Chapter 183: Wiping Out Another Sect (1)

Looking at the handful of sunflower seeds offered to him, Boss Bai took a deep breath.

He tried to rely on other things to suppress his rising anger—his gentlemanly demeanor, the confidence born of his wealth, his preconceived notions about this wretched Domain...

These were exactly what had allowed him to maintain his image in front of the unruly rabble of Bianliu County until now.

He disdained arguing with such people.

If he wanted to, he had ten thousand ways to crush these commoners.

The only reason he hadn't done so was that he needed them to make money.

But today...

Looking at Yan Jing across from him, he knew he had met his match.

The guy opposite him was different from the rest. When that hand opened to reveal a palm full of seeds, Boss Bai felt his fury rocketing straight to his head.

"Heh."

In the end, he held it in. This time, it wasn't by relying on his grace or composure, but by digging his freshly manicured nails into his palm as he gripped his cane. He forced a smile:

"I'll pass on the advisor's seeds for now!"

"I came with no ill intent today. Originally, I held off on taking this Heaven Stealing Sect ballot because I planned to use it as an apology gift for Commander Wei. Now that the advisor is here, perfect—take it."

As soon as those words left his mouth, everyone present—save for Yan Jing—froze. No one expected the illustrious Boss Bai to simply hand over the Heaven Stealing Sect's ballot.

Yan Jing stared at the flawless, textbook smile on Bai Qiu's face and chuckled. He tucked away the seeds and cupped his fists in salute:

"Boss Bai truly lives up to his name. This magnanimity, this vision—you're no ordinary man!"

"Ah! We're all ordinary men!" Bai Qiu reached out and pushed Yan Jing's cupped fists upward.

"I wouldn't dare! I wouldn't dare claim to be as ordinary as Boss Bai!" Yan Jing extended his hand. "Then, will Boss Bai be coming inside the courtyard for a seat?"

"I won't."

"We can share those seeds another time."

Bai Qiu retracted his hand, leaned on his cane, and turned around.

"I'm leaving, advisor. No need to see me out."

With that, Boss Bai walked away, step by step, heading back the way he came. The surrounding crowd automatically parted to make way, lowering their heads. The entirety of Heaven Stealing Alley seemed to spontaneously roll out a red carpet for him.

This was Boss Bai, Bai Qiu.

The wealthiest man in all of Bianliu County.

Yan Jing watched Bai Qiu's retreating back and smiled. Bai Qiu gifting him this ballot was somewhat unexpected. As for what exactly Bai Qiu meant by it...

"Blessing Road, press the attack!" Yan Jing picked up the megaphone from the ground. "Only one goal today—take down the Heaven Stealing Sect!"

"Kill!"

Hearing this, the Beggar Cultivators of Blessing Road surged forward in a frenzy. The members of the Heaven Stealing Sect, however, went pale. They hadn't expected Boss Bai to toss them aside after a single confrontation.

Dagai snapped out of his shock and glared in Heaven Stealer's direction. "Accept your death, Heaven Stealer!"

But to his surprise, there was no sign of Heaven Stealer anywhere.

Where did he go?

Dagai's eyes went wide. He ran away that fast?

And when he looked back toward where Yan Jing had been standing, trying to figure out how to explain the disappearance, he was shocked to find that Yan Jing had vanished as well.

...

...

In a secluded alleyway, Heaven Stealer was hastily shedding his disguise. As long as he made it to the bustling East Main Street and found a way to slip out of the city, he could hide in the surrounding Domains—even if he couldn't catch a train across the Lake.

But a voice suddenly rang out behind him, instantly sending a cold sweat down his spine.

"Mr. Heaven Stealer, you can't leave just yet."

Heaven Stealer turned around, warily fixing his gaze on Yan Jing. Of course, his primary wariness was reserved for Wei Nantian, who might be lurking behind the advisor.

"I left the ballot behind," Heaven Stealer said evenly.

Even with his disguise removed, his face was entirely unremarkable. Neither handsome nor ugly—just exceptionally ordinary.

"Mr. Heaven Stealer, you truly have a talent for being a Thief Cultivator," Yan Jing noted.

"..." Heaven Stealer frowned. He had heard that exact phrase from someone else before. But right now, he was in no mood to listen to anyone's praise. He repeated, "I left the ballot in my room."

"I'm not after the ballot," Yan Jing smiled.

"...Then what do you want?" Heaven Stealer fell silent for a few seconds, looking at Yan Jing.

