My Cultivation Techniques Upgrade Automatically

Chapter 4: Chapter 4: Sorry, This Is My First Time

Zhang Sheng and Zhao Shi dragged Liu Wei along, showing no sign of mercy even as she cried and begged until her voice was hoarse.

They had coveted Liu Wei for a long time. In the past, they had only been deterred by Liu Linshan’s presence, leaving them with the desire but not the courage to act.

Now that such a golden opportunity had fallen into their laps, how could they possibly let it pass?

Their Adam’s apples bobbed as they gulped, their eyes burning with unbearable lust.

As if by unspoken agreement, they quickened their pace, heading toward a distant patch of man-high weeds.

CRACKLE! SNAP!

In the middle of the weeds, Liu Wei was unceremoniously thrown onto the dry, yellowed grass.

The moment she was free of their grasp, she instinctively tried to flee, scrambling on all fours deeper into the thicket of weeds.

But with no martial arts training, how could she possibly escape? She hadn’t scrambled more than a few feet before Zhang Sheng snatched her by the ankle, dragged her back, and struck a vital point on her chest.

”Ngh...”

Her body shuddered violently, and she let out a pained gasp. She went completely limp, powerless to resist.

”My dear Junior Sister, now that it’s come to this, you can forget about escaping.”

Zhang Sheng leaned over, looking at Liu Wei’s dazed face. Though gaunt, it was still beautiful. He chuckled.

”Don’t make this harder than it needs to be.”

”If you take good care of me and my brother today, do you really think we’d treat you poorly once we find a place to settle down?”

”That’s right!” Zhao Shi chimed in from the side, rubbing his hands together, raring to go.

Hearing Zhao Shi’s eager agreement, a peculiar glint flashed in Zhang Sheng’s eyes.

Though those were his words, he had other plans in mind.

’There’s no telling how much longer we’ll be on the run, and food is scarce.’

’If our food runs out before we reach the nearest city, this junior brother of mine... he’ll make for the best rations.’

’As for this dear Junior Sister, why would I possibly keep her around?’

’The first thing I’ll do after we get to a city is sell her to a slaver for some silver coins. That will give me the capital I need to get on my feet.’

Zhang Sheng let out a delighted laugh at his own flawless plan.

Without turning his head, he said to Zhao Shi beside him,

”Brother Zhao, I’m not going to be polite. You wait on the side for a bit. And while you’re at it, make sure no one interrupts our fun.”

Of the two, Zhang Sheng was the better fighter, so Zhao Shi naturally followed his lead.

Without waiting for a reply, Zhang Sheng’s fingers shot out, impatiently grabbing for the frail body before him.

But before he could even touch the girl’s tattered clothes, he suddenly heard a sound like a soft breeze from beside him, followed by a strange noise:

”GASP... WHEEZE... COUGH, COUGH!”

”CRUNCH! CREEEAK!”

The noise sounded like a drowning man’s gasps, mixed with the sickening crunch of grinding bone. It was an incredibly disturbing sound.

Amid the noise, Zhang Sheng’s sharp instincts scented danger.

His expression changed in a flash. He snatched his hand back, his other hand grabbing for the saber hilt at his side as he twisted his head toward the sound.

Only then did he see it: a steel saber, glinting coldly in the setting sun, was pressed against Zhao Shi’s neck just a short distance away.

And at least half of the palm-wide blade was buried in Zhao Shi’s vulnerable neck!

Struck by the blade, Zhao Shi’s eyes bulged, and bloody foam dribbled from the corner of his mouth.

He raised his hands, trembling, his fingers clawing weakly at his neck as if to tear away the source of the excruciating pain.

A look of confusion was still on his face. He didn’t even understand what was happening, let alone offer any effective resistance.

With every beat of his heart, fresh blood pulsed from his mouth, and he made the gurgling, choking sound of a drowning man.

As for that sickening, grinding sound...

Zhang Sheng’s gaze traveled along the saber’s blade to what lay behind Zhao Shi.

He was horrified to see,

that a young man with piercing eyes stood there, arms tensed. He was twisting and wrenching the saber lodged in Zhao Shi’s neck, struggling to pull it free.

The blade was stuck between Zhao Shi’s neck bones, unable to move. As the youth viciously pried at it, the edge scraped against bone, producing a series of piercing ”SCREEECH—” sounds, like a dull saw, that made one’s own bones ache in sympathy.

