He knew he no longer had a chance to live.
In the human body, the heart is revered above all organs.
The heart governs the Qi and Blood Power, which is incredibly important for any martial artist.
Even Innate Realm experts, upon losing their hearts, have no chance of survival.
He was merely at the Postnatal Internal Realm, and with his heart plucked out, his death was certain.
The reason he was still not dead at this moment was only because his high cultivation realm enabled him to barely control the Qi and Blood within his body, clinging to life.
He never thought that, after surviving a fight against the Silver Moon Guards without injury, he would meet his end in this small valley.
A sense of absurdity arose in the middle-aged robust man's heart.
He looked at Lu Qing, "Kid, you've won, but before I die, I wonder if you could answer a few questions for me?"
Lu Qing silently watched him, neither nodding nor shaking his head.
But he still didn't approach the middle-aged sturdy man, maintaining his distance instead.
Seeing this, the middle-aged man took it as tacit consent and directly asked, "Are you really not one of those disciples from the Mysterious Lands?"
Lu Qing was struck by a thought: he remembered the change in the middle-aged man's attitude earlier.
It appeared that he had been mistaken for a successor of some mysterious sect out for experience.
After thinking for a moment, Lu Qing finally shook his head, "No."
Ma Gu was right beside him, fully aware of his background; there was no need for him to lie.
Upon seeing Lu Qing shake his head, the middle-aged man's eyes narrowed.
He did not believe that Lu Qing would still deceive a dying man.
Since he said no, it must certainly be so.
Reflecting on his previous wariness and speculation, the middle-aged man suddenly found it all incredibly laughable.
He laughed at himself mockingly and then continued to ask, "That mysterious creature from before, what exactly is it? Could you let it show itself?"
This time, Lu Qing, without even thinking, shook his head.
Little Li was currently one of his biggest trump cards; its mystery was its strength.
He had no wish to reveal its true form to an enemy.
Even if the enemy was about to die.
"I never imagined that I, Wang Qingshan, after half a lifetime of dominance, would not even be granted a glimpse of the one who defeated me before my death."
The middle-aged stalwart saw Lu Qing's refusal and disappointment showed in his eyes.
But he knew that at the moment he was the fish on the chopping block, and Lu Qing the cleaver.
Even if Lu Qing refused, he was powerless.
Let it go, let it go, why cling to such things when one is about to die?
The middle-aged strong man shook his head, letting go of this last obsession, his gaze landing on the body of the leather armor youth not far off.
"Little brother, I never imagined that both of us would perish in this small valley, yet this somehow fulfills the oath we made when we became sworn brothers." Find adventures on empire
With those words, the middle-aged robust man released the last bit of control he had over the Qi and Blood in his body.
The Qi and Blood, which he had forcibly confined within his body through sheer will, instantly gushed out from the wound in his chest and arms.
As his body's Qi and Blood dissipated, the light in the middle-aged strong man's eyes also gradually scattered.
Finally, with a thud, he fell to the ground, his Qi and Blood flowing out and staining the ground red.
Seeing the middle-aged man fall, Lu Qing still did not let his guard down.
He activated his Superpower to check over the body.
Soon, a white light shone, and a few lines of text appeared.
[Wang Qingshan: Disciple of the Northern Border Sky Blue Sect, Wang Cangyi's sworn son, domineering personality, protective and short-tempered, cruel and murderous.]
[Cultivation: Small Success in the Postnatal Internal Organ Realm, possesses an explosive secret technique, can temporarily double combat strength.]
[Because of Tong Canglang's deliberate flattery, Wang Qingshan was fond of him and considered him a brother.]
[Due to his severe injuries, with his heart destroyed and Qi-Blood collapsed, his will dissipated upon death.]
Seeing the description on the last line of text, Lu Qing was finally convinced that the middle-aged strong man was indeed dead, and his heart relaxed.
There was no helping it; that man's performance had been too astonishing.
Despite having his heart destroyed, he not only remained alive but even managed to communicate with him lucidly.
He was truly afraid that the man was feigning death and would suddenly strike him a lethal blow.
Now, seeing that the Superpower confirmed his death, Lu Qing finally relaxed his vigilance somewhat.
At the same time, he couldn't help but feel a sense of admiration.
He could tell that if the man hadn't voluntarily let go of his Qi and Blood, he could have lived a bit longer.
Truly, worthy of being an Inner Realm expert, such life energy was indeed remarkably strong.
"Brother Lu Qing, is he dead?"
Ma Gu asked carefully after seeing Lu Qing approach to inspect the middle-aged man.
"He is dead," Lu Qing nodded.
Upon hearing Lu Qing's words, Ma Gu collapsed onto the ground, utterly relieved as if he had narrowly survived a huge disaster.
The aura unleashed by the middle-aged man earlier was too terrifying.
Even though it wasn't directed at him, Ma Gu's Heart and Spirit still endured tremendous pressure.
Now, knowing that the supreme martial artist had died, he finally allowed his tightly wound Heart and Spirit to relax.
After a moment of relief,
Ma Gu's gaze toward Lu Qing was filled with disbelief.
He could never have assumed that upon reuniting with Lu Qing, he would find him having stepped into the Muscle Bone Realm.
And not just any Muscle Bone Realm, but a Devil Level Muscle Bone Realm capable of easily slaying martial artists of the same level and forcing back Inner Organ Realm experts with a single saber strike!
Remembering the Saber Technique displayed by Lu Qing, Ma Gu was still full of longing and admiration.
He did not understand the Saber Technique Realm of harmony of strength and gentleness, finely detailed, that the leather armor youth and the middle-aged strong man had spoken of.
But he could see that Lu Qing's level of Saber Technique had reached an unimaginably high level.