Faced with Zhao Yishui's pathetic attack, Chu Qingyun suddenly raised his head. A ferocious aura rushed directly at Zhao Yishui.
After killing over twenty men, Chu Qingyun's tyrannical aura was laced with a thick killing intent and Evil Qi. Terrified, Zhao Yishui's legs went weak, and he collapsed to his knees.
"A... A Martial Master... Chu Qingyun, how can you be a Martial Master?"
After being defeated by Chu Qingyun in the bride-choosing tournament, Zhao Yishui had a fortuitous encounter of his own, which allowed him to break through quickly and become a seventh-level Martial Artist.
He had thought he'd be able to crush Chu Qingyun underfoot the next time they met.
He never expected it to end like this.
Chu Qingyun... he had actually broken through and become a Martial Master!
"My father, my second uncle, and Zhao Kang and Zhao Xiu... you killed them all?"
Zhao Yishui suddenly thought of something and asked, his voice trembling.
"Hmph. You guessed right. For your reward, you can go join them!"
Chu Qingyun snorted coldly. A black gleam flashed in his hand as a short black dagger pierced Zhao Yishui's throat, killing him instantly.
After Zhao Yishui died, a miniature, fiery-red spear quickly materialized above his body.
'A Tier Two Martial Soul, the Flame Gun.'
'Devouring Martial Soul, devour it!'
At Chu Qingyun's mental command, the impatient Devouring Martial Soul shot forward and swallowed the small spear in one gulp.
Chu Qingyun put his black mask back on, took the brocade box from Zhao Yishui's hands, and slipped out of the Zhao Family Castle under the cover of night.
The box was something Zhao Yishui had tried to take even while fleeing for his life, so it had to contain a treasure. Chu Qingyun, being extremely short on money, wasn't about to pass it up.
After leaving the Zhao Family Castle, Chu Qingyun mounted his horse and rode through the night back to the Chu Family Village.
On the way, he opened Zhao Yishui's brocade box.
The moment the box opened, a fragrant medicinal scent wafted out, instantly invigorating Chu Qingyun.
He was even more delighted when he saw what was inside.
A Golden Blood Ginseng!
Inside the box was none other than a Tier Two Spiritual Medicine, a Golden Blood Ginseng!
Moreover, this Golden Blood Ginseng was a full thirty centimeters long and a whole size thicker than the one Chu Qingyun had bought at the auction house.
'A thousand-year-old Golden Blood Ginseng! Its medicinal efficacy is almost ten times that of a hundred-year-old one!'
'With this Spiritual Medicine, I'll have enough to perfect the First Layer of the Profound Celestial Divine Pattern!'
Chu Qingyun was overjoyed. The Mysterious Sky Divine Pattern Secret Technique had a remarkable effect on increasing his strength.
Just completing the Divine Pattern on his right arm had already boosted his strength tremendously.
One could only imagine what a terrifying boost he would get once the Divine Pattern covered his entire body!
'Huh? There's a token in the box, too...'
Before closing the brocade box, Chu Qingyun noticed a token lying next to the Golden Blood Ginseng.
The token felt slightly heavy. It was pale yellow and cool to the touch.
The back of the token was smooth, but the front was engraved with a large character for "Zhao".
'Zhao? A token for the Zhao Family Castle? I've never heard of the Zhao Family Castle having tokens...'
Chu Qingyun pondered for a moment but couldn't make sense of it. He decided to ask the village chief when he got back.
The village chief was knowledgeable and well-informed; perhaps he would recognize this token. After all, it was the village chief who had identified the Blood Wolf Gang's Cyan Wolf Blood Jade.
By the time he returned to the Chu Family Village, the distant horizon was already turning white with the dawn.
The village chief, Chu Hua, and the other leaders of the Chu Family Village were still standing at the village entrance, craning their necks in anticipation as they waited for Chu Qingyun.
As the only Martial Master-level expert in the Chu Family Village, Chu Qingyun had earned the right to make all its leaders wait for him.
