Wen Shihan's Transaction

Facing the Xuanlan Wolf Demon, Wei Xuanfeng's fighting spirit soared.

With the red words upon him and his improved saber technique, he was brimming with confidence.

He drew his embroidered spring saber and walked step by step toward the Xuanlan Wolf Demon.

Grand Ancestor Saber Technique mnemonic: Begin like a standing post; if your stance is unstable, you might as well take a beating.

The Xuanlan Wolf Demon sensed his aura as well. It was far beyond anything comparable to the martial artists it had just slaughtered.

Man and wolf alike held back from striking first, pacing as they searched for each other's openings.

Wei Xuanfeng suddenly looked behind the Xuanlan Wolf Demon, the corner of his mouth lifting slightly.

The Xuanlan Wolf Demon immediately caught that expression.

It whipped its head around, and without a second thought, Wei Xuanfeng lunged forward.

While in midair, he raised his embroidered spring saber high above his head.

Eighth stance of the Grand Ancestor Saber Technique: Splitting Mount Hua.

Yet before he could bring the saber down on it, a sense of danger shot up his spine.

Damn, I fell for it!

That beast had turned its head as a feint—its tail was the real attack!

Every bristle on its wolf tail stood on end as it swept toward his waist like a spiked mace.

Wei Xuanfeng forcibly twisted his waist in midair. As he shifted his body, he changed his downward chop into a horizontal guard across his chest.

Third stance of the Grand Ancestor Saber Technique: Iron Chains Across the River.

Clang!

The wolf tail smashed into the blade. Wei Xuanfeng's tiger's mouth split open on the spot, and he was sent flying.

As he flew backward, he spun the embroidered spring saber close to his body, blocking another three claws with a rapid series of clangs.

By the time he rolled behind a large tree and got to his feet, his waist first went cold, then erupted in searing pain.

Looking down, he saw a bloody gash. Fortunately, it was not deep.

His thigh had also been raked by a claw, his trousers torn apart and flesh curling outward.

Wei Xuanfeng weighed the embroidered spring saber in his hand, but instead smiled.

"Cunning beast. You've taught me a lesson."

"Awoo!"

The Xuanlan Wolf Demon gave him no chance to catch his breath and pounced straight at him.

Its leap brought a foul, bloody wind crashing into his face.

Wei Xuanfeng did not retreat.

There was no retreating formula in the Grand Ancestor Saber Technique.

This saber technique had been forged in slaughter on the battlefield. Every move was a fight for the initiative, every slash drove forward.

Take one step back, and your momentum would leak away.

Once that momentum leaked away, the saber would slow.

He met it head-on, his saber moving with his body, his body turning with his steps.

First slash: Sweeping Through a Thousand Armies.

The wolf demon tilted its head aside to evade it, then returned a claw that ripped open his left shoulder.

Second slash: Sailing Against the Current.

He slashed upward with his backhand, carving a half-foot-long bloody wound across the wolf's belly.

Third slash: Mount Tai Pressing Down.

The wolf demon endured the blow and bit for his throat. He tilted his head to avoid the vital spot, but its fangs sank into his shoulder blade, blood splashing across his face.

He did not even furrow his brow. He drove the embroidered spring saber into the wolf's shoulder with his backhand, then kicked both feet into its chest and explosively pushed off.

That kick both opened the distance between Wei Xuanfeng and his opponent and let him borrow the force to rip open the wolf's hide with his saber.

In three exchanges, man and wolf had traded several wounds apiece.

"Wooo..."

The Xuanlan Wolf Demon let out a shrill, miserable howl. Its left foreleg hung limply, connected by only a layer of skin.

Does this man not feel pain?

It had bitten him three times—why was each of his saber strikes heavier than the last?

How could it know that Wei Xuanfeng had secretly taken a Strength Pill long ago?

Confidence did not mean arrogance.

Even a lion fighting a rabbit must give it its all.

How could he hold anything back against a demonic beast?

That blow had injured the Xuanlan Wolf Demon's bones and sinews; it could no longer lift its left foreleg.

As it watched Wei Xuanfeng approach step by step, the handsome face it had once dismissed was now filled with utter coldness and calm.

The Xuanlan Wolf Demon instinctively realized...

Run, or die!

It suddenly turned and fled, cutting a thoroughly sorry figure with its back completely exposed.

It seemed that before the fear of death, even demonic beasts would protect their heads and forget their asses.

Wei Xuanfeng suddenly tightened his grip on the Xiuchun Saber and strode after it.

In just a few breaths, he had rushed up behind the Xuanlan Wolf Demon.

Then, he used the most ordinary straight thrust of the Grand Ancestor Saber Technique and sent out the Xiuchun Saber.

