From the moment the Tiger Soul awakened, I became invincible.

Chapter 115 First Encounter with Zhao Longhu, The Three Fiends of Qianzhou

Upon hearing Qin Wu's question, the two men glanced at him sideways, their eyes filled with deep contempt and disdain. Then one of them spoke, "Who are you?"

As he spoke, he spat to the side before saying, "Let me tell you, no matter who you are, you'd better not get involved in Zhao Longhu's matter, otherwise, I'll make sure you regret it."

He wasn't stupid. Seeing Qin Wu approach, he immediately realized this man might be connected to Zhao Longhu, so he directly threatened him, showing no intention of softening his stance. Hearing his words, the person standing beside him nodded, a hint of agreement in their eyes. Without hesitation, Qin Wu revealed his identity: "Qin Wu of Tianwu Mountain."

Upon hearing that Qin Wu came from Tianwu Mountain, the two men's expressions immediately turned extremely cold. Although they had guessed that Qin Wu might have some connection with Zhao Longhu, they hadn't expected that Qin Wu was actually Zhao Longhu's fellow disciple. Then, one of them immediately said in a cold voice, "Boy, if you're here to stand up for your people from Tianwu Mountain, then let me tell you, you'd better give up that idea. Otherwise, I'll make you regret being born."

As he spoke, he drew a knife from his waist, and the man beside him did the same. Both drew their weapons, their eyes fixed on Qin Wu, ready to kill at any moment. However, they did not make a move—looking at Qin Wu's unfathomable composure, a composure usually stemming from strength, they felt that opposing Qin Wu at this moment might not be a good thing. Rather than fighting now, they preferred to leave first and come back to cause trouble for Qin Wu later.

Hearing their words, Qin Wu simply grinned, then suddenly reached out and grabbed one of them by the neck in an instant. Then, Qin Wu calmly asked, "Now can you tell me Zhao Longhu's location?"

Qin Wu's sudden attack caught both of them off guard, and the man whose neck was grabbed was filled with uncontrollable terror. He never expected Qin Wu to be so strong; the moment they made contact, he was already subdued. He said in fear, "I can tell you Zhao Longhu's location, but don't hurt me, or the three patriarchs will definitely not let you off."

Qin Wu asked directly, "Who are those three patriarchs you mentioned?"

The captured man trembled and quickly spoke: "The three ancestors are infamous throughout Qianzhou, known as the Three Fiends of Qianzhou! Countless people tremble before them."

Upon hearing this, Qin Wu immediately understood. He had heard of the Three Fiends of Qianzhou before. Back in Xuanzhou, he had heard that Lei Wudi, the leader of the Martial Alliance, had single-handedly forced the Three Fiends of Qianzhou out of Xuanzhou. However, he later learned that the claim that Lei Wudi had forced the Three Fiends of Qianzhou out of Xuanzhou was utter nonsense—the Three Fiends of Qianzhou were True Qi Realm experts, how could they be forced away by Lei Wudi, who was only at the Heart Nourishing and Meridian Opening Realm? It was simply that the Guiyuan Sword Pavilion behind Lei Wudi played a role.

However, this gave Lei Wudi an excellent title, allowing him to establish the Martial Arts Alliance. He hadn't expected to have the opportunity to deal with the Three Fiends of Qianzhou so soon after arriving in Qianzhou. At the same time, Qin Wu's expression became serious. He knew that the Three Fiends of Qianzhou were no ordinary people, and with his current strength, it would be difficult to fight them. It seemed that the only one he could rely on was Zhao Longhu himself.

Although the situation was dangerous, Qin Wu didn't intend to retreat immediately. He obtained Zhao Longhu's details and, upon receiving his answer, crushed the man's neck. His companion, who immediately tried to escape, was also sent to his death by a single punch from Qin Wu. Having done all this, Qin Wu headed towards the location where Zhao Longhu had been.

Upon arrival, only remnants of a battle remained at the scene, along with some bloodstains. However, the place was deserted, indicating that Zhao Longhu was likely safe, though perhaps injured. This situation darkened Qin Wu's expression—the situation might be worse than he had imagined. He quickened his pace, searching his surroundings, hoping to find Zhao Longhu's location as soon as possible.

Before they knew it, night had fallen. Just then, Qin Wu suddenly heard a loud shout: "Do you three scoundrels of Qianzhou really think you can keep me, Zhao Longhu, here?"

A powerful voice rang out, though tinged with weakness, its spirit remained undiminished. Qin Wu's eyes widened, and he immediately rushed towards the direction from which the voice came.

