Gao Xuan's sword trembled in his hand, its blade cold and bright. A murderous glint flashed in his eyes as he prepared to strike.
"Senior Gao Xuan, he's merely at the First Layer of the Meridian Opening Realm. There's no need for you to get involved."
The petite girl said with a beaming smile.
"Mm."
Gao Xuan didn't object.
The two of them could see True Qi leaking from Luo Tian's body—a clear sign that he had just broken through to the Meridian Opening Realm.
"Heh, let's see what a student from Cyan Peak Academy is made of."
The petite girl's smile was filled with disdain.
Cyan Peak Academy and Hongguang Academy were Martial Arts Academies from neighboring cities and were rivals.
However, the students of Hongguang Academy had always been a cut above those from Cyan Peak Academy.
"You're no match for me."
Luo Tian stated bluntly, his expression calm.
Even before he broke through to the Meridian Opening Realm, he had been able to defeat Liu Yuanba, who was at the First Layer of Meridian Opening.
Now that he had advanced, his combat strength was several times greater!
"How arrogant!"
The petite girl's pretty face flushed with anger.
SWOOSH!
The girl gracefully leaped into the air like a blooming flower and sent a kick flying.
'Peak of the First Layer.'
Luo Tian noted that the girl's cultivation was half a Small Realm higher than his.
Unhurried, he reached out with one hand to grab the girl's ankle.
Seeing this, the girl's face filled with pity and scorn, while Gao Xuan, who was standing to the side, also shook his head.
The girl's kick looked gentle, but it contained a sinister, pliant True Qi. It could crush a brick as if it were tofu.
However, when the girl's foot connected with Luo Tian's hand...
"Ah!"
The petite girl shrieked, her face pale, and she fell from mid-air.
It was as if she had kicked a Barbaric Beast. Luo Tian's hand, like a steel claw, had struck a weak point.
"Sister Ying!"
Gao Xuan, who had been watching from the side, had his expression change drastically.
His companion, at the Peak of the First Layer of the Meridian Opening Realm, had been defeated by Luo Tian in a single move.
'Didn't this kid just break through to the Meridian Opening Realm?'
THUD!
Showing no chivalry, Luo Tian threw the girl several meters, and she slammed against the mountain wall.
"You're courting death!"
Enraged, Gao Xuan rushed toward Luo Tian. His sword traced a bright, cold arc through the air as he thrust it forward.
"Perfect timing! The Second Layer of the Meridian Opening Realm is just what I need for practice."
Luo Tian smiled faintly.
He possessed a Divine Vein. His physical strength, and even the True Qi he generated, far exceeded others of the same realm.
'Practice?'
Gao Xuan's anger flared. 'How shameless for someone merely at the First Layer of Meridian Opening.'
SHING!
A cold arc of Sword Light shot forward as fast as the wind, erupting with the full, powerful True Qi of the Second Layer of Meridian Opening.
This strike made Luo Tian feel a hint of pressure.
"Break!"
Luo Tian thrust out a palm, a faint blue, icy True Qi rippling from its center.
CLANG!
Gao Xuan's sword was blocked. A tremendous force surged back at him, making his arm go numb.
'How can this be!'
Gao Xuan's heart trembled, his face full of disbelief.
'Could it be... Innate Divine Strength?'
Not only that, Gao Xuan also discovered that the True Qi erupting from Luo Tian's palm was turbulent and overwhelming.
'How could this be someone who just broke through to the Meridian Opening Realm?'
Gale Sword Technique!
Gao Xuan went all out, executing his technique. A continuous series of Residual Wind Sword Arcs fanned out, slashing relentlessly toward Luo Tian.
'Not bad. As expected of someone at the Second Layer of Meridian Opening, his swordsmanship is decent.'
Luo Tian laughed loudly, utterly unafraid.
DING! DING! DING!
His hands danced, weaving through the afterimages of the Sword Light as he parried Gao Xuan's attacks.
"This... how is this possible!"
The petite girl on the other side looked horrified.
'A kid who just broke through to the Meridian Opening Realm is actually fighting evenly with Gao Xuan from the Second Layer of Meridian Opening.'
After a dozen moves, Luo Tian's control over his True Qi grew more refined, and his attacks became even more ferocious.
"No... this is absolutely impossible!"
Gao Xuan's face turned pale. Luo Tian was forcing him back step by step, and the webbing between his thumb and index finger had even split open from the force.
