Imperial henchmen? My divine skills are all hacked versions.

...

The thirteenth move.

The fifteenth move.

The eighteenth move.

Xu Xian had four more sword wounds on his body, and his left leg was slashed open with a large gash. But every time he was pushed back, he could get up, and each time he got up, he was more ferocious than the last time.

The three men in black began to sense something was wrong—a person at the second level of Body Tempering shouldn't be able to hold out for so long. What made them even more uneasy was that Xu Xian's blade was getting heavier and heavier. Was he not expending any energy?

In the twenty-first move, Xu Xian's wild goose feather saber finally reached its limit.

After deflecting three swords in succession, the cracks on the blade that had been there since the iron gate was closed finally broke open. With a crisp snap, the blade broke in two and flew out, embedding itself in a tree trunk. Xu Xian was left with only half a broken blade.

The three men in black were taken aback for a moment, then their faces lit up with joy. "Hmph, you're strong, but that's enough."

They rushed forward to finish him off.

At that moment, Xu Xian heard a "ding" in his mind.

"The second level of the Dragon Elephant Prajna Technique has reached 10000 points of cultivation progress, breaking through to the third level, and the cultivation level has been simultaneously upgraded to the third level of Body Tempering."

"The primary cultivation technique has been detected as having reached the passing grade. A second cultivation technique will be randomly unlocked."

"Congratulations, host, you have unlocked the Eighteen Subduing Dragon Palms (Cracked Version). The first move, 'Regretful Dragon Soaring,' has been integrated and infused."

A tyrannical force exploded from the depths of his dantian, surging up along Xu Xian's meridians, flowing into his right arm and then into his right palm.

"Pooh..."

Xu Xian grinned, spat out a mouthful of blood, threw the broken half of the knife in his right hand on the ground, spread his five fingers, and a faint golden light flowed in his palm.

He met the man in black who was at the front and thrust out with his right palm.

The dragon that soars too high will regret it!

A deep dragon's roar seemed to echo in the air, and a golden palm shadow shot out from Xu Xian's palm, carrying an overwhelming and fierce force as it struck the man's chest.

Five finger marks appeared on the man in black's chest. He flew backward and crashed into a large tree five steps away. The tree trunk broke in half, and his head lolled to one side, where he remained motionless.

One palm strike instantly kills someone of the same cultivation level!

Xu Xian looked down at his right palm. The golden light had dissipated, but the power was still surging through his meridians.

He clenched his fist, his knuckles cracking, and his muscle density, bone hardness, and total blood volume all jumped to a new level in that instant!

The other two men in black stood frozen in place.

It wasn't because their companion was instantly killed by a single blow, but because they were completely unable to comprehend what had just happened.

The opponent, who was at the second level of Body Forging, suddenly struck out with a palm after breaking his sword, instantly killing their companion.

Xu Xian looked up at the remaining two men. The two men in black took a half step back at the same time, their hands holding swords trembling slightly.

Xu took a step forward, his explosive power at least 30% faster than before. He closed in on the nearest man in black in two steps and slapped his right palm diagonally downwards.

  

The man in black hurriedly parried with his sword, but the sword was shattered by the force of the palm strike, sending fragments flying. The remaining force of the palm strike slammed into his chest, sending him flying and crashing into a tree, where he immediately lost consciousness.

The last person turned and ran. Xu Xian turned his head to look, pulled out the broken blade stuck in the tree trunk, flicked his wrist, and the half-blade turned into a white light and pierced the man's back, pinning him to the ground.

The one-armed man was still fighting with Zhou Cang, but he glanced at the three corpses under the tree and his eye twitched.

Zhou Cang seized the opportunity when he was distracted and slashed him in the waist with his spear, knocking him back several steps.

"Xu Xian! What was that just now!" Zhou Cang's voice came from the top of the carriage.

"Family-inherited palm technique..."

"You're tripled?"

Zhou Cang's eyes lit up, and after a moment of silence, he said, "You're a real talent!"

