The reason I had run into those two siblings so soon after defeating the first guy was because we were on the border between their two districts. I had to cross the entire district formerly controlled by them and didn't encounter another soul for a good minute or two—save for the endless walking corpses.

Did they have souls? A question best left to philosophers.

I'd decided to avoid running through the streets as it meant less chance of being ambushed. Even though I was confident in my strength, I wasn't immortal.

If a sufficiently powerful enemy took me by surprise they could kill me before I could heal myself. That would be disastrous.

I spotted movement in the distance. Slowing my pace, I tried to remain stealthy while approaching my target.

When I was about twenty metres away I dropped into an alleyway. Sneaking through the shadows I edged towards the next opponent.

Fei Bo had told me about this guy. He was enormous, almost three metres tall. He had a tough exoskeleton, large wings and a pair of gigantic, curving horns.

This fellow had taken the form of a rhinoceros beetle after being cursed. Despite his size, he was only a five-star Qi Gathering cultivator.

I was confident in my ability to take him down before he could fight back. My assumption proved correct.

As he lumbered past the alley I was hiding in, I flashed forwards. Using my qi as a scalpel, I sliced off his wings and then kicked out his shins in a single instant.

Robbed of mobility, he was powerless to resist as I beat him unconscious. That had been tedious.

His tough shell and massive bulk meant it took almost three dozen full force punches to accomplish the feat. Once it was done I was free to act.

This time I tried to form two constructs from my qi simultaneously as I started the treatment. A scalpel to cut away the cursed energy and a thin shell to guard his dantian.

It worked wonders. By cleansing the dantian first and then protecting it against further contagion, the curse was greatly weakened as it could no longer feed on his qi.

Clearing it out was a breeze and I reaped the gains, my own cultivation steadily advancing. It was far from as much of a leap as healing the mantis-man, but whether it was one step or a hundred, progress was progress.

I only stayed long enough to make sure he was fine and to give him some water. After informing him of the others, I continued onwards.

There was one district between myself and Wang Ren and I was determined to reach him before anything could happen. I couldn't help but worry that he had already been cursed.

At the very least, even if he had been cursed I knew how to free him. Unfortunately, given that the curse increased one's strength, he might become too powerful for me to bring down. That was the worst case scenario.

I tried to push those negative thoughts out of my mind as I moved forwards. The next 'guardian' of the districts was even less of a challenge. She was only three-star even with the curse.

It took me two seconds to bring her down. The surgery was over in a flash. My technique was growing more refined with every iteration.

However, the gains to my cultivation were far less than I'd hoped for. I had only gone from halfway to nine-star up to two thirds.

If other cultivators heard me complaining about this speed they'd probably spew blood. Unfortunately, once one grew used to luxury it was hard to live without it.

Even knowing how hard others struggled for the slightest improvements I couldn't help but complain when I wasn't reaching my own maximum speed. I forced myself to pick up the pace as I made my way to the district where Fei Bo had said Wang Ren was being kept.

Four qi signatures entered my range of focus simultaneously. I froze on the spot. One to my right and three up ahead, clustered together.

Should I rush to help my Senior Brother first? No, too risky. I had to defeat those three guardians before I could help Wang Ren.

I tried to stay out of sight as I moved forwards. However, it seemed that it had been pointless. Three figures appeared in the middle of the street, leaping from the alleys and rooftops.

"Come out."

"We see you."

"We smell you."

The three triplets spoke one after the other with eerie coordination. A shiver ran down my spine. They all had large red compound eyes, long antennae that poked out of their scalps and four arms.

Definitely the ant-like guardians. Fei Bo had described them accurately. Knowing I had been discovered I emerged from the shadows, walking out into the street.

A quick scan told me that none of the three were a higher or even equal star-realm to me. That didn't mean this battle would be easy. I was a mid eight-star, but all three of them were seven-star cultivators.

In a duel against a single one of them, I would win with ease. Against all three using combination techniques? This was going to suck.

"Are you doing that creepy triplets thing on purpose or does it come naturally to you?" I quipped, trying to throw them off guard while gathering my qi.