”...”

And the youth who had killed Zhao Shi was none other than Wu Chen.

At that moment, on his Deep Red panel, the upgrade to his Spiritual Snake Step was not yet complete. It had only just reached the Minor Achievement stage and needed another minute before it was finished.

But seeing that the two were about to commit their vile act, Wu Chen had no choice but to strike early. He ambushed one of them and succeeded.

Only after making his move did Wu Chen realize he had oversimplified things.

Any readers who are experienced killers should know that when you swing a blade, you have to find the right angle.

Only by finding the gaps between the bones can one carve a person up like the legendary Butcher Ding, executing a perfectly smooth and fluid strike.

But what did Wu Chen know of such subtleties?

He had planned on using the full force of his Fifth Layer of the Body Tempering Realm—the four to five hundred pounds of Qi Power in his arms—to give the man a quick and clean end.

But with only brute strength and no experience using a blade, how could he possibly locate the gap between the bones? To say nothing of the fact that Zhao Shi, also at the Fifth Layer of the Body Tempering Realm, was hardly weak himself.

The result was that his saber was now stuck fast in Zhao Shi’s neck bone, impossible to pull out, creating this gruesome situation where the man was neither properly alive nor truly dead.

Sensing Zhang Sheng’s horrified gaze upon him, Wu Chen, still unable to pull his saber free, offered an awkward grin.

”Sorry about that. It’s my first time... I’m not very good at this yet.”

”I’ll try to be a bit cleaner when it’s your turn.”

His tone was gentle, but the smile that bared his white teeth didn’t look friendly at all.

His words were utterly chilling.

This sudden turn of events threw Zhang Sheng into disarray.

But he was a man who had shed blood before. In the time it took for that short exchange, he had already sized up the situation.

’Some damn fool who doesn’t know his own limits decided to play hero and ruin my fun!’

”You dare talk so big after one successful sneak attack!”

SHIIING! Zhang Sheng drew his saber, his eyes blazing with fury.

He looked at the saber stuck in Zhao Shi’s neck and knew Wu Chen was clearly no expert with a blade.

’That blow only landed because it was a sneak attack and Zhao Shi had his guard completely down!’

Zhang Sheng felt no grief over Junior Brother Zhao’s death, only annoyance at having his fun interrupted.

”You son of a bitch! You think you’re worthy of playing the hero?”

”Go to hell!”

Zhang Sheng roared and lunged at Wu Chen.

He moved like the wind, his attack ferocious. Even if he had no more formal bladework training than Wu Chen, he was still far stronger than a complete amateur.

In the blink of an eye, the wind from his blade—sharp enough to sting the flesh—was upon Wu Chen.

Enveloped by the fierce wind from the attack, Wu Chen showed no sign of panic.

He simply turned his body to the side, his right foot moving back slightly. His waist and leg muscles tensed like iron, and then he unleashed the coiled power in his leg with a sudden kick.

Minor Achievement Spiritual Snake Step: Spiritual Snake Tail Whip!

WHOOSH!

VMMMM—

In an instant, his leg blurred into an afterimage, lashing out like a humming whip.

It viciously struck Zhao Shi’s body, which was still hanging from the saber, more dead than alive.

BANG!

With a dull thud, Zhao Shi’s body was knocked off the blade and sent flying toward the lunging Zhang Sheng, completely intercepting his ferocious attack.

Wu Chen seized the opportunity to pull his saber free. As Zhang Sheng scrambled to avoid the corpse, Wu Chen pressed his advantage and slashed at him.

CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!—

Having seized the initiative, Wu Chen unleashed a flurry of four or five slashes at Zhang Sheng.

Though the slashes lacked any form or technique, they were powerful, heavy, and full of Qi Power.

An ordinary person blocking them would have had their breath knocked out of rhythm by the shock, forced to retreat step by step.

But to Wu Chen’s surprise, Zhang Sheng managed to block every one of his powerful, opportunistic strikes.

The other man’s breathing didn’t even seem to waver.

CLINK! CLANK!

In the blink of an eye, they traded another four or five slashes, each exchange a deadly contest.

In this exchange, Zhang Sheng relied on the powerful physique he had built over many years to gradually turn the tables.

The momentum of his steel saber was no less than Wu Chen’s. He forced Wu Chen back step by step, and the tide began to turn against him.