Star Martial Era: The Way of Star Light Cultivation

Chapter 27: Chapter 23: Cutting Grass (Please Follow)

Xu Jin quickly made a decision.

According to the voices, those ruffians were planning to wipe out his whole family that very night, kidnap his sister Jiangʼer, kill his father, and take his, Xu Jinʼs, heart blood.

At face value, it seemed that since his sister wouldnʼt return that night, he and his father just needed to hide away.

But what about tomorrow, or the day after? They couldnʼt hide every day, the issue had to be resolved.

Quickly, Xu Jin thought of a solution: Ambush!

Xuʼs Manor was full of uncles and brothers. He could go round up seven or eight sturdy men, set up an ambush and wait; when that gang of ruffians arrived, they would beat them to death with a flurry of clubs.

But then Xu Jin dismissed this plan.

They couldnʼt kill them all.

Because the uncles and brothers in Xuʼs Manor, mostly farmers, had the mettle to drive these people away.

But killing them? They likely didnʼt have the courage for that.

And it had to be all of them.

If even one or two escaped, Xuʼs Manor might be alright, but a great disaster would surely befall Xu Jinʼs family, and it would bring trouble to the uncles and brothers as well.

Startle the snake by hitting the grass?

That wouldnʼt do either.

Thereʼs logic in being a thief for a thousand days, but not in fending off a thief for a thousand days!

After much thought, Xu Jin could only think of one way to thoroughly resolve the trouble—cutting the grass to remove the roots!

But that was just a thought.

Xu Jin had only killed chickens after arriving in this world.

But the more he thought about the horrible fate that might befall his sister Jiangʼer and his father Xu Dajiang, the angrier he became, his fury spiraling out of control.

The scene of Lu Xianbing using Star Radiance Burst to shatter a large bluestone during Martial Learning flashed across his mind.

This was his only reliance.

Give him a knife, and he might not be able to kill a man with one thrust.

But the memory of Star Radiance directly exploding the bluestone gave Xu Jin confidence.

As long as he hit those ruffians with the Star Radiance Burst, a direct hit to a vital spot would kill them instantly, and a hit anywhere else would cause serious injury.

This was Xu Jinʼs only advantage.

And he had to use it!

With a single thought, the Candou Platform appeared in his mind.

[First Tier Candou Platform]

[Fighting Master: Xu Jin]

[Receive Star Favor, one worship per day, can obtain one thread of Starlight]

[Star Lamp: Solidifies the foundation of Star Skill, Star Shield, replacable.]

[Nourishable Items: None]

[Star Skill: Basic Star Shield (already solidified), Basic Star Radiance, Basic Star Ring, Basic Star Arrow, Basic Starlight Shield]

[Upgrade available]

Solidifying Star Skills meant he could now switch them out.

Among the five basic Star Skills mastered through practicing the Five Battles Killing Fist, the most powerful was actually the Basic Star Arrow.

Because it could travel one meter from the body.

However, using the Basic Star Arrow required at least Second Layer Dining Dawn Cultivation Level, and even if he managed to force it out through his conditioned shoulder, its accuracy would be terrible.

So, it had to be the Basic Star Radiance.

With a slight thought, Xu Jin had already replaced the solidified Star Skill in the Star Lamp with Basic Star Radiance.

A familiar feeling emerged in his heart, and Xu Jin knew that after swapping out the solidified Star Skill, his Star Radiance could now be Instantaneous.

But Xu Jin was well aware of his advantage.

If he rushed in like that, one against five, he would surely die.

Although those ruffians hadnʼt practiced cultivation, their street fighting skills were a hundred times better than his.

So, what Xu Jin did was wait for an opportunity.

An opportunity to defeat them one by one.

Taking a deep breath, Xu Jin kept building himself up mentally, calming his trembling hands from the nerves and slowly moving while observing the layout of the yard where those ruffians lived.

On the roof, the green-clothed man sat casually, invisible to the outside world.

From a distance, one could only see the roof, not the green-clothed man.

While watching, the green-clothed man evaluated Xu Jinʼs behavior.

”Now he seems to have some brains and a bit of patience, not too rash.”

”Boss, you guys keep drinking; Iʼm going to take a leak!” Inside the house, one of the ruffians suddenly stood up.

”Go ahead, just donʼt wet your pants.”

”Hey, I can pee three meters against the wind....” Amidst the laughter of the crowd, that ruffian staggered out the door.

Xu Jinʼs heart lit up with secret joy, and then another ruffian stood up, ”Iʼm going to pee three meters too....”

Xu Jinʼs heart sank, and he looked toward the direction of the latrine in the backyard.

If these two ruffians decided to relieve themselves in the yard as soon as they stepped out, with both of them, Xu Jin dared not make a move.

It would likely cause a commotion, and he would immediately be surrounded and attacked.

But if they went to the latrine in the backyard...

Still, Xu Jin dared not overestimate the ruffiansʼ character; it would be normal to just relieve themselves right outside after drinking.

The next moment, Xu Jinʼs eyes gleamed.

The first ruffian who left turned toward the backyard.

Perhaps this was their usual dwelling, and being the height of summer, he didnʼt just take care of business wherever he pleased.

A few moments later, the second ruffian left the house, walking a bit heavily, not too drunk, with a seven or eight-meter gap from the first ruffian.

Xu Jin crouched in the shadows of the wall corner and decisively decided that this was a rare opportunity.

The two men, one after another, both heading to the backyard, was already a very good opportunity.

The next moment, Xu Jin, crouched at the wall corner, quietly followed.

Suddenly, as the second ruffian entered the backyard, the first ruffian disappeared from view, having entered the latrine around the corner of the backyard.

And the second ruffian was about ten meters away from the room where Deng Hu and the others were drinking, also separated by two walls.

