Chapter 403: What Was Bound to Come Finally Came

“Ding!”

System notification:

“《Flying Dragon Technique》 has advanced from Practice Makes Perfect to Entry-Level Mastery. Reward: +3 Agility.”

Wangchuan slaughtered another batch of venomous snakes and another batch of wild boars, making up a total of five hundred. The moment he returned to spirit realm, he heard the system notification and gained another 3 points of Agility.

《Flying Dragon Technique》: Entry-Level Mastery

Inner Force armor-piercing +1, +100 Attack. Fires four hidden weapons at once, each along a different trajectory, sealing off the enemy and dealing damage. The chance of all hidden weapons striking the target increases by 60%.

Attacks to vital points can deal double critical damage.

Next realm: Integration

Inner Force armor-piercing +1, +120 Attack. Fires five hidden weapons at once, each along a different trajectory, sealing off the enemy and dealing damage. The chance of all hidden weapons striking the target increases by 70%.

Attacks to vital points can deal double critical damage.

Wangchuan pinched five Iron Caltrops between his fingers and flicked them out with a casual snap.

Thunk! Thunk! Thunk! Thunk! Thunk!

The five Iron Caltrops carved arcing paths through the air and slammed into the iron dummy stake. The Inner Force within them punched clean through three layers of sheet iron and embedded themselves deep into the wooden post as thick around as an adult man’s waist.

Taken individually, this kind of attack did not look overwhelmingly destructive.

But if all five Iron Caltrops struck the same target, the killing power was terrifying.

Each single Iron Caltrop carried 240 points of attack power. Multiplied by five, it was enough to tear through and grievously wound any Fourth-Rank Martial Artist.

And once double critical damage triggered...

A Fourth-Rank Martial Artist would have no chance of survival!

Especially since...

Wangchuan had bought a pouch of Refined Iron Caltrops from the Treasure Pavilion in the capital. Those things had +1 armor-piercing and +10 attack!

A day and a night after the fleet set out, Wang Yuehui sent back a report.

The fleet had run into one attack on the road.

The attackers were not weak. Two Fourth-Rank Martial Artists had led the raid with more than a dozen Third-Rank Martial Artists, forcing their way across the river and boarding the ships. But Captain Zhao discovered them and raised the alarm in advance.

Bai Jingtang, Constable Captain Yu, Constable Captain He, and the others all revealed themselves and struck at once.

Caobang resisted with full force!

The enemy had not expected Caobang’s escort strength to be so formidable. Before they had even fully boarded, three Third-Rank Martial Artists were shot dead on the river.

Then, when the attackers got tangled up after boarding, a group of Caobang disciples armed with Heart-Piercing Crossbows seized the chance to shoot down another twelve Third-Rank Martial Artists, while also leaving behind the two Fourth-Rank Martial Artists leading them.

In that battle, Bai Jingtang, Constable Captain Yu, and Constable Captain He had contributed the most, since the three of them tied down the two Fourth-Rank Martial Artists.

The fleet then docked at the main helm dock in Heitu Commandery.

Constable Captain Yu and the others personally escorted the captives over to the local Six Gates!

When Seventh Master learned that the culprits came from the Beggar Sect, he immediately joined forces with the local authorities. Under the pretext of hunting down accomplices, he launched a purge of the Beggar Sect, then personally led men to escort the fleet through that stretch of water.

It could be said that this fleet from Sanhe Commandery had indirectly helped Heitu Commandery weaken the Beggar Sect’s power, making life a good deal easier for Seventh Master...

With Six Gates stepping in, the Beggar Sect’s arrogance was crushed back down.

Wang Yuehui also passed along another piece of news:

They had unexpectedly found a batch of Gold Notes on those people, more than seven hundred taels in all... Half of it had been split on the spot between the two Constable Captains, while the remainder had been divided evenly with Captain Bai Jingtang as thanks for their contribution and help.

Hearing that, Wangchuan was in an excellent mood.

He knew that since even Seventh Master had joined up with them, nothing else should go wrong on this voyage.

He could cultivate in peace and wait for the fleet to return.

...

On the second night, two riders set out from the direction of Qinghe Commandery and entered Sanhe Commandery at full gallop.

