Rising Sun Skill

Ji Qing reached into the blood and flesh of his abdomen and pulled out the hidden weapon.

It was a Bone-Piercing Nail.

Blocked by Ji Qing's Internal Force, it had only sunk two inches into his flesh.

"Hmm?"

"The hidden weapon isn't poisoned?"

The blood on the Bone-Piercing Nail was still bright red, showing no signs of poisoning.

Although Ji Qing had slain the Three Freaks of Lingdong with a single slash, he had also been struck by a hidden weapon. Fortunately, it had not hit a vital spot, and the injury was only minor.

Ji Qing crouched down and tore a strip of cloth from the Three Freaks of Lingdong's corpses to bind the wound on his abdomen.

Then he began searching the bodies.

He spared not only the Three Freaks of Lingdong, but also the corpses of the Eighteen Riders of the Great Desert.

There were twenty-one corpses in all, yet he found only a little over a hundred taels of silver.

"People of the Jianghu really are poor..."

Ji Qing shook his head.

Still, he did find a martial arts manual on one of the Eighteen Riders of the Great Desert.

He did not examine it closely, so he had no idea what martial art it contained.

"By the way, Chief Escort Han, is there a bounty on the Three Freaks of Lingdong?"

Ji Qing turned his gaze toward Han Jin.

Han Jin hurriedly shook his head. "Though the Three Freaks of Lingdong are martial artists of the greenwood, they are not wicked men and have committed no great crimes. There is no bounty on them in the Jianghu."

Ji Qing fell into thought.

The Three Freaks of Lingdong looked strange and had eccentric tempers, yet they were not bandits after all.

No wonder the Bone-Piercing Nails had not been coated in lethal poison.

"However, the Eighteen Riders of the Great Desert are wanted by the Government Authorities, and the bounty is quite substantial. There are fifty taels of silver on each of their heads."

"Fifty taels?"

Ji Qing's eyes lit up.

Fifty taels per head—eighteen heads meant nine hundred taels of silver.

That was no small sum!

But he still had a long journey ahead of him, and with Ji Yao in tow, there was no way he could carry eighteen heads.

Ji Qing returned to the temple and held out his hand toward Han Jin.

"Fine, hand over the money! Eight hundred taels will do. The corpses of the Eighteen Riders of the Great Desert are yours, and you can earn a hundred taels from the difference."

"Uh..."

Han Jin's expression stiffened.

In the end, Han Jin still handed over eight hundred taels' worth of banknotes.

After all, the corpses of the Three Freaks of Lingdong were still lying on the ground. Did he dare refuse?

Whether he wanted to earn that "difference" or not, he had no choice but to take it!

"Brother, you're bleeding..."

Ji Yao was nearly in tears.

"A minor wound. It's nothing."

Ji Qing sprinkled some golden wound medicine on himself, then closed his eyes and regulated his breathing.

At the other end of the temple, Miss Lin watched Ji Qing's figure, surprise flickering in her eyes.

"Chief Escort, the eighth-ranked person on the Villain Ranking does not seem as vicious as the Jianghu rumors claim..."

Miss Lin asked softly.

"Miss Lin, Han has traveled the Jianghu for many years and knows well that many Jianghu rumors cannot be trusted. Whatever this Young Master Ji's temperament may be, there is irrefutable evidence that he has committed grave crimes. We should not have too much contact with him. Once dawn breaks tomorrow, we should simply go our separate ways."

Han Jin softly cautioned Miss Lin.

Miss Lin's brows furrowed faintly.

Her Third Uncle had always wanted her dead. Even if she entered the city safely this time, what then? She would likely still have to fight Third Uncle once inside the city. In the end, who would live and who would die was still anyone's guess.

Ji Qing had cut down the Three Freaks of Lingdong with one slash. His strength was formidable. If he were willing to enter the city and lend her a hand, her chances of success would rise greatly!

As for his reputation...

If her Third Uncle could take in the Eighteen Riders of the Great Desert, why could she not take in Ji Qing?

Thus, Miss Lin had already made her decision.

She stepped out from the crowd and approached Ji Qing.

"Young Master Ji, if you can enter the city with me and lend me a hand, I will certainly reward you generously!"

Miss Lin said softly.

Yet Ji Qing seemed not to hear her at all. His eyes remained shut, and he gave no response.

"If you can lend me a hand, I am willing to reward you with three thousand taels of silver!"

Miss Lin moved forward with graceful steps, offering an even more tempting condition.

"Stop!"

"Cross the line, and die!"

