Picking up the Spirit Stone had all been a cover for Fang Xing to draw out his dagger, thrust it into Shixiong Liu’s body, and then land a punch to prevent the man from counterattacking or reforming his Spirit Shield. Shixiong Liu was already within the second tier, after all. Although Fang Xing might only be a step away from second tier himself, the difference between first and second was still quite noticeable; if the man was ever given the chance to attack, it would not end well for Fang Xing.

　　Either do something to the absolute or don’t do it at all—this mindset had been drilled into Fang Xing from a young age. Although Shixiong Liu was in the second tier, being stabbed and then punched in the same location filled his body with pain and weakness.

　　“Shixiong Liu, how is my tribute?” Fang Xing grinned before moving behind the man and following up with a dropkick.

　　Shixiong Liu lost his balance and fell to the ground face-first. The movement caused his injury to tear even further, and his body jerked forward outside of his control from the pain. He rolled on the ground like a freshly-cooked shrimp, holding his stomach tight while fresh blood seeped through his fingers.

　　Rather than pleading for mercy, Shixiong Liu gritted his teeth in anger. “Little bastard… you… dare to… sneak attack… me?”

　　“How can you expect to rob people with only this much awareness?” Fang Xing teased Shixiong Liu while frisking him to see if he had anything of value.

　　While he was being searched, Shixiong Liu silently moved one of his arms into one of his inner pockets and deliberately said, “You little bastard, you may have gotten me today… but don’t think you—”

　　“Shidi Fang, be careful!” the fat Daoist suddenly interrupted in alarm. With where he was standing, he was in a good position to see what Shixiong Liu was up to.

　　“Heh,” Fang Xing allowed a laugh to leak out before he leapt towards Shixiong Liu once more, his dagger still in hand. Shixiong Liu tried to raise his arm only to let out a loud cry as it was nailed into the ground by Fang Xing’s dagger, and a small sword fell out of his grasp. The small sword wasn’t an ordinary sword, either—it was only a few inches long and covered in exquisite symbols and spells.

　　With Shixiong Liu no longer able to move, Fang Xing proceeded to repeatedly kick him in the stomach. “You’re not going to shed a tear until you see your own coffin, huh? You dare try to ambush me with your sword?”

　　Shixiong Liu was truly a tough man, but there was still a limit no matter how robust somebody was; with the child repeatedly striking the same location, even a tough man like him couldn’t help but to cry out in pain.

　　Fang Xing picked up the small sword from the ground and stowed it into his pocket, treating it as though it had belonged to him from the very beginning. He’d already appraised the weapon earlier and found a total of seven perfectly intact spells, definitely making it a decent weapon. Although the Nine Snakes’ Sword might be higher in category and quality, the amount of Qi it required was well above what Fang Xing could handle right now, so it wasn’t exactly a good idea to be showing it around in broad daylight. This small sword, on the other hand, was just perfect for him right now.

　　“Shidi Fang, you have to give him back the sword. It’s what he chose from The Pavilion of Spirit Tools; if you take it from him, the elders will come and punish you for this…” Yu Sanliang hastily whispered to Fang Xing after seeing what he was doing.

　　Shixiong Liu gritted his teeth when he overheard the plump Daoist’s words. “You… you really are something, aren’t you, fatty? You planned this out with this little bastard from the beginning, didn’t you? Once I heal… I’m going to make sure you both pay for this with your pitiful little lives….”

　　Yu Sanliang’s expression changed from bad to worse as he imagined all of the crazy things Shixiong Liu would do for revenge. When Fang Xing heard Shixiong Liu’s threat, however, he showed a cold smile and began dancing the dagger up and down the man’s neck. “How funny. Do you really think I’ll give you a chance to take revenge?”

　　“You dare… try… to kill me?” Shixiong Liu hesitantly asked, although he still managed to retain his tough image.

　　Yu Sanliang was taken aback and subconsciously tugged on Fang Xing’s sleeve. From what he knew of Fang Xing, it was legitimately possible he would kill Shixiong Liu out of anger, but they were still under the watchful eyes of the sect elders. Although the other disciple who killed somebody had only received a one-year punishment, that was because he had extraordinary aptitude and a wealthy clan backing him; someone like Fang Xing wasn’t even a comparison….

　　Let alone expulsion, it was possible D-Ranks like them would have to pay for it with their lives!

　　—

　　Some ten miles away on a mountain peak, an ancient pine provided shade to two men playing a game of Weiqi ¹ together below it. One of the men had black hair but was visibly aged, while the other man had a full crown of snowy white hair in stark contrast to his otherwise youthful appearance.

　　This particular game of Weiqi had been going on for a month. More specifically, it had been thirty-three days since the game began, yet it was still only at its halfway point.

　　After a long time of thought, the white-haired young man suddenly broke the silence, muttering a soft question with a game piece still in his fingers, “How many of the new disciples have you taken notice of?”

