The battle between Xu Qing and the White-haired Zombie was fierce, but it was over in a matter of minutes. The power Xu Qing revealed stunned everyone present.
A White-haired Zombie.
A powerful Corpse Monster, strong enough to rival Huajin Martial Artists, had actually been slain by Xu Qing. His swordsmanship was exceptional; he had pierced straight through the White-haired Zombie's skull.
"So strong."
"That senior's swordsmanship is truly incredible!"
"It is! It really is!"
"To think a White-haired Zombie was actually slain by the senior."
"..."
Everyone was speechless with awe.
"Die."
BOOM!
The Demon Exterminator let out a furious roar, unleashing a powerful Martial Art. Wisps of blood-red energy seemed to erupt from his body as his black Iron Ruler came crashing down, completely shattering the other White-haired Zombie's head.
CRACK!
The White-haired Zombie's skull burst open like a watermelon.
"Excellent!"
"The other White-haired Zombie is dead too."
"..."
Everyone was thrilled and excited.
*HUFF... HUFF...*
The Demon Exterminator was panting heavily, his energy severely depleted. It was clear the move he had just used was not something he could unleash at will.
Xu Qing, on the other hand...
He had just unleashed a flurry of attacks from his Life-taking Thirteen Swords, even using his full power for the Ninth Sword, yet his face wasn't flushed and his breathing was even. He was clearly in much better shape than the Demon Exterminator.
The difference in their skill was immediately clear.
"Are you alright?" Xu Qing asked.
"I'm fine."
The Demon Exterminator took a deep breath, pulled an Elixir from his robes, and swallowed it. After a moment, the color returned to his face.
「Over ten minutes later.」
Xu Qing and the Demon Exterminator struck again and again, wiping out all the remaining Black-haired Zombies, Corpse Monsters, and Corpse Ghosts. The ground around Qianbao Tower was littered with bodies.
However, Xu Weiran's side had also suffered heavy losses. Two of the five constables had fallen, and twenty-three members of the Patrol Team were dead. The casualties were staggering.
Of course, their results were also impressive; they had annihilated every last Corpse Ghost at the scene.
Additionally, in his conversation with the Demon Exterminator, Xu Qing learned his full name was Cheng Bingzun. He was a Bronze Demon Exterminator within the Demon Extermination Agency in Qingbei Town.
He also learned about the ranks within Qingbei Town's Demon Extermination Agency.
From lowest to highest, Demon Exterminators were ranked: Iron Token, Bronze Token, Silver Token, and Gold Token. Above the Gold Token rank were Commanders and, at the very top, a Supreme Commander.
'The overall strength of the Demon Extermination Agency in Qingbei Town is far greater than that of the Governmental Agency,' Xu Qing thought to himself.
'Xu Weiran, a Chief Constable, is only at the Peak of Dark Force. The entire Governmental Agency has just three other Chief Constables, and the Chief Constable above them is probably only at the Huajin level.'
'On the other hand, in the Demon Extermination Agency, an Iron Token Demon Exterminator is already at the An Jin level. A Bronze Token is at the Huajin level. The Silver and Gold Tokens above them must be even more terrifying.'
'And that's not even mentioning the Commanders and the Supreme Commander.'
"Let's go."
After resting for a moment, Cheng Bingzun got to his feet, glanced at the crowd, and said, "We should have dealt with all the Corpse Monsters. Everyone, follow me into Qianbao Tower to investigate the situation."
"Yes."
"As you command."
"..."
Excited expressions appeared on everyone's faces.
After all, the reason they had fought so desperately, risking life and limb against these Corpse Monsters, wasn't just because of orders from the Government Office. The most important factor was Qianbao Tower itself.
It was one of the Ye Family's primary assets and a famous landmark on Red Leaf Street. Inside Qianbao Tower were countless Treasures and all kinds of wealth.
In other words, as long as they eliminated these Corpse Monsters and entered Qianbao Tower, they could... well, "investigate." And in the process of this "investigation," it was perfectly acceptable to help themselves to some of the wealth inside.
To them, this place was a gold mine.
Soon, Xu Qing and the others entered Qianbao Tower. It was five stories tall, with each floor selling different kinds of goods. Xu Qing scanned the area, taking in his surroundings.
Under the circumstances, it was only natural that Xu Qing and Cheng Bingzun would get first pick. After them came Xu Weiran and his men. The Patrol Team would only get their turn after everyone else was finished.
In other words, Xu Qing's group would eat the meat, and everyone else would get the soup.
On the first floor, Xu Qing glanced around but saw nothing that caught his eye. The items were all rather ordinary, and it would be impractical for him to carry them away.
In the end, they found some silver notes, totaling around three thousand taels. Xu Qing and Cheng Bingzun each took one thousand, leaving the rest for Xu Weiran and his men to divide among themselves.
The second floor.
The third floor.
The fourth floor.
They continued upward. The second and third floors also had nothing of value, so Xu Qing just took the silver notes. Across the first three floors, he had now collected a total of 5,800 taels.
It wasn't until the fourth floor that things got interesting.
Xu Qing spotted a suit of Golden Silk Armor. Woven from a special golden thread, it could be worn snugly against the skin and offered extremely high defense, enough to block most common weapons.
This was an excellent Treasure.
Therefore, Xu Qing took the Golden Silk Armor without a second thought.
Because the Golden Silk Armor was so valuable, Xu Qing didn't take any more silver from the fourth floor. He then proceeded to the fifth.