Ji Qing did not even raise his head, his tone ice-cold.

Miss Lin's face turned deathly pale.

She looked down at the line drawn in charcoal. She had nearly crossed it.

The man before her was no harmless sort. He was eighth on the Villain Ranking, a great Demon Lord whose name was known across the land!

If he said those who crossed the line would die, then they would certainly die!

"Miss, hurry back..."

The Maidservant hurriedly took Miss Lin's hand and pulled her back into the group from the Weiyuan Escort Agency.

Han Jin sighed heavily. "Miss Lin, Young Master Ji has no interest in your affairs. Do not force the matter. There are still loyal and righteous people left behind by Master Lin in Licheng City. They will surely protect Miss Lin and keep her safe."

Miss Lin looked at Ji Qing with a complicated expression, but in the end, she nodded.

Ji Qing meditated and regulated his breathing for an hour before finally opening his eyes.

He had not been affected by Miss Lin's little interruption. Instead, he took out the martial arts manual he had found on the Eighteen Riders of the Great Desert.

"Rising Sun Skill."

Ji Qing examined it carefully. It was a Third-Rate martial art for cultivating Internal Force, but among Third-Rate martial arts, it should be considered quite exceptional.

This martial art could only be cultivated each morning when the rising sun emerged in the east, making it especially time-consuming.

But once mastered, its Internal Force would be fierce and tyrannical, unceasing as a flowing river. It was far more powerful than the Jadeite Skill, worthy of being called a peak Third-Rate martial art!

Ji Qing had no second-rate martial arts for now. If he wanted to break through to the second rate, he could only cultivate more Third-Rate martial arts.

The Rising Sun Skill met all his requirements.

In the blink of an eye, it was the next morning, and Tiandu was still dark.

Ji Qing woke early.

He glanced at the sky, then sat cross-legged and secretly circulated the Rising Sun Skill, cultivating with the morning essence of the rising sun.

Sure enough, the Rising Sun Skill could only be cultivated in the morning.

Ji Qing had also tried cultivating the Rising Sun Skill the previous night, but he had never been able to get started.

Now that he cultivated it in the morning, however, a thread of Internal Force was born within him before long.

This thread of Internal Force differed from that of the Jadeite Skill. Its quality seemed higher, and it was more overbearing.

After cultivating for half an hour, Ji Qing stopped circulating the skill.

The Rising Sun Skill could only be cultivated for half an hour each morning. Any longer would do more harm than good.

At this moment, another wisp of Rising Sun Skill Internal Force had appeared within Ji Qing. Though his Rising Sun Skill could only be considered barely begun, his Internal Force, which had stagnated for many days, had finally improved by a trace.

This was wonderful news!

As long as he steadily cultivated the Rising Sun Skill step by step, his Internal Force would continue to improve.

Unfortunately, his Origin Points had run out.

Otherwise, he could have used Origin Points to rapidly raise the Rising Sun Skill to great mastery, or even perfection!

Without Origin Points, Ji Qing could only cultivate the Rising Sun Skill on his own for the time being.

How far he could cultivate it would depend entirely on his own talent.

Ji Qing glanced at the people from the Weiyuan Escort Agency.

Both sides had spent the night in the ruined temple, each keeping to their own side. They had remained at peace.

"Yao'er, it's time to go."

He gently patted Ji Yao on the head, waking her.

Ji Yao rubbed her eyes, then obediently climbed into the basket.

Ji Qing rose, carried the basket on his back, and strode out of the ruined temple.

Watching Ji Qing's back gradually disappear, Miss Lin sighed. "This man's martial arts are extraordinarily high. It is a pity that I cannot use him. Otherwise, he would surely help me reclaim my father's estate!"

Han Jin shook his head. "Miss Lin, we have actually already escaped disaster. If not for the Three Freaks of Lingdong and Young Master Ji last night, the Eighteen Riders of the Great Desert could have wiped us out."

"Besides, for Young Master Ji to rank eighth on the Villain Ranking, the trouble surrounding him is likely no less than ours. If he stayed at Miss Lin's side, whether it would bring fortune or calamity is truly hard to say..."

Miss Lin's heart jolted.

That was right. She had only seen that Ji Qing's martial arts were powerful, yet she had failed to realize the trouble surrounding him.

Eighth on the Villain Ranking—how enormous must that trouble be?

"Thank you for the reminder, Chief Escort..."

Miss Lin no longer thought about Ji Qing and continued toward Licheng City with the people of the Weiyuan Escort Agency.