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An incense stick of time later.

Chen Xuan carried a heavy bundle on his back and quietly left Baishui Town.

The Baishui Town treasury contained chests of silver ingots, as well as jewelry, antiques, and paintings, but he possessed no treasures like a storage ring.

Therefore, aside from the silver banknotes, Chen Xuan only took a few boxes of gold leaves, totaling five hundred taels.

The exchange rate between gold and silver was one to ten.

Five hundred taels of gold converted to five thousand taels of silver.

The silver banknotes amounted to thirty-one thousand taels.

Thirty-six thousand taels, plus the five thousand seven hundred I already had...

Chen Xuan calculated silently in his heart.

He now had over forty thousand taels, more than enough to bid for a Marrow Cleansing Pill.

Although he could have brought people from the Qingshi Town branch to empty the Baishui Town treasury, doing so would have made it impossible to hide the fact that he had wiped out the branch, inevitably inviting retaliation from the Blood Wolf Gang.

This was not what Chen Xuan wanted.

Ninth-level Body Tempering was already an inhuman existence in the eyes of ordinary people, but before a hegemon-level force like the Blood Fiend Devil Sect, it was nothing.

He was not yet strong enough; it was not the time to be exposed.

Before dawn.

Chen Xuan returned to the Qingshi Town branch.

He returned quietly, without alerting anyone.

Several hours later.

News that the Blood Wolf Gang's Baishui Town branch had been wiped out reached Lianshan City.

Blood Wolf Gang headquarters.

Qin Sihai's face was so gloomy it could drip water.

In the main hall, several gang members who had fled from Baishui Town knelt, each trembling, not daring to let out a breath.

"One person." Qin Sihai's voice was terrifyingly calm. "The opponent was only one person, killed Han Tieshan and Elder Zhao, looted the treasury, and then walked away swaggeringly?"

"Y-yes, Gang Leader." A gang member said tremblingly, "That person was a master of the sword, one sword strike creating six shadows; the brothers couldn't stop him at all. Branch Leader Han's Iron Bone Technique was broken by him in a few strikes, and Elder Zhao's Flying Star Life-Taking Needle hit him without even breaking the skin..."

"Without even breaking the skin?" Qin Sihai squeezed the iron balls in his hand, producing a harsh grinding sound. "Elder Zhao's Flying Star Life-Taking Needle is designed to break through protective internal energy; even masters in the Zhuqi Realm would be wary of it. You're telling me it didn't even break the skin?"

"Spare me, Gang Leader, spare me!" The gang member collapsed onto the ground in fear. "Subordinate saw it with my own eyes. Elder Zhao finally used the Life-Taking Needle, burning his origin true energy, yet that person only suffered a slight scratch and sustained no fatal injuries at all..."

A deathly silence filled the hall.

Qin Sihai remained silent for a long time.

Even after burning origin true energy, they still couldn't kill him; this person must have practiced top-tier martial arts that tempered both the internal and external.

The three major sects did not lack top-tier martial arts, but top-tier martial arts that tempered both internal and external were rare, even for the three major sects.

"Investigate." Qin Sihai finally spoke, his voice cold as iron. "Send word to all our strongholds in Tiannan Prefecture. Post a wanted notice for this person. A sword master who also practices top-tier internal and external martial arts—there aren't many people in Tiannan Prefecture with such strength. As long as they make a move, they can be identified."

"Yes!"

The gang member scrambled away.

"A sword master... could it be someone from Ten Thousand Sword Villa?"

Qin Sihai leaned back in his chair, his gaze gloomy.

However, if Ten Thousand Sword Villa had truly made a move, they wouldn't have left such obvious traces; this felt more like a frame-up.

Or perhaps, a misdirection.

If he really sent people to investigate the disciples of Ten Thousand Sword Villa, he feared he would find nothing at all.

One sword strike with six shadows—there were many sword techniques capable of this.

Ten Thousand Sword Villa's Fenguang Lueying Sword Technique, the Phantom Sword Technique, and the Jinghong Sword Technique of the Guiyuan Sect were all known for their speed. Within the Blood Fiend Devil Sect, there was also the Nine Shadow Killing Sword.

"Who exactly is it?"

Qin Sihai's brows were tightly furrowed.

He didn't care about the loss of the Baishui Town treasury.

But with the Baishui Town branch wiped out and Han Tieshan and Zhao Hanjiang killed, the Blood Wolf Gang had suddenly lost two ninth-level Body Tempering generals. The Red Sun Gang and the Iron Sword Sect would certainly not let this golden opportunity pass and would move to seize Baishui Town.