A hazy azure glow emanated from the saber tip. The light was faint, wrapping around the blade as it flickered in and out, releasing a low tremor.

Saber aura tore through the air. Amid a piercing shriek, the blade shot out like a meteor and sank hilt-deep into the Xuanlan Wolf Demon's heart from behind.

The wolf demon's body suddenly froze in midair.

It turned back in stunned disbelief, its eyes filled with incredulity before death.

[Successfully killed a demon servant-level demonic beast. Gold +100]

After killing the Xuanlan Wolf Demon, Wei Xuanfeng did not rejoice wildly. Instead, he immediately closed his eyes in thought.

That strike just now—he had actually unleashed saber aura!

Vaguely, he felt as though he had touched something, yet he could not grasp it!

This feeling was just like a wet dream—he had been so close, just a little closer!!

And then he woke up...

"Forget it. If I didn't catch it this time, there'll be another chance." Wei Xuanfeng sighed, then looked at the wolf demon's corpse. "Fuck, killing rabbits is still more cost-effective."

They were both worth a hundred gold, but rabbit demons were far easier to kill than wolf demons.

"Gr... Great Hero... save me..."

The martial artist whose belly had been ripped open by the wolf demon at the start let out a weak plea for help.

Wei Xuanfeng walked over to him.

"Brother, even if the Great Luo Immortal came, he couldn't save you." Wei Xuanfeng shook his head. "But... I can help end your suffering."

"Al... alright... thank you, Great Hero..." The martial artist also knew that even immortals could not save him. He spoke in broken gasps, "Trou... trouble Great Hero... take a message to my wife... uh..."

Before he could finish, Wei Xuanfeng's Xiuchun Saber had already slit his throat.

"Why thank me? I don't work for free."

Wei Xuanfeng then searched the corpse and pulled out several porcelain bottles, a purse, and a letter.

He had no idea what medicine was in the porcelain bottles. Useless. He threw them away.

The purse was full of copper coins. Not worth much and rather heavy. Useless. He threw it away.

As for the letter, Wei Xuanfeng could not even be bothered to tear it open and read it.

And the man wanted him to deliver a message...

Wei Xuanfeng considered himself a businessman. The guy did not even have courier fees—how did he have the nerve to bare his teeth and trouble him like that?

What a lunatic!

Wei Xuanfeng then walked toward the other martial artists.

Perhaps the Xuanlan Wolf Demon liked fresh sashimi, or perhaps martial artists really were that tenacious.

They were all still alive.

Of course, in Wei Xuanfeng's eyes, they were beyond even the gods' power to save.

So, in his mercy, he helped end their suffering and took the opportunity to search their bodies.

"Damn bad luck. This dagger is the only thing that's any good."

Of everything on the martial artists, the only things Wei Xuanfeng fancied were a few small gold pieces and a dagger.

The dagger gave off a faint blue glow beneath the moonlight. It had clearly been coated in poison.

That was the sorrow of a low-martial world—without storage bags, even looting corpses was no fun.

Wei Xuanfeng sighed and was just about to leave when someone suddenly grabbed his ankle.

"Save me..."

The speaker was his slender colleague from the Imperial Guard, another saber trooper like himself.

"Your injuries really are survivable."

Wei Xuanfeng had not killed her because he had seen at a glance that her injuries were not fatal.

He killed without batting an eye, but he truly was not someone who lusted after slaughter.

That was why he had neither killed her nor searched her.

After all, she had not asked him to put her out of her misery, so he had no reason to take her possessions.

"Save me..." the slender saber soldier murmured.

She had neat, cropped hair and strikingly handsome features—sword-like brows reaching into her temples, phoenix eyes brimming with authority.

Beneath an aura that kept strangers at arm's length, she somehow still carried a hint of cuteness.

"What are you offering as payment?" Wei Xuanfeng asked, looking down at her.

"My body..." Wen Shihan said, though her pretty face remained deathly pale.

Wei Xuanfeng was somewhat speechless. Did he really look that lecherous?

"Not you, little girl—where did you get that confidence..." Wei Xuanfeng shook his head. "Say something practical. If you don't have a reward worth offering, I'm leaving."

"Don't... don't go..." Wen Shihan's breathing grew weaker and weaker. "In my arms... there's a lightness skill manual..."

Before she could finish, she passed out.

Wei Xuanfeng crouched down and reached into her arms. Sure enough, he pulled out a booklet.

He opened it and carefully read several pages, then...

"A rare treasure... Deal accepted. Let's go, my esteemed employer."

The moonlight could not pierce the dense shadows between the trees. Wei Xuanfeng's figure, carrying the girl in his arms, was soon swallowed by the darkness, leaving only that still-warm pool of blood on the ground, glinting faintly...