"Kid, you're unlucky to have been targeted by us. But if you hand over the item, the three of us might spare your life."

Zhao Longhu's voice was tinged with anger: "I've said it before, the Xuan Yin Pearl isn't on me at all. Even if you kill me, the answer will still be the same."

"Heh heh..." A chilling laugh rang out. "If we weren't confident, why would we bother you? So you'd better confess honestly, or you're dead today."

Then Qin Wu saw the people in front of him. A burly man stood before him, staring intently at the person in front of him. In front of him was a gaunt old man with sinister eyes, holding a long knife, his eyes filled with smugness, clearly confident of his opponent's dominance. The burly man, however, was weak, blood seeping from his chest, obviously injured.

Seeing this, Qin Wu breathed a slight sigh of relief. The worst-case scenario was that the three villains of Qianzhou were all here, in which case he would simply turn around and leave—all three were True Qi Realm experts, and leaving would only lead to his death. Although he was not afraid of death, he had no intention of throwing his life away. If he could save Zhao Longhu, that would be fine, but if not, he would naturally not risk his life for a fellow disciple he had never met.

However, since there was only one opponent, there was room for maneuver. The fact that the Three Fiends of Qianzhou were forced back by the reputation of the Sword Slave's master, the Raging Wave Sword Master, proved that these three weren't particularly strong; they only had intimidating power against those who hadn't reached the True Qi Realm. Now, although he hadn't opened all twelve acupoints, he had completed the conversion of internal energy into true essence. Even if it wasn't much, he was confident he could fight such a powerful opponent. Moreover, Zhao Longhu himself was quite strong; he could exert considerable fighting power if he fought desperately. Even if he was defeated, he was confident he could escape unscathed.

So Qin Wu didn't hesitate and charged straight into the battlefield. Seeing the sudden appearance of the newcomer, the sinister old man immediately spoke coldly: "Boy, who are you? This isn't a place for you to meddle."

At the same time, a murderous glint flashed in his eyes. He wasn't stupid; he could naturally see that Qin Wu's appearance was not a good thing for him. However, he wasn't worried—Qin Wu was young, and someone so young couldn't possibly have much strength and wouldn't pose much of a threat. If he weren't worried about Zhao Longhu escaping in the chaos, he would have already made his move against Qin Wu.

Zhao Longhu, standing to the side, also showed a worried expression: "Young brother, no matter what you've come here for..."

I must tell you, this is absolutely not something you can interfere with. This is one of the Three Fiends of Qianzhou, a True Qi Realm expert. You'd better escape immediately. With me here, he won't chase after you; otherwise, you won't be able to leave."

Upon hearing this, Qin Wu laughed and said, "Senior Brother Zhao, I am now also a disciple of Tianwu Mountain. It was Elder Cang Xuanwu who sent me to find you and bring you back to the mountain."

Hearing this, Zhao Longhu was somewhat surprised: "Why have I never seen you before?"

Zhao Longhu had stayed on the mountain for some time and believed he had a basic understanding of the situation, but he had no recollection of Qin Wu whatsoever. The sinister old man opposite him, however, grew increasingly grim—it seemed this matter with the people of Tianwu Mountain was unlikely to end well. But he was also puzzled; how could Qin Wu, so young, dare to appear here?

Qin Wu smiled and explained, "I joined Tianwu Mountain a few months ago. By then, Senior Brother Zhao, you had already left the mountain, so we didn't have a chance to meet."

Before Zhao Longhu could say anything, the sinister old man couldn't help but laugh: "Boy, if you had stayed on Tianwu Mountain for more than ten years, perhaps I would still be wary of you. But you have only been on the mountain for a few months now, and you probably don't even know what the twelve acupoints are. You actually dare to stand up for him, you are really courting death."

Zhao Longhu's face was gloomy. He took a step forward and said to the sinister old man, "You can't bully the people of Tianwu Mountain."

He then looked at Qin Wu: "Junior Brother Qin, you must leave quickly. This is absolutely not something you can interfere with. I believe you are considered a strong person in the Meridian Opening Realm, but the Meridian Opening Realm and the True Qi Realm are completely different concepts. You have no power to resist him. I can hold him off for a while, but you should retreat immediately before then. Go back to Tianwu Mountain and find Elder Cang to avenge me—these three villains of Qianzhou have been rampaging in Qianzhou for a long time, and now that they have offended Tianwu Mountain, the entire Tianwu Mountain will absolutely not let them escape."

