"He’s dead! The Curved Blade Martial Artist is dead!"

Wang Yuechi wiped the blood from his face and roared hoarsely, "Lord Su Yu has won! Kill them! Kill every last one of these bastards!"

That furious roar was the straw that broke the camel’s back.

The refugees gazed at the figure standing there, saber in hand, like a veritable God of Slaughter. The madness in their eyes was instantly replaced by terror.

"Run... Run! Everyone, run!"

It was unclear who shouted it first, but the once-ferocious tide of refugees instantly broke, scattering and wailing as they fled into the darkness.

CLANG!

Su Yu flicked the blood from his blade, sheathing Mo Yuan.

He let out a long, turbid breath, his tense muscles slowly relaxing.

The battle had been over in a flash. It seemed like a clean victory, but in reality, it had been fraught with peril. The Curved Blade Martial Artist’s explosive power was immense. If Su Yu hadn’t held back, first wounding him with a hidden weapon and then predicting his killing blow, he would likely be the one lying on the ground right now.

’An expert of this caliber is no ordinary refugee bandit! This whole affair is definitely not that simple!’

Su Yu walked over to the headless corpse and pulled the mask from the man’s face. It was an unfamiliar, gaunt face, the eyes still holding a trace of shock from before death.

He expertly began to loot the body.

He soon found two hundred taels in silver notes, a sealed letter, and a thin booklet hidden close to the body.

By the light of a torch, Su Yu opened the booklet. Five powerful, bold words met his eyes.

Seven Fiends Thunder Collapse Step!

’Upper-tier Martial Arts?’

A sharp glint flashed in Su Yu’s eyes. 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

He gave the summary a quick glance: "One step to build momentum, seven steps to collapse the wind and thunder."

This was a footwork technique specializing in straight-line bursts of explosive, incomparably ferocious power for killing!

’Perfect! My Swaying Forest Step is agile, but it lacks explosive power. With this footwork, combined with my Heavy Saber, it’ll be like adding wings to a tiger!’

He recalled the man’s final, sure-kill move from the fight. It seemed he had used this very footwork, his speed as fast as a thunderclap, unleashing a terrifying level of combat power!

But now, this gift that had fallen right into his lap was his!

Besides grinding White Ape Fist and Spiritual Ape Demon-Slaying Saber every day, he still had plenty of time left over. It was the perfect opportunity to grind this footwork technique!

After stowing the Secret Manual away, Su Yu opened the sealed letter.

The more he read, the darker his expression became.

The letter was unsigned, but the tone was condescending and commanding. It instructed the recipient to guide the refugees, create panic outside the city, and "cleanse" the villages around Qingxi Town.

’Creating chaos, artificially driving a tide of refugees...’

A chill rose in Su Yu’s heart.

No wonder these refugees had arrived so quickly and were so organized, even daring to slaughter villagers and engage in cannibalism. It turned out an invisible hand was pulling the strings from behind the scenes!

’Judging by the author’s tone, he’s likely a member of some faction within Black Stone City! But why would they do something like this?’

’Chaos! Chaos! Chaos!’

That one word was all Su Yu could feel about the situation outside the city!

’Forget it. I won’t think about it. I’m not powerful enough to get involved in a chess game of this level. I’ll just keep it to myself.’

As for the letter, Su Yu kept it, tucking it into his robes.

"Younger Brother Su! We owe you everything for tonight!" Wang Yuechi, leading a few blood-soaked villagers, surrounded him, his eyes filled with genuine emotion. "If it weren’t for you, Qingxi Village would’ve been wiped out tonight!"

"Village Chief, you’re too kind. I’m also a resident of Qingxi Village. Since I happened to be here, it was only right for me to act," Su Yu replied calmly.

Hearing this, the leading villagers immediately burst into praise.

"Lord Su hasn’t forgotten his roots! He’s a great benefactor to Qingxi Village!"

"That’s right, that’s right! No one in Qingxi Village will ever forget Lord Su’s kindness!"

"My humble daughter is eighteen years of age. She is willing to serve you as a handmaiden to repay your kindness, Lord Su!"

"Lord Su, my boy is strong! He can serve you as a stablehand!"

The villagers crowded around Su Yu, their eyes filled with a mixture of fanaticism and desire to curry favor.

In these chaotic times, latching onto a powerful Martial Artist was a guarantee of survival for one’s entire family.

