Breaking Limits in Martial Arts: Grinding Your Way to Becoming a Martial Saint in a Chaotic Era

The forest was deathly silent.

Everyone seemed to be nailed to the ground.

The bandits under the third leader stared wide-eyed, motionless. The five private soldiers behind Lin Cang's face first showed contempt, then astonishment, and finally fear.

Lin Cang's expression also changed.

It wasn't fear, it was shock.

He stared intently at Xu Qing, his gaze fixed on him like a nail, scrutinizing him from head to toe, confirming repeatedly. He had seen that strike just now clearly; it wasn't the power of Ming Jin (manifested force), but rather An Jin (hidden force), and not even ordinary An Jin.

The speed, angle, and force of that strike far exceeded his understanding of a person with Ming Jin (a type of martial arts skill).

"Dark Force..." Lin Cang's eyes widened suddenly, his voice hoarse, "You actually broke through to the Dark Force realm!"

He took a deep breath, his gaze becoming more serious than ever before: "At the Golden Scale Gathering, you were only at the Ming Jin level. Only a few days have passed? And you've already reached the An Jin level?!"

He shook his head violently, his mind churning, and a thought shot up like a venomous snake: "This boy must not be spared. If he is not killed today, the Lin family will surely perish at his hands one day."

He suddenly waved his hand, his voice filled with a desperate resolve: "Everyone, attack together! Kill him!"

The five private soldiers and the five river bandits under the third leader moved at the same time.

Ten men, ten skilled martial artists, rushed towards Xu Qing from all directions. The glint of blades and the clash of swords wove a web of death in the twilight.

Xu Qing did not back down.

He took a step forward, his waist knife held horizontally in front of him, the blade swirling with a layer of invisible, hidden energy.

He used a knife instead of fists.

The Five Elements Fist is executed with a knife.

The Crushing Fist is as swift as an arrow!

The blade thrust straight in, ten layers of force combined, piercing through the chest of a private soldier. The blade emerged from his back, carrying a puff of warm blood mist.

The cannon's fists are like fire!

With a horizontal slash, a burst of hidden force erupted, severing the arm of a bandit along with the bone. The man screamed in agony, but before he could retreat, Xu Qing's second slash was already upon him.

His punches were as sharp as axes!

The knife cleaved down from top to bottom, splitting a private soldier in two from shoulder to waist, blood and entrails gushing out onto the ground.

......

One cut, one kill.

Xu Qing's knife became faster and more ruthless.

He wasn't fighting; he was reaping.

Every movement was clean and swift, without the slightest waste. Wherever the blade passed, a shower of blood fell. Those skilled martial artists were like paper before him, unable to withstand even a single round.

In less than ten breaths, ten more corpses lay on the ground.

The forest was filled with the strong stench of blood, and blood flowed like a river on the ground, with severed limbs and remains scattered everywhere.

Xu Qing stood amidst the pile of corpses, covered in blood, looking like a demon emerging from a hellish scene.

His breathing remained steady, and his eyes remained calm. He flicked the blood off his knife, turned around, and looked at Lin Cang.

Lin Cang's face had turned pale.

It wasn't just a pale white, but a deathly white, devoid of any blood. His hands were trembling, the longsword in his grasp quivering slightly, emitting a faint humming sound.

He was afraid.

It wasn't the kind of fear of "being unable to win," but a deep-seated, instinctive fear.

He had been by Lin Mu's side for over a decade and had seen countless experts, but he had never seen anyone like this before!

A person who has only been practicing martial arts for three months, and who was still at the Ming Jin level ten days ago, can now kill ten Ming Jin masters in ten breaths without changing his expression or even panting.

Even a master of internal strength could not do it so cleanly and efficiently.

Lin Cang suddenly realized something.

Lin Mu was right; keeping this person around would really be a disaster.

But he also realized something even more terrifying: he might not be able to kill this person today.

run.

