Murder and Arson Bring Golden Belts!

Deep within a desolate mountain range dozens of miles outside Wurong County!

In a dark, gloomy cave, a flickering torch spat out dim red tongues of flame, casting mottled and distorted shadows against the surrounding rock walls.

Chen An looked at the three chests before him, overflowing with rare treasures, cultivation techniques, martial arts manuals, precious pills, and divine weapons. He couldn't help but curl his lips into a smile and let out a sigh.

Before he awakened his memories, his entire net worth had been a mere few dozen Yuan Crystals. Now, any single item from these three wooden chests would have completely eclipsed his previous wealth.

"Right!"

Chen An tapped his forehead, suddenly remembering the Yuan Crystals he had just acquired. With a flicker of his intent, he opened the system:

Host: Chen An Age: 17 Aptitude: Mid-grade Martial Bone Cultivation: Grandmaster Realm (Early Stage) Current Balance: 500,000

"One, ten, hundred, thousand, ten thousand, hundred thousand!"

"Holy crap!"

"Five hundred thousand!!!"

Staring at the balance displayed on the system, Chen An's eyes widened. A look of disbelief flashed across his face; he even carefully counted the zeros one by one just to be sure.

When he confirmed that the number on his balance was indeed five hundred thousand, Chen An's breathing grew ragged. Unable to suppress the joy in his heart any longer, he burst into laughter.

"Hahaha, I'm rich! I'm truly rich this time!!!"

His original intention in wiping out the Bai Family had been merely to cut the weeds and dig up the roots, ensuring no future trouble so that Bai Yifan wouldn't secretly retaliate or harass him later. He hadn't dared to hope for any extra benefits.

He never expected that after tallying everything up, he would harvest such a terrifying fortune.

Five hundred thousand Yuan Crystals—this was an astronomical figure he wouldn't have dared to imagine before.

Thinking back to two days ago, when he had been brooding and depressed over failing to swindle ten thousand Yuan Crystals from Bai Yifan, he felt a bit small-minded by comparison.

"If one Bai Family has this much wealth, what if I were to target the Zhou Family, the Qi Family..."

The thought flashed through his mind like lightning. A increasingly wild ambition quietly sprouted, and a cold glint appeared in the depths of his eyes.

The major families of Wurong County all possessed deep foundations. If he were to settle accounts with them one by one, what kind of terrifying wealth would that be?!

But the next moment, Chen An snapped back to his senses, his heart chilling.

"No, no, stay calm, stay calm!!!"

He shook his head repeatedly, forcibly cutting off that impulsive and dangerous train of thought. He raised his hand and slapped his cheeks hard, forcing his restless mind to settle down quickly.

"Sigh, it seems I've improved too quickly; my state of mind is struggling to keep up. I wonder if there are any techniques in this world to cultivate one's mental state?!"

After calming down, Chen An couldn't help but shake his head and sigh slightly at the crazy thoughts that had just sprouted.

At this moment, he couldn't help but recall cases from his past life: countless poor people who suddenly struck it rich, becoming arrogant and reckless the moment they tasted success, only to end up ruined, their wealth dissipated and their lives destroyed.

Sudden wealth disturbs the heart, and the lust for power blinds the eyes—it had been this way since ancient times!

Taking a deep breath to steady his spirit, Chen An turned his gaze back to the three large chests of treasure.

Treasures kept in the vault of a martial arts family like the Bai Family were naturally no ordinary goods. Among them were materials from third-tier ferocious beasts comparable to Houtian Realm martial artists, Red-Veined Copper and Fire Profound Iron for forging third-tier weapons, centuries-old medicinal herbs, and second and third-tier pills like the Foundation Solidifying Pill and the Realm Breaking Pill.

All in all, the total value of these heavenly materials, forging metals, rare pills, and protective gear was no less than several hundred thousand Yuan Crystals.

However, Chen An only glanced at these treasures without much interest. Instead, he turned his attention to the cultivation techniques and martial arts manuals.

Yet, after tallying them up, Chen An felt a bit disappointed.

There were thirteen manuals in total from the Bai Family, but eight were merely Yellow-tier techniques. There were five Xuan-tier techniques, but not a single Earth-tier manual.

However, after thinking about it for a moment, Chen An soon felt relieved.

Although the Bai Family was considered a martial arts family in Wurong County, the strongest person he had sensed at their estate last night—presumably Bai Yifan's father—was only at the late Houtian Realm.

Furthermore, Earth-tier martial arts were incredibly precious; they were considered top-tier inheritances throughout the surrounding counties and were worth more than ten thousand gold.

If the Bai Family had been lucky enough to possess an Earth-tier technique, they certainly wouldn't have left it casually piled in this outer vault alongside common pills and forging materials.

It would have been hidden away in a secret chamber or kept personally by the family head, strictly guarded against leaks and never shown to others.

"Forget it, I'll just store them away. I have plenty of Yuan Crystals now, so I can just spend some to 'level up' and learn them later. You can never have too many skills!"

Though disappointed, Chen An ultimately packed the manuals away, planning to study them when he had time.

After putting the techniques away, Chen An looked at the three chests again. His eyes flickered, and he found a relatively flat spot in the cave, then swung his palm down with force.

With a boom, the ground exploded, and a pit nearly a yard deep appeared in the cave.

Chen An placed the three chests into the pit and used his palm to fill it back in. After a moment of thought, he went outside, found a boulder weighing over ten thousand pounds, and rolled it on top. Only then did he clap his hands and nod in satisfaction.

These treasures were valuable, but he currently had a massive sum of five hundred thousand in his system. Moreover, since these items were taken from the Bai Family, and the family had just been wiped out, selling or using them now would inevitably invite suspicion.

If he left any clues that drew the attention of the county government or other families, it would be a nuisance.

He would bury them here for now; he could come back to retrieve them once the heat died down or when he was in need of money.

"Hoo!"

He let out a long, stale breath. After scanning his surroundings to ensure nothing was left behind, Chen An turned and walked out of the cave, stepping into the air and departing.

A short while later, Chen An returned to Wurong County.

To keep a low profile, he specifically suppressed his protective aura, lest he fly through the sky like a lightbulb and attract attention.

Before heading home, he flew near the Bai estate and saw that the ruins were brightly lit and bustling with people—it looked like the government officials.

Faintly, he could even hear the sound of weeping.

Perhaps they were distant relatives of the Bai Family, or the families of the guards and servants who had died.

Chen An felt not a ripple of emotion at this.

In his years living in Wurong County, he had heard too much.

The guards and servants kept by the Bai Family had spent their days riding on the family's influence to run rampant in the streets, bullying commoners, extorting merchants, and committing all sorts of evil.

Since these people had attached themselves to the Bai Family, relying on its power to act as tyrants and enjoy special privileges, they had to bear the cost of its destruction.

When one prospers, all prosper; when one falls, all fall. The world was just that cruel.

Since they were vicious dogs, dying with their master was only right and proper; they were not worth a shred of sympathy.

As for the remaining distant relatives of the Bai Family, Chen An thought for a moment and dismissed the idea of cutting the weeds and digging up the roots.

He had wiped out the Bai Family because Bai Yifan had first sent people to cripple him. Now that the family was gone and both Bai Yifan and his father were dead, he had vented his anger. There was no need to take things to the extreme.

After all, he wasn't a natural-born serial killer!

His eyes flickered, and Chen An's figure shifted in the void, vanishing into the night sky like the wind...