Chapter 1953: Re-entering the Tongshen Temple

Seeing his opponent flee, Zhang Xuan smiled faintly. He stood up and gently waved his sleeve.

Whoosh!

The corpses throughout the courtyard immediately burst into flames. Moments later, they were reduced to ashes, which then flowed away through the underground sewer system.

It was as if nothing had happened in the courtyard; all traces had vanished completely.

Turning, he walked into the room, sat down cross-legged, and continued to restore his true qi.

The water obtained from boiling the gourd proved remarkably effective. With this recovery, his body had fully adapted to the Firmament's space and spiritual energy, making absorption much smoother.

He cultivated for over an hour before stopping. Mentally connecting with his Dantian, he asked, "Gourd, what exactly are you?"

He was truly curious.

The severity of his injuries was palpable, yet the gourd water healed them upon consumption. This entity was likely more formidable than he had imagined.

Otherwise, Ancient Sage Qiu Wu wouldn't have specifically set up spatial formations to cultivate it for tens of thousands of years, nor would Master Kong have left a trace of his will.

"There's plenty here for me to consume. Just provide enough, and I'll emerge. Then you'll understand…"

The gourd shifted within his Dantian, finding a new comfortable spot to settle.

He asked a few more questions, but seeing that the gourd wouldn't reveal anything without tangible benefits, Zhang Xuan decided to ignore it. He took out the Spirit Connect Jade Token from his pocket, hesitated, then with a mental command, entered it once more.

"Why aren't they back yet?"

At the City Lord's Mansion, Xue Chen's brows furrowed in a knot.

Under normal circumstances, the elite soldiers he dispatched should have already killed that good-for-nothing and returned. How could over an hour have passed without any news?

"Go and check!"

He instructed a guard.

The guard donned his night suit and swiftly departed. Shortly after, he returned with a peculiar expression. "Reporting, Instructor," he said, "there's no activity at the Shan residence. Shan Xiaotian and Shan Yi are completely unharmed!"

Xue Chen was stunned. "How is this possible? Weren't my orders clear?"

He had explicitly ordered them to kill those three individuals as quickly as possible. Yet, the other side was completely unharmed... What happened?

"Go investigate and see where these people went!"

Fuming, he reprimanded.

The guard left once more. After some time, he returned: "According to the footprints and traces, they all entered the Shan residence, but never left... My guess is they were all killed, and their bodies completely destroyed!"

"Killed? By those three people?"

Xue Chen was stunned.

Over fifty elite soldiers, each possessing the strength of a Grand Sage 1-dan, with their captain at Grand Sage 2-dan. Combined, they could contend with a Grand Sage 3-dan or even 4-dan. Yet, they vanished without a trace, not even a sound.

Did Shan Xiaotian and that injured person, who could barely walk, truly possess such immense strength?

"Could it be... what he said was true?"

He suddenly remembered what the bandit Cao Chengli said.

Shan Xiaotian's family had a remarkably powerful horse, and apparently, a carriage that knew martial arts!

Could such a thing truly exist?

"Instructor, what do we do now? Should we send more people?"

Seeing him deep in thought, the guard looked over.

"Not for now... If they were indeed the killers, they would already be prepared. If they could kill that many, they wouldn't hesitate to kill more!"

Shaking his head, Xue Chen dismissed the jumbled thoughts in his mind, his brows knitting together. "Besides," he added, "it's almost dawn. Any further disturbance would severely damage the City Lord's Mansion's reputation!"

"This... are we just going to let so many brothers die like this?"

The guard looked on anxiously.

Though the City Lord's Mansion was immensely wealthy, fifty guards represented countless hours of effort and resources in their training. To have them all killed so thoroughly, without even a ripple, was unacceptable to anyone.

Xue Chen's eyes gleamed. "Go to the Hongyan Trading Company. On your way, meticulously search every alley where an ambush could be laid. See if you can find any traces or bodies of the bandits, or even signs of a struggle!"

"Understood!" The guard left again and returned to the room a short while later. "Reporting, Instructor," he said, "in Sujia Alley, we indeed found some bodies and discarded bows and weapons. They belonged to the deceased bandits."

"Good. Have someone completely destroy these bandit corpses. Then, take their weapons and some of our guards' armor, stain them with blood, and discreetly bury them near the Shan residence!"

Xue Chen snorted coldly, a smirk forming on his lips.

"Bury weapons?"

Noticing the guard's confusion, Xue Chen's eyes glinted. "Shan Xiaotian has always been a good-for-nothing, and Shan Yi's strength is widely known. If it's discovered that many soldiers from the City Lord's Mansion have gone missing, and then bandit weapons and blood-stained guard armor are found near their residence, what do you think the outcome will be?"

"This... he colluded with bandits to kill the City Lord's Mansion guards..." The guard's eyes lit up.

If they truly did this, Shan Xiaotian wouldn't even need to be killed. He would be embroiled in a lawsuit, public disgrace would be the least of his worries, and he might even be publicly beheaded.

Bandits, who preyed on the common people, were universally loathed. If it were known that he colluded with them, he would undoubtedly be reviled.

Breaking off the engagement would then become perfectly justifiable.

How could a prestigious place like the City Lord's Mansion be tarnished by someone with such a vile reputation?

