C22

Of the four disciples, Xiao Fei was a mid stage Soul Formation cultivator and the other three were at the early stage Soul Formation stage. Although her battle prowess was not weak, her combat experience was still too little.

However, the bandits of Black Wind Stronghold had been massacring and looting all year round. What they lacked the most was battle experience.

Every bandit's hand was covered in blood, and the murderous aura that was formed from killing over a long period of time had caused the faces of Xiaofei and the other three female disciples to turn pale.

"You four deal with spirit realm bandits, leave Zhao Zhangkong and Wu Yong to me."

Just as the four of them were about to go all out, Zhou Qing's voice rang in their ears. Although his tone was light, it was undeniable.

"Alright."

Xiao Fei lightly gritted her teeth and nodded.

Although they still did not believe that Zhou Qing, who was at the peak of the Spirit Opening Realm, could fight them alone, at this critical juncture, there was no time for them to hesitate.

"Kill!"

With a dainty shout, Xiaofei and the other three rushed out with their swords in hand. In the blink of an eye, they stood together with more than thirty Demon Bandits at the Awakening Realm.

Although these four lacked combat experience, their cultivation bases were far higher than these bandits. Therefore, they would not be trapped in a desperate situation while being besieged.

A blade pierced through the throat of a Demon Bandit. Zhou Qing swatted him away, then walked towards Zhao Zhangkong and Wu Yong.

If Zhao Zhangkong's gauntlets were magic items, Zhou Qing would have had to consider them carefully. However, the two of them were not capable of wielding weapons, so Zhou Qing did not fear them as much.

"Peak of the spirit realm, block with your mantis arms! Scram!"

Wu Yong's voice was hoarse and he did not put Zhou Qing in his eyes at all. He rushed over with both hooks in his hands as he fiercely stabbed them towards the latter's neck from the left and right.

Crash.

The 361st vortex of spiritual energy in Zhou Qing's body exploded forth. As he circulated his spiritual energy, the sound of a surging river could be heard. The magical sword in his hand suddenly straightened, and as it retreated, it swung out.

With two crisp ding-dong sounds, the two hooks were swung away by the magic sword.

Wu Yong retreated five steps back. His expression changed as he exclaimed, "Leader, something is wrong with this fellow. Not only is his speed fast, but his strength is also very strong!"

"Oh?"

Zhao Zhangkong's eyes narrowed as he stared at Zhou Qing. The corners of his lips curled up.

"He must have used some kind of power enhancing martial arts. No matter how strong he is, he is just a trash at the peak of the Spirit Opening Realm. I was careless and got hit by him."

"Wu Yong, could it be that you can't beat this kid?"

"How could this be? Just play with him."

When Wu Yong heard this, he grinned evilly. He stomped his feet on the ground and once again rushed forward.

Although this Wu Yong was only at the early Spirit Condensation stage, his combat power was average. He could not even compare to some of the demons that Zhou Qing had killed in the past few days.

However, human cultivators could use martial arts, and their intelligence far exceeded that of the demons. Thus, it wasn't bad for them to treat Wu Yong as a target for their instant steps.

Seeing Wu Yong's oncoming attack, Zhou Qing's expression did not change. The Spiritual Energy within his body surged into his legs as he took a step forward.

Puff puff!

Wu Yong could only see a blur before his eyes, and Zhou Qing, who was originally in front of him, disappeared in an instant.

He was unable to control his strength, and the two hooks pierced two holes into an ancient tree.

"Too slow." Zhou Qing shook his head. "Is that all you've got?"

His instant movement was only at the early stage and had not yet reached the first stage, but even so, his speed was still able to completely suppress Wu Yong who was at the early stage of the Spirit Condensation realm.

Being humiliated by a Spirit Opening Realm cultivator, Wu Yong flew into a rage and turned around to kill.

"Mountain Overlapping Hook!"

Wu Yong roared, and with a wave of his hands, two black iron hook heads and tails connected as he viciously swung them out.

The mountain hook was a low-rank martial art, a total of three hook's.

The twin-hook chain was infused with spirit energy, and each of the hooks were stronger than the previous ones. The power of the triple hooks was enough to shake mountains and shatter rocks!

Wu Yong's attack was terrifying, but Zhou Qing's face did not change. The former could not even touch a corner of his clothes.

Whether it was strength or speed, Wu Yong was too weak and was not his match. He did not want to waste any more time.

"You can go now."

A cold voice resounded in his ears, causing Wu Yong to be overwhelmed with shock. All of the hairs on his body stood on end as he subconsciously wanted to pull the Darksteel Hook back to block Zhou Qing's attack.

