Opening the Door to a New World

Silently!

Gou Congxin approached the bed slowly, holding a dagger.

"Kid, your Grandpa Gou's got skilled hands, don't worry, it won't hurt."

Gou Congxin whispered almost inaudibly, a terrifying killing intent flashing in his eyes as he fiercely stabbed towards the left side of the quilt.

"Not good!"

Only a soft, yielding sensation met him. Gou Congxin's expression drastically changed, and he instinctively swung his dagger with his backhand while retreating to the side.

"Clang!"

A sword's hum, and silver light sliced through the night.

"Ah~"

An arm holding a dagger flew through the air, and Gou Congxin let out a piercing scream.

"Shut up, or die!"

Ye Xiaofan shouted coldly. With a step of his Wind God Steps, his sword's icy edge rested on Gou Congxin's neck.

"Don't, don't kill me, let's talk properly."

Large beads of cold sweat continuously dripped from his forehead, born from the fear of death and the pain from his severed arm. Gou Congxin's Adam's apple bobbed; he could feel the blade had already cut through his skin, and hot blood mixed with cold sweat flowed onto his chest, sending a chill through him.

At this moment, Gou Congxin had already cursed the ancestors of everyone who hired him to kill Ye Xiaofan.

"Damn the Reserve Demon Suppressors, damn this 'just started cultivating' nonsense."

"Who cultivates like this right after starting?"

His cultivation was on the verge of breaking through to Body Refining Third Level, while Ye Xiaofan, whom he was trying to assassinate, was at least at Body Refinement Second Layer, possibly even Body Refinement Third Layer.

This was already the strength level of a seasoned Demon Suppressing Guard. The information from his employer was outrageously wrong.

If he could survive tonight, he would definitely find the employer and dismember him into a thousand pieces to avenge his severed arm.

Gou Congxin had long forgotten that he had scouted and investigated Ye Xiaofan's background. Now, at the brink of death, he was venting all his frustration onto the employer.

Ye Xiaofan held Gou Congxin hostage and lit the oil lamp.

"Take off your mask."

Gou Congxin dared not disobey. With his remaining hand, he tremblingly pulled off the mask covering his face.

He usually killed ordinary people who hadn't cultivated, finding perverse satisfaction in their terrified pleas.

Now that the roles were reversed, Gou Congxin felt like he hadn't been human before.

If it weren't for the sword blade pressed against his neck, he would have collapsed to the ground long ago.

"Speak, who sent you to assassinate me?"

Ye Xiaofan's senses were exceptionally sharp after breaking through to Body Refinement First Layer. He had woken up when the night watchman passed by, and every move Gou Congxin made after entering the courtyard had been within his hearing and sight.

"I don't know. The night before last, a person wearing a mask found me, gave me a Blood Qi Pill and 500 taels of silver, and told me to kill you within two days."

Ye Xiaofan's wrist flicked slightly, terrifying Gou Congxin to the core. He quickly said:

"Young Master Ye, I truly don't know who that person is. However, this person knows you are a Reserve Demon Suppressor of the Demon Suppression Division. If you spare my life, I can help you investigate who it is."

Ye Xiaofan shook his head, and Gou Congxin panicked.

He didn't want to die!

"Young Master Ye, give me a chance. I have money, a lot of money. I can give you all my money, and I can even give you my newly married concubine."

Hearing "a lot of money," Ye Xiaofan's eyes lit up.

"How much?"

"One Blood Qi Pill and 1000 taels of silver. As long as Young Master Ye spares my life, I'll go get it for you right now."

Sensing the slight change in Ye Xiaofan's expression, Gou Congxin rejoiced and quickly said.

Ye Xiaofan liked money. As long as he could latch onto this, he had hope of surviving.

"Draw a map of where you live, and write down all the cultivation techniques you practice. If you dare to play any tricks, I don't mind castrating you and sending you to the Demon Suppression Division's death row."

"Yes, yes, Young Master Ye, don't worry. This humble one would never dare to deceive you."

Sensing Ye Xiaofan's gaze glancing towards his lower region, Gou Congxin felt a chill in his crotch and flashed a fawning smile, repeatedly saying.

An hour later, [Detected Black Tiger Roaring Mountain Technique, do you wish to spend 100 taels of silver to simplify the technique?]

[Detected Black Tiger Saber Technique, do you wish to spend 100 taels of silver to simplify the technique?]

Two prompts appeared on the panel, and Ye Xiaofan quickly topped up the red prompt.

"Not bad."

The panel confirmed the techniques were genuine, and Ye Xiaofan nodded with satisfaction. Although they were only two low-grade techniques, they were still worth money.

