Of Course, I'll Kill You

Chu Ziping leaped down from a tree more than ten paces behind Chen Yuan. With a half-smile, he looked at Chen Yuan and said, "Third Brother, your senses are quite sharp."

Chen Yuan said nothing, merely looking at Chu Ziping calmly.

After parting ways with Skywind Rain-Listening Tower's informant, Chen Yuan had sensed someone watching him.

However, Chen Yuan had been in a hurry to pursue Zuo Xinglie at the time, so he had not investigated.

After all, there were matters of greater urgency. If Zuo Xinglie truly escaped without a trace, Chen Yuan's calculations would have been for nothing.

The other party had trailed behind him all along the way, but his aura was obvious, and his control over his inner strength was far inferior to Chen Yuan's. Chen Yuan had already understood the situation and only exposed him now.

"You should be watching Eldest Brother. Why are you following me?"

Chu Ziping burst into laughter. "Eldest Brother is an idiot. What's there to watch? On the other hand, Third Brother, you've truly given me quite a surprise."

"I always thought you were an honest man. Foster Father thought so too.

"Who would have thought that among us three brothers, you were the least honest one!

"For the sake of this cultivation method, you hid things from Foster Father and made enemies with the Mystic Whale Gang of Lan Prefecture. Tsk, tsk, Third Brother, you really have some nerve!"

"Do you know what sort of gang the Mystic Whale Gang is? You've gotten yourself into serious trouble this time!"

Chu Ziping had not initially intended to follow Chen Yuan.

His subordinates had reported that Chen Yuan had gone out again. Chu Ziping happened to have nothing to do, so he followed out of curiosity to see what Chen Yuan had been busy with these past few days.

Thus, by the time Chu Ziping caught up with Chen Yuan, Chen Yuan had already parted ways with Skywind Rain-Listening Tower's informant.

He had only heard the conversation between Chen Yuan and Zuo Xinglie and did not know that this had all been Chen Yuan's setup.

"So? What do you want?"

Chen Yuan still looked at Chu Ziping calmly.

Chu Ziping greedily eyed the cultivation method in Chen Yuan's hand.

Others in Linked Mountains City might not know of Zuo Xinglie or the Mystic Whale Gang, but Chu Ziping happened to know.

He had held power several years longer than Chen Yuan. Aside from the monthly allowance distributed by the gang, he had also invested in several trade caravans within Linked Mountains City, sending them south to sell various specialties from You Prefecture.

Those caravans had also traveled to the Nine-Dragon River in Lan Prefecture. He had heard of the grudges between the Thirty-Six Waterways Alliance and the Mystic Whale Gang from the caravan managers.

Whether it was the Thirty-Six Waterways Alliance or the Mystic Whale Gang, both were forces far more powerful than the Heavenly Wolf Gang. Their cultivation methods were certainly formidable as well.

At the very least, they had to be stronger than the Azure Wood Method their foster father had taught them, perhaps even stronger than the Black Fiend Art their foster father kept so carefully hidden.

"Third Brother, hand over the cultivation method. I'll help you keep this matter secret and cover your tracks. When the time comes, the Mystic Whale Gang definitely won't be able to trace it back to us.

"From now on, you'll stand with me in the gang. Help me deal with that idiot Eldest Brother and take control of the Heavenly Wolf Gang!

"Don't worry. Once I become gang leader, I definitely won't treat you unfairly. At the very least, the position of deputy gang leader will be reserved for you!"

"Our foster father is still in his prime, yet you're already so eager to take control of the Heavenly Wolf Gang?"

Chu Ziping sneered. "Third Brother, stop pretending. Foster Father has always guarded against us.

"He won't teach us the Black Fiend Art and Northern Dipper Sky Wolf Slash until the day he dies.

"Follow me, and you'll at least have a chance to rise. Follow Foster Father, and you'll never get ahead for the rest of your life!

"Enough nonsense. Hand over the cultivation method. You have no choice."

Chen Yuan suddenly asked, "No one knows you came looking for me?"

"Don't worry. My men only told me that you had left the Heavenly Wolf Gang. Following you was merely a whim of mine; I didn't tell anyone else.

