Black Hand Butcher Wu Sancai
Yi Jin Jing: Level 1 73/100, Saint-grade passive skill. Although it was not a God-grade cultivation method, this technique was rather special. It included another cultivation method created by Old Ancestor Bodhidharma, the "Marrow Cleansing Scripture," and thus possessed the powerful ability to transform the tendons and cleanse the marrow. Its current level was 1, allowing the player's Inner Qi to rise to three times its original amount. (Level 1 Yi Jin Jing restored 1 point of Inner Qi per minute.)
Although its proficiency had already reached 73 points, it was not far from the 100 points needed to level up.
But according to Qin Shaofeng's estimate, without three to five days' effort, the Yi Jin Jing probably would not level up.
Qin Shaofeng was somewhat at a loss over how the Yi Jin Jing's proficiency increased. The only thing he could be certain of was that once all of his Inner Qi had been exhausted, the Yi Jin Jing's proficiency would definitely increase by 1 point.
This was the most obvious pattern Qin Shaofeng had discovered so far.
Still, Qin Shaofeng did not dwell on it too much. Compared to others, his Inner Qi was three times that of an ordinary person, and that was enough to make him somewhat satisfied.
After finishing the rabbit meat and having his fill, Qin Shaofeng began to rest.
For tomorrow's sake, he needed to get a good night's rest.
Of course, Qin Shaofeng would not relax his vigilance because of this. The Black Horn Mountain Range was fraught with danger at every turn; true relaxation was something Qin Shaofeng could not achieve.
The night was black as ink. By all reason, the jungle should have been quieter at night, but the Black Horn Mountain Range was not like that.
The Black Horn Mountain Range was just as lively at night. Some demonic beasts roamed after dark; indeed, the Black Horn Mountain Range was actually at its most dangerous during the night.
Not far from Qin Shaofeng's cave, beneath a patch of bushes.
Thud! Thud!
Two black shadows suddenly fell from a large tree. After hitting the ground, they made two dull, heavy sounds.
Only after they landed did one discover that the two black shadows were actually two corpses!
"Are these the last two?"
From within the previously silent bushes came a cold voice. Then, an additional black figure appeared.
This figure was dressed entirely in black, with not the slightest trace of aura around him. He seemed to have completely merged with the night. Had he not appeared of his own accord, he would have been difficult to detect.
With a flash, a figure leaped down from the large tree. He was a somewhat gaunt middle-aged man.
The gaunt man walked directly before the black figure, knelt on one knee, and reported, "Reporting to the captain, everyone in this area who intended to harm the young master has been killed. However, this subordinate discovered that there were not only these people. There should be others."
"There are others?" the black figure murmured, then asked, "Do you know which force they belong to? It should not be the Zhang Family, right?"
"Yes," the gaunt man replied. "These people were not from the Zhang Family. They should be from the Black Hand Gang!"
"The Black Hand Gang?"
The black figure, who had remained calm all this while, finally showed a trace of unrest in his voice.
After thinking for a moment, the black figure ordered, "Pass down my command. Everyone must be more careful. Since it is the Black Hand Gang, that person should appear as well."
That person?
The gaunt man's heart jolted. He seemed to have suddenly recalled something, and his expression could not help changing. But in the end, he still answered.
"This subordinate understands!"
With that, the gaunt man instantly departed, his figure vanishing into the boundless night.
"I was careless!"
After a long while, the black figure suddenly sighed. "I should have guessed this long ago. Zhang Chongshan would not dare act against the young master, but if it is the Black Hand Gang..."
His voice suddenly fell silent, but after a moment, the black figure spoke softly again.
Though it was only a mutter to himself, his tone was filled with incomparable resolve.
"Hmph, even if the Black Hand Gang has come, my Dark Guard is no weaker. I, Qin An, will not fear that Black Hand Butcher!"
Qin An?
Dark Guard?
The people who had appeared here were naturally from the Qin Family, and they were no ordinary members of the Qin Family.
The Dark Guard was the strongest force in Old Master Qin's hands, while Qin An himself was an expert in the Xiantian Martial Master Realm.
Old Master Qin had said that Qin Shaofeng should come out on his own and undergo some training for Lianyang Academy's recruitment assessment, but that did not mean he truly would not send people to secretly protect Qin Shaofeng.
Moreover, Old Master Qin had not only sent people to protect Qin Shaofeng, but had also dispatched Qin An, the Dark Guard captain he trusted most.
This showed just how deeply the old man cared about Qin Shaofeng's safety.
But now, Qin An had encountered trouble.
The Black Hand Gang!
It was an organization notorious throughout the Lanjiang City region. Its members committed murder, arson, rape, and plunder; they were villains capable of every evil.
Wu Ada and Wu E'er, whom Zhang Lingtian had previously hired to deal with Qin Shaofeng, were members of the Black Hand Gang.
Moreover, their identities were far from simple. They were disciples of Wu Sancai, the Black Hand Gang's leader.
Not many people might know Wu Sancai by that name.
