Epithet: Skull-Crushing Hand

Wang Xuan tucked the Storage Bag into his clothes and headed toward Jing Prefecture along the official road.

He traveled quickly. With the Water-Skipping Technique pushed to its limit, he could move as though Walking on Level Ground even through muddy terrain, let alone this well-compacted official road.

But before half a day had passed, trouble arrived.

Seven or eight people stood crookedly at the intersection ahead. Some wore coarse cloth and carried blades or staffs. Several clearly had the bearing of Players, despite their rough short garments.

A scar-faced man carried a Ghost-Head Blade over his shoulder and blocked the middle of the road.

"Hey, kid." The scar-faced man grinned, exposing a mouthful of yellow teeth. "You came from the direction of Blue Stone Town. Do you know who the man on the wanted notice is? I heard that brat is worth eight hundred taels of gold."

Wang Xuan stopped. "Never seen him. Don't know."

"Never seen him?" A Player beside him squeezed forward, holding a sheet of coarse paper with a clear portrait on it, identical to Wang Xuan. "Brother, isn't it a little rude to lie right to our faces?"

Wang Xuan glanced at the portrait. "The Heavens Tower has no sense of fair play. I have dimples when I smile, but that isn't me at all."

Scarface Liu San's face instantly turned livid. He spat viciously. "Kid, you dare toy with me? 'Soul-Severing Blade' Liu San has run wild on this official road for over ten years. No one has ever dared challenge me like this!"

Before his words had even fallen, Wang Xuan moved.

His steps were extremely slow, yet carried an eerie swiftness. With one step, he crossed three or four meters, arriving before Liu San in the blink of an eye.

Liu San's hairs stood on end in terror. He instinctively swung his blade down, but before its edge could rise, Wang Xuan's right hand was already pressed against the top of his head.

Pff!

With a dull thud, Liu San's head was forcibly driven into his neck. His headless corpse swayed before crashing heavily to the ground.

The surroundings instantly fell silent.

The remaining Players and bandits froze in place, their eyes wide as they stared at the corpse on the ground, all color draining from their faces.

"F-Fuck!" One Player shrieked and turned to flee into the distance.

Wang Xuan did not pursue him. He merely raised his palm. It was perfectly clean, not even stained with a trace of blood.

"Who's next?" His tone was calm and emotionless.

The remaining five or six people went pale. Someone shouted, "Fortune comes with risk! Get him together!" They raised their blades and staffs and rushed him all at once, blade winds and staff shadows enveloping Wang Xuan.

Wang Xuan stood still. His left hand shot out like lightning and caught a Refined Copper Staff swinging toward him. With a slight exertion of force, it snapped with a crack. His right hand formed sword fingers and thrust forward, easily piercing the chest of a blade-wielding man beside him and emerging through his back.

The man looked down at the arm embedded in his chest. His mouth opened, but no sound emerged before he fell rigidly to the ground.

Wang Xuan pulled back his hand, spun, and delivered a side kick directly into a Player's abdomen. The man flew seven or eight meters as if struck by a battering ram, slammed heavily into a roadside tree, and slid to the ground without moving again.

The final two bandits were so frightened that their legs gave out. Their blades clattered to the ground as they turned to run.

Wang Xuan stepped forward and threw two straight punches into their chests. With two bangs, their chests caved in deeply, and they flew backward like kites with their strings cut. They had stopped breathing by the time they landed.

In less than ten breaths, the farce was over.

Several cold corpses remained on the official road.

"They were only minor grunts at the first or second layer of the Post-Heaven Realm. And they dared let Players egg them on into robbing travelers."

Wang Xuan shook his hands and continued onward.

He thought that would be the end of it, but the next day, even more people came. Their leader was "Iron Palm" Zhao Kuo, a somewhat famous figure in Jing Prefecture, with cultivation at the Post-Heaven Fourth Layer. He was considered a capable fighter locally.

Zhao Kuo led his people to block Wang Xuan. His words were more polite than Liu San's, but the meaning was the same: if Wang Xuan wanted to live, he would come with them. If not, he would die. Bringing back a dead man's head for the reward was just as good.

Wang Xuan did not waste words and attacked directly. His Great Monument-Breaking Hand struck out, and Zhao Kuo's Iron Palm, reputedly capable of splitting steles and shattering rocks, was like paper. When their palms met, every bone in Zhao Kuo's arm shattered from shoulder to fingertips.

Before Zhao Kuo could finish screaming, Wang Xuan's other hand was already pressing against the crown of his head and driving downward.

Pffft!

Zhao Kuo's head was forcibly pressed into his chest cavity, leaving only his shoulders outside. His corpse remained standing rigidly for two seconds before falling.

The rest were terrified out of their minds. They wailed for their parents as they fled, but Wang Xuan caught up to them, one palm strike each. He either shattered their heads or drove them into their chests and abdomens.

When the killing was over, corpses once again covered the official road.

The third day, the fourth day...

He encountered ambushes almost every day.

Sometimes they came in groups of three or five Players, sometimes they were local bandits, and sometimes they were mixtures of both.

The reward was simply too high. Eight hundred taels of gold was enough for an ordinary person to spend for several lifetimes, while Mid-Grade Martial Arts were something many martial artists dreamed of. The Players especially wanted to fish in troubled waters and wished the matter would grow as chaotic as possible.

Wang Xuan killed until his hands went numb. His attacks grew increasingly ruthless and increasingly fast.

Often, in a single exchange, the other side had not even seen clearly before their heads were gone.

