10,000x Cultivation: I Gain Power by Adopting Training Acolytes

The forest echoed with labored breathing as Wu Xiaopang clutched his bleeding arm. "Senior Brother... what if Master...?" His voice trembled.

Xu Ming remained silent, fists clenched until knuckles whitened. Three Golden Core assassins—one at the peak realm. Even with Master Zhang's monstrous strength...

Crunch.

Leaves rustled overhead. Both disciples froze.

"Little rats think they can scurry away?" A familiar sneer dripped from the canopy.

Two black-robed figures descended like vultures, blades gleaming. Xu Ming's blood turned to ice. That voice—

"Lin Shi!" The name tore from Xu Ming's throat, raw and venomous.

The lead assailant paused, then chuckled darkly. "Trash still recognizes his betters?" He flung back his hood, revealing aristocratic features twisted in malice.

Wu Xiaopang gasped. Xu Ming's usually calm face contorted—a feral snarl replacing reason.

"Kill the fatty," Lin Shi ordered his companion. "This waste..." His tongue flicked across lips, "I'll enjoy breaking again."

As blades clashed behind them, Xu Ming's sword trembled with repressed fury.

"Surprised?" Lin Shi circled like a predator. "This Young Master reached Foundation Establishment thanks to your dragon spirit root." He tapped his chest mockingly. "Shall we carve out the second one today?"

Roar!

Golden draconic energy erupted from Xu Ming—First Transformation: Dragon's Wrath. The air warped under primal pressure.

Lin Shi staggered, momentarily pinned by the aura. "So the rumors are true!" His eyes glinted greedily. "Another spirit root! With both, I'll—"

Xu Ming struck like lightning.

Clang!

Lin Shi parried, but shock widened his eyes. "Since when did trash learn to—?"

"Silence!" Xu Ming's blade danced—unpredictable, lethal. Where rigid footwork patterns once existed, fluid improvisation now reigned.

Lin Shi's counterstrikes met empty air. "Impossible! The Cloud-Stepping Art's flaws were—"

"Gone." Xu Ming's cold smile mirrored his master's teaching. A feinted step baited Lin Shi's overcommitment.

Schlick!

Steel bit flesh. A severed arm thudded to earth.

"AAAAAGH!" Lin Shi collapsed, crimson pooling beneath him. "Y-You dare?! The Lin Clan will flay your—"

Xu Ming's blade hovered at his throat.

"Senior Brother!" Wu Xiaopang's warning came too late. The second assassin tackled Xu Ming aside, snatching his shrieking master into the foliage.

Xu Ming lunged to pursue—

Thud.

Agony exploded through his torn shoulder. The world tilted. As darkness swallowed him, Wu Xiaopang's frantic cries faded into oblivion.