**Chapter 72: Killing Your Son to Settle the Bill**
The Butcher's madness seemed to transfer along with the pig-slaughter knife technique into his body. The Butcher's blade had always been a blade of madness—one that wielded emotion to command the knife!
"You use a blade?"
Fu Tingyue saw the cutting-board-sized weapon in Qin Mu's hand and laughed in disbelief. "What kind of knife is that?"
Qin Mu's body shifted, and the blade-light exploded outward like a surging ocean. Blade waves layered upon blade waves as he slashed toward Fu Tingyue!
Fu Tingyue kept his hands clasped behind his back, a cold smile playing on his lips.
A rapid *clinking* rang out. A silver light constantly clashed with the pig-slaughter knife—a small sword, no more than three inches long.
It was precisely this slender blade that danced up and down, arriving and departing like lightning. The sword was connected to a thread of yuan qi, and Fu Tingyue manipulated it to fly around his body, impossible to predict!
Then seven more small swords flew out, blocking Qin Mu's tempestuous onslaught and preventing his blade from breaking through.
His swords were spirit weapons—capable of growing long or short, large or small. Now at three inches, they were harder to guard against, easier to control, and far more agile!
Channeling yuan qi into a three-inch sword amplified its strength and power manifold!
He possessed eight such three-inch swords, controlled through the Eight Aspect Celestial God Technique. They were unpredictable and impossible to defend against. His title as the foremost martial artist of Xianglong City was well deserved!
He had endured countless battles and slain untold numbers of warriors. His body radiated an aura of murderous ferocity so intense that ghosts and gods alike dared not approach!
Yet Qin Mu's blade grew heavier with each strike, the power contained within intensifying. The clattering barrage of blows made his small swords increasingly difficult to sustain.
His sword control had been personally taught by the Lord of Xianglong City. The swordsmanship was exquisite beyond compare—otherwise, he could never have killed so many Great Ruins warriors without suffering a single defeat.
His swordsmanship could hold off Qin Mu's blade, but the force transmitted through the strikes gradually exceeded what he could withstand.
This meant that Qin Mu's yuan qi reserves were vastly superior to his own. He had managed to hold on because Qin Mu had not yet fully mobilized his power. As Qin Mu swung more and more times, he调动 more and more yuan qi, growing stronger and stronger!
Young Master Tingyue's face grew redder and redder, as though it might drip blood. The force pouring through Qin Mu's blade was so tremendous that the distance his eight small swords could operate was shrinking rapidly.
The blade and swords grew faster, their footwork accelerating in tandem. In the center of the platform, they circled and circled, their attack speed blinding to the eye!
Suddenly, Qin Mu's body pressed close to Fu Tingyue's.
A jolt of alarm shot through Fu Tingyue's scalp. "A killing technique?!"
He knew what a killing technique meant. When a martial artist trained in such arts closed to body contact, it signaled the delivery of a single, decisive blow!
"Not good!"
In Zhenjiang Tower, Fu Yundi's expression changed drastically. He shot to his feet and launched himself through the air toward the lake platform!
Simultaneously, every muscle and tendon in Qin Mu's body pulsed wildly—like venomous dragons coiling and intertwining, like great serpents knotting and expanding—granting his body incomparable power. The pulsing muscles and tendons allowed him to sense every movement of his opponent, every shift and trajectory of force!
Fu Tingyue's every action, every reaction, was reflected in Qin Mu's mind.
A glint of cold light flashed through Qin Mu's eyes. The killing technique of the pig-slaughter knife!
*Drawing the Blade from the Forbidden.*
Drawing the blade from the forbidden, chariots and horses thunder like rumbling. One man strides into the palace, and the blade cleaves the king's head!
Every muscle in Qin Mu's body sprang into motion. The pig-slaughter knife leapt from his right hand to his left. He reversed his grip, lunged forward, and drew the blade upward—edge leading, hand following—threading the gap between two small swords and slicing up through Young Master Tingyue's crotch!
A simple upward draw. To split open the innards. Just like slaughtering a pig.
The Butcher's pig-slaughter knife technique.
At the same moment, two small swords shot toward Qin Mu's eyes. Qin Mu flicked two fingers on his right hand. Both fingertips were pierced, but the two swords were deflected.
*BOOM!*
From within Zhenjiang Tower behind Qin Mu, an earth-shattering explosion rang out. The entire structure suddenly split apart, cleaved in two by an indescribable force!
The towering building cracked down the middle and collapsed into the lake. Water surged in great waves, extinguishing countless lanterns held by the young women along the shore and drawing screams from all directions.
Fu Yundi stood amid the ruins of Zhenjiang Tower, his face ashen, jaw clenched, a thin trail of blood at the corner of his mouth.
