In this world, what you fear most often comes to pass. As William Clark was inwardly cursing his luck, that fellow was already twitching his nose, slowly making his way toward the bushes where William Clark was hiding. At this point, William Clark actually calmed down. He clenched his fists tightly, a barely perceptible glint of murderous intent flickering in his eyes.

Since his hiding place had been discovered, there was only one option—kill!

The man drew closer and closer. When he was just three or four meters away from William Clark, William Clark leapt out like a leopard and slashed at him with his blade!

William Clark had been diligently practicing his swordsmanship lately. Although this strike was delivered on the spur of the moment, it was still extremely fierce. The long blade flashed, appearing and disappearing in an instant!

This fellow, who was sniffing the air with his nose, was also a martial artist at the second level of martial arts. Even before he caught William Clark's scent, he had already been on guard. But he never expected William Clark's attack to be so sharp. He only saw a blur before his eyes, and a fierce gust of blade wind rushed at him, so intense that even his hair was whipped into a mess.

Terrified, he hastily raised both hands above his head, trying to block William Clark's deadly strike.

But a blade is a blade—how could flesh and bone possibly withstand it? There was a soft "slash, slash, slash" sound as William Clark's thick-backed blade swept past like the wind, severing the man's arms and finally slicing him cleanly in two.

A martial artist at the second level, killed in a single move by William Clark's thick-backed blade!

"You brat, you're courting death!" The other two, seeing their companion cut in half without even managing to block a single move, were shocked and charged at William Clark together.

As they rushed forward, both drew their weapons. Each wielded a long sword, the blades gleaming with a bluish tint—clearly coated with deadly poison.

William Clark let out a cold laugh and silently moved to meet them.

Although he had never experienced a life-or-death battle before, his skill gave him courage. After mastering "Clear Wind Slash," William Clark's temperament had changed as well—he now faced even strong enemies without fear.

"Whoosh, whoosh!"

William Clark's thick-backed blade flashed, and two "Clear Wind Slashes" were unleashed in an instant.

At the mastery level, "Clear Wind Slash" was all wind and no blade—under the dim light of the dense forest, William Clark's two strikes were so fast that the eye couldn't even catch them.

"Ah!" The first man to charge in never expected William Clark's blade to be so swift. He only had time to let out a scream before the thick-backed blade sliced him cleanly in two. The second man instinctively dodged, only to feel a chill on his arm—his forearm had been severed at the root, blood spurting everywhere.

"Ah—" The man let out a terrified scream, rolled on the ground, and fled without even trying to fight.

If this man were allowed to escape, William Clark's whereabouts would be immediately exposed. A flash of killing intent passed through William Clark's eyes. He flicked his thick-backed blade, sending a flash of steel like lightning toward the man's back.

The man was terrified, swinging his long sword horizontally in an attempt to block William Clark's blade. But William Clark's thick-backed blade was now an extension of his will. With a slight movement of his hand, the blade curved around, and with a soft "slash," the man was instantly decapitated.

Three strikes, three enemies of the same level slain—the power of "Clear Wind Slash" was fully revealed in this moment.

After killing the last man, William Clark finally breathed a sigh of relief. Strictly speaking, this was his first real battle. Although he had confidence in his swordsmanship, it would be a lie to say he wasn't nervous when suddenly facing three opponents of equal strength. Fortunately, he performed quite well, dispatching his enemies cleanly and efficiently.

Looking at the corpses on the ground, William Clark couldn't help but feel a strong interest in the "Clear Wind Slash" recorded in the nameless sword manual. He thought to himself, "That elder from the library was right—although 'Clear Wind Slash' is very difficult to master, once you do, its power is astonishing! Even someone like me, with no real combat experience, can easily kill opponents of the same level with this technique. It's truly unexpected!"

As he pondered this, William Clark quickly dragged the three corpses together. Just as he was considering how to dispose of them, a bottle fell from one of the bodies. William Clark picked it up and glanced at it, feeling a surge of joy. It turned out that the bottle contained a Body Tempering Pill!

Putting the bottle away, William Clark cursed himself, "Robbing and killing always go hand in hand. Just killing without looting—how could that be right? These three were all martial artists at the second level; they must have had some good stuff on them. Letting it go would be foolish!"

With that thought, William Clark quickly searched the three bodies. Sure enough, he found quite a few odds and ends, but most useful to him were two more Body Tempering Pills.

With the two pills he found, plus the one he picked up earlier, William Clark now had three Body Tempering Pills in total. For a martial artist at the second level like William Clark, these pills were perfect. With them, he estimated that the time needed to advance to the late stage of the second level would be greatly reduced.

Chapter 0012: The Zhou Family's Third Elder