The fifth floor.
There were very few items here, and the space was rather cramped. They found only five books, along with a few mangled corpses lying on the floor.
In fact, it wasn't just the fifth floor.
Every level from the first to the fifth had corpses, all of them mangled. They had been killed, torn apart, and devoured by the Corpse Monsters.
Five books.
Two were combat techniques and two were Training Techniques.
One of them was a tattered old book with such messy handwriting it was impossible to decipher. It looked more like a book of random scribbles.
The two combat techniques and two Training Techniques came in matching sets.
One of the combat techniques was Iron Sand Palm, with the corresponding Training Technique being Iron Cloth Shirt. They formed a complete set that could be cultivated up to the Huajin level.
A complete set like this was truly priceless. At auction, it could fetch a price of at least thirty thousand taels of silver.
The other set consisted of a Saber Technique, the Five Tigers Breaking Gate Saber, and its accompanying Training Technique, Fierce Tiger Force.
This was also a complete set.
Normally, Xu Qing and Cheng Bingzun could have each taken one of the sets, leaving nothing for Xu Weiran and the others. However, neither of these sets was particularly useful to them.
Xu Qing didn't need them.
He was already an Official Disciple of the Cangying Martial Arts Hall and held in high regard by Du Cangying. He was sure to learn even greater Martial Arts in the future.
Besides, his Encyclopedia of All Things could continuously upgrade his Martial Arts anyway.
Cheng Bingzun was already a Huajin Martial Artist, so Martial Arts that capped out at the Huajin level were of no use to him either. He would most likely just end up selling them.
And so, Xu Weiran, Zhao Jingyuan, and a few others exchanged glances before looking toward Xu Qing and Cheng Bingzun. They wanted to pool their money and buy one of the sets.
"How about this," Xu Qing said with a smile, picking up the scribble-covered book. "I'll take this book. Brother Cheng can take one of the sets, which leaves one set of combat and Training Techniques."
"If you can come up with a fair price for it, Brother Cheng and I will split the silver, and the last set is yours."
"Thank you, Senior."
"Thank you, Senior!!!"
"..."
Xu Weiran and the others were ecstatic.
And so, Xu Weiran and his men pooled together twenty thousand taels in silver notes. Xu Qing took ten thousand and Cheng Bingzun took the other ten thousand, concluding the distribution of loot.
"Mm."
Xu Qing nodded, his expression calm.
Finally, Xu Qing and the others continued their search of Qianbao Tower. They discovered and opened a secret door that led to an underground chamber, which they promptly entered.
"This..."
"It's a Blood Pool!"
"!!!"
「Inside the chamber.」
Xu Qing and the others found themselves before a massive Blood Pool. Feeling a sinister, chilling aura wash over them, they couldn't help but reveal looks of horror.
"A Demon Blood Pool! The Blood Demon Sect!!!" Cheng Bingzun said gravely.
"The Blood Demon Sect?" Xu Qing asked.
"That's right."
Cheng Bingzun nodded. "They are a Demon Sect, a cult that worships an evil god. And the evil god they worship is the Blood Demon."
RUMBLE!!!
Suddenly, they heard a distant roar of explosions. The commotion was so immense that even the underground chamber they were in began to shake violently.
Without hesitation, Xu Qing and the others rushed out of the chamber. They had no desire to be buried alive.
In the blink of an eye, they were outside Qianbao Tower.
SWISH!
With a single leap, Xu Qing landed on the roof of Qianbao Tower. He looked toward the source of the sound—the direction of the Ye Family Mansion.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!!!
Xu Qing's pupils constricted. He heard massive explosions, like cannonballs detonating. Incredibly powerful experts were definitely fighting.
'So strong.'
Xu Qing's heart sank. 'What level of power is this? *Sigh*... It seems my meager strength at the Peak of Dark Force is utterly insignificant before a true expert.'
'I need to get stronger.'
Xu Qing clenched his fists.
At that moment, any trace of complacency in Xu Qing's heart vanished completely.
He was still not strong enough.
「The scene shifts.」
「Ye Family Mansion.」
In the sky.
Four figures hovered there.
They were the curvaceous Blood Demon Desire Woman and the burly middle-aged man. The other two stood with their hands clasped behind their backs; they were none other than the Supreme Commander of the Demon Extermination Agency and the Supreme Commander of the Governmental Agency.
It should be noted that the Governmental Agency was composed of various divisions—the Black-clothed Constables, Arresting Officers, Strong Class Constables, and others, totaling six classes of Government Officials. The Supreme Commander of the Governmental Agency was in charge of the entire organization.
*Cough, cough...*
The Blood Demon Desire Woman was coughing up blood. The four of them had just engaged in a furious battle, and facing two Supreme Commanders, she was clearly outmatched.
"Fan Liang."
The Supreme Commander of the Governmental Agency looked calmly at the burly middle-aged man. "As a Chief Constable, you knew the law yet deliberately broke it," he said, his tone flat. "You colluded with a Witch from the Blood Demon Sect and masterminded this earth-shattering crime. Your sins are worthy of ten thousand deaths."
"Hahaha..."
The burly middle-aged man's face was pale, his left arm severed at the shoulder. "Wei Wohu, spare me your sanctimonious speech! Do you think I don't know? You uncovered the Ye Family's plot a month and a half ago, but you didn't close the net. You deliberately let things escalate so you could claim greater glory for yourself."
"Unfortunately,"
"Today, you will pay the price for your own greed and arrogance!!!"