　　The black-haired elder laughed. “It’s not bad, actually. We got ten A-Rank disciples this time, more than I’d expected!”

　　The white-haired young man smiled at the answer while staring at the board.

　　The black-haired elder gave it some thought and realized he hadn’t fully answered the question. He considered it some more before adding, “Within those ten disciples, three come from wealthy families, two from well-known clans, and there’s a boy named Hou Qing who was already at tier two when he joined. If all goes as expected, he should be the first person to become an inner court disciple within this group.”

　　In short, among the thousands of new recruits, only six had caught his attention.

　　The white-haired man continued to hold his Weiqi stone, still smiling without a single word.

　　The black-haired elder showed a bitter smile and politely asked, “Have you noticed any, Shishu ² ?”

　　“One, and only just now,” the white-haired young man replied.

　　The black-haired elder’s expression suddenly changed before he swept his Spirit Sense off towards where the white-haired man was facing. From this, he immediately understood who the white-haired young man was talking about. “So young, yet so ruthless. Shishu, do you want me to punish him?”

　　Another piece was added to the game board in reply. “We continue the game!”

　　As the small stone touched the board, the young man’s gaze shifted up ever so slightly towards the sky.

　　Upon the curve of the heavens, nine coffins hung high and mighty, intertwined amidst the planets of the galaxy. They overlooked the world like watchful guardians, poised to protect all below them… or, perhaps, like poison-soaked blades, ready to drip chaos upon the land….

　　—

　　“No, I won’t kill you,” Fang Xing smiled at the tough Shixiong Liu, “but I’ll make sure you can’t easily avenge yourself in the future!”

　　Fang Xing never stopped smiling, but his eyes suddenly turned cold. He picked up the sword from the ground and began to stab out repeatedly, causing spurts of blood from Shixiong Liu’s knees, waist, and shoulders while the man howled out in pain.

　　Fang Xing stood up and glanced at the sword in his hands, his eyes filled with regret. “It’s unfortunate that I can’t take such a nice sword for myself.” He then crouched down and placed his foot against Shixiong Liu’s neck to keep him in place while searching around his body for the Spirit Stones that had been taken. Once that was finished, Fang Xing pulled his dagger free from Shixiong Liu’s arm, wiped the blood off onto the man’s robe, and clapped his hands. “Time to go!”

　　The plump Daoist followed closely behind Fang Xing, his face as grey as ash. The speed and certainty Fang Xing had shown filled him with fear, and he wanted to leave the scene as soon as possible. “Shidi Fang… did you cripple him for good?”

　　“How could it be so easy to cripple a cultivator? All I did was slow him down a little; he’ll be in bed for around a good four or five months?”

　　“Then in five months from now, won’t he take revenge?” Yu Sanliang hurriedly asked with a blank gaze.

　　“Hah, but in five months’ time, he’ll be no match for me!”

　　Fang Xing was filled with so much confidence that his words came across more as arrogance. Although Yu Sanliang listened, he couldn’t help but to feel bitter; Shixiong Liu was in the second tier, so how would Fang Xing be able to match against him in only a few months’ time?

　　It was at this moment that the trio that had looked on from afar attempted to leave, only to have Fang Xing stop them. “Isn’t that the sissy? What a coincidence to find you here, too!”

　　The feeble disciple’s legs trembled in horror at the voice, making it impossible for him to walk. The beefy man tried to force himself to stay calm and maintain an expressionless face, but only barely managed to do so. “We’re waiting for someone. Wh— what do you want?” Despite his attempts at staying calm, his voice still trembled a bit.

　　Fang Xing snatched his sleeve away from Yu Sanliang’s grip and advanced towards the trio with his dagger in hand. “Shut up and hand it over!”

　　The feeble disciple hid behind the beefy man just as Fang Xing closed in. The beefy man had actually wanted to hide, too, but the dagger was already right in front of him; pale-faced, he could only reluctantly reply, “Hand… what over…?”

　　“Hand what over? Perhaps you’ll know what I’m talking about if I poke some holes in you?” Fang Xing scoured him up and down, as if looking for the best location to start making good on his threat.

　　Although the beefy man wasn’t willing, the feeble disciple took out his Spirit Stone while continuing to hide. “Hurry and take this. I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have looked at you before; I won’t do it again….”

　　Fang Xing took hold of the Spirit Stone before tilting his head up towards the beefy man. “And yours?”

　　“You want…mine, too?” Panic hit him soon after Fang Xing began impatiently waving his dagger as though preparing to stab him, and he finally handed his over as well. “H— here….”

　　After placing the second stone safely into his pocket, Fang Xing looked towards the third man who’d been asked to come along to help the other two. Without a hint of delay, the man obediently passed his Spirit Stone to Fang Xing as well.

　　Finally satisfied, Fang Xing gave one last glare to the trio before letting them off. As the three men ran away in panic, he turned to the fat Daoist with pride. “See, this is how I earn my Spirit Stones….”