Who would have thought the Old Master had secretly cultivated such a force? It seemed he had long been planning to dominate the Martial World and stand against the Imperial Court.
At the thought, everyone felt a chill run through them.
The Old Master really intended to kill the emperor and seize the throne!
But could he actually succeed?
For one thing, the Imperial City Enshrined were already an extremely troublesome bunch.
And behind the Imperial City stood the people of the Immortal Sect.
Still, the group had had an effect. At the very least, everyone had fallen silent, and not a pin could be heard dropping.
On top of that, the drug's effects had fully taken hold. Everyone could only sit down, a sense of helplessness rising in their hearts.
They were at the mercy of their captors now; they might as well hear what he had to say.
"Now that you're all quiet, I'll tell you what I have in mind," the Old Master began. "I imagine you've already guessed why I want to gather all of you fellow practitioners into one force."
"That's right. It's to stand against the current Lord of the Dynasty!"
The Old Master continued, "I have my own means of dealing with the Dynasty's Qi Condensation Stage Attendants. I've only invited you here today because I want to use your help to gather the forces of the Martial World."
"I imagine you all know that I like people who are straightforward. If any of you want to withdraw today, I won't stop you. But think it through carefully: since I intend to gather these forces, anyone who refuses to cooperate won't be a friend—they'll be an enemy."
Yun Shu pulled a black cloak from his Storage Bag and wrapped it around himself.
The black robe all but concealed him in the darkness as he sat on the roof, listening with great interest.
The black cloak could hide his figure. It was the one he had bought at the market. Though it could no longer conceal his aura, it was still useful as clothing for someone who didn't want to show his face or reveal his identity.
He hadn't expected to see a scene like this here.
The Martial World wasn't about fighting and killing; it was about the strong preying on the weak.
The Old Master wanted to organize these forces from among the common folk and use them to oppose the Dynasty. Though the gap in strength would remain, the number of top-tier experts they could muster might give them a fighting chance. They wouldn't be too far behind.
Otherwise, the Dynasty would have wiped them out long ago.
Still, Yun Shu couldn't figure out what gave the Old Master the confidence to challenge the Dynasty's top Attendants.
The Dynasty had the Myriad Sword Pavilion at its back and possessed immense strength. Had the Old Master found some powerful patron?
Yun Shu shook his head. He didn't dwell on it. Since you have a way to deal with Qi Condensation Stage experts, I'll test it out first.
He hadn't forgotten his own mission, either.
As the Old Master spoke in a loud voice, Yun Shu made his move.
After sweeping his gaze around the room, the Old Master seemed pleased with everyone's expressions.
They, too, were wondering whether the Old Master was insane or had some backing. Besides, they were outnumbered and had little choice but to respond.
"My Peach Blossom Mountain will support the Old Master!"
The Old Master looked toward the voice. They were one of his trusted forces, so they made a fairly good opening act for breaking the silence.
Just as he was about to say something more, he suddenly felt a danger so intense it made his hair stand on end.
Without the slightest hesitation, he reacted on instinct, trying to lean to one side.
But it was as if an immense aura had locked him in place, leaving his body barely able to move.
With no other choice, at this critical moment, he struggled to swing a palm behind him.
Crimson flames gushed from his palm and instantly condensed into a shield.
A dazzling streak of sword light flashed past.
The Old Master stared blankly at his chest. A gaping hole had been torn through it.
His Heart Source had also been pulverized by the powerful Sword Qi.
Boom.
The Old Master slammed heavily into the ground.
Immediately afterward, the many figures in the room saw a blur. In the blink of an eye, they caught only two lightning-fast fists—and two more bodies lay on the ground.
Yun Shu's physical strength was simply too astonishing for Body Refining Peak experts. The two Red-Clad Figures fell, their eyes filled with disbelief.
In the time it took a spark to fly off a flint, all three figures had been slain!
Yun Shu glanced at the crowd, who stared back at him in a daze.
Who was this mysterious man in black?
How could he be so powerful?
Even someone as strong as the Old Master had been killed in an instant?
And what did that make them in his eyes?
At the thought, everyone felt a chill crawl up their spines.
And after assassinating the men, he hadn't left right away. He even dared to search their bodies?
Yun Shu rummaged through the three men's belongings and found a few things.
Two books of Martial Techniques, roughly mid-grade, and the antidote to the poison everyone had taken.
Yun Shu kept one dose of the antidote for himself, then tossed the rest into the crowd.
Everyone immediately scrambled for them.
Some people quickly recovered a bit of their strength and began fighting the Death Warriors.
They didn't quite understand what was happening, but they weren't fools. They had all lived by the blade, and they knew how to read the situation.
Yun Shu glanced at the chaos behind him, shook his head, and headed farther inside.
Since he'd killed the men, he might as well take a few things before leaving.
The three men had carried very little with them, so he'd have to search around himself. What a hassle.
As he went from hall to hall, he didn't take everything he saw. He hesitated over the gold and silver, then decided to pocket some.
Silver really was useful, even if only in the mortal world.
But as he was about to set it aside, Yun Shu remembered how Old Man had spent so much bright, gleaming silver on the sect just to buy him a place as a Menial Disciple.
Now that he had money, he definitely needed to leave Old Man some savings for his old age.
At the thought, he felt a little misty-eyed. Old Man loved money so much, yet for his future, when he'd said, "Old Man, I want to cultivate immortality," his father had brought out a great heap of silver without the slightest stinginess.
Old Man might have loved gold and silver, but he loved Yun Shu even more.
So Yun Shu took some valuables, but not too much.
Next came the things useful for cultivation.
In the storeroom, Yun Shu collected more than five hundred Qi Nurturing Pills, along with three Origin Nurturing Pills.
There were also two more major Martial Techniques, both mid-grade.
Yun Shu also packed about six low-grade Martial Techniques. He might not cultivate them himself; he was more likely to take them away and sell them.
At last,
he reached the Old Master's study.
Outside, the fighting still raged, with flames continually flaring up. It seemed that after today, Dust Avoiding Villa would be no more. Yun Shu only glanced outside before pushing open the door and entering.
On the bookshelf, Yun Shu spotted a bamboo slip and opened it.
"High-grade Martial Skill?" Yun Shu's eyes lit up.
This was definitely one of the biggest gains of the trip.
A High-grade Martial Skill was still useful to him at his current level.
His trump card was Sword Intent, but in ordinary fights, he still relied most on hand-to-hand combat.
The techniques of a Body Cultivator greatly amplified his strength. They trained the body through pure physical exertion, tempering it until it was as hard as refined steel.
That was how he had just used nothing but his physical strength and Thunderclap Fist to take down two Body Refining Peak experts.
He hadn't yet started practicing the Martial Skill paired with the Immovable Diamond Body, but he expected it to be impressive. He shouldn't overlook this one, either. After a glance, he put it away.
There were also several Jade Boxes.
Inside were all kinds of pills.
Yun Shu didn't stand on ceremony.
He swept everything into his Storage Bag one by one.
"What a haul." Yun Shu could barely stop grinning.
As the saying went, a golden belt came from killing and arson. It wasn't without reason.
He even thought that if he ever stopped cultivating, he could join an assassins' guild. He'd definitely leave everyone else in the dust with the number of missions he completed!
No one understood better than he did how to deliver a fatal blow from the shadows.
Before you continue