Su Yu pushed the door open and stepped out.

The villager at the door was overjoyed to see him. His knees buckled, and he was about to kneel. "Lord Su, the refugees are held at the village entrance! Please, hurry over and see!"

"Leave it to me."

Su Yu caught the man, preventing him from kneeling. Qingxi Village was his home too. Now that he was here, he certainly couldn’t let these refugees storm in and wreak havoc.

He tightened the Moyuan Belt at his waist, and with a flicker of his body, he was already several dozen feet away.

...

At the entrance to Qingxi Village, flames lit up the sky, and the sounds of battle echoed through the night.

Countless ragged refugees holding torches, like a pack of hungry wolves that had scented blood, repeatedly charged the village entrance.

"Kill our way in! There’s grain! And women!"

"Kill them all! We’ll eat meat tonight!"

Amidst the frenzied roars, the defensive line—hastily built from cheval de frise, wooden planks, and stones—was on the verge of collapse.

"Hold the line! If you don’t want your wives and children slaughtered, then you damn well hold the line for me!"

Wang Yuechi was covered in blood, his hair and beard standing on end. He was, after all, a battle-hardened veteran. His Broadsword swung wide, and with one strike, he cleaved open a refugee’s head, splattering his face with warm brain matter.

"Kill!"

Inspired by their village chief, the villagers raised their hoes and steel pitchforks, stabbing wildly through the gaps in the cheval de frise.

"SQUELCH! SQUELCH!"

Blades sank into flesh, followed by endless screams.

But this horde of refugees knew no fear. As the ones in front fell, those behind trampled their bodies and kept charging, as if their worthless lives meant nothing.

"BANG!"

Finally, a weak wooden plank was smashed open.

"It’s open! Charge!"

Three or four refugees rushed in like rabid dogs pouncing on a meal.

"Die!"

A refugee raised a sharpened stone and viciously smashed it into a villager’s head. Blood instantly matted his face.

The villagers who were still resisting saw this, their faces contorting in terror. Their morale shattered in an instant, and they stumbled backward.

The gap immediately widened, like a bursting dam.

Countless refugees poured in, instantly overwhelming the dozen or so villagers in the front line. A rain of crude clubs and stones fell upon them, accompanied by a cacophony of screams and the sickening crunch of breaking bones.

Wang Yuechi cut down another man, his eyes filling with deep despair as he watched the defensive line crumble.

’It’s over...’

’Qingxi Village is going to be wiped out tonight...’

’These refugees are fiends, worse than beasts.’ The tragic fate of the neighboring She Bay Village surfaced in his mind: all the men slaughtered, the women ravaged to death...

’That place had become a hell on earth!’

"We can’t hold them..." The old man’s hand, gripping his blade, was trembling.

"Haha, kill them all! We’ll have meat and wine tonight!" 𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂

"Kill them! The women of Qingxi Village are all ours!"

Just as all hope seemed lost.

"WHOOSH! WHOOSH! WHOOSH!"

A sharp, piercing whistle suddenly cut through the air, even overpowering the clamor of battle.

In the darkness, several black streaks shot through the night like shooting stars, arriving in an instant.

"POP! POP! POP!"

The heads of the refugees at the very front exploded like ripe watermelons! Red and white matter splattered everywhere. Their headless bodies stumbled forward a few more steps from momentum before collapsing.

The refugees who had been about to charge deeper were stunned, their advance slowly grinding to a halt.

There, standing proudly in the middle of the path they had to cross, was a tall, slender figure.

Su Yu’s expression was grim. He casually tossed a few Flying Locust Stones in his right hand. The long saber at his waist remained sheathed, but the killing intent radiating from him was terrifying.

"It’s Su Yu! Lord Su is here!"

Wang Yuechi was ecstatic, roaring, "We’re saved! Lord Su is here!"

His voice carried across the battlefield, halting the fleeing villagers in their tracks.

Both the villagers of Qingxi Village and the refugees were an undisciplined mob. For them, morale was everything, often deciding the outcome of the battle!

Seeing the tide was about to turn, two men in the refugee crowd, dressed noticeably better than the others, exchanged a look, their eyes gleaming with malice.

"A trained fighter?"

These two had steady footwork and calluses on the web between their thumb and forefinger—they looked like deserters or vicious bandits mixed in with the refugees!

"Kill him!"

Attacking from the left and right, one wielded a heavy-backed broadsword while the other held a dagger in a reverse grip. Their coordination was perfect as they pounced on Su Yu like a pair of hyenas.

