Chapter 430: Once the Deed Was Done, He Brushed Off His Sleeves and Left

How had a man like this ever managed to become the Branch Master of a sub-branch?

Or had he assumed the intruder was nothing more than a petty thief?

Wangchuan was speechless.

But he did not hesitate in the slightest. His body flashed into the bedroom like a ghostly shadow.

In the tearing rush of displaced air, the candle flame shrank sharply.

The Autumn Water Sword left its sheath!

Clang!

The dazzling sword light flashed across Yao Dahe’s eyes. His pupils contracted violently. Only then did he realize that the thief who had come calling was no ordinary one...

“Who exactly are you, sir?!”

Yao Dahe snatched up the blanket and flung it toward the assassin.

At this moment, with life and death hanging by a thread, he no longer cared whether his mistress’s body would be exposed. He grabbed the broadsaber at his side, rolled on the ground like a lazy donkey, and sent the blade chasing after the falling blanket toward the attacker’s lower body.

A third-rank martial artist did, after all, possess a measure of real skill.

However!

A crushing pressure so powerful that it shocked Yao Dahe head-on came surging toward him.

Wangchuan activated 《Wind Fills the Vast Sky》. His entire body brimmed with internal energy, and his speed instantly doubled. Sword light flashed—

《Raging Tide Sword Art》.

The first sword strike tore the blanket apart, sending it splitting away to both sides as Yao Dahe’s blade closed in.

The second sword strike followed hard on its heels and smashed apart the force of Yao Dahe’s attack.

The third sword strike violently knocked the broadsaber from Yao Dahe’s hand.

The fourth sword strike struck down the two iron caltrops Yao Dahe suddenly flung from nowhere with two sharp clangs.

The fifth sword strike made Yao Dahe let out a scream as his arm was severed cleanly at the elbow, his face twisting in agony.

The sixth sword...

The Autumn Water Sword swept past in a single flash, cutting across Yao Dahe’s throat.

At that very moment, 《Wind Fills the Vast Sky》 officially reached Entry Level.

Wangchuan was left breathing hard.

Killing a third-rank martial artist had already consumed 190 points of internal energy...

If he were facing a fourth-rank martial artist...

A single activation of 《Wind Fills the Vast Sky》 might not be enough to decide the outcome.

“An Ultimate Art is not suited for ambushes.”

“It is better used after fighting and exchanging blows for a while, when the enemy’s sharpness has already begun to wane. If unleashed at that moment, it can suppress the opponent instantly, shatter their rhythm, and kill with terrifying speed.”

Wangchuan turned around and casually killed the mistress who had thrown the iron caltrops.

Then he swiftly chopped apart the bed and the cabinets in the room.

Beneath the bed was an exquisite box. Inside the cabinet was a stack of manuals.

Wangchuan did not hesitate. He swept everything up and immediately fled the city at top speed.

Not long afterward, he returned to the riverbank.

The boat was still moored in the same place, hidden silently in the darkness. Only when Wangchuan landed on the deck at the bow did the boatman suddenly wake with a start and emerge from the cabin.

“Set off,” Wangchuan ordered, then walked into the cabin.

The boatman obeyed without a word.

The fast boat soon cut through the water toward the distance, racing back in the direction of Sanhe Commandery.

Only after the fast boat had traveled more than a dozen li along the water did Wangchuan finally relax.

In the early hours of the morning, the fast boat docked outside the city of Sanhe Commandery.

Before leaving, Wangchuan asked casually,

“What is your name? What position do you currently hold in the hall?”

The boatman answered with the utmost respect,

“In reply to your question, sir, this little one is Zhao Zuo. For the time being, I hold no position in the hall.”

“Zhao Zuo.”

“You handle a boat well.”

“Have you learned 《Xuanwu Art》 yet?”

“Thanks to our Hall Master’s grace, I have already begun cultivating 《Xuanwu Art》, and I have already reached Minor Mastery.”

“Then this is your reward.”

“Forget everything that happened tonight.”

Wangchuan took out a Lesser Rejuvenation Pill from his robes and tossed it over.

The man caught it in his hand and was instantly overcome with joy.

“This... this is far too precious. How could someone like me deserve such a thing?”

“As long as someone is truly talented, they are worth it.”

After saying that, Wangchuan stepped ashore and left at once.

