C10 The Despair of the Golden Core Stage!

Third Master Tang was tempted to gamble that the blade was poison-free.

But life is precious, and if he gambled wrong, it was a price he couldn't afford to pay!

He wrestled with his thoughts for a long while before finally deciding. He passed the long blade to Seventh Master Tang and said,

"Seventh Brother, go ahead."

"Are you certain?" Seventh Master Tang asked with hesitation.

Third Master Tang clenched his jaw and gave a firm nod.

"Shua!"

With a swift motion, Seventh Master Tang wielded the long blade and struck at Third Master Tang's last remaining arm.

"Hiss!"

The severed arm hit the ground, and a wave of intense pain broke out, drenching Third Master Tang in a cold sweat.

Seventh Master Tang retrieved medicine from his storage ring and applied it to the fresh wound.

From a distance, Qin Buyi observed the scene. Despite them being foes, he couldn't help but admire their resolve.

Yet, an enemy remains an enemy, and mercy towards them is cruelty to oneself. Qin Buyi was set on shattering their spirits completely.

His voice, laced with feigned surprise, reached the ears of the Tang trio once more: "Oops, I tricked you. There was no poison on the blade."

"You!"

"Little wretch, if I catch you, I'll make you wish for death." Third Master Tang seethed, his gaze fixed in Qin Buyi's direction.

If glares could kill, Qin Buyi would have perished a thousand times under such a stare.

"Retreat!" Seventh Master Tang commanded, his voice rough with contemplation.

They had underestimated their opponent from the start and had been ensnared in Qin Buyi's ploy, led astray at every turn.

Now, aside from Seventh Master Tang, the others were far from their prime: one lay poisoned and unconscious, the other grievously wounded.

After a night's pursuit, Qin Buyi had drawn them deep into the Falling Star Mountain Range.

As he watched the trio retreat, Qin Buyi thought to himself, "Leave? Is escape even an option?"

Having been drained by Qin Buyi's ambush at their peak, the trio's predicament was dire, especially now, burdened with two liabilities.

...

"Killing Saber Technique - Extermination!"

"Clang!" "Clang!"

"Killing Saber Technique - Slaughter!"

"Clang!" "Clang!" "Clang!"

The relentless ambushes by Qin Buyi left them utterly exasperated.

After being on edge for so long, Seventh Master Tang, who had remained composed throughout, finally lost his patience and bellowed,

"Qin Buyi, show some courage and face me directly! What kind of skill is it to rely on these cowardly sneak attacks?"

From his hidden vantage, Qin Buyi's voice dripped with sarcasm, "So, the Tang family sends two at the Golden Core Late Period and one at Golden Core Perfection, and you think that's respectable? That's skillful?"

Stung by Qin Buyi's taunts, Seventh Master Tang was at a loss for words. He chose to remain silent, concentrating on guarding against Qin Buyi's next move.

By nightfall, the Tang trio had covered less than a quarter of their intended distance.

Seventh Master Tang surveyed the wounds on his body, now tinged with green, and his pale lips. He saw Fourth Master Tang struggling for breath and Third Master Tang, utterly dejected.

He had sustained these injuries while protecting Fourth and Third Master Tang. Along the way, Qin Buyi had plenty of chances to kill the two.

But Qin Buyi's strategy was clear: keeping them alive diverted Seventh Master Tang's focus.

If he were to kill them, Seventh Master Tang, free from concern, might successfully flee, and Qin Buyi was not confident he could prevent that.

"Qin Buyi, let's negotiate. We'll hand over all our valuables. Once we're back with our clan, we'll persuade the Patriarch to call off the pursuit," proposed Seventh Master Tang, his voice earnest.

Qin Buyi ignored Seventh Master Tang, knowing that his silence would further crush the already fragile spirits of his adversaries.

"Qin Buyi, this is too much!"

After an agonizing wait with no reply, Seventh Master Tang spoke up, his voice laden with severity.

"Do you really have to wipe them out completely?"

Dawn broke.

Two days and nights had passed since the Tang family trio began their relentless pursuit of Qin Buyi.

Qin Buyi remained vibrant and full of life, in stark contrast to the disheveled and dirt-streaked Tang family members, whose eyes were red with bloodshot veins.

"It's time for them to meet the King of Hell," Qin Buyi murmured as he caressed the Killing Saber.

"Clang!"

"Killing Saber Technique: Extermination!"

"Again?" Seventh Master Tang mustered his energy, intending to handle the attack as he had before and keep moving.

"Clang!"

Gripping the Killing Saber with full force, Qin Buyi unleashed a tremendous power that sent Seventh Master Tang stumbling back several steps before he could dissipate the energy.

"This isn't good!" Seventh Master Tang cried out in alarm.