A sharp glint flashed in Su Yu’s eyes. ’Others might not be able to tell, but I can see their strength at a glance. They’ve both opened their First Acupoint. Are people like this also refugees?’

’Still not enough to pose a threat!’

He lightly pinched two Flying Locust Stones between his fingers, the tendons in his wrist pulling taut like a bowstring.

"Life-Claiming Linked Beads!"

With a flick of his wrist.

"WHOOSH!"

The two stones shot out, one behind the other, forming a straight line!

Just as they had flown several dozen feet, the rear stone precisely struck the back of the one in front.

"CLACK!"

With a sharp crack, propelled by the impact, the two stones bizarrely changed direction in mid-air, carving two deadly arcs to the left and right as their speed surged!

The two bandits had only made it halfway when, before they could even see where the hidden weapons were, they felt a sudden chill on their temples.

"THWACK! THWACK!"

Two dull thuds sounded out almost simultaneously.

The stones pierced their skulls. Without so much as a grunt, their forward momentum halted abruptly, and they collapsed to the ground.

Wind-Chasing Linked Rings—the mother and child stones colliding!

This was an advanced technique within the art of Coin Toss. The thrown projectiles were faster and more powerful than ordinary ones, and their angle was fiendishly difficult to predict. It was a move that could only be used upon reaching the Perfection Realm of Coin Toss, and the skill required was immense!

Many people could practice for over a decade and never reach such a realm. After all, sometimes, when a Cultivation Technique reached a certain level, it became nearly impossible to advance even an inch. But Su Yu was different. He could just ’grind’ his way up, without even facing a bottleneck.

After killing the two, Su Yu was quite satisfied. ’Using Coin Toss to kill people is so much easier,’ he thought. ’It’s a great addition to my combat repertoire.’

He grabbed another handful of Flying Locust Stones from his robes and flicked his right hand.

"Golden Rain!"

A large handful of Flying Locust Stones scattered like a goddess strewing flowers, each one imbued with Spiral Force.

"THWIP THWIP THWIP THWIP!"

The seven or eight refugees who had charged in all collapsed to the ground. Some were struck between the eyes, others had their throats crushed. None were left alive.

"This... This is a Demon Technique!"

"He’s a Martial Artist! Run!"

The once-frenzied refugees were scared out of their wits by this cold-blooded slaughter. The figure standing firm in the middle of the road was now more terrifying than any demon.

"Kill! Follow Lord Su! Slaughter these beasts!"

Seeing his chance, Wang Yuechi immediately roared. His side’s morale soared, and they counter-attacked the refugees.

Just as the refugees were about to be routed.

Suddenly, from the darkness outside the village, a black shadow shot out like a goshawk diving for a rabbit!

He was so fast he was nearly impossible to see in the dark!

Before Wang Yuechi could even react, he saw the black shadow plunge into the crowd.

"SHING!"

A chilling flash of cold light glinted in the crowd.

"SQUELCH!"

Three of the most aggressive villagers didn’t even see their attacker before their heads were sent flying, hot blood spurting three feet high from their necks!

A masked figure landed atop the cheval de frise, holding a dripping short blade. The Qi and Blood in his body surged as he swept his cold gaze across the battlefield.

’A Martial Artist!’

’A Martial Artist with powerful Qi and Blood!’

Wang Yuechi was horrified. ’There’s a Martial Artist among the refugees!’

’It’s over. I thought Qingxi Village was saved, but now that hope is about to be extinguished...’

’Although Su Yu is also a Martial Artist, he clearly just broke through. He’s probably no match for this man. Besides, now that another Martial Artist has appeared, it would be understandable if he chose to retreat.’

Wang Yuechi looked toward Su Yu in the middle of the road. He saw that Su Yu’s gaze was still calm, calmly facing off against the Curved Blade Martial Artist standing on the cheval de frise.

’Interesting. So even Martial Artists have appeared among these refugees!’

A hint of anticipation flickered in Su Yu’s heart. His strength had improved significantly since killing Cao Bin.

His progress with the Spiritual Ape Demon-Slaying Saber was more than halfway complete, and his Coin Toss had reached Perfection.

’From the way that Curved Blade Martial Artist just struck, I can’t be sure if he’s opened his First Acupoint. I’ll need to observe him more!’

’If he hasn’t opened his First Acupoint, then he’s mine to kill!’