Chapter 35 Promoted to third level bloodline

Lu Ming employed the Dragon-Snake Step, covering five zhang with each move—his speed was astonishing, and Wei Ziyu had no chance of escape. Within just over a dozen breaths, Lu Ming had closed in behind Wei Ziyu. "I'll fight you to the end!" Wei Ziyu bellowed, his bloodline erupting as he turned to face Lu Ming head-on. He knew that neither begging for mercy nor threats would work. Lu Ming's decisive and ruthless nature was clear from his earlier actions. Even a genius disciple from the Duanmu family was swiftly killed without hesitation, demonstrating that he wouldn't fear the Wei family either. Clang! Clang! Sword met sword as the two engaged in fierce combat. By this point, Lu Ming's bloodline burst had ended, but bolstered by the War Dragon Art and the fourth level of the Streaming Light Sword Technique, he still completely overpowered Wei Ziyu. Wei Ziyu's sword technique was merely the fourth level of a low-tier Yellow-grade art. After dozens of exchanges, Lu Ming's sword strokes became quicker and quicker until, finally, his sword pierced Wei Ziyu's heart. In a direct battle, Wei Ziyu's defeat meant death. Afterward, Lu Ming glanced in a certain direction and chased after someone with a cold laugh. At that moment, Wei Ziming was frantically running for his life, wishing he had more legs. "How could he be so strong? Even a Warrior-level opponent has been slain; my brother likely stood no chance. I must escape and have father dispatch an expert to kill this Lu Ming." As Wei Ziming sprinted, he let out a low roar. "At a time like this, you're still thinking of killing me, huh!" Suddenly, a voice rang right next to Wei Ziming's ear. "Ah!" Wei Ziming screamed, turning to see Lu Ming watching him with a cold smirk. A chill ran down Wei Ziming's spine, from tailbone to skull. "Lu Ming, spare me! Please, I beg you to spare me!" Where could Wei Ziming find the courage to run? He stopped abruptly, knelt down, and started to wail for mercy. This startled Lu Ming slightly, as it seemed Wei Ziming was quite spineless, unlike Wei Ziyu. "I've already killed Wei Ziyu. Do you think I'll spare you?" Lu Ming said with a faint smile. "Lu Ming, no, Brother Ming, rest assured, I won't say a word about today's events, and you did well to kill Wei Ziyu. His talent was greater than mine, always suppressing me. I've been wanting him dead for a long time; with him gone, no one will compete with me for the position of Lord of Wei Huo City." Wei Ziming's face was streaked with tears and snot as he begged pitifully. But inside, he was roaring; if he survived today, he vowed to retaliate against Lu Ming tenfold, a hundredfold. "Do you think I won't kill you and wait for your revenge? Do you think I'm that foolish?" Lu Ming grinned. "No—" Wei Ziming shouted, trying to flee, but a flash of sword light swept by, and Wei Ziming's head flew far away. "What a pity, one still managed to escape." Lu Ming murmured to himself. There was another, a ninth-level Warrior from the Duanmu family. With that level of cultivation, the young man could escape very quickly; after so much time, it would be impossible to catch up. However, Lu Ming suddenly swayed and spat out a mouthful of blood. "The attack of a Warrior realm is really sharp indeed!" Lu Ming sighed. He had forced his bloodline to withstand an assault from Duanmu Fei and the others. Although he deflected fifty percent of the force and countered with his ninth-level Warrior protective qi, he was still injured. Yet these injuries were a worthy trade for the lives of three Warrior realm masters. By sheer combat power, Lu Ming, even with his Soul Devouring Insect bloodline, might not have been able to defeat the three of them. He had managed to kill them all in one fell swoop by catching them off guard with the unique traits of his bloodline. Neither Duanmu Fei nor the robed young man had even used their bloodline burst. Wiping away the blood at the corner of his mouth, Lu Ming returned to the battlefield, devoured the essence blood of Wei Ziyu, Duanmu Fei, and the robed youth, and then found a secluded place to begin refining it. The essence blood of three Warrior realm masters was enormously potent. Even if only half of their energy converted into qi, it would cause Lu Ming's cultivation to soar. His wounds also swiftly healed during the process. Once all the essence blood was refined, an additional pale red meridian wheel appeared on top of the two existing blood-colored wheels of his Soul Devouring Insect bloodline. Advancing to the third level, Lu Ming's bloodline ascended again. At the same time, his cultivation reached the peak of the ninth-level Warrior, just shy of breaking into the Warrior realm. But it was this slight gap that blocked Lu Ming's path. Frowning, Lu Ming remarked, "I've been advancing too fast lately. The qi is mixed and not pure enough, and my foundation is unstable; no wonder I can't break through." The more essence blood he consumed, the more apparent its disadvantages became. After all, it wasn't cultivated step by step, which made for a shaky foundation and a heterogenous qi. Otherwise, with the essence blood of three Warrior realm experts, he could have advanced to the Warrior realm. "I need to stop consuming essence blood now and spend some time consolidating my cultivation." Lu Ming believed that as long as he consolidated his qi to become pure and condensed again, the breakthrough would naturally follow. Then, Lu Ming moved to another spot, ceased hunting demonic beasts, and focused on cultivating the War Dragon True Art and his various martial techniques. After nine days of intensive practice, Lu Ming's qi became refined, pure, and his foundation solidified. As a result, his cultivation surged, achieving the Warrior realm breakthrough. Whoosh! Lu Ming executed a sword strike, and a black qi burst forth, bisecting a tree of substantial girth. In the Warrior realm, qi could be externally projected, forming the likes of sword qi, blade light, and fist aura, all of which were immensely powerful. "My qi has grown several-fold. Now, if I face a first-level Warrior like Wei Ziyu or Duanmu Fei, I could slay them with a single move." Lu Ming's eyes shone brightly. "Let's test out the Dragon-Snake Step!" Throughout this period, while his other martial skills remained the same, the Dragon-Snake Step had broken through to the sixth level, 'Unity of Man and Martial,' the highest level of a martial skill. Bam! With an outburst of qi and muscle tremors, Lu Ming's figure shot out like the wind. The fallen leaves stirred into a frenzy from his movement, and he appeared seven zhang away. Exactly, seven zhang. Although the mastery at 'Unity of Man and Martial' calls for six zhang per step, his breakthrough to the Warrior realm allowed him to reach seven zhang. The higher one's cultivation, the greater the power of the same martial skill. "With four days left until the assessment ends, I must now devote all my efforts to finding the point tally tokens." Lu Ming's figure dashed off again, disappearing into the forest.