Zhang Yuan, Late Xiantian Realm

"Yu Ceng had an undeserved reputation. Though he was called the Cloud Hawk, his evasive footwork was the only thing worth looking at. It took me just three to five moves to capture him." Zhang Yuan set the watchman's staff on the table and pulled a stack of paper scrolls from the pouch at his waist.

"These are Baichou Mountain's confessions for the evil they had done over the years, along with some deeds and silver notes."

Great Qin currency was mainly gold, silver, and copper. For large sums, the authorities issued silver notes.

Depending on their value, silver notes came in gold-red, silver-white, and copper-green varieties. All bore hidden patterns and marks. Anyone caught forging them would have their entire nine clans exterminated.

Young Master Tao nodded. He coughed twice, then began counting the silver notes in his hand.

"The employer paid one thousand taels as a deposit, with another three thousand due after the job was done."

"There are one thousand three hundred and sixty taels here in total. The deeds won't be easy to sell; we'll need to go through the Black Market, and we'll probably only get thirty percent of their value. As for this evidence of guilt..."

Before he could finish, the sound of a bell rang out from the front courtyard.

"Why hasn't Chen Wu come today? Those fellows are still waiting for him to teach their evening class." Young Master Tao held several paper scrolls covered in black writing and spoke with a frown.

Yulin Academy had morning and evening classes. The morning classes were literary lessons, taught in turns by Young Master Tao and his clansman Tao Hong, whom the children called Young Master Tao.

The evening classes were martial arts lessons, where fist techniques were taught by Chen Wu from the Martial Guard Bureau.

"I had him accompany some comrades to the Osmanthus Boat for drinks." Zhang Yuan smiled and explained what he had entrusted to Young Master Feng, then said, "I'll teach the evening class. I was the one who taught Chen Wu his Ironclad Fist."

"Oh, right. The old master of the Zheng family has passed away. We'll make a trip to Zheng Family Village tomorrow."

With that, he stood and headed outside.

Watching Zhang Yuan leave the room, Young Master Tao's gaze fell on the watchman's staff atop the table.

"A Xiantian Realm expert famous for many years couldn't even last three to five moves before you. Your martial combat strength is already terrifyingly formidable..." Slowly sorting the silver notes, deeds, and other items, Young Master Tao murmured under his breath, his expression carrying a trace of complexity and envy.

After returning from Fengtian County, he had survived, but his martial path had been severed. He could only become a teacher at the academy.

Zhang Yuan, on the other hand, had displayed unimaginable cultivation talent during the bloody battle at Fengtian.

After returning, whether it was his Martial Cultivation or his cultivation of techniques and combat skills, he advanced a thousand miles in a day.

Even without the chance to enter Martial arts cultivation, it did not affect his understanding and insights into cultivation.

Outsiders did not know, but Young Master Tao and Hu Chunniu were well aware that Zhang Yuan had entered the Xiantian Realm four years ago.

A Xiantian Realm expert not yet eighteen—he was not merely unparalleled in Luyang Prefecture; even across all Great Qin, such people were as rare as phoenix feathers and qilin horns.

Taking out the linen cloth covered in writing from his robe, Young Master Tao carefully unfolded it and pressed his hand over Zheng Qiang's name.

"The brothers' accounts will soon be settled. The shackles binding you will soon be undone as well, won't they..."

A flicker of pain flashed in Young Master Tao's eyes. He covered his mouth and coughed heavily several times, not stopping until his face was flushed red.

"Don't worry. The five years you gave up—I'll risk my life to win them back for you."

Martial arts cultivation was the accumulation of vitality and the tempering of true essence.

For elites, the younger they were, the more they needed to improve at breakneck speed. Otherwise, once their vitality stabilized, advancing further would become difficult.

Yet Zhang Yuan had wasted the period when he could have surged forward most rapidly in this frontier city of Luyang Prefecture, all to ensure that his comrades-in-arms received the merits they were owed.

"Tao Hong." Young Master Tao gave a low shout, and the young man in a scholar's robe outside swiftly entered.

"Brother Yulin." Tao Hong lowered his voice and bowed slightly.

Young Master Tao took out an iron token and set it on the table.

"Yu Ceng of Baichou Mountain has already been eliminated. Go help Zhang Yuan redeem his merits, then take these deeds to the Black Market and dispose of them."

After a pause, Young Master Tao lightly tapped the tabletop with his finger. "Collect the remaining payment from the employer who commissioned Yu Ceng's death. Black Tiger killed Yu Ceng in only twenty moves. He can enter the top hundred of the Elite Ranking."

"Once he reaches the top hundred, I'm afraid Zhang Yuan's identity won't stay hidden for long."

Raising his head to look at Tao Hong, Young Master Tao said gravely, "The Black Ice Platform must find a way to steer speculation about Black Tiger's identity elsewhere."

The Black Ice Platform.