"Your head." In Yan Jing's hand, the Fear Thorn morphed into a long spear, its tip glinting with a chilling light.

"Do we have a grudge between us?" Heaven Stealer looked at him.

"Does one need a grudge to want to kill someone?" Yan Jing asked with a smile, his words carrying an underlying point.

"..." Heaven Stealer fell silent again for a few seconds. Finally, he spoke, "You're right. None of that is necessary."

"Whatever the reason, if you want to kill, you kill."

Just like how, all those years ago, he had picked up a blade and chopped at that old man's hand.

That blade was originally meant to fall on the old man's neck.

He raised his head. Hands flashed before and behind him simultaneously. Including his original two arms, a total of four limbs whipped through the air as weird energy surged out like a tidal wave.

Those extra two arms seemed to stretch, swiping straight toward Yan Jing.

At the same time, his feet flickered as he closed in on Yan Jing like a phantom—one of the abilities of a Nine Trades Thief Cultivator: Footwork.

Yan Jing couldn't take this strike head-on. If he did, Heaven Stealer could use his other two hands to steal Yan Jing's strength while his attention was diverted.

Relying on a Nine Trades ability: Sleight of Hand.

Paired with an Eighth Grade ability: Soundless, which lowered his presence.

Coupled with his Footwork, he was confident he would succeed.

By the time Yan Jing reacted, everything would be over.

If he could also steal Yan Jing's ability, he would stand invincible in this duel.

Crack—

Just as he reached Yan Jing, a faint sound echoed.

An instant.

Even though he only paused for a single fraction of a second under the influence of that eerie power, the spear in Yan Jing's hand—already coiled and ready—pierced his chest.

Fortunately, in the final split second, he forcefully twisted his body using his Footwork, narrowly avoiding a direct strike to his heart.

But the agonizing pain that followed was the true killer.

He finally understood why that other person had collapsed from a single spear thrust, unable to get back up.

If he were only at the Second Tier right now, he probably would have dropped to his knees already.

Even as a Third Tier, he felt something spreading from the wound, frantically tearing at his flesh and blood, causing his entire body to tremble in agony.

"Divine... Divine... Power Theft..."

Thief Cultivators received almost zero physical enhancements in the first three tiers, especially in a head-on clash where they hadn't yet managed to steal their opponent's abilities.

Thus, at this moment, Heaven Stealer truly felt a pain so unbearable he couldn't control himself. Even breathing was difficult.

Still, his figure exploded backward in a rapid retreat as he unleashed his final trump card.

His Third Tier Ability: Divine Power Theft.

This ability allowed him to steal from a target he had bound upon advancing to the Third Tier.

Although it was called Divine Power Theft, most Thief Cultivators usually chose eldritch creatures as their targets.

Because, like most Thief Cultivator abilities, the prerequisite for activating it was that the stolen target must remain unaware.

For instance, if you bound a Fourth Tier target, the moment you stole from it, that Fourth Tier existence would sense it, track you down, and obliterate you.

But eldritch creatures were different. While their powers were incredibly strong, their intelligence and perception were usually quite weak. Therefore, they were the absolute best choice for Divine Power Theft.

However... Heaven Stealer's designated target wasn't an eldritch creature.

"Divine Power Theft!" he roared again. The weird energy around his body surged out madly, shooting into the sky and forming a massive dark hand that rocketed toward the clouds.

Yan Jing narrowed his eyes. He hadn't expected Heaven Stealer to actually...

...choose to use Stealing the Heavens.

In this Domain, there existed a Heaven in the truest sense.

Azure Heaven, Yellow Heaven, Azure Heaven.

It wasn't merely a figure of speech.

In the eerie Inner World, once anything acquired a title, it was absolutely never just a simple name.

However, he highly doubted it. If one truly stole from Heaven, weren't they afraid of the backlash?

Once discovered by Heaven... the outcome would surely be grim.

But this was no time to ponder such things. The most pressing matter was stopping that hand.

To achieve this, there were only two ways. Either catch up to that hand, or...

Around Yan Jing, the Power of the White Stone surged, emerging from amidst the black mist. Immediately after, cracks appeared at his fingertips and covered the surface of his skin in an instant.

Crimson eyes suddenly opened.

A piercing shriek, seemingly from another world, echoed from within those cracks. Fear instantly flooded the alleyway.

Fear Bird Form plus Fear Stance plus the Power of the White Stone—at this moment, Yan Jing transformed into a true monster.

