「The next morning.」

When the residents of East Gate Lane woke up and went out, they discovered the Wang Family’s main gate was wide open.

A curious onlooker walked up to take a look, and the scene that followed gave him nightmares for a full six months.

Bodies... Bodies everywhere.

In just one night, the colossal mountain that had loomed over everyone in East Gate Lane had collapsed just like that.

Everything happened so suddenly that even the Wang Family’s enemies didn’t have time to react. By the time they thought to kick them while they were down, they found there wasn’t a single target left.

News of the event quickly spread throughout Huanglong Prefecture, and even people in the Outer Mansion had heard about it.

The Wang Family was no ordinary power, yet they were wiped out so easily, leaving many to sigh in astonishment.

At the same time, this made some of the other powers in Huanglong Prefecture much more obedient.

The Divine Mansion Sect once again showed the world that they were the sky over Huanglong Prefecture.

...

「Wan Jun Peak.」

"Thank you, General Yu."

Bai Yuan cupped his fist in salute to the middle-aged man in golden armor before him.

"It was my duty."

The Divine Mansion Army Commander, named Yu Hui, waved his hand dismissively.

Last night, the two of them had joined forces to slaughter the hundred-some members of the Wang Family, leaving no one alive.

As they spoke, he couldn’t help but give this disciple of Commander Dong a second look.

The image of the boy killing people last night was still fresh in his mind.

To say he killed without batting an eye was no mere figure of speech.

Even the battle-hardened soldiers of the Divine Mansion Army were nowhere near as cold-blooded as the boy before him. He was practically a natural-born killing machine.

’He’s Elder Dong’s disciple, all right...’ he thought to himself.

If Old Dong hadn’t already taken him as a disciple, he would have done whatever it took to poach such a talent for the Divine Mansion Army.

You Shengnan and Xiongshan, meanwhile, looked at Bai Yuan with strange expressions.

After returning to Wan Jun Peak last night, the two had originally planned to report the matter to Old Dong first and let him decide how to deal with the Wang Family.

But their junior brother had decisively gone straight to the Divine Mansion Army.

Everyone in Huanglong Prefecture knew the Divine Mansion Army was Old Dong’s private army, and they were notoriously audacious.

After a discussion, Bai Yuan and Yu Hui had hit it off immediately, leading troops to slaughter the entire Wang Family overnight.

He really had some of Old Dong’s flair from back in the day.

Yu Hui smiled faintly and bid the three of them farewell. Wiping out a clan was a common occurrence for him. After all, he had certainly done his fair share of such exterminations while following Old Dong.

"I have other matters to attend to, so I’ll be leaving now."

Before he left, he turned his head and said to Bai Yuan,

"You should come by the Divine Mansion Army more often in the future."

He felt that this disciple of Elder Dong was very much to his liking.

Bai Yuan replied, "Definitely, next time."

After seeing Yu Hui off, You Shengnan finally spoke up. "Junior Brother Bai, it would be best for you to stay on Wan Jun Peak for the time being."

She wasn’t worried that he would be punished by the sect for the Wang Family affair. After all, the evidence was ironclad.

You Shengnan had already submitted the evidence of the Wang Family’s collusion with the Demon Sect to the Law Enforcement Hall. It was irrefutable, so even if the Sect Leader investigated, the actions taken were perfectly justifiable.

The Divine Mansion Sect had zero tolerance for those who colluded with the Demon Sect; by rights, their nine relations should be exterminated.

Of course, Bai Yuan hadn’t held back. Annihilating nine relations might have been a bit of a stretch, but seven was probably a sure thing.

But even with the sect rules on his side, there weren’t many people who dared to be as ruthless as Bai Yuan.

She was simply worried that the people from the Soul-Chasing Tower would fly into a rage out of humiliation and secretly send assassins after Bai Yuan. After all, having lost an important inside agent, they were bound to take action.

Bai Yuan nodded. "Understood."

