The Dagger Is Finally Revealed

As a direct descendant of the Murong Clan, Murong Qing had plenty of flaws in the way he conducted himself, but his strength was anything but ordinary.

To step into the Sea Wheel Realm in his early thirties—how could he possibly be a simple man?

He did not even use a weapon. With a shift of his body, the golden dragon-patterned brocade robe around him billowed in the wind. He struck out with his palm, and blazing golden true qi erupted forth, gathering into something like a golden wandering dragon and blasting a hole straight through the chest of the foremost dead warrior.

Murong Clan's secret technique, Dragon-Shocking Palm!

The two dead warriors behind him charged with sabers in hand. Murong Qing moved, instantly appearing before them, and extended a finger from each hand, pressing them against the two men's heads.

Golden light erupted in an instant. The powerful finger force directly blew the two dead warriors' heads apart!

Black Dragon Finger!

The dead warriors Jiang Kaitai had raised possessed only ordinary Body-Tempering Realm strength. In Murong Qing's hands, they could not even withstand a single move.

In less than twenty breaths, only one of the ten dead warriors remained.

Murong Qing broke all four of the last man's limbs, then ripped away his face covering, revealing an utterly ordinary young face.

"Speak! Who..."

Before he could finish, large amounts of black blood suddenly spilled from the dead warrior's mouth. He had clearly taken poison and killed himself.

Murong Qing threw down the corpse in his hand, his expression instantly turning extremely grim.

Chen Yuan had already known the outcome. It had been the same in the original plot.

Jiang Kaitai had painstakingly trained these dead warriors for twenty years. Those he could send out were all people who had been thoroughly brainwashed, who did not regard their own lives as lives, and whom he could trust completely.

Earlier, when Murong Qing said that with the Murong Clan backing them, the Heavenly Wolf Gang was useless for failing to swallow up the Blackwater Gang after so long, he had actually been right.

The Murong Clan had always been stronger than the One Qi Piercing Sun Alliance. Logically speaking, the Heavenly Wolf Gang should have been gradually devouring the Blackwater Gang, yet the situation had somehow reversed.

The root of it all was that more than half of the Heavenly Wolf Gang's profits had been taken by Jiang Kaitai to secretly cultivate these dead warriors. Where would he find the resources to develop the Heavenly Wolf Gang?

At that moment, Murong Qing's expression abruptly changed. "Head southeast!"

As soon as the words fell, Murong Qing rushed toward the southeast.

When they arrived, they found that the Zhang Family in the southeast had indeed already been blood-sacrificed.

"Lure the tiger from the mountain!"

Murong Qing's face was filled with anger. He felt as though he had been played.

The other side had plainly intended to sacrifice a squad of dead warriors to lure him away. As long as they could blood-sacrifice one family, they would count it as a success.

"To cultivate such dead warriors, they must have plotted for a long time. Yet these dead warriors are not particularly strong, which proves that this person's strength and status are not very great either. Interesting. Truly interesting."

A chill appeared in Murong Qing's eyes.

He had initially thought this mission would be incredibly simple, merely a formality. He had not expected it to actually be somewhat troublesome.

After returning to the Heavenly Wolf Gang, Murong Qing immediately began deducing the formation again.

However, since he did not possess the complete formation, he could only calculate a rough area, one that covered a full quarter of Linked Mountains City.

Afterward, he had Jiang Kaitai mobilize the entire Heavenly Wolf Gang to stand guard there. Even so, they could only kill some dead warriors and had no way to stop the blood sacrifices.

At first, Jiang Kaitai had gone after large households with many people simply to save trouble.

Now that Murong Qing had seen through that, blood-sacrificing several more families would make no difference.

Moreover, as the mastermind behind everything, Jiang Kaitai had deliberately arranged his gang members farther away from the blood sacrifice targets, leaving Murong Qing unable to notice anything.

After all, with such a large area, how could the Heavenly Wolf Gang possibly keep watch over all of it?

If they were unlucky and happened to be farther from the blood sacrifice targets every time, that was perfectly normal as well.

Seeing that the Heavenly Wolf Gang lacked manpower, Murong Qing went to find Yuan Dongtian of the Blackwater Gang and had the Blackwater Gang join in.

The Blackwater Gang was backed by the One Qi Piercing Sun Alliance. Though they did not wish to obey Murong Qing, they did not dare defy him and could only comply.

However, Yuan Dongtian still sent someone to deliver a message to the One Qi Piercing Sun Alliance, explaining Linked Mountains City's current situation and saying that he had been forced to obey the Murong Clan's orders.

Seven days later, although Murong Qing still had not managed to stop the blood sacrifices carried out by Jiang Kaitai's dead warriors, he had killed more than fifty of them.

Chen Yuan estimated that Jiang Kaitai's dead warriors had nearly all been wiped out.

This time, Jiang Kaitai should be opening the hidden realm early and fusing with the divine weapon.

And even if Jiang Kaitai did not want to move ahead of schedule, Chen Yuan would add fuel to the flames and make him do so.

The Blackwater Gang had already sent word to the One Qi Piercing Sun Alliance. A round trip would take roughly ten days.

Although the One Qi Piercing Sun Alliance was currently busy suppressing the divine weapon, the Sun-Piercing Sword, if they turned a blind eye to pleas for help from their subordinate forces, it would seem rather suspicious. They would definitely send someone to take a look.

Chen Yuan did not want the plan to undergo any further changes, so he had to seize the divine weapon completely within ten days!

Just after nightfall, as Qin Yuancheng and Chen Yuan were about to head out to lie in wait for the dead warriors, Jiang Kaitai suddenly summoned them both.

