Success

Zhu Shi, a veteran Late Bone Forging Realm martial artist, truly had some skill.

Despite the enormous gap in strength between him and Bi Changsheng, he had still made an accurate judgment, intercepting several fatal strikes within Bi Changsheng's Sword Shadow Storm. At the cost of severe injuries, he had won himself a chance to survive Bi Changsheng's casual blow.

"My next sword will kill you."

But that was all he could do. Since one strike had failed, Bi Changsheng prepared to attack again.

The pain from his wounds suppressed the fear in his heart, and Zhu Shi's rationality began to return. He swiftly retreated, widening the distance between himself and Bi Changsheng to buy himself a moment to think.

"If I have offended you in any way, Senior, I beg you to be magnanimous and give me a chance to atone."

Zhu Shi pleaded for mercy, while his mind raced as he guessed at Bi Changsheng's identity.

During their exchange just now, he had recognized the Thirteen Swords of Qingfeng used by Bi Changsheng—and at least Thirteen Swords of Qingfeng at the Great Accomplishment Realm. He might mistake other sword arts, but he would never mistake the Bi Family's Thirteen Swords of Qingfeng, because he had recently studied this very technique.

After the Bi Family had been destroyed by the three families working together, the Bi Family's inheritances had also fallen into their hands.

The Thunderclap Sword Technique Zhu Shi cultivated was not of high enough quality and could only support his training up to the Inner Strength Realm. Since the Thirteen Swords of Qingfeng followed the same swift-sword path as the Thunderclap Sword Technique but was of greater quality, Zhu Shi had set his sights on it.

As one of the Zhao Family's martial artists most likely to break through to the Inner Strength Realm, and with a wife from the Zhao Family, he could be considered half a Zhao Family member. After some maneuvering, he had obtained the chance to study the Thirteen Swords of Qingfeng, so he was naturally extremely familiar with this sword art.

The two conditions—Inner Strength Realm strength and Thirteen Swords of Qingfeng at least at the Great Accomplishment Realm—left Zhu Shi racking his brains until he could think only of the Bi Family head, Bi Tiancheng. Yet he was certain Bi Tiancheng had died on the night the Bi Family was wiped out.

Though Zhu Shi had also played a part in the Bi Family's destruction, he was far from the chief culprit. If Bi Changsheng was one of the Bi Family's surviving remnants, Zhu Shi should not have been the first person he sought out.

Besides, no matter how Zhu Shi thought it over, he had not offended anyone recently.

All sorts of thoughts flashed rapidly through Zhu Shi's mind.

Bi Changsheng ignored Zhu Shi's surrender. With his sword in hand, he continued charging toward him. He only wanted to end this battle as quickly as possible.

"I am a retainer of the Zhao Family of Lin'an. I hope Senior will spare my life for the Zhao Family's sake."

Though he knew the chances were slim, Zhu Shi still invoked the Zhao Family as his last lifeline.

Unfortunately, no matter what Zhu Shi said, he could not change Bi Changsheng's resolve.

"Huh!"

Bi Changsheng, who had been rushing toward Zhu Shi, suddenly paused. He discovered that Zhu Shi's aura was rapidly rising. As it grew stronger, Zhu Shi's burly body began to wither, his jet-black hair turned dry and lifeless, and his eyes lost some of their brightness, as though he had aged more than twenty years out of thin air.

"You forced me to this—Jade Burn!"

Driven into a corner, Zhu Shi spoke with bitter hatred. He activated a forbidden technique he had acquired by chance, preparing to risk everything in a desperate strike.

In the end, Zhu Shi's aura stopped at a level equivalent to the Mid Inner Strength Realm. He swung the sword in his hand, turning it into a bolt of lightning as he took the initiative to attack Bi Changsheng.

Looks like I'll have to show some real skill.

Watching Zhu Shi's fierce charge, Bi Changsheng thought to himself. Without the slightest fear, he swung the Qingfeng Sword to meet him.

Sword Shadow Storm blossomed once more. The difference was that after the thirteen sword shadows unfurled, they followed a certain trajectory and merged into one. This was precisely the mark of the Thirteen Swords of Qingfeng at perfection. The lightning Zhu Shi wielded was utterly vulnerable before that overlapping sword shadow, shattering at the first touch.

A cold flash passed through the air, and Zhu Shi was already separated from his head.

What kind of forbidden technique has such an effect?

