"Golden Saber Sect?"
Lin Chang'sheng heard that, let out a cold laugh, and slapped out with his Iron Sand Palm—a sickening crack sounded as Zhao Qinhu's skull shattered under his blow!
"Run for your lives!"
"......."
Seeing their Gang Leader killed, over fifty Black Tiger Gang members all showed terror in their eyes and fled for their lives!
The long sabers clattered to the ground.
"Where do you think you're going?"
Lin Chang'sheng barked sharply, smashing a large stone lock under his feet, grabbing a handful of broken stones and flicking his wrist—
Nine-Star Linked Beads!
Whoosh whoosh whoosh!
A chorus of screams—a stone struck the throat of every Black Tiger Gang member, all fifty-plus dropped dead on the spot!
Lin Chang'sheng walked over to Liu Zhuang, wanting to ask about Zhao Qinhu's silver—needed to keep someone breathing to save the trouble.
Right now, the burly Liu Zhuang saw Lin Chang'sheng, who had always seemed harmless, slaughter more than fifty men in a blink; terror flashed in his eyes, he kept retreating, and even wet his pants!
"Where's Zhao Qinhu's silver?"
Lin Chang'sheng went to shut the manor's main gate, then turned to stare at Liu Zhuang, his voice deep.
"Ah... Brother Lin—no, Master Lin—the Boss's treasures are all in his bedroom, I'll take you right now, please, have mercy and spare my miserable life..."
Liu Zhuang led the way, his whole expression changed.
"Lead the way!"
Lin Chang'sheng barked out.
Not long after—
Lin Chang'sheng, following Liu Zhuang, found Zhao Qinhu's bedroom. Behind it was a secret room, door locked tight.
"Brother Lin, the key's... on the Boss! I'll... go get it..."
Liu Zhuang stammered, shaking all over.
Bang!
Lin Chang'sheng couldn't be bothered—he simply chopped at the lock with his Perfect Iron Sand Palm, blasting both lock and wall into a gaping hole, door swung open.
Inside, there was a cabinet with over three hundred taels of loose silver, ten silver notes worth 2,000 taels, and a register with four bold characters on the cover.
[Wind and Thunder Saber Technique]!
"Hmm? A saber technique secret manual?"
As he saw that register, Lin Chang'sheng's eyes lit up—honestly, he'd always loved sabers since he was a kid!
He hadn't expected to get a saber technique from Zhao Qinhu!
"You can go."
Lin Chang'sheng stuffed the silver notes and saber secret manual into his coat, packed up the 300 taels of loose silver, and spoke to Liu Zhuang.
"Thank you for sparing me, Brother Lin! Thank you!"
Liu Zhuang kowtowed to Lin Chang'sheng, then turned and left.
Swoosh!
Lin Chang'sheng raised his hand in a vertical chop, a half-zhang of razor-sharp Qi Force blasted Liu Zhuang backwards, slamming him into the wall!
"Ah... you..."
Liu Zhuang gaped at Lin Chang'sheng, then his head drooped to one side, dead on the spot.
After killing Liu Zhuang, Lin Chang'sheng rifled through the corpse for another thirty taels of silver, then set the place ablaze, grabbed the loot, and left the manor behind—a raging inferno swallowing Black Tiger Gang's stronghold whole.
......
Late at night.
Lin Chang'sheng returned home.
He stashed most of the silver outside, hidden in the bamboo grove—kept only the silver notes on him.
"Chang'sheng, why'd you get home so late tonight?"
To Lin Chang'sheng's surprise, Yu Wenjing wasn't asleep yet; she came out of the other room, clearly worried about him.
"Oh, I finished refining a Qi Replenishing Pill today. Alchemist Li had me come over and chat, that's why I got back late."
Lin Chang'sheng made an excuse.
"You haven't eaten yet, right? Let me warm something up."
Yu Wenjing said again.
"Sure."
