nycdaug Chapter 16: More danger than good
Chapter 16: More danger than good
Xiao Bieli sorted through his spoils, then turned and headed down the mountain without lingering.
After a stick of incense.
Hu Juexian and "Three-Headed Wolf" Hu Xiong led three seventh-rank masters to the mountain forest where Xiao Bieli had killed three people.
Hu Xiong was also carrying Zhang Zhong, whose limbs had been severed. Zhang Zhong had already lost consciousness.
Upon seeing this scene in the woods,
Zhou Song, the fourth leader of Tianlang Village, hurriedly stepped forward and began examining the three corpses.
"He died at the hands of a skilled knife user."
"Ma Rufeng killed him with one strike, and it only took him two or three strikes to kill the third leader. Only the second leader had more injuries."
Zhou Song gasped.
Neither Yuwen Ba nor Qiu Kui are considered weak among seventh-rank martial artists.
But now that the two of them have joined forces, they've actually died while chasing Ma Rufeng?
Who exactly made the move?
Hu Juexian frowned slightly and said in a deep voice:
"How many people escaped this time?"
"Three-Headed Wolf" Hu Xiong spoke up:
"According to the confessions of those captured, a total of twenty-five people came this time. Seven of them were recruited by Zhu Shou of Zhenwu Hall. Including Ma Rufeng, who died here, four people escaped."
"We have no choice but to abandon Tianlang Village!"
"Damn Ma Rufeng!"
Hu Xiong kicked Ma Rufeng hard on the head, where Ma Rufeng lay dead with his eyes wide open. He hadn't taken the Ma family seriously, but he hadn't expected Ma Rufeng to bring Zhang Zhong, the "Hun Yuan Hand". If Hu Juexian hadn't been there, he probably would have died here.
How can one allow others to sleep soundly beside one's bed? The Twelve Linked Forts and the Three Rivers Alliance are already locked in fierce combat. The Twelve Linked Forts had previously tried to win him over, but now that he has colluded with the Three Rivers Alliance, I'm afraid that once the news reaches the ears of the Twelve Linked Forts, someone will take action against the Heavenly Wolf Stronghold.
We can no longer stay in Tianlang Village.
Hu Jue glanced at Hu Xiong and said calmly:
"Since it has already happened, you should take your men and come with me to Linshui County. Since you have chosen to join my Sanjiang Alliance, the Alliance Leader will certainly not treat you unfairly!"
Hu Xiong nodded; at this point, he had no other choice.
Staying in Dongjiang County would only lead to certain death.
This time, however, his Tianlang Village suffered heavy losses, with three of his five leaders dead. Even if he were to join the Sanjiang Alliance, his status would likely be lower than he had anticipated.
……
Xiao Bieli ran wildly until he left the mountains of Tianlang Village, found the horse left by the official road, and ran for dozens of miles before he could finally breathe a sigh of relief.
Although he has maxed-out Iron Shirt and top-quality inner armor protecting him, he doesn't want to clash with a sixth-rank expert for the time being.
Fortunately, the harvest was quite good.
Xiao Bieli raised his eyes and looked at the system panel.
[Host: Xiao Bieli.]
[Cultivation Level: Mid-stage Seventh Rank]
【武功：易筋经（15/100）、狂风刀法（圆满）、铁布衫（圆满）、梯云纵（圆满）……五虎断门刀（5/100）、大力金刚指5/100）、招式入微、铜皮、身轻如燕。】
[Experience value: 3330]
【Red Sleeve Knife (To be claimed)】
"Twilight Rain and Red Sleeve Blade, I never expected that killing a peak seventh-rank cultivator would yield such a treasure!"
Xiao Bieli sighed softly.
Having been in this world for so long, he is no longer the novice he once was.
In the martial arts world, most of the weapons wielded by martial artists have no names. A knife is a knife, and a sword is a sword. Only those weapons capable of cutting through gold and jade will be given a resounding name.
Just like a person's name in the martial arts world.
Weapons that are qualified to have their names spread throughout a prefecture are called famous weapons by people in the martial arts world.
However, there are exceptions. Some people may wield an ordinary weapon, yet its name is known throughout the martial arts world, simply because the person wielding it is exceptionally powerful.
The Red Sleeve Blade, as the weapon of Su Mengzhen, the former master of the Golden Wind and Fine Rain Pavilion, was definitely stronger than any of the well-known weapons in Dongjiang County.
He needs a good knife right now!
"extract!"
