"Let me go, and we'll call this even."
Seeing that Qin Hao didn't seem to be faking his reaction, Su Ye smiled and asked, "All right. What do I get out of it?"
"A thousand taels... no, three thousand taels."
Su Ye raised a hand to stop him. "Do you have Divine Weapons and Sharp Tools or Cultivation Techniques and Martial Skills?"
"I do, I do. My family has plenty. I just didn't bring any with me. I can fetch them and give them to you tomorrow, all right?" Qin Hao asked anxiously, looking toward Su Ye.
"Wait, I have a weapon!" Qin Hao hurriedly shouted. The sharp blade had already left a shallow bloody mark on his neck. The faint stinging pain made him immensely grateful for his quick thinking.
"I have one!" As he spoke, Qin Hao carefully avoided the slightly nicked blade and turned over to open a long wooden chest on the ground. "My father specifically told me to bring this and give it to Huang Qianqing."
Inside the chest lay a lengthened and widened Ghost Head Saber. A dark gleam shimmered faintly along its blade. The weapon was a little over three meters long, with a blade more than 1.2 meters long. Its spine was exceedingly thick and heavy, giving it an oppressive presence, and dazzling flashes of cold light glinted along its edge.
What a fine saber, Su Ye thought.
Seeing the satisfied look on his face, Qin Hao sneered inwardly. I'll make him pay double for today's humiliation someday.
Su Ye reached into the chest and picked up the great saber. It felt extraordinarily heavy in his hand; with his current strength, he could barely swing it. He lifted his eyes toward Qin Hao beside him.
"Where did this saber come from? Why was it here?"
"This..." Qin Hao looked embarrassed. "I came here to give it to Huang Qianqing. As for where it came from, the old man didn't tell me much."
His gaze swept briefly over Qin Hao before settling once more on the enormous blade.
Su Ye swung it casually a few times, then suddenly turned the blade toward him.
"You bastard! You're going back on your word!" Staring at the great blade sweeping toward him, Qin Hao's eyes bulged, and he cursed furiously.
"Going back on my word to you?"
Su Ye's memories of his previous life held plenty of information about the Qin family. The common people feared them like tigers, and behind their backs called them human-shaped Demonic Beasts. Even the yamen runners turned pale at the mention of them and called them Qin the Skin-Peeler. Their reputation, to put it mildly, left much to be desired.
Besides, Qin Hao had just stormed into his home, killed his concubine, and crippled one of his arms. No matter how nicely Qin Hao put it, Su Ye wouldn't believe a single word. A man was only truly reassuring once he was dead.
With one slash, he took Qin Hao's head. Then he cleaned up the scene and searched out three hundred taels of silver.
"Bah! Some young master of the Qin family—he's got only three hundred taels on him."
When Su Ye returned to the town yamen entrance, he saw a throng of people, some sitting and some standing, warily watching their surroundings. They noticed someone approaching.
Everyone froze for a moment, then sprang to their feet and hurried to greet Su Ye.
"My lord, you're back!"
Ignoring the whispers and flattery around him, he strode straight into the town yamen. He had barely sat down when Li Baotian came hurrying in with unsteady steps.
"This old man pays his respects, my lord."
Looking at the old man's anxious face below the hall, Su Ye got straight to the point. "Ten Demonic Beasts attacked this time. They've all been killed. Organize some people to clean up the scene, so nothing troublesome comes of it."
Everyone was stunned. Lord Su was so young, yet his abilities were frighteningly impressive.
"My lord is peerlessly brave. I truly admire you. I'll go make the arrangements right away."
Li Baotian turned to leave, but paused briefly. Then he said with exceptional deference, "My lord, what should we do with the remains of the Demonic Beasts?"
"Handle them yourselves. No need to ask me."
Su Ye waved a hand. "Everyone, you may go home."
"My lord, should we prepare you something to eat?"
"No need."
Su Ye wasn't in the mood to eat. He had more than a hundred Assistance Points sitting in his account. If he didn't hurry and improve his strength, they wouldn't exactly hatch into more.
He got up and went to the bedroom inside the yamen. It was fully furnished, with no shortage of gold, silver, and jade ornaments. They'd all come in handy for him now.
He casually pulled over a sandalwood chair and opened the system panel. Lines of text slowly appeared.
