After Li Pingsheng placed the Blazing Fire Python's inner core in the box, he closed the lid.
The moment his fingers touched the bottom of the box, a wave of heat rose along his fingertips, passed through his skin, and entered his blood vessels.
He turned his hand over and slipped the box into an inner pocket.
Next came the white jade box containing the Ice Pole Silkworm's essence.
It was terribly cold. The moment he picked it up, the hairs on the back of his hand stood on end, and a thin layer of frost quickly formed on his skin.
The cold and heat could balance the disharmony in his qi and blood caused by forcing himself to use the lightning technique.
If he handed these two items over to the martial arts school, he would only get a few hundred contribution points.
Kept in his own hands, they could be brewed with some auxiliary medicines into three doses of excellent medicine for treating the marrow sea.
He tucked the Ice Pole Silkworm's essence into his clothes as well. The pain in his chest, where the opposing forces of ice and fire had stimulated him, made his mind even clearer.
He dug the Century Blood Ginseng off the shelf, roots and all, with the soil still clinging to it.
Li Pingsheng pointed to the purple sandalwood shelf on his right.
Lu Qingshan took a gray burlap sack and stuffed all the medicinal herbs on the shelf into it. The dried herbs rustled inside.
"Brother Li, there's a hidden compartment below."
Crouching to one side, Lu Qingshan grabbed a loose blue brick and lifted it.
The brick rolled onto the ground with a thud, kicking up a cloud of dust and revealing three black iron chests.
The copper locks on the lids had been almost completely corroded by rainwater and air. They had turned green and were covered in green mold.
Li Pingsheng stepped forward and kicked the copper lock off the first chest.
With a sharp snap,
the rusted lock shattered, and the metal pieces inside the keyhole fell to the ground.
When the lid opened, a pungent, gamey odor mingled with the smell of herbs and hit them in the face.
Inside, rows of neatly stacked dark red jerky filled the chest. Each piece was the size of a brick, and a layer of white salt crystals had formed on top.
"Level 3 Demon Bear Meat."
Lu Qingshan's Adam's apple bobbed. The sound of him swallowing in the secret room was unmistakable.
On the Black Market, an ounce of meat could sell for ten taels of silver.
These three huge chests must have held hundreds of pounds.
Li Pingsheng bent down, grabbed a piece of jerky, and ate it. The meat was so hard his teeth nearly chipped.
He clenched his jaws and chewed, his cheeks bulging as he crushed the jerky.
A surge of qi and blood exploded in his stomach, and heat spread to his limbs.
The meridians, which had been drained by the lightning technique, immediately filled up again, swelling with waves of pain.
Li Pingsheng's chest rose and fell as he forcibly suppressed the urge to burp.
The illusory panel over his retina shifted slightly, and his potential points began to rise.
"Take it all."
Li Ping uttered three words.
Without a word, Lu Qingshan hoisted the heavy iron chest onto his back. Its iron bottom pressed dents into his shoulder and clothes.
Just then, a jumble of footsteps came from outside the passage.
Two martial arts school discipline instructors came in with several disciples.
Leading them was Instructor Sun, the Outer Courtyard's discipline administrator. He held a thick ledger and was marking circles in it with a red-ink brush.
"The Zhao Family's cellar has been fully inventoried."
Instructor Sun turned a page in the ledger without even lifting his eyelids and drew a heavy line across it with his brush.
"One hundred and three thousand taels of silver in cash, twelve deeds to shops in the Inner City, and five hundred mu of fertile farmland in the Outer City."
Only after closing the ledger did Instructor Sun look up.
His gaze swept across the chaotic scene in the secret room before finally settling on Li Pingsheng's bulging chest and the iron chest on Lu Qingshan's back.
"Martial Uncle Li."
Instructor Sun changed how he addressed him.
"The Hall Master has ordered that all of the Zhao Family's property be confiscated, registered, and transported back to the martial arts school's treasury for centralized allocation."
Li Pingsheng said nothing more.
He walked over to the red sandalwood chest filled with banknotes and silver, then rested his hand on its lid. His knuckles rapped against the wood with a dull thump.
"Out of the hundred thousand taels, I want thirty thousand."
"And three of the deeds say that the shops near the Inner City belong to me."
Instructor Sun's face paled, and several deep furrows appeared on his forehead.
"Martial Nephew Li, you can't do that."
"The rules of the martial arts school are that everything must be handed in first, and rewards are decided afterward."
Instructor Sun took half a step forward, trying to use his authority as an instructor to rein Li Pingsheng in.
"The Hall Master sets the rules."
Li Ping cut him off and walked toward Instructor Sun.
The Demon Bear meat he had just eaten was still releasing qi and blood inside him. The pressure rolling off him, along with the aura of lightning, spread unconsciously.
The air around them seemed to grow hot.
Instructor Sun's chest tightened, and his breathing immediately turned ragged.
The sight of Chen Tieshan with his chest caved in after being struck on the Martial Practice Field flashed through his mind. Looking at the young man before him, who had stood up to Old Qi, he felt cold sweat seep down his back.
A hundred thousand taels of silver was tempting, but only if you lived long enough to spend it.
To offend an Inner Courtyard Head Disciple with such ruthless methods over the martial arts school's public funds was a losing proposition any way you looked at it.
