My Cultivation Techniques Upgrade Automatically

Chapter 112: Chapter 111: He’s Actually Quite Polite

「Iron Rock Manor.」

Inside a somewhat spacious but gloomy room, its windows shuttered tight, several large chairs stood in a row.

A few listless men were slumped crookedly in the chairs.

These men wore dark red clothes. Though they just sat there motionlessly, the murderous aura radiating from them was enough to make anyone in the room struggle to breathe.

Before the five men, twenty or thirty villagers knelt prostrate on the ground, trembling. Their heads were bowed low, the crotches of their pants warm and wet. Knowing the identity of these men, their eyes were filled with utter despair.

An Official had arrived earlier, but after a brief conversation with the men, he had hastily departed, choosing to save his own skin. The villagers knew then that they would certainly not survive the day.

”...”

After shooing away the rash Official, a few breaths of silence passed before one of the large men spoke up, exasperated.

”I told you that you cut him too deep. We let him go to his sect for reinforcements, but the guy only made it to Mountain Mist City before he died. Now we’ve got an Official poking around. Look at the mess you’ve made!”

”How was I supposed to know a Hunter at the Meridian Passage Realm was so fragile? If I’d known, it would’ve been more worthwhile to take him back for alchemy!” another retorted impatiently.

”What’s the point of saying that now? The message didn’t get through, so those sect disciples won’t be coming. What are we supposed to use to break through to the Mid Stage of the Jade Bone Realm?”

The man who spoke was just short of slamming his fist on a table. ”If we don’t have the strength of the Seventh Layer of the Jade Bone Realm or higher, how are we supposed to get a head start in the sect’s Blood Road trial next month?”

”It doesn’t matter that the message wasn’t delivered.”

Seeing that they were about to start a shouting match that could easily escalate into a brawl, the burly man sitting in the center chair, who had been resting with his eyes closed, spoke slowly.

”There are disciples from those sects in Mountain Mist City. When they hear the news from the authorities, they’ll naturally rush over to help. You all just need to be patient and wait for them to arrive.”

After he spoke, there were a few more breaths of silence before someone complained.

”Boss, why did we let that Official go? We should’ve just killed him. It’d be better than sitting here empty-handed, just waiting.”

”We can’t kill him yet. The Demon Suppression Bureau is coming in a few days. If an Official dies a violent death, they’ll definitely station a Captain from the Demon Suppression Bureau in Mountain Mist City.”

The leader explained, ”If that happens, it’ll be much more troublesome for us to hunt sect disciples.”

But this explanation clearly didn’t convince the others, and someone immediately shot back.

”So what if it’s the Demon Suppression Bureau? If they dare to show up, we’ll kill them all! Then we can have the Elder refine a few Body Nourishing Pills rich with Qi and Blood for us. Forget breaking through to the Seventh Layer of the Jade Bone Realm—the Eighth or even Ninth Layer would be possible!”

The leader shook his head, about to say something more to persuade his brothers not to do anything so brainless.

But the words died on his lips. His eyes shot open, and he sat up straight, his gaze fixed on the doorway.

Following his lead, the others instantly stopped talking and also looked toward the door.

STEP! STEP! STEP!

The sound of unhurried footsteps echoed from outside, and then the face of a young man in coarse clothing appeared in their line of sight.

”Is that a sect disciple? He doesn’t look like one.”

”Doesn’t look like a wandering martial artist either. His clothes are too shabby.”

”Is it one of Iron Rock Manor’s herb gatherers back from the mountains?”

”He’s quite handsome, but sadly, he’s not my type...”

”...”

After getting a clear look at the newcomer’s face and clothes, the group was disappointed. They slumped back in their chairs, losing interest. But before they could settle in again, a detached voice echoed through the room.

”Duan Hui, Jade Bone Realm Fifth Layer, seventy-one Contribution Points.”

”Dou Rong, Jade Bone Realm Sixth Layer, seventy-five Contribution Points.”

”Liu Li, Jade Bone Realm Sixth Layer, eighty-two Contribution Points.”

”...”

As the names were recited one by one, both the names and the cultivation realms were more or less correct, matching the men present.

The listless spirits of the Blood Evil cultists instantly vanished. They shot upright again as if doing sit-ups.

This time, though, there was a hint of vigilance in their hearts, and their gazes burned as they stared at the newcomer.

To be able to clearly state their names and even their Contribution Point values—he had to be a disciple from one of the sects, no doubt about it!