'Senior Gao Xuan is about to lose!'
The petite girl's expression changed drastically.
'This can't be happening!'
A sinister look flashed in her eyes.
In the next moment, she held her breath and began to tiptoe toward Luo Tian's back.
At the same time, the girl took out a dagger.
Ten meters... five meters... three meters...
She crept closer, bit by bit.
Finally, she was only one or two meters away from Luo Tian.
"Go die!"
A cold glint in her eyes, the girl thrust the dagger toward Luo Tian's back.
At this moment, her expression was vicious, a triumphant smile spreading across her face.
'Good! Excellent!'
Gao Xuan, fighting with Luo Tian, cheered in his heart.
Just as the two were smiling smugly...
SMACK!
As if he had eyes in the back of his head, Luo Tian slapped the girl across the face with a backhand.
"Ah! How did you know..."
The petite girl shrieked. Her delicate face was swollen and bruised, and she'd even lost a few teeth.
'Even that failed!'
Gao Xuan paled in shock, staring at Luo Tian as if he were some kind of monster.
Hmph!
Luo Tian, however, just sneered mockingly.
He cultivated the Celestial Destiny Creation Technique, which had granted him Spiritual Sense ahead of schedule, allowing him to perceive everything within a four-to-five-meter radius.
After advancing to the Meridian Opening Realm, his Spiritual Sense could cover a radius of ten meters.
"Now it's your turn!"
Luo Tian shouted, suddenly activating the Divine Vein within him.
WHOOSH!
He struck with his palm, and a blast of frigid air erupted, sending Gao Xuan, sword and all, flying several meters.
"You... you actually hid your strength."
Blood trickled from the corner of Gao Xuan's mouth, and a layer of frost spread over his entire sword arm.
'What is this power? It's terrifying!'
It turned out that in the fight before, Luo Tian hadn't even used his Divine Vein. His True Qi and physical strength alone had been enough to suppress someone at the Second Layer of the Meridian Opening Realm.
"Hmm, this sword isn't bad."
Luo Tian walked up to Gao Xuan and picked up his sword.
The sword was exquisitely crafted from a material that was both hard and resilient. It could at least withstand the True Qi of the Third Layer of the Meridian Opening Realm.
"Sir, we were wrong. Please take this sword as our apology."
Gao Xuan said respectfully.
Inwardly, his heart was bleeding. This sword was of superior quality, worth two to three thousand Gold.
But, Luo Tian was not satisfied.
He was very short on money.
He needed to repay his debt to the Du Family, and that Upper Grade Meridian Opening Pill was worth twenty thousand taels of Gold.
"You two, strip."
Luo Tian said indifferently.
"Ah."
The faces of Gao Xuan and the girl changed. The petite girl, in particular, turned deathly pale.
SHING!
The point of the sword in Luo Tian's hand was aimed at Gao Xuan's neck.
"Strip. And take out everything of value."
Luo Tian couldn't be bothered to search them himself.
"I'll do it, I'll do it..."
Gao Xuan breathed a small sigh of relief. He stripped off all his clothes, leaving him in nothing but his undergarments.
"Young Master! Please, don't! I'm... I'm still a virgin."
The petite girl's face was flushed red with shame, and a single tear streamed down her cheek.
She was a young woman, after all.
Luo Tian's face showed his impatience. 'With looks like hers, she's a world away from Xueyao.'
"Young Master, if you need money, there's a Primordial Spirit Fruit growing nearby that's about to ripen..."
In her panic, the girl was grasping at straws.
'A Primordial Spirit Fruit?'
Luo Tian's eyes lit up. This fruit was incredibly potent. It could significantly advance a cultivator's progress in the Meridian Opening Realm. If one's foundation was solid enough, they could even break through an entire layer.
"Shut up!"
Gao Xuan, however, flew into a rage and shouted at her to stop.
He had brought the girl here tonight to pick the Primordial Spirit Fruit, planning to use it as bait to have his way with her.
He never expected that his companion would give up the Primordial Spirit Fruit just to protect her "precious" chastity.
SMACK!
Luo Tian sent Gao Xuan flying with a slap, making him spit up blood and piling injury upon injury.
"Very good. Tell me the location of the Primordial Spirit Fruit. If what you say is true, you can keep your clothes on."
Luo Tian looked at the petite girl with an approving gaze.