Cowhide

Jian Liang's heart grew cold, and his body tried desperately to dodge, only to find that it was simply too late.

This sword strike was too fast, so fast that one could only see a flash of sword light sweep past.

Chen Fei's strength and reactions were at most at the Muscle Tempering Realm. Yet his swordsmanship was strong, especially the fact that he had cultivated Sword Qi, which was even more astonishing. But at this level, it should already be the absolute peak.

How could such a style of swordsmanship still appear on Chen Fei? This kind of swordsmanship should not appear in a place like Pingyin County. Even the major clans in Pingyin County could not possibly have such a heritage.

"Squeak!"

A blood wound appeared across Jian Liang's chest, running from front to back. Though small, this injury was already enough to be fatal. Jian Liang's offensive momentum involuntarily weakened, and his entire body tumbled off the rooftop, crashing to the ground.

"What kind of swordsmanship is this!"

Jian Liang raised his head with difficulty to look at Chen Fei, only to see Chen Fei appearing expressionlessly before him, thrusting a sword toward his skull.

"Sizzling sizzling!"

Three hidden weapons suddenly flew out from Jian Liang's sleeves. Chen Fei's sword light spun and batted the hidden weapons down, noticing that Jian Liang was frantically running toward the distance.

Chen Fei's feet flashed, catching up to Jian Liang's figure in just a few steps.

Jian Liang felt the movement behind him, his heart filled with bitterness. He had originally wanted to buy some time so he could unleash his hidden weapons. He never expected Chen Fei to completely refuse to fall for this routine, preparing to kill him without saying a single word.

Where was this the judgment a mere pill refiner should have? It was simply steadier than some veteran underworld figures. After all, when people were on the verge of victory, they inevitably grew slack or even complacent. Yet Chen Fei had none of that; he only wanted to kill people first.

"Spare my life! Name any condition you want!"

Jian Liang shouted loudly, but what awaited him was only Chen Fei's sword piercing straight through his throat. Although Jian Liang wanted to struggle and dodge, he no longer had the strength to do so.

Chen Fei pulled out his longsword. Jian Liang tumbled powerlessly onto the roadside, his eyes fixed dead on Chen Fei, carrying an incomparably deep resentment within them.

Chen Fei met his gaze without the slightest bit of cowardice or hesitation. Those who kill others will always be killed by others—this was Chen Fei's philosophy, and he would definitely carry it through to the end.

If Jian Liang were alive, Chen Fei would not fear him. Now that he was dying, what could a mere gaze do to Chen Fei!

Jian Liang raised a finger, pointing at Chen Fei as if wanting to say something, but in the end, his head slumped powerlessly to the side, completely drawing his last breath.

Chen Fei stepped forward to search the items on Jian Liang's body.

As one of the leaders of that group of mountain bandits, Jian Liang's net worth was definitely not meager. Besides silver taels, Chen Fei also took a great interest in Jian Liang's cultivation technique.

After just a moment, a trace of joy appeared on Chen Fei's face as a piece of cowhide appeared in his hand, densely covered with numerous writings.

Chen Fei could not help recalling the faint sound of crashing waves that had rung out when Jian Liang attacked earlier.

Martial artists generally kept cultivation techniques they had not yet fully mastered close to their bodies. They would not feel at ease leaving them anywhere else. Furthermore, they could take them out to read from time to time to increase their insights and improve their cultivation.

Chen Fei stuffed the cowhide into his bosom and was about to continue searching when a burst of footsteps suddenly arrived.

As Chen Fei lowered his head, his facial features underwent a rapid transformation. The corners of his eyes elongated into phoenix eyes, a few wounds additionally appeared on his face, and his figure silently grew a fraction larger.

"Third Brother!"

A painful voice rang out. Ling HanJun looked on in disbelief ahead as Jian Liang lay on the ground covered in blood.

Earlier, they had broken through the encirclement and split into several routes to escape. On their side, it was just him and Jian Liang together, and they had found a few courtyards to hide in.

If there were any emergencies, they would immediately support one another.

As a result, just as Ling HanJun's side finished hiding, he heard sounds coming from Jian Liang's direction. When he chased out to check the situation, he discovered that Jian Liang was already dead.

Instead of dying at the hands of those bailiffs, he had actually met his end right here.

"I'll kill you!"