Lin Chang'sheng nodded. He'd only grabbed a bun in the afternoon; after exterminating Black Tiger Gang, he went straight to Chen Ling's estate, got 1,000 taels in silver notes, then hit Golden Bell Martial Arts Hall and Liuyun Martial Arts Hall.
Didn't expect it—both big halls had their owners missing; all the disciples were out searching. Lin Chang'sheng just found a Golden Bell Shield secret manual in the owner's bedroom inside Golden Bell Hall.
Yu Wenjing had gone to the kitchen; soon, the smell of food drifted out. Before long, she brought out the meal.
A small stir-fry with pork, a plate of greens, and some twice-cooked pork.
Ever since Lin Chang'sheng joined Hundred Herbs Hall, life had gotten way better—he'd figured out that the better the food, the faster his cultivation experience points increased.
Maybe not by much, but eating well couldn't hurt.
It adds up over time, too.
Lin Chang'sheng ate, while Yu Wenjing sat on the side, watching. Lin Chang'sheng said, "It's late—you should go get some rest."
"I'm not sleepy."
Yu Wenjing was thinking about that Divine Eagle she saw earlier, sighing inwardly. She knew these peaceful days were almost over.
Lin Chang'sheng finished, chatted a bit with Yu Wenjing, then they both headed to their rooms.
"Wind and Thunder Saber Technique, Golden Bell Shield!"
"Not bad!"
"Wonder if, once Golden Bell Shield reaches perfection, my Yin Qi Invasion will go away?"
Lin Chang'sheng sat on his bed, looking at the two secret manuals in his hands, pondering.
He set aside the silver notes and the day's haul, about 3,000 taels and some loose silver.
Lin Chang'sheng opened the Golden Bell Shield manual.
"This Golden Bell Shield only has the first five levels?"
He turned the pages, eyes sharp.
The manual explained:
[Golden Bell Shield] is a cultivation technique for both internal and external training, split into twelve gates, each one harder than the last.
After mastering the twelfth gate, you'll have Vajra Indestructible, immune to water, fire, and poisons, never need to sleep—your power will be endless, truly magical.
Even before reaching perfection, Golden Bell Shield gives you shock-counter abilities when attacked—the higher the level, the stronger the protective skill, and the more powerful the rebound when fighting enemies.
But this manual from Golden Bell Martial Arts Hall is incomplete—only five gates.
First Gate: Practice breathing and circulating true Qi, clear all meridians, and build internal flow. When struck, pain is halved.
Second Gate: Inner strength and protective Qi start to form, true Qi gets deeper, organs are hard to injure.
Third Gate: Practice by taking hits from whips and sticks—the harder you get hit, the faster you improve. Muscles become incredibly tough, no pain at all.
Fourth Gate: Slicing with dull blades first, then with sharp ones. Success comes when the blade can cut skin but never damage muscle.
Fifth Gate: Specialize in counter-shock inner strength—the harder the hit, the stronger the rebound. You can even shatter enemy weapons by force.
"Looks like Liao Jinzhong never finished Gate Five."
Lin Chang'sheng finished reading, thinking to himself.
[Detected Cultivation Technique Golden Bell Shield (incomplete), simplify for 10 taels of silver?]
Lin Chang'sheng studied the manual's diagrams carefully; soon, his interface popped up with a red alert.
"Simplify!"
Lin Chang'sheng gave the mental confirmation.
Plenty of silver left to use for simplifying now.
[Great Dao is Simple: Golden Bell Shield (incomplete), simplifying... success! Golden Bell Shield (incomplete) = Bathing!]
After clicking 'Yes,' not long after, the interface showed another red alert.
"Hm?"
"Golden Bell Shield, simplified to bathing?"
"So if I don't take a bath and just scrub myself, will that work?"
Lin Chang'sheng looked at the panel.
[Golden Bell Shield (Incomplete) (Gate 1 0/100)]