The thought, like a poisonous thorn, pierced Lin Cang's mind. He had to run; he had to tell Lin Mu the news. Xu Qing had broken through to the Dark Force realm, and his strength far surpassed that of ordinary people.

He suddenly turned around, pushed off with his feet, and sprinted towards the exit of the dense forest.

Xu Qing did not pursue.

He simply stared at Lin Cang's retreating figure, his gaze gradually turning cold.

Then he bent down, picked up a short knife from the ground, weighed it in his hand, took a deep breath, channeled his inner strength into his arm, and threw it out with a vengeance.

The short sword drew a silver arc in the air, as fast as lightning, with a sharp whistling sound, heading straight for Lin Cang's back.

Lin Cang sensed the killing intent behind him and suddenly turned to the side. The short knife grazed his shoulder and pierced the tree trunk in front of him with a "thud," penetrating deep into the wood.

Before he could even feel relieved, Xu Qing had already caught up to within three zhang of him.

Lin Cang gritted his teeth, turned around, and thrust his long sword out like a venomous snake, heading straight for Xu Qing's throat.

Since we can't escape, we might as well fight.

He was a person who had achieved minor mastery of internal energy and was about to reach the threshold of major mastery. He did not believe that he could not even beat a young man who had just broken through to the level of internal energy.

Swords clashed, sparks flying.

Lin Cang's longsword was like a snake, stabbing from all sorts of tricky angles, fast and ruthless. After all, he was a veteran of internal strength cultivation, experienced and ruthless, possessing considerable skill.

He attempted to engage in a protracted struggle with Xu Qing.

Xu Qing didn't have time to waste with him. Officer Qi was still waiting for reinforcements.

Xu Qing's gaze suddenly turned cold. He no longer held back and, facing Lin Cang's thrusting sword, slashed down with all his might! Five Elements Fist, Chopping Fist, unleashed with the power of a sword, tenfold force.

Lin Cang was terrified and hastily sheathed his sword to parry, with a loud clang. He felt an overwhelming force coming from the sword, and his hand nearly slipped from his grasp.

Even more terrifying, a strange force traveled along the sword and drilled into his arm, layer by layer.

The hidden force enters the body!

Then... it suddenly exploded!

"puff--"

Lin Cang spat out a mouthful of blood and flew backward, crashing heavily into a large tree. Several crisp cracking sounds came from his back, indicating that he had broken many ribs.

He slid to the ground, his longsword lying beside him, his mouth full of blood and foam.

He looked up and saw Xu Qing carrying a knife, walking towards him step by step.

Lin Cang's lips trembled as he tried to speak, but his throat was full of blood, and he could only make indistinct "hoarse" sounds.

Xu Qing walked up to him, looked down at him, and remained expressionless.

"Do you have a family? You risk your life for Lin Mu, will Lin Mu take care of your family?" The voice was very soft.

Lin Cang's pupils suddenly contracted.

Xu Qing did not wait for his reply.

He slashed down with a single stroke.

Lin Cang's head rolled twice on the ground and came to rest in a pool of blood, his eyes still open, dying with his eyes wide open.

Xu Qing stood in the forest, covered in blood, looking every bit like a god of death.

Such a fierce battle would have left an ordinary martial artist with only minor mastery of internal energy panting heavily and severely depleted of strength. Yet, he showed no signs of fatigue and remained full of energy.

The breakthrough characteristic of "internal organs transformed into a furnace, with inexhaustible internal circulation" is truly heaven-defying.

He quickly rummaged through the corpses on the ground, finding only a few silver notes and a porcelain bottle on the third leader's body. Without even looking at them closely, he stuffed them into his pocket.

He wiped the blood from his face, then took a deep breath, suppressed his inner strength aura, and transformed back into Xu Qing, who possessed "manifest strength."

He glanced one last time at the dozen or so corpses on the ground, then turned and ran quickly toward the camp.