Chapter 352: 《Snake Control Art》

Xiao He was dead!

No one had expected the one to die would be Xiao He.

The people from the 《spirit realm》 Online Guidance Center did not even have time to step in and stop the fight.

They had originally intended to stop Xiao He at the very last moment and preserve Su Wangchuan’s life, but they had never imagined...

The one who had truly been in danger was Xiao He.

Su Wangchuan’s final sword strike had turned certain defeat into a lethal counterkill.

By the time everyone realized that something was wrong, Xiao He was already lying there dead.

Even though the medical robots rushed in immediately and sprayed hemostatic mist in a frenzy, they still could not restore even the faintest trace of warmth to the steadily cooling corpse.

“Boss!”

“Quick, detoxify the boss!”

Li Na did not go to check on Xiao He. Instead, she brought a medical robot straight to her own boss and had it prepare an antidote injection.

Su Wangchuan shook his head and stopped the robot from driving the needle into him. A look of relief appeared in his eyes as he said, “It’s fine. I’m not poisoned.”

“How is that possible?”

Li Na could not believe it. She had clearly seen the poisonous miasma of the Five Poisons Palm swirling around her boss and enveloping him for quite some time.

But she reacted quickly. Her gaze flickered as she looked at her boss with startled uncertainty, then quietly instructed the medical robot to run a diagnostic scan on him.

The result...

No poisoning detected!

His body was in excellent condition.

Only then did she confirm it.

Her boss’s two apparent bouts of poison flare-up had both been an act.

Most likely, he had taken a detoxifying medicine in advance inside 《spirit realm》.

Hundred Poisons Detoxification Pills!

Of course.

A man capable of killing the Snake Elder and the branch helm leader of the Five Poisons Sect could never be some simple character.

Everyone had been deceived by Su Wangchuan’s youth.

Just then, the medical robot on the other side formally declared Xiao He dead and gave up any further attempt at resuscitation.

Lin Tao of Black River Studio looked grim.

The other three were even more at a loss.

Their boss was dead!

This was probably the first case of a 《spirit realm》 studio boss dying in front of his own employees.

At that moment, Lin Tao’s phone rang.

After he answered, a stern voice came from the other end, unquestionable and commanding:

“Since Xiao He died during a formal challenge match, this matter ends here! Take your people and leave the Sanjiang Branch Helm! A new third-rank martial artist will be arranged later to take over Black River Studio.”

“Yes!”

At last, Lin Tao found something to rely on.

He walked over to Li Na and Su Wangchuan.

“Li Na, please help us take care of our boss’s corpse. We’ll be leaving first.”

Then he turned to Su Wangchuan and said, “Boss Su, I hope you won’t make things difficult for the employees of our studio.”

“Don’t worry. They’re innocent. I won’t make things hard for them.”

Su Wangchuan agreed at once.

He was not a butcher. Naturally, he would not take his anger out on ordinary studio employees.

Strictly speaking, Black River Studio had no real hatred toward Su Wangchuan. This had been nothing more than a personal grudge between Xiao He and Su Wangchuan.

After watching Lin Tao and his group leave, Su Wangchuan handed the aftermath over to Li Na. Then he nodded to Wang Yuehui and the others.

“It’s over. Go back now.”

“Yes!”

“Yes, Hall Master!”

The respect in everyone’s expressions deepened even further.

They now knew that Su Wangchuan was not the disciple of some ancient martial arts family, and that had stripped away some of the mystery surrounding him. Yet the decisive, ruthless force he had displayed once again shook them to the core.

That sense of awe filled every mind once more.

Inside 《spirit realm》, he was Hall Master Wangchuan, a man holding great power.

In the real world, he was the boss of Sanjiang Studio.

He killed and walked away with his sleeves unruffled. Killing did not break the law for him.

“You all go. Leave this place to me.”

Li Na was truly relieved that their first major crisis had ended this way, and she voluntarily took charge of cleaning up the aftermath.

...

