Enlightenment: Beginning as a Disposable Warrior-Chapter 102 - 93: An Immortal Line, Kill Zhou Qing! (First Update)

"From a distance, I know it's not snow, because a hidden fragrance comes," Su Mu's words left the person behind him stunned, a look of emotion crossing their face.

Having spoken, Su Mu no longer paid attention to the person behind him and walked straight toward the figure that had been locked onto.

From the very beginning, he had no intention of selling poetry. Everything had been set once Zhou Qing appeared, plus this guy wanted to scam Su Mu.

Su Mu borrowed Wang Anshi's "Plum Blossom" as a retort, and the so-called self-valuation was just Su Mu suddenly taking an interest in teasing the person blessed with destiny.

After reciting the poem, Su Mu, without revealing his emotions, approached Zhou Qing. Having cultivated the "Small Faceless Transformation Technique," Su Mu's awareness of the facial acupoints was keener than ever.

He could often discern a disguise through the anomalies of facial acupoints; from this distance, Su Mu had already noticed the subtleties on this person's face. Although quite skillful, there were indeed traces of disguise.

Moreover, Su Mu's eyes could see things ordinary people couldn't. There was a slight difference in color between this person's neck and face; the neck was slightly paler, indicating that the original skin tone was even paler, aligning with the fair complexion trait.

The slender build also matched the information on the wanted notice and secret message. The only thing left was to verify the palm.

However, it was at this moment that Zhou Qing began turning and quickly walked towards the outer yard.

"Such keen perception... Did he sense my presence?"

Su Mu quickly dismissed this thought; from Zhou Qing's reaction, this person clearly hadn't noticed him. Then why did he suddenly leave?

Su Mu couldn't figure it out, but it was a blessing for him. With the second-most powerful person in Qingyun County's government office attending the poetry gathering, Su Mu had no intention of taking action unless necessary. Doing so would not be a good thing.

Now that Zhou Qing left, it was like having a pillow delivered when drowsy.

The bustling poetry gathering didn't pay much attention to the departure of the two.

After Su Mu left, someone in the corner kept repeating the plum blossom poem with growing astonishment. Their recitation grew louder.

"Several plum branches by the wall, bloom alone braving the cold."

Hmm?

Someone overheard this line, turning their gaze to where Su Mu and the person had stood. To their ears, the lines sounded more than adequate, even above average.

Many wanted to hear the poem's remaining lines, their curiosity piqued. They listened attentively.

"From a distance, I know it's not snow."

"Because a hidden fragrance comes." 𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦

The moment these lines fell, it was like adding the finishing touch to a dragon. The poem's first two lines described plum blossoms unfearful of the cold, blooming proudly, while the latter lines depicted the blossoms' subtle fragrance. Personified through the plum, these lines suggest noble character and delicate fragrance, symbolizing great talent.

The entire poem's language is simple, seemingly plain, yet profound, deeply compelling!

Many subconsciously echoed the words, then shared them with other scholars present, leading to widespread amazement at Wang Anshi's plum blossom poem.

The originally dozing headmaster of Shuangbai Academy, Lu Qingshan, was suddenly roused by the recited plum blossom poem. Savoring it briefly, he was struck by how unique this poem was.

In an instant, Lu Qingshan's sleepiness was gone, his eyes shining with brilliance. Though countless poems on plum blossoms exist,

this poem's emergence would undoubtedly secure its place!

"Who composed this poem?"

Realizing its profoundness, Lu Qingshan abruptly stood, following the crowd's gaze to see a raggedly dressed youth, causing his heart to tremble, his expression moved.

"An excellent poem... Though it sings of plum blossom, it is in fact the young man's self-narration, tenacious and noble like the plum blossom in adversity. This poem can be regarded as a fine ode to plum, enough to make a name in Qingzhou Prefecture with just this one."

Not just famous in Cyan Cloud, but this one poem renowned throughout Qingzhou Prefecture!

With Lu Qingshan's words, it was like a stone causing a thousand ripples. The crowd bubbled over like boiling water, scholars surged towards him like a tide.

"What is happening here?"

"Could it be a masterpiece has been born? You are academy disciples, hurry and see the inner yard." Onlookers urged, prompting several academy disciples to rush towards the inner yard.

These academy disciples had attended many poetry gatherings, but never had they witnessed such commotion. Could a masterpiece have been born?

A masterpiece can be passed down; while previous years saw fine poems, there remains a world of difference between fine and masterpiece. Moreover, this afternoon's theme was the plum blossom.

Creating a masterpiece in ode to plum blossom is a tremendously challenging feat, which left the academy disciples astoundingly shocked.

In the clamoring crowd of the inner yard, over ten people first looked surprised, then collectively turned their gaze toward an individual sitting among the academy stands. Their eyes glowed with delight, lightly nodding, and then the person quietly slipped into the depths of the inner yard amidst the commotion.

In this moment, several hurried academy disciples brushed past a figure, none other than Su Mu following Zhou Qing.

During the Shuangbai Poetry Gathering, streets were deserted; outside the academy, silence prevailed, only the relentless wail of the cold wind broke the quietude.

In a secluded alley, Su Mu revealed his presence.