The epithet "Skull-Crushing Hand" spread just like that.

Rumors throughout the martial world spoke of a Ruthless One who specialized in smashing heads. One palm strike, and a head would shatter. His brutality was beyond belief.

Wang Xuan himself felt that something was wrong. He had tried changing clothes, taking side roads, and traveling at night while resting during the day.

But no matter how he hid, those pursuing him could always find him.

It was as if someone had put eyes on him.

After dealing with another group, Wang Xuan sat on a roadside stone and pulled the black Storage Bag threaded with gold from his clothes.

The bag felt smooth to the touch, and its gold threads glimmered faintly in the sunlight.

"The problem is with you, isn't it?" Wang Xuan looked at the Storage Bag and muttered to himself.

This bag had belonged to Yu Jinghong, and Yu Jinghong was part of the Royal Clan.

The Royal Clan could bring things into this Low Martial Arts World that should not have existed here.

So it did not seem difficult to tamper with this thing somehow, such as adding a tracking mark.

Wang Xuan weighed the bag in his hand.

Inside were mountain-like heaps of gold and silver, along with medicinal pills.

Throw it away?

He was not the sort to give up eating for fear of choking.

Besides, even if he threw it away, the Kill Order remained. Those who were coming would still come.

"Forget it." Wang Xuan tucked the bag back into his clothes. "Let them come. I'll just kill a few more."

He stood, patted the dirt from his backside, and continued toward Jing Prefecture.

Jingzhou City.

Yu Jingtian, the Guild Leader of the Qingtian Gang, sat in a grand chair and looked down at the sea of people below.

These were Players who had not signed the Servant Contract. There were over a hundred of them, while many more Players watched from farther away.

"Everyone."

Yu Qingtian sat at the head seat, lightly tapping the tabletop with his fingertips. His voice was not loud, yet it carried a pressure that pierced the heart, instantly suppressing the murmurs among the Players below.

"You all know the terms of the contract. Martial arts manuals, healing pills—so long as you obey orders and work properly, I, Shen Chenzhou, have never mistreated my own people."

At these words, greed flashed in the eyes of many unsigned Players below, while the contracted Players standing behind him remained expressionless.

"The task is urgent. You have come all the way to Jingzhou City for nothing more than the word 'future.' In any world, there is no brighter future than following the Royal Clan. Those who wish to sign may come forward. Those unwilling will not be forced. Turn around, leave through the door, then turn left!"

The Players who had come here had mostly intended to sign a contract. Now that they had received the exact terms, they hurried forward one after another to sign.

Once the hall had quieted and no more Players stepped forward, Yu Qingtian turned around and coldly issued an unquestionable order to the hundred-plus Players behind him. "Spread out around the Prefecture Office and keep a close watch on Prefect Ling's daughter, Ling Shuanghua."

"Wherever she goes, whoever she meets, whatever she says, even what she eats—report every last detail to me."

"Yes!"

No one dared hesitate. Everyone answered in unison, though their voices no longer carried the enthusiasm from before. Instead, they sounded dull and mechanical, like robots.

After everyone had left, he went to the writing desk and wrote a letter.

The letter was addressed to Shen Chenzhou, Guild Leader of the Power Gang. Its contents were simple: Ding Dian in Jingzhou's Death Prison is what both you and I want. Without Ding Dian, it will be difficult to activate the Side Quest. Even if we find Tianning Temple, the Treasure of Emperor Liang Yuan will be useless. Acting alone makes it easy for others to profit from us. Yu Jinghong is dead, so we might as well join forces. Once our people are gathered, we will first attack Jingzhou's Prefecture Office. After getting Ding Dian out, we can discuss how to divide the gains.

After finishing the letter, he summoned a Player.

"Send it to Shen Chenzhou by carrier pigeon."

"Yes."

The Player respectfully accepted the letter and departed.

Shen Chenzhou walked to the window and looked at the streets of Jingzhou City outside.

The streets were crowded with people. Many were martial artists carrying blades and swords, and there were plenty of Players as well.

They had all come for the Treasure of Emperor Liang Yuan and the Divine Illumination Art.

"Interesting." Shen Qingtian sneered. "In past Novice Trials, the Royal Clan would always end up fighting among themselves. I never expected an interesting character to emerge this time. Cousin Jinghong, you left early. I will avenge you, as a small repayment for your ending up at the bottom in this trial."

Inside the Prefecture Office, Lord Ling Tuisi was furious.

"This is outrageous! Utterly outrageous!" He smashed his teacup on the floor. "A pack of martial world rabble dare attack the Death Prison of the Prefecture Office? Do they think Ling Tuisi is made of clay?"

Below him stood an adviser and several constables, none daring to breathe too loudly.

"Send more men!" Ling Tuisi roared. "Add another squad to the Death Prison. No, two squads! Have Daoist Xiao guard it personally! Tell them that if anything happens to Ding Dian, I will hold them accountable!"

"Yes, my lord." The adviser hurriedly accepted the order.

"Understood."

Ling Tuisi waved them away.

After they left, he sat in his grand chair, his expression dark.

How had Ding Dian's secret spread until the entire martial world knew of it?

Those martial artists were like flies that had caught the scent of blood, all swarming over. If he discovered who had leaked the news, he would skin that person alive, then imprison and torture them again and again.

"Hmph." Ling Tuisi sneered. "You want the treasure? You want Divine Arts? You need to live long enough to take them first."

His fingers tapped the armrest as calculations ran endlessly through his mind.

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