In his desperation to save his son, he had launched his attack before leaving the tower—only to be intercepted mid-flight by the Cult Master's Wife. Caught off guard, he was forced to receive her strike head-on and was gravely wounded!
His own injuries were minor compared to his failure to save his son!
Across from him, the Cult Master's Wife raised a hand to smooth her hair, composed and unhurried. She smiled. "City Lord, for an elder to personally intervene in a duel between juniors is rather improper, is it not? Fortunately, I intervened in time, and you did not make a grave error."
Fu Yundi's lips twitched. He forced down the blood rushing to his throat, swallowing it back, and managed a strained smile. "The Mistress jests. My son was simply outmatched..."
His eye twitched—a flash of cold viciousness crossing his face. "He deserved his death! I acted rashly just now and made a fool of myself before you all."
On the platform in the lake, Qin Mu sheathed his blade and straightened up.
"This blade of mine is called the pig-slaughter knife."
His pulsing muscles slowly settled. He spoke evenly. "Young Master Tingyue, you were quite capable. You made me injure two fingers."
Before him, a line of blood appeared on Fu Tingyue's lower abdomen. It climbed upward, higher and higher, reaching his throat, his nose, the center of his brow. Then his chest split open, and his entire body fell into two halves, blood painting the ground.
Qin Mu strode toward the stunned middle-aged man, snatched the pouch of coins from the tray. The man's face turned to ash. He seized Qin Mu's wrist and snarled, "You killed Young Master Tingyue..."
*Shick—*
Qin Mu raised his blade and severed the man's head in a single stroke. He flicked the pig-slaughter knife clean of blood, sheathed it, and walked toward the collapsed remains of Zhenjiang Tower.
Behind him, a splash echoed as the middle-aged man's body toppled into the lake. The water churned as the fish-monsters below tore into the corpse in a frenzy.
Qin Mu crossed the water and arrived at the leveled Zhenjiang Tower. He looked up at Fu Yundi's iron-blue face, then scanned the stunned expressions surrounding him. The youth broke into a good-natured smile and held out the pouch of coins toward Fu Yundi.
"City Lord, here are a hundred dragon coins. For my meal."
Fu Yundi's eye twitched, but he did not reach out his hand.
"I'm not in the habit of owing favors. Since I ate your food, even if you refuse payment, I insist on paying. We Outcasts of the Great Ruins may be poor, but we still have our backbone."
Qin Mu smiled his bright, sunny smile, then relaxed his grip. The pouch hit the ground, and dragon coins spilled out, scattering across the ruins—some rolling through cracks and dropping into the lake.
"The bill has been settled. I should be going now. City Lord, honored guests—this young one takes his leave."
He stepped back, turned, and walked away across the waves. His laughter rang out behind him: "Heroes sit drunk on wine, and I killed your son to settle my bill! What a thrill! What a thrill!"
Ling Yuxiu blinked her bright, beautiful eyes, wanting to call after him. She hesitated and held her tongue. She was, after all, a guest of the City Lord's Manor—a valued guest, but still a guest. Qin Mu had been the one she brought inside. Now that he had publicly killed the City Lord's son, it would be unwise to maintain too close a connection with him.
The Cult Master's Wife moved to block Fu Yundi's line of sight toward Qin Mu and smiled. "Since none of you dare take the Great Nurturing Heavenly Demon Sutra, I will keep it safe myself. Farewell!" With a flicker of her figure, she vanished.
"Think you can leave?!"
Black Venerable shouted and charged after her. The sallow-faced woman, the white-browed elder, and the others also rushed out, pursuing the Cult Master's Wife. Fu Yundi hesitated for a moment, then summoned a divine master from the City Lord's Manor and spoke rapidly: "Take men and follow that boy. Kill him and avenge my son! And... give my son a proper burial..."
With that, he too launched himself in the direction of the Cult Master's Wife. Compared to avenging his son, the Great Nurturing Heavenly Demon Sutra was far more important!
Ling Yuxiu quietly rose to her feet, tiptoeing toward the exit of the ruined tower. Suddenly, Qin Feiyue's towering figure appeared behind her.
"Your Highness, please stop this."
Qin Feiyue's gaze was somber. "The State Preceptor's army has nearly arrived."
Ling Yuxiu slumped. "This time out, and I haven't even had enough fun..."
Qin Feiyue's gaze softened. He spoke gently. "Seventh Princess, if you admire that young man, once the Great Ruins is incorporated into Yankang's territory, you may summon him into the palace and bestow upon him the position of an eunuch overseer. That way, he could frequently accompany the Seventh Princess."