High Martial Arts: Gains one point of health per second, sweeping across the heavens.

The remaining two members of the "Black Wind Three Fiends" looked at their leader, who was curled up on the ground like a shrimp, with tears streaming down his face, and then at Su Jie, who looked "innocent." They felt a chill run from the soles of their feet to the top of their heads.

What the hell is this?

A "careless" knee strike crippled a leader with over 50 stars of combat power? You're kidding me!

The two men exchanged a glance, both seeing fear in each other's eyes. But they were, after all, desperate criminals who had lived on the edge of death; their ferocity was ignited, and with a roar, they unleashed their most powerful martial arts techniques from the left and right, charging fiercely towards Su Jie!

One man's palms glowed crimson, radiating a scorching heat, as he struck Su Jie directly in the back; the other moved like a ghost, his short sword silently piercing towards Su Jie's ribs. Their coordination was impeccable, their killing moves swift and deadly!

"Young master, be careful!" the girl in yellow couldn't help but exclaim.

Su Jie, however, seemed to have eyes in the back of his head. With his terrifying soul power perception, which far surpassed that of ordinary body tempering realm cultivators in the True Martial World, he could see that the two people's movements were full of flaws and as slow as snails.

He still didn't use much of his vital energy; his body, like a willow catkin, barely swayed just before the scorching palm wind and the insidious short sword reached him.

"Hoo!" "Tch!"

The wind from his palm brushed past his clothes, scorching a large tree behind him; the short sword grazed his clothes but missed, not even cutting a thread.

The two men were horrified as they used up all their strength. Just as they were about to change their moves, they saw Su Jie seemingly unsteady on his feet, his left and right feet "staggering" as he took turns stepping out.

"Bang!" "Bang!"

Two muffled thuds were followed by a crisp cracking sound of bones breaking.

"Ah!" "My foot!"

The two burly men screamed and fell to the ground, writhing frantically while clutching their ankles. Their ankles had been "accidentally" crushed by Su Jie!

Su Jie steadied himself, dusted off his sleeves, and sighed, "You guys, if you're going to fight, then fight. Why did you have to come right under my feet? How can you blame me for this?"

Three burly men lay on the ground groaning in pain, creating a rather awkward scene.

The girl in yellow stared in disbelief at the scene, her mouth agape in an "O" shape. She had never seen such... such an unbelievable fighting style!

Despite not sensing any strong energy fluctuations, he crippled three notorious thugs with a mere gesture!

Su Jie walked up to the burly man, squatted down, and looked at him with a smile: "Now, can we talk properly? Who are you people? Why are you chasing this young lady?"

The burly man was in so much pain that he was sweating profusely. Looking at Su Jie's seemingly kind but actually chilling smile, he no longer dared to be arrogant and hurriedly begged for mercy: "Brother, spare my life! We were blind!"

"We...we are from Black Wind Stronghold, ordered to search for spiritual herbs in this area. When we saw this little girl pick a hundred-year-old Dragon Blood Grass, we had wicked thoughts..."

"Black Wind Stronghold? Never heard of it." Su Jie curled his lip, then looked at the girl in yellow. "Miss, is what they're saying true?"

The girl in yellow then came to her senses and quickly took out a spirit herb from her bosom—it was entirely crimson, shaped like dragon scales, and radiated a rich aura of blood and energy. She nodded and said, "Yes, young master. I discovered this Dragon Blood Grass first. Thank you for saving my life!"

She bowed gracefully to Su Jie, her exquisite figure causing Su Jie to secretly marvel.

"It was nothing." Su Jie waved his hand, his gaze lingering on the dragon blood grass for a moment.

He could sense that the energy contained in this herb was extremely pure. Although it wouldn't have much effect on his current Xuan-level martial bone, it would definitely be a treasure for a Body Tempering Realm martial artist in this world.

Su Jie walked up to the burly man at the head of the group, looking down at him with an indifferent gaze.

"What...what do you want?" The burly man, enduring excruciating pain, moved backward in terror. "We've given you everything, and we're already useless..."

"Don't worry, I won't kill you." Su Jie's tone was calm, but it carried an undeniable chill. "But if I keep your cultivation levels, I'm afraid you'll use them to harm others in the future."

Before he finished speaking, he pointed his fingers like a sword and swiftly struck the three of them several times.

"puff!"

The three of them simultaneously coughed up a mouthful of blood, clearly feeling their years of hard-earned cultivation instantly collapse. Their meridians were like withered rivers, unable to muster any strength at all.

Their faces were ashen, and they collapsed to the ground—their cultivation had been destroyed, and in this dog-eat-dog world, they were no different from the dead.

"Get lost, just be a normal person." Su Jie waved his hand, as if shooing away flies.

The three dared not utter another word of complaint. Supporting each other, they staggered and disappeared into the depths of the dense forest, utterly distraught.

Having dealt with this troublesome matter, Su Jie clapped his hands and turned to Lin Jingyu, who was standing to the side.

Su Jie finally had time to carefully examine the girl before him. The girl had bright eyes and white teeth, and an elegant demeanor. Although she was somewhat disheveled, there was a natural air of heroism between her brows.

Having witnessed Su Jie's ruthless and decisive methods, Lin Jingyu, recalling everything that had happened, felt deeply grateful to him. She stepped forward and bowed respectfully once more.

"My name is Lin Jingyu. Thank you for saving my life, young master. May I ask your esteemed name?"

"Su Jie." Su Jie announced his name.

"Su Jie..." Lin Jingyu murmured the name, memorizing it deeply. She looked at Su Jie, her eyes filled with curiosity and gratitude. "Young Master Su, judging from your attire and... well, your style of doing things, you don't seem to be from around Tianyu City?"

Su Jie nodded and began to extract information: "Well, Miss Lin, to be honest, I have been living in seclusion in the wild with my parents since I was a child. Just a month ago, they suddenly disappeared."

I wandered here aimlessly by myself, and I'm not very familiar with this area. I overheard those small fry talking about something called "Dragon Blood Grass," which sounded quite interesting.

Lin Jingyu had no doubts. She just felt that Su Jie was like her, having lost both parents, and explained that they shared the same fate: "In our Tianyu City, people usually start strengthening their bodies and becoming martial arts apprentices after the age of twelve."

Once the body has been tempered to a certain level and combat strength reaches the 1-star standard, one has officially entered the first level of the Body Tempering Realm and is qualified to join various academies to systematically learn body tempering techniques.

Su Jie raised an eyebrow: "One star is the first level of Body Tempering? Then your 12-star combat power..."

"I reached level 1 last year when I was sixteen and entered the Qingyun Academy in Tianyu City." As Lin Jingyu said this, a hint of bitterness flashed across her face.

"I just broke through to the third level of the Body Tempering Realm five days ago, and now I am stable at 12-star combat power."

Within the academy, everything is determined by cultivation level. The higher the cultivation level, the greater the authority and the richer the rewards for the tasks one can accept.

"It sounds like the competition in the academy is fierce? Is there some kind of ranking system?" Su Jie asked casually, like a young man full of curiosity about the outside world.

"It's more than just intense..." Lin Jingyu sighed, subconsciously tightening her grip on the dragon blood grass in her hand. "It's simply cruel. I don't have any cultivation resources provided by my family; I have to rely on my own desperate efforts for everything."

"I ventured into the Black Wind Mountains in search of spiritual herbs and fruits, hoping to soon be listed on the Qingyun Academy's honor roll... but I never expected to encounter the villains of Black Wind Stronghold."