Bloodbath at Qingshan

The haul from the cave had far exceeded Ling Li's expectations: a quarter of the Demon Fire Remnant Map, a million Gold Coins, three precious Dou Techniques, a small medicinal field. Of course, there were also the bookshelves, the soil used to cultivate medicinal herbs, the pills that had already turned to ash... In short, Ling Li took everything that could fit into the System Space.

That medicinal garden alone had raised him from Fighting Master Two Stars to Fighting Master Eight Stars. Added to the Gold Coins and those three treasures, it was enough for him to advance to the Great Fighting Master realm.

A Great Fighting Master might not amount to much across the entire Dou Qi Continent, but at least within the Gamma Empire, one could already be considered top-tier combat power in a small or mid-sized city.

Now that he barely possessed the ability to protect himself, Ling Li naturally had no intention of continuing to hide away in the deep mountains and ancient forests. He wanted to travel across the Dou Qi Continent and enjoy his life through adventure. Touring such an extraordinary continent ought to be very interesting.

Ling Li was a thorough egoist. Everything he did was so that he could enjoy life more fully. He worked hard so he could be lazy; he cultivated so that he would not have to cultivate. Killing was merely a necessary process at certain times, nothing more.

Ling Li did not go looking for trouble with the Myriad Medicine Pavilion or the Wolf Head Mercenary Group. With his current strength, even slaughtering all of Qingshan Town would only take a little more effort and pose no danger, but there was nothing to gain from it. Ling Li could not be bothered with such thankless work.

As for the Little Doctor Fairy, Ling Li did not want to have much to do with her either. Everyone had their own path to walk. Well, the main reason was that the Little Doctor Fairy simply was not his type. After joining the herb-gathering party, Ling Li had caught a glimpse of her amid layers upon layers of surrounding mercenaries. She was above average in appearance, and her otherworldly air was a huge bonus, but Ling Li's preference was long, wavy hair. Other than having long hair, the Little Doctor Fairy did not meet a single one of his standards...

Still, this treasure had already been taken by Ling Li. Even if Xiao Yan came to Qingshan Town in the future, there would no longer be any point of intersection between the two. The Little Doctor Fairy would probably remain the Little Doctor Fairy rather than become the Poison Sect's leader...

"This treasure is still here, which means Xiao Yan hasn't come yet. Should I go to Wutan City and take a look? What if I manage to snatch a ring?" Ling Li smacked his lips.

Xiao Yan's personality was not all that great. He seemed a little perverted too—he liked using lollipops to lure ignorant young girls like Zi Yan, liked checking little girls' bodies like some uncle with Xun Er, and was always inexplicably spying on women's bathhouses, such as those of Yue Mei and Xiao Yu. He was also an extreme individualist when it came to the Heaven Demon Phoenix Clan. But Ling Li knew that Xiao Yan was a good person. At the very least, his opportunities were incredibly tempting.

After thinking for a moment, Ling Li kicked the idea out of his mind. Snatching Xiao Yan's ring was far too risky. Xiao Zhan, a Great Fighting Master, would be easy enough to deal with, but Xun Er's guard, Ling Ying, was a Dou Emperor-level existence. Someone at that level could blow him to death with a single breath.

Only after truly coming into contact with Dou Qi cultivation did Ling Li understand just how terrifying high-level cultivators were. Even the lowest-ranked Dou Zhe would be a minor superhuman in the real world, capable of exerting well over a thousand jin of force. At Ling Li's current Fighting Master level, he could use Dou Qi in a manner similar to enchantment. At this level, even ordinary ranged weapons such as bows and arrows could produce effects comparable to firearms once imbued with Dou Qi.

It was said that a Dou Wang could move mountains, while a Dou Emperor possessed the power to destroy nations. Though Ling Li had never seen it with his own eyes, he did not doubt the truth of those rumors at all. Provoking Xiao Yan could very well draw the attention of such terrifying beings. Besides, Xiao Yan was not an idiot. Would he just hand over his mother's relic, that ring, because someone asked?

