CAW, CAW, CAW...

The low cawing of crows echoed in the air.

It was dusk, and the dim, yellow sky cast a hazy shroud over the landscape.

Bai Yuan and his two companions walked into the silent Xiaoshuihe Village.

The place had become a ghost village, with only rows of houses as proof that humans had once lived here.

After the Wolf Demon had slaughtered the entire village, the County Magistrate of Qinghe County had the bodies taken away, buried in pits, and burned to prevent the corpses from causing a plague. If an epidemic had broken out, all of Qinghe would have suffered.

Yang Fangyu walked at the very front.

When the trio reached the center of the village, they saw a woman burning paper money.

Yang Fangyu asked, "Are you from Xiaoshuihe Village?"

The woman just kept burning the paper money, as if she hadn’t seen the three men at all.

Seeing this, Yang Fangyu frowned slightly, his tone growing sterner. "Answer me."

But the woman was heard muttering, "They’re all dead, all dead."

Her speech was slurred, the words muffled and hard to understand, as if she were speaking with a mouth full of dates.

Her demonic repetition, combined with the silent surroundings, was utterly horrifying.

The three of them were all Martial Artists; of course they weren’t afraid.

Zhu Wu, however, wasn’t so patient. He raised his right hand, intending to grab the woman and question her.

But just as his hand was about to touch her—

The woman suddenly whipped her head around and lunged at Zhu Wu like a vicious wolf.

It all happened in a flash. Fortunately, Zhu Wu was a Sensing Martial Artist whose reflexes far surpassed those of an ordinary Martial Artist. His long sword shot from its sheath, blocking the space between him and the woman.

CLANG!

A sharp ring echoed.

Zhu Wu was actually knocked back two steps by the woman.

Although Zhu Wu, as a Daoist Sect Martial Artist, did not excel in strength, he was a Sensing Master, after all.

To be forced back by this woman was a testament to the power of her strike.

Just then—

Several figures appeared in the village, surrounding the three of them.

Yang Fangyu gazed at the black wolves rising up on their hind legs around them and snorted coldly. "This saves me the trouble of hunting you down one by one."

An old wolf with a scar gave a sinister chuckle. "Well, if it isn’t Yang the Thousand Households."

They had come from the Northern Plains, so naturally, they’d had many dealings with the Northern Garrison Army.

Yang Fangyu also recognized the old wolf’s identity—Scar Wolf.

That was the name the soldiers of the Northern Garrison Army had given him. This Scar Wolf was an infamous figure on the Northern Plains.

Scar Wolf wasn’t alone; he had four underlings.

These five Wolf Demons had run rampant on the Northern Plains, killing countless soldiers of the Northern Garrison Army.

But Scar Wolf was cautious and cunning. The Northern Garrison Army had tried to encircle and trap him many times, but he always managed to escape.

Yang Fangyu never expected to run into this pack of Wolf Demons again in Huanglong Prefecture. Apparently, the one Bai Yuan had killed earlier was one of the five.

Scar Wolf bared his sharp fangs. "After I kill you, I can go and claim my reward."

Yang Fangyu snorted coldly, raised his blade, and charged straight at Scar Wolf.

The woman closest to Zhu Wu leaped toward him, pouncing on all fours.

This left Bai Yuan to face two Wolf Demons by himself.

However, the situation wasn’t too dire. He didn’t need to win; he just needed to hold these two Wolf Demons off.

Once Yang Fangyu or Zhu Wu finished off their opponents, they could come and help him.

The two Wolf Demons’ bodies suddenly swelled to twice their size, reaching a height of ten feet and looking incredibly intimidating.

Bai Yuan said, "If you want to fight, then fight. What’s with the transformations?"

One of the Wolf Demons gave a human-like sneer. "After Master Wolf tears you to pieces, we’ll see if that mouth of yours still works."

Bai Yuan drew the long blade from his back and met the charge of the two Wolf Demons.

Two Tier Six Wolf Demons. They were indeed very strong.

