A man sat at home, and an entire fortune fell from the sky!
Even Shi Feizhe hadn't expected that, after the Sun Moon Radiance Sect inexplicably went mad and turned on itself, its reserve disciples would actually benefit from it!
If the Sun Moon Radiance Sect really had only these two so-called reserve disciples left, then inheriting the sect wasn't impossible!
Especially since Shi Feizhe had already passed the entrance exam and mastered the Sun Moon United Heart Art.
But that was too unlikely. Fan Jianqiang had only been joking.
Still, a joke wouldn't stop Fan Jianqiang from dragging Shi Feizhe along to loot corpses after Sun Moon Radiance Sect disciples were killed.
That was scavenging.
And why bring Shi Feizhe?
"Jianghu rules: we split everything we find. Don't say I don't look after you, little brother!"
"...Brother Fan, you're truly generous!"
Sun Moon Radiance Sect disciples were quite wealthy. So wealthy, in fact, that even Shi Feizhe had grown puffed up from scavenging, feeling like he was getting a little rich!
Hard work really did make you rich. It wasn't an empty saying.
Today, while scavenging, the two of them had found a palm-sized jade pendant worth a fortune on one of the bodies. Fan Jianqiang said he'd hold on to it for now; once they found more, they could divide everything according to its value. That would be fairer.
Shi Feizhe nodded. He reckoned Fan Jianqiang had at least reached the Zhou Tian level, making him a formidable master even in Qiu Yang City. He said, "Brother Fan, with your profound cultivation, do you really care about this little bit of money?"
"What do you mean, little bit of money!" Fan Jianqiang said. "The Sun Moon Radiance Sect curries favor with Lan Xuan by sending women to fawn over him, then takes on the city's construction work. They're one of the few wealthy sects in Qiu Yang City! Their disciples are all worth a pretty penny!"
"They're much better off than people like me, wandering the jianghu! After all, I don't have a sect leader who grovels to other people," Fan Jianqiang said with a cold laugh.
"Maybe they're just hard up?" Shi Feizhe said.
"Heh... they just can't stomach the hardship of being poor!"
"Everyone has their own way of living. Maybe he even thinks he's doing something great for his sect!"
"Who knows! Come on, there's another fight over there! Let's see who it is this time!" Fan Jianqiang's ears twitched as he heard the sounds of fighting in the distance.
The two crept over to the scene and saw someone land a thudding punch on the heart of Yin Tieyan, the thick-browed man. Yin Tieyan's chest caved in, and he collapsed, spitting blood. His attacker leaped away.
"So this time it's the thick-browed guy!" Shi Feizhe couldn't help saying after the others had gone.
In recent days, Sun Moon Radiance Sect disciples, once visible everywhere, had become a rare sight.
"Once you enter the jianghu, it's as deep as the sea. No one gets away!" Fan Jianqiang said with a sigh, hurrying over to Yin Tieyan to start scavenging.
"Y... you... you..." Yin Tieyan had taken a punch to the heart, yet he still wasn't dead. His crazed eyes suddenly cleared, and he recognized Fan Jianqiang and Shi Feizhe.
Especially Shi Feizhe.
When had things started going wrong with the sect?
It was after Shi Feizhe demonstrated the No Thought Divine Separation Art!
First, the sect leader changed and defeated the vice sect leader. Then the sect leader ordered all of them to cultivate the No Thought Divine Separation Art.
If they didn't cultivate it, the sect rules would deal with them. If they were too slow, the sect rules would deal with them.
In the chaos that followed, the vice sect leader's disciples launched a surprise attack and slaughtered them. Fortunately, they had more people. After losing quite a few, they managed to drive their attackers back. Maybe the deaths of their fellow disciples had turned their grief into strength; the survivors all mastered the No Thought Divine Separation Art with surprising ease!
After that came endless battles and slaughter!
He couldn't remember how many of his former senior and junior brothers—the vice sect leader's disciples—he had killed. Nor did he know how many were left by his side.
All he remembered was that he had to kill the other side and avenge his brothers.
The days of placing bets on both sides were long gone. All he remembered was the ecstasy after each slaughter, the exhilaration of venting all his resentment!
To hell with scheming! To hell with picking sides! I want every last one of you dead!
And in the end, death had come for him, too.
As death drew near, he thought back over everything and finally saw the root of the problem.
"You..." His eyes widened. He tried to raise a hand and speak, but he had no strength left. His lifted hand fell back down.
He was dead.
His eyes remained open.
"What about me?" Shi Feizhe was baffled. Why did it seem like the thick-browed guy had wanted to tell him something?
"He's probably grateful to you," Fan Jianqiang said, patting Yin Tieyan. Then his expression changed, and he held up a single piece of silver. "This guy's a pauper! He's only got two taels of silver on him!"
"No way! There are people this poor in the Sun Moon Radiance Sect? He even kindly advanced me ten taels of gold!" Shi Feizhe said in surprise.
"That's true!" Fan Jianqiang searched him again. "What rotten luck! Maybe he just didn't bring any money today!"
Shi Feizhe checked, too. The man really was as broke as a pauper. He said helplessly, "Rotten luck indeed!"
"They're fighting again!" Fan Jianqiang looked toward the distance. This time, he didn't need to say anything; Shi Feizhe had seen it, too.
Green, red, black, and blue spheres—an entire riot of colors.
"It's Leng Qingqiu and Leng Qianye!" Shi Feizhe recognized the four gaudy, colored bulbs.
Wasn't the Sun Moon Radiance Art supposed to let you shoulder the sun and moon once mastered? What were all those green and red things? Shi Feizhe was genuinely puzzled.
Amid the thunderous clashes, it seemed two people were speaking.
"...Little brother, this time you're going to die! We've already made our decision!"
"Elder brother! We've seen the truth! We'll surpass you and reach the True Person Realm! First we'll beat you to death, then that beast Lan Xuan..."
"Heh... no. We'll kill Lan Xuan ourselves!"
"Mad Moon Palm!"
"Solar Eclipse Palm!"
A red moon and a black sun collided in the sky, while the two brothers traded punches and kicks.
"Why are those two fighting again?" Fan Jianqiang had pulled Shi Feizhe into a corner at just the right distance for watching.
Fan Jianqiang really knew how to pick a spot. No wonder he was always watching the excitement!
"They're at each other's throats. One of them is bound to die!" Fan Jianqiang watched them with interest. "Those two have actually touched the threshold of the True Person Realm! Incredible!"
"What's so incredible about that?"
"For people like them to touch the threshold of the True Person Realm!" Fan Jianqiang muttered to himself.
"Brother Fan, Brother Shi, we meet again!" Suddenly, a clear voice came from the top of a wall nearby.
The man wore a long white robe and a square cloth cap. He held half a watermelon in his hand, and the whole getup looked utterly incongruous.
Shi Feizhe knew him. His name was Chen Yulou, and he styled himself Qiu Yang City's number one spoiled rich kid. Like Fan Jianqiang, he loved watching the excitement.
They'd met before, so they were old acquaintances by now.
"So it's Brother Chen! What a pleasure! What kept you so late today?"
"Ah, watermelons were hard to come by today, so I'm late," Chen Yulou said with a shake of his head.
These three chapters were a bit of a mess. I hit a bit of a block while writing them.
Before you continue