Ling HanJun went completely mad in an instant, gripping a broadsword as he charged straight at Chen Fei. Several other mountain bandits also rushed toward Chen Fei at the same time, ready to support Ling HanJun at any moment.

Having been able to kill Jian Liang, Chen Fei's level of threat in their hearts had been raised to the absolute maximum.

Chen Fei took the silver taels from Jian Liang's bosom, glanced at Ling HanJun, and with a flash of his figure, sprinted away toward the distance.

In essence, Chen Fei was still only a Muscle Tempering Realm martial artist. Compared to the Bone Forging Realm, he was inevitably inferior in both strength and reactions.

If not for the swordsmanship technique Immortal Points the Way, it would have been completely impossible for Chen Fei to kill Jian Liang. Jian Liang could have worn Chen Fei down to death through sheer attrition.

Right now, facing Ling HanJun—who was even stronger than Jian Liang—and the encirclement of the other mountain bandits, Chen Fei would have to be out of his mind to engage in direct combat with them here.

"Over there, chase after them!"

The voices of bailiffs suddenly came from behind. Chen Fei's expression shifted slightly as he considered whether to slightly obstruct this group of mountain bandits so that he could subsequently encircle and kill them together with the bailiffs.

Yet immediately, Chen Fei cast this thought aside.

Leaving aside the fact that Ling HanJun was currently consumed by grief and fury and would likely risk the danger of being encircled just to kill Chen Fei first given the chance, let alone the bailiffs—they did not know Chen Fei and would probably lump him together with the mountain bandits to be killed in the encirclement.

Chen Fei's feet trod upon the eaves without damaging a single tile, allowing him to sprint for several meters. This kind of movement technique was enough to make over ninety percent of Bone Forging Realm martial artists blush with shame.

Yet the mountain bandits chasing behind grew further and further away the more they pursued.

Ling HanJun's eyes were bloodshot and he wished he could tear Chen Fei apart alive, but he could only watch as the distance between them steadily widened.

"To the ends of the earth, I will kill you!" Ling HanJun roared angrily, turning around to sprint toward another location.

Pursuing any further would not yield much of a result, and would instead bury the men under his command. No matter how unwilling Ling HanJun was, he could only swallow this bitter pill for now.

Sensing the disappearance of the presence behind him, Chen Fei considered for a moment before dropping down into an alley, where his appearance rapidly shifted while his stature simultaneously shrunk a bit.

A moment later, Chen Fei darted out from another alley and ran toward the direction where Ling HanJun had vanished.

If this group of mountain bandits was not eliminated, Pingyin County would never have peace. What Chen Fei needed most right now was actually time.

As long as he had enough peaceful time, Chen Fei's strength would continuously improve. Killing a Bone Forging Realm martial artist right now still required relying on Immortal Points the Way.

When the time came that Chen Fei grew to the Bone Forging Realm, killing these people again wouldn't need to be as troublesome as it was now. For his own sake, Chen Fei had to make this group of mountain bandits vanish within Pingyin County.

Hanging far behind them, Chen Fei nevertheless lost track of this group of mountain bandits a moment later.

I overestimated myself a bit.

Returning to the courtyard possessing the pill chamber, Chen Fei sat beneath the eaves and looked up at the starry sky.

The last time in the dark market, he managed to keep track of that group of mountain bandits because it was a premeditated strike against the unprepared. But today, knowing they were being hunted, those mountain bandits had inevitably used all sorts of methods to evade detection.

Aside from having the advantage in movement techniques, Chen Fei was actually quite mediocre in both eyesight and tracking ability. If he could still manage to tail them like this, that group of mountain bandits would probably have been caught by the bailiffs long ago.

Should I go find a cultivation technique that enhances eyesight or tracking to study?

Chen Fei felt a bit tempted, but thinking of the tasks currently assigned to him in his hands, he could not help letting out a sigh. In terms of time, Chen Fei's schedule was truly squeezed to the absolute limit.

This matter could only be planned for later when he had a little free time.

Chen Fei fished out Jian Liang's money pouch and opened it up, feeling somewhat disappointed upon inspection. The silver taels they plundered had probably been hidden elsewhere; inside this money pouch, there were only a few dozen taels of broken silver.

If it were in the past, Chen Fei would probably have been quite happy. But now that his alchemy skills had achieved success, these few dozen taels were no longer enough to satisfy him.

Throwing the money pouch into the flames to burn to ashes, Chen Fei opened up the cowhide.