The Golden Rock Sword, One Sword Kill!

The steward of Bamboo Heart Courtyard was a burly middle-aged man nicknamed Xiong San, with twenty or thirty years of martial arts under his belt.

The Medicine Slaves of Bamboo Heart Courtyard appeared to hold lofty status, wanting for neither food nor clothing.

Yet in truth, this steward could freely show Su Hao and the others a sour face.

A few days ago in the dining hall, Su Hao had seen this man discipline a Medicine Slave, utterly unafraid that the man might report him to Lin Zhi Shan afterward.

And Su Hao, who knew the Medicine Slaves' secret, understood their true standing—they were merely humanoid medicinal ingredients.

In some respects, their status was truly inferior even to servants who had followed Lin Zhi Shan for many years.

Name: Xiong San Yan

Realm: None

Talent: Martial Artist (Gray)

Martial Artist (Gray): The instincts formed through over forty years of martial arts foundations and combat grant minor bonuses to combat awareness and reaction speed.

Su Hao stopped Xiong San Yan.

"Young Master Su, what do you need a weapon for?

Alchemist Lin has given you plenty of freedom. You can move about Heavenly Medicine Mountain as you please, and there are no wild beasts in the mountains. If you have a dispute with someone in the courtyard, there's no need to use weapons. What do you need one for?"

Xiong San Yan recognized Su Hao when he stopped him. After all, Su Hao had already become Lin Zhi Shan's nominal disciple.

At that thought, his expression softened somewhat, and he smiled at Su Hao.

"I've practiced my family's swordsmanship since childhood. Before coming to the Golden Light Sect, I always made time to practice swordplay every day.

But I haven't touched a sword for days since arriving here. My hands are itching unbearably."

Su Hao had long prepared his excuse.

With brocade clothes, lavish food, and beauties in abundance here, there was no reason he could not get an ordinary iron sword, was there?

Xiong San Yan flatly refused. "Bamboo Heart Courtyard has its rules. Weapons are not permitted inside. Young Master Su, I'll have someone carve you a wooden sword tomorrow. How does that sound?"

"Steward, I saw you returning with a sword yourself just a few days ago."

Su Hao glanced at Xiong San Yan's waist.

"That sword was a gift from the Master. Naturally, it is an exception, and it carries great significance. How could I possibly give it to you?"

The moment Xiong San Yan heard that, his pleasant expression vanished.

"Not give—lend. I'm a nominal disciple now, while you are Master's servant. In terms of status, I count as half your master, don't I? What's wrong with lending me your sword for a few days?" Su Hao said with perfect justification.

"You... a nominal disciple? Half my master? Young Master Su, you really know how to gild your own face!"

Anger surged up in Xiong San Yan, yet he laughed instead.

Over the years, he had encountered far too many nominal disciples. Of all of them, only one—Lin Miao—had survived to this day!

The rest were lower than dogs!

"How could that be? If Master weren't in seclusion, I could go ask him. He wouldn't refuse such a small request of mine. Do you think he'd say no?" Su Hao asked in return.

"That's because—" Xiong San Yan was about to say that it was because Su Hao had value to be used, not because of his status as a nominal disciple!

He suddenly realized he could not let that slip, and quickly changed course. "Whether the Master would agree or not, I don't know. In any case, if you want to borrow my sword, you'll need the Master's approval first!"

He reached out, intending to shove Su Hao aside.

He began with ten or twenty percent of his strength, yet failed to move Su Hao even half a step. His force gradually increased, until Xiong San Yan's face flushed red and veins bulged on his forehead.

With the several hundred pounds of force in both hands, he still could not shake Su Hao in the slightest!

Su Hao stood as immovable as a mountain. His spiritual power was violent as fire; with only a slight circulation to bolster his body, the strength it unleashed was beyond comparison to that of an ordinary Martial Artist.

His spiritual body made a circuit, then suddenly burst outward!

In an instant, the rebounding force transformed into a heat wave that swept back.

Caught off guard, Xiong San Yan staggered back seven or eight steps.

"You..." Xiong San Yan's face was full of horror. This was absolutely not strength that a crippled Hundred Profound Medicine Veins could cultivate!

Even Lin Miao, who had followed Lin Zhi Shan for more than a year, was still inferior to him in terms of strength!

Yet Su Hao had only been here for a few days?

"Or perhaps, before you came here, you were a highly skilled martial artist?" That was the only explanation Xiong San Yan could think of—Su Hao's foundation in martial arts.

It was said that Qi Refinement cultivators possessed frail spiritual power and weak physiques, often less capable than martial artists with profound cultivation!

Su Hao strode forward and, in the blink of an eye, arrived before Xiong San Yan. He slammed him against the wall in an instant. "I'm not discussing this with you. Give me the sword now. Once Lin Zhi Shan emerges from seclusion, you can report me to him! Or would you rather I break both your hands first and let you suffer a little?"

