Wang Er: Careless, Didn't Dodge

Meanwhile, after Bai Ze left the hall, he could sense the fury burning in Black Panther's heart, but he paid it no mind.

After all, while they fought each other to the death, he was merely fishing in troubled waters.

If not for certain matters, Bai Ze would likely have already left this place.

After making arrangements for the gang members below, he returned to his residence and continued cultivating.

In the dead of night,

a figure flipped over the wall. Bai Ze was sitting in the courtyard, as though he had known the man was coming.

Bai Ze calmly glanced at him and said with a sigh, "Deputy Hall Master Wang, why aren't you staying properly in your Snake Hall? Why insist on seeking your own death?"

"Heh heh."

Seeing that he had already been recognized, the man stopped hiding and tore the black cloth from his face. He was none other than Wang Er, the man who had led the group during the day.

He spoke coldly, "You knew I would come tonight?"

"Yes."

Bai Ze rose to his feet and nodded without concealing anything. "I sensed it back then. You wouldn't give up."

"Besides, I'm the Deputy Hall Master of Leopard Hall, practically Black Panther's right-hand man. You're irreconcilable with him like fire and water. Was that difficult to guess?"

"I just didn't expect you to act so quickly. I thought you would prepare for a few days and come only once you were absolutely certain."

"Ha ha ha ha!"

Wang Er burst into laughter. He looked at Bai Ze with a contemptuous yet vicious gaze, as if he had heard the funniest joke in the world.

He said icily, "I need to prepare to kill you? Are you worthy?"

Whoosh!

As he spoke, he shot forward, gripping the steel saber in his hand and hacking down viciously as though he could split mountains and cleave the earth.

After all, with his Late Viscera Refining Realm strength, killing a martial artist who had only recently broken through to the Viscera Refining Realm should have been effortless.

Wang Er was incredibly fast. In the blink of an eye, he had reached Bai Ze.

To Wang Er, Bai Ze's motionless stance made it seem as though Bai Ze had yet to react to such a ferocious attack.

Whoosh!

But just as Wang Er's saber reached above his head, Bai Ze suddenly drew his sword. His Profound Realm Sword Drawing Technique was swift as lightning, stabbing straight at Wang Er's vital point.

After a sharp sword cry, a bloody line appeared across Wang Er's neck.

His hands could no longer exert any strength, and his saber froze in midair.

Just as he tried to say something, blood burst from the wound in his neck. Even in death, he could hardly believe it.

With his strength, he should have been able to dispose of Bai Ze with ease. He had never expected such an ending.

Bai Ze sheathed his sword and coldly watched Wang Er collapse into a pool of blood, without the slightest surprise on his face.

Only because Wang Er had been careless had Bai Ze been given the chance to kill him with a single sword strike.

Otherwise, with Wang Er's strength, and with Bai Ze being in the same Late Viscera Refining Realm even with a Profound Realm Sword Drawing Technique, it would not have been so easy.

After cleaning up the courtyard, Bai Ze acted as though nothing had happened.

As for the person behind Wang Er, they likely would not live to see him return after completing his task.

Over the following days, as the old gang leader's retirement and the new gang leader's succession drew nearer, not only was the Black Tiger Gang unusually quiet—even all of Changqing County was especially calm.

It was as if everyone were standing atop a pile of explosives that could detonate at any moment.

None of this had much impact on Bai Ze. However, more than twenty men in black had appeared on Leopard Hall's side yesterday, personally arranged by Scarred Leopard.

Though Bai Ze did not know their exact strength, they were undoubtedly first-rate experts.

If nothing unexpected happened, these were the trump cards Black Panther had prepared for the coming struggle over the position of gang leader.

It seemed Black Panther did not merely want the gang leader's position—he wanted to completely control the Black Tiger Gang.

Though Bai Ze had grown vigilant inwardly, nothing changed on the surface.

Just as usual, after arranging the gang members below, he hid in his courtyard to cultivate and never went out.

At the same time,

Bai Ze had now mastered all four moves of the Star Point Swordplay.

Holding his longsword, he rapidly performed the swordplay in the courtyard.

First sword: Lamplight Shine. Amid layers of real and illusory sword shadows, a glint of cold light flashed through them, like a lamp burning in the darkness.

Second sword: Starlight Beacon. It was several degrees faster than the first sword, like stars filling the heavens in an endless stream.

Third sword: Sparks Set Prairie Ablaze. Once unleashed, it was as though all the illusory sword shadows had become real, making truth and falsehood impossible to distinguish.

Just as Bai Ze wanted to unleash the fourth sword, the muscles in his arm tightened, and a tearing pain forced him to stop.

Moreover, this was not the first time it had happened. It was as though he simply could not perform this move with his current condition.

Bai Ze thought to himself, It seems it isn't an issue with talent, but that my current body's strength is insufficient to unleash it.

Although this incomplete Star Point Swordplay contains only the first four swords, judging from it, the first three are Houtian Martial Skills, while the fourth has likely already touched the threshold of a Xiantian Martial Skill.

One can only begin learning it at Viscera Refining Perfection. To cultivate it to Minor Accomplishment or even Great Accomplishment, I'll have to wait until I break through to the Blood Changing Realm.

At that thought, a translucent system panel appeared before Bai Ze's eyes.

[Martial God System]

[Host: Bai Ze]

[Age: 15/73]

[Talent: Intelligent Talent (200/500)]

[Realm: Viscera Refining Perfection]

[Technique: None]

[Martial Skills: Star Point Swordplay Incomplete (First Three Swords Minor Accomplishment 37%, Fourth Sword Not Initiated) Sword Drawing Technique Profound Realm (21%), Lightning Step Perfected (13%) Breath Concealing Technique Profound Realm (5%) Mad Bull Body Tempering Fist Perfected (21%)...]

[Talent Points: 197]

During this period, Bai Ze had used the more than one hundred thousand taels of silver he had obtained last time to purchase Viscera Forging Pills for cultivation. He had now reached Viscera Refining Perfection.

Though he had only just broken through, his current strength far surpassed what it had been before.

Based on the battle he had previously watched between the old gang leader Black Tiger and Song Kai of the Ten Thousand Blades Sect,

he felt that with his Profound Realm Sword Drawing Technique and Minor Accomplishment Star Point Swordplay, he could likely contend against an ordinary early-stage Blood Changing Realm martial artist.

Even if he were no match for one, it would not be as easy for them to deal with him as it was to deal with other Viscera Refining Perfection martial artists.

Moreover, his Lightning Step had already been cultivated to perfection, so he had a fair chance of escaping.

It was precisely because of this that Bai Ze felt somewhat safer now, and he was more confident that he could emerge unscathed from the battle a few days later.