Scheming

"Oh, shouldn't everything be done on a first-come, first-served basis? Why should I hand over what I found on this trip?"

Yang Qingyun gave the other man a deep look,

then spoke in a calm voice.

"Why? Hahaha!"

Zhao Qing threw back his head and laughed, as though he had heard an incredibly hilarious joke.

"Because beneath Heaven, all land belongs to the sovereign. Because we of the Six Doors act under His Majesty's orders to gather the rarest treasures in the world. Everything under Heaven belongs to His Majesty!"

"Because if you refuse to hand it over, you'll die!"

Zhao Qing's face was filled with cold mockery.

"Enough nonsense. What did you find in there? Hand every last thing over to your squad leader!"

"Otherwise, don't blame your squad leader for being discourteous!"

Zhao Qing let out a cold snort.

As the saying went, when the mantis stalked the cicada, the oriole lurked behind.

This was his scheme!

As a member of the Six Doors, he had spent years searching for rare treasures throughout the world, and he understood one thing very clearly: wherever treasures were found, danger was sure to follow!

In the past,

several of his subordinates had died amid the dangers of exploring these strange and wondrous places!

That was precisely why,

when he discovered Wang Zhu's slipup, he had not acted immediately.

He wanted to see

who in this remote mountain backwater had such enormous nerve that they dared spy on people from the Six Doors!

At the same time,

he had another plan in mind.

If the other group was also targeting the mountain god legend in Green Stone Village, then he could simply hide and observe their strength.

If they were powerful, he would directly call for reinforcements from above.

If they were not strong,

then he could let them go ahead and clear away all the dangers surrounding the rare treasures, while he sat back and waited to reap the harvest.

When the time came, he would not only get to freeload on a share of the credit.

If those rare treasures proved extremely valuable, he could even secretly keep them for himself and use them to improve his strength. As for the Six Doors—that worthless organization—it had long since rotted to the core, doing nothing but suppressing the talented. He had already been thinking of leaving!

If the harvest was great enough, he would not mind betraying them and walking away!

And so,

Zhao Qing turned the scheme against itself,

deliberately leaking some of the Six Doors' secrets about gathering rare treasures during their conversation. The next day, he had staged the recruitment of that so-called hunter and villager as their guide, then entered the mountains.

Wang Zhu thought he had outsmarted him,

but in truth, the hunter had already been brought under control the moment they entered the mountains. Under threats and enticements, he had confessed everything, including how he had been bribed.

He had even revealed the spirit ginseng the other party obtained from the mountain god's territory.

That made Zhao Qing even more certain that there had to be a supreme treasure here!

Thus, they had remained hidden and watched from the shadows,

until Wang Xiaoshi brought Yang Qingyun there and hurried to the place where the "mountain god" had descended several years ago, intending to claim the treasure inside before anyone else.

He had seen everything.

With his eyesight, he could naturally tell that Yang Qingyun, hidden behind them, was merely at an unimpressive entry-level stage.

At the time, Zhao Qing thought victory was assured!

Everything would be under his control!

All he needed to do was sit firmly on his fishing platform and wait for those people to enter and investigate, clearing away every danger for him.

Whether they succeeded or failed,

he would be the final victor!

And as it turned out,

things went exactly as he had expected.

After he had controlled Wang Zhu and his son, Wang Xiaoshi, and waited outside for an hour, he saw that there was still no movement inside. He had no idea whether that kid had died in there.

So he decided to test the waters.

And that had led to the scene before them.

He had not expected the other man to come back out alive,

but it did not matter.

A mere entry-level brat—

he could crush him to death with one hand!

"Kid, I advise you to recognize the situation. If you offend the Six Doors, then in this vast world, there will be nowhere left for you to stand!"

Zhao Qing's face was filled with confidence, as though everything was already within his grasp.

Silence descended.

Yang Qingyun sighed.

"I had the wrong idea. Then again, Wang Zhu might be clever, but not long ago, he was only a farmer. How could he possibly have kept watch over a squad leader of the Six Doors—especially you?"

"I was careless!"

Yang Qingyun gave Zhao Qing a deep look,

and what had previously seemed merely familiar could now be confirmed.

The Zhao Qing before him might appear to be only at the Viscera Refining Realm, but in the future, he would be anything but an insignificant figure.

About ten years later, he would comprehend Innate Divine Intent through the Primordial Extreme Overlord Saber and formally advance to the Innate Realm.

Then, for reasons unknown, he would be hunted by the Six Doors. After a great battle with its people, he would escape despite fighting three opponents alone, becoming the thirteenth-ranked figure on the Black List of those wanted by the Six Doors!

Yang Qingyun had never met him back then.

But as a rising star of the martial world, Zhao Qing had naturally sparked much discussion wherever he went,

so even Yang Qingyun, who at the time was merely an ordinary passerby struggling forward in the martial world, had heard of his deeds.

According to the martial world's rumors, Zhao Qing had originally been an inconspicuous squad leader at the Body Tempering Realm within the Six Doors. However, his past achievements had mostly been seized by his superiors, and his prospects had been suppressed.

As a result, he had fled the Six Doors in a fit of rage, taking one of its treasures with him.

Afterward, he had concealed his name and changed his appearance before joining Night Roaming Tower, the top assassin organization in the Chu Kingdom's martial world.

And relying on that treasure, Zhao Qing had undergone Marrow Cleansing and Tendon Changing in the years that followed, greatly improving his aptitude. Then, using Night Roaming Tower's platform to temper himself, his strength had advanced by leaps and bounds!

When he fled back then, he had already been nearly thirty years old, yet his strength had only reached the mid Body Tempering stage. He should have exhausted his potential and been destined to achieve little in the future.

Yet over the next ten years, he had broken through the Blood Changing Realm and the Viscera Refining Realm in succession, ultimately advancing to the Innate Realm!

Such a heaven-defying, fate-altering rise from late bloomer to great master had naturally shaken the martial world.

In particular, the treasure he had taken from the Six Doors—one capable of letting a martial artist defy Heaven and change his fate—had sparked endless discussion,

with countless people debating its origins and imagining what achievements they might attain if they could obtain such a treasure one day.

Many people had even taken action because of it.

Yang Qingyun had naturally entertained similar thoughts back then.

Unfortunately, by then, Zhao Qing had already become an exalted Innate expert, while he was merely a second-rate Blood Changing Realm martial artist.

The gulf between Heaven and earth in strength meant Yang Qingyun had no intention of seeking death.

Later, after the Spiritual Qi Resurgence, Zhao Qing had even advanced to the Grandmaster Realm.

He seemed to have eventually died in a terrifying upheaval, after which the martial world never heard from him again.

"He was, after all, a future grandmaster. Even before he rose to prominence, he must have possessed something extraordinary!"

This thought flashed through Yang Qingyun's mind.

But he felt little fear.

Even if Zhao Qing would become a grandmaster in the future,

right now,

he was merely an ordinary martial artist at the Body Tempering Realm.

Yang Qingyun took from his robes the jade bottle containing the Jade Dew, gripped its mouth, and held it out before him.

"This is what I obtained inside. But how can I be sure that after you get what you want, you'll let me go?"

Yang Qingyun's voice was unhurried, yet his face revealed not the slightest emotion.

At this moment, Zhao Qing's

gaze was no longer on him.

At this moment,

his eyes were fixed on the jade bottle. A faint, jade-green radiance glimmered within it, and through the bottle's semi-translucent jade body, a glistening mass of liquid could be vaguely seen.

His pupils abruptly shrank to the size of needles!

"The spiritual charm is manifesting. This is a Grade Three rare treasure!"