Kill Him Then Be Satisfied

At this moment, Bai Ze paid no heed to who was winning or losing in the fighting outside. He kept searching Black Tiger's residence.

He shoved aside every table, chair, and decoration, trying to see whether there was some hidden mechanism.

The room had already been turned into a complete mess, yet he still found nothing.

Just as Bai Ze was about to search more carefully, he suddenly heard movement outside, as though someone had entered.

With a leap, he vaulted out through the window and hid in the corner by the outer wall.

When he cautiously looked inside, he discovered the young gang leader, Black Wind.

Black Wind was covered head to toe in blood. It was impossible to tell whether it was his own or someone else's.

When he saw the chaos inside the house, his gaze became grave. He said, "How is this possible? Could someone have already come here and searched this place?"

"Damn it. It must have been Wolong Valley. They claimed they were helping us, yet secretly took the chance to search for the Innate Cultivation Method."

"No, I can't stay here any longer. Father is already dead. No matter what happens outside, they won't let me go."

Apparently, after giving it only a little thought, Black Wind believed he had figured everything out.

After all, his father, Black Tiger, was now dead, while he still held the Innate Cultivation Method. Whether he handed it over or not, death would be hard to escape.

Thus, there was only one way now: leave Changqing County immediately and never return before gaining absolute strength.

Upon hearing this outside the window, Bai Ze's heart jolted.

He had not expected that even with Pang Feilong's help, the Old Gang Leader Black Tiger had still failed to escape death.

As for what had caused such an outcome, that was not something he needed to consider right now.

After glancing around the room, Black Wind walked straight to Black Tiger's bed and bent down.

Though Bai Ze could not see what mechanism Black Wind had pressed, the stone wall beside the bed suddenly opened.

Seeing this, Bai Ze sighed inwardly. No wonder he had been unable to find the mechanism for the secret chamber—it had been beneath the bed.

Whoosh!

"Who's there?!"

Just as Bai Ze spotted the secret chamber and leaped inside with his sword in hand, Black Wind noticed him as well.

But the moment Black Wind turned around, he felt a pain in his neck. All strength left his body, and he dropped to one knee as blood continuously spilled from his mouth.

Pointing at Bai Ze, his eyes were filled with disbelief and unwillingness. He had never imagined it would be Bai Ze.

But with things having come to this, Black Wind had no power to turn the tide. His life force swiftly faded, and he collapsed into a pool of blood.

Bai Ze expressionlessly glanced at him. Without wasting a moment, he walked directly into the secret chamber.

The instant he entered, a dazzling light filled Bai Ze's eyes.

Inside the secret chamber, vast amounts of gold and silver had been piled into small mountains, along with all kinds of precious antiques, paintings, and scrolls.

Bai Ze's expression did not change at the sight. He had no interest whatsoever in this mountain of wealth and immediately began searching through the chests nearby.

More than a minute later,

He found more than twenty martial arts manuals in one chest, along with a large number of Silver Notes.

After briefly looking through them, Bai Ze muttered, "No, could the Innate Cultivation Method not be here? Or has Black Tiger been carrying it on him all along?"

"But that shouldn't be right either. If he carried it on him, what if Pang Feilong suddenly made a move to seize it?"

"But if it isn't here, then it must have been hidden somewhere."

With that thought, Bai Ze could no longer concern himself with anything else. He began searching the secret chamber once more.

With a forceful strike of his palm, he sent a chest flying, smashing the mountains of gold and silver until they scattered everywhere. Yet he still found nothing.

If that was the case, then the Innate Cultivation Method simply was not fated to be his.

After all, someone could enter here at any moment. Bai Ze did not dare delay, and he picked up a chest beside him, preparing to leave.

But after taking only a few steps, he inadvertently noticed what seemed to be a painting of a black tiger descending the mountain above the secret chamber's entrance.

A smile appeared on Bai Ze's face. He leaped into the air and tore it down.

Sure enough, he found a small chest behind the painting. Inside it was a copy of the Three Yang Qi Refining Art.

Bai Ze was instantly overjoyed. Before he could examine it closely, he stuffed it into his robes and quickly walked out.

The moment he exited the secret chamber, he struck with his left palm and shut its door once again.

Just as he was preparing to leave, he spotted quite a few black-clothed men rushing in through the window.

Bai Ze did not linger. With several rapid leaps, he swiftly departed.

Less than two minutes after he left, Pang Feilong rushed in with his men.

Seeing the wrecked room and Black Wind's corpse lying in a pool of blood, he could only rage helplessly.

After coming outside, Bai Ze leaped onto the eaves at the side of the main hall and hid there, watching the situation not far below.

Corpses covered the ground. The brothers Black Panther and Scarred Leopard had been killed by someone unknown and lay in pools of blood, with half their heads chopped away.

Had Bai Ze not been familiar with them, he likely would have found it difficult to recognize them.

But after this great battle, the Black Tiger Gang would likely cease to exist.

Aside from that, only two groups remained in the courtyard: the Ten Thousand Blades Sect led by Song Kai, and the constables led by Qin Ming.

In comparison, however, the Ten Thousand Blades Sect had far more people than the constables.

Song Kai, standing not far below, paid no attention to his injuries. Staring coldly at Qin Ming, he said, "I truly didn't expect that you had also broken through to the Blood Changing Realm."

"But judging by the looks of it, you must have broken through only recently. You should know that even within the Blood Changing Realm, there are differences. I'll give you a chance to abandon darkness and turn toward the light."

"After all, that dog of a county magistrate isn't even a martial artist. Why should you sell your life for him?"

"As long as you kill him and take his place, Changqing County will become the world of the two of us."

Clearly, Song Kai did not truly intend to spare Qin Ming. He was merely stalling for time.

Once his son, Song Nanjun, returned after chopping off the county magistrate's head, no matter what choice Qin Ming made, the constables behind him would certainly not continue risking their lives for a dead man.

Yet Song Kai did not know that Qin Ming might be able to wait for the county magistrate, but he would absolutely not be able to wait for his son.

Qin Ming inwardly sneered at those words, though his expression remained unchanged. He, too, was stalling for time as he waited for the county magistrate to arrive.

After all, he had exchanged only a few moves with Song Kai earlier, but he already knew that he was no match for him.

However, once the county magistrate arrived, the two of them joining forces would surely kill Song Kai.

Qin Ming looked at him expressionlessly and said with a cold laugh, "Heh, do you believe your own words? By then, I'd be nothing more than a thorn in your eye and a nail in your flesh!"

"Split Changqing County equally? I'm afraid you'd only want to kill me before you could finally rest satisfied!"