As he spoke, he made as if to twist Xiong San Yan's arm off.

"Fine, Young Master Su. You'll bear the consequences yourself—consider yourself ruthless! I'll give you the Golden Rock Sword right now!" Xiong San Yan hurriedly agreed. He had tried to break free, but he could not resist at all.

Su Hao released him.

Xiong San Yan shot him a resentful glare, then led Su Hao toward his residence.

Inside the side room, the Golden Rock Sword, decorated with gold and sheathed in a scabbard patterned with dragons, rested atop an altar table.

Xiong San Yan had followed Lin Zhi Shan for over twenty years. Ten years ago, while gathering a century-old spirit herb for Lin Zhi Shan, he had nearly been torn apart and eaten by a ferocious beast.

This moved Lin Zhi Shan deeply, and he gave this Golden Rock Sword to Xiong San Yan.

This sword had originally been an artifact blank prepared by Lin Zhi Shan. So long as a master artificer refined it slightly, it could become a magical artifact.

Its significance was extraordinary, carrying the bond between master and servant.

Xiong San Yan usually wore it at most. Whenever he truly needed a weapon, he rarely used the Golden Rock Sword.

Su Hao crossed over in two or three strides and took the Golden Rock Sword. The moment he touched it, he sensed how extraordinary it was—its affinity with spiritual power was quite high.

Ordinary metal swords might be unable to withstand the violent force of spiritual power and end up damaged.

The Golden Rock Sword had no such hidden danger. Even if it was not a magical artifact, it could still serve as a fine personal weapon for a Qi Refinement cultivator.

Xiong San Yan's eyes brimmed with venom. "Young Master Su, I will certainly report this matter to Master. Just you wait!"

"Hm?" After examining the Golden Rock Sword, Su Hao raised his head and looked calmly at Xiong San Yan. "Just you wait?!"

Xiong San Yan faintly sensed killing intent and instinctively retreated two steps, alarmed and suspicious. "Su Hao! Are you planning to betray Master, betray the Golden Light Sect?! That is a grave crime! You will suffer a torture even more painful than death by a thousand cuts!"

"Heh heh..."

Su Hao gave a soft laugh. Along with it, the sword left its sheath with a clang.

He crossed several meters in one step, his sword moving with him. Sword light, carrying the force of blazing flames, fierce and violent, swept across Xiong San Yan's neck.

Su Hao appeared behind Xiong San Yan, carefully savoring that strike.

Aside from cultivation these past two days, he had practiced the sword techniques within the Crimson Flame Sword Art in his room, using his fingers as a sword.

The moves had already become skilled. Now that he held a sword, the power he displayed had reached the beginner level.

Among Qi Refinement cultivators, Su Hao's strength might not yet measure up, but dealing with an ordinary Martial Artist like Xiong San Yan was no difficulty!

"Your status is scarcely any higher than that of a Medicine Slave. No one will care whether you live or die. In the vast Golden Light Sect, you and I are seen as ants—this cannot even rise to the level of betrayal!"

"Besides, once Lin Zhi Shan emerges from seclusion, whether or not I killed you will not stop him from harming me!"

Blood sprayed as Xiong San Yan's head flew high into the air.

"Talent Power Martial Artist discovered."

"Talent Power Martial Artist absorbed."

Su Hao sheathed the Golden Rock Sword and walked outside with it in hand.

He paid no attention to Xiong San Yan's corpse, leaving it collapsed in a pool of blood in the main hall.

Within Bamboo Heart Courtyard, Xiong San Yan had been the steward, the overseer of all the servants—the highest in status and the strongest in strength.

The other Medicine Slaves lived easy lives, needing only to take Heart Nurturing Pills on time.

Even if these people uncovered the truth, they had no right to deal with it!

Above Xiong San Yan, there was only one person who managed affairs on Lin Zhi Shan's behalf: Lin Miao, Lin Zhi Shan's cave-dwelling attendant and disciple!

Late that night, someone finally discovered Xiong San Yan's corpse.

For the first hour, Bamboo Heart Courtyard was thrown into chaos, and everyone came to watch the spectacle.

After that, things gradually settled down.

Early the next morning, Lin Miao hurried to Bamboo Heart Courtyard upon hearing the news, his expression hard and cold. He had originally planned to keep taking Origin Blood Pills to cultivate!

Looking at Xiong San Yan's corpse, Lin Miao was both startled and suspicious. "This big stupid bear was all bark and no bite. At most, he bullied ordinary servants. He never even dared to step half a pace out of Heavenly Medicine Mountain—why would anyone want to kill him?!"

"Master, last night I saw Steward Xiong together with Young Master Su. They seemed to have argued." After some questioning, a maid timidly spoke of what she had accidentally witnessed in the garden the previous night.