Where Are the Banknotes?

The night was bitterly cold.

Moonlight like frost spilled down in a pale, thin radiance, turning the earth into a vast expanse of white, as though draped in a veil of silver.

Thud!

A figure landed on a rooftop. Wrapped in black, with only his eyes exposed, he panted softly as his gaze searched in every direction. "That little bitch got away? How is that possible? With so many of us, where could she run?"

"Who are you looking for?"

A gentle voice sounded beside the black-clad man's ear.

"The little bitch from Hundred Herbs Shop. Who else could it be?"

Before the black-clad man had even finished speaking, he suddenly snapped awake, his expression changing drastically. Something was wrong. He was a Dark Energy martial artist—how could someone have reached his back without him noticing?

Faint breathing came from above and behind him. The warm breath seemed to raise the temperature at his back by a degree. At some unknown moment, a colossal figure had already appeared behind him.

Seeing the enormous shadow cast upon the ground, the black-clad man's hair stood on end. A chill ran through his bones, and he immediately tried to leap backward.

The giant casually raised a hand and pressed it onto the black-clad man's head.

Terrifying force poured down like a flood. The black-clad man's entire body stiffened in an instant. Though his early Dark Energy cultivation strained with all its might, he still could not move an inch.

It's over! It's over! I've run into an old monster!

Despite the freezing weather, sweat streamed down the black-clad man's forehead. Terror filled his heart.

He considered himself at the peak of early Dark Energy. A mid Dark Energy martial artist could not possibly subdue him so easily, and even an ordinary Late Dark Energy martial artist would find it difficult to possess such strength.

Only those ancient monsters who had remained at Dark Energy perfection for years, cultivating multiple methods and types of force, could possess such terrifying power—killing Dark Energy martial artists as easily as slaughtering chickens.

But—

The black-clad man had guessed wrong.

This giant was merely a boy not yet nineteen, still short of his coming-of-age ceremony!

"From now on, I ask, and you answer."

Wang Sheng stood behind the black-clad man, his voice calm.

"Yes, yes, yes! Senior, please ask, please ask!"

The black-clad man immediately became as docile and fawning as a dog. Not a trace of the pride belonging to a peak early Dark Energy martial artist remained.

"What happened at Hundred Herbs Shop?"

Wang Sheng asked.

"Reporting to Senior. Two days ago, no one knew who issued a Hero's Order, saying that some senior expert was dissatisfied with certain major powers occupying the best territory and resources, and wanted to stand up for Rogue Cultivators. Thus, the Hero's Order was issued to gather ambitious heroes and martial world experts, rewarding good and punishing evil."

"But we all knew that Hero's Order was utter bullshit. Some expert was simply taking the lead, gathering a bunch of Rogue Cultivators to play bandits and rob people while certain major powers had been weakened."

"After everyone gathered tonight, the leader finally said we were going to rob Hundred Herbs Shop."

"You know it too, Senior. Hundred Herbs Shop had always accumulated virtue through good deeds, using medicinal herbs and medical skills to maintain friendly ties with many major powers. When we heard we were attacking Hundred Herbs Shop, how could we do such a thing? Wouldn't that make us enemies of the entire city? We didn't want to do it at the time."

"But then four Late Dark Energy experts appeared among the leaders. Left with no choice, we agreed to set out."

"After we arrived at Hundred Herbs Shop, just as expected, some among us were friendly with Hundred Herbs Shop and defected at the last moment, warning them."

"The people of Hundred Herbs Shop heard the commotion and came out to fight. We originally didn't want to fight, only to put on a show, but at that point, we had no choice but to fight."

"Later, the owner of Hundred Herbs Shop and his eldest disciple, two Late Dark Energy martial artists, were surrounded and killed."

"Now, forced by others and left with no choice, we are hunting down the youngest daughter of the Hundred Herbs Shop owner. Rumor has it that the owner once refined three divine pills. They could revive the dead, directly raise one's cultivation, and some even said they could improve one's innate foundation."

"The youngest daughter of the Hundred Herbs Shop owner seems to have taken the last divine pill, so many people are looking for her!"

The black-clad man roughly explained the beginning and end of tonight's chaos.

He deliberately painted himself as someone acting under duress, pretending that he had been forced into it because he feared Wang Sheng was an expert friendly with Hundred Herbs Shop.

