Chapter 283: Taking Stock

Cheng Feng returned to the inn, and his first priority was to find a relatively secluded corner, panting heavily as if to exhale all the previous tension and suppression along with this breath.

He knew well the danger of this trip; the slightest mistake could lead to total ruin, but the sense of achievement at this moment made him temporarily forget his exhaustion and fear.

Lianshan Prefecture City, this prosperous city, was about to become an important stop for the Hong Sect to expand its territory. As the mastermind behind the Hong Sect, every one of his actions concerned the future of the entire organization.

Therefore, he had to be cautious and move step by step, ensuring that every step he took was steady and powerful.

Thinking of this, Cheng Feng's gaze could not help but fall upon that Space Ring. Hidden within this ring was not only the wealth of three hundred thousand taels of silver, but also the testament to his wit and courage.

He gently stroked the ring, a satisfied smile curling at the corners of his mouth.

To completely eliminate any hidden dangers, Cheng Feng decided to dispose of the corpse immediately. He quietly went to a corner of the kitchen in the Rear Courtyard of the inn.

It was sparsely populated and chaotic here, making it a perfect place to handle such matters. He skillfully opened the Space Ring, dragged the corpse out, and began to carefully loot the body.

Looting a body is the best way to reap rewards, aimed at finding valuable information or items on an enemy or the deceased.

Cheng Feng's technique was both fast and accurate; he soon searched out two Secret Manuals from the corpse. One was the target technique Cheng Feng had been longing for, the Silk-Pulling Art, and the other, as Cheng Feng looked it over, was the Pikong Palm, which could be practiced up to the Organ Refining Late Stage.

This made Cheng Feng's eyes light up; wasn't this the move that person used to strike him from a distance?

He hadn't expected such a harvest.

There was a token with "Xu Tian" written on the front and the two characters "Red Lotus" on the back, which made Cheng Feng pause.

The rebel party he had heard of two years ago—had they suddenly appeared in reality, only to be killed by him?

"The rebel party is not to be trifled with, fortunately no one knows I killed him," Cheng Feng remained as calm as ever; as long as no one knew his identity, even if everyone else died, they wouldn't link it to him.

There were also some silver notes. Cheng Feng counted them—good heavens, scattered about, there were one hundred and ten thousand taels, worth a third of the Silk-Pulling Art.

Truly, one cannot get rich without windfall wealth, just as a horse cannot grow fat without night grass.

Looking at the harvest before him, Cheng Feng put it all into his Space Ring; it was safe once in his pocket.

As for the corpse, Cheng Feng poured the oil from the kitchen directly onto Xu Tian's shattered remains, then set up the firewood from the side—perfect.

To destroy the scene afterward, he burned the kitchen down entirely. It was his own property anyway; blackening his own name could clear the inn of suspicion, so why not?

Returning to his guest room, he carefully took out the Silk-Pulling Art and flipped it open. After a rough glance, Cheng Feng understood why the Silk-Pulling Art could assist a Bone Refining Martial Artist in advancing rapidly.

It recorded a method of condensing Blood Qi into threads to manipulate Blood Qi and grind the bones.

Cheng Feng had seen that the techniques of Bone Refining Martial Artists all relied on medicinal soups to supplement Blood Qi, then letting the Blood Qi wash over the gaps in the bones like a stream, infiltrating the Blood Qi, from blood into bone, and from bone into blood.

This was very consistent with the concept of bone marrow producing blood that Cheng Feng knew.

But this was slow, very slow, and required a large amount of medicinal herbs and family assets; many people got stuck in Bone Refining and couldn't continue for this very reason.

And breaking through from Blood Refining to Bone Refining was also difficult, difficult because the Blood Qi was not full, and no one knew when their Blood Qi was considered full.

Senior Sister Zhao Wei was an example of this.

Each hurdle was harder than the last.

Each hurdle was more dangerous than the last.

But with the Silk-Pulling Art, it used medicine to assist in condensing Blood Qi into threads, improving the martial artist's control over the blood threads to target the bones for impact.

Isn't that much stronger than just washing with Blood Qi!

Holding the Silk-Pulling Art, Cheng Feng felt as if he held the key to the rise of a power.

The next day, the Silk-Pulling Art, which had caused such a stir last night, spread through the streets and alleys.

"Have you heard? A technique, three hundred thousand taels! That's enough for me to eat, drink, and play for several lifetimes."

"What of it? Lao Er, are you envious? I suppose you haven't heard that Fang Lian of the Hengshi Gang was killed last night?"

People around heard this bombshell news and discussed it heatedly: "Fang Lian was a hard-body expert at the Bone Refining Realm; how could he die so easily?"

The one who leaked the gossip saw everyone waiting for the rest and stroked his goatee: "I haven't even eaten this morning yet!"

An impatient person said: "Ugh, hurry up and tell us."

Someone sharp nearby pulled the middle-aged man with the goatee to sit down and shouted to the shopkeeper: "My Brother Chen is hungry, bring a bowl of mutton soup first, and two pancakes."

The goatee nodded, and while having the hot soup, he began: "I heard yesterday that a True Qi Realm martial artist appeared.

After the killing, the corpse disappeared into thin air, not even leaving a few drops of blood behind.

How likely do you think that is?"

The crowd was in an uproar; some did not believe such a thing.

The goatee sneered: "Go to Linghua Square Fourth Street and see for yourself; look at the short sword marks on the wall first, then look at the bloodstains on the ground, and you will know."

Seeing the goatee so certain, there were indeed people among the crowd who went to Linghua Square Fourth Street to look.

Cheng Feng, dressed in green, was drinking mutton soup nearby, eating side dishes, and listening to the news that had spread since last night.

He shook his head inwardly; the people of Great Zhou certainly had wild imaginations.

However, there were indeed experts among the trackers who were able to analyze the situation from last night with reasonable accuracy.

This served as a reminder to Cheng Feng that there were no longer any real talents in Qingxi County.

Those who existed were already in the Hong Sect's bowl.

But to what extent could talent from a small county go?

The experts in the Prefecture City were of a higher level and more comprehensive.

After finishing his breakfast calmly, Cheng Feng withdrew directly with the wounded from the Sword Hall.

Having obtained what he needed to take, he naturally had to leave this place of right and wrong.

Cheng Feng did not believe anyone could investigate inside his Space Ring.

Being able to conceive of the level of a True Qi martial artist was already quite good.

Cheng Feng shook his head inwardly, feeling both helpless and impressed by the imagination of the Great Zhou people.

Matters related to martial artists were often far more complex than ordinary people imagined, but the wild ideas of the common folk could sometimes guess at some of the truth.

However, this also made Cheng Feng realize that there was indeed no lack of experts among the trackers last night; their analytical ability was so strong that he could not help but admire them.

This ability to quickly sort out a complex situation was extremely rare anywhere.

At the same time, he also realized that there were many more talents in the greater environment of the Prefecture City that could be recruited by the Hong Sect.

The current Sword Hall is truly too weak.

The martial arts talents in Qingxi County have almost all been gathered by the Hong Sect. Even if there are any fish that slipped through the net, they are merely small fry and shrimp, unable to pose a real threat to the Hong Sect.

But that does not mean the forces in the Prefecture City are weak; decapitation tactics are applicable everywhere.

He kept this point in his heart.

After eating breakfast peacefully, Cheng Feng took the group of wounded from the Sword Hall and withdrew directly. They had already achieved their goal for this trip and obtained what they needed to get, so naturally, there was no need to stay any longer in this place of trouble.

Cheng Feng was full of confidence in his Space Ring.

Even the top tracking experts would find it difficult to detect the harvest inside his ring.