Chapter 527 - 523: The Oriole

Chapter 527: Chapter 523: The Oriole

The surrounding men in tight black outfits were stunned for a moment, then they all crowded around, their eyes blazing with desire.

One of them, a pockmarked man, licked his chapped lips and reached for the booklet, only to have his hand slapped away by the lean man.

"Don’t fucking touch it!"

The lean man clutched the booklet tightly to his chest, his voice raspy.

"All of you, listen up. If anyone dares breathe a word of this to anyone, I’ll skin them alive!"

The black-clad men nodded hastily, their eyes filled with avarice. They were completely unaware that dozens of yards away, behind an ancient tree, a pair of eyes was quietly watching them.

’A Grandmaster Technique from a Grandmaster’s Tomb? Looks like good fortune has found me!’

Fang Han stopped hiding and stepped out from behind the tree trunk.

He had already given up on the treasures in the Grandmaster’s Tomb and was preparing to return to Qingyang County. He never expected to stumble upon a Grandmaster Technique from that very tomb on his way back.

Now that he had, there was no way he was going to let it slip by.

"Who’s there?"

The pockmarked man was the first to spot Fang Han.

The pockmarked man stood at the edge of the group. He caught a glimpse of a moon-white figure emerging slowly from the woods in his peripheral vision. After a moment of shock, he barked out sharply.

The other men in black spun around, their hands already on the hilts of the weapons at their waists.

The lean man’s face paled. He stuffed the booklet deeper inside his robes, his right hand tightening around his bloodstained Ghost Head Saber. His gaze, sharp as a hawk’s, locked onto the uninvited guest.

BOOM—

Fang Han said nothing. He simply unleashed the aura he had been completely concealing.

His Cultivation at the Late Stage of Third Grade flared to life. The immense pressure of his Inner Qi rolled out from him like an invisible mountain, crushing everything around him.

The decaying leaves on the ground scattered in every direction under the formless pressure, revealing the dark soil beneath.

The air seemed to vanish in an instant, becoming so heavy and stagnant it was hard to breathe.

A few sparrows that had just peeked out from the canopy shrieked and shot into the sky, flapping their wings frantically as they fled for their lives.

His presence was like a sudden clap of thunder.

The lean man’s grip on his Ghost Head Saber tightened abruptly, his knuckles turning white from the strain.

The triumphant flush on his sallow face, born from obtaining the Grandmaster Technique, drained away completely, replaced by a ghastly pallor.

Upper Three Grades.

This young-looking man was actually an Upper Three Grades Martial Artist.

"Sir—"

The lean man forced the words out, his voice so raspy it sounded as if he were being strangled.

"My brothers and I... we’re just small fries trying to get by. If we’ve offended you in any way, please, be merciful."

As he spoke, he subconsciously clutched the Beast Hide Booklet in his robes even tighter.

Fang Han remained silent, his gaze shifting from the lean man to sweep over the men in their tight black outfits.

Every man his gaze fell upon instinctively lowered his head.

The pockmarked man’s Adam’s apple bobbed, and his saber hand trembled slightly.

Fang Han’s gaze returned to the lean man.

"Hand over what’s in your robes."

His voice wasn’t loud, but it held a calm, indisputable authority.

The lean man’s expression shifted repeatedly.

He looked down at the right hand clutching his chest, then looked up again, his gaze sweeping over his companions, their faces just as pale as his.

This Grandmaster Technique was something he had traded his brothers’ lives for.

This was the opportunity he had waited for after more than a decade of living on the edge.

’Just hand it over like that?’

He couldn’t accept it.

"Sir—"

The lean man gritted his teeth, his voice squeezed out from between them.

"We risked our lives for this. For you to demand it with a single word is a little—"

Before he could finish, Fang Han’s gaze turned suddenly cold.

He didn’t speak, but simply placed his right hand on the hilt of his Cloud Splitting Sword.

The lean man’s voice stopped abruptly.

He felt an invisible killing intent emanating from the other man. It was like a physical blade, scraping across his skin inch by inch.

He knew he could not hesitate any longer.

"Brothers!"

The lean man suddenly raised his head, a trace of madness flashing in his narrow eyes.

"The chance to change our destinies is right here! He’s strong, but he’s only one man! All of you, attack! Kill him!"

The men in black exchanged glances. They hesitated, but the thought of the Grandmaster Technique drove them into a frenzy.

The pockmarked man lunged from the left, his long saber slashing at Fang Han’s midsection.

Two swordsmen thrust simultaneously from the right, their blades aimed directly for Fang Han’s ribs.

The others closed in from all sides, the glint of blades and swords weaving a suffocating web of death.

Fang Han moved.

He quickly drew his sword and thrust.

THWACK—

A muffled sound.

The pockmarked man’s charge came to a sudden halt. He looked down at his chest to see a fist-sized hole gushing blood.

He didn’t even see how Fang Han had struck before he collapsed limply.

Without breaking stride, Fang Han swung his sword.

THWACK—

Another muffled sound.

The swordsman had no time to react. He felt a chill on his throat, and his body crumpled to the ground as if his bones had turned to jelly.

A third strike.

A fourth.

A fifth.