Sigh, that ring was nothing more than a Yao Chen, a copy of Fentian Jue, and a Mysterious Flame. Any one of them was priceless; Gold Coins, medicinal herbs, and cultivation methods were nothing compared to them...

The more he thought about it, the less appealing the three Dou Techniques, the medicinal field, and the Remnant Map of the Pure Lotus Demonic Flame that Ling Li had obtained became...

"My life matters more. I won't go to Wutan City, but I should leave Qingshan Town first. The closest city to Qingshan Town... Black Rock City!" Ling Li flipped through the map in his hand, his finger stopping at a location marked with a red star.

Unfortunately, Ling Li's imagination was beautiful, but reality differed somewhat from his expectations. He had no desire to trouble the Wolf Head Mercenary Group, yet the Wolf Head Mercenary Group had sent another twenty-odd mercenaries to ambush him atop the cliff.

Had Ling Li not reacted quickly enough, they would likely have cut the rope he was climbing and sent him plummeting to the bottom of the cliff.

He planted Dark Night into the cliff face and climbed to the top inch by inch. Once his feet touched solid ground, the group of mere Dou Zhe-level mercenaries had no choice but to be slaughtered before Fighting Master Seven Stars Ling Li.

"Kill one batch, and another comes. Does it never end? Do you really think I'm that easy to bully?" Ling Li flicked Dark Night, sending blood droplets streaking across the ground in a scarlet line. His gaze toward Qingshan Town brimmed with killing intent.

The kind are bullied, and the tame are ridden. The more one backs down, the more others think one is easy to push around.

When Ling Li stormed into Qingshan Town with murderous intent, he found that the town had become remarkably desolate. Its former bustle was gone, as though all the mercenaries had died out.

Without giving it much thought, Ling Li headed straight for the Wolf Head Mercenary Group.

Only after arriving did Ling Li discover that the Wolf Head Mercenary Group had somehow gathered everyone from the other two major mercenary groups here. The combined number of the three mercenary groups was close to four hundred.

But what did numbers matter? Before absolute suppression of strength, no matter how many people there were, they were merely coming to die.

Holding Dark Night, Ling Li did not even use poison. He hacked his way from the entrance into the main hall as though cutting vegetables.

At first, some mercenaries charged forward without regard for their lives, but they were like butter thrown onto a hot pan. The moment they came into contact with Ling Li, great swathes of them fell.

After a brief clash, fewer and fewer mercenaries from the Wolf Head Mercenary Group remained. Their initial charge turned into hesitation, then fear and retreat, then terror, despair, and an unorganized rout. The expressions on their faces changed as dramatically as Sichuan opera masks, making for quite a spectacle.

Ling Li ignored the fleeing small fry and strode directly into the Wolf Head Mercenary Group's main hall. Looking at the three mercenary group leaders, whose expressions were rather ugly, he said, "Oh, you're all here. Perfect. Gentlemen, could I borrow your heads for a moment?"

When the leaders of the Blood Battle Mercenary Group and Poison Bee Mercenary Group saw that Ling Li possessed such strength, they looked at Mu She with eyes full of resentment. Yet they did not beg for mercy. Instead, they drew their weapons and pointed them at Ling Li.

At this point, begging would be useless. Even if they wished to negotiate, they had no bargaining chips. If anyone was to blame, it was themselves, for coveting the treasure Mu She had spoken of and ending up like this.

But such resistance was destined to be futile. Though the three mercenary group leaders had all advanced to the Fighting Master realm, there were still differences between Fighting Masters. The most direct difference was cultivation level. Even Mu She, the strongest among them, was only a Fighting Master Three Stars—still four stars below Ling Li!

Even a one-star gap was an insurmountable chasm without external means to make up for it. Clearly, these Fighting Masters did not possess a weapon like Dark Night. The most valuable thing on them was probably the Yellow-grade Intermediate Cultivation Method they regarded as treasure.