The Great Qin Black Ice Platform, said to have already vanished.

"Yes." Tao Hong clasped his fists, gathered all the items Young Master Tao had placed on the table, then bowed and withdrew.

Outsiders would never understand why he treated his clan elder with such respect.

Nor would outsiders know that he was not a member of the Tao Family at all.

He was an undercover agent of the Black Ice Platform, and the superior officer directly above him was Young Master Tao, seated before him.

His and Young Master Tao's task was to help Zhang Yuan handle all the aftermath.

The Black Ice Platform had undercover agents, shadow guards, and Black Armored Cavalry.

The duties of the shadow guards and undercover agents were to scout information for the black armor, gather intelligence, and handle cleanup matters.

After teaching fist techniques, Zhang Yuan ate dinner at the academy. Having arranged with Young Master Tao to leave the city early the next morning, he carried his watchman's staff back to the small courtyard in Ding Family Alley.

At the alley entrance, many neighbors greeted him with smiles.

The children from before had now become half-grown youths.

Many of the middle-aged people from before now had white showing at their temples.

Before he even reached the entrance to his courtyard, several delighted calls came from within.

"Master Zhang is back."

"Master Zhang."

"Has Master Zhang eaten dinner?"

Zhang Yuan's courtyard was not unoccupied.

On the contrary, two families of commoners who had fled from Fengtian County City still lived there.

The big man guarding the house was named Guo Da. His mother had died of illness, and his home in Fengtian County City had been destroyed, so he remained in Zhang Yuan's courtyard to watch the house for him.

Then there was Old Man Xu's family of four. The old couple were advanced in years, while the young couple ran errands and cooked for Zhang Yuan. They no longer returned to Fengtian County either.

Though the Yan Army had withdrawn from Fengtian County now, no one knew when the next battle would come.

That battle five years ago had left too many people unwilling to return to Fengtian County.

After greeting Old Man Xu and his wife, who were still in fairly good health, Zhang Yuan went straight through to the rear courtyard behind the side rooms.

Guo Da and the others hurriedly withdrew.

Standing in the courtyard, Zhang Yuan set down the watchman's staff and placed his hand on the hilt at his waist.

Shing—

Two long sabers left their sheaths at once.

The saber in his left hand was three feet long, with a narrow blade and a hilt over a foot in length. The saber in his right hand was four and a half feet long, its blade thick and heavy, its blood groove showing a faint red.

Hum—

The two long sabers gave a resonant cry, clear streams of light rippling across them.

Saber Qi.

Though the Saber Qi looked faint, it carried a solid, condensed feeling.

It seemed as though the Saber Qi was about to turn into substance, condensed into part of the blade itself.

With both sabers in hand, Zhang Yuan stepped forward. He held the left saber horizontally and slashed diagonally, while he gripped the right saber in reverse and swept it across with his body.

The man moved with the sabers, and the sabers moved with the man, the twin blades turning into a mass of snow-bright light.

The saber techniques did not have many moves, yet nimbleness and heaviness coexisted within them.

After making three passes, he withdrew the heavy saber in his right hand and reached out to grasp the watchman's staff.

Crack—

The watchman's staff twisted onto the hilt of the narrow saber in his left hand, turning into a nine-foot long-handled battle saber.

With the long saber in hand, a phantom like a mountain range emerged behind Zhang Yuan.

Kill—

With a low shout, he brought down the long saber.

The howling gale carried a shrill screech that seized the soul.

With every saber strike, it was as though mountains collapsed and great rivers surged.

After making three passes as well, Zhang Yuan sheathed both sabers, carried the watchman's staff in hand, and entered the side room.

Within his mind, a cyan phantom slowly dissipated as a Golden Light Screen condensed.

Zhang Yuan

Identity: Great Qin Luyang Prefecture Eighth-Rank Black Robe Guard Zhang Yuan, Black Ice Platform Black Armored Captain Black Tiger, Bounty Hunter Black Tiger, Crimson Fox Caravan commander Red Fox, Lord of Eighteen Green Mountains Strongholds Zhang Erhe

Cultivation: Late Xiantian Realm. Advancement requires 850 Vitality Beads, 360 True Essence Beads, Grandmaster Tribulation, Heavenly Dao Opportunity

Martial Way Cultivation: Mountains and Rivers Move Great Perfection

Battle Formation: Azure Wolf Formation Great Perfection, Tiger Walk Battle Formation Great Perfection

Chaos Space: 3,540 Vitality Beads, 732 Insight Beads, 562 True Essence Beads, 221 Demonic Qi Beads

Chaos Auxiliary Battle: Not Activated

No one in the world knew that Zhang Yuan's cultivation had already reached the Xiantian Realm, only one step away from the Grandmaster Realm of the world's foremost experts.

Even Young Master Tao and Hu Chunniu only believed him to be at the early Xiantian Realm.