Chapter 56: Three Tigers

Time flowed like water in swift motion.

Since the believers of the Xieshen appeared in Happy Home Community, Fang Xing had fallen silent.

Every day he went to school and back, then worked internships on weekends.

Of course, he also never neglected diligent practice.

Before he realized it, two months had passed.

Prevention Bureau Building, Faith Theory Department.

Fang Xing wore his employee badge and was sweeping the floor with a broom.

Beside him, a brand-new cleaning robot from a household service company stared at him pitifully.

“Fang Xing, Aunt Bai wants you.”

Gu Yun came out and found Fang Xing.

Fang Xing nodded, handed the broom to Gu Yun, and walked into Bai Ziling’s office.

“Good morning, Manager Bai.”

Fang Xing greeted first.

“Mm, Xiao Yun said she’s been under your care all this time—thank you very much…”

Bai Ziling’s tone was warm: “Your internships are over now. Your stipends will be deposited directly into your accounts. I’ve marked both of you as ‘Excellent’ in your evaluations…”

“Thank you, Manager Bai. I’ve learned a great deal here…”

Fang Xing sincerely expressed his gratitude.

It wasn’t empty words. Though he never entered any of the ‘Red Zones’ during the internship, he had indeed met many people, broadened his horizons, and learned numerous ‘secrets’.

Such as how to evade Fengye City’s surveillance, how to respond to Prevention Bureau raids, how to disguise and conceal the aura of Xieshen artifacts…

In fact, Xia Long’s actions last time had already given him a bit more trust in the Federation.

He even considered bringing over some otherworldly items for appraisal.

After all, it was precisely the Faith Theory Department’s duty to appraise all kinds of strange objects.

Yet in the end, Fang Xing decided to hold back for now.

‘After all, better safe than sorry… Even if cultivation items are most likely classified as alien artifacts—especially those requiring special energy to activate, which are essentially worthless junk…’

‘But what if… there are cultivators here too?’

‘For caution’s sake, I should let Gu Yun or another Faith Theory Department member ‘accidentally’ acquire a talisman somewhere on the black market, then turn it in for inspection…’

This was Fang Xing’s Shitan of the Federation.

To see whether the Federation could detect the uniqueness of cultivation items—or even whether cultivators existed here!

…

Happy Home Community.

“Huh? It seems the Prevention Bureau’s protective personnel have left too?”

Fang Xing touched his forehead, then took out his key and entered his room.

According to Federation law and Prevention Bureau protocol, even protective measures would not intrude into the privacy of the protected.

After closing the door, he glanced at the ‘Home Protection Talisman’ stuck on the back of the door.

This was a simple yet popular talisman from the cultivation world, typically used during seclusion.

As long as it was pasted on a wall, it formed a basic barrier.

The barrier was extremely fragile—any external intrusion, even the divine sense of a Foundation Establishment cultivator, would instantly trigger the talisman’s reaction, reducing it to ash…

Yes, the ‘Home Protection Talisman’ had no offensive effect whatsoever—only a warning function.

But for Fang Xing, it was still very useful.

“One Home Protection Talisman lasts at most ten days… This one is nearly depleted.”

Fang Xing replaced it with a new one, went into his bedroom, lay on the bed, pulled the blanket over his head, and covered himself completely.

Inside the bedroom, additional protections were naturally in place.

“It’s been a long time since I went to the temporary camp…”

In a flash of thought, Fang Xing arrived at the temporary camp.

Underground cavern.

He first checked the system monitoring log.

“Huh? Qinglin Market has indeed fallen into chaos… But this is…”

According to the surveillance footage, the day after Fang Xing ordered the spread of rumors, the Qingxuan Sect’s airship had set out again—heading toward Five Scorpion Valley!

“Given the reaction speed of these ancient sects, isn’t this too fast?”

“Unless… the Foundation Establishment cultivator guarding Qingxuan Sect already suspected something, and acted immediately upon receiving the intelligence?”

“Hmm, Qingxuan Sect dispatched three airships—only one returned on the fifth day…”

“Then on the sixth day, the market chaos intensified—did a Foundation Establishment cultivator intervene?”

Gazing at the aerial surveillance footage of Qinglin Market, where the great array was fully activated and shadowy figures could be seen dueling within, Fang Xing fell silent.

“Detailed intelligence… I’ll probably need to ask someone…”

He lightly tapped his finger, and the Ink-Written Sword appeared in his hand.

Even unrefined, this blood-forged artifact remained the most resilient and sharp he had ever seen!

Besides that, the greatest gain from Chen Yi—the storage bag—was still discarded in the temporary camp, still unsolved.

“With full equipment, even a Completion-stage Qi Refinement cultivator wouldn’t scare me, right?”

After donning the nanofiber protective suit, Fang Xing glanced at his status bar and felt a surge of confidence:

【Name: Fang Xing】

【Age: 17】

【Profession: Martial Artist】

【Second Stage: Sinew and Bone (Bone Refinement: 51/100)】

【Twelve Forms of Military Boxing: 20/200 (Mastered)】

【Great Dragon Stance: 198/200 (Mastered)】

【Tiger Subduing Stance: 9/200 (Mastered)】

【Ghost and God Blade: 2/100 (Proficient)】

【Ultimate Passion Sword: 95/100 (Beginner)】

【Gate of All Heavens (Charging)】

…

Two months of focused cultivation had accelerated his progress dramatically.

The Great Dragon Stance was barely short of entering the fourth stage—about to manifest its Yijing !

