A Tianwu Realm Expert Teaches the Phantom Step
"Heroine, could you do me a favor?" Zhang Lingxiao suddenly asked.
"Hm?" Su Qing's delicate body stiffened. For a moment, she thought she had misheard.
"Ask you for help?" Zhang Lingxiao hesitated briefly, then nodded.
Su Qing sneered, ready to refuse outright. However, when her beautiful eyes swept over the silver ring on Zhang Lingxiao's finger, her expression subtly changed.
"Fine," she said. "What do you want?"
"Heroine, may I ask your name first? It feels improper to keep calling you that."
"Su Qing," she replied lightly. "You can call me Qing'er."
Her lips curved into a teasing smile.
"Qing… er…" Zhang Lingxiao stumbled over the name, then coughed lightly. "I'll just call you Su Qing."
From her reactions, Zhang Lingxiao had already guessed part of the reason behind Su Qing's strange tolerance toward him.
"Su Qing, what Realm are you currently in?" he asked as he crouched down and lit a fire, placing the Azure Moon Wolf's hind leg over the flames.
"Tianwu Realm, Middle Stage," Su Qing answered, frowning slightly.
"Oh." Zhang Lingxiao nodded.
As expected.
A genuine Tianwu Realm expert.
He didn't know whether to consider himself lucky or unlucky for having crossed paths—and formed such an intimate connection—with someone this powerful.
Since Su Qing clearly had no intention of killing him, an idea had naturally taken root in his mind.
For example… using her strength to deal with the Zhang family.
Zhang Lingxiao had never been stubborn. If resources were available, he would use them. There was no reason to shoulder everything alone.
The wolf meat soon finished roasting. Though there were no seasonings, the aroma was rich and enticing.
Zhang Lingxiao handed it to Su Qing. She shook her head in refusal, so he took a bite himself.
Tianwu Realm experts could survive without food for long periods, but someone at the Qi Wu Realm could not.
"Speak," Su Qing said coolly. "What do you need my help with?"
As she spoke, a trace of disdain rose in her heart.
This little man was truly bold.
Not only had he dared to offend her before, but now he wanted her help—did he really think she was his subordinate?
Yet when her gaze once more landed on the silver ring on Zhang Lingxiao's finger, a Divine Sense message echoed in her mind. She clenched her teeth and reluctantly nodded.
He's the man the Master chose…Master's physical body reconstruction still depends on him. I'll endure it.
Seeing her response, Zhang Lingxiao smiled.
"My name is Zhang Lingxiao. Just call me that."
"I want you to help me kill someone," he said calmly. "He's weak—only at the Lingwu Realm, Middle Stage."
Zhang Lingxiao then explained the entire situation.
After listening, Su Qing looked him up and down with renewed interest.
"I didn't expect you to be so ruthless," she said. "That's your grand-uncle, after all."
Zhang Lingxiao clenched his fists.
"If others don't offend me, I won't offend them."
"He killed my father first. That alone created an irreconcilable grudge. After that, he issued a warrant for my arrest, showing no regard for kinship whatsoever. I have nothing to feel guilty about."
"In a world where the strong are revered and strength determines everything, being ruthless is the only way to go further," Zhang Lingxiao said firmly.
Su Qing nodded slowly.
"Very well. I'll help you—but you must agree to one condition."
Her beautiful eyes flicked once more toward the silver ring.
Zhang Lingxiao didn't hesitate. "Deal."
"So quick?" Su Qing raised an eyebrow. "You're not even going to ask what it is?"
"No need," Zhang Lingxiao replied.
"Good." She smiled faintly. "Then take me to the Zhang family. With their strongest member only at the Lingwu Realm Middle Stage, it'll be over with a single finger."
Her tone was casual, as if she were talking about crushing an ant.
As for the condition Zhang Lingxiao had agreed to, Su Qing found herself looking forward to it greatly.
From what she could tell, Zhang Lingxiao had already inherited Master's Devouring Heaven Demon Art. He was clearly a key target for focused cultivation.
In the future, she would undoubtedly gain many advantages through him.
Zhang Lingxiao, of course, had no idea what kind of schemes Su Qing had in mind—or that he was already being coveted by more than one woman.
Still, as he traveled toward the Zhang family alongside her, he chuckled inwardly.
He was observant and quick-witted.
He had already deduced the reason behind Su Qing's complicated attitude toward him.
It all stemmed from the silver ring.
He hadn't forgotten—this ring had originally belonged to her before it chose him.
Her repeated glances were far too telling.
As they moved, Zhang Lingxiao's speed was not slow by Qi Wu Realm standards—but it was painfully sluggish to Su Qing.
"Hurry up," she urged impatiently.
"I'm only at the Qi Wu Realm Sixth Heaven! This is my fastest speed!" Zhang Lingxiao protested.
"Useless," Su Qing scoffed.
Before he could react, she extended a jade finger and tapped it against his forehead.
"What are you doing?!" Zhang Lingxiao exclaimed in shock.
"Don't move. Feel it carefully," Su Qing said coldly.
In the next instant, Zhang Lingxiao's mind went blank.
Then, a movement Martial Skill flooded into his consciousness—
Phantom Step.
The sensation was identical to when he had first inherited the Devouring Heaven Demon Art.
"Yellow Rank movement technique," Su Qing said indifferently. "It's sufficient for your current Realm. Even if I gave you something higher, you wouldn't be able to comprehend it."
"Thank you," Zhang Lingxiao said sincerely.
"Less talk. Cultivate," she snapped.
Zhang Lingxiao immediately sat cross-legged and began to comprehend the technique.
In the Martial Dao world, Cultivation Techniques, movement techniques, and Martial Skills were classified into Ranks:
Yellow Rank, Profound Rank, Earth Rank, Heaven Rank…
Though Yellow Rank was the lowest, it did not mean weak.
There were no useless Martial Skills—only useless Martial Artists.
A Martial Skill cultivated to perfection could allow even a Yellow Rank technique to rival Profound or Earth Rank ones.
This was Zhang Lingxiao's first movement Martial Skill.
Despite its rank, it filled him with excitement.
Phantom Step.
When cultivated to mastery, it maximized one's current speed, rendering the body ghostlike—true and false overlapping, illusion and reality intertwined.
Though it was a movement technique, when used properly, it could become a terrifying weapon in battle.
Catch the enemy off guard—
And kill with a single strike.
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