My Arts Evolve When Perfected

Seeing Jiang Qiu shatter the Ice Wall with a single Spear Skill, Iron Power and the others were overjoyed. They suddenly pulled small vials of liquid from their Storage Rings, downed the contents, and bolted. With bloodshot eyes and bulging veins on their foreheads, they covered dozens of meters with every stride, their speed skyrocketing.

Jiang Qiu turned to leave, but in that instant, he felt a faint pull. He turned his head and saw the wolf-eared girl trembling on the ground. His gaze met her large, tear-filled eyes, and his heart stirred.

SWOOSH.

He executed a fiery version of Shadow Stepping, his left arm wrapping around the girl’s waist as he turned to pursue Iron Power and his men.

THUD THUD THUD...

The footsteps behind them faded into the distance, set against a backdrop of vicious wolf howls.

After they had run an unknown distance, the wolf howls faded away. In the darkness, only the frantic figures of Iron Power’s group and Jiang Qiu remained, their pace finally slowing.

"HUFF... PUFF..." Leaning on the great saber he had planted in the snow, Iron Power gasped for breath. His tattered cotton armor was stained red with blood, giving him a savage appearance. "Ahaha! Just a little farther and we’ll be out of this North Snow Ridge!" 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂

"We’re rich, we’re rich! Boss, we’ve really struck it big this time!"

The dozen or so survivors showed no sadness on their faces for their fallen comrades. Their hearty laughter trembled, and their dark eyes glinted in the night, just like those of the North Snow Wolves.

Jiang Qiu frowned. He was just about to gently set down the wolf-eared girl when his left hand froze.

"Young man, we really have to thank you for your help," Iron Power said with a wide grin. His gaze suddenly shifted to the wolf-eared girl, and his voice deepened. "Ice Lotus, what are you still doing over there? Get over here."

The girl shuddered.

She trembled, carefully wriggled free from Jiang Qiu’s grasp, and shuffled away, clutching her bright red right cheek.

’That’s strange. What’s the relationship between them? Why does the girl seem so afraid of him?’

Jiang Qiu watched the girl, whose Demon Race aura now seemed even more potent. The corner of his mouth twitched. "Are you from North Border City?"

"We are," Iron Power replied, his smile unwavering. "Is there something we can do for you, young man?"

A biting wind scattered the boisterous laughter. The Martial Artists drew closer together, their icy gazes skipping over the insignificant wolf-eared girl to focus on Jiang Qiu.

Even though it was night, they could still see well enough. At a distance of barely ten paces, everyone’s faces were perfectly clear.

The tip of the spear in Jiang Qiu’s right hand was buried in the snow. His Dragon Eye swept over the sixteen people present as his breathing grew slow and steady. "I saved you. In return, give me a Coordinate Disc."

’These guys are all in the Bright Soul Realm. Their leader, that brutish man with the great saber, has even reached the Seventh Realm of the Bright Soul. Who knows how many Secret Techniques he has up his sleeve.’

’In a strange and hostile place like the Northern Wilderness, people who dare to trespass on the North Snow Wolves’ territory to steal so many Ice Crystal Fruits are no ordinary folk.’

’I won’t even think about asking for a share of the Ice Crystal Fruits. I just need to get the Coordinate Map. Besides, that shouldn’t be a particularly valuable item to them...’

"Hehe, so it’s a Coordinate Map you’re after, young man," Iron Power said, slightly surprised. He casually pulled out a palm-sized metal disc and sauntered forward. "This doesn’t just have the coordinates for North Border City, but also the locations of many smaller Settlements. I’ve been using it for years... so you can just die!"

CLANG!

A cold glint flashed as the great saber smashed down onto the spear shaft Jiang Qiu held defensively in front of him. The blue energy of the Soul Ice Spirit Charm washed over his face like a frigid tide.

SCREEE—

The powerful blow forced Jiang Qiu back. Fury blazed in his chest as his cold gaze swept over Iron Power and his men, who were gradually surrounding him. "What is the meaning of this?"

’If it wasn’t for me, all of them would be dead back there.’

