Chapter 15: Counterkill

Words : 1489 Updated : Sep 12th, 2025

Chapter 15 - 15: Counterkill "Sword Stabbing Fist has reached perfection?" Li Qian muttered to himself. At the same time, he savored a strange fist posture, mysterious yet more mysterious, creating an illusory feeling, yet it truly existed. "Unexpectedly, this most common fist technique, Sword Stabbing Fist, could produce such miraculous changes after reaching perfection. It truly is inconceivable." Li Qian marveled inwardly. Suddenly, he gently swung his fist, the fist acting like a sword, his Inner Qi condensed, cutting through the air, several times more fierce than before the breakthrough. Then, he practiced Sword Stabbing Fist again, feeling even more astonished in his heart. Because at the Perfect Level, the cultivation effect of Sword Stabbing Fist had improved so much more; just one iteration could now complete a Grand Circulation. Previously, it required several iterations, meaning the efficiency of the Perfect Level Sword Stabbing Fist had improved by many times. During cultivation, the mysterious feeling of the fist's posture became increasingly clear and vivid. "Even the most common martial arts, when cultivated to the extreme, can become extraordinary." A light flickered in Li Qian's eyes. At this moment, his desire to pursue higher martial arts wasn't as strong as before. Because there was still much room for improvement in Sword Stabbing Fist. Indeed. Even the Perfect Level Sword Stabbing Fist could still be improved. After all, so-called perfection is only relative to the technique itself. Once it transcends the technique itself, it's akin to unlocking space for ascension, entering a higher realm. ..... Since Li Qian's Sword Stabbing Fist reached perfection, his postnatal cultivation progress had sped up significantly. Basically, almost every two days, he could improve by one point. This was four to five times faster than before reaching perfection. Since Li Qian had plenty of time, aside from cultivating, he began to derive a pure sword technique from Sword Stabbing Fist. If it were before achieving perfection in the fist technique, he definitely wouldn't have had this ability. But after entering perfection, his understanding and insights into Sword Stabbing Fist underwent a transformation. Through daily derivation and improvement, he gradually perfected this sword technique. At least in his view, this self-perfected sword technique would significantly enhance his combat abilities. For this, he rummaged through a pile of junk in the bell tower and found a rusty short sword, which he carefully polished and equipped with a simple scabbard, becoming his personal weapon. Night fell. The bell tower was pitch black. Only a bit of night light shone through the window. In the distance, the faint sound of a watchman's gong could be heard. It was already the third watch of the night. Li Qian looked at the information on the system panel, feeling very fulfilled. Host: Li Qian. Cultivation: Postnatal (First Layer 48/100). Sacrificial Artifact: Chen Bell (Treasure 783/1000). Martial Art: Sword Stabbing Fist (Perfect). .... The cultivation of the First Layer of Postnatal stage was nearly halfway accomplished. It was time to sleep. Li Qian lay on the bed and closed his eyes. His sleep quality was excellent; he could fall asleep as soon as he decided to, with no issues of insomnia. Moreover, he usually only needed about two hours of sleep each day, which was completely sufficient. Time passed, unknown how long. Suddenly, Li Qian opened his eyes. He hadn't woken up normally. But was awoken by a very subtle noise. His hand instinctively gripped the short sword lying beside him. The door was gently pushed open. A gentle night breeze blew in. Following closely, a figure like a phantom flashed in, rushing towards Li Qian at the bedside. Blazing fast. Silently. A hand directly aimed for Li Qian's throat. But suddenly, Li Qian opened his eyes, and with a shake of his hand, the sword stabbed towards the approaching shadow. fɾeeweɓnѳveɭ.com The shadow hadn't expected Li Qian to have already awakened and to counterattack so swiftly, which was a surprise, but he was very confident in his own strength, flipping his wrist, his palm's Inner Qi breathed in and out, reaching for the stabbing sword. He was an accomplished martial artist, while Li Qian was just a servant disciple who had not even developed his Inner Strength over more than two years. But suddenly, a clear and transcendent chime of a bell exploded in his