It was already noon when Chu Qingyun and the others had entered the mine.
Now that he had completed his breakthrough, the sky had long since turned completely dark.
Most of the people had died in the mine, leaving the entire abandoned Yuan Stone Ore Vein unnaturally quiet.
"Shadow Martial Soul!"
"Stealth!"
Under the cover of night, Chu Qingyun began to practice with his newly acquired Martial Soul.
His body was veiled in a layer of black, his entire figure becoming illusory. Even when he looked down at himself, it was as if he had merged into the night.
'Indeed, only a Martial Soul can grant this miraculous power to merge with the darkness.'
The power of the Shadow Martial Soul lay in making one's form illusory, allowing one to blend into the darkness.
For an Assassin who operated from the shadows, this was a dream-come-true ability.
Moreover, strictly speaking, applying the Shadow Martial Soul was much simpler than using the Three-star Vine Martial Soul.
Because it was a Martial Soul tailor-made for him with the highest degree of compatibility and affinity, Chu Qingyun needed only a little over half an hour of practice to completely master its power.
'That should be enough. Time to find Young Master Ning and his men.'
'With his crazed and perverse temperament, he should still be looking for me right now...'
Chu Qingyun's figure flickered as he sped off, beginning his search for Zhang Ning and his two men.
He searched until the latter half of the night before finally finding the three of them in a patch of woods.
By then, they were already asleep next to a bonfire that was about to die out.
'Hmph. They actually dare to sleep. How nice for them.'
With a soft snort, Chu Qingyun used a Soul Technique from his Shadow Martial Soul.
"Stealth!"
After merging into the darkness, he moved lightly and nimbly, stealthily approaching Da from behind.
With a slight shake of his arm, the Black Saber hidden in his sleeve slid into his hand.
The blade was frigid and dark, absorbing all light. Despite being next to the fire, it didn't reflect a single glint.
'Die.'
Chu Qingyun's arm moved slightly, and the sharp blade instantly slit Da's throat.
After the successful throat-slitting ambush, Chu Qingyun did not linger, silently retreating under the cover of night.
"Big Bro, what's wrong!?"
The moment his throat was cut, both Da and Er were startled awake.
But it was too late. Da could only clutch his neck powerlessly, watching blood gush out like a fountain.
And Er could only watch helplessly as he died.
"What happened? Er, what happened!?"
Young Master Ning woke up, saw Da convulsing on the ground, and couldn't help but let out a piercing scream.
A flash of disgust and anger crossed Er's eyes, but he quickly concealed it.
"I don't know, Young Master Ning. Be careful. Judging by the style of this attack, it looks like the work of the Assassin Alliance."
With a wary expression, Er shielded Zhang Ning behind him.
If this had been the old Chu Qingyun, he might have charged out to defeat them in a head-on confrontation.
But for the current Chu Qingyun, who possessed the Shadow Martial Soul, the night was his domain!
Activating his Stealth Soul Techniques, Chu Qingyun silently and soundlessly approached Young Master Ning from the darkest shadows behind Er.
'Die!'
Chu Qingyun roared coldly in his heart and thrust his blade toward Young Master Ning's back.
"Hm? Killing intent!"
Er's expression changed, and he yanked Young Master Ning aside.
The sharp edge of the Black Saber sliced through Young Master Ning's flesh as it scraped across his back.
"AH! It hurts, it hurts so much!"
"You bastard, I'm going to kill you!"
Young Master Ning had never experienced such pain in his life. The madness in his bones immediately flared up again, and he struggled violently in Er's grip, not knowing what he was even trying to do.
At that moment, Er was filled with terror and rage.
Hiding in the shadows was an opponent like a venomous snake, ready to deliver a fatal blow at any moment.
And in his hands was a mad young master who he could neither hit nor scold.
If not for his fear of Zhang Ning's father, Er would have slapped this idiot to death long ago.
In the darkness, Chu Qingyun whispered softly.
"Three-Star Vine."
Then, three vines shot out from the darkness, instantly binding the unprepared Er and Young Master Ning tightly.
After Chu Qingyun advanced to a Level Seven Martial Artist, the tenacity of the Three-Star Vine's vines had reached a whole new level.
And their length had reached a terrifying fifty meters!
"The Three-star Vine Martial Soul! It's you!"
Seeing this Martial Soul, Er instantly recognized him. This was the guy who had escaped at the end and taken the Golden Thread Primordial Spirit Fruit!
"That's right. It's me."
Chu Qingyun deactivated his Stealth and walked out from the shadows.
"A Level Seven Martial Artist!"
"He actually jumped three levels!"
Er's pupils suddenly shrank. The Primordial Power he had been gathering in his hands quietly dissipated.
He had originally planned to put up a desperate fight, but after seeing that Chu Qingyun was also a Level Seven Martial Artist, Er gave up.
Not to mention he was already at a disadvantage, bound by the Three-Star Vine.
Just dealing with a useless lunatic like Young Master Ning was already a huge drain on his combat strength.
"Friend, let's talk this out..." Er said, his voice tinged with panic.
Before, the lives of nearly two hundred people, including Chu Qingyun's group, had been in the hands of Young Master Ning and Er. Back then, the two of them had acted with absolute impunity, doing whatever they pleased.
Who would have thought that in less than a day, the tables would be completely turned.
Fate, sometimes, is just that fickle.
"Talk this out? Do you have any idea how many people died because of this damn lunatic?"
"I'll tell you. Two hundred and thirty-four!"
Chu Qingyun sneered, his eyes filled with killing intent.
"The people who died have nothing to do with you. You already saved the two from your village," Er explained hastily.
Chu Qingyun suddenly smiled, but it was a cold smile.
"And after he got out, he threatened to annihilate my entire family. Does that also have nothing to do with me?"
Chu Qingyun had long since decided that Young Master Ning had to die.
A madman like him was capable of anything. Letting him go would be the same as releasing a tiger back into the mountains.
'Damn it!'
Er's face was filled with anxiety as he cursed Young Master Ning endlessly in his heart.
To be stuck with a young master who was more of a hindrance than a help... he must have been cursed with eight lifetimes of bad luck.
"Die, both of you!"
With a cold shout, Chu Qingyun thrust his Black Saber twice, killing both Young Master Ning and Er.
After searching the three bodies, Chu Qingyun didn't find anything special, just a dozen or so Middle Grade Primordial Stones and some Lower Grade Primordial Stones.
However, one item did catch his attention.
It was a piece of Blood Jade, carved with a lifelike wolf howling at the sky.
'Blood Jade? A wolf? Blood... wolf...'
"The Blood Wolf Gang!"
Chu Qingyun's eyes instantly widened.
Young Master Ning was in his twenties and from an extraordinary background, yet he was only a Level Two Martial Artist. But he possessed a Jade Pendant that looked anything but ordinary.
Clearly, his status must be very high.
At the very least, neither Da nor Er had any such token on them.
'I can't believe I just killed a big shot from the Blood Wolf Gang...'
A heavy feeling settled in Chu Qingyun's heart.
The Blood Wolf Gang was a major power in Qingshan City, renowned for their savagery and bloodshed. They were a force that struck fear into the hearts of all who heard their name.
However, he had no regrets. Those who deserved to be killed must be killed.
Chu Qingyun couldn't possibly wait for him to make a move against his family before fighting back!