One of the men looked to be in his fifties and carried a saber on his back. The other was in his early thirties, wore silver-thread gloves on both hands, and kept his body pressed low over the horse’s back, his hips slightly raised above the saddle. Both were clearly highly skilled riders.

The two men quickly rode into Sanhe Commandery territory and soon reached the outskirts of the city.

“We’re here.”

“Dismount!”

Their movements were crisp and efficient. After leading their horses into a nearby patch of woods and tying them off, they lowered their voices and spoke with great caution.

“All the高手 at Sanhe Commandery Hall have been sent out to escort the cargo, including the two constable captains from Six Gates. They made us pay dearly and cost us quite a few men. We have to settle this score.”

“Exactly!”

“Since Sanhe Commandery Hall is empty in the rear and only the Hall Master and a deputy hall master are left, we might as well kill them both tonight!”

“Our people in Sanhe Commandery have been purged badly. Caobang cannot escape responsibility for that! Since we’re already here, we may as well make this one count!”

These two were both elders of the Beggar Sect.

One was a veteran Fourth-Rank Martial Artist, while the other was newly advanced to the Fourth Rank...

The newly advanced Fourth-Rank Martial Artist was Elder Guan Qifeng. The veteran Fourth-Rank Martial Artist was Elder Zhou Yunhai.

Taking advantage of the dark night and high wind, the two of them ran across roofs and climbed the city wall into the city, first making a stop at the ruined temple within the city...

The ruined temple had changed beyond recognition. Aside from the outer walls, everything inside had been torn down and rebuilt. Twelve blast furnaces had been erected, with dozens of Forging Tables arranged neatly around them. Quite a few Caobang disciples and blacksmith apprentices were living in the side rooms.

The moment the two elders saw that the old sub-branch site had already been seized and occupied by Caobang, they were so furious they nearly exploded.

“Damn it!”

“They actually dared occupy our Beggar Sect sub-branch!”

“Keep it down.”

Zhou Yunhai lowered his voice and warned him,

“Don’t alert them.”

“Our targets are the Caobang Hall Master and deputy hall master.”

“Let’s go!”

The two of them left the blacksmith workshop and made for Sanhe Commandery Hall.

Sanhe Commandery Hall blazed with lights.

The Caobang disciples on watch duty were all ranked martial artists.

Each patrol unit was led by a Second-Rank Martial Artist, followed by five First-Rank Martial Artists.

Every courtyard had at least several full-fledged martial artists on guard duty, watching closely.

From a distant rooftop, the two men looked down over the situation inside the Hall and frowned deeply.

“Since when did Sanhe Commandery Hall have this many people...”

“Wasn’t the rear supposed to be empty?”

“How are there still so many Second-Rank Martial Artists here?”

Zhou Yunhai stared ahead. Seeing patrol units crisscrossing and moving through the compound, his face darkened.

“It’ll be hard to kill the Hall Master and deputy hall master without alarming the Hall.”

“Mm.”

Guan Qifeng nodded.

“There are at least four First-Rank Martial Artists standing watch outside the Caobang Hall Master’s residence. There’s almost no way to carry out a silent assassination! Kill Wangchuan first! I’ll cover you!”

Though the difficulty was higher than expected, the two Fourth-Rank Martial Artists clearly did not take a Hall guarded by Third-Rank Martial Artists seriously.

“Fine.”

They immediately reached an agreement and swiftly closed in on Sanhe Commandery Hall.

The instant the two figures vaulted over the wall, they suddenly accelerated. Their sleeves snapped loudly in the wind, at once drawing the attention of the Hall’s patrols.

“Who goes there!”

“Enemy attack!”

“Someone’s storming the Hall!”

Alarmed cries rang out all at once.

The movement speed of Fourth-Rank Martial Artists was extremely fast. With a few steps across tiles and rooftop edges, they shot straight into the Hall Master’s courtyard.

All four First-Rank Martial Artists drew their blades at once.

From within the darkness of the pavilion, Chen Ergou suddenly opened his eyes.

Just as Chen Ergou was about to move, the door opened.

Wangchuan strode out with Autumn Water Sword in hand, coming face-to-face with the two Fourth-Rank Martial Artists rushing into the courtyard.

Six eyes met.

“He’s in the Fourth Rank!”

“This is bad!!”

Guan Qifeng’s heart lurched violently, and the startled cry burst from his mouth.