"Benefactor, thank you for saving me. May I ask your honored name? When I get home, I'll have my father reward you handsomely."
Huang Xiuxiu looked at Li Xian's handsome face and spoke with a shy expression.
Li Xian stood in front of her, his expression calm as he looked at Bai Shaofei's corpse.
He'd thought Bai Shaofei would be a worthy opponent, but he hadn't expected him to fall to a single all-out strike.
I'm too strong!
Li Xian couldn't help sighing to himself.
Hearing Huang Xiuxiu, he turned to look at the girl on the ground.
"Can your father give me Merit Points?"
"Huh?"
Huang Xiuxiu looked completely bewildered.
She naturally had no idea what Merit Points were.
Seeing her expression, Li Xian said with some disappointment, "I guess not."
Just then, voices came from the woods in the distance.
"It should be somewhere around here."
"Someone just sent our gang's signal. Someone's already rescued Miss Huang."
"Who could be that powerful?"
"My guess is that several Hall Masters joined forces."
"That's the only possibility. Apart from them, no one could beat Bai Shaofei."
The voices drew closer, and soon a large group of Cao Gang disciples arrived in front of Li Xian, carrying torches.
At the sight before them, they were stunned.
"This..."
"I recognize Bai Shaofei and the two Hall Masters lying on the ground, but I don't recognize the two people standing."
"Idiot, that woman is the Huang family's young lady."
"Then who's the man?"
"Don't know. Never seen him!"
"Who killed Bai Shaofei? Who's that man?"
"He looks a little familiar. I feel like I've seen him somewhere."
"Is he one of ours?"
"Probably."
"Steward Li! That's our Steward Li!"
Brother Xin and Wan Cai finally arrived.
Carrying torches, they hurried over to Li Xian, their faces alight with delight.
"Steward, did you kill Bai Shaofei?" Brother Xin asked quietly.
Li Xian shot him a sidelong glance and said calmly, "Who else could it have been?"
"Really?" Wan Cai's eyes widened, disbelief written all over his face.
Even as Li Xian's subordinates, they couldn't believe it at first.
"If you don't believe me, you can ask her."
Li Xian had expected this. He pointed to Huang Xiuxiu beside him.
Everyone turned to look at Huang Xiuxiu, standing off to one side.
"It... it was this... Steward Li who killed him," she said timidly.
After all, she was only a young girl. It was perfectly natural for her to feel nervous with so many people staring at her.
Her words sent a shock through the crowd.
"What? So it really was him?"
"Who is he? Is he from the Cao Gang?"
"He looks familiar, but I just can't remember."
"I remember! I know who he is!"
"Who? Hurry up and tell us."
"Which Hall Master from the Cao Gang is he?"
"No, he's the Cao Gang's newly appointed steward of Kui Shui Pier!"
"So that's him!"
"The extraordinarily gifted Steward Li?"
"That's right, it's him."
"After tonight, I wouldn't be surprised if he became the Cao Gang's newest Hall Master."
That night, Li Xian's name spread throughout the Cao Gang!
That same night, at West Ridge Mountain.
After Bai Shaofei's body had been dealt with and the Cao Gang disciples on the mountain had dispersed, two figures returned to the spot.
They watched the place where Bai Shaofei had died and spoke in hushed voices.
"We thought Bai Shaofei was worth cultivating, but he turned out to be a good-for-nothing. What a waste of effort."
"Well, every cloud has a silver lining. We found an even better prospect."
"Hmph. At least Bai Shaofei was of some use."
"Then it's settled. I'll go back and report to the Master, and begin evaluating that young fellow called Li Xian."
"How should we rate his aptitude?"
"Hmm. One grade higher than Bai Shaofei. Let's rate him Grade A Medium."
"Agreed!"
"You stay and keep observing him. I'll head back first and report this to the Master."
"Fine!"
The wind howled. The two figures vanished from the hillside.
Li Xian didn't do what everyone else expected and use his Merit Points to become the Cao Gang's newest Hall Master.
Instead, he used the thousand Merit Points to exchange for the fourth through sixth levels of the Crimson Sun Nine Songs Mind Method.
The result left everyone dumbfounded.
That included his subordinates, Brother Xin and Wan Cai.
"Steward Li, why exchange them for a cultivation method? You could've become a Hall Master directly!" Brother Xin couldn't understand.
Wan Cai chimed in as well. "Exactly, Steward Li! If you became a Hall Master, you'd be the youngest Hall Master in the Cao Gang's history. What a glorious thing that'd be!"
Li Xian smiled but said nothing.
Being the youngest Hall Master in the Cao Gang would certainly make him famous for a time, but that fame wouldn't last forever.
Brother Xin and Wan Cai still didn't understand. In this world where martial strength reigned supreme, power was the foundation. All other fame and fortune were fleeting as passing clouds.
So what if he became a Cao Gang Hall Master? Without the strength to back it up, sooner or later he'd fall from that position.
Two Hall Masters had died at West Ridge Mountain that night.
Li Xian naturally wasn't going to explain any of this to them.
They had no idea how high the target in Li Xian's heart really was.
Before you continue