Having killed the golden-haired man, Ling Xiao took a deep breath and refrained from continuing the fight.
With Ling Yi Xue, a martial master, present, the remaining martial artists posed no threat. His priority now was to recover, just in case.
He could sense a terrifying presence a few hundred metres away.
Though this person didn’t seem hostile, he couldn’t afford to be careless.
If a fight broke out, his current condition would leave him at anyone’s mercy.
Moments later, the battles involving Ling Yi Xue, Yin Ran, and Leng Mei were nearing their end.
With Ling Yi Xue, an early-stage Martial Vein Seventh Layer master, on their side, the fight was almost effortless. Fourteen martial artists were cut down one after another.
Afterwards, Yin Ran and Leng Mei freed all the slaves, then set the entire Dream Pill factory ablaze.
The fire roared into the sky, turning nearly the whole horizon a fiery red.
Aside from the Dream Pills, the factory held nothing of value.
Only the storage rings from the golden-haired man and Meng, the two martial masters, were taken by Ling Xiao. The four of them quickly withdrew.
They couldn’t linger here.
The towering flames would soon draw attention from the surroundings, and after their battle, though none had serious injuries, they were still heavily depleted.
If enemies caught up to them, it’d be disastrous.
The four left the Dream Pill factory and found a secluded spot, gazing at the distant blaze with a mix of excitement in their hearts.
Yin Ran and Leng Mei felt not just excitement, but disbelief.
Such a bold and reckless plan had actually succeeded.
Two early-stage Martial Vein Seventh Layer martial masters: 20 merit points.
Ten Martial Vein Sixth Layer martial artists: 40 merit points.
Eight Martial Vein Fifth Layer martial artists: 24 merit points.
Destroying nearly five thousand jin of Dream Pills, with 10 merit points per thousand jin, came to 50 merit points.
Adding their prior 49 merit points, their total now stood at 183!
All in just one day. Truly, the greater the risk, the greater the reward.
What Yin Ran had deemed nearly impossible had somehow been accomplished.
His gaze flickered with a dazed disbelief.
Ling Xiao wasn’t just a martial genius—he was a composed, calculating strategist!
The entire plan was his design, and in the process, he’d gravely wounded one of the two toughest martial masters and ambushed the other to death.
This bloke was genuinely terrifying.
Yet Ling Xiao’s brow was slightly furrowed.
He could sense that powerful presence from earlier had followed them nearby, still keeping a distance of a few hundred metres.
“This kid’s actually noticed me?”
In the shadows, a man stroked his chin with a chuckle. “Marshal Lin warned me to keep this lad safe and not let anything happen to him. Who’d have thought he’d take on two martial masters and pull off such a stunning victory! This Dream Pill factory’s been a thorn in Marshal Lin’s side for ages, and this kid’s gone and uprooted it. Brilliant!”
He hesitated, then turned to leave. “I’ve got my own business to handle. This lad doesn’t even need my protection.”
“He’s gone?”
Only when that presence departed did Ling Xiao finally relax.
The battle hadn’t caused much damage.
Aside from some injuries on Yin Ran and Leng Mei, Ling Yi Xue and Ling Xiao were unscathed.
This only reinforced Yin Ran’s growing conviction: Ling Xiao was on par with an early-stage Martial Vein Seventh Layer master, perhaps even surpassing them in some ways.
He knew full well that even when Ling Xiao crippled that master called Meng, he hadn’t used his full strength.
Terrifying. This bloke was like a bottomless pit—impossible to see through.
“We won’t split the merit points yet. We’ll sort it out when we’re back at Qianlong Camp. Any objections?”
Ling Xiao glanced at Yin Ran and Leng Mei as he spoke.
“This servant follows the captain’s lead.”
“I’ve no issue either.”
Yin Ran now held deep trust and admiration for Ling Xiao, both in his strength and his character.
He couldn’t believe someone bold enough to break Qianlong Camp rules for a maid would skim his merit points.
The storage rings held a rare top-tier martial arts manual, two hundred Gang Qi Pills, and one hundred low-grade spirit stones.
He gave Yin Ran and Leng Mei twenty Gang Qi Pills and ten low-grade spirit stones each.
Ling Yi Xue received sixty Gang Qi Pills and forty low-grade spirit stones, while Ling Xiao kept the rest.
After all, he’d contributed the most against the martial masters, so taking the lion’s share was fair.
The rare top-tier martial arts manual was useless to him for now, so he gave it to Ling Yi Xue to cultivate.
It was a top-tier palm technique—Soul-Seizing Palm.
Ling Yi Xue excelled in palm techniques and had strong soul power, making it a perfect fit.
Once she mastered it, her combat strength would rise, which would naturally benefit Ling Xiao too.
After receiving the Soul-Seizing Palm, Ling Yi Xue began cultivating it.
Yin Ran and Leng Mei focused on treating their wounds.
Ling Xiao closed his eyes to cultivate.
Sharpening the axe doesn’t delay the woodcutting—he didn’t think this brief pause would matter much.
Less than a quarter of an hour after they left the Dream Pill factory, dozens of figures appeared there.
This proved Ling Xiao’s judgement right: the Dream Pill traffickers wouldn’t sit idly by as their factory burned.
“Boss, we’ve searched the place. All the slaves from the Dream Pill factory have fled, our people are all dead, and the Dream Pills have been completely torched.”
After a thorough search, a subordinate reported to the leader.
“Both martial masters were killed too?”
The boss was somewhat surprised.
“Yes, Boss. One of them died in an odd way—I suspect he was controlled by soul power before death. The other was likely ambushed, then fled in a panic, only to be cut down by flying swords!”
The subordinate analysed.
“Do we know who did it?”
The boss was clearly furious, his terrifying true essence bursting forth, sending sand and stones flying around them.
No doubt, he was a martial master too, and far stronger than the two Ling Xiao’s group had killed.
Not just by a little, either.
“No leads yet. Never heard of such an expert showing up in Baiyun Prefecture.”
The subordinate shook his head. “But the Border Town General’s Mansion is the most likely culprit. Pity we’ve no proof, or we could march straight there and demand justice.”
“Lin Ze!”
The boss roared, slamming a fist into the air. The space twisted and warped, the effect stretching into the distance.
The Dream Pill factory, once ablaze, collapsed under this punch, the flames gradually dying out.
“Boss.”
The dozens of figures around him all showed expressions of shock.
Their boss might not match titans like Lin Ze or Wan Ben, but to them, he was practically a god.
“Investigate!”
“Boss, we’ve already sent out plenty of men. I reckon we’ll have answers soon.”
“No matter who it is, even if it’s Lin Ze, anyone who dares kill my Bi-Eye Clan will die without a burial! I’ll report this up the chain. Does that Lin Ze really think no one can touch him?”
The boss’s face twisted with ruthless fury and grief.
But when he enslaved humans, violated human women at will, and slaughtered innocent human martial artists, had he ever considered there’d be a day of reckoning?
