After Yu Ye dodged the flying needles blasted out by the iron gall below, she swiftly climbed through the smoke and saw her Master make his move.
Knowing the gap between them, and knowing that her opponent might have other hidden weapons on him, Yu Ye did not interfere. Instead, she leaped up to the rooftop and blocked Duan Tianpeng's possible escape route.
Standing above, she had expected to see her Master and Duan Tianpeng trading movement techniques or clashing fiercely. Yet against a wanted criminal of no small strength, all she saw was another one-sided crushing.
A single Baji Collapse sent Duan Tianpeng flying into the opposite wall. From where she stood, she could even see the faint Qi Wave raised by that punch.
Her Master had taught her this move two days ago, but compared to the power he displayed today, her own Baji Collapse seemed fit to be called only a Oneji Collapse.
Crazy Night: Looks like your Master must have been exceedingly careful whenever he trained you.
Yu Ye: Compared to his cultivation techniques, I think the truly terrifying thing about him is how he kept his true strength hidden, biding his time beneath a veil of modesty.
She had thought that move would end the battle, but Duan Tianpeng clearly had some tricks up his sleeve. He drew a flexible sword from his waist, still trying to make one last desperate struggle before death.
Her Master did not bully him either, meeting his sword with a sword of his own. But when Yu Ye saw her Master's Black Sword get severed, her heart seemed to stop for an instant.
Fortunately, in the next moment, Duan Tianpeng's head rolled to the ground, followed by his headless body crashing down beside it.
Still unable to react, Yu Ye stood stunned for a moment before hurrying over. Only when she got close did she discover that the Black Sword in Ji Qinglin's hand was completely intact.
"Master, you weren't hurt, were you?"
"I'm fine. Come on, let's go down and see what treasures this guy had."
Duan Tianpeng's severed head, smeared with Blood Water, had landed in a corner by the wall. His eyes had already gone dull, but his face remained frozen in the shock from before his death. His headless body lay nearby, blood bubbling out from the cavity in gurgling streams.
Looking at that clean, level cut, Yu Ye still could not understand.
"I clearly saw your sword get cut in half just now. How did you end up beheading Duan Tianpeng instead?"
"Who said a broken sword can't kill?"
"Uh... I suppose that works too."
After several days of research, Ji Qinglin had discovered that Mo Attack's greatest advantage was not the Nanobots' malleability or toughness, but their connectivity and controllability.
Their superior connectivity and operability allowed them to remain in motion like flowing water.
As the saying went, cut water with a blade, and the water flowed on still stronger.
With his current abilities, he still could not achieve true Sword Control. But tricks like sending his own sword through his opponent's sword—pretending his sword had broken while truly severing the enemy's head—were not difficult to use.
After killing Duan Tianpeng, Ji Qinglin and his disciple quickly went to search the corpse for spoils.
Though it was Yu Ye's first time doing such a thing, under the instruction of her fine teacher Ji Qinglin, her movements as she searched for valuables were not awkward at all.
Fortunately, ordinary disturbances could not alarm Bangkok's worldly-wise residents. Besides, it was already the dead of night. Otherwise, if an uninformed passerby had walked through General Store Alley right then, they would surely have thought this master and disciple pair were the real bandits who murdered and plundered.
Afraid that getting blood inside the General Store would be difficult to explain, the two chose to deal with things directly in the alley.
Ji Qinglin took Duan Tianpeng's backpack off and handed it to Yu Ye, then picked up the flexible sword that had fallen aside and examined it carefully.
"Tsk, a Molecular Blade. It even looks like a custom-made model. Yu Ye, put it away first. He seemed to have drawn it from his waist just now, so remember to take his belt too."
Yu Ye had seen this kind of weapon in Zhenwu Magazine. The weapon's materials and shape could be customized, while molecular-level blade filaments were embedded along its edge, ensuring terrifying sharpness.
Whether Duan Tianpeng had stolen this sword or paid to have it custom-made, the patterns on the blade alone showed that it had to be immensely expensive.
