Volume One, Chapter 19: First Kill

The horse-faced man's pupils contracted slightly, unable to comprehend how Ji Die had discovered him. In a rush, he raised his arm to block the attack. The next instant, Ji Die's fist crashed down, and the man cried out in pain, stumbling back several steps, his entire arm trembling and hanging limply at his side.

His expression was grim as he glared at the young man before him.
“Damn it, how did you notice the Purple Leaf pollen on my clothes?”

“Purple Leaf pollen, just as I thought.” Ji Die's eyes narrowed; his mind was clear as a mirror. Earlier that day, He Qiang had deliberately bumped into him, all for the purpose of sprinkling this pollen onto his body!

“Hmph, even if you’ve figured it out, so what? Kid, hand over the Soul-Ascension Fruit from your storage pouch, and I’ll let you die with some dignity!” The horse-faced man quickly regained his composure, sneering.

Ji Die lifted his gaze, unsure why the man was so intent on killing him. Frowning, he replied, “I don’t have any Soul-Ascension Fruit.”

“Hmph, since you refuse to hand it over, I’ll just kill you and take it myself!” The horse-faced man sneered, slapping his storage pouch. Instantly, a longsword appeared in his hand, transforming into a streak of sword light that shot forward.

“You dare commit murder within the Seven Mystics Sect? Aren’t you afraid the sect will punish you?” Ji Die’s face darkened, realizing there was no peaceful resolution today.

As the sword light approached, he moved swiftly, dodging with rapid steps.

With a thunderous crash, the longsword grazed his shoulder, piercing the stone behind him.

“If you want to blame someone, blame yourself for carrying treasures and offending Senior Sister Song! As for killing you, I’m a steward here—who would ever know? Besides, under the effects of Bone-Melting Powder, you’ll die without a trace. No one’s around, so who would suspect me?” The horse-faced man laughed loudly. His longsword, which had just flown out, returned to his hand, gleaming with a chilling radiance.

Seeing the man attack again, Ji Die slapped his storage pouch, summoning a wooden sword. Spiritual energy propelled it, turning it into a streak of light that shot toward the horse-faced man in the darkness.

“A mere wooden sword!” The horse-faced man sneered. His longsword was a low-grade magical artifact, far superior to ordinary metal. With a single slash, he cleaved the wooden sword in midair into two, both pieces falling to the ground.

But just then, a gust of fist wind suddenly struck from the front.

“Hmph! Overestimating yourself!” The horse-faced man’s expression darkened slightly, and he quickly swept his longsword forward.

With a soft slicing sound, the floating leaves in midair were severed cleanly, their edges smooth and precise.

Ji Die was forced back, standing at a distance with a grim expression. This fellow’s longsword had to be dealt with, or he’d never have a chance to injure him—even getting close would only result in being repelled.

Yet the horse-faced man gave him no time to think. Spiritual energy surged again through the sword, and its brilliance rapidly expanded in Ji Die’s pupils.

Ji Die retreated swiftly, but his shoulder was still pierced by the sharp blade, a line of blood spurting forth.

Seeing the sword light turn and shoot toward him again, Ji Die mobilized all his spiritual energy, fleeing toward the nearest forested hill.

“You can’t escape! Hand over the storage pouch, and I might spare your life!” The horse-faced man laughed coldly, chasing after him and using his sword to harass Ji Die, closing the distance.

“If you want the Soul-Ascension Fruit, I’ll give it to you!” Ji Die ran, always alert for the sounds behind him. Seeing the man in relentless pursuit, he sneered and took several Soul-Ascension Fruits from his pouch, hurling them behind.

“So you really do have Soul-Ascension Fruit! And so many!” The horse-faced man had intended to slash them away but, upon seeing what Ji Die threw, his eyes widened and he hastily dodged.

“Yes, I have as many as you want! Pick them up! Why aren’t you picking them up?” Ji Die laughed, throwing even more Soul-Ascension Fruits at him.

“No rush. After I kill you, I can collect them at leisure.” The horse-faced man’s eyes brimmed with greed. He knew Ji Die was tossing so many fruits to distract him, hoping to seize the opportunity to attack. Thus, he only dodged the fruits, not falling for the trick.

Ji Die was unfazed by his refusal, turning to flee while continuing to throw the fruits, interfering with the man’s pursuit without a hint of stinginess. In just moments, he had hurled over twenty Soul-Ascension Fruits.

These had been meant for tonight’s refinement, but who could have guessed they’d end up as improvised weapons!

“Let’s see how many you have!” The horse-faced man had to dodge the fruits, slowing down considerably, but he never let Ji Die widen the gap. He planned to kill him once the fruits ran out, claiming all of them for himself.

Just then, a cold glint shot out from among the fruits hurtling past his hand—a silver needle, headed straight for his arm!

Focused solely on dodging the fruit, he hadn’t anticipated such a twist. Caught off guard, the needle plunged into his palm.

“You little beast, I’ll definitely kill you!” Agonizing pain swept over him, and the horse-faced man instinctively loosened his grip, his longsword clattering to the ground, his face twisted in pain and resentment.

“I’ll kill you first.”

A frigid voice rang out, and a gust of fist wind struck his chest. He spat a jet of blood, his body sent flying and crashing to the ground.

“I’ll kill you! Kill you!” The horse-faced man, hair in disarray, struggled to his feet, completely deranged.

But he met a pair of eyes devoid of any emotion, and his blood ran cold. Looking down, he realized a longsword had already pierced his chest, running him through.

“You...I...” His pupils faded, his body slowly collapsing backward, unable to utter a complete sentence.

He probably never imagined, even in death, that he would perish beneath the sword he’d so prided himself on.

“I told you, who kills whom isn’t certain!” Ji Die stood before the corpse, gasping for breath, his body trembling.

It was his first time killing someone, and his nerves were stretched to their limit. But if he didn’t kill the other, he wouldn’t survive, so he acted decisively.

Yet even after the deed, he couldn’t control his anxious, unsettled emotions.

Who knew how long he stood there? A breeze brought a slight chill, clearing Ji Die’s mind.

“If anyone finds out I killed him, disaster will befall me. I must destroy the body! Bone-Melting Powder—he said he had some Bone-Melting Powder!” Ji Die’s face was pale. Forcing himself to calm down, he quickly searched the man’s body and soon found his storage pouch.

With the man dead, the pouch no longer recognized him as its master and became ownerless.

Just as he’d done before, Ji Die bit his finger and let blood drip onto the pouch, establishing a connection with its space. He soon found a small bottle inside.

“Is this it?” Ji Die took it out, cautiously uncorked it, and saw some pale red powder within. Unsure if it was the Bone-Melting Powder, he tried sprinkling a little onto the dead man’s wide-open eyes.

As the powder touched the corpse, steam rose instantly, as though the body had evaporated into nothing!

Only the clothes remained.