Blade-for-Hire in the Mountain God Temple

The night was deep, the weather clear, and a full moon hung high in the sky.

Outside Fuzhou City.

Inside a slightly dilapidated mountain god temple.

Amidst the crackling sound of burning firewood, a bonfire burned gently.

Not far from the bonfire, Su Chen, dressed in black, sat cross-legged, resting.

The dragon-patterned ring-pommel saber resting on his knees was particularly eye-catching.

The Haihun Marquis ring-pommel saber, crafted by a master.

"Thump... thump... thump..."

Outside the mountain god temple, hurried footsteps approached from a distance.

Su Chen opened his eyes and looked out.

The next second, a young master from the Imperial Guards, about eighteen or nineteen years old, rushed into the temple in a panic.

"I've brought the silver," the young master from the Imperial Guards handed over the bundle in his hand.

Su Chen took it and weighed it up and down, as if checking if anything was missing.

"Don't worry, the five hundred taels of deposit are all here, not a single bit less. The lives of my entire Fuwei Escort Agency are at stake, I wouldn't play any tricks."

As the young master from the Imperial Guards spoke, his identity was revealed.

He was the young head of the largest escort agency in Fuzhou City – the Fuwei Escort Agency, Lin Pingzhi.

Su Chen nodded and said, "Tomorrow, I will go to the escort agency and help you deal with Yu Canghai."

Hearing this, Lin Pingzhi was relieved, but his face was still filled with worry and hesitation. "Are you sure? That Yu Canghai is a Minor Grandmaster..."

Before Lin Pingzhi could finish speaking, the ring-pommel saber on Su Chen's knees was already unsheathed.

The saber rang out, and a flash of mercury-like light appeared.

As the saber light flashed, Lin Pingzhi felt a stinging sensation on his cheek.

The bonfire flickered, and the entire mountain god temple was split in two.

As smoke and dust billowed, Lin Pingzhi stood stunned and at a loss.

"Clack."

The mechanism sound of the ring-pommel saber being sheathed sounded, and Lin Pingzhi finally came back to his senses.

"Can this saber cut down Yu Canghai?" Su Chen's calm voice asked.

Lin Pingzhi was too shocked to speak. His face was filled with horror, and he stared blankly at Su Chen, unable to look away.

"Splitting a mountain god temple in half with one strike!"

"How high is this person's martial arts skill?"

Lin Pingzhi's heart trembled.

What's more, what shocked him even more was that, from beginning to end, the person in front of him had been sitting cross-legged, never moving an inch.

The height of this person's martial arts skill was probably far beyond his imagination.

In a daze, Lin Pingzhi felt a sense of loss. In just these one or two days, he had truly witnessed what the martial world was.

The viciousness of the Qingcheng Sect's Heart-Shattering Palm, and the sharpness of this person's saber technique, these were things he had never seen before.

Compared to these true martial world experts, he was like a frog at the bottom of a well, and his family's escort agency was also like a joke.

After a moment of stunned silence, the loss in Lin Pingzhi's heart suddenly turned into ecstasy.

The higher this person's martial arts skill, the more beneficial it was for him.

The Fuwei Escort Agency desperately needed such an expert to assist them now.

Yesterday, during the day, he had accidentally killed Yu Canghai's son, Yu Renyan. That night, the Qingcheng Sect's retaliation had arrived.

By the evening of this day, thirty to forty people from the Fuwei Escort Agency had already died, all killed by the Qingcheng Sect.

After killing these people, the Qingcheng Sect did not stop, and continued to kill, showing a clear intention to wipe out the Fuwei Escort Agency.

With no other options, Lin Pingzhi thought of Su Chen, a blade-for-hire he had only met once.

With the mindset of trying anything to save a dying horse, Lin Pingzhi brought the silver to ask Su Chen for help.

Now, having witnessed Su Chen's sharp saber technique, Lin Pingzhi's heart was greatly reassured.

"With the help of this expert, the escort agency will surely be able to survive this calamity safely."

With thoughts racing, Lin Pingzhi dared not disturb him further. He left a sentence, "I will await your action tomorrow," and then hurriedly left the mountain god temple, preparing to return home to report the good news to his parents.

After Lin Pingzhi left, Su Chen looked up at the full moon in the sky and let out a long breath.

"This guy's showing off a bit too much."

"Without this mountain god temple, I'll probably have to camp in the wilderness tonight."

With a self-deprecating chuckle, Su Chen didn't dwell on it, turning his attention to the bundle of silver.

"System, pay to upgrade with five hundred taels," Su Chen silently recited.

As soon as he finished, the silver in front of him vanished, as if swallowed by some unknown force.

The next second, a mechanical electronic voice sounded in Su Chen's mind.