’All I wanted was a Coordinate Disc as a thank-you for saving their lives, an item that’s not even worth as much as a disposable Wind Summoning Ball.’

’And this is how they repay me?’

"Hah. What do you think it means?" Iron Power tilted his chin up, his great saber slowly gathering a blue radiance as the Soul Ice Spirit Charm flowed around his body. "This is a hundred and twenty-one Ice Crystal Fruits we’re talking about. If we let you walk away and spread the news, how are we supposed to make our way in North Border City?"

Great wealth always came with great risk. Dozens of their hired brothers had died stealing over a hundred priceless Ice Crystal Fruits from North Snow Ridge.

With such a staggering amount of Cultivation Resources at stake, the news absolutely could not get out.

In a wretched place like North Border City, if you let the slightest glint of gold show, hundreds of eyes would lock onto you—and there was no telling if they belonged to the Human Race or the Demon Race.

It was better to kill any outsiders and eliminate the risk!

The killing intent in Iron Power’s eyes was sharp as a blade. Suddenly, a weak voice cried out from behind him, "N-No... don’t."

He glanced down to see the wolf-eared girl, Ice Lotus, biting her lip and tugging at the hem of his clothes. Her eyes were brimming with tears, and her small frame shivered in her tattered, thin cotton garment.

THUD!

Iron Power kicked her square in the stomach. She cried out in pain and flew more than ten meters, landing in the snow and curling up like a shrimp, clutching her abdomen as she trembled.

At that moment, Jiang Qiu felt as if his very soul had been struck by a mallet. His left fist grew scorching hot. He took a sharp breath, his chest swelling and staying that way for a long moment.

’Are all the people in the Northern Wilderness such animals?’

’He even attacks his own kind!’

"You fatherless, motherless mutt! If you still want your identity papers for North Border City, then shut your mouth and do your damn job when you’re told!" Iron Power spat, his expression venomous. "We nearly all died here today, and I haven’t even settled the score with you for that yet. Now piss off!"

CREAK.

Jiang Qiu’s knuckles cracked, the killing intent in his eyes now completely unconcealed.

’A creature like that is a blight on the Human Race.’

THUMP!

His figure flickered, and a tiny flame flared to life.

A powerful sense of dread surged through Iron Power. He scrambled to raise his great saber, bracing the flat of the blade with his left hand. "You really are fast!"

BANG!

A dragon’s head made of pure flame lunged, threatening to swallow Iron Power whole. Jiang Qiu’s figure seemed to materialize from within the inferno, his eyes blazing with the fury of a war god.

But as the tip of his Chuyuan spear struck the flat of the saber, ice crystals instantly formed on it!

"But a slight edge in speed can’t bridge the gap between our Realms!"

Iron Power let out a wild laugh. The Soul Ice Spirit Charm in his body converged, his face turning frosty white. His cotton armor was encased in ice crystals, and the veins on his arms bulged violently!

VWOOM!

The Soul Ice Spirit Charm solidified into the phantom head of a wolf, confronting the head of Jiang Qiu’s Flaming Cyan Dragon. Hissing steam billowed where the two forces met.

"Kill him!"

Iron Power’s roar crashed down on Jiang Qiu like an immense weight, threatening to extinguish his flames and sending a chill straight to his marrow.

’Resisting the Furious Dragon Ascending to Heaven from the Three Race Elders already consumed most of my Fiery Flame Spirit Charm. I used up another significant chunk just rushing here to save these people!’

’It won’t be easy to fight all of them with what little Spirit Charm I have left!’

"Kill!"

In that instant, the dozen or so men who had been waiting for the signal all channeled their Spirit Charm and slashed forward with their sabers. The corners of their mouths curled into sinister grins, their eyes glinting like ghouls.

Jiang Qiu’s heart hammered in his chest. The pent-up frustration erupted from him in a hot sigh. "Repaying kindness with hatred... Every last one of you is going to die!"

Iron Power sneered. He suddenly flexed his arms, intending to shove Jiang Qiu back with the immense physical strength he was so proud of. But in that instant, a searing pain shot through his arms as if his very blood vessels were about to burst. His sneer vanished.

’I can’t move him?’

’A Body Cultivator!’