"As long as you know what's good for you, this will remain a secret between the two of us. There absolutely won't be a third person who knows."

Chu Ziping thought Chen Yuan was worried that others might learn of this matter, which was why he was hesitant.

Chen Yuan nodded. "If that's the case, then it's much simpler. There's actually another path you can choose."

"What path?"

"Of course, I'll kill you."

Chen Yuan raised his head and shook it helplessly. "I truly hadn't planned on killing you. I didn't want to stir up extra trouble at a time like this either. If you must blame someone, blame yourself for being too curious and too greedy."

Jiang Kaitai would soon perform a blood sacrifice upon the Seven Kill Stele. Chen Yuan truly did not want to create unnecessary complications at a time like this.

Chen Yuan had no intention of changing the fates of Chu Ziping and Qin Yuancheng, the two cannon fodder destined to be used by Jiang Kaitai as blood sacrifices. Those who were meant to die could simply die.

If he killed Chu Ziping now, Chen Yuan feared it might affect the subsequent course of events.

But Chu Ziping's greed had taken hold. He believed he could control Chen Yuan, leaving Chen Yuan no choice but to kill him and eliminate future trouble.

"Kill me?"

Chu Ziping sneered. "You overestimate yourself! Since you refuse a toast only to drink a forfeit, don't blame me for being ruthless!"

He had not seen Chen Yuan fight Skywind Rain-Listening Tower's informant and still believed Chen Yuan was merely at the Body-Tempering Realm.

Meridian-Unblocking and Body-Tempering—the difference of one realm was like heaven and earth in terms of strength!

Chu Ziping had not merely wanted the cultivation method before. He had also wanted to control Chen Yuan, make him work for him within the gang, and deal with Eldest Brother.

Now that Chen Yuan refused to submit, Chu Ziping would kill him, seize the cultivation method, and then pursue the position of gang leader!

Chu Ziping was decisive enough. Seeing that Chen Yuan would not be controlled, he instantly drew his saber.

The willow-leaf saber at his waist left its sheath. His body moved like a lunging wolf as he slashed straight at Chen Yuan, riding a howling gust of force.

The Heavenly Wolf Saber Art emphasized swift blades, and the sabers used were all light, thin, and quick.

Chu Ziping's willow-leaf saber was more slender than Chen Yuan's Wild Goose Feather Saber, and it was also extremely fast.

Just as Chu Ziping believed he would soon deal with Chen Yuan, a clear saber cry suddenly rang out.

A fierce saber shadow, launched later, arrived first—Heavenly Wolf Shadow Strike!

Every slash was faster than Chu Ziping's, crashing against his willow-leaf saber with a series of resounding metallic blasts.

The force behind them was so great that Chu Ziping's palms went slightly numb the instant they exchanged blows!

"How is this possible!? When did you enter the Meridian-Unblocking Realm?"

Chu Ziping's face was full of disbelief.

Chen Yuan had cultivated martial arts for less than two years. How could he have entered the Meridian-Unblocking Realm already, with inner strength even more abundant than Chu Ziping's?

How could trash like the Azure Wood Method possibly cultivate such profound inner strength in less than two years?

Chen Yuan did not answer. What answered Chu Ziping was a dazzling, brilliant saber light, like the radiance of a descending moon.

Heavenly Wolf Swallowing the Moon!

Chu Ziping let out a furious roar. The strength throughout his body erupted in an instant, and his willow-leaf saber danced wildly, producing shrill cries of whistling steel.

Wolf Howls at Heaven and Earth!

The two sabers collided, scattering sparks in every direction. Chu Ziping immediately grunted and was sent stumbling back several steps, the hand gripping his saber trembling slightly.

Both men used the Heavenly Wolf Saber Art, but Chen Yuan's mastery of the saber was undoubtedly far superior to Chu Ziping's.

Just as Wen Rou had said, Chen Yuan's attainments in the Heavenly Wolf Saber Art had already reached perfection. This saber art was now even somewhat unworthy of him.