Qin Yuancheng was somewhat confused, while Chen Yuan thought to himself, It was finally coming.

Jiang Kaitai led the two into his room and shut both the inner and outer doors in succession. Staring at them, he said, "Eldest, Third, over these years, how have I treated you?"

Qin Yuancheng hurriedly said, "Naturally, extremely well."

Though he said that, Qin Yuancheng could not help rolling his eyes inwardly.

He had been Jiang Kaitai's first adopted son, so he could naturally sense Jiang Kaitai's true attitude toward his adopted sons.

Jiang Kaitai wanted them to work for him, yet guarded against them and never truly trusted them.

Chen Yuan's expression turned solemn. "Naturally, your kindness is as weighty as a mountain! Without you, Foster Father, we would merely be ordinary gang members. Who knows when we might have died in gang conflicts? How could we possibly hold such positions as we do now?"

Jiang Kaitai did not quite believe what Qin Yuancheng said, but he believed ninety percent of what Chen Yuan said.

Jiang Kaitai nodded in satisfaction, his expression solemn. "There are some things I originally intended to tell you after they were done. But with the situation so urgent, I can no longer keep them from you."

With a sigh, Jiang Kaitai said word by word, "I am the one carrying out the blood sacrifices in Linked Mountains City! Those dead warriors are all my men!"

Qin Yuancheng was so shocked that he could not speak, his face filled with disbelief.

Chen Yuan also cooperated by putting on the same expression.

Jiang Kaitai stared at their faces and said in a deep voice, "Do not panic. I did this because a tremendous opportunity lies buried beneath Linked Mountains City!

"As long as we obtain it, not only will our Heavenly Wolf Gang be able to occupy all of Linked Mountains City, even the Murong Clan of Dragon City will be beneath our notice!

"You have both heard of Divine Weapons and Demonic Arms, haven't you?"

Qin Yuancheng nodded blankly.

Though he had never seen one, he had certainly heard of them.

"You should know that I was once a bandit for a time.

"When I robbed and killed an escort agency, I obtained a treasure map. The location marked on that map was beneath Linked Mountains City.

"I originally thought the treasure map recorded nothing more than an ordinary treasure.

"Only after I broke through the first layer of the formation according to the map did I discover that what lay within was actually a divine weapon called the Seven Kill Stele!

"According to the murals in that hidden place, the Seven Kill Stele contained the Source of Killing Intent. Even in the Primordial Era, when powerful gods and demons coexisted, it was among the most supreme Divine Weapons and Demonic Arms!

"As long as we can fuse with the Seven Kill Stele, what does this tiny Linked Mountains City amount to? I can lead you to dominate all of Youzhou and make a name for ourselves in the martial world!"

Jiang Kaitai looked at them with blazing eyes. "Our Heavenly Wolf Gang dominates a small city like Linked Mountains City and may appear impressive, but in the eyes of a great aristocratic clan like the Murong Clan of Dragon City, we are nothing more than dogs!

"You have all seen how Murong Qing treated me. He humiliated and berated me at every turn. I am worth less than a dog.

"Even if you two take command of the Heavenly Wolf Gang in the future, you will be no different from this old dog. You will both be dogs of the Murong Clan!

"Only by mastering Divine Weapons and Demonic Arms can one rise above the Nine Martial Realms and become a true powerhouse!

"Murong Qing is pressing us hard, and there are not many dead warriors left under my command.

"I had originally planned to blood-sacrifice more people before fusing with the Seven Kill Stele, but now I have no choice but to move ahead of schedule.

"Eldest, Third, I have neither sons nor daughters in this life. You two adopted sons are all I have left, and you are the only ones I can rely on now.

"Help me, and the foundation I build in the future will all be yours!"

Qin Yuancheng's face flushed red at Jiang Kaitai's words.

There was panic, excitement, and agitation.

His horizons were only so broad. He already coveted the Heavenly Wolf Gang greatly, let alone the even greater martial-world power Jiang Kaitai had painted for him.

But even if Jiang Kaitai truly fused with the Seven Kill Stele, what would it have to do with Qin Yuancheng?

Previously, Jiang Kaitai had been the Heavenly Wolf Gang's leader, and Qin Yuancheng had possessed some talent in a small city like Linked Mountains City, which was why he had been accepted as an adopted son.

If Jiang Kaitai's power grew greater in the future, countless outstanding martial artists would rush to acknowledge him as their foster father. What would Qin Yuancheng amount to then?

With Jiang Kaitai's suspicious, paranoid, harsh, and ungrateful nature, he would not remember that Qin Yuancheng had risked his life for him at a crucial moment.

"Rest assured, Foster Father. What does the Murong Clan amount to? I will absolutely stand with you!"

Qin Yuancheng pounded his chest as he made his promise.

Chen Yuan also said in a deep voice, "I will never forget Foster Father's great kindness. I am willing to brave fire and water for you without hesitation!"

"Good, good, good. You are both good children."

Jiang Kaitai smiled in relief, then said solemnly, "Today, I will fuse with the Seven Kill Stele ahead of schedule. You have only one final chance for a blood sacrifice.

"Beginning at midnight, one of you will go east of the city while the other goes west, and begin killing people for the blood sacrifice. Kill as many as you can.

"You must stop by a quarter past midnight and hurry to the south and north of the city.

"I have already set up formations at the seventh residence in Eight-Li Alley of South City and the second residence in Azure Dragon Alley of North City.

"Enter the main rooms of those residences. There will be a blood-red porcelain bottle inside. Once you break it, the final blood sacrifice formation will be complete."

After saying that, Jiang Kaitai glanced at Chen Yuan as if he wanted to say something, but in the end, he said nothing.