The central one cocked his head to one side. His antennae twitched forwards and backwards. I stared into the creepy insectoid eyes, unable to gauge what he was thinking or feeling.

"It's strong," he chittered.

"Strong is exciting."

"Not strong enough."

I used the time while they were appraising me to advance closer. My best chance at victory was to take one of them out while they were still distracted.

Unfortunately, the third one was right in his judgment. I wasn't strong enough to take them all down while leaving them alive. I might have to kill one to save two.

I hoped it wouldn't come to that. I wasn't willing to slaughter wantonly without first trying to purge the curse from the three of them, but my own life held priority.

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If I died, then so would Wang Ren. With both our lives on my shoulders, I wouldn't cut myself to save a stranger. When I was eight paces away from the ant-men, they suddenly froze.

Our gazes met briefly. As one, the four of us leapt into action. They all drew identical swords—long jian with red tassels and a black handle. I formed my qi into a sharp blade around my flat palms.

The middle creature stabbed forward in a sharp thrust. The others leapt to either side, forming a triangle with me trapped in the middle.

In my desire to strike first, I had fallen into their trap. There was no way out except victory or death.

At this point giving up on my strike would be suicidal. I was confident in the strength of my body. My regenerative prowess was unparalleled at my star-realm. Knowing that, I met the thrust head on.

My hand clashed against the blade's edge. A dull ring thrummed through the street. He was strong, but I was stronger.

A thin crimson line lanced down the side of my hand as I deflected his blade. I saw a flash in his eyes. His antennae sprung to attention.

I planted my left foot forward and thrust my hand with it, aiming to pierce his heart. There was a series of cracking noises as my fingertips pierced his exoskeleton. I felt a pulsing mass. My finger cut into his heart.

He gurgled, spitting blood onto my chest. At that same moment two sharp blades pierced my torso from opposing sides.

I grit my teeth through the pain. Skewered like a kebab, I felt my strength slipping away. The two ant-men began to shift their swords back. They wanted to pull me away from their brother.

At that instant I had to make a difficult decision. I stared into those large, inhuman eyes for a breath's time. The moment stretched into infinity.

I chose my Senior Brother.

As the two jian tore through my oblique muscles and out of my back and abdomen simultaneously, I twisted my hand. Three fountains of blood sprayed across the cobbles.

The dead ant-man's antennae twitched one last time. I heard two garbled screams.

"Brother!"

"You dare!?"

I flooded my torso and abdomen with medicinal energy. My body slowly began repairing itself. I didn't need perfection, only to stop the bleeding. To repair my muscles.

Levelling the remaining two insectoids with a steely glare, I raised my palms once more. They flicked the blood from their swords.

Chaos descended. Their movements were coordinated, but poisoned with rage. Their anger overcame their common sense.

I weaved and danced across the street, avoiding their slashes and thrusts. When I couldn't evade, I parried their strikes. Then, I struck back with slashes and palm thrusts of my own.

We fell into an erratic rhythm. They held the advantage, but only due to burning all their qi to empower themselves. I was running a marathon while they were sprinting.

All I needed to do was hold on until they were burnt out.

However, that was easier said than done. I leaned back to avoid a whipped slash across my face. I was too slow.

A burning sting carved into the bridge of my nose. A deep cut appeared, sending streams of blood flowing down my cheeks and over my lips.

The tang of iron filled my mouth. There was no time to catch my breath. My three refined organs worked in concert. A unified cycle that drew in the surrounding spiritual energy with every breath, turning it into medicinal qi that kept me standing; kept me fighting.

In the corner of my eye I saw one of the ant-men stumble. He still managed to send an arcing sword slash towards my chest. The other saw the mistake, lunging forward to cover the gap.

By doing so, he ended up leaving his own shoulder open. I wanted to save their lives. I didn't need them whole to do so.

I stepped into the second stab. The sword glanced across my pelvis. The pain was a barely noticeable note in the symphony of violence we were conducting.

My arm snapped downwards. The razor-sharp edge of qi that coated my flat palm sheared through flesh and bone as if it were tofu.

