The figure from the house stood tall. He carried a longsword in a single hand. His face was uncovered, and it looked exactly like the man they sought to kidnap. Wu Chang.

  In an instant, the man was right in front of Lu Qingshan. His sword turned lightly. A piece of cloth fell onto the floor.

  Lu Qingshan savagely swung a claw at Wu Chang’s face. The man blocked with his sword but found himself knocked backwards, almost slamming into the wall. He recovered with a light tap of his feet.

  Lu Qingshan stuck close to him, not giving the man a chance to recuperate. His swipes came one after another. Wu Chang could only continue ducking and dodging, searching for a way out, as blow after blow rammed into the walls of the building and tore out chunks of stone. Lu Qingshan’s raw strength was so strong he could ignore physical barriers entirely.

  Some of Wu Chang’s servants came running. Their shouts were drowned out by a furious roar, and they found their throats slit from behind.

  A thrown bottle from atop the building landed in Wu Chang’s hand. “You shouldn’t have come here,” he said, uncapping the bottle and dashing far away. Lu Qingshan didn’t follow. He saw a glimpse of a young girl’s face from where the bottle had been thrown.

  Then he grinned. “Funny to think you stand a chance,” he said. “Why not just lay your weapons down and come with me?”

  Wu Chang laughed. He downed the medicine. A palpable surge of power appeared the next moment. “You’re going to regret this,” he growled.

  But Lu Qingshan felt not a single ounce of fear. The Heavenly Demon Disintegration Technique rumbled to life inside his blood. At the Aperture Tempering stage, this powerful technique still held strong.

  The sword glided across the air. Instead of a cleaved head like Wu Chang expected, his eyes shrunk in fear. There was no longer a target in front of him.

  A massive force sent him flying. This time, Wu Chang really did crash into the wall. Parts of the building crumbled and fell onto his head. He had to roll to the side.

  But he was a heartbeat too late. The full force of a razor-sharp kick propelled by a sea of blood landed right onto his leg. Wu Chang’s leg was almost severed in an instant. It was only hanging on by a strand of flesh.

  He couldn’t even howl in pain. He stabbed his sword blindly forwards. Maybe the monster would run itself into it. Wu Chang’s lips were quivering, almost as if he was begging, please.

  Lu Qingshan slammed another kick into the man’s spine. Wu Chang’s sword dangled from his fingertip, just barely holding on. Then a sharp monster tooth pierced the wrist.

  “Still too weak,” Lu Qingshan muttered, his face still cloaked in the Hidden Veil’s smoke. Inside the house, servants were screaming and crying. “Keep an eye on them.”

  He walked over to Wu Chang who was bleeding from his mouth. He forced a medicinal pill into the man’s throat. “Do you think he’ll survive this?” he asked Wu Ruoling, who had appeared from the shadows.

  “He will. That medicine he took to increase his power will guarantee it.”

  “Good. What should we do with his servants?”

  “Kill them all,” Wu Ruoling said without a shred of emotion.

  To the side, Li Fanghua’s mouth opened slightly, then closed. She was hesitating to speak.

  “Why? These people appear innocent,” he said. "Have they been forced by your family to commit evil deeds? I’d rather not slaughter innocents wantonly when I aim to take control of the populace."

  Wu Ruoling stared up at the building, where the little girl had appeared. She sighed. "You’re right. I'll do as you say."

  Lu Qingshan left the scene, carrying Wu Chang over his shoulder. He felt that this was the right decision, even if these people had decided to go against his attacks. Massacring weaklings inside the city he aimed to rule would serve against his interests. He didn't want to be known as a cruel tyrant, especially in his sect.

  “That swordsmanship sure is powerful,” Lu Qingshan changed subjects with a smile. “It can reach the realm above Viscera Tempering. You’ve had such a treasure on you all this time, Wu Ruoling.”

  “I had a feeling you weren’t simple,” she muttered. “To contend with a top-notch expert of our family alone. Very few can do the same, even in the Gongsun and Shang families.”

  “Can you show me some sincerity now?” he asked. “I’ve always wanted to learn about the highest level of martial arts.”

  She nodded. "You’ve earned it. The Wu family practices the Three Pure Paths Swordsmanship. It’s a top-notch technique pointing directly towards the Innate realm.”

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  “Why practice the Blood Pulse and the Great Ape Breathing Method then?”

  “I disagree with my family’s emphasis on the sword, only the sword, and nothing else. While it might have a higher potential to reach the Innate realm, our death rates have also been higher. I believe in flexibility as well.”

  “A good path. Have you found success?”

  Wu Ruoling did not give him a verbal response, but instead slashed forwards. A red glow enveloped her sword as it cleaved into the air.

  The sword had taken on the principles of the Blood Pulse Technique, developed even further to an extreme. Its exact effects could only be determined in battle. She must’ve recently learned this ability, as she hadn’t used it in previous battles.

  “Not bad. Have you had the chance to use it yet?”

  She shook her head. “The Broken Ring Society will be the first to taste this sword,” she proclaimed.

  “Will you share the technique with the sect?”