mind, causing his body to stiffen suddenly, his controlled Inner Qi dissipated, and his hand grasped empty air... At the same time, he felt a slight chill in his chest. Instantly, his eyes bulged wide. The next moment, a low, angry growl erupted from the throat of the dark figure, like a wounded beast, bursting forth with robust Inner Qi. His palm vibrated, tearing through the air, and swooped towards Li Qian. But Li Qian flipped over, drew his short sword which slithered like an eel to the other side of the bed, and fiercely stabbed the dark figure in the back. Bang! The dark figure's palm struck empty air, and the bed collapsed utterly under the force of the overpowering Inner Qi. But that was his last strike. The sword stabbed into his chest, swiftly draining his strength. Puff! Li Qian struck again, viciously thrusting the sword into the spine, and then with a slash... bones split apart. The dark figure felt a loss of control over his body and fell face down to the ground, only heavy breathing and gurgling sounds came from his throat. Before long, the breathing of the dark figure grew weaker and finally ceased altogether. Li Qian stood by, not coming any closer. At this moment, his limbs were cold, his scalp numb, even trembling... This was his first time killing someone. During the act, he was utterly calm, not a trace of fear. But after the fact, intense palpitations surged within him. Huff huff huff... He took deep breaths over and over, forcing himself to calm down. Eventually, Li Qian calmed down, although he was not completely relaxed, the extreme tension from before was no longer there. He began to contemplate the entire process that just happened. That shadow was definitely a novice Martial Artist, judging from the power of that palm strike, it could even be above the Second Layer of the Acquired stage. Fortunately, he did not hesitate to utilize the invisible sonic attack ability of the Sacrificial Artifact Chen Bell. Causing the opponent to stiffen momentarily... giving him the unexpected opportunity to counterattack. Otherwise, a head-to-head fight would be unpredictable. The opponent probably never imagined, even to his death, that Li Qian was already a novice Martial Artist. Suddenly, he remembered something and hurriedly went to the door to listen to noises outside. After a long while, he concluded there was no one else and then lit the oil lamp. Under the orange light, the situation in the room was illuminated. Li Qian looked at the completely collapsed wooden bed and shook his head, guessing it was unusable now. Fortunately, there was another bed, previously used by Elder Song. Suppressing the strong smell of blood, Li Qian turned the invader over, still wearing a black mask. After pulling it down, an old face was revealed. "Is it really him?" Li Qian was surprised. It was Manager Zhao from the Chores Hall. After searching in the dark for so long without any findings, he finally couldn't contain himself and took advantage of the night trying to capture him for interrogation. Unfortunately, how could he expect that Li Qian was already a novice Martial Artist. Caught off guard, he was counter-killed. Looking at Manager Zhao's body, Li Qian pondered how to deal with it. Before handling the body, he needed to search it, perhaps there would be something to gain? Soon, Li Qian found a bunch of items. Three medicine bottles. A small booklet. A Contribution Wooden Token. A dagger. Several silver notes. "Tsk tsk, actually over five hundred contribution points." Li Qian was surprised by the points displayed on the Contribution Wooden Token. Unfortunately, with Manager Zhao's death, this Contribution Wooden Token was rendered useless. Only the owner of the token could transfer contribution points. He set the Contribution Wooden Token aside, then checked the two medicine bottles, one was a Qi Blood Pill, still containing nine pills. One bottle of powder, labelled as golden sore medicine on the bottle, used for treating external injuries. One bottle of ointment, called Golden Jade Ointment. The dagger was very sharp. Silver notes, probably a few hundred taels. Finally... Li Qian picked up the small booklet, feeling a bit hopeful—could it be a Martial Arts secret manual? Mingyu Palm. Li Qian looked at the three big characters, his eyes lighting up. It really was a Martial Arts secret manual. Unfortunately, it was not an Internal Cultivation Method, but a form of palm martial arts. ....

Chapter 15: Counterkill

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