Returning Laden and the Eve of the Storm

Under the cover of night, Chen Chen, dragging his exhausted body, began to clean up the battlefield.

He first walked to Wang Zhan's corpse.

This once arrogant Wang Family patriarch had now become a pile of cold, mangled flesh, a gruesome sight.

Chen Chen's face remained impassive.

He endured the stench of blood and began to search Wang Zhan's body.

Soon, he found a storage bag, several times more exquisite than Wang Lie's.

As his divine sense probed within, Chen Chen's breathing instantly quickened!

This storage bag had a space of ten cubic meters!

Inside, it was piled high with all sorts of cultivation resources.

Low-grade Spirit Stones, over a thousand of them!

Various pills for healing and restoring Blood Essence, a dazzling array filling over a dozen jade bottles!

There were even three bottles emitting astonishing energy fluctuations, their labels clearly reading - "Qi Condensation Pill"!

These were precious pills capable of helping peak Ninth Level of Body Tempering cultivators break through to the Qi Condensation Realm!

Any single bottle, put up for auction in Qingyang City, would be enough to incite bloody conflict!

Besides Spirit Stones and pills, the storage bag also contained several Martial Skill Manuals, all of High-grade Yellow Tier. Among them, one named Blood Fiend Saber Technique even reached Low-grade Black Tier!

Clearly, this was Wang Zhan's ultimate secret technique.

"A pity, it doesn't align with my cultivation path."

Chen Chen shook his head but didn't discard it. Having more skills never hurt; it might prove useful later.

Finally, his gaze fell upon an item in the corner of the storage bag.

It was a flying sword artifact, the size of a door panel!

It was the very item Wang Zhan had used for flight earlier!

"A flying artifact!"

Chen Chen's eyes instantly lit up.

This was a true treasure!

With it, whether pursuing enemies or fleeing for his life, he would be like a tiger with wings!

He unceremoniously claimed everything for himself, then picked up the "Soul Chasing Mother Jade" he had used as bait.

This item might still be useful in the future.

After completing all this, Chen Chen finally submerged his consciousness into the System.

This was the main harvest of this encounter!

[Name: Chen Chen]
[Realm: Seventh Level of Body Tempering Realm]
[Cultivation Art: Asura God Transformation Art (First Level)]
[Martial Skill: Seven Shadows Step (Minor Accomplishment)]
[Cultivation Points: 500]

Five hundred points!

Looking at this astonishing number, Chen Chen's heart clenched fiercely.

This immense sum was enough to allow him to undergo another earth-shattering transformation!

"System, open the Random Cultivation Art Treasure Chest!"

He chose to open the treasure chest awarded from the mission first.

Although Wang Zhan's Blood Fiend Saber Technique was good, it was only Low-grade Black Tier. He hoped to get something more suitable for him.

[Ding! Opening Random Cultivation Art Treasure Chest...]

[Congratulations Host, you have obtained the High-grade Black Tier Cultivation Art - Nine Nether Soul Refining Art!]

A stream of black light exploded in his mind.

Countless methods for tempering the soul and cultivating spiritual power poured into the depths of his memory.

Nine Nether Soul Refining Art!

It was a cultivation art specifically for refining the soul!

Chen Chen was stunned at first, then overjoyed!

Martial Path cultivation involved the dual cultivation of soul and life.

Life referred to the physical body and Blood Essence.

Soul referred to the spirit and mental power.

Ordinary martial artists, before reaching the Qi Condensation Realm, have no way to come into contact with methods for cultivating the soul.

Yet, he, while still in the Body Tempering Realm, obtained a High-grade Yellow Tier soul-refining cultivation technique!

This meant his soul power would far surpass that of martial artists at the same level!

Whether it was perception during combat or comprehension during cultivation, both would be greatly enhanced!

This was even more precious than giving him a Heaven Tier martial skill!

"Excellent!"

Chen Chen suppressed the overwhelming joy in his heart and no longer hesitated.

"System! Help me break through!"