In the next second, he cast blink, teleporting directly in front of the dumbfounded Heaven Stealer. Reaching out with the arm wrapped in his thorn bracers, he lunged straight for the man's head.

He grabbed it and slammed it down fiercely! Followed by a brutal twist!

Crack!

Heaven Stealer's head was twisted a full one hundred and eighty degrees backward.

The massive hand in the sky seemed to sense something. Barely brushing against the clouds, it immediately shot back down and drilled right into Heaven Stealer's body.

"Heh— Heh—"

That large hand had ultimately managed to steal some power back. Heaven Stealer's chest heaved. Even though his neck was snapped, he hadn't breathed his last breath yet.

His body was facing down, but his twisted head looked up at Yan Jing:

"Heh— Heh—"

"You're... terrifyingly strong."

"How did... heh... heh... that old man find you?"

Yan Jing smiled. "There are some things you don't want to know when you're alive, and by the time you're dying and want to figure them out, it's too late."

"Close your eyes. Staring like that has to hurt."

Hearing this, a trace of realization crossed Heaven Stealer's face. "I can't close my eyes anymore."

"My hands won't move. Help me out."

Yan Jing nodded. "Alright."

In his hand, the Seed of Fear condensed once more, and he tossed it onto Heaven Stealer's eyes.

Fwoosh—

The seed instantly sprouted into a thicket of thorns, forcing Heaven Stealer to close his eyes forever.

Yan Jing patted down Heaven Stealer's corpse. He found a total of twenty-odd broken pieces of ghost silver. Other than that, there was only a pair of chopsticks.

Carved in small characters on the chopsticks were the words:

Disciple of Hou Chang

Yan Jing reached out, effortlessly tore off Heaven Stealer's head, and walked off into the distance.

He still hadn't figured out exactly what had transpired between this master and disciple.

But there was no need to anymore.

Some things would eventually be completely buried by the passage of time. If no one asked and no one brought them up, they would forever remain a secret.

After this battle, his Mental Immunity Value had been drained by more than half again.

That night.

South Main Street, the wonton shop.

Old Monkey returned from drinking outside, drowsily patting himself down for his keys.

He hadn't touched alcohol in many years.

But these past few days, he had been exceptionally happy, because Wanhua Fang was gone.

So he had given his newly accepted little apprentice two or three days off, and drank for several days in a row.

Whenever he was happy, he loved to drink and hum tunes—a habit of decades.

"Just look at that, the Azure Heaven so bright and clear~"

Suddenly, he felt his foot bump into something. He lowered his head and rubbed his eyes.

Then, with his murky eyes, he clearly made out what the object was.

It was a human head.

Even though its eyes were closed and its face was covered in blood, he still recognized who it was.

In an instant, he sobered up halfway.

His body trembling faintly, he crouched down, reached out with hands as old and wrinkled as tree bark, and wiped the blood from that face.

Then, he looked at the familiar pair of chopsticks stabbed into the ground beside it.

Suddenly, his vision blurred again.

With a dull thud, he slumped directly onto the ground. Hugging that head, he began to wail aloud.

"My boy— I told you that woman was no good— My boy, your master failed to teach you right— My boy— My boy—"

He had imagined countless scenarios of reuniting with this sinful disciple of his, and he had even imagined scenarios where they never met again.

In all those visions, the two of them invariably drew blades against one another, fighting to the death, refusing to stop until blood was spilled.

But now that this moment had truly arrived, he wept uncontrollably.

Despite looking like he was in his fifties or sixties, he was actually over eighty.

For someone over eighty, hatred didn't amount to much.

Because a person of that age couldn't survive on hate alone.

That was why sometimes, as he sat in the reclining chair by the door, he would stare blankly into the steam rising from the boiling wonton broth, lost in thought.

...

...

Right now, the Wei Faction courtyard was brightly decorated with lanterns and festoons.

The killing cultivators were drinking and chatting merrily, creating a lively atmosphere.

Inside the house, Wei Nantian and Yan Jing stood across a table from each other.

"Drink up, advisor!" Wei Nantian slapped the table and burst into hearty laughter.

"We already have two ballots now. Add the two you have, advisor, and that makes four. As long as we can grab three or four more, the mayoral election will be in the bag."

Yan Jing raised his cup. "Commander Wei, before we drink, I have a question. I wonder if I might ask it."

"Ask away, advisor!"

"Were you there at Heaven Stealing Alley today, Commander Wei?"

In the illuminating firelight, Yan Jing smiled faintly.