Seeing them trying to build connections, Wang Yuechi quickly stopped them. "Alright, that’s enough. So many people died tonight. Everyone, go and help out!"

The villagers left sheepishly, but their gazes on Su Yu remained fervent.

After they left, Su Yu lowered his voice. "Uncle Wang, that man wasn’t an ordinary refugee bandit. I’m afraid there’s a major conspiracy behind these refugees. Keep what happened tonight to yourself. Don’t spread it around, or it could bring disaster upon you."

Wang Yuechi’s heart skipped a beat. Looking at Su Yu’s solemn gaze, he nodded heavily. "Don’t worry, my young friend. I understand. Tonight, we just killed a group of ordinary refugees and defended our village. Nothing more."

...

The next morning, a bitter wind blew.

Su Yu briefly mentioned the dangers of the previous night, warning the members of the Su Family to be careful, before setting off on the road back to the city.

When he reached the gates of Black Stone City, the atmosphere was grim.

The number of soldiers at the gate had more than doubled, and chevaux de frise were spread out for dozens of yards. A crowd of tattered refugees was blocked outside the city, their cries and pleas forming a constant din.

"Sir Soldier, please, have mercy and let us in! My child is starving to death!"

"Get lost! No one gets in without a permit! Anyone who approaches will be killed without mercy!"

A soldier in black armor, his face cold, flicked his spear and scared a refugee who was trying to rush the gate into shrinking back.

Su Yu’s expression was calm as he took out his martial arts academy’s Waist Token.

"This way, my lord!"

Upon seeing the Waist Token, the soldier, who had been fierce and menacing just moments before, immediately put on a respectful smile and personally bent down to move a cheval de frise for Su Yu.

Su Yu didn’t go in immediately, asking a question instead.

"Why the sudden lockdown at the city gates?"

"You may not know, my lord, but last night refugees outside the city attacked several villages and slaughtered countless people. A few even snuck into the city and caused a commotion. This morning, the lords from the Inner City gave the order for a full lockdown! There will also be a curfew for the time being. Anyone found housing people illegally will be treated as a refugee and killed on sight!"

Su Yu nodded and entered the city.

As soon as he stepped inside, the noisy cries of street vendors filled the air from both sides of the street. "Shaobing! Hot, fragrant shaobing!"

He glanced back one more time. The eyes of the tattered refugees were filled with despair and envy as they craned their necks, trying to peer inside the city gates.

...

「Jin Yu Street, the Qian Family Estate.」

Instead of heading straight back to the martial arts academy, Su Yu went to the Qian Family’s estate.

He had told them before that he would be focusing entirely on breaking through to the Martial Artist realm and wouldn’t be coming by for a while. Now that he had succeeded, it was time to pay them a visit.

Led by a gatekeeper, Su Yu entered the front courtyard’s Martial Arts Arena.

Compared to its usual clamor, the Qian Family estate seemed a bit deserted today. The Fishing Team had lost half its members, and the Martial Arts Arena was sparsely populated.

"HAHAHAHA!"

A familiar, hearty laugh rang out.

Qian Wenhao saw Su Yu and strode over to greet him. "Younger Brother Su!" he said bluntly. "If you hadn’t shown up soon, I would’ve thought something bad had happened to you!"

Su Yu smiled. "Sorry to have worried you, Brother Qian. I was in seclusion for a while to break through to the Martial Artist realm, which caused a bit of a delay."

"Broke through to Martial Artist?"

Qian Wenhao froze, then his bronze-bell eyes widened as he looked Su Yu up and down. His tone was hesitant. "You’re not joking, are you? Did you just say you broke through to Martial Artist?"

How long has it been?

The last time they met, he was still at the second gate-knocking stage. How could he have broken through to Martial Artist already?

Su Yu smiled slightly and said again, "The real deal, guaranteed!"

Qian Wenhao sucked in a sharp breath, his eyes filled with shock and disbelief.

"Come on, come on! Enough talk! Let’s test it out!"

Qian Wenhao was a straightforward man. He had always valued people with real ability who got things done. There was no need for words; a quick test would make everything clear.

It was just like how he had come to value Su Yu’s Net Casting Skill. Being able to catch a treasure fish was far more impressive than any amount of empty boasting!

Off to the side, the members of the Fishing Team looked at each other, wondering who Captain Qian was about to spar with.

Among them, however, were a few familiar faces.