Though it was point-blank, the longspear stabbed into empty air.

Hmm?

Suspended in midair, his face hidden by a Fierce Ghost Mask, Zhou Huaijing’s eyes betrayed his shock. His wrist flicked instinctively. 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

"Burst!"

Inner Qi surged into the longspear. The shaft whipped like a long lash, swinging the spearhead toward Zhu Ju’s skull.

Inch Force Spear Whip!

A technique of this caliber, for channeling strength, could unleash the power to shatter mountains and crack stone within the space of an inch.

A simple flick was enough to shatter a helmet, smashing the skull within to a pulp.

With his Alien Internal Qi, Zhou Huaijing was absolutely confident!

PAK!

A hand like forged iron appeared beside the spear tip. With a gentle tap, a wave of Burst Force knocked the attacking blade away.

Zhu Ju stood firm. With a simple lift of his hand, he had nullified the attack.

Hmph!

With a muffled grunt, Zhou Huaijing landed, spun, and his longspear blurred into a flurry of afterimages as he stabbed forward.

An eight-foot longspear, its tip of metal and its shaft of wood.

When wielded, it flashed like a thousand cold stars, a silver light so dense that no water could penetrate. In battle, it was a defense that arrows and stones could not breach.

In terms of spear technique alone, it was truly extraordinary.

Facing the storm of spear images, Zhu Ju’s expression remained unchanged. His hands slapped, pressed, repelled with bursts of force, and flicked with his fingers. Despite the dense web of spear shadows before him, not one could break through his defense.

BOOM!

Unable to break through with his rapid attacks, and with reinforcements about to arrive from behind, Zhou Huaijing grew anxious. The True Qi in his body surged wildly.

Furious Inner Qi flooded into the longspear, making his technique faster and fiercer.

The longspear conjured a sky full of phantoms, each exuding a strange power. Zhu Ju felt as if his vision were filled with cold light. Streams of sharp Qi collided in the air, and the resulting gale whipped his clothes about, making them flutter and snap.

Suddenly, the sky full of spear phantoms converged inward. The piercing whistle of tearing air vanished, replaced by a heavy, suppressed force gathering to strike.

Before the spear arrived, an astonishing pressure bore down on his chest, making it impossible to evade or dodge.

"Kill!"

Zhou Huaijing let out a low shout as the longspear stabbed forward, appearing slow but actually moving with incredible speed.

’What fine spear work!’ Zhu Ju praised it silently. ’This Killing Move is likely on par with my Mixed Element Without Extremity!’

’The ceiling for Martial Arts in the Main World is just too high; so high that even the top-tier Martial Skills from the Qi Blood World are nothing to look at here. Just this obscure Wu Family Spear Technique, when combined with Alien Internal Qi, can produce such terrifying power. If this were an Innate Inheritance... how powerful would it be?’

As these thoughts flashed through his mind, his movements did not slow in the slightest. The Five Elements Internal Qi circulated steadily within him.

When the longspear was less than a few feet away, he suddenly raised his arm, his five fingers spreading as he struck like a bolt of lightning.

Ten Thousand Ridges Return to One!

The armored palm collided with the tip of the longspear, producing a sound like striking worn leather.

The collision of perfectly contained power made Zhu Ju’s momentum falter for a moment.

As for Zhou Huaijing...

Beneath his mask, his expression twisted. His eyes flew wide as a mouthful of blood surged up his throat, and he retreated explosively.

JINGLE JINGLE JINGLE!

The Copper Bell at his waist shook rapidly, emitting a strange, eerie sound. The zombie entangled with Song Meng and the others froze for a moment, then ignored their attacks. With a low grunt, it charged recklessly straight toward Zhu Ju.

"ROAR!"

The zombie roared at the sky.

Although it was just a single figure, it was wreathed in Corpse Qi and thick smoke, possessing the imposing momentum of a thousand-man army or Mount Tai crashing down.

"Look out!"

"Get out of the way!"

"..."

Song Meng and the others cried out in alarm. Wan Shuai, in contrast, stopped in his tracks and cupped his chin, a look of surprise on his face.

"Kill!"

Zhou Huaijing stabilized his breathing and roared,

"Kill him!"

"ROAR!"

The zombie leaped into the air and smashed down heavily.

Zhu Ju’s body tensed. His consciousness suddenly contracted, and his Forehead Ancestral Acupoint throbbed gently, as if stimulated by something.

In an instant, his mind entered a state of ultimate tranquility. The night wind brushing past him, the dust swirling in the air—everything was reflected in his perception.

And that figure falling from the sky, though moving at extreme speed, he could ’see’ with perfect clarity.

Shock, fear, sorrow, joy... all emotions departed from his being.

He would not be startled even if Mount Tai collapsed before him.

SWISH!

Bend the knees, raise the arm, strike with the palm.

Mixed Element Without Extremity!

In an instant, every wisp of Powerful Qi throughout his body fused into a single whole, erupting upward with his palm strike.

Micro!

His Martial Arts Realm, which had been on the verge of a breakthrough, silently shattered its previous bottleneck under the external stimulation.

BOOM!

The ground within a ten-foot radius abruptly sank. An invisible wave of Powerful Qi surged out, immediately followed by the sound of cracking bone.

CRACK!

The zombie’s arm suddenly went limp, as if it had lost all bone support.

Zhu Ju stepped forward, striking once at its chest and once at its head. The zombie’s body was sent flying sideways.

A large section of its chest was caved in, and the inside of its skull was turned to mush.

Having reached the Micro Realm, his power had multiplied.

SWOOSH!

His figure flickered.

Zhou Huaijing’s vision went black. A terrifying Palm Force descended, and his consciousness was immediately plunged into endless darkness.

