Nine corpses in total, including the old man.
Just like that, they were tossed outside the dilapidated temple.
Here, deep within the mountain forest, there was no need for burial.
Wild beasts frequently roamed the area.
Before long, the corpses would become a meal for the beasts, eventually turning to waste and returning to the earth.
...
Inside the dilapidated temple, the wind and rain still raged.
The only change was the atmosphere, which had grown oppressively quiet.
Everyone was gathered around the fire, silently warming themselves. No one dared to be the first to break the silence.
Wu Yidao was among them. Like the others, his expression was grave, and he dared not make a sound.
Evidently, Hu Qi’s strange and unfathomable methods had left them utterly terrified.
They had just witnessed the terrifying power of an Inner Qi Realm expert, who could slaughter an entire group of people in the span of a few breaths.
Yet, even an expert that powerful had been killed instantly on the spot.
How could such a stark contrast not fill them with dread?
...
Hu Qi paid no mind to their reactions. To him, it was all just a trivial farce.
Its only purpose was to provide him with a bit of amusement on this stormy night.
If the handmaiden and her party had shown a slightly better attitude, he might have intervened to protect them.
But their words and actions had been vile.
So naturally, Hu Qi had not interfered with other people’s karma.
He simply waited for them to cause enough of a scene, then resolved the matter in one fell swoop.
As this thought crossed his mind, his gaze fell upon the text that appeared before him.
Modification Points +3 (12%)
What he hadn’t expected was that killing these mortal Martial Artists also yielded Modification Points.
Though the amount was pitifully small.
But they were there, nonetheless.
’It seems this system of martial arts has its uses after all.’
’After all, not everyone has the aptitude for Cultivation.’
’The Demon Race needs to awaken their intelligence.’
’And for ordinary people to practice Breathing and Qi Cultivation, to embark on the path of Cultivation, the requirements are just as demanding. They need a so-called ’Spirit Root’.
As for what exactly a Spirit Root was, Hu Qi wasn’t very clear himself, having only heard bits and pieces about it from Bai Tongtong.
’However, this method is something I could modify in the future and teach to the ordinary Human Race in the Pocket World.’
’The strength of a world’s source is inextricably linked to the creatures living within it.’
’A golden age is one where multiple Extraordinary paths emerge, where a hundred flowers bloom and a hundred schools of thought contend.’
’This might even accelerate the evolution of the Pocket World itself.’
’Besides, the Inner Energy system these Martial Artists cultivate isn’t complex.’
Given his current knowledge and insight regarding the Extraordinary System, after watching the two fight and observing how their Inner Energy circulated with his Demon Sense, he already had a basic understanding of it.
If he could just get his hands on a few secret manuals to study, it wouldn’t take much effort for him to reverse-engineer a top-tier martial art for these Martial Artists.
The only regrettable part was that after a scan with his Demon Sense, he hadn’t found any secret manuals on the old man named Gongsun Jin.
’Then again, that was to be expected. This isn’t some TV drama where people carry their secret techniques on their person.’
’An ordinary Martial Artist might keep it on hand to study and ponder over.’
’But for an expert who had already reached the pinnacle, the contents of the manual would have been completely mastered already.’
’The manual itself would have become useless to them.’
’They could reproduce it from memory at any time.’
’Keeping it on their person would be a liability, so it would be more practical to just destroy it.’
’Only someone who intended to pass down their legacy would deliberately preserve a manual.’
...
The night passed uneventfully. By the next day, the sky was brightening and the torrential rain had begun to subside.
The group set off once more.
They left the temple and continued on their journey.
Nothing had changed from before, except for one thing: the group’s attitude toward Hu Qi was now one of even greater awe and fear.
No matter the place, the law of the jungle always applies.
The essence of order is merely a set of rules established by the strong and the powerful to restrain the weak. On the surface, it is a tool for the strong, confining the actions of the weak to a predetermined scope and making it difficult for them to break through the shackles of their station. But from another angle, it also invisibly weaves a safety net, shielding the weak from unprovoked aggression and chaos and allowing them to obtain a measure of stability and fairness within their limited sphere.
Unfortunately, in the face of a truly powerful individual, this so-called order is rendered meaningless.
The strong can create order themselves.
Therefore, for the weak to attempt to use order against the strong is, without a doubt, a fool’s errand.
If Hu Qi wanted to kill them, they would be utterly powerless to resist.
The only good news was that, for the moment, he didn’t seem to have any intention of doing so.
Later, they encountered several groups of bandits along the way.
Aside from the groups they could simply pay off with silver, Wu Yidao and his men were strong enough to handle the rest, leaving no need for Hu Qi to intervene.
...
「Two days later.」
Three great suns hung high in the sky.
They cast down a brilliant light.
Wu Yidao and his men arrived at their destination: a crossroads outside a small settlement named Cyan Willow Town.
"Alright, this is where we part ways."
Hu Qi said with a smile.
As he spoke, he returned the horse to Wu Yidao and his men, then tapped his foot lightly on the ground.
His figure shot forward, vanishing from sight in just a few blinks.
Watching him disappear, everyone let out a collective sigh of relief.
The reason was simple. With Hu Qi’s immense power, they hadn’t needed to worry about any trouble on their escort mission. But it was precisely because his power was so terrifying that they felt incredibly constrained in his presence.
They were terrified that he might kill them all if he became the least bit displeased.
In the Jianghu, it was often said that the more powerful the expert, the more eccentric their temperament.
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