  Wu Ruoling nodded. “To my disciples, yes. But I haven’t found anyone worthy of my tutelage yet.”

  Qin Ye had been silent after he had watched the entire battle without moving. Even now, his hand was still clutching the sword to his side, fingers moving up and down. Lu Qingshan didn’t know what he was thinking, but perhaps the young man had discovered some inspirations.

  “Do you like the sword?” Lu Qingshan asked. “If you want to learn it, you can consider trying to learn under Wu Ruoling.”

  The boy turned his head. Then he shook it. “Thank you. I will learn by myself,” he said with a newfound confidence.

  It was the first time in a long while that Lu Qingshan saw Wu Ruoling smile.

  Lu Qingshan grinned as well. Somehow through observing other sword masters in battle, Qin Ye had regained his confidence. He didn’t know what thoughts were in his head but supported him all the same.

  The five of them made their way through the noble quarters and into one of the Wu family safe spaces hidden in an alleyway. There was nobody guarding this tiny hovel, but it didn’t contain much anyway. A few bundles of dried meat and herbs sat in the corner.

  Lu Qingshan hurled Wu Chang onto the floor. The man groaned. In the time it took to travel here, all his surface wounds had been healed.

  “I’ll take it from here,” Wu Ruoling said, crouching down beside their prisoner. “Wu Chang, you’ve lost. Now tell us what you know about the Broken Ring Society.”

  The man grinned. “Never, you traitorous w—” He was cut short by a fist burying itself into his gut. Then Wu Ruoling slipped a vial into her hands. “Talk,” she said, whispering something in his ear. And Wu Chang began babbling.

  Lu Qingshan watched her work, a brow raised. Were all his medicinal experts also well versed in torture or was it just their upbringing? Meanwhile, Li Fanghua signaled to Wu Ruoling whether or not the man was lying with light taps on each shoulder. Nine taps on the right seemed to satisfy her until there was a tap on the left.

  “Oh, dear cousin,” Wu Ruoling said, her voice disappointed. “You still don’t understand, do you?” She turned to her maid standing silently by the door. “Go to the sixth house in the River District. There you will find a woman short in stature and her two year old son.”

  “You ruthless—” Wu Chang again stopped himself from the insult. “Fine. Fine!” This time, he spoke the truth.

  Wu Chang's involvement with the Broken Ring Society was not light. Many of their higher ups had his support, along with several other prominent Wu family members, behind their rise.

  He refused to name them even under the threat of death. “I’m not going to let you destroy our family,” the man spat.

  But the gang was not solely made up of the Wu family’s interests. The Gongsun and Shang families also had their fingers in the gang’s inner workings. “We’re not targeting the Wu family. Why would we?” Lu Qingshan said. “Only the gang needs to pay their dues.”

  “Our powers are bound together. Damaging the gang is damaging our whole family.”

  Wu Ruoling slowly turned her head from side to side. “Tying ourselves too deeply with such a fragmented force is not the way forward,” she said.

  “So you’ve aligned yourself with outsiders?”

  “So have you.” Wu Ruoling listed off three different places while Wu Chang’s face paled more and more. “I’ve been tracking you for a while now, cousin.”

  “You…” With that, the man was convinced, and spilled out all he knew about the gang.

  Three peak Viscera Tempering experts on the level of the deceased Barbarian Bull Gang leader oversaw their leadership. Each one was backed by a different family, with the Gongsun, Shang, and Wu families having one each.

  But their biggest supporters were also their heaviest shackles. Anyone who attempted to reach the realm of quasi-Innate, or the first level of Aperture Tempering, would swiftly be dealt with by one of the families. This had already happened twice now.

  Wu Chang wasn’t the topmost expert in charge of handling their Broken Ring Society subfaction. Still, he knew many smaller details, and his capture would take some time to investigate. That made his sources perfect for a low-profile raid.

  The four of them struck three of the gang’s hidden storehouses, slaughtering the small forces defending them. None could last even a few rounds in the face of Wu Ruoling’s Blood Sword Technique. Bags upon bags were looted and given to Wu Ruoling’s servants to carry away.

  The amount of valuable items they had in total really wasn’t much. But it was still superior in both quality and quantity to the Furious Whale Gang. Each subfaction of the Broken Ring Society had to have a sizable amount of support, or they would lose the ability to contend against other forces.

  Better yet, Wu Chang himself had a few valuables stashed away which Lu Qingshan ruthlessly exploited as well. In total, the Seven Mysteries Gate had accumulated enough items to be worth thousands of silver taels once everything was sold. It was clearly enough to eat at the Nine Wines Restaurant daily for a whole year.

  The excess money would be given to Lu Qingshan to use as he saw fit. After all, the whole reason they could earn so much was because he alone took down a powerful Aperture Tempering realm expert of the Wu family.

  Now, all they had to do was find someone who'd take the items. They could funnel them through their current networks, at the cost of reduced profits and a considerable risk of discovery. But Lu Qingshan didn't want to have to do this again. It was time to consider working with another familiar force - one wealthy enough to purchase everything they had looted. The ghost markets.