Volume One: The Young Lord of the Demon God Chapter 14: Comprehending the Sword Momentum

As Su Qiming vanished into the night, Qi Yu had already thrust his sword forward.

The strike, unsurprisingly, missed its mark.

Su Qiming had reached the first level of the Xuanwu Realm and specialized in daggers. His strength and agility far surpassed Qi Yu’s.

Now concealed in darkness, Qi Yu couldn’t simply wait to be killed. He immediately employed his agility to dodge, but a dagger still grazed his shoulder, drawing blood that flowed freely, accompanied by a sharp, burning pain.

“Worthless! I’ll make you bleed five steps away—your blood will be the offering to my son!” Su Qiming’s voice seethed with hatred from the shadows.

“If my son hadn’t died, my standing in the Su family wouldn’t have plummeted!” he continued.

“It’s all your fault, you useless wretch!”

Blinded by impotent rage, Su Qiming blamed all his misfortunes on Qi Yu.

Qi Yu swiftly moved, slashing two arcs of sword energy before turning and darting into the room.

A flash of cold light cut through the air—despite Qi Yu’s speed, the dagger slashed his back.

“Ugh!”

Qi Yu gasped sharply as the power infused in the dagger surged into his body, damaging his meridians. Fortunately, he quickly mobilized his spiritual energy, dispelling the harmful force.

Su Qiming appeared behind him, his gaze icy and dismissive, as if looking at a corpse, before melting back into the darkness to prepare his next lethal strike.

Their realms were vastly different; Qi Yu stood no chance. It seemed he had no choice but to resort to that method.

Qi Yu entered the room, with Su Qiming close behind.

“Useless fool, stop your dying struggles. I’ll give you a quick death!” Su Qiming sneered.

Just then, the door was slammed shut with great force.

Qi Yu stood behind it, slowly revealing a cold smile.

“What?” Su Qiming’s heart skipped a beat. The confined space was disadvantageous to him.

But his tension eased; after all, Qi Yu was a sword cultivator, and such an environment was even less favorable to him.

Yet the next moment, Su Qiming saw Qi Yu plant his sword firmly into the ground.

“Ready to die?” Su Qiming whispered, flicking his dagger twice before vanishing in an instant. In the darkness, the dagger aimed straight for Qi Yu’s throat, his speed and power pushed to their limits.

“Hahaha!”

Suddenly, a terrifying aura of slaughter filled the room. Accompanied by Qi Yu’s eerie laughter, his entire right arm burst into black and purple flames.

—

In the blink of an eye, Qi Yu’s right arm shot out like lightning. A scream pierced the air as Su Qiming, hiding in the dark, was grabbed by the throat and hoisted into the air.

“You… you’re a demon!” Su Qiming’s eyes widened, bloodshot with disbelief as he struggled desperately.

“Please, don’t kill me… I beg you…”

Fear of death engulfed him. He hadn’t come this far to perish now.

Qi Yu, controlling the last fragments of his reason, tightened his grip, voice cold: “Your speed is nowhere near that of Little Fish.”

“Little Fish?”

Confused, Su Qiming wildly battered Qi Yu’s wrist and stabbed with his dagger, all in vain. The suffocation made his eyes roll back.

“Hahaha! A family must stay together!” Qi Yu chuckled darkly. “But don’t worry, someone will soon join you.”

Crack!

With a snap, Su Qiming’s struggles ceased, his head lolled limply to one side.

Qi Yu tossed the corpse aside and shouted in his mind, “Little Fish! Help me!”

Though the period of lucidity had extended, his eyes grew ever redder, and the frenzied blood energy inside him surged, nearly uncontrollable.

Little Fish materialized from the Demonic God Sword Domain, sighing in resignation before leaping up to deliver a precise palm strike to Qi Yu’s neck.

The force was measured to knock Qi Yu unconscious without harm.

This had been prearranged; Qi Yu’s demonic identity must remain secret to avoid fatal danger. The room temporarily suppressed the demonic aura radiating from him, and as long as the time was short, no one would detect it.

