Assassination

"Father, Mother, I'll be heading back to the martial hall in a bit."

Jiang Chen said.

Now that he had broken through, he needed to go to the martial hall and find out whether there were any stronger medicinal supplements.

The Five Elements Pill's medicinal power was still a little too weak for him.

"Good."

Jiang Sihai didn't stop him and immediately sent someone to prepare his things.

By the time Jiang Chen finished his lavish breakfast, his bundle was ready. Besides clothes, shoes, and socks, the most important thing was money.

This time, Jiang Sihai had put in a full two thousand silver notes.

He wanted Jiang Chen to focus on cultivating without worrying about money.

"I'm off."

Jiang Chen slung the bundle over his back and strode away, disappearing into the morning mist.

"We need to inform the clan about this."

After watching Jiang Chen leave, Jiang Sihai headed to his study.

He'd promised one thing and then suddenly changed his mind, so he needed a suitable reason.

And Jiang Chen's breakthrough into the Second Qi and Blood Gate was the best possible reason.

Not only would he refuse to hand over money, he would demand that the clan allocate funds to support him, in accordance with the clan rules.

Of course, the clan probably wouldn't give him any money. This was merely a bargaining tactic.

"Hm?"

As Jiang Chen hurried toward the martial hall, his sense of danger suddenly surged.

Whoosh!

The next moment, two figures sprang out from around a street corner, swinging wooden clubs down at him.

"Late Second Qi and Blood Gate?!"

Jiang Chen instinctively retreated, sweeping his sleeve with force at the same time.

A cloud of gray powder flew straight into their faces.

The two attackers let out agonized howls, clutching their eyes as they staggered backward.

Whoosh!

But after the powder struck its mark, Jiang Chen didn't flee. Instead, he darted forward.

He pressed the fingers of his left hand together, the hand as treacherous and precise as a venomous snake, and thrust it toward one man's throat.

Ancient martial art: Snake Hand!

His right hand formed a fist, his index and middle fingers protruding slightly as he delivered a swift punch to the other man's abdomen.

Ancient martial art: Heart Splitter!

The sounds of cracking bones and torn flesh rang out at the same time.

The man whose throat had been crushed died on the spot.

The other, gravely wounded in the abdomen, was sent flying and landed far away, rolling on the ground and howling.

Ancient martial arts were also known as killing techniques. Every move went for a vital spot.

They were nothing like the gentler Stone Moving Method or White Ape Fist.

That was why Jiang Chen was confident that he could pass the Martial Exam with top marks as soon as he entered the True Martial Realm.

Cultivation could be raised quickly with outside resources.

But battle experience had to be gained firsthand, honed step by step.

"Who sent you?"

Jiang Chen planted his foot heavily on the man.

If he hadn't wanted to interrogate him about who was behind this, that punch would have gone straight for his heart.

Four hundred catties of force focused on a single point—an explosive strike with piercing power.

Forget an ordinary person—even a black bear would have its heart ruptured and die.

"I... We were just short on money. Nobody sent us."

At death's door, the man was still stubbornly denying it.

"Is that so? Then you can die."

Jiang Chen pressed down with his foot, and the faint sound of cracking bones came from beneath it.

Two men at the Second Qi and Blood Gate dared to rob a martial hall disciple?

Either they were out of their minds, or they had specifically targeted him.

He was more inclined to believe the latter.

Besides, he'd already guessed who the suspects were.

"Wait!"

"It was Seventh Young Master Zheng who sent us! We were only following orders!"

Seeing Jiang Chen about to kill him, the man hurriedly spoke up.

In his heart, he cursed Zheng Hao and the eighteen generations of his ancestors.

He'd said Zheng Hao was just a pampered young master, with cultivation only at the First Qi and Blood Gate, and that they could take him down with ease.

And the result?

They'd killed one of them in a single exchange.

With such vicious methods, he was no pampered young master. He was an executioner, with who knew how many lives on his hands!

"Just as I thought. Zheng Hao."

Jiang Chen wasn't surprised by the answer.

It seemed Zheng Hao and the others owed plenty of debts outside the martial hall. They'd come up with such a rotten scheme to kill him and take his money.

That stirred murderous intent in Jiang Chen's heart.

Since Zheng Hao and the others were asking for death, he'd send them on their way!