Soon.

The Blood Wolf Gang's wanted notice was posted at the city gate of Beicheng.

The content of the notice was simple: Anyone who provides clues leading to the killer who wiped out the Baishui Town branch, once confirmed, will be rewarded with ten thousand taels of silver.

Ten thousand taels of silver.

Once this figure was announced, the entire Lianshan City was shaken.

Thirty thousand taels of silver is enough for an ordinary person to spend for ten lifetimes.

For a time, the streets and alleys of Lianshan City were buzzing with talk of this matter.

"Have you heard? The Blood Wolf Gang's branch in Baishui Town was wiped out. Even the branch leader, Han Tieshan, is dead. The culprit was a single person who practiced a top-tier martial art that tempered both the internal and external, and he was also a master swordsman."

"A single person did it? Is that for real?"

"Absolutely certain. My cousin's brother-in-law works for the Blood Wolf Gang; he saw Han Tieshan's corpse being carried back with his own eyes. His chest had been pierced through by a single sword strike—he was dead as a doornail."

"Tsk tsk, who could be so formidable? This Han Tieshan practiced the Iron Bone Technique and was nicknamed the Iron Wall and Copper Bastion, yet he was actually stabbed to death with one sword."

"No one knows. The man was masked, and no one saw his face. They only know he used a sword, one strike producing six shadows, and he practiced a top-tier technique that tempered both the internal and external. Even Elder Zhao's Flying Star Life-Taking Needle couldn't break his defense."

"Elder Zhao? Which Elder Zhao?"

"The one from over twenty years ago, Zhao Hanjiang. His Flying Star Life-Taking Needle was specialized in breaking through protective qi..."

"Zhao Hanjiang? He was a Zhuqi Realm master back then, but he offended the Ten Thousand Sword Villa and was hunted down. I never expected he was hiding in the Blood Wolf Gang."

"..."

The news spread quickly.

In less than an hour, the entire Lianshan City knew about it.

Red Sun Gang headquarters.

Sun Tianxing sat in a grand armchair, holding a cup of tea, his expression calm.

"A bounty of ten thousand taels of silver?" Sun Tianxing took a sip of tea, the corners of his mouth curling up slightly. "Qin Sihai is getting desperate."

"Gang Leader, should we investigate this as well?" a subordinate asked. "A master like this has suddenly appeared in Lianshan City; we must be on our guard."

"Investigate what?" Sun Tianxing set down his teacup. "It wasn't our people who did it. Let Qin Sihai exhaust himself. We should set our sights on Baishui Town. Since the Blood Wolf Gang can't hold it, we shall take it over."

"The people of Baishui Town have been growing various medicinal herbs since their ancestors' time; this is a fat piece of meat. The Blood Wolf Gang has lost two Ninth Stage of Body Tempering generals and lacks the strength to compete with us, but I fear the Iron Sword Sect won't just give up!"

The subordinate said in a low voice.

"Then we negotiate. Arrange a meeting for me with the sect leader of the Iron Sword Sect immediately," Sun Tianxing said indifferently. "Sometimes, the pugilistic world isn't just about killing and fighting. We can sit down and talk. Cooperating to divide the profits of Baishui Town is better than fighting back and forth and ending up with nothing."

A flash of shrewdness crossed Sun Tianxing's eyes.

Having been a manager in Lianshan City for so many years, he knew well that in the pugilistic world, cooperation sometimes brings more benefits than confrontation.

The subordinate nodded in agreement and immediately withdrew to arrange the relevant matters.

Qingshi Town branch.

The news of the Blood Wolf Gang's Baishui Town branch being wiped out also reached Qingshi Town. The common folk were discussing it fervently, making it a hot topic for after-meal conversation.

At the Red Sun Gang's Qingshi branch, a group of gang members gathered, also debating who could have done it.

Among them, one person felt uneasy and anxious.

That person was Liu An.

A few days ago, the branch leader had asked him to organize information on the various branches of the Blood Wolf Gang. He had assumed the branch leader would lead the brothers to attack one of them, but the branch leader hadn't sought him out since that day.

He never expected that the Baishui Town branch would be wiped out, and two masters at the Ninth Stage of Body Tempering, Huajin Realm, would both be killed.

Could it have been the branch leader?

Liu An was filled with doubt.

However, he dared not ask.

Some things are better left unknown.

If you know too many secrets, you might just accidentally slip into the water and drown one day.