In terms of strength, after refining the Nine-Turn Nourishing Origin Pill, Chen Yuan had already reached the peak of the Meridian-Unblocking Realm.

Although Chu Ziping had cultivated martial arts for longer, his talent had always been mediocre. On top of that, he cultivated trash like the Azure Wood Method, and he was only at the late Meridian-Unblocking Realm even now.

With such a disparity between them, Chu Ziping was already in grave danger after only a few exchanges.

Seeing that he had fallen into a desperate situation, the strength around Chu Ziping's body suddenly erupted. His willow-leaf saber stabbed toward Chen Yuan's waist with every last ounce of his strength.

Chen Yuan blocked with a backhand motion, knocking the willow-leaf saber aside. He then turned and brought his saber down in a vertical slash. With a sharp clang, Chu Ziping's willow-leaf saber was cut directly into two pieces.

Yet instead of retreating, Chu Ziping advanced. His body slid like a fish into the opening before Chen Yuan's chest and abdomen.

Seizing the opening created when Chen Yuan had used a backhand strike to break his saber, he slammed a palm filled with sinister fiendish energy viciously toward Chen Yuan's chest!

Heart-Shattering Palm!

Over the years, Chu Ziping had invested in many trade caravans and earned quite a bit of private wealth.

He had not kept that money for pleasure. Part of it had been used to win over gang members and other hall masters, while the other part had gone toward acquiring other cultivation methods to practice in secret.

He knew Jiang Kaitai did not trust adopted sons like them. Until the very end, Jiang Kaitai certainly would not teach them the techniques he kept in reserve.

Thus, Chu Ziping had begun secretly searching for other cultivation methods long ago.

The Heart-Shattering Palm was a top-grade Yellow-rank cultivation method. Its palm force was sinister and tyrannical; so long as it struck against the flesh, the Heart-Shattering Palm's force could penetrate directly into the heart meridians and kill instantly.

However, this palm strike placed extremely high demands on inner strength. With Chu Ziping's current cultivation, he could launch at most one such strike, so he only dared to use it when he was certain it would hit.

Seeing that this palm was less than three inches from Chen Yuan's chest, a cold smile appeared at the corner of Chu Ziping's mouth.

But in the next instant, Chen Yuan's hand moved like a nimble serpent, its force like coiling silk, suddenly winding around Chu Ziping's arm.

The Silk-Winding Force flowed without end, dissolving the Heart-Shattering Palm's tyrannical force in an instant.

Then it abruptly turned from soft to hard, its force twisting and tearing, shattering gold and crushing jade!

Chu Ziping suddenly let out a miserable scream.

His entire right hand was twisted by Chen Yuan's Coiling Silk Shattered Jade Hand until it resembled a twisted rope. His wrist was torn apart directly, exposing ghastly tendons and jagged bone!

Chu Ziping threw a punch at Chen Yuan with his left hand, but Chen Yuan seized it with the Coiling Silk Shattered Jade Hand as well. The bones in his left arm were crushed inch by inch, the force finally traveling up from his shoulder to his neck!

Accompanied by a crisp crack of bone, Chu Ziping's neck was crushed to pieces by Chen Yuan's Shattered-Jade Force.

"As expected of a top-grade Mystic-rank grappling art. The power it displays in actual combat is truly formidable."

Looking at Chu Ziping's corpse on the ground, Chen Yuan nodded in satisfaction.

This was his first time using the Coiling Silk Shattered Jade Hand in actual combat, and Chen Yuan was quite satisfied with its power.

As for how to dispose of the body, Chen Yuan thought for a moment before directly carrying it through the dense forest and throwing it into a nearby river.

Leaving it here for wild beasts to gnaw on would have worked too, but there were too many uncertain factors. Throwing it into the river was safer.

After returning to the Heavenly Wolf Gang, Chen Yuan immediately went into seclusion to cultivate the Surging Waves, Flowing Clouds Formula and the Autumn Water, Startling Swan Saber Art.

Before transmigrating, Chen Yuan had often gone into seclusion to cultivate and had been obsessed with martial arts.

The people in the gang had long grown used to it, and no one found anything strange.