"Swoosh!"

The blade of the Killing Saber slashed across Fourth Master Tang's throat, and a gush of blood, tinged with green, sprayed from the wound.

Ding! For slaying an important member of the Tang family, Fourth Master Tang, a reward of five attribute points has been granted!

"Swoosh!"

The tip of the saber pierced through the heart of the grievously wounded Third Master Tang, its vibrations pulverizing the organ.

Ding! For killing another key figure of the Tang family, Third Master Tang, a reward of five attribute points has been granted!

Ten attribute points were instantly added to his cultivation, fueling Qin Buyi's ultimate deathblow.

"Killing Saber Technique: Slaughter!"

The Killing Saber hummed with high-speed vibrations as it was swung towards Seventh Master Tang.

"Clang!"

Their weapons clashed, numbing the arm of Seventh Master Tang as he struggled to hold his saber against the formidable force.

"Impossible! How could your strength have surged so dramatically?" Seventh Master Tang's face was etched with disbelief.

"Could it be that you've been concealing your true power all along?"

"Haha, how absurd, how utterly absurd. Our Tang family hasn't mobilized together in ten years. To think that we'd be capsized in the gutter by a young upstart after all this time..."

"Clang!" "Clang!"

"Clang!" "Clank!"

"Crack!"

A fissure formed on the blade held by Seventh Master Tang.

"Snap!"

Within a few exchanges, the saber in Seventh Master Tang's grip shattered completely.

"Chi!"

The head hit the ground with a thud.

Qin Buyi gazed at the lifeless body of Seventh Master Tang and remarked, "Too much babbling. Did you actually believe you were a big shot?"

Ding! For slaying an important member of the Tang family, Seventh Master Tang, you've been awarded five attribute points!

After allocating the points, Qin Buyi accessed his personal status panel:

Name: Qin Buyi

Cultivation: Second Rank, Golden Core Late Period (44/50)

Strength: 44

Speed: 44

Physical Strength: 44

Attack Power: 44

Defense: 44

Fortune: 44

...

Killing Saber, Second Rank (44/50)

Attack Power: 44

Killing Saber Technique, Second Rank (44/50)

Attack Power: 44

With his newfound power, Qin Buyi was now confident that he could single-handedly eliminate the Tang family's three prodigies in a direct confrontation.

He pocketed the storage rings of the three men and an idea began to take shape in his mind.

In Azure Sun City, at the Tang family stronghold, a crowd had gathered, most of them drawn by the prospect of scandal.

Three severed heads were displayed on the gates of the Tang estate.

"Is that Fourth Master Tang? Am I seeing this right?"

"And the Third Master and Seventh Master Tang too? My God! What on earth happened?"

"Who could the Tang family have provoked to have all three of their top talents killed?"

The Second Elder, accompanied by his men, hurried out from within the Tang estate. His heart lurched at the sight of the fallen trio.

He commanded his men to remove the heads and disperse the onlookers, then retreated into the Tang residence with a troubled frown.

Concealed within the crowd, Qin Buyi observed the Second Elder and slowly formulated a strategy.

Unaware of the looming threat, the Second Elder was busy briefing Tang Zhentian on the recent events.

"Qin Buyi! I swear, I'll shred you to pieces!" Tang Zhentian's fists cracked with rage as he seethed with animosity.

Meanwhile, at the Wang family compound.

Wang Zong perused the latest intelligence report. His mood, which had seen a slight improvement over the last few days, soured once again.

"Man, this Qin Buyi is a real trouble magnet," Wang Zong mused, reflecting on the young man's short time in Azure Sun City.

At first, he wiped out some no-name gang, which hardly caused a stir.

But then he went on to kill the Tang family's Sixth Young Master, along with their Fifth and Eighth Masters...

And in a single night, he torched a third of the Tang family's holdings.

Now, he's gone and slain the renowned Third, Fourth, and Seventh Masters of the Tang family, even going so far as to display their heads on the walls of the Tang estate.

Wang Zong ticked off on his fingers, realizing that aside from the prematurely deceased Sixth Young Master, the only senior members of the Tang family left were the Second Brother and Tang Zhentian.

A daring thought suddenly sprang to Wang Zong's mind: "If I could take out the Second Brother and that old coot Tang Zhentian, it would be the icing on the cake!"

The idea sent a thrill through him, but then Wang Zong shook his head, dismissing the thought: "No way. The gap between the Nascent Infant Stage and the Golden Core Stage is vast, like that between earth and sky."

He tried to settle his turbulent emotions, sensing that major upheaval was on the horizon for Azure Sun City.

With Qin Buyi having nearly decimated the Tang family's leadership, Tang Zhentian was bound to retaliate with a vengeance.