Yu Ye had not expected her usually stingy Master to be so generous with her in matters of cultivation.
After speaking, Ji Qinglin searched Duan Tianpeng's body again, but found only a little cash and two storage devices.
Duan Tianpeng, who had spent his entire life stealing, probably never imagined that after his death, he would encounter someone who stripped him cleaner than even a great thief like himself.
Only after confirming that nothing had been overlooked did they arrange his body and head together at one side, covering them with clothes. Master and disciple then leaped from the alley back to the hotel and slipped through the broken window into Duan Tianpeng's room.
Perhaps due to a flying thief's caution and his readiness to flee at any time, they found no other stolen goods in the hotel.
"Alright, Yu Ye, open his backpack. Let's see how lucky we master and disciple are, and whether we can unbox something good."
Crazy Night: I am willing to trade my chastity for a Top-Grade Cultivation Accessory.
Yu Ye: Chastity? Did you even have such a thing?
Crazy Night: If I didn't, I could use yours instead.
Yu Ye: Get lost!
Afraid that opening it might reveal a huge pile of unwashed underwear, Yu Ye cautiously squeezed the backpack through its fabric first. Only after feeling several fairly hard objects inside did she slowly open it.
Yet when she saw the topmost item, Yu Ye's willow brows knit together. What met her eyes was a crystalline right hand skeleton.
In case it was some kind of trap, Yu Ye rummaged through the backpack again. Only after confirming that it was indeed an unattached object did she carefully take it out.
The entire hand bone was crystal-clear, as though carved from a single piece of crystal. Even after falling from such a great height, it had not suffered the slightest damage.
It felt warm and smooth to the touch, like an old object that had been handled for decades. Yu Ye held it in her hand and examined it curiously.
"Master, I truly haven't seen anything like this before. Is it a weapon? Or..."
Before Yu Ye could finish, Ji Qinglin raised a hand and covered her red lips. He looked around, confirming that no one was nearby, then put the Crystal Arm back into the backpack and replied in an extremely faint voice.
"We'll talk after we get back."
Because she was face-to-face with Ji Qinglin, Yu Ye could clearly see that her Master's expression had turned strange. The smile he usually wore had vanished, and his brows were tightly furrowed. He had not looked like this even when fighting Duan Tianpeng just now.
Understanding that this was surely serious, Yu Ye said nothing. She merely nodded and quickly followed her Master through the alley back to the General Store.
Only after they returned to the sofa in the living room did Ji Qinglin take the Crystal Arm out of the backpack again. After studying it for a while and thinking it over, as though confirming something, he finally let out a long breath.
"Trouble. This is trouble."
"Master, is there something wrong with the things in this backpack?"
Seeing that Yu Ye did not seem to recognize the item, Ji Qinglin gave a bitter smile. "There's nothing wrong with the thing itself. If anyone is to blame, it's that we master and disciple are a little too lucky."
Hearing that, Yu Ye thought for a moment and looked again at the Crystal Arm on the table. Suddenly, her breathing caught and her almond eyes widened, though she deliberately kept her shocked voice extremely low.
"Th-this couldn't be... Immortal Remains?"
Ji Qinglin rubbed his chin as he thought. "Your Master has never seen the genuine article. I only heard Chairman Lei Qiong mention once that when he was young, he had seen part of some Immortal Remains at a certain corporate giant. He said Immortal Remains consisted only of bones, and were crystal-clear all over.
"A few days ago, Zhang HuaiMin also told your Master that the Immortal Remains from the West Chang District chairman's home had been stolen, and that the culprit had gone to North New District to fence them. At the time, your Master found it rather puzzling. Since the man had the ability to steal Immortal Remains, how could he be foolish enough to let outsiders know where he was going to sell them?
"But if the flying thief who stole the Immortal Remains was Duan Tianpeng, then a great many things made sense."
Crazy Night: My heavens! We really unboxed something top-grade? Good thing we traded your chastity for it.
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