Dominating Martial King

Chu Xisheng was no longer the rookie who would tremble when killing a chicken upon first arriving in this world.

Having escorted valuables for the Si Tong Escort Agency for three months and survived numerous bloody battles, he had already taken three lives with his saber.

Yet, when he saw a row of over seventy corpses with tragic deaths before him, he couldn't help but feel his stomach churn and retch.

Chu Xisheng frowned but still stepped forward into the street.

Such was this world, where martial cultivators roamed unchecked, and the strong ruled, with countless acting above the law, backed by force.

If he couldn't adapt to this cutthroat world and grasp the power to secure his own well-being, he would inevitably be devoured by it.

Chu Xisheng endured the pungent stench of blood and foulness in the air as he looked around vigilantly.

Before long, Chu Xisheng saw the sign for 'Li's Herbal Medicine Store' and his eyes lit up; he strode over with Lu Luanti in tow.

This was Chu Xisheng's first time in Fire Bone Cave.

He had no acquaintances here, but Ye Zhiqiu, knowing he needed to prepare a secret medicine, had recommended this Li's Herbal Medicine Store to him.

This was an establishment with over fifty years of reputation, quite decent.

Ye Zhiqiu was also a regular customer of the store, and with a mention of Ye Zhiqiu's name, the store wouldn't dare to swindle him.

However, when Chu Xisheng requested to purchase 'Yangyang Grass', the shopkeeper's face took on a troubled expression.

"If sir had arrived four days earlier, I would have had Yangyang Grass for sale, but now—" the shopkeeper let out a wry laugh, "currently, throughout the entire market, only the Long Family's business has them for sale, and the price is outrageously high, at 220 taels of Demon Silver per plant."

Hearing this, Chu Xisheng was taken aback, "How can it be so expensive?"

He had inquired about the price of Yangyang Grass, which was generally around a hundred taels.

This time, Chu Xisheng had received eighty taels of Demon Silver from Households Commander Cao due to the Library incident and had extorted a bit of silver from Lu Luanti; it was just enough for one plant of Yangyang Grass.

Yangyang Grass could only be found in the deepest parts of Fire Bone Cave, and even the most experienced medicine gatherers could only find it with a stroke of luck.

This far outstripped Chu Xisheng's capabilities.

So his plan was to purchase Yangyang Grass with silver, and the other ingredients for the secret medicine would be collected by himself.

"It's the doing of the eldest son of the Long Family," the shopkeeper said with a bitter smile as he pointed outside to the wooden stakes and the corpses, "See those? Over sixty men of the Iron Banner Gang, along with more than ten medicine gatherers, all killed by the Long Family.

The reason the eldest son killed so many people was to monopolize a few types of medicinal herbs in Fire Bone Cave. Now, anyone who dares to sell Yangyang Grass to other stores must brace for being hanged on a stake by the Long Family."

With a soft sigh and a look of angry sadness, the shopkeeper continued, "They're high-handed enough in selling it at such a steep price, but the key is that they're buying the goods at only 70% of the previous prices. I've been in the medicinal herb business in Fire Bone Cave for twenty years and have seen several overbearing figures in Xiushui County's jianghu, but none as tyrannical and ruthless as the Long Family's eldest son, who leaves no room for clemency."

The Long Family of the Inner City?

Chu Xisheng's brow furrowed deeply as he thought, how unlucky to run into the Long Family again.

Feeling vigilant, he glanced at a customer nearby wearing a gray short shirt who appeared to be a medicine gatherer.

Despite the customer's attire suggesting that of a medicine gatherer, Chu Xisheng saw a wolf-shaped tattoo with a 'Long' character on the animal's head beneath the rolled-up sleeves.

The man seemed to be browsing the various medicinal herbs but constantly stole glances at Chu Xisheng.

After a moment of contemplation, Chu Xisheng grabbed Lu Luanti's arm and headed outside.

"You don't have enough money?" Once outside, Lu Luanti crossed her arms and looked at him with a teasing smile, "How much do you lack? I can lend you some, but the interest, well, is five hundred cents a day."

Chu Xisheng thought to himself that paying 220 taels for Yangyang Grass would be foolish.

If he had that much money, he'd rather buy finished secret medicines from the martial arts academy, which would be simpler and hassle-free.

He turned to Lu Luanti and gave her a look, "Be alert, we've been spotted."

Lu Luanti's expression stiffened, and after scanning the surroundings, she indeed noticed several stealthy figures watching them.

Chu Xisheng then turned into an unpopulated alleyway and swiftly donned a rain cloak over his body.

When Chu Xisheng emerged from the alley, he had taken on a new disguise.

Blending into the crowd, he went unnoticed. Fire Bone Cave was filled with all sorts of concealed characters, and wearing a cloak in the blazing heat was not unusual at all.

Lu Luanti didn't have any spare clothes to change into, but she produced a talisman and stuck it on her purple gauze skirt, which then turned into a yellow gauze skirt.

The two made their way toward the market's exit, but when Chu Xisheng saw the situation at the street corner, he couldn't help but frown deeply.

There were more than ten burly men standing guard by the roadside, all armed with swords, scanning the passersby with sharp eyes.

After a moment's thought, Chu Xisheng turned and asked Lu Luanti, "Guard, you are a formidable Seventh Rank expert, dealing with these men should be easy, right?"

Lu Luanti was taken aback for a moment before realizing that Chu Xisheng was referring to her as the 'guard.'

"Piece of cake," she said, shaking her head with a look of reluctance, "But if I take action in broad daylight, I'll expose my identity. It's not worth it."

