Chapter Twenty-One: You Want Me as Your Underling? You Wish.

He believed that, faced with three Heaven Spirit Realm cultivators at once, Huo Qing would have no choice but to surrender!

Beside the waterfall, Huo Qing stood with his hands hanging at his sides. He chuckled and said, "Yan Hao, I didn't expect you to find me so quickly. However, do you really think the people you brought can pose any threat to me? I suggest you save your breath, lest I crush your confidence completely and leave you unable to recover."

Yan Hao was stunned, then threw his head back and laughed loudly. "Hahahaha..."

Once he had laughed his fill, he slowly stopped, wiped the corner of his eye, and looked at Huo Qing with pitying, sympathetic eyes. "Huo Qing, oh Huo Qing, how much longer will you remain immersed in a world of fantasy? Such a great opportunity is laid out before you, yet you don't know how to cherish it. You make things very difficult for me..."

Having said this, a cold, murderous glint surfaced in his eyes as he whispered, "Senior Brother Li, Senior Brother Chen, what are you waiting for? This guy shows contempt for Brother Zhang's authority; it is necessary for us to teach him a lesson!"

"Indeed." The other two wore savage smiles as they heard this, and three waves of powerful spiritual energy erupted simultaneously.

The three of them lunged forward, their sharp, forceful punches closing in on him instantly.

Seeing this, Huo Qing merely offered a faint smile. A violent aura surged around his body, and he threw a punch, accompanied by terrifying gusts of wind and sword energy, sweeping out like a tidal wave.

Boom!

The moment their fists collided, the expressions of Yan Hao and his two companions changed drastically. They were sent flying uncontrollably, ultimately crashing into a rockery ten meters away.

Puff!

Three mouthfuls of blood sprayed out instantly. Their faces were filled with terror, and their bodies began to tremble.

"How is this possible?!" Yan Hao roared. He could not believe that Huo Qing could defeat the three of them so effortlessly. Could that cheating tool really be that powerful?

Meanwhile, Huo Qing remained in the posture of his punch, his body as steady as a mountain.

A flash of light appeared in his hand as the Spirit-Connecting Sword coalesced. He raised the blade, and as spiritual energy and sword energy surged wildly, a terrifying aura began to emanate from him.

Seeing this, Yan Hao's expression shifted. He gritted his teeth and shouted, "Senior Brothers, attack with me! He is relying on cheating, so he surely cannot hold out for long. As long as we persist, we will win!"

Even now, he dared not believe this was Huo Qing's true strength.

"Right!"

The three summoned their spiritual weapons—a saber, a sword, and a halberd—and infused them with spiritual energy, imbuing them with formidable destructive power.

"Crescent Moon Slash!"
"Furious Piercing Thrust!"
"Mountain-Splitting Cleave!"

The three offensives swept out together. For a moment, the wind exploded, and even the falling waterfall seemed to freeze in place.

Feeling the ferocity of these attacks, Yan Hao's confidence soared. He sneered, "Huo Qing, even if you kneel and beg for mercy now, I won't let you off!"

Huo Qing's expression, however, remained playful. Suddenly, his figure became illusory, leaving only a trail of afterimages.

"What?!"

The attacks from Yan Hao and his men hit nothing but air, leaving them in a state of confusion and fear. How had this guy's speed increased so much, so suddenly?!

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Sword energy began to press in from all sides, the sound of tearing wind relentless. In the blink of an eye, the three were covered in wounds, blood flowing freely. Yan Hao and the others scrambled to activate their defensive spiritual treasures, desperate to fend off the relentless sword energy.

Suddenly, an afterimage flashed by, and Huo Qing manifested. He raised his sword, and a blade of light, over ten feet long, descended from the sky.

"Sword-Drawing Slash!"

The soft voice sent a chill through the bones of the three attackers.

Bang!

The blade of light exploded, and the three were sent flying like broken blood bags, their blood and shattered organs raining down.

With one strike, all three were severely wounded!

"You..." Yan Hao struggled to climb to his feet. His face was a bloody mess, yet he could not hide the deep-seated terror in his eyes.

Huo Qing stood with his sword sheathed, his expression cold. "Get lost. If you're smart, don't come looking for trouble again. Otherwise, I wouldn't mind beating you until you can't even take care of yourself."

Hearing this, Yan Hao shuddered, pulled his neck in, and laughed dryly. "It was my own ignorance that failed to recognize your greatness. I'll leave at once, I'm going!"

He hurriedly helped up Li Qing and Chen Feng, whose faces were as pale as paper, clearly not expecting Huo Qing to be so difficult to deal with.

"Wait!"

Huo Qing’s heart stirred, and he spoke up suddenly.

Yan Hao turned around, wishing he could cry. "If it's not enough, should I kneel for you?"

Huo Qing scoffed and said, "You've provoked me so many times, I'm getting annoyed. Give me some compensation for my mental distress, or leave behind two of your arms as payment."

"How much do you want?" Yan Hao gritted his teeth.

"Eight thousand spirit crystals each," Huo Qing said calmly.

He needed to resolve the demonic energy in his body; the Evil Demon Pill alone might not be enough, and some extra spirit crystals would make it much safer.

"Eight thousand each?" Yan Hao's mouth twitched. He only had four thousand spirit crystals on him, which he had brought from his family before coming to the Canglan Sword Sect.

Li Qing and Chen Feng showed looks of reluctance, but they dared not speak out in their current state and obediently handed over their spirit crystals.

Seeing this, Yan Hao’s face turned joyful. "Senior Brothers, I wonder if you could help me out with a bit..."

"Get lost!" The two rolled their eyes and growled viciously. If it weren't for him, would they have suffered such a loss?

Yan Hao’s face stiffened.

"I heard one spirit point can be exchanged for ten spirit crystals. How about this: give me another three hundred spirit points, and we'll call our score settled," Huo Qing said, his heart moved, smiling brightly.

"Three hundred spirit points? Why don't you just rob me?!" Yan Hao was dumbfounded. He had just arrived at the Canglan Sword Sect, and those were his base spirit points—he hadn't spent a single one, and now he had to hand them all over?

"Do you have a problem with that?" A dangerous light flashed in Huo Qing’s eyes, and his sword flickered with sharp energy once more.

"I'll give them to you!" Seeing this, Yan Hao felt a chill run down his spine. He quickly took out his spirit point card and, bracing himself against the loss, swiped his finger. Three hundred spirit points were transferred to Huo Qing's card.

A smile curled on Huo Qing's lips. These points had come without any effort; it was truly satisfying.

"Can I leave now?" Yan Hao’s veins were bulging on his forehead.

"Safe travels," Huo Qing said with a grin.

The three fled like terrified rabbits.

...

"Let's see what's in the Spirit Point Hall."

In his room, Huo Qing focused his mind and selected the "Spirit Point Hall" option on his card.

Hum!

A flicker of light passed, and the space before Huo Qing changed drastically. When he opened his eyes again, he was standing in a massive hall.

The hall was filled with all sorts of glowing orbs, containing a vast array of spirit techniques and spirit weapons.

Huo Qing walked through the spirit technique section, growing more astonished the further he went. Starting from the lowest grade-two techniques, passing through grade-three, and finally reaching the display of grade-four techniques.

Each of those grade-four techniques cost no less than five thousand spirit points!

Moving past that section, Huo Qing browsed the spirit weapon area. After all, the Spirit-Connecting Sword was his strongest, yet it was only a grade-two weapon; as his strength grew, its utility was gradually diminishing.

Suddenly, he stopped in his tracks, his eyes narrowing. He had sensed that the Ancestral Sword within his body was emitting an incredibly intense vibration at that moment!