Lin Hanzhi

Elder Fire strode forward, swinging his saber in a fierce cleave. Endless waves of flame formed a fire dragon, illuminating the entire forest.

Whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh!

At this moment, four sword cries rang out.

Ye Kang formed his hands into sword fingers simultaneously, drawing out his True Qi.

He formed the Hundred Flowers Sword Finger, and four sword qi simultaneously pierced towards Elder Fire from the top, bottom, left, and right.

"Not good!"

Elder Fire immediately swung his saber to block one sword qi, but another sword qi had already instantly broken through his defenses and pierced directly into his heart.

The other two sword qi also penetrated from above and below, slicing him cleanly in half.

Ye Kang chuckled helplessly.

"Always acting like a special effects warrior, you don't even have proper defenses."

That's right, the previous saber clash had completely depleted Elder Fire's True Qi, preventing him from condensing it to form effective defenses.

The Hundred Flowers Sword Finger had seized the opportune moment; a single strike was enough to kill.

[Ding]

[Quest Complete: Kill Elder Fire]

[Reward Host with 2000 Comprehension]

"Elder Fire is dead! What do we do now!"

A loud shout shattered the silence.

The disciples of the Golden Saber Sect were all dumbfounded.

Elder Fire, an expert of the Innate realm, was killed. Were they, mere trash, still going to fight?

However, Ye Kang wouldn't give them time to think. A Hundred Flowers Sword Qi shot out, instantly piercing through one disciple after another.

In just a moment, dozens of Golden Saber Sect disciples fell to the ground.

Only then did Ye Kang collapse onto the ground, unable to help but cough.

"Damn it, Innate masters are truly different. Fighting them is so exhausting. Fortunately, I have the Hundred Flowers Sword Finger; this martial arts technique is truly overpowered."

Ye Kang sighed. Even he felt that the Hundred Flowers Sword Finger was too unbalanced. It was definitely not an ordinary Innate martial arts technique.

He wondered what the person who left behind this technique was thinking; they were truly a genius.

Ye Kang's True Qi was depleted, so he could only sit cross-legged on the spot, using the Wood Heart Sutra to quickly recover.

At the same time, he opened his status panel to check his attributes.

"The Hundred Flowers Sword Finger, which I've only just learned, is this overpowered. I wonder what it will be like after reaching Great Perfection."

[Ding]

[Hundred Flowers Sword Finger Great Perfection requires 20000 Comprehension]

"How much?"

Ye Kang was stunned.

Comprehension exceeding twenty thousand? That's too expensive!

There's no way he could afford it now. Even after killing a bunch of people and getting some rewards from the system, his Comprehension had only just passed three thousand.

The Imperial Heaven-Reaching Skill at beginner level already cost 5000 Comprehension.

As expected, the only downside to good things is their price. It's not their problem, it's mine.

A moment later, Ye Kang finally recovered and got up, walking into Elder Fire's tent.

He was an Innate master of the Golden Saber Sect, after all. It wouldn't be excessive for his tent to contain some valuables, right?

As Ye Kang reached the entrance, he heard a muffled groan from inside.

Lifting the flap, he saw a young woman lying on the ground. Her hands were bound, her mouth stuffed with cloth, and she looked at Ye Kang with extreme terror.

As expected.

The elders of the Golden Saber Sect were all cut from the same cloth.

Ye Kang ignored her and began rummaging through his pack.

Several silver notes, a few gold bars. Ye Kang naturally accepted them all with a smile.

Reaching the bottom of the pack, an ancient-looking manual appeared.

"Blazing Blade. This is the saber technique that guy just used. Its power is indeed good, and it's Innate with fire attributes. I can practice it."

Ye Kang flipped through it, and the system notification sounded.

[Ding]

[Innate Saber Technique Recorded: Blazing Blade]

[Comprehending Blazing Blade requires 2000 Comprehension, do you wish to comprehend?]

Ye Kang thought about it and decided against it for now.

It was more important to save up Comprehension to upgrade his internal energy techniques.