He wanted to seize the momentum and raise his strength to the absolute peak of the Body Tempering Realm!

[Consuming 500 Cultivation Points, commencing realm advancement...]

[Detected host possesses cultivation technique Asura God Transformation Art, automatically optimizing advancement route...]

Rumble!

An unprecedented, supremely pure energy exploded within his body!

This time, it wasn't a violent surge, but under the guidance of the Asura God Transformation Art, it was like a hundred rivers returning to the sea, systematically strengthening every inch of his flesh and every bone!

His cultivation began to skyrocket at a terrifying speed!

Peak Seventh Level of Body Tempering!

Eighth Level of Body Tempering!

Peak Eighth Level of Body Tempering!

Ninth Level of Body Tempering!

When all the energy was absorbed, Chen Chen's cultivation had steadily settled at the Peak Ninth Level of Body Tempering!

He was now only one step away from the legendary Qi Condensation Realm!

He slowly opened his eyes, and within them, blood-red light and electric sparks intertwined and flickered, as if stars were appearing and disappearing.

His entire demeanor underwent another transformation.

If before, he was like a drawn sword, sharp and obvious.

Then now, he was like a peerless, ferocious weapon hidden within its sheath, all his sharpness and killing intent internalized to the extreme, giving people an even more dangerous and unfathomable feeling.

He clenched his fist, and the air let out a series of dull sonic booms.

He had absolute confidence that his current self could face Wang Zhan from three days ago and, without needing any schemes, crush him head-on with sheer strength within thirty moves!

[Name: Chen Chen] [Realm: Peak Ninth Level of Body Tempering Realm] [Cultivation Technique: Asura God Transformation Art (First Level), Nine Nether Soul Refining Art (Beginner)] [Martial Skill: Seven Shadows Step (Mastered)] [Cultivation Points: 0]

His strength had been reset to zero again.

But in return, he had gained a substantial realm advancement!

"The Wang Family..."

Chen Chen stood up, his gaze sweeping towards Qingyang City, his eyes as cold as knives.

Wang Zhan was dead, but the revenge had only just begun.

He knew very well that the news of Wang Zhan's death would likely reach Qingyang City soon.

It might even reach his son, Wang Teng, who was far away at the Azure Cloud Sect.

He didn't have much time left.

He had to uproot the entire Wang Family before their most powerful reinforcements returned!

He took a deep breath, took out a clean set of black martial artist clothes from his Storage Bag, and washed the bloodstains from his face with clean water.

He took out a bottle of pills and swallowed them, quickly restoring his depleted Blood Essence.

An hour later, his condition had returned to its peak.

He lingered no longer, summoning the door-sized Flying Sword Artifact.

He injected his Blood Essence into it, and the flying sword let out a soft hum, growing larger in the wind and hovering steadily before him.

Chen Chen leaped up and onto the flying sword.

"Qingyang City, I'm back!"

A murderous glint flashed in his eyes. The flying sword turned into a streak of light, soaring into the sky and disappearing into the night.

Meanwhile.

Qingyang City, a hundred miles away, the Wang Family Manor.

Inside the heavily guarded secret chamber.

On the table where the "Life Soul Jade Slip" of the Wang Family's core disciples was enshrined.

The jade tablet inscribed with "Wang Zhan," which represented the family's highest combat power and symbolized the Wang Family's pillar of strength, cracked in the middle with a "crack" sound without any warning.

Immediately after, cracks like a spiderweb instantly covered the entire jade tablet.

"Crash!"

With a crisp sound, the jade tablet completely shattered, turning into a pile of powder, its light extinguished.

The two guards stationed outside the secret chamber heard the noise, their expressions changed drastically, and they rushed in.

When they saw the jade tablet powder all over the floor, the blood drained from their faces, and their eyes were filled with endless fear and horror.

"The Patriarch's Life Soul Jade Tablet... is broken?!"

"The sky has fallen... the Wang Family's sky has fallen!"

A shrill roar tore through the silent night sky of Qingyang City.

An unprecedented storm was about to erupt throughout Qingyang City!