”Boss, let me have the first one! I need to scratch this itch!”

One of the cultists immediately sprang from his chair, rubbing his hands together excitedly, producing a series of sharp CRACKLING sounds.

From the sound of the footsteps, only one person had arrived. There was naturally nothing to fight over, no need to harm their camaraderie over a single target.

The other four leaned back in their chairs again.

Seeing no objections, the man who stood up cracked his knuckles and, with a SHING, drew the saber from his waist.

He walked toward the disciple at the door—from which sect, he didn’t know—and sneered.

”You’ve certainly memorized the sect’s bounty list! But you forgot what it says on the first page...”

Before he could finish, his figure suddenly blurred forward, appearing before the newcomer in the blink of an eye.

His final words came out belatedly.

”...that you’re supposed to run for your life?!”

As his voice fell, he was but a single step away from the newcomer, and the steel saber he held high came slashing down.

HISS! HISS!

As the blade descended, it sliced through the air with a sound like tearing cloth.

This was the prelude to the Ghost Howl Saber Technique.

He had used the Ghost Howl Saber Technique right from the first move, pouring his Qi Power into it without restraint.

He had been waiting for a long time, and now that a disciple had finally appeared, he intended to end it quickly.

He had no intention of playing around or dragging it out with any foreplay.

What he needed right now was the smell of blood.

He would smear the newcomer’s flesh and blood all over the room. That would intimidate any subsequent disciples who arrived and weaken their resolve.

WHOO! WHOO! WHOO!

Empowered by his Mid Stage Jade Bone Realm cultivation, the Ghost Howl Saber Technique’s cry grew even more shrill and piercing as the saber fell, a sound that threatened not just to rupture eardrums, but to bore deep into the very marrow of one’s brain.

”Is this guy for real? Going all out against one disciple!”

The leader of the cultists inside chuckled wryly. ”It’s not like anyone’s trying to take him from him.”

”Maybe he’s just been cooped up for too long.”

”...”

In contrast to the cultists’ casual chatter, the villagers kneeling on the ground rolled their eyes back and nearly fainted from the shriek.

They instinctively clapped their hands over their ears, which ached from the piercing sound.

CLANG!

But following a crisp ring of metal on metal, the shriek in their ears abruptly stopped, and the sharp pain instantly subsided.

It was then that the four remaining cultists in the room finally realized something was wrong.

”...”

Wu Chen looked at the cultist before him. The man’s blade had been knocked from his hand, and he was staring in a daze.

He didn’t seem to understand what had just happened, how his saber had been so easily flicked away.

In that moment of confusion, Wu Chen’s left hand shot out and clamped around his neck.

But he was, after all, a Mid Stage Jade Bone Realm cultist with immense combat experience.

The instant he felt the sharp pain on his neck, he snapped back to his senses. He clenched his jaw, tensed the muscles in his neck, and took a sharp breath.

”HFF!—”

As he inhaled, his neck grew hard and thick, resisting the force constricting it.

This breath also allowed him to temporarily move his limbs again.

Even with his throat gripped and unable to breathe, he was confident that this single breath would be enough to launch an effective counterattack.

”Spit it out!”

However, before the cultist could make any effective move to resist, Wu Chen violently yanked the hand gripping his throat.

The cultist’s body was pulled forward against his will, his waist bending and exposing his vulnerable abdomen.

WHOOSH!

Then, with a whistle of air, Wu Chen drove a knee upward, striking the man in his soft lower belly.

”Urgh—COUGH! COUGH!”

An excruciating, twisting pain shot up from his crotch. The cultist’s clenched jaw instantly gave way, and the air he had inhaled, along with stomach acid and blood, gushed from his mouth and nose.

”You...” The pain from his groin left the cultist’s mind in a daze.

Seeing the cultist’s bloodshot eyes glaring at him, Wu Chen paused for a moment, his expression slightly awkward.

He had been aiming for the abdomen, but since he was still in his growing years, he was a bit shorter than his opponent.

As a result, the point of impact was significantly lower than intended.

He could only offer a sincere-looking apology. ”My bad.”

The cultist: ”...”

’He’s actually quite polite!’

But regardless of where the blow landed, with that much force, the result was the same.

Wu Chen tossed the limp corpse out the door and looked at the four remaining men inside, who still hadn’t quite processed what had happened. He spoke coolly.

”All of you can come at once. I’m in a hurry.”