During their exchange just now, Bi Changsheng had discovered that the forbidden technique Zhu Shi used at the end was extraordinarily remarkable. Although Zhu Shi's final aura was only comparable to the Mid Inner Strength Realm, the power of his final sword strike had nearly matched the full-strength blow of an ordinary Late Inner Strength Realm martial artist. It was already capable of posing a fatal threat to ordinary Late Inner Strength Realm martial artists.

But Bi Changsheng was stronger. Through that battle, he had gained a rough understanding of his current strength. If he erupted with his full power now, he could instantly kill Late Inner Strength Realm martial artists of the same realm.

I wonder whether I could contend with a Qi and Blood Realm martial artist if I went all out now.

But it was only a passing thought. He would not do something as dangerous as fighting above his realm unless absolutely necessary. Crushing others with a higher realm was the bright and proper path.

"Enemy attack!"

"Something's happening! Assemble!"

Within the dozen or so breaths after Bi Changsheng killed Zhu Shi, the commotion they had caused had already awakened the other members of the Renxin Hall Guard Team. They raised the alarm and rushed into the courtyard to investigate.

Knowing he still had matters to attend to, Bi Changsheng put aside his curiosity and turned to walk out the door.

Watching the remaining guards rush over, Bi Changsheng activated the Qingfeng Sword Steps beneath his feet and drifted into the crowd. At that moment, he was like the incarnation of death itself. Every flash of sword light harvested a life completely.

The massive difference in strength left these Zhao Family martial artists unable even to resist. They could only watch helplessly as Bi Changsheng harvested the lives of themselves and their companions.

In fewer than ten breaths, the remaining members of the Renxin Hall martial guard team had also been completely wiped out.

Dealing with the remaining members had actually been easier than dealing with Zhu Shi alone. It seemed the decapitation plan he had made earlier had been correct, Bi Changsheng silently reviewed.

Now that every obstacle had been swept aside, it was time to reap the harvest.

The first step, naturally, was looting the bodies. Bi Changsheng found quite a few banknotes and silver coins on each of the ten members of the Renxin Hall martial guard team, with the greatest amount naturally coming from Zhu Shi.

Pressed for time, Bi Changsheng did not count them carefully, but he made a rough estimate. The amount found on Zhu Shi alone should have exceeded the combined total taken from everyone else.

What delighted Bi Changsheng even more was that he found a cultivation manual titled "Jade Burn" on Zhu Shi's body. He remembered Zhu Shi seeming to shout that name when he unleashed his final sword strike. He guessed this was likely the forbidden technique Zhu Shi had just used.

Though curious about the manual's contents, Bi Changsheng was in no hurry. After flipping through it briefly, he tucked it safely into his robes. He then tore two large pieces of cloth from the bed in Zhu Shi's room, wrapped the banknotes and silver in one piece and slung it over his back, then headed for his next destination.

Fortunately, Bi Changsheng possessed the original owner's memories and was extremely familiar with everything in Renxin Hall. He quickly reached his next destination: the accounts room.

Upon entering the accounts room, Bi Changsheng removed the bundle from his back and opened it, sweeping all the banknotes and silver kept there directly inside. By the time he tied the bundle back up, its size had swelled several times over.

After cleaning out the accounts room, Bi Changsheng continued toward his next target, the pharmacy.

The pharmacy was where Renxin Hall stored its medicinal ingredients. Bi Changsheng's purpose in coming here was self-evident.

After arriving at the pharmacy, Bi Changsheng took out the other, larger piece of cloth and began picking through the medicines, tossing ingredients into it.

Ginseng, pseudoginseng, deer antler, tiger penis...

There were simply too many medicinal ingredients in the pharmacy, so Bi Changsheng could only stuff in the valuable ones and those he could use himself.

In the end, even after layer upon layer of selection, the bundle of medicinal ingredients still reached half a person's height.

"If only I had a Space Artifact."

Looking at the large bundle on the ground, Bi Changsheng muttered to himself. With his current Cultivation Level, the weight of these medicinal ingredients was nothing to him. He simply found the bulk too troublesome.

Next, Bi Changsheng searched through all of Renxin Hall once more. After confirming there were no fish that had slipped through the net, he dragged all the Renxin Hall martial guard team corpses into a single room.

He lit a torch and set fires in several places, then carried one large and one small bundle on his back and climbed over the wall on the side from which he had come.