The chaotic battlefield fell silent in an instant after two ’people’ were killed in quick succession.

Song Meng and the others looked at each other in dismay.

If they hadn’t seen it with their own eyes, they would never have believed that the zombie Zhu Ju had killed with two palm strikes was the same one that had tied them up for so long.

’If killing the zombie was that easy,’ they thought, ’then dealing with the three of us probably wouldn’t take him much effort either.’

"Breaking Army Armor!"

"Thirteen Body Refinement at External Training Perfection!"

"Mixed Element Iron Hand at the Micro Realm!"

"Clap... clap..."

Wan Shuai’s face showed a mixture of shock and doubt. He clapped his hands lightly and praised:

"Brother Zhu, you’ve really given me a huge surprise. Who would have thought that a small county could raise a Flood Dragon."

"You flatter me."

Zhu Ju shook his arms and unfastened the Breaking Army Armor.

"Ma Xun, notify the Patrol Team; Yufu, clean this place up."

"Yes!"

"Yes!"

Ma Xun was composed enough to quickly recover and run out of the courtyard. He Yufu, however, looked completely dazed, drifting about as if she had lost her soul.

’Young Master... is actually this strong!’

"Brother Zhu, I truly had eyes but failed to see a master. I’ve made a fool of myself," Song Meng said, clasping his fist in his hand.

"Yes." Wu Xuan’s expression was strained.

"Brother Zhu, you hide your talents well. I am impressed!"

"Is that the Breaking Army Armor?" Fang Yanrong, on the other hand, turned her gaze to the armor on the ground and asked curiously,

"I’ve heard its name before. Ever since Elder Ye went into seclusion, no one has used it for many years."

"To think it’s in Brother Zhu’s hands."

Breaking Army Armor!

The renowned killing tool of San Fen Hall.

This seemed to explain why Zhu Ju wasn’t afraid of the zombie and dared to face it and the Alien Internal Qi head-on.

This made Song Meng and the other two feel a little better.

Wan Shuai gently shook his head.

’It’s true that the Breaking Army Armor is a powerful killing tool,’ he thought, ’but if it’s so amazing, why has no one used it for so many years? The very fact that Zhu Ju can use it already says a lot. Besides... compared to his formidable Physical Body and the Breaking Army Armor, a Palm Technique that has reached the Micro Realm is the truly incredible achievement! This means Zhu Ju has already touched the edge of a Martial Arts Realm, qualifying him to seek the Innate Path. In all of San Fen Hall, how many people have successfully comprehended a Martial Arts Realm? And he’s so young, too. Looks like I’ll have to get closer to him from now on!’

"Ugh..." Zhu Ju suddenly frowned. Rolling up his sleeve, he looked at his arm and saw a ghastly white wisp of Qi spreading upward.

"Corpse Qi?"

"That’s right," Wan Shuai nodded.

"Both the zombie’s Corpse Qi and the Alien Internal Qi in that other man’s body are extremely unusual. Brother Zhu, do you need me to help you circulate your power and heal?"

The Breaking Army Armor could block the penetration of Inner Qi, but it wasn’t a complete barrier. It was inevitable that some Corpse Qi would invade during a direct confrontation.

Inner Qi cultivated through ordinary Internal Cultivation Methods would have a hard time suppressing Corpse Qi. Only an Innate Inheritance would work.

Of the people present, only Wan Shuai was capable of it.

"There’s no need." Zhu Ju shook his head gently.

"I’ll go prepare some medicinal herbs."

"Very well." Wan Shuai nodded.

"You weren’t tainted by much Corpse Qi. With medicinal conditioning and suppressing it with your Inner Qi, it should get better after a while."

’To expel Corpse Qi with someone else’s Inner Qi, I would have to let their Qi enter my Meridians. At that point, my life and death would be in his hands. Our relationship isn’t built on that level of trust. My refusal is only natural.’

Zhu Ju lowered his sleeve and silently circulated his Five Elements Internal Qi.

His Five Elements Internal Qi, with its cycle of creation and destruction, quickly transformed into an Inner Qi Grinding Disc that rapidly wore away the Corpse Qi.

In just a few moments, it was completely purged.

’Alien Internal Qi? I have that, too!’

The members of the Patrol Team arrived quickly.

"Young Master Zhu, this corpse is the former Leng Family Patriarch, Leng Chi, who died last year," one of them reported.

"The mask on the other person is very strange; we can’t seem to pull it off. For now, we’re not sure who he is."

Zhu Ju’s brows furrowed tightly.

’Although I don’t know his true identity, judging from his spear technique, he must have a close relationship with Black Tiger Wu Chun. Now that I’ve killed this man, I’m afraid I’ll inevitably draw the revenge of Black Tiger Wu Chun. Over three years ago, Black Tiger Wu Chun was already a master capable of Inner Qi Release. His strength must have progressed even further since then. If he’s also cultivated Alien True Qi, he’ll be incredibly difficult to deal with.’

"Brother Zhu, don’t worry."

Wan Shuai, reading his expression, lowered his voice and said,

"Actually, an elder from San Fen Hall has already arrived in Leping County, but it’s being kept secret. Tomorrow, I’ll take you to meet them."

"With them here, there’s no way Black Tiger Wu Chun can harm a hair on your head!"

Zhu Ju raised an eyebrow at his words.

’No wonder! Vice Hall Master Wan’s only son is here. It would be strange if there weren’t any masters acting as his escort. Wan Shuai didn’t mention it before, which obviously means he either didn’t consider me an insider or he simply looked down on me. But now, things are different. The strength I’ve displayed has earned me the right to enter San Fen Hall’s inner circle. Now he’s willing to share information that Song Meng and the others don’t know.’