Killing

Bang! Bang! Bang!

A barrage of heavy pounding erupted at the door.

"Who is it?!"

Hearing the pounding, Uncle Fu called out as he hurried over to open the door. The moment he saw Tian Dazhuang and the other man standing outside, his heart tightened. Yet he put on a flattering smile and said:

"So it's Master Tian. I didn't know you would be gracing us with your presence. What brings you here?"

As the new boss of this neighborhood, Tian Dazhuang was naturally known to Uncle Fu. He also knew that Tian Dazhuang had now attached himself to the Sun Family. Though he did not know why the two had come, they clearly did not mean well.

Bi Changsheng had naturally heard such a commotion as well. However, his current identity was rather sensitive, so he remained in his room instead of going out. Moreover, he shared Uncle Fu's judgment—their visitors had come with ill intent.

Bi Changsheng went to the wall, took down the longsword hanging there, then walked to the doorway and quietly listened to the sounds in the courtyard, ready to strike when the opportunity arose.

"You old man, don't you know any manners? How dare you leave my big brother standing outside to talk?"

Before Tian Dazhuang could speak, Ding San began berating Uncle Fu. Afterward, he gave Uncle Fu a hard shove that sent him staggering back again and again. Then the two of them forcibly entered the courtyard.

"Father, what happened?"

Hearing the commotion, Liu Zhengqing came out as well. He hurried forward to support Uncle Fu, who was on the verge of falling, and asked with concern.

"It's nothing. Master Tian rarely visits our home. Hurry and pay your respects to him."

"This is my useless son. I hope he hasn't offended either of you, Masters."

After steadying himself with Liu Zhengqing's support, Uncle Fu gave Liu Zhengqing a meaningful look before continuing to speak to Tian Dazhuang and Ding San.

When Liu Zhengqing appeared, Ding San also shot Tian Dazhuang a look, confirming that Liu Zhengqing was the target he had been watching and that they had not come to the wrong place.

"I recently received word that you are harboring remnants of the Demon Sect here, so I came specifically to investigate."

After confirming it, Tian Dazhuang casually came up with an excuse. Yet he had not expected that his offhand remark would accidentally strike true.

"My son and I have always kept to ourselves and lived honestly. We would never commit such a heinous, treasonous act as harboring remnants of the Demon Sect, Master Tian."

The moment those words were spoken, both Uncle Fu and Liu Zhengqing felt a trace of panic. Still, the seasoned and steady Uncle Fu was the first to react, hurriedly protesting his innocence.

"I saw with my own eyes that this brat bought medicinal herbs several times. None of you are sick, so something is obviously wrong. Whether you're hiding anyone isn't for an old man like you to decide. We'll know once we search the place."

Unlike Tian Dazhuang, who had merely made up an excuse, Ding San did not even bother pretending. He bluntly exposed their true purpose.

Upon hearing Ding San's words, Uncle Fu and Liu Zhengqing understood that they had flaunted their wealth and drawn the two men's covetous eyes. But Bi Changsheng was inside the room. There was absolutely no way they could let them search it.

Ding San did not care what the two were thinking. As soon as he finished speaking, he made to enter the room and search it. In his eyes, with Tian Dazhuang present, Uncle Fu and Liu Zhengqing would never dare resist. Nothing could possibly go wrong.

Seeing Ding San about to enter the room, Uncle Fu panicked and used his body to block his path.

"You rotten old man, are you trying to resist?"

Seeing Uncle Fu attempt to stop Ding San, Tian Dazhuang immediately flew into a rage. In his eyes, Uncle Fu and Liu Zhengqing were nothing more than two ants, ordinary people who could only be slaughtered at his whim. Now those ants dared to resist—they were slapping him across the face.

Besides, Tian Dazhuang had never intended to spare Uncle Fu or Liu Zhengqing in the first place. The only reason he had not acted the instant he entered was to prevent the two from hiding their money somewhere they could not find it.

Keeping them alive for the moment would allow him to interrogate them later. In Tian Dazhuang's heart, he had already sentenced Uncle Fu and Liu Zhengqing to death.

Now that Uncle Fu looked ready to block them even at the cost of his life, Tian Dazhuang became even more convinced of what Ding San had said.

