Chaos!
Countless figures clad in black swarmed into the Huwei Arts Hall from all directions.
Many of the weaker disciples were killed instantly, cut down the moment they met the black-clad assailants.
"Soul-Chasing Tower!"
Amidst the carnage, Zhang Yang cut down one of the invaders and ground his teeth.
The men in black had appeared so suddenly that no one in the Martial Arts Hall was prepared.
Meanwhile, in the deepest part of the Martial Arts Hall, a stooped old man appeared before Hall Master Xue Gui's small courtyard.
"Senior Brother, it's been a long time,"
the stooped old man said, his voice raspy.
Xue Gui, the Martial Arts Hall Master of Huwei Arts Hall, slowly pushed open his courtyard gate, revealing himself.
He showed no surprise at the old man's appearance; he had long suspected this.
"So it is you, Junior Brother."
This stooped old man was none other than his fellow disciple and junior brother, Wang Chao.
Years ago, he had personally crippled his junior brother Wang Chao's martial arts and expelled him from their school. He never expected that, upon meeting again, Wang Chao would have not only recovered his strength but even surpassed his former self.
He had clearly stumbled upon a great fortune.
"Senior Brother, hand over Master's Cultivation Technique, and I can promise you a quick death."
The stooped old man cackled strangely.
He hadn't turned himself into this monstrous state—neither human nor ghost—simply for revenge. More importantly, he was after the Cultivation Technique left behind by their dead bastard of a master.
"You slaughtered our fellow disciples for that Cultivation Technique back then, and it seems you still haven't learned your lesson,"
Xue Gui stared at his junior brother, Wang Chao, and spoke coldly.
"Why should the Cultivation Technique have been passed to our Eldest Brother? He deserved to die! You deserve to die! All of you can just die!"
The stooped old man's expression twisted into a deranged frenzy, as if a raw nerve had been struck.
A powerful aura erupted from his body.
An expert at the Yijin Pass!
But in the next instant, an even more terrifying aura emanated from Xue Gui.
The stooped old man stared at Xue Gui, his eyes filled with disbelief.
"Strong Organ Pass!"
...
The turmoil was not quelled until the sky had fully brightened.
Hall Master Xue Gui, with his formidable Strong Organ Pass cultivation, decisively crushed his nemesis and the Assassins from the Soul-Chasing Tower, putting an end to the great chaos.
Although the Huwei Arts Hall suffered many casualties among its disciples, its foundation was not shaken.
Most of the dead were apprentices and Outer Disciples. Among the Inner Courtyard Disciples, only Liu Chu had died.
As everyone was busy dealing with the aftermath...
Hall Master Xue Gui stood silently at the entrance of the Martial Arts Hall, his gaze fixed on Liu Chu's corpse, which had been cleaved in two on the ground.
"Who did you say was the disciple responsible for escorting the provisions today?"
He did his best to suppress the excitement in his heart, but his voice still trembled slightly.
Zhang Yang looked at Hall Master Xue Gui with curiosity. Not even Wang Chao's appearance had agitated him this much.
"It was a newly promoted Outer Disciple, Bai Yuan."
"Bai Yuan... Bai Yuan..."
Xue Gui murmured the name several times.
"I see."
"Right. The matter of Bai Yuan having learned the Black Tiger Saber must not be known by a third person."
Xue Gui had already started to turn away, but he didn't forget to turn back and add this reminder.
Although Zhang Yang was his trusted confidant, this matter was simply too significant.
That was the Blood Tiger Saber!
He had deliberately placed the Black Tiger Saber in the Celestial One Pavilion. The Black Tiger Saber was, in fact, the Blood Tiger Saber. He did it to wait for a disciple capable of mastering this saber technique to appear.
The reason the stooped old man was willing to spend a fortune to attack the Huwei Arts Hall was not just for revenge—his true goal was the Blood Tiger Saber Technique.
Everyone in the Jianghu believed he had never studied under a famous master.
In truth, his master was none other than the Black Evil Elder, who had dominated the martial world seventy years ago.
After the Black Evil Elder's death, no one in his lineage had managed to master the Blood Tiger Saber.
The Blood Tiger Saber Technique was so difficult to practice that he had waited for a full forty years and still hadn't found a successor.