"Village Chief, look! A horse is coming! It's Qingyun! He's back!"
Seeing Chu Qingyun return, everyone quietly breathed a sigh of relief, feeling much more at ease.
A smile finally broke through the tense expression the village chief had worn all night.
Their biggest worry wasn't whether Chu Qingyun could take care of Zhao Zhiyi or kill the people from the Zhao Family Castle.
They were most concerned about Chu Qingyun's own safety.
"Village Chief, Uncle Hua, I have not failed my mission!"
"Everyone in the Zhao Family Castle from Zhao Zhiyi on down, all Martial Artists at the sixth level or higher, are dead. I killed Zhao Yishui as well. From now on, the Zhao Family Castle poses no threat to us at all!"
Chu Qingyun said with a smile as he leaped off his horse.
"Good! Wonderful! Qingyun, you really did it!"
"Haha, I knew Qingyun could do it. That bullshit Zhao Family Castle and Zhao Zhiyi? They're nothing in front of Qingyun! Mo Yan, I told you before, and you didn't believe me!"
"It's not that I didn't believe you! I was just worried about Qingyun's safety, okay?"
Everyone from the Chu Family Village burst into hearty laughter.
With all of the Zhao Family Castle's experts annihilated, it was considered completely destroyed. From now on, the Chu Family Village would be the strongest village in this area.
In the future, the people of the Chu Family Village would be able to walk with their heads held higher!
"Qingyun, besides killing people, you must have made quite a haul at the Zhao Family Castle this time, you brat," Chu Hua said with a loud laugh.
Chu Qingyun chuckled, brandished the brocade box in his hand, and patted his bulging clothes. He said, "Over two hundred Upper Grade Primordial Stones, plus a thousand-year-old Tier Two Spiritual Medicine, a Golden Blood Ginseng!"
"Whoa, you brat, you've really struck it rich this time!"
"Over two hundred Upper Grade Primordial Stones! That must be the accumulation of the Zhao Family Castle over all these years. To think it would all fall into your lap, you lucky brat!"
"Treat us! Treat us! Qingyun, next time we have a chance to go to Qingshan City, you have to treat us all to a good meal!"
The group grew even more cheerful, laughing and joking around.
Chu Qingyun had risked his life to seize these things himself, so naturally, none of them had any thought of asking for a share.
Although most of them were a generation older than Chu Qingyun, none of them put on the airs of an elder in front of him.
"No problem! I'll definitely treat you all when I get the chance!"
"Oh, right. Village Chief, I also got this from Zhao Yishui..."
Chu Qingyun said, handing the token to the village chief.
The village chief brought the token close to a nearby torch, squinting as he examined it carefully in the flickering light.
After a moment, he handed the token back to Chu Qingyun. With a sigh, he said, "It seems that rumor was true after all..."
"What rumor?"
Everyone instinctively fell silent, pricking up their ears and looking at the village chief with curiosity.
"It's a very old rumor. It's said that the ancestors of the Zhao Family Castle weren't from our Qingshan City. They were a branch of the Zhao Clan from Flame City."
"And Flame City is a much larger city than our Qingshan City. It's one of the most prominent cities in all of Lianshan County."
"The Zhao Clan is the most powerful force in Flame City, and their power is absolute."
After the village chief finished speaking, Chu Qingyun nodded and added, "No wonder that Zhao Yishui jumped three levels in such a short time to become a seventh-level Martial Artist and even obtained this Golden Blood Ginseng."
"It seems he caught the attention of the Zhao Clan from Flame City."
Chu Qingyun and the others' guess was correct.
Because he had awakened a Tier Two Martial Soul, Zhao Yishui had attracted the attention of a certain branch within the Flame City Zhao Clan. They had gifted him two Spiritual Medicines, intending for him to return to the clan in Flame City after he broke through to the Martial Master realm.
Unexpectedly, he was killed before he could even break through. And the Golden Blood Ginseng had also fallen into Chu Qingyun's hands.