Spells Grinding: From Basic Sparks to Divine Arts

Chapter 213: Heavy Casualties

“He’s dead!” “The demon is dead! Charge!” “Senior Qin is unstoppable!”

The fall of the Strange Child sent a shockwave of morale through the defenders. All eyes had been on the aerial duels, and seeing one of the enemy’s most terrifying elites decapitated by a streak of lightning was the spark the White Jade Market needed. Cheers erupted from rooftops and alleyways as cultivators redoubled their efforts.

Qin Lu ignored the adulation. He swiftly stripped the corpse of its valuables, tossing them into his Storage Bag, before turning his attention to the injured woman beside him.

“Gu Yue! Are you alright?”

“I’m fine,” she lied, her voice thin. “Just need a moment…”

Her face was paper-white, and blood still seeped from her shoulder. She was clearly in no condition to continue fighting.

“Don’t talk. We’re going down.”

Qin Lu supported her weight and descended rapidly, landing in the relative safety of a shadowed alleyway near his ruined pill shop. The streets were a mess of rubble and corpses—collateral damage from the Foundation Establishment battles raging overhead. Unlucky Loose Cultivators were scrambling for cover, praying a stray spell didn’t turn them into paste.

Qin Lu set Gu Yue down gently under the eaves of an intact building. He produced a small jade vial from his collection.

“This is a [Ruyi Pill]. It’s the best healing medicine I have. Take it and rest. I’ll handle the rest.”

Gu Yue didn’t argue. She swallowed the pill, her breathing stabilizing almost immediately. As the color began to return to her cheeks, she grabbed Qin Lu’s sleeve.

“Qin Lu… Gu Can is reckless. In this chaos, I’m afraid he’s bitten off more than he can chew. Please… check on him for me.”

“Consider it done,” Qin Lu promised, his voice firm. “Rest.”

He turned to leave, preparing to launch himself back into the sky, when a flash of movement caught his eye.

A small, terrified figure was sprinting down the street, clutching a brown sack to her chest as if her life depended on it.

Qin Lu froze.

It was Feng Xi.

She’s alive!

The relief hit him like a physical blow. He had assumed the worst when he couldn’t sense her aura in the shop, but she must have simply been out running an errand.

He flashed forward, intercepting her.

“Lord!” Feng Xi gasped, skidding to a halt, her eyes wide with terror.

“Where were you?” Qin Lu asked, his voice softer than usual.

“I… I saw the fighting start,” she stammered, holding up the brown bag. “I ran back to the residence to grab the spare Storage Bags. I wanted to pack up the inventory before the looters came…”

“Is that so…” Qin Lu let out a long breath.

Her diligence had saved her life. If she had stayed in the shop one minute longer, she would have been torn apart by the Strange Child.

“Good girl. Now go home and hide. Don’t come out until it’s quiet.”

“Yes, Lord!”

Qin Lu watched her scramble away before turning his gaze upward. The sky was still burning.

He launched himself into the air, heading straight for the southern wall where he had last seen Gu Can.

The situation there had deteriorated rapidly.

The squad of twenty Qi Condensation cultivators that Gu Can had been leading was decimated. Only a handful remained, huddled defensively as two enemy cultivators bombarded them with spells. Gu Can was at the front, his barrier cracking under the assault, forced to retreat step by bloody step.

Whoosh!

Qin Lu didn’t announce his arrival. He was a comet of vengeance, streaking across the battlefield.

“Brother Qin!” Gu Can shouted, his voice cracking with relief.

The surviving Loose Cultivators looked up, their eyes filled with the desperate hope of drowning men seeing a lifeline.

The two evil cultivators faltered. They sensed the terrifying momentum of the newcomer and realized—too late—that they were outmatched.

Qin Lu didn’t give them a chance to beg.

He dove, his sword singing a song of death. These two were only early-stage Foundation Establishment trash—bottom-feeders compared to the monster he had just slain.

With Qin Lu taking the lead and Gu Can rallying for a counterattack, the fight was over in ten breaths.

Two more corpses hit the ground.

“Huff…”

Gu Can collapsed onto a pile of rubble, his chest heaving. The pressure had been immense; he had been dancing on the edge of a knife for the last hour.

Behind him, the few surviving Loose Cultivators slumped against the walls, popping pills and meditating to recover their drained Spiritual Qi.

Qin Lu landed beside him, swallowing two recovery pills of his own. He looked around at the devastation, his eyes scanning the bodies littering the street.

“Xiao Can,” Qin Lu asked, a knot forming in his stomach. “Where is my team? Where are the others from the Qin Sect?”

Gu Can pointed a shaking finger toward a nearby alley. “They… they exhausted everything in the first wave. They’re resting over there.”

“Good.” Qin Lu exhaled. “That’s good.”

“But…” Gu Can hesitated, his expression darkening. “We lost one.”

Qin Lu went still. “Who?”

“Lu Xuan.”