Chapter 4: With No Woman in One's Heart, Drawing the Blade Comes Naturally Divine

"I wouldn't dare claim such a high standing. This humble one is Qin Suyao!"

Zhao Ze exchanged a subtle glance with several of the gang members. He knew very well that among the younger generation of the pugilistic world, he had never heard this name before.

"Ah, so it is Miss Qin! I have heard of you for a long time!"

He laughed heartily. Even though he had never heard of her, it did not prevent him from offering polite greetings first.

"This is my first time traveling far from home. Thank you, Chief Steward Zhao, for your high praise."

Qin Suyao gave Zhao Ze a pointed, measured remark—a counterattack for the way he had made Yi Tianxing lose face just moments before.

"Haha, think nothing of it, think nothing of it!"

As a seasoned veteran of the martial arts world, Zhao Ze did not take such a subtle jab to heart at all. He brushed it off with a hearty laugh, effectively letting the matter drop.

"I wonder which senior martial arts expert is Miss Qin's esteemed master?"

"That is rather inconvenient to reveal."

Qin Suyao glanced briefly at Murong Xun.

"My master has long since stopped walking the pugilistic world."

"Let them leave."

Murong Xun, who had been leaning quietly against a tree trunk the entire time without uttering a word, suddenly spoke up.

"They are an eyesore."

"Who the hell do you think you are..."

Anxiety flared in Yi Tianxing's heart, and the words tumbled out of his mouth unchecked before he could stop them.

*Clang—!*

Before he could finish his sentence, a gleaming saber was already resting against his neck.

"Boy, do you not know the saying that disaster comes from the mouth?"

Zhao Ze's face turned gloomy.

"Do you even know who is standing before you, that you dare spout such nonsense?"

"Isn't the Young Chief Commander being a bit too overbearing? Even your master, Chief Qiu, wouldn't act with such explosive violence."

Beneath her veil, Qin Suyao's pretty brow knitted tightly in frustration. She had not expected the other party to show not even the slightest interest in conversing with her, especially since she had been planning to mend fences with him.

Now, it seemed her identity had likely already been seen through.

"Your presence brings disgust. Better we never meet!"

Murong Xun stood up, his tone cold and indifferent.

"Do not follow us again, and do not attempt to draw near. If any of them dare to approach us once more, kill them on the spot!"

With that, he walked directly toward his horse.

Seeing him rise, the others quickly followed suit. In no time at all, the entire group rode off into the distance, leaving everyone far behind in a cloud of dust.

"Miss Qin."

Seeing that the group had completely vanished from sight, Yi Tianxing mustered his courage and stepped up to Qin Suyao.

"It's fine. Troublesome Brother Yi, please go ask the innkeeper for a pot of tea."

Qin Suyao shook her head, signaling that she was unharmed.

"Oh, oh, oh right!"

Startled as if waking from a dream, Yi Tianxing hurried off to buy the tea.

"Alas!"

Qin Suyao sighed softly.

Her first attempt at rapprochement had failed. It seemed Qiu On was still unable to let go of what her master had done back then; untying that emotional knot would not be an easy task.

She secretly blamed herself for being too impatient. Her overly deliberate attempt to get close to him had only ended up arousing his suspicion.

With this initial failure, any subsequent attempts to get close would surely become much more difficult.

The genuine, bone-chilling killing intent the man had exhibited just moments ago was no joke. If she were to approach him again, he really might end up killing her.

She had thought that since Qiu On would be difficult to approach directly, she could take a roundabout route and reach him through his disciple.

"Young Chief Commander, who was that woman?"

Zhao Ze had a vague suspicion in his mind, though he was not yet certain.

"She should be from Heavenly Maiden Peak."

Murong Xun said indifferently.

"I wasn't certain, so I tested the waters. It's likely eight or nine parts true—she knows far too much about me. No ordinary person in the pugilistic world should possess such knowledge."

Though he was Qiu On's disciple and the future successor to the underworld, not many people knew him—let alone people from the righteous orthodox sects.

This was evident from Yi Tianxing's behavior. Sword Casting Manor was no small faction; although Yi Tianxing was naive and lacked worldly experience in the martial arts world, the fact that he failed to recognize even Zhao Ze and the other members of the Raging Dragon Gang showed that very few people in the martial arts world actually recognized them. Yet, Qin Suyao had recognized Murong Xun at a single glance. That was highly unusual.

Finding it strange, he had ordered his men to drive them away. Afterward, Qin Suyao's remarks demonstrated that she was deeply familiar with both him and Qiu On, which convinced Murong Xun even more that something was amiss, basically confirming that she was the wandering traveler of Heavenly Maiden Peak.

The logic was simple.

Qiu On had just told him that the successor of Heavenly Maiden Peak had descended the mountain, and his words had even hinted that the person might try to approach him. Connecting past and present, Qin Suyao's identity could hardly have been more obvious.

"That bitch from Heavenly Maiden Peak?"

Anger surged across Zhao Ze's face as he instantly drew his saber.

"I'll go hack her to pieces!"

*Clang—!*
*Clang—!*

Following their lead, the group of subordinates behind the two men also drew their sabers in unison, displaying their firm resolve.

"Forget it."

Murong Xun shook his head.

"Let's not invite extraneous trouble."

Right now, his sole focus was on completing his main quest as quickly as possible; everything else was secondary.

Moreover, Qin Suyao was no weakling. Considering that she likely had guardians or similar protectors watching over her in the shadows, they might not necessarily be able to deal with her easily.

