Inner Disciple Assessment

A quarter of an hour later.

Chen Xuan carried a bulging bundle over his shoulder, stuffed with banknotes and gold leaves worth several hundred thousand taels in total.

He swaggered out of the Blood Wolf Gang's treasury.

By then, the gang members within the Blood Wolf Gang's main headquarters had learned that Qin Sihai was dead.

The news spread through the headquarters like a plague. Some were terrified, some were at a loss, and some secretly slipped away amid the chaos.

The one thing no one considered was avenging Qin Sihai.

The gang members at headquarters did not even dare entertain such a thought.

When they saw Chen Xuan emerge from the treasury with the bundle over his shoulder, everyone stopped in their tracks.

No one dared move.

No one dared stand in his way.

Chen Xuan walked through the crowd at an unhurried pace, as though strolling through his own backyard. Only after his figure had completely vanished from their sight did the Blood Wolf Gang's headquarters erupt into noisy discussion and frantic footsteps.

Even their gang leader was dead.

No matter how many of them there were, facing Chen Xuan would be like a mantis trying to stop a chariot.

"The Huanri Technique really is useful."

After leaving the city, Chen Xuan nodded in satisfaction.

This Ultimate Art was practically divine in infiltration, assassination, and disguise.

With it, traveling the martial world in the future would be far more convenient. He would not need to look before and after, worry about exposing his identity, or rack his brains cultivating too many techniques and martial skills.

No matter what Ultimate Art it was, as long as he had come into contact with it once, the Huanri Technique could directly imitate and transform it.

Just like this time. He had merely exchanged a single move with Liu Feng, and the Huanri True Qi had captured a trace of Blood Origin Technique true qi. That alone had allowed him to imitate it so vividly in actual combat that it was nearly indistinguishable from the real thing.

The same applied to Ultimate Arts.

For instance, what he currently lacked most were Ultimate Arts meant for slaughter and battle.

Once Wan Guiyun broke through to the Zhuqi Realm, Chen Xuan only needed to fight him once and have him display the full profundities of the Yiyuan Sword Art. Once Chen Xuan cultivated the Huanri Technique's Qi Casting Chapter to great completion in the future, he would be able to imitate not only techniques, but martial skills as well.

When that time came, his strength would undergo a qualitative leap.

However, Chen Xuan also understood that the Huanri Technique was not omnipotent.

When imitating martial arts of the same Ultimate Art tier with the Huanri Technique, it could probably only bring out around ninety percent of their power.

This was neither a major nor a minor flaw.

Ninety percent and one hundred percent seemed to differ by only a tenth, but in a duel between top experts, that tenth was often the distance between life and death. Against ordinary martial artists, though, it was more than enough.

If it could unleash one hundred percent of the power of every Ultimate Art and martial skill, then the Huanri Technique would not merely be an Ultimate Art—it would be a Divine Art.

When the Huanri Technique imitated superior martial arts, it could indeed unleash one hundred percent of their power. Yet when it came to Ultimate Arts of the same tier, it could at most achieve ninety percent.

The higher-level Wuxiang Divine Technique was the same. Using Wuxiang True Qi to perform other Ultimate Arts could unleash one hundred percent of their power, but when performing other Divine Arts, it could only bring out around ninety percent.

This was the uniqueness and irreplaceability of every technique.

For example, the Vajra Technique Chen Xuan cultivated was characterized by hardness, unbreakable and indestructible. The Ultimate Art Huanri Technique was characterized by passing falsehood for truth, capable of imitating the true qi of other techniques. The Wuxiang Divine Technique, meanwhile, was characterized by endless transformations.

If there truly were a technique that could bring out ten-tenths of the power of every martial art under heaven, then all other Divine Arts would become a joke.

A martial artist would only need to devote himself wholeheartedly to cultivating that one technique. Why bother painstakingly studying other martial arts?

But with the Huanri Technique, Chen Xuan no longer needed to spend time cultivating other Ultimate Arts. After becoming an inner disciple, he could exchange for a Divine Art, and from then on, focus wholeheartedly on cultivating that Divine Art.

May 4th.

At dawn, Lianshan City exploded into an uproar.

Qin Sihai, the Blood Wolf Gang's leader, was dead—and he had died inside the Blood Wolf Gang's main headquarters, his throat slit open by a single sword stroke, his death miserable to behold.

The news spread swiftly.

In less than half an hour, all of Lianshan City knew of it.

From streets and alleys to teahouses and taverns, everyone was discussing it.

"Have you heard? Qin Sihai is dead!"

"Who did it?"

"No idea. According to Qin Sihai's confidants who witnessed the battle firsthand, the killer was a middle-aged man in his thirties. He used the Blood Origin Technique and the Nine Shadow Killing Sword."

