The Soul Gathering Pill Is Ready! A Breakthrough, Together!
"You! You've gone too far!"
"Zhang Lingxiao, I, Xing Hu, will not show you mercy!"
His apology had gotten him nowhere, so Xing Hu bit down on his pride and roared the words out instead.
"Too far?"
"You ambushed me at the exact moment I was most vulnerable, mid-comprehension, and you're the one calling this too far?"
"Your Sky Tiger Gang has left a trail of atrocities behind it. As its leader, you've spent years crushing men and women alike under your boot. You've earned this death a hundred times over. Killing you does the world a favor. So tell me again how I'm the one going too far."
"Enough talk. Bring it," Zhang Lingxiao said, cold and final.
"Hmph! You want death, you'll get it!"
Fury twisted Xing Hu's face. He hauled up the massive shield that had absorbed Feng Jian's strike earlier, its lower edge lined with blades sharp enough to double as a weapon in its own right, not just a wall to hide behind, but something that could cut on the way in too.
Zhang Lingxiao let out a cold snort, pressed his index and middle fingers together, and swept them through the air as Xing Hu closed the distance.
Nine Nether Sword Art, Second Form.
Invisible Sword Qi tore free from his fingertips, wrapped in threads of purple lightning, its presence heavy enough to feel like a judgment sent down from heaven itself.
"Sky Thunder One Sword!"
"Hmph!"
The Sword Qi roared forward like a thunder dragon given shape, Sword Intent blazing around it, and slammed straight into Xing Hu.
Clang.
Xing Hu threw the shield up in time to catch it, spiritual energy erupting violently at the point of impact.
Crack.
The shield gave way under Sky Thunder One Sword, shattering outright, and the Sword Qi, still carrying most of its force, punched straight through to Xing Hu himself.
Boom.
The strike cut clean through his waist. The wound was seared shut in the same instant it opened, and somewhere in the crowd below the arena, people swore they caught the faint smell of charred meat.
Dead silence followed.
Everyone already knew Zhang Lingxiao had comprehended Sword Intent. What they hadn't expected was this: a cultivator still nominally at Spiritual Martial Realm cutting down someone at Perfection with a single, effortless stroke.
Even faster than the kill on Li Tianshuo.
"That settles the match. Everyone, clear out," Feng Jian said, timing it perfectly.
No one argued. Every disciple in the crowd, Sky Tiger Gang members included, scattered from the dueling grounds the moment the words left his mouth.
Feng Jian turned back to Zhang Lingxiao, still standing in the arena, and smiled.
"Little Junior Brother, if you've got nothing pressing, come with me to Ten Thousand Swords Peak. Master's been waiting on you for a while now."
Zhang Lingxiao understood exactly what he was being offered. He'd never heard the man's legend before today, but it wasn't hard to read between the lines. Feng Jian was the Personal Disciple of the Ten Thousand Swords Peak Lord himself.
Still, his answer hadn't changed. Ten Thousand Swords Peak held no appeal for him.
He was still working out how to decline gracefully when Ouyang Shishi stepped in between them, playful and unbothered.
"Senior Brother Feng Jian, Senior Brother Zhang Lingxiao already belongs to Alchemy Peak. No poaching."
Feng Jian raised an eyebrow. "Junior Brother's still wearing Core Disciple robes, though. Becoming my Master's Personal Disciple wouldn't exactly conflict with that."
Ouyang Shishi glanced down at Zhang Lingxiao's robes and, for a moment, had nothing to say.
That old man and his terrible timing, choosing now, of all moments, to vanish into seclusion. If a talent like Zhang Lingxiao slipped through their fingers because of it, he'd be furious enough to keel over.
Feng Jian filled the silence with a proposal.
"Why not both? Let Little Junior Brother serve two peaks. Master could use more geniuses like him around. Someone with that kind of potential isn't easy to come by."
Zhang Lingxiao considered it and nodded. That seemed workable.
"Senior Brother Feng Jian flatters me. Even so, I'll need to head back to Alchemy Peak first and get the Peak Lord's blessing once he's out of seclusion."
Feng Jian nodded, traded a few parting words with him, and left.
Zhang Lingxiao brought Ouyang Shishi back to Alchemy Peak with him. He had a Gathering Spirit Pill to refine, and with Ouyang Shishi standing guard as his maid, there was no one better suited to protect him while he worked.
He shut the door behind them and got started.
Ouyang Shishi watched him feed one spirit herb after another into the Xuan water cauldron, a surprise plain in her eyes.
This shameless man. Barely a beginner in alchemy, and already reaching for a spirit-rank pill on his second attempt. He might actually be some monster.
His experience refining the Gathering Qi Pill carried over cleanly this time. His control over the flame, the timing on each herb, all of it had sharpened close to flawless now.
Minutes crawled by. Whether the pill succeeded or not would come down to this single attempt.
Boom.
Medicinal power surged inside the cauldron.
Zhang Lingxiao's divine sense tightened, and the spiritual energy he was feeding into the vessel spiked.
Clang.
Medicinal mist rose through the cauldron's furnace eye, a clean ringing note sounded, and Zhang Lingxiao's dark eyes finally opened.
"Phew... done."
He rose, gave Little Red a quick stroke, and crossed over to the cauldron.
Ouyang Shishi leaned in, curiosity written across her face, eyes locked on the vessel. She wanted to see for herself whether he had actually pulled it off, and if so, what grade had it come out at?
Even granting his gift for alchemy, she'd assumed his impatience would cost him. Surely this Gathering Spirit Pill wouldn't match the quality of his Gathering Qi Pill.
Zhang Lingxiao lifted the lid.
Fragrance flooded the small room instantly, rich enough to settle warmly through her whole body.
Ouyang Shishi breathed it in. No mistaking it, this was a Gathering Spirit Pill.
And judging by how much medicinal power was rolling off it alone, this might be another Supreme-Grade pill. Just catching the scent of it was enough to feel something in her own cultivation start to loosen.
She dropped into a cross-legged seat in the spot Zhang Lingxiao had just vacated and began circulating her cultivation technique, ready to attempt a breakthrough on the spot.
Zhang Lingxiao pulled nine Supreme-Grade Gathering Spirit Pills free from the cauldron, took one without hesitation, and pressed it between Ouyang Shishi's lips.
The softness under his fingertips registered for only a moment before he moved on, popping a second pill into his own mouth and settling into a cross-legged seat to begin refining it himself.
Ouyang Shishi felt the pill land on her tongue, her heart lurching before she steadied herself and got to work refining it.
She'd never leaned on medicinal pills for cultivation before; that wasn't how she did things. But a Supreme-Grade pill carried next to no toxicity. One dose, taken without turning it into a habit, wouldn't touch her foundation at all.
With this pill's power behind her, she could clear two minor realms in a single push and land at the third level of the Spiritual Martial Realm without breaking stride.
And so the two of them sat facing each other, him handsome and composed, her skin like ice and bones like carved jade and began to cultivate.