The one-armed man glanced at the corpses around him, then at his few remaining companions, and immediately shouldered his heavy sword and retreated into the dense forest. The men in black also fled.

Xu Xian leaned against a broken tree, looking quite miserable. Hua Xi ran over from behind the carriage and looked up at his wounds, her eyes filled with worry.

"Brother, you're bleeding a lot."

"It's nothing, just a superficial injury."

Xu squatted down to look her in the eye and lowered his voice, "You didn't lay a hand on me, did you?"

"No, you said not to take action unless absolutely necessary."

Hua Xi, hugging the turtle, tilted her head and asked, "By the way, brother, what does 'absolutely necessary' mean?"

"That was when my brother was about to be beaten to death. I wasn't about to be beaten to death yet, so I didn't need to intervene."

Hua Xi took his words to heart and nodded seriously.

"I understand. I'll intervene if my brother gets killed."

Xu twitched. "I'm about to be beaten to death!"

"Oh, you're about to be beaten to death."

On the other side, Zhang Hu and Zhao Bao, both slightly injured, were supporting each other as they stood around the broken tree that Xu Xian was leaning against.

The tree trunk was broken about three feet above the ground, and the break was uneven, indicating that it was broken by pure brute force.

Zhang Hu squatted down and stared for a long time, his eyes almost popping out of their sockets.

"Good heavens, if this hit me, I'd be smashed into a meatball!"

Zhao Bao shook his head. "Not that tough."

"My password!"

The two argued nearby. Zhou Cang jumped down from the carriage to check Xu Xian's injuries: a sword wound on his left arm, two sword marks on his back, a knife wound on his right arm, and a deep cut on his left leg.

All the injuries were external; no bones were broken.

He tore off strips of cloth to bandage Xu Xian's wounds. "Your injuries look frightening, but they all avoided vital points. You took on three opponents of the same cultivation level and even broke through in the heat of battle... I saw an old soldier fight like this in the Northern Region back then, and he later became a deputy general."

Xu Xian chuckled softly, "You're that veteran, aren't you?"

"No, it's my brother."

Zhou Cang tied the last knot and stood up.

"He died later, not on the battlefield, but in the imperial court. Someone on the battlefield couldn't stand him, so they stabbed him in the back."

He patted Xu Xian's uninjured shoulder.

"Let's take a break and get ready to hit the road."

...

"My lord, that palm strike just now..." the attendant on the left asked.

The white-haired man raised his hand to stop him, his gaze piercing through the layers of branches and leaves to land on Xu Xian, who was squatting on the ground talking to a little girl.

"An external martial arts technique I've never seen before; it's powerful and fierce."

The white-haired man spoke, "It's not a lineage from any sect in Yasukuni..."

The attendant on the right frowned. "He's not from Yasukuni?"

The white-haired man watched as Xu Xian was helped onto a horse by Zhou Cang, and then watched as the little girl holding the turtle was also pulled onto a horse and sat in front of him. He watched as the caravan regrouped and set off again.

"My lord, why didn't you make a move just now?"

"I don't need to take action."

The white-haired man turned and walked into the depths of the dense forest, with two attendants following closely behind. "It's a pity we didn't attract any big fish; we couldn't crush the prince."

"As for the Crown Prince... should we continue investigating Eunuch Gao's matter?"

"What are you investigating?"

The white-haired man's voice echoed from the depths of the tree shadows.

"Those who need to know already know. If they still want to continue, an imperial decree will naturally be issued... As for Xu Xian, make good use of him. This young man is very special."

The sounds of horses' hooves and wheels echoed again on the official road. Xu Xian rested his chin on the top of Hua Xi's head. Hua Xi didn't look up, but simply leaned closer to him.

"elder brother."

"Um."

How far is it from the capital?

"One more day."

"I want to eat the candied hawthorns from that old-established shop in the east of the city, the kind with twice the thick sugar coating! You promised."

"…OK."