Chu Xisheng clicked his tongue in frustration, thinking the guard was as good as nonexistent.

With no other choice, he retreated back the way they came in the hope of finding another route, but the other street exit was blocked as well.

Chu Xisheng didn't try any further; instead, he headed deeper into the market.

Along the way, he noticed three more people tailing them, clearly their ruse of changing appearance had failed, and they had attracted attention again.

Chu Xisheng's mood turned icy, and at the same time, anger began to grow within him.

One visit to the Library wasn't enough; they had come to make a second. Was the Long Family of the Inner City determined to eradicate him completely before they would rest?

Just at that moment, Chu Xisheng's expression subtly changed as he noticed something unusual on the illusory screen within his field of vision.

In his status column, following 'Six Yin Soul Revival Spell', the word 'Vengeance' had unexpectedly appeared.

As Chu Xisheng focused on these two characters, a piece of information also emerged in his mind.

A meal's grace must be repaid, a grudge of vengeance must be avenged—you sense the enemy's malice and wish for revenge, invoking the Vengeful Blade Intent. When you strike with your blade, it can carry a Spiritual Shock.

Eye for Eye, tooth for tooth! The power of the Spiritual Shock depends on the number and malice of your enemies. The more enemies and the greater their malice, the stronger your Blade Intent will be.

Chu Xisheng couldn't help but raise his eyebrows, his eyes showing a hint of surprise.

At this time, Lu Luanyi asked with slight confusion, "Where do you intend to go? We're nearly at the mouth of the cave."

At the heart of this trading post lay the entrance to the Fire Bone Cave.

What worried her was that more than twenty people had followed them from behind.

Lu Luanyi's expression turned bitter; at this juncture, she had no choice but to take action.

She certainly couldn't stand by and watch Chu Xisheng be killed by the Long Family's men.

"We're going into the Fire Bone Cave."

Chu Xisheng said emotionlessly, "This is called doing the unexpected. They don't want us to get out, so we go further in. Once inside the Fire Bone Cave, you shouldn't have any concerns, right?"

Lu Luanyi's eyes lit up, pondering that this was indeed a good plan.

The interior of the cave was deep, dark, and difficult to see in. As long as she was careful when she made her move, no one would be able to tell what had happened.

And there was more than one entrance to the Fire Bone Cave.

Humans are related by bloodline to the ancient giant gods, both belonging to the same species. Just as humans have nine orifices, so do the giant gods.

With a total of nine entrances, how many people would the Long Family need to block them all?

"Your brain sure is clever."

While she praised him, the two had already entered the trading post's center, the huge mouth of the cave.

Chu Xisheng paid extra attention to the terrain here, noticing that the cave's mouth indeed resembled a human mouth, with two rows of sharp stone columns above and below it, resembling teeth.

If the Fire Bone Cave were truly transformed from the bones of a giant god, then the size of its body would be monstrously huge, possibly stretching over thirty miles—a size equivalent to a modern fourth-tier city.

—This is an Ancient Giant God, the progenitor of the world's human race.

While the two were walking deeper, Chu Xisheng saw five people in leather armor coming towards them.

He noticed that under their rolled-up sleeves, there were also wolf tattoos.

"Stop!"

The leader, a short and stocky man with bushy eyebrows and fierce eyes, said, "Don't you know that over the past few days the Fire Bone Cave has forbidden entry? Where do you come from? Uncover your cloaks!"

Chu Xisheng not only did not uncover his cloak but instead quickened his pace.

With just two steps, he closed the distance between them to within six feet, and his Hundred-refined Light Steel Saber was drawn from its sheath with a 'clang'.

"You're seeking death!"

The short, stocky man's brows twisted, his face showing a fierce Zheng expression.

Almost simultaneously with Chu Xisheng, he drew his saber, but his eyes immediately revealed shock.

Chu Xisheng's Sword Speed was much faster than he had imagined, at least faster than his!

What surprised the man even more was that as the blade light from the opposite side lashed toward him, his mind felt as if it had been heavily hammered, causing a dizzying sensation.

As a result, the Yan Ling Saber in the short stocky man's hand slowed a beat.

The next instant, he felt a pain at his throat; as a rush of blood gushed out, all his Qi Power left his body.

After Chu Xisheng's Hundred-refined Light Steel Saber passed over that man's throat, it moved straightforwardly and thrust forward, using the advantage of the blade's length to pierce through another person's throat.

The leader, likely of Ninth Grade cultivation or below, was much stronger than the few behind him, whose strength was only comparable to the porters of the Si Tong Escort Agency.

Chu Xisheng wielded his saber without any hesitation—incisive, resolute, and ruthlessly efficient.

The twenty or so Long Family clan soldiers from behind had already charged forward.

At this point, any hesitation would result in him being blocked at the mouth of the cave.

After slaying two men, his speed did not decrease but instead even faster.

Chu Xisheng clearly saw the fear in the eyes of the three men in front of him, yet his expression remained indifferent as he leveraged his footwork to dodge the incoming thrust of the long sword, simultaneously slashing diagonally.

As he passed by another person, that person suddenly let out a muffled groan, and blood sprayed from his chest.

Chu Xisheng's blade had entered through his abdomen and directly reached his heart.

Having dealt with this opponent, Chu Xisheng's pace didn't falter for a second as he continued his unstoppable charge forward.

The two in front, however, displayed fear in their eyes and instinctively stepped back, giving way.

This retreat opened up space for the two, and Chu Xisheng rushed past Lu Luanyi, one after the other, into the depths of the cave.