"Hundred Herbs Shop!"

Wang Sheng frowned inwardly. Hundred Herbs Shop truly was extraordinary. It had connections and friendly relations with every major power in the city, and it was also responsible for refining many pills. The Bloody Dragon Pill, Blood Replenishing Pill, and Great Heaven Supplement Pill were all refined by Hundred Herbs Shop.

If Hundred Herbs Shop was gone, wouldn't the supply of those pills plummet?

Suddenly, a flash of sword light erupted behind Wang Sheng.

The sword light was incredibly fast. A cold gleam burst forth like a candle flame in darkness, only to transform in an instant into thousands upon thousands of sword shadows, densely packed as they engulfed Wang Sheng.

The sight was truly astonishing, as though an immortal controlled flying swords, sending ten thousand blades forth at once.

"Hm?"

"Not bad!"

Wang Sheng turned sideways, but his towering body neither dodged nor evaded.

Then—

He threw a punch.

Clang! Clang! Clang...

All the sword shadows rapidly dissolved beneath the crushing force of his fist.

"Not good!"

The swordsman had never expected Wang Sheng not to dodge, much less expected Wang Sheng's fist to be so fast. Like an arrow loosed from a bow, it shot toward him.

The swordsman was struck by the punch and flew even faster, almost becoming an afterimage. With a whoosh, he smashed violently into the ground, blasting out a huge crater and falling silent.

"That was Shadowless Sword, Sun Zhan!"

The black-clad man trembled uncontrollably, his eyes filled with terror.

Sun Zhan, at the peak of mid Dark Energy, could rely on the Shadowless Sword to escape even from Late Dark Energy martial artists. He was a renowned figure among the outsider Rogue Cultivators, yet this giant had dealt with him in a single punch!!!

"Senior, Senior, I'm still useful!"

The black-clad man suddenly realized something was wrong and hurriedly tried to demonstrate his value.

Crack!

However—

Wang Sheng's hand was faster than his words. He directly twisted and broke his neck.

The light in the black-clad man's eyes rapidly faded.

"Sorry, my hand was too fast!"

"Remember to speak faster in your next life. If you have something to say, get to the point!"

Wang Sheng said indifferently.

In truth—

Wang Sheng did not think the man could be of any use anyway. Keeping him alive would only waste time.

"After tempering my tendons, I still need to practice a bit before I can completely control this speed!"

Wang Sheng felt the surging power contained throughout his body and the terrifying speed poised to erupt at any moment. He was deeply satisfied.

Ancient body-tempering arts might truly suit him best—straightforward and direct, with no need for all sorts of flashy combat tricks and techniques.

"A divine pill that raises cultivation and improves one's innate foundation?"

Wang Sheng was rather doubtful about the last effect, the improvement of one's innate foundation.

If it truly worked, then paired with his own extraordinary "comprehension," wouldn't he instantly become a true genius?

But in reality, Zhao Jie had never even mentioned it to him.

The Great Martial Masters of the other major powers also did not seem worried that Zhao Jie would use such a divine pill to improve his disciples' innate foundations and transform them into geniuses.

Your own people might not necessarily want you to improve, but your enemies would certainly never give you the chance to improve.

Therefore, judging from the indifferent attitude of the other Great Martial Masters, Wang Sheng believed that the divine pill's ability to alter innate foundations was false.

Besides, if it worked, they would have used it long ago. Why would a Late Dark Energy martial artist leave it for his daughter?

"Forget it. I should just cultivate on my own."

After thinking for a while, Wang Sheng cleaned up the corpses and prepared to return to his cultivation.

"Found her!"

"Where is that little bitch? Don't let her get away!"

"Damn it, she scattered banknotes worth over ten thousand taels!"

Suddenly—

Shouts of fury came from afar. By the time they reached Wang Sheng's ears, they had become faint.

Wang Sheng's expression remained calm as he looked into the distance. Under the moonlight, figures converged rapidly toward one location.

A booming explosion, like a cannonball detonating, suddenly erupted.

Wang Sheng's massive body charged madly in that direction like he was pushing down mountains and toppling jade pillars, every step collapsing a rooftop.

"Where are the banknotes?"

"Get the hell out of my way!"

"Those who block my path die!!!"