But Uncle Fu dared to obstruct him, clearly giving Tian Dazhuang no face. Whoever offended him should not expect an easy time. Though death could be avoided, punishment could not. Tian Dazhuang decided to teach Uncle Fu a lesson first.

Tian Dazhuang circulated his force into his palm and struck at Uncle Fu.

"Stop!"

Watching from inside, Bi Changsheng noticed that Tian Dazhuang was about to make his move. He decided to hide no longer, stepped out of the room, and loudly stopped him.

The instant Bi Changsheng emerged from the room and spoke, Tian Dazhuang's gaze snapped toward him. At first, he was surprised that Ding San's information had been wrong—that there was actually a third person here. But once he saw Bi Changsheng's face clearly, shock flooded his heart. The palm that had been swinging toward Uncle Fu stopped stiffly in midair.

Though the Bi Family's eldest young master was not known by every soul in Lin'an City, Tian Dazhuang had happened to see him before. He also knew that the Bi Family's eldest young master could not practice martial arts because of his body.

Now, the Bi Family's eldest young master was jointly wanted by Lin'an City's three great powers on charges of colluding with the Demon Sect, with a bounty of three thousand taels still hanging over him.

"Uncle Fu, are you alright?"

After stepping out, Bi Changsheng saw Tian Dazhuang standing there in a daze and roughly guessed what he was thinking. However, Bi Changsheng ignored him and walked straight over to Uncle Fu and Liu Zhengqing, asking with concern.

"We're fine. Young Master, why did you come out?!"

Seeing Bi Changsheng appear, Uncle Fu asked anxiously. Though he knew Bi Changsheng had become an official martial artist half a month ago, Bi Changsheng had been an ordinary person before that and had no experience fighting. Uncle Fu feared that he would not be able to handle Tian Dazhuang.

"Don't worry. Leave everything to me."

Bi Changsheng was extremely confident in handling this situation. He smiled as he comforted Uncle Fu and Liu Zhengqing.

While chatting with Uncle Fu and the others before, Bi Changsheng had heard about Tian Dazhuang. He knew Tian Dazhuang was merely a martial artist who had just broken through to the early Skin Refining Realm. Even when Bi Changsheng had first crossed over, he had been confident he could defeat him, let alone now, after half a month of grueling cultivation had greatly increased his strength.

After snapping out of it, Tian Dazhuang was overwhelmed with wild joy. He had never expected that the excuse he had casually blurted out would turn out to be true.

"Bi Family's eldest young master, you remnant of the Demon Sect! You actually dared to show yourself so openly in broad daylight, and I happened to run into you."

"Ha ha! I, Tian Dazhuang, am truly favored by Heaven!"

"You're so sure you have me in the palm of your hand?"

Bi Changsheng replied with a light laugh.

"The fact that you, Young Master Bi, can't practice martial arts because of your body isn't some great secret. I'm a Skin Refining Realm martial artist. Dealing with three ordinary people like you would be as easy as turning my hand over. I advise you to surrender without resistance and spare yourself the pain of flesh and blood."

"This towering fortune was meant to be mine! Hahaha..."

As he spoke, Tian Dazhuang was already imagining himself escorting Bi Changsheng to collect the bounty. Accomplishing this would also strengthen his position in the Sun Family. With the three thousand taels in reward money and the Sun Family's support, both his martial arts and status would rise to new heights.

"I don't think you can hold onto this fortune."

Bi Changsheng no longer intended to waste words with them. After speaking, he activated the movement technique paired with Thirteen Swords of Qingfeng, the Qingfeng Sword Steps, and drifted toward Tian Dazhuang. At the same time, the longsword in his hand danced, instantly transforming into thirteen chilling sword shadows that formed a Sword Shadow Storm and swept down upon Tian Dazhuang.

Immersed in his fantasies, Tian Dazhuang was startled by the sword shadows filling the sky. He frantically struck back, managing only to shatter one sword shadow before the others descended upon him, leaving slash after slash across his body.

Two of those wounds were on Tian Dazhuang's neck and chest, taking his life.

Force flowing through the entire body—the Bone Forging Realm. Thirteen swords unleashed—Thirteen Swords of Qingfeng at great mastery. How is this possible?

Those were Tian Dazhuang's final thoughts. Then, carrying endless confusion, he fell.