“It was a good dream too,” murmured Jin, massaging his neck to relieve the tension in his muscles.

To be honest, he was kind of pissed. Who goes out of their way to fight in this neck of the woods in the dead of night? He had spent hours finding a nice secluded spot to rest, that effort now apparently gone to waste.

The three perpetrators stood on the other side of the clearing without any remorse for causing him inconvenience. In the High Realms, even the Heavenly Emperor would have to give him some measure of respect, but that was all in the past, one which Jin avoided reminiscing.

“Who do you think you are?” the masked female shouted furiously. Her form flickered as she swiftly traversed the length of the clearing and slashed at his chest. When the edge of her sword made contact, Jin’s body shimmered, casually appearing beside the injured girl on the ground.

“An afterimage!” remarked the female attacker. The boy was fast.

Paying no attention to the black-garbed individuals, Jin pushed a red pill into the injured girl’s mouth. Although the medicine was only a rank 2 recovery pill, it was more than enough to heal a non-cultivator’s internal wounds. The blonde-haired girl’s visage brightened considerably, and her lips resumed their rosy color.

“Thank you,” she uttered, a pair of large violet eyes looked at him with worry. “But I’m afraid you can’t afford to offend these people. This is my mess. You should run while you still can,” the girl advised, standing up and pulling Jin behind her.

Bewildered, Jin had never found himself in such a strange situation. A non-cultivator was actually risking her life to protect his. Her bravado reminded him of someone - someone near and dear- and that very thought turned Jin’s mood sour. Good people always died young.

‘Fortunately, I’m not a good person,’ mused Jin, drawing his blade, which put the three assailants on alert.

“Young Master Xiehan, allow me to deal with this vagabond,” said the other masked man, cautiously walking towards Jin and Yuri.

Xiehan smiled smugly behind his cloth mask, confident that the man, Saren, would quickly dispatch the intruder. His Qin Clan had devoted a lot of resources to tonight’s operation, including hiring famous cultivators like Saren, a late-stage qi adept.

Of course, Jin had no idea of his opponent’s fame in the Ming Kingdom. To him, the fool was simply a walking corpse. Jin gently brushed the injured girl aside and twirled his blade. This was the perfect opportunity to try out the that he had been practicing. Since the technique extended the cutting edge of his blade using qi, its effectiveness at night, where it was hard to see, was multiplied twofold.

Jin and Saren stood absolutely still, facing each other for a whole minute. Both were clearly preparing for a quick and ruthless bout. The surrounding spectators gulped in anticipation.

A single cherry blossom petal drifted down into the space between the two combatants. With artistic flair, Jin and Saren timed their engagement, clashing at the spot where the petal fell.

Neither Yuri, Xiehan, nor the masked girl could keep up with the speed of the combatants’ exchange. The dead leaves and petals on the ground twirled chaotically under the influence of qi emanating from Jin’s blade.

Then Jin saw his opportunity. Saren made the fatal mistake of going for his legs, which Jin effortlessly avoided by leaping high into the air. Jin’s eyes glinted dangerously as he performed the , accompanied by the shrieking of concentrated qi on his formless blade. The combination of metal and qi split Saren cleanly down the middle.

Having displayed his superior bladesmanship, Jin flicked the blood off his weapon and turned his attention to the alleged young master. He purposefully leaked a bit of blood lust.

Yet, that was enough to cause Xiehan to sweat incessantly. Trembling in fear, the young master stumbled backwards and screamed bloody murder. The mysterious boy was stronger than a late-stage qi adept! A monster!

Despite his panicking, Xiehan suddenly remembered his failsafe. The young master tore a jade pendant off his neck and crushed it without a second thought, blinking away instantaneously.

“Xiehan, what about me?” screeched the female assailant, terrified by the fact that she was left alone with the rogue cultivator.

Jin laughed amusingly and sheathed his blade. Since the young master had already escaped, killing the woman would no longer serve any purpose. The last thing he wanted to do was to invite more hassle by slaying a wealthy heiress. Petty clans tended to hold long grudges, and killing scions was a sure fire way to antagonize them.

“So that’s the extent of young masters these days?” he mocked. “You may go, miss. Should I ever see you again, I will not be so merciful.”

The shock of being spared was evident in the woman’s eyes, but that surprise was quickly replaced with contempt. “You’ve made a bad mistake to interfere with their plans. I hope she’s worth it,” sneered the woman. “The Qin Clan be coming for her.”

“They will try,” Jin replied.