He hurriedly lowered his head to avoid Li Pingsheng's gaze, then coughed to hide his panic.
"Brother Li is right."
"You took the top honors in the examination and saved the entire Outer City. Thirty percent... should go to you."
Instructor Sun changed his tune quickly. He drew a line through the figure in the ledger, reducing the hundred thousand taels to seventy thousand.
"Thank you for being accommodating, Instructor Sun."
Li Pingsheng opened the red sandalwood chest and took out a thick stack of banknotes. Without counting or even looking at them, he stuffed them into another empty pocket carried by Lu Qingshan.
Then he pulled three deeds from the stack, folded them, and put them in his pocket.
Steady footsteps sounded on the stone steps outside the secret room. Pei Guang came down with his hands behind his back.
He glanced at the ransacked hidden compartment, then at the crossed-out ledger in Instructor Sun's hands, and finally at Li Pingsheng's stuffed pockets.
"Master."
Li Pingsheng turned and nodded.
Pei Guang looked at his student.
A few months ago, the kid had been chased through the streets by the Black Water Gang over a few taels of loose silver.
Now he stood before such a vast fortune without even batting an eyelid, and had directly carved off the biggest share right in front of a discipline instructor.
He was ruthless and greedy, but he was also steady.
In an age when your life could be snuffed out at any moment, only those who kept their resources firmly in their own hands could live forever.
The rewards handed down from above had long since been eaten by wild dogs.
Pei Guang asked no questions. He merely waved Instructor Sun over.
"Do as we discussed before."
"Load the rest onto carts and transport it to the martial arts school."
"Understood, Master Pei."
As if granted a pardon, Instructor Sun immediately called over his men to carry out the chests.
"Once this is done, hurry back."
Pei Guang patted Li Pingsheng on the shoulder with his large, broad hand.
"Your family must have been frightened for quite some time. You can go home and settle things with them."
"I'll deal with the martial arts school's accounts."
"Thank you, Master."
By the time they came out of the Zhao Mansion's underground secret room, the sky was completely dark.
The Zhao Family's red gate had been smashed to pieces, and there was blood on the threshold.
The Outer City's residents crowded both sides of the long street, gazing from afar. They didn't dare come closer, so they stood on tiptoe to peer inside.
Holding Yunmei's hand, Li Pingsheng stepped over the broken threshold and onto the street.
A muffled commotion immediately rippled through the crowd.
Countless eyes focused on Li Pingsheng. Some were full of awe, others fear, and still others ingratiation, but none held the disdain of the past.
"So that's the eldest grandson of the Li Family."
"Shh, do you want to die? Given the situation now, you should call him Lord Li."
"He flattened the Zhao Family. Who in the Outer City would dare mess with the Old Li House now?"
The murmurs were carried by the evening breeze to my ears.
When Master Qin kicked in the courtyard gate, the neighbors had crowded around too, eager to see what the people of the Old Li House would do.
In the Outer City, sympathy was worthless.
If you made everyone fear you, they would respectfully clear a path for you.
The Zhao Family had fallen.
But as long as the powerful families of the Inner City remained, and as long as the thing beneath the Dragon Locking Well remained, things like this would keep happening.
Thirty thousand taels of silver, Level 3 Demon Bear meat—this was only the beginning.
He needed more potential points to unlock more skills, until no one could control whether he lived or died.
Lu Qingshan found a handcart and loaded it with three large chests of demon beast meat and some medicinal herbs. The axle creaked.
"Brother Li, if this wheel falls apart halfway, we'll have to carry everything back."
Lu Qingshan gripped the handles tightly. The muscles in his arms tensed, and the veins on his forehead bulged.
"If it falls apart, you're the only one carrying it."
Li Ping walked in front without looking back.
Yunmei held two of his fingers. The little girl had been frightened today and remained quiet the whole way.
"Why did they arrest me, Brother?"
Yunmei tilted her head and asked in a small voice.
"Because they weren't as strong as your brother."
Li Pingsheng wrapped his whole hand around Yunmei's little hand, warmth spreading from his palm.
"They won't be able to again."
The night was cool, and the streets of the Outer City were uneven. When the handcart rolled through puddles, it splashed mud into the air.
After about half an hour, the dilapidated walls of the Old Li House came into view.
Half the wall had already been knocked down once. Someone had later patched it up with broken bricks, but now it was on the verge of collapse.
Li Pingsheng stopped, sensing something was wrong.
The courtyard was quiet.
Usually, Second Aunt would be preparing dinner in the kitchen at this hour, and Grandpa would be smoking his pipe in the courtyard.
The scent of food that should have filled the air was gone, as was the smell of pipe smoke. Only a faint earthy scent and a trace of blood remained.
Li Ping let go of Yunmei and pushed her behind Lu Qingshan.
"Keep an eye on her."
After giving the quiet instruction, he stepped lightly toward the wooden door.
He gently touched the door with his left hand. The hinges creaked as the door opened a crack.
The courtyard came into view at once.
Beside the water vat, Grandpa and Second Uncle stood back to back.
Both were drenched in sweat, afraid to blink.
Grandpa gripped a dull chopping knife, while Second Uncle held a sharpened wooden carrying pole, the veins standing out on his hand.
Their muscles were taut to the limit, and their eyes were fixed on the shadow, blended into the night, perched in the old elm tree beyond the courtyard wall.
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