Host: Su Ye Realm: Body Tempering Layer Five Cultivation Techniques: [Body Tempering Primer · Mortal Grade High Rank] Fifth Layer; [Dragon Tiger Body Forging Technique · Yellow Grade High Rank] (Not Initiated) Martial Skills: [Black Fiend Saber Technique · Mortal Grade Middle Rank] (Not Initiated) [Mountain Splitting Saber Technique · Unranked] Mastery Movement Technique: [Flowing Dragon Steps · Mortal Grade Middle Rank] (Initiated) Assistance Points: 155
After glancing over his remaining Martial Arts Assistance Points, his gaze went straight to "Dragon Tiger Body Forging Technique." This technique had four stages: early, middle, late, and perfection.
According to the description, once this technique reached perfection, its practitioner could stand against several Aperture Opening Realm experts. He didn't know if that was true, but there had to be plenty of exaggeration. Otherwise, it would need to be at least a Profound Grade technique.
I'll start by initiating it and see how it works. System, upgrade it for me.
"Ding! The technique the host wishes to upgrade shares many similarities with the technique currently in practice. It can be converted or deduced."
[Note: Conversion requires 20 Assistance Points; deduction requires 100 Assistance Points. Depending on the technique's focus, deduction may extend or create an entirely new technique. [Note: The higher the technique's grade and the greater the number of techniques, the more the required cost will increase accordingly.]
He needed to upgrade his existing Martial Arts first. A higher realm would make it easier to gather Assistance Points. As for things like merging techniques, he could worry about those later. Once he'd made up his mind, Su Ye didn't hesitate.
"Convert."
[Dragon Tiger Body Forging Technique] Early Stage, Peak
The realm column didn't change, but Su Ye could feel his body growing stronger and stronger until its toughness had more than doubled before the transformation finally stopped. His realm was still Body Tempering Layer Five, but compared to before, he was worlds apart.
Without another word, he continued spending his Assistance Points on "Dragon Tiger Vajra Skill."
Consumed 20 Assistance Points Consumed 30 Assistance Points Total consumed this time: 125 Assistance Points [Dragon Tiger Body Forging Technique] Middle Stage, Peak Body Tempering Realm: Sixth Layer Body Tempering Realm: Seventh Layer Body Tempering Realm: Eighth Layer Body Tempering Realm: Ninth Layer
Boom! Boom! A surging tide suddenly erupted inside him, as though an invisible force were driving it to crash again and again through his flesh, bones, and organs.
The tide rampaged through him, tearing apart countless tissues in his body. Before long, they were restored, only to be torn apart again. As the cycle repeated, his blood transformed and his internal organs grew stronger, while his bones began to glow with a soft, white light.
Su Ye rose from the chair and moved his body a little. A string of crackling sounds, like popping beans, rang in his ears.
"Body Tempering Ninth Layer."
His movement technique and Martial Skills needed a good upgrade, too. He also needed a full arsenal of ways to deal with enemies.
Once he'd decided, Su Ye immediately turned his attention to the [Black Fiend Saber Technique].
"System, upgrade it."
Consumed 4 Assistance Points Black Fiend Saber Technique Minor Accomplishment
He had six Assistance Points left, but that wasn't enough to upgrade the saber technique to major accomplishment.
Forget it.
With the system in hand, I can perfect any Cultivation Technique or Martial Skill eventually. There's no need to rush. Su Ye muttered to himself as he walked.
Once outside, he picked up the Ghost Head Saber leaning against the door. The heaviness he'd felt before was gone; it was extremely easy to handle, like a toy he could wield however he pleased.
Not bad. Just right!
As the Ghost Head Saber swept through the air, cold light crisscrossed the courtyard, accompanied by a continuous keening whistle. An old locust tree as thick as a person shattered into a pile of splinters as the blade's light brushed past it, as though it had been made of paper.
He lowered the saber and stood still, slowly calming the turbulent blood and qi within him.
Time flew by. Early the next morning, Su Ye walked out of the town yamen wearing a fresh set of clothes. The streets were livelier than usual, with people already moving around the food stalls lining both sides of the road.
"Good morning, my lord."
"Lord Su, have you eaten yet?"
Responding now and then to the enthusiastic greetings of passersby, he stopped in front of a wonton stall.
"Boss, a bowl of wontons. Add extra cilantro."
"Coming right up, my lord. Just a moment."
Meanwhile, at the Linshan County Yamen, Magistrate Chen looked at the black-robed figure seated across from him. A hoarse voice rang out. "Old Man Chen, according to our agreement, the time has come for us to emerge and hunt for food."
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