He had all but lost hope, so how could he not be ecstatic when a successor for the Blood Tiger Saber appeared as if from the heavens?
A tall tree catches the wind.
He had no intention of taking Bai Yuan as a True Disciple right now.
Doing so would only create too many enemies for no reason and would instead bring harm to Bai Yuan.
"Good!"
"Very good!"
Xue Gui couldn't wait to meet this disciple named Bai Yuan.
Unfortunately, now was not the best time.
...
By the time Bai Yuan returned to the Martial Arts Hall with Ma Qi and the other two, Instructor Zhang had already led the Martial Artists in mostly clearing the battlefield.
After killing the middle-aged Groom, he had taken Ma Qi and the other two and fled to the gates of the Iron Saber Gang.
They only came back after hearing that Hall Master Xue had quelled the chaos.
He simply lacked the strength to interfere in the Huwei Arts Hall's turmoil. Survival was paramount.
Upon seeing Zhang Yang, Ma Qi was the first to rush forward to try and explain.
He couldn't bear the crime of killing an Inner Courtyard Disciple.
"Instructor Zhang, Senior Brother Liu Chu attacked first! We didn't mean to do it."
Zhang Yang saw Bai Yuan's group of four and waved his hand dismissively.
"Liu Chu betrayed the school, colluded with outside enemies, and attempted to poison us. Good riddance."
Hearing this, Ma Qi and the others wore expressions of utter disbelief.
They never would have imagined that Liu Chu would be so audacious as to try and poison the entire school.
If Bai Yuan hadn't noticed something was wrong and killed Liu Chu and the middle-aged Groom, forcing the stooped old man to make his move prematurely, the Huwei Arts Hall's losses would have been even more devastating.
Zhang Yang glanced at Bai Yuan.
"Bai Yuan, you come with me."
"You are not to tell anyone what happened today, or else..."
A fierce look flashed across Zhang Yang's face.
The three youngsters had never witnessed such menacing Evil Qi. They trembled in fear, nodding their heads repeatedly like chicks pecking at grain.
Seeing that his threat was effective, Zhang Yang finally led Bai Yuan to the rear courtyard.
The moment they entered the room, he asked impatiently,
"Kid, did you really master the Black Tiger Saber?"
Bai Yuan nodded.
A knowledgeable Martial Artist could identify the Cultivation Technique used from the blade wound; he couldn't hide the fact that he'd learned the Black Tiger Saber from Zhang Yang's eyes.
Seeing Bai Yuan admit it, Zhang Yang clicked his tongue in amazement.
He remembered that it had only been a month since Bai Yuan acquired the Black Tiger Saber.
'To learn the Black Tiger Saber in a single month... He's an absolute genius with the saber!'
Zhang Yang took a deep breath, his expression gradually returning to normal.
"The Black Tiger Saber gets harder to practice the further you progress. Don't get complacent over a small achievement."
He reprimanded him with a stern face for a few more sentences, then turned and left.
'Bai Yuan killed Liu Chu with a single strike. With the element of surprise, he could kill me just as easily.'
Zhang Yang really didn't have the confidence to reprimand Bai Yuan any further.
The Martial Dao was all about killing techniques. A Martial Artist who could kill their enemy was a good Martial Artist.
'As for one's realm?'
'Realms are bullshit!'
'There are countless examples of Martial Artists from prominent families who have high realms but end up getting killed by lower-level opponents.'
The Blood Tiger Saber was simply too bizarre. Even Zhang Yang wouldn't dare claim he could block it.
Bai Yuan watched Zhang Yang's retreating figure, feeling a bit stunned.
'The explanation I prepared was completely useless.'
But since it hadn't caused any extra trouble, he certainly wasn't going to go looking for it.
He looked at his panel.
His gains from this encounter were massive.
[Name: Bai Yuan]
[Class: Hunter, Swordsman, Boxer]
[Skills: Archery (Mastered), Tiger Form Crane Style (Initiate), Blood Tiger Saber (Initiate), Five Animals Fist (Proficient)...]
[Enhancement Points: 41]
Killing Liu Chu and that middle-aged Groom had earned him a full "41" enhancement points.
'Killing people really is so much more profitable than killing beasts.'
Bai Yuan stared at the words "Tiger Form Crane Style."
'Add points to it!'