“Big brother, let’s not waste words with this kid. He’s got to have a decent amount of silver on him. That Howling Moon Wolf alone could fetch thirty or forty thousand!”
“Yeah, kill this brat, and he’s definitely got silver notes on him!”
The two Black Scarf Thieves exchanged a glance, greed gleaming in their eyes. They flanked Ling Xiao from both sides, swinging their long swords as they charged.
Two Third Stage Martial Vein fighters teaming up wasn’t a weak force. Their blades sliced through the air, whipping up gusts of wind.
“Fools who don’t know when they’re dead!”
Ling Xiao smirked disdainfully. Before his breakthrough, he might’ve been wary, but today?
He could use these two Black Scarf Thieves to claim a reward.
As they attacked, Ling Xiao shifted his feet lightly, then soared gracefully into the air, landing behind them.
“Kid, if you’ve got guts, don’t run!”
“Heh, why would I need to run?”
“Hundred-Step Flying Sword!”
With a flick of his hand, the sword on his back unsheathed itself, shooting out like lightning. The Clear Wind Sword turned into a streak of light, piercing straight through one thief’s throat.
“Ah—!”
The scream cut off abruptly. The Black Scarf Thief reached out as if to grab Ling Xiao, but his eyes dimmed, pupils dilating.
Moments later, he collapsed motionless on the ground.
“You killed my big brother! I’ll take your life!”
The other didn’t flee. Infusing his long sword with true qi, he slashed at Ling Xiao with desperate fury.
But with swordplay like that, Ling Xiao didn’t even need to look.
This time, he didn’t bother with the Hundred-Step Flying Sword Technique. With a step, he launched into the air using “Soaring Cloud Steps,” crashing instantly into the thief’s chest and unleashing a punch.
A bowl-sized hole blasted through the thief’s torso.
“You! You! How is this possible!”
The dying thief couldn’t comprehend it. Both at the Third Stage of Martial Veins, how could the gap be so vast?
Meanwhile, about a few hundred metres away, a pair of eyes watched in terror.
“If this kid isn’t eliminated, he’ll be a disaster. His speed is terrifying…”
It was Li Xingyun.
He’d thought that even if the two thieves couldn’t kill Ling Xiao, they’d at least leave him gravely injured. Then he could step in and finish the job with certainty.
But the outcome was far beyond his expectations.
Ling Xiao’s strength was now nearly on par with his own, and his speed far surpassed him.
If not for his edge in advanced martial arts, Li Xingyun wouldn’t even dare think of opposing Ling Xiao right now.
Ling Xiao glanced casually in that direction, smirked dismissively, then searched the two thieves’ bodies.
These guys actually had two hundred taels of silver on them, plus two Breakthrough Pills. Quite a haul.
He stashed the loot directly into his Mountain and River Diagram, then hoisted the two corpses over his shoulders like pigs and leaped toward the Ling family.
At the Ling family gates, the disciples who once looked down on him with cold disdain now stared in shock.
“Hey, aren’t those Black Scarf Thieves? Even the weakest of them are supposed to be Third Stage Martial Vein cultivators!”
“No way he killed them. He’s just a Second Stage Martial Vein nobody—wait, hold on, Ling Xiao’s broken through to the Third Stage! That’s way too fast!”
“For real, how’d this happen?”
These people knew full well that just over ten days ago, Ling Xiao was still a First Stage Martial Vein novice.
Back then, anyone could bully him.
But now, he was a Third Stage Martial Vein cultivator.
His progress was so rapid it left them dumbfounded.
“There’s a rumour going around that Ling Xiao went into the Fulong Mountains a few days ago and stumbled on a wounded Howling Moon Wolf and a bunch of herbs.”
“I heard that too. Seems the Howling Moon Wolf was injured by Li Xingyun leading a group of Li family disciples. They lost three or four people, even Li Rui died. When they went back for reinforcements, this kid swooped in and took the prize.”
“What a shameless jerk!”
“He’s practically a disgrace to the Ling family!”
“Yeah, if I had the Howling Moon Wolf materials and those herbs, I could’ve broken through too!”
“Bet he just got lucky with these two thieves too.”
“Definitely!”
…
Hearing these buzzing, fly-like voices, Ling Xiao didn’t get angry. Instead, he grinned smugly.
In the past, no one paid him any mind unless they needed someone to vent on.
But today, their words were laced with jealousy and envy, which made him feel rather proud.
Sure, the story about the Fulong Mountains had been twisted beyond recognition, but as long as the Li family didn’t come looking for trouble, he didn’t care.
Right now, he was just a ninth-rank family member— the family could ditch him anytime.
If he could shine at the annual competition or earn a hundred merit points, he’d gain the Ling family’s protection.
He turned in the two Black Scarf Thieves’ bodies at the Reward and Punishment Hall, receiving two hundred taels of silver and twenty merit points.
Then he went straight to rent a house. In the Ling family, as long as you had money, getting a good place was easy.
Since it was just for a few months, Ling Xiao splurged on a big house with a monthly rent of a hundred taels.
It had everything: a training room, two spacious bedrooms, a living room, a courtyard, a kitchen, and even two servants.
He paid the silver, got the contract, and headed back to the old, rundown house.
The construction crew was already there, starting to tear down the old place for rebuilding.
Ling Xiao didn’t plan to make the new house too big. He wouldn’t be staying here forever, and with just him and Grandpa, a huge place would be a hassle to clean.
So, two bedrooms, a living room, a kitchen, and a training room would do.
But the materials had to be top-notch.
After settling the house details, Ling Xiao and Grandpa Hong Qi, with help from the construction crew, moved their stuff to the rented place.
Once everything was sorted, Ling Xiao went back into seclusion.
Having a dedicated training room was way better than a regular bedroom— safer and free from interruptions.
Plus, training rooms were usually built with special structures to withstand strong impacts.
Even ten thousand jin of force couldn’t break it, giving Ling Xiao ideal conditions to train.
Closing his eyes, he first entered the Mountain and River Diagram for a check.
The herbs were growing nicely, and the few demon beast cubs he was raising were living happily, making him almost feel bad about using them as ingredients.
“Congratulations, your Mountain and River Diagram has upgraded to Level 3. New cards unlocked: Level 3 Farmer, Level 3 Herdsman, Level 3 Craftsman.”
“Craftsman? That’s a new one.”
Ling Xiao tapped the Craftsman card with interest and read the description, a smile creeping onto his face.
“These are omnipotent craftsmen capable of forging all kinds of weapons, gear, and tools. As their level rises, their abilities will grow stronger!”
“Everything crafted by these craftsmen will have special properties. Would you like to summon the craftsmen?”
“Not yet.”
Sure, Ling Xiao had tens of thousands of taels of silver and an unsold Howling Moon Wolf corpse, but building a house cost money.
Plus, he hadn’t decided what to have the craftsmen make, so he figured he’d hold off.
Right now, he was more eager to cultivate the “Bull Demon Technique.”
He already had “Red Sun Technique,” “Barbarian Bull Strength,” “Meteor Fist,” “Rage Burst Technique,” “Qi Recovery Technique,” “Tiger Descending the Mountain Step,” “Hundred-Step Flying Sword Technique,” and two other intermediate movement skills to integrate.
How far would the “Bull Demon Technique” take him?
