Chapter 426 - 425: Extreme Stab
In Lei Province, within a dark forest.
Several dark figures converged, and a heavy atmosphere permeated the air.
Though it was a sultry summer night, the air around them was exceptionally cold and grim, like the chill of death itself rising from the Nine Netherworld.
"What are your thoughts on our Blood Nether Association strongholds being repeatedly wiped out recently?" a slightly hoarse, middle-aged voice asked.
At his words, the atmosphere grew even more frigid.
"What have we learned about the boy in white?" a woman’s soft voice asked, a hint of fear in her tone as she mentioned him.
"His name is Qin Ya, a Law Enforcer from Kunyun Palace."
"Such a heaven-defying genius is terrifying. If we don’t eliminate him soon, he’ll become a fatal threat to the Blood Nether Association. What are our options?"
"Heh? A fatal threat? He already is one!"
"To have accomplished so much at his age... In just a few years, he’ll have grown to a level we can’t possibly imagine. Sigh..."
"There’s one more thing," the hoarse voice said. "Not long ago in Shuo Province, Qiann Feng, the one in charge of developing the Blood Slaves, was exposed. The one who exposed him was this same Qin Ya. Our intelligence said Qiann Feng led a team to hunt him down, but now... Qiann Feng is missing, and Qin Ya is..."
The speaker trailed off, and everyone fell silent.
They knew what the hoarse voice meant, but felt it was impossible.
"His combat strength is astonishing, but there’s no way he could have defeated Qiann Feng, who’s already a King. The gap in their Cultivation is just too vast."
"No, it’s possible."
The woman’s soft voice suddenly interjected, her tone grave. "Everyone, think about it. Our Blood Nether Association strongholds are incredibly secret, yet this Qin Ya can find them with perfect accuracy. There’s only one explanation: he knew where they were all along."
"And Qiann Feng had a map detailing the locations of our strongholds across Qingg Country, Lei Province, and Shuo Province. It means Qin Ya killed Qiann Feng, took his map, and that’s how he’s been able to strike us so precisely!"
Everyone fell silent at her words.
It was the only explanation for everything that had happened.
But they couldn’t bring themselves to believe it. For someone with Qin Ya’s power to slay a King... such a thing was simply unheard of!
"Yes, I agree with Weei’s theory."
"At this point, our only option is to find a way to deal with Qin Ya. Our intelligence confirms he arrived in Lei Province today. What’s the plan?"
"Don’t worry. Two days ago, I already moved our remaining strongholds and consolidated them at Chaotic Cloud Dao. That is where we will have our final battle with him!"
The hoarse voice carried an icy chill that made the air feel like the dead of winter. It was so cold their skin prickled, as if stung by needles of ice.
"Linn, you are the Dominator of the Blood Nether Association in Lei Province and the only King among us. We will follow your lead. We will put an end to Qin Ya!"
"Everyone, at Chaotic Cloud Dao, we will slay Qin Ya!"
"Yes, exactly."
「Meanwhile, in a major city in Lei Province.」
Qin Ya gazed at the empty Blood Nether Association stronghold before him, a slight frown on his face. Then, a faint smile appeared. ’Heh, they’re getting smarter. Looks like they’re organizing a counterattack.’
After he had taken out so many of their strongholds in a row, the Blood Nether Association—unless they were complete fools—would have guessed by now that he knew their exact locations. They wouldn’t just idly wait for him to come knocking. They had to be planning a way to deal with him.
’Then bring it on. Let’s see what you’ve got.’
Knowing the Blood Nether Association was plotting against him, Qin Ya was in no hurry. He began to wander slowly through Lei Province, occasionally honing his skills on opportunistic Martial Artists or Fierce Beasts he met on the road. He used the time to further comprehend his Mysterious abilities and their applications. In particular, Qin Ya focused on mastering the embryonic form of a Mysterious Technique based on his Mysterious Speed, practicing it relentlessly.
In a mountain range, Qin Ya arrived at another Blood Nether Association stronghold, only to find it empty as well. He smiled and left. As he was walking through the forest, Qin Ya suddenly spotted a giant cyan boulder on a distant mountain peak.
The boulder shimmered with a faint cyan light, a sign that it was no ordinary stone. Qin Ya smiled. ’Cyan Steel Rock. I didn’t expect to find some here.’
An idea struck him. He drew a long spear, a faint smile on his lips. With a single movement, he appeared in the air above the Cyan Steel Rock. He then unleashed his Mysterious Speed, twenty-four afterimages appearing before merging back into one. He thrust the spear downward in a sudden stab. The tip tore through the air, so sharp it seemed ready to rip a hole in the void itself!
With a soft POP, a perfectly round hole appeared in the Cyan Steel Rock, boring straight through it. An identical pitch-black, bottomless hole was left in the ground below. The technique focused the power of a thousand strikes on a single point to achieve this terrifying penetrative force. This was the true nature of Qin Ya’s new move!
’And this move’s power isn’t even at its peak yet.’
’As my comprehension of the Mysterious deepens, this move is bound to become even stronger!’
’A concentrated, penetrating stab... I’ll call it Extreme Stab!’
Qin Ya thought to himself. Now he had another ace up his sleeve.
「Three days later.」 Qin Ya had traveled to most of the Blood Nether Association strongholds in Lei Province, but without exception, they were all deserted. He wasn’t the least bit frustrated, however, because over these three days, his comprehension of Extreme Stab had deepened considerably.
He could feel he was only a hair’s breadth away from it evolving into a true Mysterious Technique!
’Chaotic Cloud Dao... The Blood Nether Association’s last stronghold in Lei Province.’
’Will you all be waiting for me there?’
Chaotic Cloud Dao was a pass that cut through the junction of two great mountain ranges in Lei Province, one to the north and one to the south. It was also Qin Ya’s final stop in the province; once he passed through it, he would be leaving.
’Let’s see what this battle brings.’
With that thought, Qin Ya stepped onto the path of Chaotic Cloud Dao.
He hadn’t gone more than a few hundred feet when he realized something was wrong. It was quiet—too quiet. Besides the whistling wind, there wasn’t a single cry from a bird or beast. A suffocating pressure seemed to hang over the area, enough to make one’s blood run cold.
’Finally... I’ve found you.’
As the thought formed, an immense killing intent erupted from Qin Ya, soaring to the Nine Heavens. It was as powerful as that of a Bloodthirsty Asura, so intense that even the hidden Blood Nether Association Killers felt their hearts pound in terror, a deep chill running through them.
The realization that this killing intent was forged from his relentless slaughter of their comrades over the past weeks pressed down on the hidden assassins like a boulder, heavy and suffocating.
’Just how many of our people has this guy killed?’
’A killing intent this terrifying... I doubt even the twelve lofty figures at the top of the Blood Nether Association possess such an aura. It’s astounding!’
’And he’s so young to have a killing intent like this.’
’I’ve killed one thousand and eighty-one people in my life, yet my killing aura is nothing compared to this boy’s. It’s utterly laughable.’
’Today, we must kill him here!’