Chapter 65: A sharp blade bolsters the courage

The black-mist-like blade shadows whistled and hummed.

Li Rui moved like an old ape at play; his waist followed the blade's momentum, agile and nimble, yet his footsteps were rooted like an old tree, rock-steady.

"Truly a precious blade!"

A fine horse deserves a fine saddle.

It is the same for a martial artist; only with a good weapon can one display their martial arts to perfection.

A seventy-jin blade is the only thing worthy of Li Rui's strength.

Combined with the improved White Ape Cloak-Blade, the heavy blade's attacks seemed careless, yet they were actually incomparably tyrannical, lulling people into letting their guard down before taking their lives.

Things capable of killing often do not make people feel they are dangerous.

"Taking the enemy by surprise is the way to victory."

He looked up at the sky.

The horizon was just beginning to turn a pale, fish-belly white.

As he grew older, his need for sleep became pitifully small, so Li Rui simply practiced his blade work every morning, making his days much more abundant.

The problem of sleep that plagued the world simply did not exist for him.

He fetched a basin of clear water to wipe away the sweat from his body before walking out of Hun Tian Yi Hall.

He arrived at the black market.

Li Rui had just stepped onto the floor when Mao Kai chased after him, his face full of anxiety.

"Hall Master."

Li Rui turned his head and saw Mao Kai, whose complexion was ugly to the extreme.

Mao Kai held something in both hands and raised it upward.

Li Rui's brows knitted together into a 'chuan' shape.

It was a weapon!

"What on earth happened?"

Mao Kai said viciously, "Those dog-begotten things—I caught a petty thief while patrolling last night, and upon searching him, I discovered this bastard was actually hiding five or six weapons.

I pondered for a long time before I realized, he wasn't trying to steal; he was clearly planting them!"

Li Rui took a deep breath, his gaze turning solemn.

Mao Kai gritted his teeth, "Li Ye, someone wants our lives."

Privately casting weapons is a capital crime.

It was clearly someone framing them, placing weapons of unknown origin in the black market shops. If nothing went wrong, tomorrow the government officials would happen to come knocking, and then they would happen to discover the weapons in the shop.

Privately trafficking weapons is even more serious than trafficking salt, and the government investigates it strictly.

By then, it would be like mud falling into one's trousers.

It would be impossible to explain clearly.

Li Rui's eyes were icy.

"Zhao Wei!"

How could he not guess what Zhao Wei was trying to do?

It was exactly the same method he had used to deal with Sun Ming.

The only difference was that it was perhaps cruder.

He had people in the government office, and naturally, Zhao Wei did too. When the time came, they would be caught red-handed, and he, this black market supervisor, would definitely suffer. If operated properly, he might even end up with the same fate as Sun Ming.

Even if he didn't die, he would spend his whole life in prison.

The killing intent in Mao Kai's eyes could not be hidden, "Li Ye, that Zhao fellow has a ruthless heart."

If he hadn't happened to run into it while patrolling today, they would have truly been doomed.

At the thought of the nine-familial extermination, Mao Kai felt a lingering fear.

False struggle: arenas, life-and-death battles.

Real struggle: splashing dirty water, framing.

The black market is too big; it is impossible to guard against.

A cold glint flashed in Li Rui's eyes.

Tiandi Alliance.

In a large mansion with five courtyards, the lamps were bright, and the silhouettes of two men appeared.

"Idiots! Trash!"

Zhao Wei looked at the man who was slightly hunched over with a face full of having done something wrong, feeling hatred that he could not turn into steel.

"Master Zhao, I didn't expect it to be such a coincidence, to be bumped into by that Mao Kai from the black market."

"You, you!"

Zhao Wei's eyes spewed fire.

One is truly not afraid of god-like opponents, but rather pig-like teammates.

His subordinate Sun Ming was killed by Li Rui in the black market, and the man before him, in order to claim credit, came up with the base method of framing them with privately cast weapons.

Zhao Wei never cared about what methods were used.

If it had been done successfully, that would be fine, but he ended up being caught red-handed.

Startling the snake.

It would be much more troublesome for him to deal with Li Rui in the future.

"Dog thing!"

The more Zhao Wei thought about it, the angrier he became, and he kicked the man in the stomach.

Soon, he calmed down.

Anger is anger, but the matter still had to be concluded.

Although this man had average ability and was just a supervisor watching the venue, he was loyal. If he really left him alone, it would definitely chill the hearts of others.

"You go yourself and get rid of the person sent there."

"Remember to find a time when Li Rui is not around to do it; I will handle the rest."

Upon hearing this, the man hurriedly clutched his stomach and bowed and scraped:

"I, I will go right away, Master Zhao."

Zhao Wei rubbed his temples with a headache, "Alright, get lost."

Ever since he defeated Zhang Yang at the grand competition and obtained a spot for the Huaqing Sect trial, the number of people coming to defect to him had increased several times over.

But expanding too quickly would lead to many problems.

For instance, the quality of these people was truly uneven.

Recently, they had caused him quite a few messes.

He naturally knew about the black market matter, but he also understood that he had too many enemies now, and one move would affect the whole situation, so he had been rectifying these subordinates.

Wait until he was fully prepared.

Then he would settle the score one by one.

"Li Rui!"

Five days later.

Chen hour.

The sky was still deep and dark, without a glimmer of light.

Bang, bang, bang!

A burst of urgent knocking sounded at the door.

Li Rui pushed open the door and saw Liang He looking anxious: "Hall Master, something has happened. That little thief who brought weapons to the black market is dead."

"Let's go, let's take a look!"

Li Rui threw on an outer garment and followed Liang He to the black market.

When he saw the little thief lying on the ground, throat slit and covered in blood.

Li Rui remained expressionless.

In fact, he had anticipated this outcome, which was why he had specifically left Liang He at the black market to take turns with Mao Kai in guarding the little thief.

He had already told Zhang Yang about the matter.

As long as it was handled properly, they could have bitten back at Zhao Wei.

But they were still a step too slow; Zhao Wei had actually chosen to silence the witness in a fit of madness.

Mao Kai had suffered minor injuries in the fight just now.

He clutched his chest, looking ashamed: "Hall Master, that person was a Rank-Entered martial artist; we were no match for him."

"This matter is not your fault."

As the saying goes, one doesn't fear a thief stealing, but rather a thief coveting.

It is simply too difficult to be on guard at all times against a Rank-Entered martial master lurking in the shadows.

Li Rui ordered: "Clean this place up, and tell everyone to act as if this never happened."

Mao Kai was unwilling: "Li Ye, are we just going to let it go like this?"

Li Rui looked coldly at Mao Kai: "Then what would you have me do?"

Mao Kai was speechless for a moment.

That's right, what could he even do?

The other party was a Rank-Entered martial artist, and his backer was the number one ranked Deputy Helmsman; if one didn't want to bow their head, they had no choice but to bow it.

"Yes!"

He lowered his head resentfully and, with the few people beside him, began to clean up the bloodstains on the ground.

Li Rui walked back to Hun Tian Yi Hall.

Liang He followed silently behind him, and he spoke up: "Hall Master, what should we do next?"

"Xiao He, tell me, if you were walking on the road and ran into a thug holding a knife, what would you do?"

Liang He pondered for a moment.

If it were the old him, he would have chosen to go up and fight for his life without hesitation.

But now...

"I would run."

Li Rui wore an expression of 'the child is teachable': "That's right."

Then he added: "Unless you have a bigger knife."

(End of chapter)