Making a Fortune

Whoosh—

Chen Xuan exerted force through his feet, his figure darting into the fray ahead like an arrow.

His speed reached the absolute limit; wherever he passed, the air was torn asunder, emitting a sharp, whistling sound.

In the alley not far ahead, two groups of men were locked in a blood-crazed battle.

The flash of blades and shadows of swords intertwined, blood splattered, and the roars, screams, and clashing of weapons merged together, turning this once-tranquil alley into a slaughterhouse.

They had all come for the treasures of the Treasure Pavilion, willing to risk their lives for a few pills and a handful of silver notes.

Suddenly, they felt a terrifying aura descend from the sky, pressing down on their hearts like an invisible mountain, making it nearly impossible for them to breathe.

Before they could even react, several of them were sent flying by a masked figure.

That figure's speed was too fast; they couldn't even make out his appearance. They only felt a massive force slam into their chests, and their entire bodies flew backward like kites with broken strings, crashing to the ground with shattered bones and tendons, letting out shrill, miserable screams.

The two groups involuntarily ceased their movements, all turning to look at this unexpected guest who had suddenly intruded.

"Who are you?"

A man covered in blood, holding a long saber, looked at the masked figure that had appeared before him and shouted sharply.

Chen Xuan did not answer, his gaze sweeping across everyone present.

A dozen corpses lay on the ground—some decapitated, others with chests caved in—blood flowing everywhere. Six more men lay wailing on the ground after being struck by him; some clutched broken legs, others held their collapsed chests, their eyes filled with terror.

There were sixteen people standing, divided into two factions, each occupying one side and eyeing each other like tigers.

But at this moment, their attention was entirely focused on this suddenly appearing masked man.

Most of their cultivation levels were between the sixth and eighth stages of Body Tempering, with the strongest being no more than the peak of the eighth stage.

Such strength was considered that of an expert in the eyes of ordinary people, but in Chen Xuan's eyes, they were like clay chickens and pottery dogs, unable to withstand a single blow.

"Hand over the Marrow Cleansing Pill."

Chen Xuan said indifferently.

As soon as the words fell, the expressions of both groups changed simultaneously.

The Marrow Cleansing Pill was a precious medicine capable of cleansing the marrow and cutting the bones to improve one's aptitude. At the Treasure Pavilion auction, a single pill was worth over thirty thousand taels of silver.

They were fighting here precisely for the Marrow Cleansing Pill; both sides had already lost seven or eight brothers each, so how could they possibly hand it over so easily?

"Who the hell do you think you are? Daring to come and snatch my things!"

A burly man with a fleshy face roared and swung his saber at Chen Xuan.

He was the leader of one of the factions, his cultivation reaching the peak of the eighth stage of Body Tempering. A full-force strike from him possessed over a thousand catties of power. The saber wind whistled, heavy and forceful. In the eyes of ordinary people, it was already fast to the extreme, the blade light like a silver streak, aiming straight for Chen Xuan's throat.

He had used all his strength in this strike, swearing to cut this arrogant, masked man down under his blade.

Chen Xuan didn't even glance at him, simply raising his hand to throw a punch.

That punch appeared slow, but in reality, it was as fast as lightning. Before the burly man's blade could touch his body, it had already slammed into the man's chest.

"Bang!"

A muffled sound rang out, like a beating drum.

The burly man didn't even have time to scream before his entire body flew backward, crashing into the wall behind him.

The wall, built of blue bricks and incredibly sturdy, was now dented with a massive, human-shaped crater.

The burly man spat blood, the bones in his chest shattered completely, his internal organs ruptured, and he died on the spot.

His eyes remained wide open, as if even in death he couldn't believe that his peak eighth-stage Body Tempering cultivation couldn't even withstand a single punch from his opponent.

Silence.

The alley suddenly became deathly quiet.

Everyone's face turned deathly pale, as if they had seen a ghost.

Peak eighth-stage Body Tempering, killed with one punch?

What kind of background did this masked man have?

An expert of the Ninth Stage of Body Tempering, Huajin Realm?

"I'll ask one more time." Chen Xuan retracted his fist, his tone calm, as if he had just swatted a fly: "Who has the Marrow Cleansing Pill?"

