C3 They Had Come to Find Him

He accessed his cultivation technique interface.

Killing Saber Technique, First Rank (5/10)

Attack Power: 5

Overview: A saber technique created alongside the infamous Killing Saber, designed specifically for slaughter. When your cultivation is strong enough, someone will recount its history to you.

Ding! The attribute points of the Killing Saber Technique have now been synchronized with the host's cultivation level.

After taking a life, Qin Buyi appeared to wander aimlessly through Azure Sun City, yet he was acutely aware of the shadow trailing him.

Passive waiting was not an option. Qin Buyi resolved to strike first.

In a narrow alleyway.

"Thud!"

A scrawny young man with beady eyes was having his head slammed against the wall by Qin Buyi.

"Spill everything about the Nine-dragon Gang."

"Cough... Let go, I'll talk..." The youth pleaded, his face smeared with blood and fear.

Qin Buyi committed the young man's words to memory before thrusting his head against the wall again.

"Crash!" "Agh!"

Qin Buyi exerted far more force this time, and with a scream, the young man passed out.

Rousing the youth, Qin Buyi's expression was icy as he demanded, "Repeat what you just told me."

After several iterations, he extracted precise and complete intelligence.

The Nine-dragon Gang, a minor faction within Azure Sun City.

Its Gang Master had advanced to the Foundation Stage six months prior, currently in the early phase of the Golden Core.

The Grand Hall Master held the highest cultivation level, at the late phase of the Foundation Stage.

The one with the hooked nose who had died was the weakest, merely at the early phase of the Foundation Stage.

The remaining Hall Masters were all at the middle phase of the Foundation Stage.

By the time Qin Buyi departed, the young man was barely breathing.

At the Nine-dragon Gang's headquarters.

"Smash."

A teacup hit the floor and shattered, as the Nine-dragon Gang Master spoke with a darkened voice, "Seventh Brother was slain in broad daylight. This is a direct challenge to our Nine-dragon Gang."

"Issue the command: eliminate this individual and a bounty of five hundred Low Grade Spirit Stones will be awarded."

"As you command, Gang Master."

Standing before a sealed courtyard gate in Azure Sun City, Qin Buyi delivered a forceful kick.

With a resounding "clang," the gate swung open.

In the courtyard, a shirtless young man was receiving a report from his underling. As Qin Buyi entered, the youth's pupils constricted. "It's you."

"Yes, it's me. Are you the Sixth Hall Master of the Nine-dragon Gang?"

"Indeed, I am. I've been searching high and low, never expected you to boldly seek me out. Now, watch as I..." The Sixth Hall Master's voice trembled with excitement.

"Clang!"

Qin Buyi closed the distance swiftly, drawing his Killing Saber.

"Chi!"

The razor-sharp edge swept across the Sixth Hall Master's throat before he could even react. Blood sprayed, and his head soared through the air.

"Too much talk." Qin Buyi critiqued inwardly.

Ding! Side mission: Kill all Hall Masters, 2/7 complete.

Mission rewards distributed.

Qin Buyi allocated the attribute point to his cultivation and strode out of the courtyard.

He entered the brothel to a chorus of invitations.

"Hey, handsome, looking for some fun?"

"Pick me, handsome. You'll have no regrets."

Some of the more audacious courtesans winked at Qin Buyi, while others tried to press themselves against him.

"Scram!" Qin Buyi's voice was laced with lethal intent.

"Clang!"

He gripped the Killing Saber firmly and made his way directly to the third floor, off-limits to patrons.

"Shua! Shua!"

He cleaved through the sealed door to find a man and woman entwined, naked.

The woman's scream pierced the air from the third floor down to the first.

"Who might you be? Do we have a quarrel?" The man inquired with a hint of composure.

"The Fourth Hall Master of the Nine-dragon Gang?"

"That would be me. And you are?"

"The one who ends you. For any further questions, hell will provide the answers," Qin Buyi replied icily.

"Clang!" "Clang!"

In the room, a deadly dance of steel ensued.