"What? The Blood Origin Technique and Nine Shadow Killing Sword? Aren't those techniques of the Blood Fiend Devil Sect? Could it be that the Blood Fiend Devil Sect has suffered internal strife?"

"Who knows? Qin Sihai had been a steward in Lianshan City for so many years, and he had stuffed plenty into his own pockets. Maybe he angered some elder in the sect and was settled up with at his doorstep."

"..."

Discussion rose and fell in waves, with all kinds of speculation filling the air.

No one suspected Chen Xuan.

Although word that Chen Xuan had slain Liu Feng, an inner disciple of the Blood Fiend Devil Sect, with a single sword strike had reached Lianshan City and caused quite a stir, Chen Xuan cultivated the Vajra Technique, and his true qi was golden. The killer who had slain Qin Sihai, on the other hand, had used blood-colored true qi.

They were two entirely different techniques.

Martial artists could cultivate multiple techniques, but they generally cultivated techniques that complemented one another. Moreover, Chen Xuan was a Guiyuan Sect disciple, and the top-tier Vajra Technique he cultivated had been obtained for saving a Vajra Sect disciple. How could he possibly also cultivate the Blood Fiend Devil Sect's Blood Origin Technique and be capable of killing Qin Sihai?

Therefore, no matter how people outside speculated or connected the dots, without opening a god's-eye view, they could never trace it to Chen Xuan.

Only Ma Wen knew that Chen Xuan had obtained the Ultimate Art Huanri Technique, and Ma Wen had already reported to the Underworld and met the King of Hell. Zhao Yuanshan had merely waited outside the study and did not know of the Huanri Technique's existence.

Red Sun Gang's main headquarters.

"Qin Sihai is dead?"

Sun Tianxing sat in his study, holding a cup of tea. His expression was calm, but a trace of puzzlement lay hidden in his eyes.

Blood Wolf Gang leader was merely one of Qin Sihai's identities. His other identity was a steward of the Blood Fiend Devil Sect. Who had the audacity to kill Qin Sihai?

"He's dead!" After helping Chen Xuan sort out the affairs of the Baishui Town Branch, Zhao Yuanshan had returned to Lianshan City. He nodded and said gravely, "The news has been confirmed. He died in the main hall at headquarters, his throat slit open by a single sword stroke. The killer used the Blood Origin Technique and the Nine Shadow Killing Sword."

"Blood Origin Technique... Nine Shadow Killing Sword..." Sun Tianxing murmured the names again, his brows knitting slightly. "Why would someone from the Blood Fiend Devil Sect kill Qin Sihai?"

"I'm not sure." Zhao Yuanshan shook his head. "It may have been internal strife, or perhaps someone was impersonating them. After all, the Blood Origin Technique and Nine Shadow Killing Sword are not secret arts that are never passed down. It is possible for outsiders to obtain and cultivate them."

"Internal strife?" Sun Tianxing gave a cold laugh. "Qin Sihai had operated in Lianshan City for so many years and handed over no small amount of silver to the Blood Fiend Devil Sect each year. Even if there was internal strife, they would not kill him at a time like this."

Zhao Yuanshan said nothing.

"Who killed Qin Sihai is no longer important." Sun Tianxing said, "The Blood Wolf Gang is now a dragon without a head. It is time to seize the territory in Beicheng. Pass down the order: gather our men and head to Beicheng at once to take over the Blood Wolf Gang's properties. The Iron Sword Sect will not let this opportunity pass. Take as much as we can."

"Yes!"

Zhao Yuanshan clasped his fists and accepted the order, turning to leave the study.

"By the way, did a Blood Fiend Devil Sect disciple go to Baishui Town last night, only to be slain by Chen Xuan with a single sword strike?"

Sun Tianxing called out to Zhao Yuanshan, who was preparing to leave.

"That did indeed happen." Zhao Yuanshan turned back and said, "I heard that Blood Fiend Devil Sect inner disciple was named Liu Feng. He had Zhuqi Realm Third Layer cultivation, yet he was no match for Junior Brother Chen in even a single exchange. Should we summon Junior Brother Chen back from Baishui Town? With Junior Brother Chen taking action, no one in the Iron Sword Sect apart from its sect master, Wan Zhenshan, is his match."

"Not for now." Sun Tianxing shook his head, then picked up a sealed letter from the table. "The Great Merit and Inner Disciple Assessment I applied for on his behalf have arrived. The specific task is in the secret letter. No one knows its contents. Send someone to Baishui Town to deliver this secret letter to Chen Xuan."

"Alright!"

Zhao Yuanshan accepted the secret letter and turned to leave.