Demons cultivated for countless times longer than human Martial Artists, so when they were at the same tier, it was almost always the humans who were at a disadvantage.

But Bai Yuan, fighting one against two, showed no sign of panic. He wielded his long blade in a whirlwind so dense it was impenetrable.

The two Wolf Demons tried every trick they had, but they couldn’t get near Bai Yuan.

On the other side of the battlefield, things were going as expected. Yang Fangyu’s Buddhist Vajra Power completely suppressed Scar Wolf, leaving him unable to fight back.

Scar Wolf’s dominance on the Northern Plains came from ganging up on his opponents. In a one-on-one fight, he was still a notch below Yang Fangyu.

However, both sides were engaged in a strategic gamble on their matchups.

As long as Bai Yuan was defeated, the situation would become four-on-two, and the demons would naturally win.

Scar Wolf glanced at the other fight. Bai Yuan, fighting one against two, showed no signs of losing.

’That human’s bladework is too bizarre,’ he thought. ’Although its offensive power is average, his defense is flawless. Even I would have a hard time finding an opening quickly.’

Scar Wolf’s heart sank.

’If this keeps up, we’re guaranteed to lose.’

Yang Fangyu had also noticed Bai Yuan’s situation and laughed heartily. "Younger Brother Bai, I’ll come help you once I finish off this stupid wolf!"

As he spoke, the force behind his blows intensified.

A flicker of light crossed Scar Wolf’s eyes.

Suddenly, he opened his great maw.

But his target wasn’t Yang Fangyu—it was Bai Yuan!

Scar Wolf’s two sharpest fangs shot toward Bai Yuan, moving even faster than a bullet from a matchlock. Not only were these fangs sharp, but they were also coated in a lethal poison. Scar Wolf had used this move to assassinate countless masters on the Northern Plains.

But this time, things seemed to be different...

As if he had anticipated Scar Wolf’s sneak attack, Bai Yuan, whose blade was already swift, suddenly flicked his right wrist back and precisely struck the two fangs.

With two sharp CLANGS, the ever-successful fangs were blocked.

Scar Wolf was stunned to see this.

Bai Yuan sneered. "A petty trick."

’When it comes to dirty tricks, I’m this Wolf Demon’s ancestor,’ he thought.

It was because he had pulled so many dirty tricks on others that he had long ago mastered the art of defending against them.

The principle was simple, really: meticulous observation.

Those two words were easier said than done, but as it happened, Bai Yuan’s vast array of skills was more than enough to back them up.

With Scar Wolf’s attack having failed, Yang Fangyu certainly wasn’t going to give him another chance. A golden light flashed around Yang Fangyu’s body, making him look like a living Arhat.

"Die, vile wolf!"

He roared, bringing his blade down on Scar Wolf in a heavy, powerful strike.

Scar Wolf cried out in agony as Yang Fangyu’s blade sliced off half of his shoulder.

"AWOOOO~"

He let out a long howl, signaling the other three Wolf Demons to retreat.

But his howl was cut short, because his head was no longer connected to his body.

Bai Yuan had reaped Scar Wolf’s life with a single slash.

Reinforcement Points +1672

Seeing this, Yang Fangyu felt an immense sense of satisfaction. "Younger Brother Bai, a fine kill!"

He raised his blade and charged toward the two Wolf Demons fighting Bai Yuan.

The two Wolf Demons wanted to flee, but how could Bai Yuan give them the chance? The point of practicing fast-blade techniques was to be so fast your opponent couldn’t even escape.

His long blade, moving so fast it was just a blur, blocked the two Wolf Demons. Within the time it takes to burn a stick of incense, both Wolf Demons were dead.

Reinforcement Points +1309

Reinforcement Points +1257

Of Scar Wolf’s squad that had terrorized the Northern Plains, only the woman remained.

Ganged up on by the trio, the woman only lasted ten moves before being killed by Bai Yuan.

’Another benefit of fast-blade techniques is that it’s easy to steal kills,’ he mused.

Reinforcement Points +1401

Bai Yuan sheathed his long blade and looked at the Wolf Demon corpses on the ground.

