boy's hands, the obsidian axe seemed to give off a ferocious aura.

Van held the two-handed axe before him. From the thrumming energy he could feel, he sensed that the axe was keen to sink its teeth into some flesh.

[Not yet,] Van thought to it, [We cannot kill in sect grounds.]

Van hefted the axe and dashed forwards – right at the two 4th level Qi Distillation disciples.

"Aqualight s.h.i.+eld!" One shouted before leaping backwards.

A large blue s.h.i.+eld appeared in mid-air.

The other disciple grinned. Aqualight s.h.i.+eld was a s.h.i.+elding skill with an affinity for water. It was known for its ability to absorb shock and repel damage. Most importantly, this skill was very compatible with his own skill.

"Boulder Cannon!"

Five boulders about a metre wide and tall appeared mid-air and hurtled towards Van's position.

The two gang members shared a smug look.

The advantage of this coordinated attack was that they could hide themselves behind the s.h.i.+eld and still attack – the projectiles had a heat-sensing ability. Best of all, the s.h.i.+eld was perfect for using Boulder Cannon with as Van would not be able to see from where the attacks were coming from.

BANG!

BANG!

BOOM!

The 4th level disciples smiled. That last one sounded like it had crashed into their target!

SUAK!

Their expressions changed. That didn't sound right…they poked their heads out.

Van smiled at them mockingly. By his feet lay two boulders cleaved cleanly in two with the axe. Behind him lay the fragments of the one he had stomped with his feet. The copper glow was just fading from his skin.

"Mid-level of Copper Knight Wall?"

They were flabbergasted.

They themselves were 4th level Qi Distillation cultivators, and yet all their skills had only been trained to the low-level. This kid was on the same cultivation level as them and yet he had been able to train Scattering Smoke Steps AND had trained a skill to the mid-level!

They were on the same cultivation level, but their movement skill was trash compared to Scattering Smoke Steps. They would never be able to land a blow on him!

The two disciples glanced each other and unanimously decided to escape.

"Not so fast!"

Two silver harpoons shot through the air and caught onto the fleeing figures' clothes. Van's channelled his bodily cultivation and forced them back into his direction.

Thump!

The two 4th level Qi Distillation cultivators fell to his feet.

Van looked down at them with a mocking look in his eyes.

"Tell your boss that he should directly face me if he wants something next time, instead of hiding somewhere like a coward!"

The two disciples felt chilled to the bones. If their boss heard this…! He was surely going to lose his mind and beat them up tragically later.

"Yes, yes!" They nodded their heads up and down furiously. They scrabbled to their feet, dragged their unconscious colleagues and ran away.

______

The pair of disciples faced their master with guilty expressions. A precious jade vase slammed into the wall and shattered into jagged pieces. They trembled where they knelt.

"USELESS f.u.c.kWITS!"

Their boss, a young man with curly hair and wild eyes cursed. They should all just die! Anyone. Everyone. All of them!

His rage simmered in him, but he had no place to vent. The old codgers in the Cedar Sect would banish him if he killed anyone!

Furious, he stood up and opened the door.

The strange web-like mark on his arm was growing bigger and bigger. He needed the purifying effect of the Blue Mist Ivy flower NOW!

His eyes went a strange red colour. He felt his head grow woozy.

His subordinates panicked.

"Boss. It's acting up so soon?! Quickly, you must go see your cousin!"

Their boss growled. It was an inhuman sound.

His subordinates looked at each other and restrained him. They took him quickly to another place in the sect. There was no time to be waiting around for another disciple to redeem Blue Mist Ivy flowers!

_______

After scaring off the Blood Crow Gang, Van returned to his room in the Outer Disciple dormitory. A few disciples that had seen him around were surprised by his cultivation level.

"Hm? When did Van reach the 4th level of Qi Distillation?"

They knew he had disappeared for a few days to do a mission, but even when he returned, he was still in the 3rd level! Somehow in the five days since he had been back, he had already advanced by another level!

"Shh! I heard he received nearly three hundred sect contributions at Threadspinner Town. My friend went there too and said he saw him give the mission register a part of the Queen Brown King Ant's sh.e.l.l!"

The gossips were shocked.

"I heard the Queen of Brown King Ants had exoskeletons that were impossible to penetrate and resistant to spiritual power attacks?"

"That's right. Even though its level is not high, it is very tricky to deal with. If not for its extremely valuable sh.e.l.l, no one would ever bother with it!"

Another gossip nodded sagely.

"The exoskeleton is worth over ten thousand silver taels! If made into an armour, it's value would increase tremendously."

"The kid must have used the money to purchase cultivation-increasing pills. The beast core would have helped as well. That's why he rose another level so quickly!"

"But I heard beast cores take an incredibly long time to digest. Especially for a big core like the one in the Queen Brown King ant… He must have an incredible absorption rate…"

Another gossip shook their head and hushed their voices even more.

"Plus, if he was at the 3rd level of Qi Distillation at the time, the efficiency of absorption would have only been around 60%..."

They looked at each other quietly.

"So, not only does he have a very fast absorption rate, he also has an incredible efficiency?"

They felt both envious. Unanimously they decided to stop their gossip in case Van heard them. A few of them even secretly decided to become friendly with him if they had the chance.

Van didn't hear them gossiping, but he would not have expected that he had gained a level of fame in the outer sect already. His deeds at Threadspinner Town had spread like wildfire.

Van finally reached his room. As he walked down the hallway, he saw a large poster stuck on the wall.

"Hm? A senior tutor is opening a public forum…?"