Chapter 163 - 69: Grand Birthday (3)

Chapter 163: Chapter 69: Grand Birthday (3)

...

"Good. I still have six or seven hundred Tribulation Points left in reserve."

Fang Rui closed the panel, stood up with his saber in hand, and murmured, "Right now, my comprehensive strength is..."

After a moment of thought, he grabbed a handful of soybeans and scattered them on the table.

Immediately, in the dim light, a cold glint flashed. Fang Rui lunged past, leaving a trail of afterimages, and returned his saber to its sheath with a soft CLICK.

On the table behind him, every single soybean was split cleanly in half.

"My three Martial Arts at the Great Success Level—the Life-taking Saber Technique, the Rapid Trace Step, and the Thirteen Throws of the Flying Swallow—have raised my strength as a Fourth Grade Martial Artist to an absurd degree!"

"The old master of the Xia Family? Zuo Boyang?"

Fang Rui recalled the battle he had witnessed that day and could now comment bluntly, "Paper tigers!"

"Even if Li Xuantong were here, with his Innate Divine Power, we’d have to fight to know for sure. Among the Fourth Grade, I am invincible. As for those above the Fourth Grade..."

"Besides, I’m not crazy. Isn’t it more enjoyable to bully those weaker than me? Why would I make things hard for myself and challenge someone in a higher realm, especially one an entire major realm above me?!"

Fang Rui calmed his restless thoughts. ’Can’t get cocky. Stay grounded!’

"In all of Changshan City right now, I’m the king of one-on-one combat. But if I’m in a disadvantageous location, surrounded by a large army, and facing a volley of crossbow bolts, I’d still be in a lot of trouble."

After all, a Fourth Grade Martial Artist is still made of flesh and blood. They can be injured, they can bleed, and their Power is finite.

’This isn’t like last time with the Lin Family, where I could just kick them while they were down. The Xia Family has a lot of minions, not to mention crossbows and Armored Soldiers. I need to figure out a way to avoid getting surrounded and ganged up on.’

’Disguise, poison...’

Fang Rui mulled it over, a rough plan already forming in his mind.

...

「Nightfall.」

After the two little girls, Fang Ling and Nannan, had fallen asleep, Fang Rui made some preparations and left the house.

「More than half an hour later.」

Fang Rui returned.

That’s right—he hadn’t made a move on this trip. Instead, he went to observe, do his homework, and gather intelligence.

"The Xia Family’s defenses are extremely tight. Besides waves of patrolling guards, there are both overt and hidden sentries. The inner courtyard, especially, is designed with carefully placed buildings and pavilions, leaving almost no blind spots."

"Even for me, I’m not confident I can sneak in without alerting anyone."

"The kitchen area is also basically flawless. They eat in shifts, and the food sent to the inner courtyard goes through multiple inspection procedures."

Fang Rui rubbed his forehead in frustration but didn’t give up. "If there are no openings, then I’ll create one! Hmm, I should still observe for another two days and gather more intel. Then, combined with the Disguise Technique, I can..."

On this trip, he also learned another interesting piece of news: in a little while, the old master of the Xia Family would be celebrating his seventieth birthday with a grand banquet.

However, Fang Rui had no intention of going on a killing spree in front of everyone at the banquet. While that would certainly be satisfying, the risks would be enormous.

"I heard that people from the Rebel Army will be there too. The old master of the Xia Family will probably use the banquet to ask the Rebel Army for a favor, discuss the matter with the gangs, and propose a cooperation where he cedes some of the territory..."

"Heh, as if I’d let you succeed!"

Fang Rui sneered. "Still thinking of celebrating your seventieth birthday? Dream on! I’ll make my move early, make sure the old master of the Xia Family doesn’t live to see seventy, and turn the Xia Family’s celebration into a funeral!"

...

Two days passed in a flash. Fang Rui’s reconnaissance of the Xia Family was more or less complete.

On this day, Fang Rui prepared to take action.

That evening, after an early dinner at the Fang Family home, he went out.

Of course, before leaving, just as he had for the past two days, he casually set up a few small contraptions, more than enough to deal with ordinary Martial Artists.

The moon was dark and the wind was high; the night wind howled.

In this environment, Fang Rui sped all the way, heading straight for the Xia Family estate.

...