Chapter 364 - 363: Killing Aura
Qin Ya held Jing’er in his arms, her small head resting on his chest. He circulated his True Essence, forming an invisible energy shield to block the high-altitude air currents. He and Muh Qing followed behind the old man, heading toward a mountain peak at a steady pace.
The old man would occasionally glance back at Qin Ya, his eyes revealing traces of amazement. After their race just now, he had gotten a glimpse of Qin Ya’s combat strength. Even he, a King, did not possess such speed.
Setting Attack Power aside, that speed alone was enough to crush most Martial Artists below the King Realm. And yet, Qin Ya’s Cultivation was only at the Sky-Controlling Realm!
’He must have comprehended some sort of Mysterious principle of speed, most likely the Mysterious Speed itself. And he’s already grasped it to a high degree, perhaps even touching the threshold of the Second Heaven. This level of comprehension is simply astonishing...’
’In this Kunn Mountain Assembly, there are many who can compete with him in terms of strength, but when it comes to Talent, no one can compare. With a fine jade like him joining Kunyun Palace, he’s destined to become a pillar of our sect in the future.’
’It seems I’ll have to report this to the Palace Master.’
The gray-robed elder’s thoughts churned. Soon, he led Qin Ya and Muh Qing to one of the floating mountain peaks. Qin Ya noticed that these floating peaks seemed to follow a certain pattern; the higher they were and the closer to Kunn Mountain, the fewer peaks there were.
"There are eighty-one Cyan Cloud Orders in total, but only fifty-one people have arrived so far. Not everyone is here yet, so the Kunn Mountain Assembly won’t begin for now. Until everyone arrives, this mountain peak will be your residence," the old man said, pointing to the peak before them.
"Thank you."
The old man nodded and said meaningfully, "Take care of yourselves."
With that, he departed. Qin Ya and Muh Qing were a bit puzzled but didn’t dwell on it. They exchanged a smile, and with a slight movement, slowly descended onto the mountain peak.
The forest was dense and quiet, filled with the chirping of insects and birds, and the sound of flowing water played a light, cheerful melody.
The peak seemed no different from an ordinary mountain. As Qin Ya and Muh Qing walked through it, there was no indication that it was a floating peak at all!
After crossing a small river, they saw pavilions dotted among the trees and rocks. Figures darted back and forth, some practicing their Martial Arts, others sparring... When they saw Qin Ya and Muh Qing arrive, they all stopped what they were doing.
"Hey, someone’s here."
"They look unfamiliar. Must be the geniuses who got the Cyan Cloud Orders."
"So young. That’s gotta be it. Why else would they be sent to our Lower Peak? They want us to ’polish’ them up. This’ll be fun."
"I heard a couple of geniuses with Cyan Cloud Orders were sent to the Lower Twelve Peaks a few days ago. It didn’t take long for them to get messed up pretty bad. So tragic."
The corners of Qin Ya’s mouth lifted slightly, a hint of a smile in his eyes.
’This Kunyun Palace’s arrangement is rather interesting. Sending us to a peak inhabited by Official Disciples... they’re clearly trying to put us in our place. Are they trying to temper our wills and dull our edge?’
"Kid, you can only blame your youth for being sent here," said a young man whose cultivation had reached Sky-Controlling Perfection, his eyes filled with mockery.
If some older, more powerful experts had obtained the Cyan Cloud Orders, they wouldn’t receive this kind of treatment. They would be assigned a private mountain peak, and if they passed the assembly’s trials, they could become Stewards or Elders of Kunyun Palace.
But if the Cyan Cloud Orders were obtained by young prodigies, they would be placed on peaks inhabited by Kunyun Palace disciples to face all sorts of provocations and pressure, all to grind away the arrogant habits they’d developed as geniuses in the outside world.
"I know, I know. Out there, you’re all famous prodigies. Every one of you thinks you’re a peerless talent, full of arrogance. But don’t you worry. After a few days here, you won’t be thinking that way anymore."
A burly, rough-featured man with a bare, muscular torso gave a menacing grin. He recalled his own experience of being tormented here after winning a Cyan Cloud Order. He felt not a shred of sympathy for the two youths; instead, he was eager to have a go himself.
’Heh, now it’s my turn.’
Upon hearing this, Muh Qing and Qin Ya both felt a chill.
Qin Ya was fine; with his current combat strength, he was more than capable of handling these people.
But while Muh Qing’s talent was considerable, and she too was at the Sky-Controlling Perfection Realm, the weakest among the crowd before them was at the Sky-Controlling High Rank. Some were even at the Celestial Human Realm!
A great Hidden Sect, gathering prodigies from all under heaven—its reputation was well-deserved!
Any one of the people here could go out into the world, throw their weight around, and rule a region. But in Kunyun Palace, they were nothing more than ordinary disciples.
"Hey, kid, why’d you bring a little girl with you?"
At this point, the burly man noticed Jing’er in Qin Ya’s arms. When he sensed that she was just an ordinary little girl at the Human Element Realm, he looked at her with some disdain.
"The little girl is quite cute. Come on, let big sister give you a hug."
A charming, coquettish voice rang out. A woman in a colorful long dress gave a seductive smile, and with a flash of movement, she reached out, intending to touch Jing’er.
Jing’er’s face changed, fear appearing in her eyes. Just as she was about to scream, Qin Ya’s figure flashed, instantly moving dozens of yards away. He looked at the woman and said in a somewhat detached tone, "My sister is shy around strangers. She can’t let other people touch her."
A strange glint flashed in the charming woman’s eyes. She smiled and said, "She’s so big, what’s there to be shy about? Don’t worry, big sister will be very gentle. Come, let me hold you."
As soon as she spoke, the woman’s figure moved like a fragrant breeze, darting toward Qin Ya in the blink of an eye. But just as she was about to touch Jing’er, an unprecedented sense of crisis locked onto her. Without a second thought, she shot back dozens of yards.
"Such terrifying killing intent!"
The charming woman stared at Qin Ya, fine beads of cold sweat forming on her smooth forehead. A trace of lingering shock remained in her beautiful eyes.
Just now, a terrifying killing intent, like a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood, had enveloped her. It felt as if taking one more step forward would have meant certain death!
At this thought, a chill ran down her spine.
’Heavens, this boy is only seventeen or eighteen! Where did he get such terrifying killing intent? Did he start killing people in the womb? This is horrifying!!’
What she didn’t know was that throughout his journey, hundreds of Extraordinary Martial Artists had died by Qin Ya’s hand. His time in Yun Province, in particular, had been a veritable bloodbath!
That was the source of his killing intent.
"I said, my sister is shy around strangers."
As his cold words sounded, Qin Ya lifted his gaze slightly and glanced at the woman.
The woman’s heart trembled. "If that’s the case," she said, "then I won’t insist."
The others, seeing this, looked on in astonishment.
Qin Ya’s control over his killing intent was excellent; he hadn’t let them sense it. Therefore, all they saw was the woman charge forward, then inexplicably retreat, and now give up her provocation because of a single, simple sentence from Qin Ya...
"Hey, Lü Xin, you’re being pretty pathetic," the burly man at her side sneered, his taunt unabashedly scornful.
Lü Xin didn’t argue. She just said, "You think you’re so tough? Then you go."
The burly man pursed his lips. He gave Qin Ya a long, deep look, knowing the boy wasn’t simple—why else would Lü Xin have reacted that way? He chuckled and said, "Forget it. That’s enough for today. We’ve got plenty of time."