Ten years of dormancy: Starting as a martial arts master at the pinnacle

The Blood Skull assassin was completely unaware.

Originally searching for a mission target, they have now become prey for some dangerous entity.

"Heh heh, this stench is definitely killer. It's not stinky enough; it doesn't look very professional."

An elderly man, well past sixty, stood up from the deck.

His aura wasn't strong; it was only at the early stage of the Innate Realm.

But he could stand on the deck of the boat and move through the river as if it were flat ground, making him seem unfathomable.

"Who are you? Everyone on that big ship should be dead by now, right?"

The Blood Skull assassins quickly noticed the old man's presence. Before attacking Li Changqing and Murong Yao, they had already silently drugged the others.

Otherwise, Li Changqing would have been able to detect their actions.

How did this old man manage to escape?

"Which organization are you from? Are you from the Wind and Rain Pavilion, or just some brats from the Assassin Camp?"

"Hmph, why don't you go ask the King of Hell?"

Even while adrift in the river, the Blood Skull assassins remained remarkably tough.

He was in the water, and with the help of a plank of wood, he lifted himself into the air.

They charged straight at the old man.

That axe seemed poised to cleave the old man in two.

"Unstable stance, lack of strength! As a martial artist, you're nothing but a charlatan. Making such a big fuss, you completely failed to conceal your killing intent. Even as an assassin, you're unqualified."

The old man muttered to himself.

As the assassin approached, the old man sidestepped the attack. Then, as if by magic, his hand appeared and disappeared, grabbing the opponent's neck before the opponent even realized it.

"Bear with it, it'll be quick! Heavenly Demon Divine Art!!"

The opponent's internal energy and essence flowed into his body through the old man's palm.

Even faster than before, in just two or three breaths, the Blood Skull organization's assassin was already skin and bones.

"It really stinks!"

The old man tossed the bag aside with obvious disgust.

He looks like he went from being in his sixties to just being sixty.

"I searched high and low without finding it, but it came to me effortlessly. If you asked me to look for it, I wouldn't be able to find so much delicious food."

With a flick of his sleeves, the wooden plank beneath the old man's feet shot out like a speedboat.

He soon encountered a second, a third...

None of these Blood Skull assassins could withstand a single blow from the old man.

They all became nourishment for the old man.

The old man looks younger and younger, from his seventies to his sixties...

They end up looking fifty, forty, or thirty-five.

His aura was also constantly rising.

From the original early stage of innate constitution, to the middle stage, and then the late stage.

By the time he absorbed the fourth person, his strength had already broken through the Innate Realm and reached the Profound Realm.

This isn't over yet...

He drained the life force of more than a dozen assassins, leaving them all skin and bones.

Their combined skill and essence became the best nourishment for the old man.

The old man's strength directly broke through to the mid-stage of the Profound Realm, and there were faint signs of him breaking through to the late stage.

"A bunch of useless trash, more than a dozen innate masters. And they still weren't enough to help me break through to the Free and Unfettered Realm?"

The Profound Realm is divided into two stages.

One is called the Profound Realm, and the other is called the Carefree Realm.

Breaking through to the later stage of the Profound Realm is the Carefree Realm for martial artists.

However, very few martial artists who have not cultivated to the Tongxuan realm know this.

The old man was dissatisfied, so he decided to keep it a secret here.

The Profound Realm is considered a grandmaster level by ordinary people. But for true top experts, this realm is merely the beginning.

Only by reaching the late stage of the Profound Realm, and being able to roam freely between heaven and earth, can one truly have a foothold in the world of martial arts.

Because they haven't broken through to the Free and Unfettered Realm.

The old man only sensed something unusual about his surroundings, but did not detect anything further.

"Sixty years! A full sixty years! I, the Heavenly Demon Elder, have finally returned!!!"

"Xiaoyao Sect, Stepping Immortal Sect! You just wait, I'll make sure your sects are wiped out."

After the roar.

The old demon, who looked to be about thirty-five or thirty-six years old, simply stepped into the air and disappeared into the mountain stream.

Li Changqing left early and this scene did not occur.

At this moment, he found some tree branches and dried them directly using his internal energy.

There had just been a heavy rain, and if Li Changqing hadn't done this, these branches would have had no chance of being lit.

After the branches were dried, he placed his hand on them and continuously used his internal energy to raise the temperature.

Flames instantly erupted.

In the glow of the campfire, Murong Yao's pale face looked pitiful.

Li Changqing shook his head secretly.

The scene of the little girl turning around and handing him the wooden bucket was something Li Changqing recalled for a long time.

did not expect.

Besides his elder brother, is there anyone else in this world who would risk their life to protect him?

Murong Yao's feelings were definitely not pure. They were mixed with a sense of responsibility, as well as considerations regarding Li Changqing's identity.

But so what?

Whoever risks their life to save the emperor is undoubtedly a person of absolute loyalty and righteousness. Did they not weigh the pros and cons, and did they not have any selfish motives?

This is not important at all.

Anyone who has saved the emperor should be richly rewarded.

Of course, the premise is that this act of saving the emperor cannot be something you planned.

Li Changqing doesn't need the little girl to save him.

But given the circumstances at the time, he had no choice but to acknowledge this affection.

"Looks like I'll have to find an opportunity to repay them in the future."

Just as Li Changqing was thinking this, Murong Yao blinked twice and woke up completely.

"Your Highness?"

When she saw Li Changqing, her eyes were filled with confusion and surprise.

In that situation, she was also being pursued by two assassins.

Murong Yao originally thought that she was going to die.

Unexpectedly, she was able to see Li Changqing alive.

"us?"

"Nothing happened between us, your clothes are dry from being dried in the oven. You've been unconscious for over two hours..."

Li Changqing spoke first.

Drying with internal energy is still drying. It's just that there's no need to specifically mention this.

"Thank you, Your Highness!"

Murong Yao concealed the doubt in her eyes beneath her long eyelashes.

Given the circumstances, it was already a miracle that Li Changqing survived. Even those innate masters couldn't guarantee their own survival.

Let alone going to rescue her.

"Could it be that this prince possesses some extraordinary skill?"

Upon considering this possibility, Murong Yao subconsciously shook her head.

Even if Li Changqing has been practicing martial arts all along, how old is he now?

How could he possibly have such strong martial arts skills?

Even a grandmaster at the Tongxuan realm might not be able to do it.

After resting for a while, the two disguised themselves again and headed towards Kyoto.

With a dozen or so assassins, they were all slaughtered.

The mastermind behind the scenes finally backed down and stopped causing trouble.

……