572 Vibrating the Blade!
“By the way, are you from Qingzhou?” the little girl asked, placing her hands behind her back and sizing Qin Huai up with a sidelong glance.
Her demeanor mirrored that of the pompous elders and seniors Qin Huai had encountered before, a characteristic he didn’t particularly admire. That was why he was taken aback, both by the girl’s question and her demeaning behavior.
He had made a point to obscure his origins, applying layers of heaven secrets fog to his face using the thousand divination blood technique. This method blurred his features, making his true appearance nearly unrecognizable to the naked eye.
Qin Huai was confident in this protective measure, especially here in the spirit bone level where he wasn’t as skilled in the thousand divination blood technique.
“You smell like a bird. If you’re not from Qingzhou, where else could you be?” she said, her lips pursed in disdain.
Bird smell? Qin Huai was confused until a realization dawned on him. He recalled the Dao Child, Zhang Youji, mentioning that he carried the scent of a dragon and a Kun Peng.
He had figured that after bathing in the invincible Vajra blood and layering the thousand divination blood technique fog, his scent would have been masked.
He wondered if the girl was detecting the scent from the two spirit items he possessed — a dragon skeleton and a pure-blooded Kun Peng. As the thoughts whirled around his head, he came to the conclusion that the truth was probably something along these lines.
“Your intuition is remarkable! Indeed, I am a disciple of the Kun Peng clan,” Qin Huai said, maintaining his humility.
Considering that the girl was here in the spirit bone level, she must be at least at the visceral prefecture realm. She could either be a prodigious eight-year-old expert or an old master capable of appearing youthful. Regardless, she was clearly no simple character.
“Impressive that you’ve reached this stage,” the girl conceded, a sigh slipping past her lips. “I haven’t encountered anyone from Qingzhou for a long time, let alone a young face. There used to be an abundance of spirit stones there, but they were all excavated by the Emperor of Qingzhou to construct a large array.”
“May I ask who you are?” Qin Huai asked.
“Me?” She replied, “I’m the head of the ascetic monks of the Buddhist Sect, the eldest disciple of the imperial capital branch of the sect, the second Dao Child of the True Path Sect, and the guest elder of the six clans… Zhang Youji!”
Qin Huai managed to keep a straight face. “Greetings, Dao Child Zhang!” Internally, however, he suspected that the girl bore a grudge against Zhang Youji. Otherwise, why would she brazenly use his name?
Whoosh!
Suddenly, a sharp, cold light slashed down from several directions. The intense killing intent, like mercury spilling over the ground, loomed ominously over them.
It was only then that Qin Huai realized his ‘starting point’ was in the midst of a turbulent battlefield.
“Kid, take care of yourself!” The little girl’s voice echoed in his ears just before she was propelled by the force of the sword, moving with the speed of a shooting star.
“How dare you bully me?!” she roared, her anger reverberating through the battlefield. She quickly returned, her feet stomping on the ground to propel her body back toward her opponent. She attacked with her head first, a peculiar strategy that left spectators stunned.
Bang!
In an explosive clash, the sword’s light directly hit the little girl’s head, sending her bouncing back like a ball.
Qin Huai couldn’t help but twitch his lips. The girl’s style of combat was peculiar, childlike in its spontaneity and whimsy.
Without warning, bone patterns across his body began to illuminate. His bones started to tremble violently, even causing the ground beneath them to rumble incessantly.
The earth upheaved in layers, while the sword trembled at such a fast rate it was almost undetectable to the naked eye.
With a display of the sword vibration technique, Qin Huai calmly extended two fingers. The blade halted just inches away from his eyes. The near miss made him tremble slightly, feeling as if he was momentarily losing control.
“Not bad.” He acknowledged the prowess of his opponent. As expected of a top expert from the sixteen states. He was indeed extraordinary.
The opponent’s eyes widened as he watched Qin Huai effortlessly hold his blade between his fingers. He attempted to pull out his blade but to no avail. Qin Huai’s grip was like iron pliers, firmly clenching the weapon.
With a swift backhand punch, Qin Huai retaliated. The opponent hastily raised his hand to block, simultaneously launching a kick at Qin Huai. His hand trembled violently, stirring the air and obscuring Qin Huai’s vision.
The next moment, the man’s arm was shattered, and his kick fell short, sending him flying just like the girl.
“He only broke his hand?” Qin Huai mused, swiftly catching up with the flying figure and grabbing his right leg. With a fierce swing, he sent his opponent crashing to the ground.
Bang!
As the man disintegrated, the spiritual energy that filled the sky began to surge into Qin Huai’s body. Unlike previous experiences, the spiritual energy was channeled into his bones through his bloodstream, radiating an indescribable sense of comfort.
“Deal with that person first!” came the cry from a group not too far away.
They had been engrossed in their own fierce battle, but witnessing Qin Huai’s near-instantaneous kill made them reconsider their strategies. Now, they encircled Qin Huai, launching an attack from three different directions.