He dared not sell the techniques from the Demon Suppression Division due to the oath. Now that he had obtained these two techniques, no one would manage them. He would find an opportunity to sell them, and the money earned could be used to purchase cultivation resources or simplify techniques.

This moment felt like opening a door to a new world.

Ye Xiaofan's gaze towards Gou Congxin changed.

Greed, excitement, struggle, and ferocity flickered back and forth.

Seeing the change in Ye Xiaofan's expression, Gou Congxin was terrified to the extreme. He weakly asked, "Young Master Ye, can I go get the money for you now?"

Ye Xiaofan snapped back to attention at the sound. He suppressed the tremor in his heart and sighed inwardly, "Hmph, my strength isn't enough yet. I can't be reckless for now."

Then, he looked at Gou Congxin with a blank expression and said, "Go, and don't even think about running."

As he spoke, Ye Xiaofan waved the map in his hand.

"I wouldn't dare, I wouldn't dare."

Gou Congxin lowered his head, a hint of joy flashing in his eyes. He thought to himself, He's just a kid, so easy to fool.

After leaving the Ye family's residence, Gou Congxin relaxed completely when he saw no one following him. He glanced at his severed right arm, his eyes radiating intense killing intent.

With his right arm gone, he'd lost sixty percent of his strength. If he didn't get revenge for this, he'd change his surname to 'Dog'.

And that employer who gave him the wrong information also needed to be dealt with.

Gou Congxin didn't reveal that he was from the Black Tiger Gang. Instead of going home to get money, he headed directly to the house of his immediate superior, Hall Master Wang.

This man was devoted to the ways of Cao Mengde. Gou Congxin planned to offer his three beautiful wives to him in exchange for help with his revenge.

The map he gave Ye Xiaofan actually led to his own house. If Ye Xiaofan went there, he might encounter him on the spot.

At that time, he intended to chop off Ye Xiaofan's limbs and torture him slowly.

However, Gou Congxin didn't notice a vague figure, like a ghost, silently following him not far behind.

Gou Congxin deliberately chose small alleys and secluded paths. Before long, he had left the central city area and arrived in the western part of the city.

Ye Xiaofan no longer hesitated. He glided towards Gou Congxin like a gust of wind.

Gou Congxin felt a chill run through his body. He vaguely heard a sword's hum.

Then, his consciousness plunged into endless darkness.

Ye Xiaofan glanced at the head that had rolled to the side. He had never considered letting the other party live; he just didn't want to act too close to his home.

Ye Xiaofan confirmed the direction and hurried towards Gou Congxin's house.

Upon arriving at Gou Congxin's house, it was dark inside.

In one of the bedrooms, three sets of breathing sounds could be heard.

"He's quite the playboy," Ye Xiaofan cursed inwardly. He had already learned from Gou Congxin that there were only three beautiful wives in the house and no one else.

So, Ye Xiaofan swaggered in and pushed open the door.

"Master, you're back."

Hearing the commotion, one of them groggily opened their eyes and fumbled to light the oil lamp on the bedside table.

"You, who are you?"

The person was completely naked. Their appearance could be considered quite beautiful. At this moment, they clutched their chest and retreated repeatedly.

The other two were also startled awake. Before they could even scream, their eyes widened as they slowly collapsed.

Ye Xiaofan put away his long sword and opened the hidden compartment under the bed, taking out the pills and silver that Gou Congxin had stored.

There was only one Blood Qi Pill. Ye Xiaofan directly popped it into his mouth.

Then, looking at the 1000 taels of silver, which weighed approximately 75 jin (1 tael of silver is about 0.075 jin), he pondered for a moment and decided to use it first.

Without maxing out his life-saving skills, he felt no sense of security.

"System, simplify Wind God Steps."

With a thought, the silver in front of him vanished.

[Wind God Steps... Simplified to... Walking!]

Seeing the prompt on the panel, Ye Xiaofan's mouth twitched a few times. Movement techniques were performed with the legs.

The simplification made perfect sense!

"I wonder what Sword Drawing Technique will be simplified into?"

Ye Xiaofan looked at the unsimplified Sword Drawing Technique with anticipation. He now had two low-grade techniques. If he sold them, it should be enough to simplify Sword Drawing Technique.

With his objective achieved, Ye Xiaofan set the room ablaze and disappeared into the night.

Returning home, Ye Xiaofan eagerly tried to see if he could merge techniques.

The result was both pleasing and distressing.

He was short on money!

Merging techniques also cost money.

But he was penniless right now.

"I need to make money!"