Without any hesitation, Xiao Bieli spoke softly.
A short sword appeared in Xiao Bieli's hand. The blade was crimson and the edge was transparent. He gently touched the blade with his fingertips, and a chill ran from the blade into his palm.
Swish!
The light of the knife flashed.
Xiao Bieli lightly poked the thick tree in front of him with his finger, and the tree collapsed with a crash, its broken surface as smooth as a mirror.
"Good knife!"
If he had obtained the Red Sleeve Blade before, he wouldn't have needed so many moves to kill Qiu Kui. One strike would have severed Qiu Kui's chain spear. Without a suitable weapon, killing Qiu Kui would have been much easier for him.
"Consume 3,000 experience points to upgrade Yi Jin Jing."
[Yi Jin Jing (18/100)]
boom!
As Xiao Bieli's proficiency with the Yi Jin Jing increased, an extremely pure internal force surged from his body and rushed towards the Yin Qiao Meridian. In an instant, the Yin Qiao Meridian was opened, and he successfully entered the late stage of the seventh rank.
"call!"
Xiao Bieli breathed a long sigh of relief.
From the mid-to-late stage of the seventh rank, the true qi in his body increased by a full 30%.
During this trip to Tianlang Village, he improved by two minor realms and also perfected the Ladder Cloud Leap technique, gaining a great deal.
Unfortunately, I still lack the experience required to reach the sixth rank.
"Consume all experience to upgrade the Vajra Finger."
The White Cloud Manor is currently looking for a master swordsman. Although it's unlikely they'll suspect him, it's still better for him to be proficient in another skill. With his current true qi and the power boost from his maxed-out Iron Shirt skill, he could easily handle any seventh-rank martial artist with his Vajra Finger technique.
boom!
A wealth of experience from practicing the Vajra Finger technique came flooding back, as if he had been practicing it diligently for months.
【Mighty Vajra Finger (8/100)】
[Experience value: 30]
"Ok?"
Xiao Bieli frowned.
Three hundred experience points were spent, but only three proficiency points were gained?
Although it doesn't require as many experience points as the Yi Jin Jing, one hundred experience points for each point of proficiency is still a significant amount. Previously, for martial arts like the Kuang Feng Dao Fa, one hundred experience points could increase proficiency by five points.
"Is it because the Vajra Finger Technique is of a higher rank than the Gale Blade Technique?"
"I originally thought that the Yi Jin Jing required a thousand experience points to increase proficiency by one point because it was an internal energy cultivation technique, but now it seems it's simply because the Yi Jin Jing is of a higher grade?"
"System, oh system, if you have this setting, just show it!"
The system panel is unresponsive.
At this moment, a reddish hue appeared on the horizon, and the sun was about to rise.
Xiao Bieli shook his head, mounted his horse, and headed towards Dongjiang County.
Just as he could see the city walls of Dongjiang County, he heard a rapid sound of horses' hooves behind him. Xiao Bieli turned around and saw Zhu Shou and a swordsman he had met at the mountain god temple riding towards him at high speed.
The two looked disheveled and their faces were deathly pale.
Zhu Shou was relatively unharmed, but the man who was with Zhu Shou, whose body was half-covered in blood and whose arm was broken, was clearly injured.
At this moment, Zhu Shou also saw Xiao Bieli, and especially after seeing that Xiao Bieli had no injuries whatsoever, his face was filled with disbelief, and he said:
"Young Master Shen, are you alright?"
If he hadn't witnessed Shen Lang kill the fifth leader of Tianlang Village right at the start of their fight, he would have suspected that Shen Lang had connections with the Sanjiang Alliance.
They were so badly injured, while Shen Lang, apart from being a bit disheveled, seemed to have no injuries at all.
Xiao Bieli:
"Fortunately, I didn't go deep into Tianlang Village, but only to the outer perimeter. Also, after you shouted, Senior Zhu, I realized that something was wrong, so I turned around and ran away without encountering any pursuers."
"Seniors, how did you get into this mess?"
"What about the rest?"
Upon hearing this, Zhu Shou's eyes dimmed slightly, and he sighed:
"The Heavenly Wolf Stronghold has actually colluded with the Three Rivers Alliance,"
"They are probably in grave danger."
"I wonder how Senior Zhang Chong is doing. But when we were escaping, Hu Juexian must have gone to help Hu Xiong, otherwise we wouldn't have escaped either. Two sixth-rank experts ganging up on us... Senior Zhang Chong is probably in grave danger!"