He had to thank these Wolf Demons for contributing so many Reinforcement Points to his cause.

Yang Fangyu’s blade was also sheathed. "Brother Bai, excellent skill."

He had already seen how fast Bai Yuan’s blade was; this time, his praise was for how Bai Yuan had blocked Scar Wolf’s vicious strike.

It wasn’t just exquisite bladework, but also superior combat intuition.

He was almost certain that Bai Yuan had anticipated Scar Wolf’s intentions in advance; otherwise, no matter how fast his blade was, he would never have had the chance to block it.

"Brother Yang’s Buddhist techniques are also quite impressive," Bai Yuan complimented in return.

Zhu Wu rolled his eyes. "We’re all brothers here, stop with the mushy compliments. How come nobody’s praising your Brother Zhu?"

As he spoke, he sized up Bai Yuan.

He had known Yang Fangyu for years and was well aware of his strength, but he never thought that the Sect Leader of a small sect from Ling Province’s Huanglong Prefecture could be so formidable.

’Looks like I’ve underestimated the heroes of this world,’ he thought to himself.

Zhu Wu made a mental note to be more careful when roaming the Jianghu in the future.

Otherwise, if he ran into someone like Bai Yuan—ordinary in appearance, yet terrifyingly strong—he could be killed without anyone ever knowing.

There were too many ways to destroy a body and erase all traces. When the time came, even the Nine Sword Sect wouldn’t be able to find the killer to avenge him.

’Your sect gives you your status when you’re out in the world, but staying alive is up to you.’

Yang Fangyu said, "Younger Brother Bai, Brother Zhu, these Wolf Demons are wanted criminals of the Northern Garrison Army. I need to take their corpses back to the Army, and afterward, I will send treasures of equal value to your residences."

Bai Yuan and Zhu Wu nodded, having no objections.

Tier Six Monster Flesh was good, but it wasn’t exceedingly rare.

Bai Yuan suddenly spoke up. "Brother Yang, Brother Zhu, I was wondering if your family and sect have any Cultivation Techniques for sale? The price is negotiable."

"Cultivation Techniques?"

Both Yang Fangyu and Zhu Wu were a bit surprised.

But then they recalled Bai Yuan’s background and understood.

Although Bai Yuan was a Sect Leader and the Divine Mansion Sect’s legacy wasn’t bad, it was ultimately just a power from a small province like Ling Province. It couldn’t compare to the Nine Sword Sect or the Yang Family.

Besides talent and Spirit Medicine, the most important thing for any power was its Cultivation Techniques.

One could even say that Cultivation Techniques were the very foundation of a sect.

Yang Fangyu was a little confused. "Younger Brother Bai, I think your bladework is already exquisite enough. There’s no need to switch to another blade technique."

Bai Yuan replied, "I just like to collect them."

Yang Fangyu remembered that Dong Wanjun seemed to have the same hobby, so he let it go.

"The Yang Family does have many Cultivation Techniques, but most are family-only martial arts that even I cannot leak," Yang Fangyu said. "However, I’ll go and ask around. I might be able to find some for you."

Zhu Wu added, "That’s easy. My Nine Sword Sect sells Cultivation Techniques to the public, though most are for swordsmanship, which you probably can’t use, Younger Brother Bai. I’ll have someone send you a list another day."

Bai Yuan’s eyes lit up.

’A list would be perfect,’ he thought.

He was in desperate need of Cultivation Techniques right now and wasn’t going to pass up any decent ones.

After all, as long as he trained them to the ’Legendary’ realm, he could synthesize them. Even weaker Cultivation Techniques could then be turned into divine ones.

Of course, the cost-performance ratio of truly poor techniques was too low; they would need to be synthesized multiple times to become strong. It was more efficient to start with good ones from the beginning.

Every single Reinforcement Point was hard-earned. He had to be meticulous with his spending.

And just like that, the matter of the Cultivation Techniques was settled.

Bai Yuan couldn’t help but sigh. ’It really doesn’t hurt to have more friends in the Jianghu.’