He had no need to leave Wan Jun Peak for the time being anyway.

...

「Several days passed.」

Things went just as Bai Yuan had predicted.

Sect Leader Murong Tian merely paid a visit to the Law Enforcement Hall and then asked no more questions, acting as if the Wang Family had never existed.

An Elder of the sect secretly defecting to the Demon Sect was a scandal, and Murong Tian naturally had no interest in publicizing it.

However, his lack of action had already made his stance clear.

San Yang Peak, the backer behind the Wang Family, did everything it could to distance itself from them, terrified of being even slightly implicated.

Although a clan had been wiped out, the surface of Huanglong Prefecture remained calm.

The people of Huanglong Prefecture were mostly forgetful. Soon, no one would remember that a Wang Family had ever existed in East Gate Lane. Only the blood-stained green bricks of the Wang Family Mansion would still recall what happened.

When Fang Ya, who was living on Wan Jun Peak, heard the news, she cried out in joy.

With the Wang Family exterminated, her last trace of worry completely vanished.

From now on, she could practice martial arts at the Divine Mansion Sect in peace.

Meanwhile, a reply to the letter You Shengnan had sent to Old Dong finally arrived.

Old Dong had written only two words in the letter.

"Deserved death."

This put the final nail in the coffin for the Wang Family affair.

With Old Dong’s affirmation, the Law Enforcement Hall worked even more diligently, striving to make sure the Wang Family’s nine relations were all "neatly" taken care of.

...

「Meanwhile.」

In a small courtyard on the mountainside of Wan Jun Peak, Bai Yuan, the man at the center of the storm, sat on his bed as if nothing had happened.

’Annihilating a family really is the most efficient way. I made a massive profit this time.’

Not only had he killed Wang Changsheng, a Blood Refining Martial Master, but he had also killed countless other Wang Family Members during the massacre that night. His enhancement points had naturally skyrocketed.

The number "2301" was particularly striking on his panel.

Bai Yuan felt richer than he had ever been before.

’Add points!’

[You have practiced the Hundred-Change Divine Mechanism for 130 years. You have finally reached the Master level.]

...

[You have practiced the Hundred Poison Hand for 125 years. You have finally reached the pinnacle.]

...

[You have practiced the Night Wanderer Step for 110 years. Your Lightweight Technique has become transcendent.]

[Name: Bai Yuan]

[Class: Demon Hunter, Ghostwriter, Boxer, Spirit Cooker]

[Skills: Cooking (Legendary), Night Wanderer Step (Master), Hundred-Change Divine Mechanism (Master), Hundred Poison Hand (Master), Tiger-Crane Form (Master), Blood Tiger Saber (Master)...]

[Enhancement Points: 0]

In one go, Bai Yuan raised all three of the Cultivation Techniques Old Dong had given him to the Master level.

He was now stronger than ever before.

Just like every other Master-level skill he possessed, these three Cultivation Techniques were naturally extraordinary.

After the Night Wanderer Step reached the Master level, he could leap fifteen meters high in a single bound—something a Blood Refining Martial Artist couldn’t even dream of. With this Body Technique alone, he was practically a superman.

The Hundred Poison Hand had also changed. After experimenting with ten thousand methods of poisoning, he had developed an immunity to all poisons.

To poison others with one’s own body—that was the highest realm of poison arts.

It was a realm countless old poison masters could only dream of achieving. Of course, it had taken Bai Yuan over a hundred years to comprehend it himself.

From now on, the vast majority of poisons in the world would be ineffective against him.

But the thing that surprised Bai Yuan the most was the Hundred-Change Divine Mechanism.

Because the Master-level Hundred-Change Divine Mechanism had given him... firearms!

Bai Yuan never would have imagined that firearms actually existed in this world.

Apparently, Huanglong Prefecture was too small a place. There was still so much he didn’t know.

As someone who had transmigrated from Blue Star, he knew all too well the subversive power of firearms against martial arts.

’So, the times really have changed, huh?’