As Zhao Longhu spoke, his gaze fell upon the sinister old man, his words carrying a hint of warning and threat. Although the Three Fiends of Qianzhou were renowned, they were insignificant among ordinary people and meant nothing to Tianwu Mountain. He hoped to use Tianwu Mountain's prestige to force the Three Fiends of Qianzhou to retreat.

However, the sinister old man merely laughed and said, "If the Three Fiends of Qianzhou were afraid, we wouldn't have come to capture you in the first place. Now, as long as we kill you and obtain the Profound Yin Pearl, we can naturally leave Qianzhou. The world is vast; where can't we go? Why hang ourselves on this one tree?"

Hearing this, Zhao Longhu's heart sank. Although he hadn't had high expectations to begin with, the other party's words still disappointed him somewhat.

Throughout their conversation, neither of them paid any attention to Qin Wu. Just as Zhao Longhu was beginning to despair, he heard Qin Wu's calm voice: "Senior Brother Zhao, now that I'm here, how about I kill this scoundrel?"

Zhao Longhu looked at Qin Wu, somewhat taken aback, not understanding where Qin Wu got his confidence from. The sinister old man couldn't help but burst into laughter.

However, his laughter only lasted a few moments before it vanished abruptly, replaced by displeasure: "You dare to spout such nonsense? A junior who hasn't even opened his twelve acupoints, what makes you think you can stand against me?"

"The twelve acupoints are not yet open? That's not necessarily true."

Qin Wu's lips curled into a smile, and his aura suddenly surged. Internal energy and true essence are completely different; almost instantly, the two sensed the difference in Qin Wu and immediately realized he had opened his acupoints. However, Zhao Longhu didn't relax—he could sense that although Qin Wu had opened his acupoints, he had only opened one or two at most. How could such strength contend with a True Qi cultivator who had opened twelve acupoints at the initial stage? It would only add another corpse to the mix. He felt somewhat dissatisfied, thinking Qin Wu was a reckless fool who didn't know how to seize an opportunity to retreat.

The next second, Qin Wu drew his sword. There was no need to delay any longer; he charged directly at the sinister old man.

Just as the two were about to make contact, Qin Wu activated the Dragon Tiger Technique. At the same time, his Immovable Vajra Body was also brought to its peak, and the essence of the Tiger King Blade was fully unleashed. At this moment, except for the Dragon Elephant World-Suppressing Fist, he had already unleashed his peak strength in an instant.

"die!"

Qin Wu roared.

Qin Wu was incredibly fast, reaching the sinister old man in the blink of an eye. The old man didn't care at all; in his eyes, a martial artist at the Meridian Opening Realm posed no threat whatsoever, even if they had already opened their acupoints. So he simply raised his hand in response, but in the next second, Qin Wu's attack struck his longsword directly, and the two swords clashed. With a deafening boom, the old man was thrown back more than ten steps, his face turning extremely ugly. Looking at his hands, they were even trembling slightly, and his eyes were filled with horror. "How could your strength be so great?"

His face was filled with utter shock, and Zhao Longhu looked at Qin Wu as if he were a monster. Qin Wu's cultivation level couldn't be hidden. Although he had opened one or two acupoints, he was still able to pose a threat to True Qi Realm experts like the Three Fiends of Qianzhou. This level of strength was something Zhao Longhu could never have achieved before. At the same time, a glimmer of hope appeared in his eyes.

This person was very strong; facing him alone, he had absolutely no hope of winning, at best he could only withstand a few more blows. Therefore, in his view, he was almost certain to die. However, if Qin Wu, who could pose a threat to the True Qi Realm, were added to the mix, things would be different. His reaction was extremely quick; he immediately chose to attack, joining forces with Qin Wu in the attack.

The battle began instantly.

However, Zhao Longhu was still seriously injured, so he could only serve as a supporting attacker and was powerless to directly confront the opponent. Qin Wu's strength had exceeded the old man's expectations, and the three of them were locked in a strange balance, with none of them having a good way to defeat the other. The more they fought, the more anxious Zhao Longhu became, because he knew that the Three Fiends of Qianzhou were never alone. Although there was only one of them here now, it wouldn't be long before the others arrived, which was enough to make him despair.

Once the other two villains from Qianzhou arrive, they will surely die. Therefore, the only hope of victory is to force them back before then and quickly retreat.

However, the current situation left him feeling rather hopeless.

As time passed and the battle gradually stabilized, the old man with the refined voice couldn't help but laugh.

"Your strength is not bad, but unfortunately, you're still a little short. You're all doomed to die today."