"How did you know where I'd be?"

Jiang Chen asked another question.

They'd ambushed him with such precise timing. There was probably a mole in his household.

"I'm not sure. I think someone sent messages to Seventh Young Master."

The man knew little.

Crack.

After getting the information he wanted, Jiang Chen promptly sent him on his way.

"Broke-ass."

After expertly searching the bodies, he found that aside from a dagger and poisoned needles, the two men had not a penny to their names.

Jiang Chen dumped the bodies in a drain and hurried away from the street.

Half an hour later.

White Ape Martial Hall.

When Jiang Chen arrived, the martial hall had only just opened.

He put his luggage in his room, then headed to the Practice Field and began training in White Ape Fist.

His fists whistled through the air, his Blood Qi roiling, his presence formidable.

As for the attempted assassination, it hadn't affected him in the slightest.

"This fluctuation..."

The disciples who had risen early and come to the Practice Field were all staring at Jiang Chen in shock.

The Second Qi and Blood Gate?

Jiang Chen, who'd always been at the bottom of the class, had actually broken through to the Second Qi and Blood Gate?

Could it be true?!

Westward Street, a certain secluded alley.

"Why haven't they come back yet?"

Zheng Hao and the others kept poking their heads out to look around.

As time passed, the shops on the street opened and more pedestrians appeared, but the two men they'd sent out still hadn't returned.

Naturally, this left Zheng Hao and the others baffled.

Jiang Chen was only at the late First Qi and Blood Gate, while both men sent to rob him were at the late Second Qi and Blood Gate. They should have been able to handle him with ease.

"Brother Zheng, could they have run off with the money?"

An older disciple couldn't help asking.

"Impossible!"

Zheng Hao shook his head.

When you hired people to rob someone, you naturally chose trusted confidants.

He wouldn't dare use people who grew greedy at the sight of money.

"Could Jiang Chen have avoided Westward Street?"

An older disciple ventured.

"Going from his house to the martial hall, Westward Street is the shortest route. He has no reason to avoid it."

"Besides, if the information was wrong, they should have come back to tell us. Why haven't we seen them at all?"

Zheng Hao was just as confused. He had no idea what had gone wrong.

"Could Jiang Chen have escaped them?"

A disciple suddenly suggested.

"Do you think that's possible?"

Zheng Hao didn't believe it.

Could someone at the First Qi and Blood Gate escape two ambushers at the Second Qi and Blood Gate?

It made no sense.

After all,

the First Qi and Blood Gate had only three hundred units of Blood Qi.

The Second Qi and Blood Gate had six hundred.

They were on entirely different levels.

"Let's go take a look."

When Chen Hour arrived, Zheng Hao and the others stopped waiting and went to the ambush site.

The shops were open, street vendors had set up their stalls. Everything looked as it usually did.

"Shopkeeper, can we ask you something?"

After looking around furtively, Zheng Hao and the others went to the nearby shops to ask for news.

"Two bodies?"

As it turned out, they really did learn something.

About half an hour earlier, constables on patrol had found two bodies in a drainage ditch. They'd sent them to the Mass Grave outside the city.

"Dead?"

Zheng Hao and the others were all startled.

There was a good chance those two bodies belonged to the men they'd sent out.

Those two had been killed?

By whom?

Jiang Chen?

Impossible!

Then had the Jiang Clan arranged for someone to escort him?

That also seemed unlikely.

If someone had been escorting Jiang Chen, the two men wouldn't have attacked.

"Lately, there've been gang clashes all over the East District. I've heard that eerie things have been harming people in secret, too. You'd better stay at the martial hall and not wander around."

The shopkeeper warned Zheng Hao and the others.

People had been dying in Willow Catkin Ward a lot lately.

Some died in gang conflicts.

Others died under mysterious circumstances, apparently killed by evil spirits.

Because of this, even the shopkeepers were closing up early, afraid something might happen.

"Don't tell me we've had the bad luck to get caught up in a gang war?"

Zheng Hao and the others exchanged glances, their spirits sinking.

They'd thought that once they dealt with Jiang Chen today, they'd be free of their debts.

Instead, they hadn't gotten their hands on any money and had lost two lives.

"Back to the martial hall."

Zheng Hao turned to leave. He wanted to go to the martial hall and see how Jiang Chen reacted.