Watching Wangchuan’s departing back, the boatman respectfully cupped his fists in salute, deeply moved.

“Yes... This subordinate will do everything in his power to break through to the Third Rank as soon as possible.”

As expected, Zhao Zuo had still recognized him.

Zhao Zuo also knew that although he had been cautious the entire way and had not spoken a word, the Hall Master had still noticed that he had recognized him...

He had not been silenced to eliminate loose ends. Instead, he had been rewarded with a Lesser Rejuvenation Pill.

The Hall Master’s magnanimity and bearing were truly astonishing.

...

After returning to the hall, Wangchuan immediately checked on 《Wind Fills the Vast Sky》.

Ultimate Art Move: 《Wind Fills the Vast Sky》

Current Realm: Entry Level

Consumes 50 points of internal energy to activate, grants a 100% speed increase, each move additionally consumes 20 points of internal energy, duration 5 seconds;

Next Realm: Minor Mastery

Consumes 45 points of internal energy to activate, grants a 120% speed increase, each move additionally consumes 18 points of internal energy, duration 6 seconds.

He recalled the process of killing Yao Dahe.

That feeling of internal energy surging through his entire body and strength overflowing;

that silky fluency in every sword strike...

that calm ease with which he had flicked aside the hidden weapons...

and that ruthless sense of controlling everything, crushing everything!

It truly was worthy of being called an Ultimate Art!

“A total of six sword strikes.”

“Two of them were actually somewhat unnecessary.”

“Strictly speaking, killing a seasoned third-rank martial artist in four strikes already counts as very swift.”

“If I activated it suddenly in the middle of a real fight, I should be able to finish the battle in under three strikes.”

“All in all, the advantages of an Ultimate Art are tremendous.”

Wangchuan summarized the experience to himself.

Then he thought of that boatman.

He called Chen Ergou over and asked for the man’s detailed background.

Chen Ergou explained that the man was a martial artist from Qinghe Commandery. During the grand tournament, he had been recruited into the hall. His original identity had been that of a disciple from the Qinghe Commandery Hall. He had advanced to the Second Rank here, and because his skills in water were exceptional, his temperament steady, and his knowledge of the waterways around Qinghe Commandery extremely thorough, Chen Ergou had chosen him to carry out this mission.

Hearing that, Wangchuan nodded thoughtfully.

Chen Ergou was beginning to show a bit of real judgment when it came to reading people.

“Zhao Zuo is steady by nature... Aren’t we in the middle of selecting people to take charge of things? He can be considered for one of the positions.”

Wangchuan said.

Chen Ergou was utterly shocked.

Zhao Zuo really was lucky. This was a meteoric rise in a single step.

“This subordinate understands. I’ll make the arrangements immediately.”

Wangchuan had in fact given thought to how he should appoint a new batch of people in charge. But after thinking it over, he felt that he still could not fill every position with members from Sanjiang Studio.

Players were all afraid of death.

And players were comparatively hard to control.

Once they broke through to the Third Rank, some of them might well strike out on their own.

Not only would his early investment be wasted, he would also lose part of his profits to them.

Those in charge had to be loyal to him personally.

And in comparison, the NPCs in the game were more loyal—for example, Chen Ergou, Zhao Heiniu, Li Qing, and Fei Zai...

That was why he had recently been placing more and more emphasis on promoting NPCs from the game.

Yang Feiyue and Cui Mingjue were both targets he was already cultivating.

As for Zhao Zuo...

He could be brought in and observed as well.

“I reached Entry Level by killing a third-rank martial artist.”

“If I want to keep increasing the experience value from here on, I’ll have to kill martial artists of the same rank or higher in life-and-death combat...”

“The difficulty of raising the realm of an Ultimate Art is enormous.”

There was no choice but to set it aside for now and first continue cultivating 《Golden Bell Shield》 and 《Three-Yin Qi-Circulation Art》.

...

At this very moment, the Six Gates in Qinghe Commandery had already been alarmed.

Someone had reported a murder case within the prefectural city.

When the constables arrived and saw the crime scene, they were immediately stunned by the dead man’s identity.

“The one who died was Yao Dahe, the Branch Master of the Beggar Sect sub-branch?”

“Hiss... This is going to be trouble!”

“That pack of beggars still hasn’t left. They’re going to go mad over this.”

“Damn it! It’s practically the New Year already... can’t they let people have a peaceful holiday?!”