Star Point Swordplay

At the warehouse on Daonan Street, several men sat around a table drinking.

After taking a gulp of wine, the burly man seated at the head of the table furrowed his brows slightly and said in puzzlement, "Why haven't Xiao Liuzi and the others returned yet? You two, go take a look. Could something have happened?"

"No need, Boss."

"Yeah, are you still worried about Xiao Liuzi handling things? This isn't our first time doing this."

The two lackeys beside him did not take it seriously and replied with smiles.

Yet for some reason, the Boss had a lingering sense of foreboding, though he could not put his finger on what it was.

After all, with seven or eight men launching a sneak attack, there should have been no possibility of an accident.

Could this time's target have been a big fish, leaving them with a massive haul? Had they betrayed him, split the loot among themselves, and fled?

If that was truly the case, he would chop them in half and kill the chicken to scare the monkeys.

The three lackeys beside him could also see the Boss's concern. One of them smiled and said, "Don't worry. Xiao Liuzi might already be on his way back."

"Let's wait a little longer. They wouldn't dare entertain any other thoughts."

"Exactly."

The other two lackeys agreed completely. With their Bone Refining Realm strength, even if Xiao Liuzi and the others had ideas of their own, they would never dare act on them.

Hearing this, the Boss thought it over and felt that it made sense. He immediately set his worries aside and continued drinking heavily with the others.

But none of them could have imagined that the big fish in their eyes had already turned the tables and killed their men, then tracked them here.

At that moment, Bai Ze silently arrived outside the door and peered through a crack to survey the situation inside.

Knock.

Knock.

Knock.

The moment they heard the knocking outside, everyone immediately gripped the weapons beside them.

The men rose to their feet. The Boss gave one of his lackeys a look, signaling him to open the door, while the others remained poised and ready.

"Who is it?"

"..."

There had clearly been knocking just now. Why was there no movement now?

One of the lackeys cautiously walked over. After listening for sounds outside the door, he finally opened it to take a look.

Whoosh!

The instant the door opened a crack, a longsword thrust in from outside and pierced through his throat.

The people inside immediately sensed that something was wrong. Before they could say anything, they saw the lackey from before fly backward into the room.

At the same time, they saw a black figure standing in the doorway with a longsword in hand. It was Bai Ze.

The remaining three men's expressions changed drastically. One of them roared, "Who the hell are you? You dare kill someone here? Are you looking to die?"

"Boss, could this be the person who traded with Xiao Liuzi?"

"To hell with who he is. Kill him!"

There was no time to think any further. The visitor had come with ill intent, so the three men struck first.

As they charged forward with furious roars, Bai Ze moved with astonishing speed. He flew into the warehouse, and a flash of sword light swept past.

Two more corpses appeared at his feet. As for the sole remaining Boss, Bai Ze deliberately stabbed him through the shoulder, severely wounding him.

The man stared at Bai Ze in terror, clutching his continuously bleeding shoulder as he gritted out, "Who exactly are you?"

"You talk too much."

The longsword in Bai Ze's hand flashed coldly, leaving another bloody hole in the man's other shoulder.

Bai Ze said calmly, "Hand over all your martial skills, and I can give you a quick death. Otherwise, you know the consequences."

"You..."

Hearing this, the Boss clenched his teeth, fury blazing in his heart, yet he had no choice.

His strength was far inferior to Bai Ze's. If he refused to speak, he would likely suffer endless torment.

With that in mind, he forcibly pushed himself to his feet and said through gritted teeth, "Fine. Don't you want martial skills? I'll take you there right now."

Clearly, he already knew who the Black-clad Man before him was.

As he spoke, he dragged his severely wounded body backward inch by inch. He opened the hidden door behind him, then suddenly dashed inside.

A cold smile appeared on Bai Ze's lips. He had long expected this.

Whoosh!

Using Lightning Step beneath his feet, he instantly appeared behind the man and gave him a piercing chill through the heart. The longsword had already run through his body.

This was the man's lair. How could he possibly have failed to prepare for such a situation in advance?

It was all to prevent an accident like this and ensure that he could escape safely.

Unfortunately, Bai Ze had already seen through everything and gave him no chance at all.

After dealing with everyone, Bai Ze cautiously entered the secret chamber, wary of traps inside.

Whoosh!

Whoosh!

Whoosh!

Before he had taken more than a few steps, he indeed triggered the trap they had prepared beforehand.

A dense rain of arrows came hurtling toward him, blanketing the entire passageway.

Bai Ze's longsword drew afterimages through the air as he knocked the arrows aside, forcing him to retreat several steps.

After examining the situation carefully, he could tell from the area covered by the arrow rain that the right side of the passage would not be attacked.

It was clear what the man had intended: to use his familiarity with the place to escape while Bai Ze was held back by the rain of arrows.

But he had not expected Bai Ze to act so decisively and give him no opportunity whatsoever.

Bai Ze took one look, then walked through the passage along the right side and entered the secret chamber within.

What met his eyes were four or five chests about a meter long. When he opened them, they were filled entirely with silver, totaling at least over a hundred thousand taels.

This showed just how much murder and plunder the man had committed.

Bai Ze also found the martial skills he wanted here. With only a rough glance, he could tell there were dozens of manuals.

Delighted by the sight, Bai Ze closed the chests and prepared to take everything here back with him.

Before dawn

Bai Ze had already returned to his residence. This trip to the Black Market had truly yielded a full harvest.

Not only had he obtained a large amount of silver, but he had also acquired over twenty martial skills. Though most were ordinary martial skills, three were Houtian Martial Skills.

What surprised him most was one of the manuals, called Star Point Swordplay.

After reading through it, Bai Ze could not help thinking regretfully, What a pity. This Star Point Swordplay is clearly only an incomplete copy. The crucial portions afterward are missing.

But judging from the first four sword forms recorded here, it should have reached the upper or even peak grade of Houtian Martial Skills.

Could it be that this swordplay was not a Houtian Martial Skill at all, but a Xiantian Martial Skill?

Bai Ze had no way of knowing, since he had never truly seen a Xiantian Martial Skill.

Moreover, Xiantian Martial Skills had to be driven by inner force in order to unleash their greatest power.

But no matter what, the martial skills and silver he had gained this time would allow Bai Ze's strength to advance further in the shortest possible time.