Chapter 100: Chapter 96: A Branch as a Flying Sword
"Watch your skin" wasn’t some empty threat you’d hear from squabbling women in the Mortal World.
In the Holy Blood Sect, idle boasts were not common.
If someone said they’d flay your skin, they would really flay it—not an inch less. If they said they’d tear out your bones, they would really tear them out—leaving even half a bone behind was a sign of incompetence.
If you made a boast you couldn’t back up, you could forget about ever making it in the Sect.
Anyone could step on a coward.
The two Outer Disciples hesitated, frequently exchanging glances.
This stranger was at the Qi Cultivation Late Stage, so he probably wasn’t an Outer Disciple. They were familiar with everyone from the Outer Sect.
But he didn’t seem to be an Inner Disciple either, since he wasn’t wearing their robes.
Besides, most Inner Disciples in the Holy Blood Sect were selected from disciples who had successfully reached Foundation Establishment.
Only a select few with exceptional talent would be snatched up as disciples by various powerful figures during the Qi Cultivation Stage.
As for a True Disciple... that was even more impossible.
By Holy Blood Sect tradition, there were only three True Disciples per generation. These three were not appointed by their elders but had to fight their way out of a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood.
Each generation of the Holy Blood Sect had anywhere from dozens to hundreds of Inner Disciples. By the time the True Disciples were decided, not even one in ten would be left alive.
But those who survived such a cruel slaughter were all prodigies among elites.
A tiny number of prodigies at the top, a small number of elites in the middle, and a large mass of Outer Disciples at the bottom—this was the structure of the Holy Blood Sect’s population.
After a moment of thought, the two Outer Disciples concluded that although this stranger at the Qi Cultivation Late Stage had an imposing and composed aura, clearly marking him as no ordinary character, he was probably not an Inner or True Disciple.
And so, after a brief hesitation, they weighed the choice between offending a Qi Cultivation Late Stage practitioner and gaining over a hundred Spirit Stones. They chose the latter.
"I don’t know what you’re talking about, Gu Xiaofang. Don’t think you can act all high and mighty in front of us just because you’ve latched onto someone powerful. Don’t forget, there’ll be a time when you’re alone!"
Gu Xiaofang immediately wanted to back down.
He knew they were right—he would eventually be caught alone.
And it was certain that this was a rare occasion for Brother Fei to be out without his "bodyguards"!
While Gu Xiaofang was rapidly trying to think of a strategy, Du Youqian had already had enough of this pointless back-and-forth.
The tree branch floated into the air and flew before the two Outer Disciples. A faint smile played on Du Youqian’s lips. "Save me some time. Cut the crap. Either you hand over that bag of Jade Tokens voluntarily, or I beat you half to death and then take the Jade Tokens."
The two Outer Disciples were first taken aback, but they soon couldn’t help but burst out laughing. "Brother, you could at least threaten us with a real Flying Sword! What’s the meaning of this tree branch?"
Du Youqian sighed. "It seems you’ve chosen the latter."
"BANG!"
The Sword Qi erupted, shattering the branch into countless splinters that pierced the bodies of the two Outer Disciples.
Gu Xiaofang was dumbfounded. After a long moment, he turned his neck mechanically, like a wooden Puppet, to look at the friend who was once so familiar but now seemed like a stranger. Then, just as mechanically, he turned back to look at the two Outer Disciples on the ground, their bodies riddled with wood splinters, who had fainted without so much as a groan or a cry of pain.
These two, while their Cultivation wasn’t profound, were still at the Qi Cultivation Middle Stage.
Although the Cultivation Technique they practiced didn’t focus on Body Forging, and they hadn’t deliberately tempered their bodies, they still couldn’t be injured by just any Mortal Blades and Swords.
And yet, those wood splinters had riddled them with countless holes.
Sword Qi—Gu Xiaofang thought of a term he didn’t quite understand but often heard the "masters" talk about.