[Ding, Host has paid five hundred taels of silver to upgrade, gaining Martial Arts Points: 50, Current total Martial Arts Points: 300]

Immediately after, the system panel popped up.

[Host: Su Chen]

[Cultivation: First Rank (Peak)]

[Internal Energy: Hundun Treasure Mirror (Fourth Level - Azure Snow Ice)]

[Saber Technique: Unique Saber Technique (Minor Accomplishment)]

[Movement Technique: Tread Snow Without Trace (Great Accomplishment)]

[Weapon: Dragon-patterned ring-pommel saber]

[Balance: 2.5 taels of silver]

"Although I have the high-quality true qi from the Hundun Treasure Mirror as my foundation, and the powerful Unique Saber Technique to boost me, the combat power I can unleash at my First Rank realm far surpasses that of ordinary martial artists at the same level."

"However, Yu Canghai is a Minor Grandmaster after all, and his strength is not to be underestimated. To be safe, it's best to raise my cultivation first."

With this thought, Su Chen willed it, "System. Three hundred Martial Arts Points, all for improving my cultivation."

The next second, a burning sensation rose within his meridians, and his aura surged dramatically within seconds.

[Ding, Host has consumed three hundred Martial Arts Points, cultivation has been upgraded to Minor Grandmaster (Early Stage)]

"It's been almost three years since I came to this world, and I've finally reached the Minor Grandmaster realm," Su Chen murmured, a hint of memory flashing in his eyes.

That's right, Su Chen was a transmigator. About three years ago, he had transmigrated into this world of martial arts.

This was a very chaotic world, with various dynasties vying for supremacy and countless martial arts sects constantly clashing.

In short, this world was extremely dangerous.

Fortunately, at the beginning of his transmigration, Su Chen had awakened the standard cheat for transmigrators—the system.

His system was called the [Pay-to-Win Power-Up] system. As the name suggested, as long as he paid, he could become stronger.

At a 10:1 ratio, ten taels of silver could be converted into one Martial Arts Point.

Through Martial Arts Points, he could exchange for various items in the system. Currently, the martial arts he practiced, such as the Hundun Treasure Mirror and the Unique Saber Technique, even his dragon-patterned ring-pommel saber, and his Minor Grandmaster cultivation, were all obtained through exchanging Martial Arts Points.

However, the only drawback was that the money he paid had to be earned by himself.

This meant that money obtained from robbing others, accepting bribes, receiving favors, or even begging on the streets could not be used for the Pay-to-Win Power-Up.

Having no choice, Su Chen had to find ways to get rich through labor.

The first time, he planned to be a literary plagiarist in a brothel, copying poems to make money. How great was that?

Unfortunately, the plan died before it could even be implemented.

This was a world of eclectic influences, with elements from the Qin Dynasty all the way to the Ming Dynasty. The few poems Su Chen could remember were already widely circulated in the world, making it impossible to get rich by copying poems.

After the literary plagiarist plan failed, Su Chen remembered the money-making methods of many transmigration novel protagonists he had read—making soap, firing glass, large-scale steel production, and salt purification.

But unfortunately, this time, it was also a case of premature death before even starting.

Setting aside the fact that this was an era of government monopoly on salt and iron, where individuals had no opportunity to smelt iron or produce salt.

Even for items like soap and glass, which were not restricted by the government, Su Chen couldn't make them.

As a brainless university student who only knew how to eat and have fun, if you gave him a chemistry formula, he would just reply, "My English isn't good, don't use foreign languages."

After many failures, Su Chen completely lost his temper and had to resort to the most brainless way of making money: becoming a blade-for-hire, taking money to solve problems for others.

When he first transmigrated, he had no cultivation. Su Chen did trivial tasks like helping small widows carry water and running errands for elderly ladies.

Now, after three years of accumulation, Su Chen could proudly say that in the profession of blade-for-hire, he had gained some fame.

He had personally led several famous fierce battles locally.

Even official organizations like the Imperial Guards would occasionally hire Su Chen for some shady jobs.

Not long ago, Su Chen was strolling through the Fuzhou region and accidentally encountered Lin Pingzhi. He immediately thought of Yu Canghai and the Fuwei Escort Agency.

For Su Chen, Lin Pingzhi's family, who were rich but unskilled, were undoubtedly among the most valuable clients.

Therefore, Su Chen left a message for Lin Pingzhi, letting him know that if he encountered any trouble he couldn't handle, he could hire him to resolve it for a fee.

And the scene just now was precisely because of this.

After thinking for a while, Su Chen leaned against the mountain god statue, holding his saber, and continued to rest.

He muttered to himself, "After dealing with Yu Canghai tomorrow and collecting the final payment from the Fuwei Escort Agency, I should head to Liu Zhengfeng's Golden Basin Hand-Washing ceremony to join the fun..."

If you find this book good, remember to add it to your bookshelf to avoid losing it next time.