Only then did Zhou Qing realize, looking back to see Su Mu, amazement flashing in his eyes. The person behind him had apparently followed for some time, yet not a hint of presence was revealed, as if appearing out of thin air.

Were it not for the opponent intentionally revealing their aura, he wouldn't have known.

"Who are you?"

"Zhou Qing."

Su Mu didn't answer. After calmly uttering a name, he keenly noticed a flicker of panic in the eyes of the person before him, which evidently confirmed that the man was the Ghost-Hand Scholar, Zhou Qing.

"You have mistaken me..."

Before the words were finished, the white-masked scholar raised an eyebrow. With a 'clang' sound, his wide sleeves swayed as a cold light suddenly appeared, and a soft sword as white as a stream was drawn from his sleeve.

Whoosh!

The white-masked scholar's figure shook, moving so swiftly that in the deserted street, he left several afterimages behind. A chilling, deadly soft sword gleaming like a silver snake rapidly enlarged in Su Mu's eyes.

But at this moment, Su Mu unhurriedly raised his right palm. This seemingly slow movement was surprisingly swift, appearing before the sword edge as if it had been launched from behind.

Seeing Su Mu recklessly trying to catch the sharp blade with his bare flesh, the white-masked scholar no longer hid his identity, his face revealing a sinister smile.

Even his brother would not dare to take such liberties with his sword, let alone this nameless figure!

However, in the next instant, that sinister smile froze starkly on Zhou Qing's face.

Clang!

The collision of the soft sword with bare flesh emitted a sound of metal clashing. Zhou Qing felt as if his soft sword had stabbed into a copper wall, and this deadly sword was caught by three long fingers gripping the blade tip.

A Golden Bell quietly manifested on Su Mu's body surface.

"Crunch!"

Suddenly, a vast and boundless power surged, and in a flash, it exploded. Zhou Qing felt an overwhelming force on the soft sword that could not be resisted.

As Zhou Qing stared in shock, his Hundred Refinements Soft Sword mixed with cold iron was shattered into pieces, and a broken blade shot past his cheek.

The broken blade didn't truly touch flesh but cut a strand of Zhou Qing's hair and left a shallow bloodline on his face.

At that instant, Su Mu's figure moved without warning, dragging faint afterimages as he appeared before Zhou Qing, throwing a punch.

Thud.

Amidst a wretched howl, Zhou Qing's face twisted sharply, and his figure flew backward, crashing to the ground heavily like a kite with its string cut.

Hmm?

Su Mu was somewhat surprised; although he hadn't used Pill Force for this punch, it wasn't easy to withstand. He looked at Zhou Qing, whose broken clothes revealed a gleaming color, identical to the soft armor Su Mu wore close to his body.

"Snow Silkworm Soft Armor?"

At this moment, cold sweat poured from Zhou Qing's forehead. He looked at Su Mu, who approached step by step, with undisguised fear on his twisted face, "This person is so... strong!"

After half a year, Su Mu's strength had already advanced immensely. Someone like Zhou Qing, a martial artist who had undergone Yijin once, was not his match.

In a moment, Zhou Qing seemed to be reminded by Su Mu recognizing the 'Snow Silkworm Soft Armor'.

"You, you can't kill me. Since you've recognized the Snow Silkworm Soft Armor... you must know that if you kill me today, Qingfeng Gang will never spare you!"

Snow Silkworm Soft Armor, Qingfeng Gang?

Su Mu was taken aback. This soft armor was Qingfeng Gang's possession. It seemed that Zhao Xuan and Wu Heng, who founded the Black Tiger Gang, were also Qingfeng members.

Suddenly, Su Mu thought of many things.

He thought about the Secret Manual of Tiger Subduing Fist found on Black Tiger Gang members that Sun Li had brought in, and the Vajra Body discovered at Zhao Xuan's residence, suggesting some enmity between Qingfeng Gang and Vajra Temple.

But at this moment, none of that mattered. Zhao Xuan and Qingfeng Gang made Su Mu's eyes colder, his killing intent intensified.

"If it weren't for Zhao Xuan colluding with the Rebel Army... Uncle Zhou and several masters wouldn't have died."

Su Mu's foot stirred, and a broken blade was propelled into the air by his ferocious power, a palm strike sent the blade shooting out.

"No, I am the younger brother of Shuangbai Gang Deputy Leader Shangguan Feng..."

Before finishing, the broken blade pierced through Zhou Qing's neck, blood gushing out as he futilely tried to cover the wound.

At the brink of death, his face first showed unwillingness, then resentment, remembering something, he pointed toward the academy direction and then crashed onto the ground with a look of satisfaction.

Academy direction?

Su Mu turned his head to glance, indifferent, dismissing it as Zhou Qing's dying theatrics.

He placed both hands on the corpse's neck, twisted off Zhou Qing's head, wrapped it in a cloth, and while searching the body, stared at the blood-stained finger pointing toward the academy.

Suddenly, a realization dawned.

"Academy... County Captain Li?"

"Not good!"

Su Mu quickly stuffed a package found on Zhou Qing and the blood-stained soft armor into his coat, leaving silver notes scattered on the ground, too urgent to retrieve them.

There was still Wu Qiao'Er in the academy!

...