’It must be Sword Qi, right?’
Only wood splinters infused with Sword Qi could pierce their bodies so easily, as if they were made of thin paper.
’Is my old friend now on the same level as the "masters" in my mind?’
If Du Youqian knew what he was thinking, he would probably scoff.
’The same level? You’re putting me, someone who has slain a Foundation Establishment Third Layer prodigy, on the same level as those minor characters in the Qi Cultivation Late Stage?’
’Do you really think the *Evergreen Master’s Immortal Sword Scripture Record* is as simple as just a bit of Sword Qi?’
"Stop spacing out, Xiaogu. Hurry up, grab your things, and let’s go."
"Oh, right." Gu Xiaofang bent down mechanically and picked up the bag of Jade Tokens.
He then looked sheepishly at his now-unfamiliar friend.
"Aren’t you going to count them?"
"Oh, right, I’ll count them." Gu Xiaofang woodenly counted the Jade Tokens.
"It’s all here," he said.
In truth, he had a lot he wanted to say, but whenever he looked at the two unconscious Outer Disciples, the words wouldn’t come out.
He couldn’t shake the feeling that a deep chasm had opened up between him and his old friend.
Du Youqian crouched down and placed a hand on one of the Outer Disciple’s heads.
After a moment, he did the same to the other one.
Gu Xiaofang couldn’t help but ask, "Brother Fei, what are you doing?"
"Oh, just taking some precautions, so they don’t reveal my secret."
"Secret?" Gu Xiaofang didn’t understand.
"For example, the fact that I know Sword Fighting."
Gu Xiaofang wasn’t stupid; he had just been too shocked earlier.
Now, with this reminder, he immediately understood and said solemnly, "Don’t worry, Brother Fei. I won’t tell anyone."
Du Youqian smiled. "Mm, I know."
He didn’t think his bond with Gu Xiaofang was so deep that he could trust him implicitly.
He simply didn’t care.
Even if Gu Xiaofang revealed that he had mastered Sword Qi, it wouldn’t have a major impact on him.
’What’s so special about mastering Sword Qi?’
’Any Qi Refining Eighth Layer Practitioner could master Sword Qi just by learning a bit of Swordsmanship.’
Even if Xi Mengran found out, she would just laugh it off.
Otherwise, Du Youqian wasn’t the type to be so agreeable; he would have certainly used some method to ensure Gu Xiaofang couldn’t speak.
In reality, Du Youqian’s abilities went far beyond something as simple as Sword Qi.
The two of them left in a hurry.
As for the two injured Outer Disciples, they were left lying there, ignored.
The Holy Blood Sect had its own rules.
If you wanted to take someone’s life, you had to wait for a suitable opportunity, such as a Sect-assigned mission, a minor or major competition, or signing a contract to fight in the Life and Death Arena.
But as long as you didn’t kill or cripple them, these Outer Disciples were like rootless duckweed; no one would investigate if they got beaten up and suffered a few injuries.
The injuries they sustained looked severe and bloody, but Du Youqian had actually held back.
By the standards of the Holy Blood Sect, their wounds couldn’t even be considered serious.
"Brother Fei, thank you so much for today."
Once they were far from the scene of the incident, Gu Xiaofang stopped and thanked him solemnly.
Du Youqian smiled. "Don’t be so quick to thank me. I need you to do me a favor, too."
"Just give the word, Brother Fei!" Gu Xiaofang said without hesitation.
In fact, ever since he learned that Gu Xiaofang ran errands for an Inner Disciple from the Miscellaneous Affairs Hall, Du Youqian knew what to do next.
"Issue a mission to me."
"Huh?" Gu Xiaofang thought he had misheard.
"I said, issue a mission to me immediately, one that requires me to leave the Sect for a year or two."
"Huh? Oh, oh, I get it!" Gu Xiaofang grew excited.
’Brilliant! Brother Fei is truly brilliant!’