Qi Yu had also tried to unleash his bloodline power at his current realm, which was close to reaching the third level of the Xuanwu Realm.

After about half an incense stick’s time, Qi Yu slowly regained consciousness. Su Qiming lay lifeless on the ground.

Searching through Su Qiming’s clothes, Qi Yu found a pouch of money, a Fire Spirit Fruit, and two pills.

He pocketed them, then found a secluded spot to bury the body.

Back in his room, his stomach growled loudly. After devouring two steamed buns, he sat cross-legged on the bed and began circulating his spiritual energy to heal.

Just as he prepared to draw energy from his dantian, his eyes snapped open.

He recalled the earlier question and the life-or-death battle with Su Qiming. Such battles were invaluable to cultivators. Yao Yao had long said that cultivation was the foundation of strength but not everything; life-and-death combat was the ultimate test of a cultivator’s true power.

Though Su Qiming wielded a dagger, Qi Yu sensed his “momentum”—a poised, concealed build-up. His momentum was “accumulation.”

These “momentums” were unique to each person, so there was no right or wrong, only what suited oneself.

Looking out at the dazzling stars, Qi Yu murmured softly, “Yao Yao’s sword momentum is ‘attack,’ Master Chen’s is ‘concealment.’ So, what is the sword momentum unique to me?”

—

Qi Yu appeared enlightened but was actually trapped in a deeper dilemma.

Gently stroking the Cold Cicada Sword, the blade trembled slightly. Forgetting his healing, Qi Yu stared blankly at the starry sky through the night.

Though he grasped the meaning of sword momentum, he was ensnared by its cause.

By dawn, as the sky brightened, Qi Yu still had no answers.

Suddenly, a cold hand clapped his shoulder, jarring his wound. He grimaced deeply.

Turning, he saw Yao Yao and Little Fish standing nearby.

Yao Yao asked casually, “What are you thinking about?”

Qi Yu shook his head. “Nothing.”

Seeing the wounds on his shoulder and back, Yao Yao said, “Qi Yu, although you’ve opened the Ren and Tong meridians, your body’s strength and recovery are still poor.”

Qi Yu nodded silently. Since gaining cultivation, he had never used any medicinal herbs, yet body forging and bone tempering consumed a great deal of such herbs.

Little Fish suddenly sniffed, “Hmm, Brother Qi Yu, I think I smell some pills.”

Qi Yu took out the two pills found on Su Qiming. Little Fish sniffed them and suddenly brightened, “Brother Qi Yu, these are Body Tempering Pills, and judging by their ingredients, they’re high grade!”

Though puzzled, Qi Yu reasoned it made sense. Su Qiming specialized in daggers, which required speed and explosive power. No wonder he carried body tempering pills.

Without hesitation, Qi Yu swallowed the two pills with the juice of the Fire Spirit Fruit.

If other disciples saw this, they would be shocked. These were precious top-grade body tempering pills, yet Qi Yu treated them like candy, a sheer waste!

After ingesting the pills, Qi Yu sat cross-legged. Waves of burning heat radiated from his abdomen, coursing through his meridians to every limb and bone. Sweat instantly beaded on his forehead.

Several hours later, Qi Yu opened his eyes, feeling as if his entire body was a small furnace, radiating warmth.

He circulated his spiritual power to dissipate the heat, and as his temperature normalized, he exhaled a heavy breath and moved his body. He felt significantly lighter and much stronger.

However, this time, after consuming the Fire Spirit Fruit, the small orb above his dantian did not pulse against the blocked meridians, leaving him somewhat disappointed.

Stepping out to clear his head, Qi Yu happened upon two outer sect disciples passing by, chatting about the Sword Sect’s grand competition.

“All outer sect disciples participating this year must undergo a preliminary trial. Only those who pass may enter the competition.”

“This year, the minimum cultivation requirement for the trial is entry into the Xuan Realm. Nearly half of the outer sect disciples are now disqualified!”

“The final deadline for the trial is in three days!”

“…”