"Precisely. First thing tomorrow morning, immediately spread the word that fifty City Lord's Mansion guards discovered traces of bandits and went to pursue them, but then vanished, necessitating a city-wide search... The more commotion this creates, the better; ideally, everyone should know!"

Xue Chen smiled. "Once public opinion has adequately fermented, we'll conduct a routine search of the Shan residence, find the weapons and blood-stained armor... The rest will be simple!"

"Yes, sir!"

Upon hearing the instructor immediately devise such an intricate plan from an unfavorable situation, the guard was utterly impressed. He couldn't help but ask, "What if he doesn't admit it?"

Xue Chen's gaze turned cold. "He'll have no choice but to admit it. Once the evidence is found, denial will be useless! Once he's brought to the City Lord's Mansion, with the law on our side, isn't it effortless to assign any crime to him?"

"That's true..."

The guard nodded. "I'll take care of it immediately!"

"Second Miss, you called for me?"

While Xue Chen was orchestrating Shan Xiaotian's downfall, Xue Qin returned to her chambers, unable to sleep for a long time. After an unknown duration, she summoned a young man who served Huo Jianghe, a disciple of the Lingyun Sword Sect.

This young man, also from the Lingyun Sword Sect, was an attendant disciple like herself, serving as a personal aide. He was responsible for the daily lives and needs of outer disciples, ensuring they weren't troubled by worldly matters and could focus on their cultivation.

"This bit of money is a small token of my appreciation. I hope Senior Brother will accept it!"

With a wave of her hand, a maid presented a bag of gold coins. It rattled when shaken, containing well over a hundred coins.

"We are all fellow disciples, Second Miss, no need to be so formal..." The young man's eyes lit up as he took the bag in his palm.

As an attendant disciple, he rarely received extra funds. Being given such a large sum at once, he was instantly overjoyed.

"Senior Brother Huo, when you returned tonight, did you say anything?"

Xue Qin looked at him.

"Senior Brother didn't say anything..." The young man then understood her purpose. He paused, then recalled, "Oh, right, he said... to notify him as soon as the person named Tianya from the Spirit Connect Hall appears!"

"Tianya?"

Xue Qin was puzzled.

"It's like this..." The young man knew the full story and quickly recounted it.

"I see... If this Tianya appears, I'd appreciate it, Senior Brother, if you could inform me beforehand. I'll personally notify Senior Brother Huo!" Xue Qin motioned, offering another bag of gold coins.

"That's easy to do!"

His eyes gleaming, the young man nodded repeatedly.

This matter was insignificant to him. Why wouldn't he gladly accept the benefits?

Before he finished speaking, the young man suddenly looked down and pulled a jade token from his pocket. After a quick glance, his eyes lit up. "Second Miss, you truly have good fortune!" he exclaimed. "Tianya has entered the Spirit Connect Hall! Come with me to find Senior Brother!"

"Alright!"

Xue Qin quickly stood up, following closely behind the young man, walking towards Huo Jianghe's courtyard.

They arrived shortly.

"He's online?"

Hearing the two report, Huo Jianghe's eyes narrowed.

"Senior Brother, these are the Spirit Connect Jade Tokens from Starflare City's Spirit Connect Hall..."

Xue Qin quickly took out two jade tokens and handed them over.

Though the jade tokens were precious, they held little significance for the City Lord's Mansion.

"Hmm!" Seeing the girl's thoughtfulness, Huo Jianghe stood up. "Come in with me. This will be a good opportunity for you to witness the true swordsmanship of my Lingyun Sword Sect!"

"Thank you, Senior Brother!"

Seeing that he had no intention of blaming her, Xue Qin breathed a sigh of relief and activated her jade token.

Buzz! Buzz!

Both of them entered simultaneously.

"It's still inconvenient. I should see if I can buy a spatial ring!"

Having grown accustomed to spatial rings on the Master Teacher Continent, he found it too bothersome to carry things here, where such conveniences were nonexistent. Therefore, Zhang Xuan entered this time specifically to inquire about their availability and price.

Though it was the middle of the night outside, the Spirit Connect Hall was still bustling. As there was no concept of night within the hall, he quickly approached the front desk and stated his purpose.

"Storage rings are available for purchase, fifty thousand Spirit Connect Coins each!"

The attendant said.

"Fifty thousand?" Zhang Xuan's eyebrows twitched.

That's truly expensive!

No wonder even a prominent family like the Shans didn't possess one.

"I previously won eight consecutive challenges. For my next match, will it be considered my first, or my ninth?"

He paused, then looked over.

The open competition was currently his fastest way to earn money. However, he had left midway. If his next match was counted as his first, the income would be meager!

If it was counted as the ninth match, he likely wouldn't find any opponents...

Starflare City was only so large, with a limited number of experts. He had already challenged many, and quite a few were no longer willing to pay just to lose.

"You've won eight consecutive matches in the elementary competition, so there likely aren't many left who wish to challenge you. As for the intermediate competition, there are no matches today; the earliest would be the day after tomorrow. Moreover, your rank isn't quite high enough!"

The attendant looked him over and said.

"Intermediate competition?"

Zhang Xuan was puzzled.

Elementary, intermediate... What's this about?

Does the open competition also have different tiers?