His voice was not loud, but it carried a suffocating sense of oppression. The two groups looked at each other, no one daring to speak.

Some subconsciously gripped their weapons tighter, but immediately let go; in the face of an absolute gap in strength, any resistance was futile.

Chen Xuan's gaze swept over them like a blade scraping across skin, making everyone feel a stinging pain.

Finally, his gaze landed on a thin, small man in black.

That man was cowering behind the crowd, one hand tightly clutching his chest, his eyes flickering—clearly, he had a guilty conscience.

His cultivation was only at the seventh stage of Body Tempering, unremarkable among this group, but at this moment, he was seen through by Chen Xuan at a single glance.

"You... come here."

Chen Xuan pointed at the man in black, his voice indifferent.

"I... I didn't..."

The man in black shuddered, instinctively taking a step back, his face as pale as paper.

His voice trembled with obvious fear, yet the hand clutching his chest gripped even tighter.

Chen Xuan did not say a second word.

He couldn't be bothered to waste his breath on an ant like this; his figure flashed, and he appeared before the man in black, one hand clamping onto his throat.

The speed was incredibly fast; the people present only felt a blur before their eyes, and the man in black had already been subdued.

"Urgh... urgh..."

The man in black widened his eyes, his hands clawing futilely at Chen Xuan's arm, trying to break free, only to find that the hand was as immovable as an iron pincer.

His complexion turned from white to blue, then from blue to purple, his eyes filled with despair.

Chen Xuan squeezed hard.

Snap!

The crisp sound of bone fracturing was exceptionally jarring in the silent alley.

The neck of the man in black was instantly crushed, his cervical vertebrae shattered and his trachea ruptured; his body went limp, collapsing like a pile of mud.

Chen Xuan searched his robes and pulled out a white jade porcelain bottle, then tossed the corpse aside as if it were a lifeless rag; the entire process was clean and efficient, without the slightest hesitation.

Chen Xuan opened the stopper and took a sniff; a rich medicinal fragrance wafted out, carrying a faint, cooling sensation that was invigorating.

There was no mistake; it contained a Marrow Cleansing Pill, though there was only one.

Chen Xuan looked at the remaining people, his gaze sweeping over each of them like a blade: "Take out everything you have on you."

Some showed hesitation, but when Chen Xuan's gaze landed on them, that hesitation immediately turned into obedience.

They did not doubt for a second that if they dared to say the word "no," their fate would be the same as that man in black.

Those who did not obey were already corpses.

The strength of the person before them was at least that of a Body Tempering ninth-stage Huajin martial artist, and he might even be a Zhuqi Realm expert.

Such an existence was not someone they could afford to provoke.

Item after item was laid out on the ground—silver notes, gold notes, medicine bottles, weapons, secret manuals... a motley collection, all looted from the dead at the Treasure Pavilion, some of which they hadn't even had time to identify.

These people had taken advantage of the chaos at the Treasure Pavilion to make a fortune, never expecting a sudden interloper to appear halfway, forcing them to hand over their hard-earned spoils.

Chen Xuan squatted down and inspected them one by one.

His movements were swift, yet he examined every item carefully, not letting anything of value slip by.

In addition to the one he had just obtained, there were four more Marrow Cleansing Pills on the ground, making a total of five.

"Five Marrow Cleansing Pills."

Chen Xuan felt a surge of joy in his heart.

This was truly an unexpected windfall.

With these five Marrow Cleansing Pills, his innate talent could be raised from average to above average, taking another step forward.

Beyond that, there were two Pulse Breaking Pills, a high-grade sharp weapon-level sword, and a secret manual for a Zhuqi Realm martial art.

Pulse Breaking Pills were medicinal pills that could help martial artists clear their energy pulses; a single pill could save a Zhuqi Realm martial artist years of bitter cultivation.

The silver notes exceeded one hundred thousand taels, and the gold notes were ten thousand taels, totaling over two hundred thousand taels—a massive windfall.

Chen Xuan gathered all these valuables and tucked them into his robes.

As for the ordinary weapons and low-level pills, he didn't think much of them and couldn't be bothered to take them.