After finishing all that, Ye Kang looked at the woman on the ground. She was beautiful, with an oval face, fair skin, and a proud figure.

Ye Kang squatted down and pulled the cloth from her mouth.

"Miss, who are you? Why are you here?"

The woman's face was pale, and her eyes were filled with fear as she said, "I am Lin Hanzhi, who are you!"

"You don't need to know who I am. Everyone here is already dead. You can leave on your own."

Ye Kang was not interested in her and turned to leave.

Unexpectedly, Lin Hanzhi's eyes darted, and she immediately shouted, "Hero, please wait! My father is the Governor of the Prefecture. I have urgent intelligence. Please escort me home!"

"The daughter of the Governor? How did she get captured by the Golden Saber Sect?"

Lin Hanzhi bit her lower lip, her voice filled with pain. "It's precisely because I am the Governor's daughter that I am the only one who survived..."

"I sympathize with you, but I'm not interested in your affairs."

Ye Kang shook his head and walked away.

He only heard Lin Hanzhi cry out in despair, "Liuhe Mountain is going to attack Mengzhou City! The entire city's populace will be massacred!"

Ye Kang stopped upon hearing this.

Liuhe Mountain, the bandits mentioned by Jin Baobei. They dared to attack the prefectural city. This was openly challenging the Imperial Court. Were they too bold?

Or, was the Ninth Princess involved in this somehow...

Ye Kang immediately went back and untied the ropes and released the acupoints on the woman.

"Hold onto me, I'll take you back."

Since it concerned the Ninth Princess, Ye Kang couldn't just ignore it.

Lin Hanzhi did not hesitate at all upon hearing this. She immediately hugged Ye Kang's waist, clinging to him.

Ye Kang used Flying Swallow Ascending Cloud and sped away at an extremely fast pace. In less than the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, they returned to Mengzhou City.

It was not yet dawn. Ye Kang flew directly onto the city wall and set Lin Hanzhi down.

"We're here."

Lin Hanzhi clasped her hands together gratefully. "Please, Senior, come back to my manor with me. This matter is of great importance. Since you are someone from the Imperial Court, please lend us your strength!"

"You know I'm from the Imperial Court?"

"Please forgive me, Senior. When I hugged you just now, I accidentally touched your waist token."

"You are quite clever. Although this matter is important, it is not within my mission scope. However, I can go back with you. In exchange, you will bring the Ninth Princess to see me."

Lin Hanzhi breathed a sigh of relief.

In truth, she was also taking a gamble. After all, Innate masters had incredibly eccentric tempers, and she wasn't sure if she could persuade him.

But since Ye Kang had said this, there was still room for negotiation.

She immediately nodded, and the two of them proceeded to the Prefectural Governor's manor.

The servant at the gate saw Lin Hanzhi and immediately opened the door, leading the two to see the Governor of Mengzhou, Lin Baichuan.

Lin Hanzhi knelt directly, tears streaming down her face.

"Father! Cuiping Mountain is gone. It was annihilated by the Golden Saber Sect and the Sword Worship Sect. My master, martial uncles, and senior sisters all committed suicide to avoid defilement!"

Lin Baichuan was greatly alarmed upon hearing this. "What happened! How did you escape?"

"It was the Golden Saber Sect and the Sword Worship Sect. They colluded with the Rebel Faction and intended to rebel. When my ancestor discovered this, they massacred the entire Cuiping Mountain to silence us. I also heard that the Golden Saber Sect has conspired with Liuhe Mountain to attack Mengzhou City tomorrow!"

"What!"

Lin Baichuan's forehead suddenly broke out in a sweat. He almost couldn't stand and sank into his chair.

"Father, Elder Fire of the Golden Saber Sect captured me to threaten you. This Senior rescued me. He is from the Imperial City Department."

Lin Baichuan looked at Ye Kang, his eyes filled with a degree of wariness.

"Thank you, Lord, for rescuing my daughter. Which department of the Imperial City Department are you from?"