"How dare you!"

Zhao Zhangkong, who hadn't made a move for a long time, finally noticed Zhou Qing's strangeness. He roared and rushed over, wanting to help Wu Yong block the killing blow.

Pfft.

With a flash of his feet, before Wu Yong's black iron hook could be retracted, Zhou Qing had already chopped down with his sword.

Blood spurted out, Wu Yong's head was sent flying by Zhou Qing, his body limply falling to the ground.

Her bleeding head rolled down to the ground at the feet of Xiaofei and the rest. Seeing the frozen look of terror on Wu Yong's face, Xiaofei looked towards Zhou Qing in shock.

Zhou Qing's face was calm and his clothes were bloodstained. He didn't look like he had just killed an early stage Soul Formation cultivator; instead, he looked like an outsider watching the fight.

So the nickname "Points Berserk Demon" was not a joke. This Song Changqing's battle strength was truly terrifying!

"I'll hack you alive!"

Zhao Zhangkong's eyes widened as his spiritual power surged. He punched down at Zhou Qing's head.

The middle stage Spirit Condensation Zhao Zhangkong was not something Wu Yong could compare to. Zhou Qing's expression finally became serious. With subtle steps, his figure flashed as he dodged Zhao Zhangkong's iron fists.

Boom!

Zhao Zhangkong's fist directly smashed into the ground, unleashing a terrifying force that left a hole the size of a human head in the ground.

Zhou Qing's eyes lit up at the sight of Zhao Zhangkong's astonishing destructive power. "You're the only one qualified to be my opponent."

Zhao Zhangkong's battle prowess was more than ten times that of Wu Yong. It would be difficult for him to face him. Only such a person would have the qualifications to be used to hone his speed!

Zhao Zhangkong was infuriated.

It was already an insult to him to snatch the other party away from him.

But now, his furious attack had been easily dodged by him. This was the same as a great shame and humiliation!

Swoosh.

Zhao Zhangkong moved like an iron tower, rushing towards Zhou Qing. With every step he took, he left a deep footprint on the ground. His momentum was frightening, and it was rising steadily.

Zhao Zhangkong rushed to Zhou Qing's front and punched out with a terrifying explosive sound.

Zhou Qing's expression was solemn as his sword clanged, clashing head on with Zhao Zhangkong.

Bang!

When the tip of the sword came into contact with the gauntlet, sparks flew and the two spiritual energies collided.

Zhao Zhangkong retreated two steps back, shaking off his numb palms as he looked at Zhou Qing in shock.

One had to know that he had practiced a body tempering martial art. His body was as hard as iron, and his strength was several times stronger than cultivators of the same level.

But even so, this peak Spirit Opening boy could actually fight him head on and even force him to take two steps back.

He was only at the peak of the spirit realm, just who was this kid?!

In that split-second of exchange, Zhou Qing was forced five steps back due to the powerful impact. The palm of his right hand cracked open, bleeding profusely.

However, Zhou Qing's face revealed a smile.

He could have easily dodged the attack, but he chose to face Zhao Zhangkong head-on in order to test out his own strength. The result made his heart rejoice.

One look was all it took for Zhao Zhangkong to master a body tempering martial art. His strength was stronger than most middle stage Soul Condensation cultivators, but his own strength was second only to Zhao Zhangkong's!

"Sky Fist Art!"

Fury blazed in the air, and Zhao Zhangkong's arms, which were originally as thick as a cow's leg, bulged even more. The veins in his arms bulged, containing explosive power, as he brazenly sent them towards Zhou Qing.

This time, Zhou Qing didn't meet Zhao Zhangkong's attack head on. Instead, he took a quick step forward and circled around Zhao Zhangkong.

However, even though Zhao Zhangkong was a strength type expert, he was at the middle stage of the Soul Condensation realm. His speed was not slow either. With the support of his martial arts, he almost struck Zhou Qing several times.

Despite being surrounded by danger, Zhou Qing did not panic. Instead, he was secretly delighted.

If Zhao Zhangkong's speed was too slow, then it wouldn't have any effect on him.

In the face of Zhao Zhangkong's aggressive attacks, the circulation diagram of his Instantaneous Steps and the method of exerting power constantly flashed through his mind. Zhou Qing relied on his quick steps to dodge, but at the same time, his understanding of this profound movement technique gradually deepened.

He could clearly sense that the gap between him and the first level was getting closer and closer.

On the other side, in the battle between Chu Yu and Cheng Shan, although there were only two people, their movements were extremely terrifying.