Besides that, Ghost and God Blade had advanced faster than Ultimate Passion Sword thanks to Xia Long’s guidance, while Military Boxing had barely progressed due to almost no practice.

Tiger Subduing Stance had also reached Mastered rank—thanks entirely to Tiger Marrow Pills and Tiger Bone Wine. Had the cultivation resources not run out later, his progress would have been even faster!

“Most crucially, my realm has broken through to the late Second Stage—I’ve begun bone refinement… And because my foundation was so solid, I gained nearly half the progress immediately. A little more training, and my advancement will be lightning-fast…”

Fang Xing clenched his fist, feeling the terrifying strength surging through his limbs and bones, and nodded in satisfaction: “I must break through as soon as possible… A mere post-heaven martial artist isn’t even worth mentioning in Qinglin Market.”

“Huh?”

At that moment, he noticed another group of cultivators approaching nearby in the surveillance feed—his eyes flickered.

…

“Grandpa…”

Ding Hongxiu’s face was dirty and streaked with blood; she stared anxiously at her grandfather.

Ding Bushan still dressed as an old man, wearing a half-worn Daoist robe, his nose red from alcohol, his hands forming seals as he controlled a low-grade artifact: a yellow leather gourd.

After the seals were cast, the gourd swelled several times its size, becoming as large as a water barrel, guarding the grandfather and granddaughter. From its mouth emerged clusters of water spheres.

These water spheres were not only extremely heavy but also carried a strong wine aroma—anyone who drew near felt dazed and intoxicated.

“Ding the Old Man, the Black Absolute Three Tigers have been watching you for a long time—you won’t escape today!”

The three attackers surrounding Ding’s grandfather and granddaughter included a black-clad giant who sneered: “Be sensible and die quietly—we might spare your granddaughter’s life…”

“Hah, Big Brother, this granddaughter of his is truly lovely—let me have first pick…”

Second Tiger stared at Ding Hongxiu, his face openly lecherous.

“This grandfather-granddaughter pair has been selling spirit rice for years—they must have saved up plenty of spirit stones. They must hand them all over… With this fortune, we can risk it in that secret realm—maybe all three of us can reach Foundation Establishment!”

Third Tiger was tall and thin, with a soft, feminine face. He had no interest in women but was extremely greedy, commanding a fan-shaped artifact that whipped out swirling green winds, blocking the water spheres and even blowing away the wine scent…

“Damn it, I shouldn’t have been so greedy and ventured out of the market.” Seeing this, Ding Bushan felt his heart tremble—he knew he and his granddaughter likely wouldn’t survive today.

The Black Absolute Three Tigers were infamous bandits in the market, still alive despite being wanted by Qingxuan Sect—they clearly possessed formidable skills!

First Tiger was a body cultivator, said to be able to directly clash with Completion-stage Qi Refinement cultivators using only physical strength!

Second Tiger wielded a pair of bronze hammers—unbreakable and unstoppable!

Third Tiger had the lowest cultivation, but was cunning, treacherous, and ruthless!

“Go!”

At that moment, Second Tiger suddenly formed a seal—his two bronze hammers flew left and right, glowing yellow, like two grinding stones crashing down.

“Ah!”

Ding Hongxiu screamed as the ‘Body Protection Talisman’ in her hand exhausted its power and turned to ash, falling to the ground.

Crash! Crash!

Then, the two grinding-stone-sized hammers struck the yellow leather gourd artifact in succession, causing it to let out a mournful cry and be crushed to the ground.

Zwoosh!

The Black Absolute Three Tigers moved with perfect coordination; after the Second and Third Tigers acted, the First Tiger’s figure flickered and appeared before Ding Bushan.

He needed no artifact—only clenched his five fingers into a fist and slammed it hard against Ding Bushan’s Golden Bell Shield spell.

Crack!

The Golden Bell let out a groan, a crack appearing on its surface.

Ding Bushan’s face flushed red as he spat a gout of blood!

“Grandfather!”

Ding Hongxiu panicked, raised her hand, and activated a “Fireball Talisman.”

But the next instant, the First Tiger sneered and slapped his palm downward.

A massive black palm phantom materialized, swatting the fireball into nothingness, leaving only wisps of smoke…

Boom!

Finally, the Golden Bell Shield exploded violently, dissolving into specks of golden light like countless golden fireflies, vanishing into the grass.

“Heh heh…”

The Second Tiger strode forward and reached for Ding Hongxiu.

He loved this look in young girls—like little rabbits—making it all the more satisfying to torment, unlike those seductive harlots from Tingyu Pavilion!

Shing!

At that moment, the Black Absolute Three Tigers suddenly heard a sword’s cry!

This sword cry carried an indescribable spiritual force, causing them to momentarily lose focus, each recalling their deepest, most regretful emotional memories…

Bo!

In an instant, a black-ink-patterned iron sword appeared; its tip darted like a star, lightly tapping the water-wave barrier surrounding the Second Tiger—its sharp blade effortlessly pierced through the protective spell and plunged straight into his throat!

Having struck, the silver-white figure flashed again, like a celestial immortal descending from beyond the heavens—not targeting the hardest foe, the First Tiger, but straight toward the Third Tiger.

“Big brother… save me!”

The Third Tiger snapped back to awareness, eyes bulging in horror; his robe’s spiritual light flared, forming a shield that blocked the sword’s tip.

Swish!

But the next instant, a slash of knife-light flashed, severing his throat…