Inside a room at Life-Slaying Martial Hall
"Big Brother, I found out. That kid really lives alone.
"Other than coming to the martial hall every day, he stays home and never goes out."
"For the past half month, there has been no word of him associating with any officials or nobles. He should really have returned alone from the Western Continent."
"Even if he has some connections, they are probably on the Western Continent. With such a distance between them, they should not matter."
"Once we finish this job, Boss, you should have enough money for demon flesh and Spirit Nourishing Incense for the Viscera Refinement Realm."
Listening to the fashionably dressed young man before him, with his slicked-back hair and white shirt, Deng Gao did not immediately state his position.
He trusted this brother's abilities.
For years, the man had pretended to be a new-era young man returned from studying abroad on the Western Continent, crossing the river to The Bund to sponge off others, swindle money, and seduce women. He had never been exposed.
That showed just how well-informed and socially adept he was.
Since he dared say this before Deng Gao, the information had to be accurate.
By his former nature, he indeed would have taken a gamble to become a Viscera Refinement Martial Warrior.
But...
Deng Gao unconsciously toyed with a white porcelain bottle in his palm,
while Su Qiuzhen's words from that day surfaced in his mind:
"I am indeed asking something of Brother Deng in exchange for spending these eight hundred taels to help you enter the Viscera Refinement Realm. I merely want you to kill someone for me."
"Young Master Su has shown this lowly one such great kindness. Naturally, I will not refuse. May I ask whom you wish to kill?"
"That newly promoted Inner Disciple, Li Xijun, whom you saw on the second floor a few days ago."
"Young Master, that man is an Inner Disciple of Life-Slaying Martial Hall after all. If Senior Brother Yu investigates—"
"He entered the martial hall only days ago, yet casually spent nearly two thousand taels. His family fortune must be immense. Kill him, and you will certainly lack no resources for the Viscera Refinement Realm. I will not take a single coin of the money, and I can even help Brother Deng block Senior Brother Yu's investigation."
As Su Qiuzhen spoke, he took a porcelain bottle from his robes.
"And after you kill him, all I need is for you to open this bottle and press it against his Ancestral Aperture within his heart."
As the well-dressed young master in his suit smiled gently and handed over the porcelain bottle,
the palm-sized peachwood sword that normally hung at his waist, so out of place with his suit, revealed its true form. The bloodthirsty edge of the Blood Vein Cord stirred the soul.
Though the noon sun blazed and the weather was sweltering, Deng Gao felt ice-cold from head to toe.
Having drifted around Jinmen for so long, he naturally knew of a sect there called the Eternal Life Taoist Temple, which worshipped the Eternal Life Savior Mother.
Ordinary Jinmen citizens merely treated it as a common Taoist temple or monastery and paid it worship.
But he had heard that this sect possessed Spirit-Refining Cultivators who refined corpses and devoured souls.
Rumor had it that any martial artist or cultivator who provoked this sect either had their soul extracted to become nourishment for the Taoist Temple's cultivators, or was refined into an iron corpse and enslaved.
Not even the Potion Practitioners of the Western Church were exceptions.
He had always thought Su Qiuzhen was merely a shrewd disciple of some merchant association who spent money to cultivate connections with the Eternal Life Savior Mother.
He never expected Young Master Su to truly be a Spirit-Refining Cultivator of the Eternal Life Taoist Temple.
He regretted it beyond measure.
All this time, he had run errands for the man like a horse and a dog, all for some silver and Su Qiuzhen's identity as the young master of a merchant association.
He regretted even more that he had not thought things through carefully.
Why had Su Qiuzhen, who had always treated him like a dog, suddenly spent the enormous sum of eight hundred taels to help him enter the Viscera Refinement Realm?
He had simply been blinded by the enormous profit before him.
But by the time he wanted to regret it, it was already too late. The other man had revealed his identity.
If he had refused, he would likely have died on the spot and been refined into an iron corpse.