Fang Han’s figure weaved between the men in black. With every pass of his blade, another man fell.

There were no superfluous moves, no flashy flourishes, just simple taps, thrusts, and sweeps.

But every strike was fatally precise, so fast that his opponents couldn’t even think of dodging.

In just a few breaths, more than ten men in black lay in pools of their own blood. Only the lean man remained.

He stumbled backward until his back hit the trunk of an ancient tree, his face pale as a sheet.

The webbing of his hand was torn, and his Ghost Head Saber had been knocked from his grasp. It was now stuck in the dirt several yards away, its blade still humming.

On his sallow face, fear and indignation warred with each other before solidifying into grim resolve.

"If I can’t have it, neither can you!"

He roared, whipping the manual out from his robes. Grabbing it with both hands, he prepared to rip it in two.

However, just as he was about to put his strength into it—

A flash of azure light streaked past.

His hands were severed at the wrists.

His severed hands fell to the ground, still clutching the Beast Hide Booklet, as blood sprayed from his wrists.

Before he could even scream, he felt a chill on his throat.

His eyes wide open, his body slid limply to the ground. He slumped against the tree trunk, silent forever.

Fang Han sheathed his sword, bent down to pick up the Beast Hide Booklet, and tucked it into his robes.

He then looked down at the lean man and squatted to loot the corpse.

His movements were practiced and efficient as he collected the silver notes and Elixirs from the man’s robes, along with the Ghost Head Saber stuck in the dirt.

He didn’t spare the bodies of the other men in black, nor those of the other group they had killed.

After stripping them of everything useful, he summoned the system panel in his mind.

A translucent light screen appeared before his eyes.

[Host: Fang Han]

[Root Bone Talent Amplification: 256x (Ninth Level Amplification requires 10,000,000 gold)]

[Swordsmanship Talent Amplification: 256x (Ninth Level Amplification requires 10,000,000 gold)]

[Stepping Talent Amplification: 256x (Ninth Level Amplification requires 10,000,000 gold)]

[Secret Technique Talent Amplification: 128x (Level 8 Amplification requires 1,000,000 gold)]

[Horizontal Training Talent Amplification: 256x (Ninth Level Amplification requires 10,000,000 gold)]

[Wealth: 700,000 gold]

’Recharge.’

Fang Han chose to convert everything he had looted from the bodies, except for the silver notes.

Weapons, Elixirs, and armor vanished one by one.

The numbers on the system panel twitched a few times.

[Wealth: 700,000 gold → 710,000 gold]

’Better than nothing.’

Fang Han closed the system panel and counted the silver notes he had looted from the bodies.

The total was less than thirty thousand taels—a small windfall.

After all that was done, Fang Han took one last look at the clearing, now littered with corpses, and vanished in a flash.

He felt no guilt for killing them and taking their treasure.

This group was hardly innocent. They had killed the bald man and his crew to steal the Grandmaster Technique. Since they could rob others, it was only natural that he could rob them.

Soon, his figure disappeared.

All that remained was the forest clearing, thick with the stench of blood, and the corpses lying scattered in their own gore, slowly growing cold under the afternoon sun.

WHOOSH!

Fang Han’s figure moved silently through the forest, his moon-white robe flickering in and out of view in the dappled light and shadow.

He didn’t take the main road, instead choosing to traverse remote mountain ridges and valleys. He kept his Returning Ruins Hidden Essence Skill active at all times, concealing his presence.

A Grandmaster Technique was enough to mobilize even top-level factions; he couldn’t afford to be careless.

After traveling for many miles and confirming there were no signs of Tracking behind him, Fang Han finally slowed his pace.

He sat down cross-legged and took the Beast Hide Booklet from his robes.

The booklet felt heavy in his hands. Its cover was a dark brown, made from the hide of some unknown beast.

The cover was blank, save for a few faint, indecipherable patterns that looked like stains from some liquid.

’Appearance-wise, at least, it certainly looks the part. It seems ancient, like it came from a tomb. It’s highly likely it’s from that Grandmaster’s Tomb.’

’I wonder what kind of Grandmaster Technique this is.’

Fang Han took a deep breath, suppressed the anticipation in his heart, and turned to the first page.

On the title page, several lines of text were written in neat, small script.

"*Ghost Shadow*, a Grandmaster Level Breath Concealment Secret Technique. When cultivated to Great Success, it can render one’s presence completely undetectable, even to a Grandmaster Powerhouse..."

Fang Han’s gaze lingered for a moment on the words "Breath Concealment Secret Technique," and an indescribable joy welled up in his heart. 𝘧𝓇ℯℴ𝓂

’It’s a Grandmaster Level Breath Concealment Secret Technique!’

A Breath Concealment Secret Technique was exactly what he needed most right now.

The Sect had no Breath Concealment Secret Techniques above Top Grade in its collection. He had originally thought he would find a Grandmaster Level one during his trip to the Treasure Storage.

However, while the trip to the Treasure Storage had been fruitful, he hadn’t managed to find a Grandmaster Level Breath Concealment Secret Technique.

But now, here in the wilds of Songquan County, he had unexpectedly obtained a Grandmaster Level Breath Concealment Secret Technique.