Chu Tianyu was using the sect foundation sword technique of the Crimson Nimbus Sect, "Rainflower Sword". As the spirit energy surged, the inscriptions on the sword flashed crazily and rays of sword light weaved together to form a terrifying sword net.

Cheng Shan's face was grim. His long saber continued to hack down. The blade flashed, lightning roared, and its might was astonishing.

Both of them were wounded, the clothes on Chu Yu's left shoulder were ripped apart, a wound on her snow-white shoulder was bleeding, a sword qi slashed across Cheng Shan's chest, blood was spilled, it was terrifying.

Pfft!

In the clash, Cheng Shan was once again injured by Chu Tianyu's sword qi. A large chunk of flesh on his left arm was sliced off. The intense pain made him scream out loud with bloodshot eyes.

Once again injuring Cheng Shan, Chu Tianyu was overjoyed in her heart. She pursed her red lips, her attacks becoming more and more ferocious, both being killing moves.

This kind of fellow, Cheng Shan, was an old and experienced person. If he did not quickly kill him, many unforeseen events might occur.

However, just as the two were about to kill to the point that their eyes were bloodshot, a crazed roar suddenly resounded throughout Black Wind Stronghold!

"I'll skin you alive!"

Zhao Zhangkong was about to go crazy from Zhou Qing's torment.

He had already pushed the vital energy and blood in his body to the extreme. He had even used all his martial arts without reservation, yet he could not do anything to Zhou Qing.

The latter was like a loach. Every time Zhao Zhangkong was about to succeed, he would dodge the fatal blow with great risk.

If he were to face Zhou Qing head on, Zhao Chang was confident that he would be able to destroy Zhou Qing into pieces.

However, if he couldn't even touch the hem of his clothes, how could he kill him?

The most infuriating thing about Zhou Qing was that despite the density of his spiritual power after such a long battle, he was unable to keep up with it. However, Zhou Qing's spiritual power seemed to be inexhaustible.

What Zhao Zhangkong didn't know was that Zhou Qing, who cultivated in the Ten Thousand Spirit Codex, had a total of 361 spiritual energy whirlpools, and possessed a Stone of Life spirit bone that far surpassed the existence of a ninth grade heaven spirit bone. Whether it was the density of his spiritual energy or the purity, both were beyond his imagination!

Zhou Qing was also feeling anxious.

After battling for a long time, his understanding of the Teleportation Steps had deepened. However, he was still unable to break through that barrier and step into the next realm.

It was obvious that he only had a layer of paper left over, and that he would break it with a poke, but he just couldn't!

"Kid, if you have the ability, don't run!"

Zhao Zhangkong charged forward, howling like a crazed devil.

Zhou Qing's heart skipped a beat. He gritted his teeth and actually stopped in his tracks.

Zhao Zhangkong was overjoyed upon seeing this. He had been feeling aggrieved for a long time and only wanted to smash Zhou Qing with his fist, but the latter was just standing there without moving an inch.

A terrifying aura instantly locked onto Zhou Qing. Zhao Changkong's Spiritual Energy surged, and his huge iron fist was like a mountain pressing down on him. He fiercely punched towards the former's head!

The power of this punch was terrifying. If Zhou Qing were to take it head on, even if he didn't die, he would still lose half his life.

However, he did not dodge the incoming fist.

The metal fist shone with a metallic light as it continued to expand in his vision.

At this moment, Zhou Qing's mind was extremely clear. Everything related to instantaneous movement appeared clearly in his mind.

Swish!

Suddenly, Zhou Qing moved.

Zhao Zhangkong's iron fist was less than five inches away from his head. He felt as if his skin was being pierced by the wind.

At such a close distance, with Zhou Qing's previous speed, even if he could have avoided a critical point, he would not have been able to completely dodge the attack.

However, just as he was about to be hit by the fist, he suddenly took a step forward.

In a life or death situation, the person would be able to erupt with an unimaginable strength. The speed of this step compared to before had doubled!

With quick steps, he stepped into the first level!

Zhao Zhangkong's vision blurred. The punch that he was about to land on missed him.

It was just like how one stomped on the ground, only to discover that it was cotton, causing one to be caught off guard and feel powerless.

Zhao Zhangkong was acting in such a manner.

This punch of his was extremely savage, using the remaining half of his spiritual energy to smash into the air.

The feeling of helplessness caused his face to instantly flush red. The backlash of the power caused him to spit out a mouthful of blood and his aura instantly collapsed.

"Time to end it."

Zhou Qing's gentle voice suddenly rang in his ears.