Afterward, the man had done something to his soul. Deng Gao did not even dare entertain disloyal thoughts.
"Ah, a man in the martial world cannot control his own fate."
Under the gaze of the slick-haired young man in the white shirt, Deng Gao suddenly sighed and tucked the porcelain bottle into his robes.
Then his scar-covered face abruptly flushed red. The scars twisted like living centipedes, instantly becoming hideous.
"Little Zhao, once we finish this job, I'll buy you a ticket to the Western Continent and let you become a real Western university student."
"I'll also risk everything to reach Viscera Refinement Completion and perfect my Inner Breath!"
The vicious brutality in his eyes frightened the young man beside him until his legs went weak. His white shirt was soaked through with sweat, and he could not utter a word, only nodding repeatedly.
Yet neither of them realized that a bird was perched on a branch outside the window.
The bird's eyes had taken in everything. It silently converted their lip movements into AI voice text, which appeared before Li Xijun.
At the same time,
Li Xijun, having confirmed his progress in the Skin and Flesh Realm with Yu Xiangyang, casually remarked while chatting:
"I always run into Senior Brother Deng and his companion when eating on the second floor of the cafeteria. Since Senior Brother Yu dislikes them, how about we order a few dishes of Medicinal Cuisine at Gathering Immortals Tower another day?"
After the donation incident, Li Xijun had seen that Yu Xiangyang had neither grown greedy nor leaked a word. Their relationship had steadily improved, and they ate together from time to time.
"Sounds good. I've been annoyed every time I see that Deng fellow lately."
"Oh? Why is that?"
"Don't mention it. I never expected that young master of the Su Family to really be willing to spend eight hundred taels to help him undergo Viscera Refining. Two days ago, Deng actually became a martial warrior who entered the Viscera Refinement Realm. Who knows what evil he'll get up to in the future."
He probably had no future.
Li Xijun thought this, but his expression did not change as he continued asking:
"Is Su Qiuzhen really so generous to his subordinates?"
"Isn't he? Quite a few disciples in the martial hall used to mock Deng behind his back for being Su Qiuzhen's dog. After this happened, though, every last one of them became even more eager to curry favor with him whenever they saw him."
Yu Xiangyang continued grumbling in displeasure:
"The atmosphere at Life-Slaying Martial Hall is getting worse and worse. They fawn over Su Qiuzhen every day, and these past few days they've been drinking at Wangjiang Restaurant until late every night. At this rate, I don't know how they plan to practice martial arts the next day."
"Wangjiang Restaurant..."
Li Xijun recalled the location of that restaurant. From its top floor, one could clearly see a stone bridge leading toward the district of The Bund, surrounded by Western-style houses.
And that bridge was precisely the route Li Xijun took home every day.
Heh. What a coincidence!
Li Xijun touched the Electromagnetic Handgun in his robes, then suddenly rose to bid Yu Xiangyang farewell.
"Senior Brother, I plan to visit the Contemplation Society. Let's call it a day."
"The Contemplation Society?" Yu Xiangyang asked, not reacting for a moment.
"That's right. Today, I have achieved Orifice Opening Completion, and my soul perception has manifested. I'm going to the Contemplation Society to buy some books on the second realm of Spirit Refining."
With that, he turned and swiftly departed under Yu Xiangyang's stunned gaze.
Li Xijun had already listed Su Qiuzhen and Deng Gao as targets who had to die.
He did not mind revealing his talent and strength in Spirit Refining to Yu Xiangyang.
More accurately, he wanted Yu Xiangyang to show it to that Blood-Exchange Martial Sage.
Li Xijun had always preferred to prepare for the worst.
Though he was confident that he could instantly kill those two without exposing himself, then use his cheat to escape safely,
it was better to reveal his value first, just in case. If anything truly happened, he could seek help from Martial Sage Zhang.
There was nothing shameful about asking for help.
Just as he would repay Zhang Haifeng in the future, if the man chose to help him, Li Xijun would certainly repay him generously someday.
Before you continue