But if one mentioned Wu Sancai's other name, then there was likely no one in the Lanjiang City region who had not heard of it.
Wu Sancai, Wu Ada and Wu E'er's master, was known as the Black Hand Butcher. He cultivated the Black Poison Palm technique, and his hands had become like black, deadly poison. Not only had his cultivation reached the Xiantian Martial Master Realm, his pair of Black Poison Hands were also vicious to the extreme.
One could tell what kind of man he was simply from his title, Black Hand Butcher.
True to his name, Black Hand Butcher Wu Sancai was a man who killed without batting an eye. Since embarking on his path, no fewer than ten thousand people had likely died at his hands. He had always been a malignant tumor in the Lanjiang City region.
Previously, Lanjiang City's City Lord had joined forces with several nearby small cities and repeatedly attempted to destroy the Black Hand Gang and kill Wu Sancai.
Yet every attempt had failed.
Not only had they failed, but each time they had suffered extremely severe losses.
This made Wu Sancai's name as the Black Hand Butcher increasingly known and feared.
Because of the recommended spot, Zhang Chongshan did not dare make a move against Qin Shaofeng.
But after Wu Ada and Wu E'er disappeared, Zhang Chongshan became convinced that Old Master Qin had meddled. When he suddenly thought of the two men's master, Wu Sancai, he decided to borrow a knife to kill.
He had even paid a price sufficient to move Wu Sancai.
Wu Sancai, meanwhile, did not understand the power of Lianyang Academy's recommended spot at all. With his disciples killed and Zhang Chongshan's hefty payment before him, he brought the Black Hand Gang into the Black Horn Mountain Range to assassinate Qin Shaofeng.
Although Old Master Qin's prestige was known far and wide, Wu Sancai naturally knew that he was no match for Old Master Qin.
But he had already decided that after finishing this job, he would leave the region, take the hefty payment Zhang Chongshan had given him, and start a new stove elsewhere.
What Wu Sancai had not expected was that Qin Shaofeng actually had the Dark Guard protecting him, and most importantly, Qin An had appeared as well.
But giving up was clearly not Wu Sancai's style!
A great battle erupted within the nighttime forest!
The next day, when the sky had only just begun to brighten, Qin Shaofeng got up.
After a night of rest, Qin Shaofeng was brimming with energy.
Naturally, he did not know that because of him, a fierce battle had broken out somewhere in the Black Horn Mountain Range last night.
And that battle seemed not to have ended yet!
But before this, Qin Shaofeng knew nothing about it.
After picking some wild fruits and chewing through several pieces of roasted meat, Qin Shaofeng began today's plan.
His goal today was to level up to the Houtian Fourth Level!
From the Third Layer of the Houtian Realm to the Houtian Fourth Level required 3,000 experience points. With Qin Shaofeng's current title experience bonus, if he did not kill monsters above his level, he would probably have to kill over a thousand demonic beasts.
That was far too troublesome.
Therefore, Qin Shaofeng decided that today he would hunt only Mid-level Four demonic beasts or those above Mid-level Four.
Because of his title, when Qin Shaofeng killed Mid-level Three demonic beasts now, the system generously gave him 2 experience points. On that basis, killing a Mid-level Four demonic beast above his level could grant him 8 experience points.
If he killed Mid-level Five demonic beasts, he could gain as many as 15 experience points.
At that rate, obtaining 3,000 experience points would not take long at all!
One level a day—this was absolutely possible!
Qin Shaofeng clenched his fists, his heart filled with determination.
Then, Qin Shaofeng entered the territory of a herd of Mid-level Four demonic beasts...
"Damn it! That old bastard actually had Qin An bring the Qin Family's Dark Guard to protect that little bastard. This is utterly hateful!"
In a forest somewhere in the Black Horn Mountain Range, a man clad entirely in black robes was cursing viciously.
This man's aura was incomparably cold and sinister, and even his manner of speaking was exceptionally eerie. His entire body seemed shrouded in an aura of death, causing those around him to subconsciously keep their distance.
There was no need to say more. This black-robed man was Black Hand Butcher Wu Sancai.
In Wu Sancai's view, killing a mere Qin Shaofeng should have been as easy as turning over his hand. Even if the Qin Family's Dark Guard had secretly protected him, it would merely have required a little extra effort.
But Qin An's appearance had caught Wu Sancai somewhat off guard.
Wu Sancai had never imagined that Qin An, Old Master Qin's most capable assistant, would personally come to protect Qin Shaofeng.
"A miscalculation!"
A sigh came from beneath the black robes, but it quickly turned into a sinister chuckle.
"Heh heh! Old Qin, do you think that with Qin An around, your little bastard of a precious grandson can remain safe and sound? Is that possible? I, the Black Hand Butcher, have not earned my name for nothing. Just wait to regret it! Heh heh..."
With that strange laugh, a pale yet sinister face suddenly emerged from beneath the black robes.
Along with a pair of venomous eyes like those of a poisonous snake!
Under such circumstances, the Black Hand Gang members around Wu Sancai could not help shuddering, their bodies involuntarily moving even farther away from him.
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