A man dressed in gray, his face tinged with a greenish hue, walked in from outside the door. From the moment he stepped into the operating room, Joe Di could sense a ruthless aura emanating from him.
"I don't know you," Joe Di replied, suddenly growing calm. He could feel it—this man truly intended to kill him.
He hadn't been able to cultivate before, but he was no stranger to the world. Now, after mastering the First Blade of the Di Family Seven Blades and stepping into the ranks of martial artists, his blood surged with newfound confidence. Though the man before him wanted to kill him, Joe Di was puzzled—but not afraid.
He thought of the woman who had searched for him earlier. Could this guy have been sent by Di Ziheng to eliminate him as a loose end?
"Let me send you to your grave knowing why. Remember the name—Shawn Hill. You're dying because you meddled and saved someone you shouldn't have. In your next life, don't stick your nose where it doesn't belong. The one you saved is still on my list, but you'll die first..." As he finished, the man in gray stepped forward and unleashed a heavy punch toward Joe Di.
That punch was still far from Joe Di, yet he could already feel a murderous intent crashing toward his head.
As the fist closed in, Joe Di could clearly sense the trajectory of the punch's wind, even perceiving the shifting intensity of the killer's intent.
This was a killer—a man who had ended more than one life. Joe Di recognized this instinctively. Almost without thinking, he slipped to the side and, with practiced precision, executed the First Blade technique of the Di Family Seven Blades, bringing his scalpel down in a swift arc.
The scalpel in his hand was only a few inches long, yet Joe Di felt as if he were wielding a blade a meter in length. He could vividly sense the blade aura trailing from his strike, its force almost tangible in the air.
It was as if the blade's energy could be touched—so real it defied belief. Joe Di knew his scalpel was only a few inches long, but the sensation after he swung was astonishingly vivid. He'd watched countless Di Family disciples execute the First Blade, but none matched the power of what he'd just achieved.
"How is this possible?" The man in gray's fist froze mid-air, his eyes filled with terror. It was as if a blinding white blade aura descended from above, striking right between his brows. He desperately wanted to evade, but the blade aura locked onto him.
In his mind, that punch should have been impossible for Joe Di to dodge. With his years of killing experience, facing a rookie like Joe Di, his punch should have overwhelmed Joe with murderous intent, leaving him unable even to cry for help—an easy kill.
But in reality, after his punch, Joe Di not only dodged with ease but also struck back with a blade. No, wait—he was clearly holding nothing but a short scalpel.
"Pfft!" The faint sound was swallowed by a spray of blood. A razor-sharp red line split the man's brow, and he crumpled to the ground, lifeless.
Meanwhile, Joe Di closed his eyes, his blade still poised in the air.
In that moment, something burst forth in his senses—something he felt he could almost grasp.
He didn't know how much time passed before he suddenly opened his eyes, then stared in shock at the gray-clad man lying on the ground.
The scalpel was still in his hand, and blood was pooling beneath the gray-clad man. Clearly, it wasn't the short scalpel that struck him, but the blade aura Joe Di unleashed—a force sharper and deadlier than steel.
After unleashing that strike, Joe Di understood. Once he mastered the Fourth Blade, he would go to Celestia—he needed real combat experience.
Lowering his gaze to the scalpel in his hand, Joe Di was certain: the First Blade of the Di Family Seven Blades wasn't supposed to be this powerful. Before, he hadn't been able to cultivate, but he wasn't blind. He'd seen countless Di Family disciples perform the First Blade—none came close to what he'd just done. And this was with a scalpel. What if he wielded a real long blade?
He had cultivated according to the Di Family Seven Blades and mastered the First Blade, yet this strike had surpassed the usual power of the First Blade.
Then he recalled the danger just now—after unleashing that blade, he'd entered a state of enlightenment. Joe Di knew about this phenomenon; he'd long heard that any martial artist able to achieve enlightenment was considered a prodigy of the highest caliber, and even in all of Jade Nation, such talent was extremely rare.
It was his first real fight, and he achieved enlightenment. If, during that moment, the man in gray hadn't been killed, what would have happened?
Joe Di rolled the gray-clad man over. Sure enough, a razor-thin line of blood marked his brow, and fresh blood was still trickling out.
Joe Di knew it was the blade aura that caused the wound. A mere cut shouldn't have killed him, but Joe Di, once unable to cultivate yet well-versed in human anatomy—and now a master of medical arts—was certain the man died because his vital channels had been shredded by the blade aura.
Sighing, Joe Di stood up. Trouble had found him, and he knew it. The killer hadn't come from his half-brother—he was just a handyman who happened to save someone, hadn't earned a single coin for his medical help, and now he was caught up in this mess.
He really liked Tan's Apricot Hall—he'd worked hard to find this place. He planned to hone the Di Family Seven Blades here, repair his flying device, and then travel to Celestia.
No matter what, the deed was done—he had to face it. He wrapped the gray-clad man's corpse and quickly left Tan's Apricot Hall.
Half an hour later, Joe Di buried the man's body in an abandoned garbage dump.
When Joe Di returned to Tan's Apricot Hall and cleaned up all traces, it was nearly nine o'clock. Just then, someone knocked on the door again.
Joe Di opened the door, and to his surprise, saw Felix Yu, who had recently gone to enroll at Northlake University.
"Fox, what brings you here?" Joe Di asked in confusion, then immediately noticed something had changed about Felix Yu.
It had only been a few days, but Felix Yu seemed different. Coming from the martial culture of Yalen Continent, Joe Di could tell Felix had started training in martial arts.
"Joe, thank you. I've started training at the Northlake Martial Arts Academy. I made time to come see you, but once I return, I won't be able to leave for a long while." Felix Yu's voice was still tinged with excitement, but there was also a hint of guilt in his eyes.
His spot at the Northlake Martial Arts Academy had originally belonged to Joe Di. Now that he'd taken it, Joe Di would never have the chance to enroll. Even if Joe Di claimed he didn't want to go, Felix still felt guilty.
Joe Di saw through Felix Yu's worry and patted him on the shoulder. "Fox, when you make a name for yourself on Celestia, bring me along to see it. For now, hurry back to your girlfriend—I'm doing well here, so don't worry about me."
"I know, but before I go, I need to tell you something confidential. Northlake University was allowed to open its Martial Arts Academy because Professor Zane Chen found a martial arts manual on Celestia. Rumor has it, a student at Capital University has already reached the peak of the Earth rank, and might even break into the Innate realm..."
"Wait..." Joe Di interrupted, puzzled. "What is Earth rank? And what does Innate mean?"
On Yalen Continent, a martial artist was just a beginner—like Joe himself. After that came the Warrior, then the Martial Master, Grandmaster...
Martial King was the ultimate goal for all cultivators in Jade Nation, but only a handful ever reached that level.
Felix Yu lowered his voice. "That's exactly what I came to tell you. The martial arts manual Professor Zane Chen discovered divides cultivation into several ranks: Yellow, Mystic, Earth, and Heaven. (These are progressive stages of martial attainment, with Innate being a legendary realm beyond Heaven.) It's said that beyond Heaven rank, there's a chance to reach the Innate realm. To go to Celestia, you must at least reach Yellow rank."
Joe Di frowned slightly—this system was different from what he'd known on Yalen Continent. He didn't ask Felix Yu why; Felix wouldn't know either.