"Understood!"

Though reluctant, Zhao Ze could only manage a reluctant agreement.

A plan had already taken root in Murong Xun's mind. If they crossed paths with her again, he would not hesitate to draw his blade and eliminate the threat.

The group pressed on along their journey, paying no heed to extraneous matters. Consequently, their pace was extremely fast, and they grew closer to Yanjiandang Mountain by the day.

However, just as they were drawing nearer, Zhao Ze received a letter that caused his expression to change drastically.

"What is it?"

Ever since arriving in this world—though his physical attributes remained unchanged—Murong Xun's perception had grown increasingly acute.

The slightest change in Zhao Ze's expression was immediately noticed by him.

"Young Chief Commander, something has gone wrong!"

Zhao Ze's face looked grim.

"Along the way to Yanjiandang Mountain, many of the traveling parties have been ambushed. Even the contingent from the Guiyuan Manor was attacked, and their entire party was wiped out without a single survivor."

"Oh?"

Murong Xun frowned in puzzlement.

"Isn't Guiyuan Manor immensely powerful?"

"Indeed!"

Zhao Ze was equally baffled. Guiyuan Manor could be said to hold the leading position among the righteous orthodox factions, yet a power like that had actually been ambushed, and all of their members who had ventured out were slain.

"But now, it's not just the people from Guiyuan Manor. Every single party heading toward Yanjiandang Mountain has been attacked."

"How far away?"

Murong Xun wasted no words and went straight to the point.

"Within a fifty-li radius of Yanjiandang Mountain, every single group heading in that direction has encountered an ambush. The strength of the attackers varies, so some groups managed to break through while others did not."

Zhao Ze furrowed his brow.

To be able to simultaneously ambush every single group heading toward Yanjiandang Mountain was an absolutely massive undertaking.

"It seems some people do not wish to see the Martial Arts Alliance Tournament proceed smoothly!"

Murong Xun only offered a playful smile, showing no intention of stopping whatsoever as he took the lead to continue their journey.

Since it concerned his main quest, there was no way he would back down.

As for anyone attempting to block their path—when the time came, he would simply deal with them.

Given their lineup, which included quite a few Innate realm experts, it wouldn't be easy for any adversary to swallow them whole.

Seeing Murong Xun's utter fearlessness, the subordinates following behind let out excited cheers before continuing to tail him.

They were men of the underworld; if the leader they followed showed the slightest hint of cowardice, they would only consider it a disgrace.

The bold and heroic demeanor of their future leader instantly won their admiration.

Zhao Ze remained silent, but he felt quite gratified by Murong Xun's reaction.

This was, after all, a test devised by Qiu On to gauge how his disciple would react when faced with a crisis.

As the head of a faction, the future supreme leader of the Three Paths and Sixteen Provinces, one could not afford to be cowardly when encountering adversity; otherwise, it would be impossible to keep the unruly subordinates in check.

If Murong Xun had truly displayed weakness, the men of the green forest would have been the first to stand in opposition.

Qiu On knew the temperament of these people all too well, which was why he wanted to observe his disciple's immediate reactions to trouble beforehand.

For now, this particular trial could be considered successfully passed.

Even so, Zhao Ze remained deeply puzzled by the fact that so many people were being ambushed.

For so many martial arts factions to be targeted was no laughing matter, and the total annihilation of Guiyuan Manor's forces made it abundantly clear that the situation was far from simple.

At this moment, however, they were still a distance away from Yanjiandang Mountain, making it impossible to investigate what had truly transpired or gauge the full strength of the enemy.

Even while riding on horseback, Murong Xun did not forget to continuously circulate the auxiliary breathing technique that accompanied the Heartless Saber Technique. This allowed him to gain an even deeper experiential understanding of the power inherent in this martial art.

More importantly, he discovered that he seemed exceptionally compatible with this technique, and his progress was astonishingly rapid.

Furthermore, it appeared that Qiu On himself had only begun experiencing explosive breakthroughs in his martial arts after suffering a severe heartbreak.

Could it truly be true that "once a woman leaves your heart, your blade-drawing becomes naturally divine"?

Though spoken half in jest, the saying illustrated that such a state of mind was uniquely suited for mastering the Heartless Saber Technique.

The very name of the technique reflected its profound conceptual intent.

Although his own realm was not yet high and the stat boosts were modest, he could easily deduce just how terrifyingly powerful Qiu On's realm must be.

Murong Xun had come to realize that physical attributes were not everything. Sometimes, one could not judge a person's strength solely by looking at their baseline stats.

Just like in this world—overall, none of the inhabitants possessed exceptionally high attributes, especially their mental and spiritual stats which tended to be quite average, while their elemental/Qi attributes weren't particularly high either. Yet the destructive power they could unleash was terrifyingly formidable, far beyond what conventional logic could explain.

Special burst modes, powerful amplification techniques, and various passive skill bonuses combined to display their true might.

To say nothing else, just looking at Murong Xun himself—after temporarily acquiring several passive skills at the mastery level, his combat power had multiplied dramatically. His offensive output, burst capability, and critical damage all saw massive upgrades, instantly boosting his overall damage output by more than twofold.

These were things that rigid, static attribute numbers could never accurately reflect.

He had a strong intuition that compared to active skills, passive skills were even more crucial. After all, you could only use one active skill at a time, but passives were different; once learned, a passive skill remained permanently active and would trigger naturally whenever you attacked. The more you learned, the more special effects would trigger during combat—a truly once-and-for-all investment yielding perpetual returns.