When Wangchuan returned to the game, he felt none of the discomfort one might expect from killing someone for the first time in the real world.

Perhaps it was because the tactile sensations in 《spirit realm》 were exactly the same. In any case, he had already calmed down completely. Standing in his room and looking at the items in the cabinet, a faint smile appeared on his face.

“Now that Xiao He is dead, the Five Poisons Sect branch helm leader in 《spirit realm》 will perish along with him. With the disciples of that branch helm leaderless, that also solves one problem for Hall Master Yin and Old Seven and eases their burden.”

“With the Five Poisons Sect branch helm leader dead and this branch helm destroyed, it will be even harder for the Five Poisons Sect to gain a foothold again in Sanhe Commandery.”

“These master copies of martial arts manuals are now mine for good.”

Wangchuan picked up the master copies of the martial arts manuals from the cabinet.

These special martial arts manuals, made of a material that emitted a faint glow, were:

《Insect Command Art》, 《Snake Control Art》, 《Poison-Making Art》, and 《Divine Dragon Hundred Transformations》.

As expected, these were four niche cultivation methods.

But...

To be honest, none of the four held any appeal for him.

He had no desire to turn himself into some half-righteous, half-demonic creature.

His own hall already possessed a large number of niche cultivation methods, enough to push him all the way to fourth-rank martial artist. There was simply no need to debase himself by cultivating these twisted, unsightly arts.

With that thought, the value of these four master manuals dropped sharply in his mind. Only 《Divine Dragon Hundred Transformations》 was of any practical use.

Fortunately, he had still reaped quite a bit from this haul. After pawning off all the jewelry and jade artifacts, his total earnings came to more than three thousand two hundred taels of gold.

In addition, there were also snake venom and deadly poison powder that could be put to use...

“Hall Master.”

“This subordinate requests an audience.”

Wang Yuehui’s voice came from outside the door.

Wangchuan was currently in the Sanjiang Branch Helm.

“The door isn’t locked. Come in.”

Wang Yuehui pushed the door open and entered as instructed.

“Hall Master.”

“All the prisoners from the Five Poisons Sect have already been released. This subordinate had people escort them out of the city, but one of them wants to stay. He wants to join the Sanjiang Branch Helm...”

“A member of Black River Studio wants to stay and join our Caobang?”

Wangchuan smiled.

Wang Yuehui said, “He said he was forced by his boss to join the Five Poisons Sect. He was originally a blade warrior from the Li Family of Rong County. After joining the Five Poisons Sect, he felt miserable all over. When he heard that his boss was dead, the happiness in his reaction did not seem fake.”

“Even if it wasn’t fake, we still don’t need employees from Black River Studio.”

Wangchuan refused without hesitation. Then, as if he had thought of something, he raised his head and looked steadily at Wang Yuehui.

A thoughtful look entered his eyes.

“What? Is this man highly capable?”

“He cultivates 《Snake Control Art》. He kills snakes in the mountains every day, and he has trained the Li Family’s 《Broken Saber Art》 and 《Basic Saber Technique》 to the realm of Perfect Mastery.”

The moment he heard that, surprise flashed across Wangchuan’s eyes.

There was such a talent?

At last, Wangchuan understood why Wang Yuehui had specially recommended this man and wanted to keep him.

To bring two saber arts to Perfect Mastery meant that even if this man was only a first-rank martial artist, he would be able to break through to third rank very quickly. His potential was not bad at all.

And more than that...

Keeping him would be the equivalent of adding a saber instructor to the studio.

“What is this man called?”

“Ye Baiyi,” Wang Yuehui replied.

Wangchuan nodded and said firmly, “Ask him whether he is willing to transfer to Sanjiang Studio! If he is, go find Li Na and have her negotiate with Lin Tao of Black River Studio for his release! We just let more than ten of their prisoners go. He has to give us at least that much face.”

“Yes!”

Wang Yuehui withdrew.

Wangchuan looked again at the four manuals in the cabinet and murmured to himself, “《Snake Control Art》... so it can be used for that as well... not bad.”