It was a good opportunity!

Xu Jin took a deep breath.

He suddenly crouched and charged out.

It seemed he heard the sound of the wind, and the second ruffian instinctively turned around.

What he saw was a burst of Starlight and the entire figure of Xu Jin, shoulder-first, crashing into his embrace.

Almost simultaneously, the green-clothed man on the roof, who was idly twiddling his thumbs waiting for the show to start, abruptly stood up.

The luminance on the rooftop wavered, but the figure of the green-clothed man still had not appeared.

Yet on the face of the green-clothed man, there was utter astonishment.

”Damn, am I seeing things?

The foundation of Star Radiance, instantaneous at the First Layer of Dining Dawn cultivation, this is something that can only be achieved with the Great Perfection of the Five Battles Killing Fist, right?

If someone can train the Five Battles Killing Fist to Great Perfection, would they be limited to just the First Layer of Dining Dawn?

Where did such a freak come from?”

The Star Radiance burst forth on Xu Jinʼs shoulder and then directly collided with the ruffianʼs chest.

In an instant, Xu Jin heard the cracking and snapping of bones, as well as the sound of something bursting inside.

Too much force used.

In the wild rush, Xu Jin fell to the ground along with the second ruffian.

But as they fell, he saw fresh blood mixed with pink froth and chunks of innards spewing out from the mouth.

The ruffian gurgled in his throat, but the sound was stifled by the gushing blood froth and chunks of innards.

He had killed a man!

In a flash, Xu Jinʼs heart pounded like a drum, his entire body felt a numbing, electrifying sensation, and his hands and feet trembled uncontrollably.

On the rooftop, the green-clothed man was stunned once again.

”Kills someone and shakes like this, is he really an inexperienced youth who has never seen blood?

How very strange.

This freak with Great Perfection in the Five Battles Killing Fist, brave, clever, and patient, thus far at least.

Where did such a weird fledgling come from?”

In contemplation, the green-clothed manʼs face suddenly revealed a smile tinged with reminiscence, as if his first time killing someone, he had reacted much like this youth.

No, not even as well.

He remembered feeling like he was going to wet his pants.

Whether he actually did or not, who knows; he had forgotten.

Sweat pouring like syrup, plus the rain, his whole body was drenched.

Almost at the same moment, laughter from the ruffian inside the thatched hut in the courtyard could be heard, ”Iron Head, are you a fucking weak shrimp?

You fell over after just a bit of booze. How the hell are we going to do the job tonight, how are we gonna handle that chick?” He must have heard the sound of the fall just now.

Xu Jin, having killed for the first time and experiencing intense nerves, felt like all the blood was rushing to his head, his heart was pounding rapidly, and he was breathing violently.

Lying next to the still twitching, dying ruffian, Xu Jin was trying to take deep breaths to steady his bodyʼs fight-or-flight response, ignoring the noise from the thatched hut.

Whoosh!

After four consecutive deep breaths, his heartbeat slowed, his hands and feet still shook, but they were now under his control, while the pattering of water in the thatched hut gradually stopped.

It was time to come out.

Xu Jin took another deep breath and crawled toward the door of the hut on hands and knees.

Just as he reached the door of the hut, he saw the ruffian inside fastening his belt, or rather, just a cloth strip.

It was dark, no lamps, only the faint starlight.

The ruffian could only vaguely see someone crawling on the ground in front of him.

”Ha ha ha, Iron Head, you coward, did you really trip over?” he laughed and cursed, but his hands instinctively bent down to help.

It seemed that these few guys had a decent relationship with each other.

Xu Jin, who had originally planned a sneak attack, seized the opportunity and rose up, harshly ramming his shoulder into the ruffianʼs jaw.

In the very moment of collision, Star Radiance suddenly flared.

Bang!

The sound of shattered bones resounded once again.

But this time, instead of striking at the lower jaw as intended, Xu Jin inadvertently hit the throat.

Under the blast of Star Radiance, not only the throat bone completely shattered, but the neck bone broke as well.

Apart from the sound of falling, there was no other noise.

Xu Jin then lay on the ground, taking deep, heavy breaths.

On the rooftop, the invisible green-clothed man looked around, displaying a kind of surprise.

”To recover from trembling hands and feet so fast, this kid has quite a temperament.”

In thought, the green-clothed man tried to remember... how long did it take him to get up the first time he killed someone?

Was it 15 minutes?

Or 15 minutes?

It was somewhat unclear.

No, he must have been stronger than this kid, right?

Xu Jin had killed for the second time.

But this second time, he no longer felt the numbing, electrified sensation throughout his body, the sweat pouring out, or uncontrollable limbs; he was just breathing heavily.

Lying there for a full minute, Xu Jinʼs heartbeat stabilized, and his breathing slowed; aside from slightly trembling hands, most of the stress response had vanished.

Turning over to the side of the dead ruffian, he searched through the manʼs embrace.

He found a small cloth bag – broken silver – but Xu Jin didnʼt take it, just threw it aside.

Now was not the time for looting.

Upon further search, he found an ox ear dagger wrapped around the waist.

The dagger was over one foot long and felt cold to the touch.

With the dagger in hand, Xu Jin felt his courage swell once more. He looked towards the lit room with murderous intent clearly showing.

Indeed, with a deadly weapon in hand, the desire to kill arises easily.

He went over to the first ruffian he had killed and felt around; this guy also had an ox ear dagger and two cloth bags in his embrace.

One should contain broken silver, Xu Jin wasnʼt eager to take it; the other bag was soft and not small.

Xu Jin opened it to check – a powder, white in color, faintly scented, not like flour.

What was this?

All of a sudden, an epiphany struck Xu Jin, and he immediately realized what it was.