A chittering screech pierced my eardrum. I felt a wet, sticky heat on the side of my head. Ruptured.

The glossy black limb fell to the ground. The ant-man who'd caused the opening screeched and redoubled his efforts.

I was forced back by a vicious barrage of strikes. I had to push myself to the limit to prevent a lethal cut.

A few seconds later, the one-armed enemy rejoined the fray. He didn't need both arms to swing his sword. However, I had cut off his stronger arm, giving me an edge.

It was time to end this.

Their qi was waning. Being able to see energy flows so accurately gave me a ridiculous advantage in battle and healing both.

Their rage had tipped them over the edge. Blood and qi flowed without restraint. With a screech, they stabbed as one. Two blades descended from above to pierce my skull.

This was the moment I'd been waiting for. Empowering my left leg with qi, I rooted the sole of my foot to the ground.

I fell low, sweeping at their legs. Insectoid chitin was renowned for its toughness, but I was an anomaly when it came to physical strength. Who else in this world had achieved eleven stars in the Body Tempering Realm?

My shin crunched through theirs, one after another. Their swords curved backwards as they collapsed, broken bones unable to hold them up.

I sprang upwards like a jack-in-the-box, smashing my palms against both their chests. A single strike to the solar plexus slammed them against the ground.

With a gasp, the breath was blown from their lungs. Stunned, they were powerless to resist as I delivered two swift strikes to their temples in succession.

I allowed myself a brief moment to catch my breath, before leaning forward and kneeling between my two opponents. "Good fight," I said, exhaling.

I wasn't yet confident enough in my skills, nor did I have enough qi remaining to heal them both at once. So, I began with the guy that still had both his arms.

If the other one woke up halfway through, I was more confident in taking him back out. Having almost mastered the process, I was able to excise the curse with ease.

The overwhelming flood of qi that returned to me left me breathless and dizzy. It reminded me of a nicotine rush. Terrible habit for a doctor, but we all had our vices.

I wondered if they had tobacco in this world. Knowing what it was like, I imagined they had magic tobacco that increased your cultivation or something equally ridiculous.

After a few seconds I regained my faculties. I sent my focus inwards, assessing my condition. I was edging towards the bottleneck at the peak of eight-star. I might break through again after healing the second ant-man.

If it happened it happened. Besides, I would need as much strength as possible to take on that powerful 'second brother' that Fei Bo had mentioned. Even with Wang Ren's help, it would be a tough battle.

There was also the mastermind behind this twisted city—Zhu Jie. All in good time. Saving Wang Ren was my first priority.

The second surgery was more difficult than the first. I planned to first remove the cursed energy, then reattach his severed arm. Unfortunately things never went as planned.

The moment I began the surgery, I noticed that my medicinal qi wanted to seal the wound on his arm as I worked. Despite me clamping down and forcing most of it away, it persisted.

Cursing, I split my focus as I reached out to place his arm against the bleeding stump. What came next was agonising, challenging, and the most thrilling surgical accomplishment I'd ever achieved.

It felt like jamming my fingers in the middle of my brain and splitting it in two, but I persisted. I was no stranger to pain.

Half of my mind was focused on purging the cursed energy. Even though I had brought the process to near perfection, performing it with half the brainpower and about two-thirds of the qi was a struggle.

At the same time I was using everything that remained to reattach his severed arm. The qi healing technique was actually perfect for such a task.

Funnily enough, it had been Wang Ren reattaching an arm that had been my first time witnessing the technique. From there I had devised my own version, sending me down a unique path of my own.

Despite the challenge, I succeeded. The arm was reattached smoothly. The cursed energy was expelled and devoured by my qi. Then a torrential flood of energy returned to me, even greater than the amount I'd just received from his brother.

If there had been any doubts before about whether I would break through, they were blown away in the face of that energetic mass of qi. Gritting my teeth, I prepared for the pain of clearing another meridian.

However, when I gathered the raging river of qi and tried to direct it, I discovered that there wasn't a meridian to send it into. What the hell was I supposed to do now!?

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