Within moments, both occupants lay lifeless.

Ding! Side mission: Kill all Hall Masters, 3/7 complete.

Mission rewards distributed.

Descending the stairs, Qin Buyi found himself encircled by the brothel's hired muscle.

"You think you can stop me, a bunch of worthless scum?"

Qin Buyi advanced, his saber slicing through the nearest hatchet man's throat, blood spurting out like a fountain.

"Chi!"

The saber's tip stabbed into another hatchet man's heart, his wrist's quiver turning the heart to mush in an instant.

Qin Buyi moved with the ease of a tiger among sheep, his strikes as effortless as slicing through vegetables.

Within minutes, not a single hatchet man was left standing.

At the Azure Sun City casino.

Qin Buyi, drenched in blood and wielding his sharp blade, walked in, immediately drawing the eyes of all the gamblers.

"Who's this kid, covered in blood? Is he here to start trouble?"

This question echoed in the minds of all present.

Soon after, a group of hatchet men with menacing looks encircled Qin Buyi.

"If you disperse now, you can live," Qin Buyi warned the surrounding hatchet men. "But if not, you'll all meet your end here today!"

The hatchet men exchanged glances, fear evident in their eyes.

Suddenly, a leading hatchet man lunged at Qin Buyi, prompting the rest to join the fray.

In the midst of the crowd, Qin Buyi's blade flashed, and with each glint of cold light, a hatchet man's life was snuffed out.

There was no holding back; it was a fight to the death.

Qin Buyi adhered to a no-mercy policy in combat.

Being merciful to an enemy meant cruelty to oneself, a truth Qin Buyi, with his assassin roots, knew all too well.

At the Nine-dragon Gang headquarters.

"Report, the Sixth Hall Master is dead."

"Report, the Fourth Hall Master is dead."

"Report, the Second Hall Master is dead."

...

In just a span of four hours, six of the seven Hall Masters of the Nine-dragon Gang had perished.

The Nine-dragon Gang Master's face was a picture of dark fury, his surroundings littered with the remnants of his wrath.

"Where is the Grand Hall Master now?" the Nine-dragon Gang Master demanded.

"Reporting, we've just received word that the intruder has breached the Grand Hall Master's residence, and they are currently locked in combat."

"Move out, we're heading to the Grand Hall Master's quarters. The audacity to slay six of my Nine-dragon Gang's Hall Masters—I'll make that fool wish for death," the Nine-dragon Gang Master spat out with venomous hatred.

At the Grand Hall Master's residence, Qin Buyi bore three deep wounds across his torso—two on his chest and one on his abdomen, inflicted by the Grand Hall Master who had cunningly used a hidden weapon to gain the upper hand as Qin stepped into the courtyard.

The Grand Hall Master was in even worse shape than Qin Buyi, his left arm severed by the Killing Saber and bleeding profusely, with a knife wound perilously close to his heart. Recalling the strike that nearly ended his life, he broke out in a cold sweat, grateful for his timely reaction that saved him from certain death.

"What a vicious kid," the Grand Hall Master muttered, squinting at Qin Buyi.

Qin Buyi's lips were tightly sealed, and he remained silent, his gaze on the Grand Hall Master cold and detached.

The Grand Hall Master shuddered inwardly at that look. "How did the Nine-dragon Gang ever cross paths with such a merciless character?" he wondered.

Clutching the Killing Saber, its tip aimed straight at the Grand Hall Master's heart, Qin Buyi advanced with determination.

The Grand Hall Master narrowly evaded the strike and countered with a punch aimed at Qin Buyi's heart.

Qin Buyi's eyes focused sharply. He didn't retreat but shifted slightly, taking the full force of the punch at the edge of his heart.

The Killing Saber swung toward the Grand Hall Master's throat. Too slow to dodge, the Grand Hall Master desperately raised his remaining hand in defense.

"Chi!" "Ah!"

His last arm was severed, and the Grand Hall Master's agonized scream echoed through the air.

A sliver of sanity urged the Grand Hall Master, "Run, just run. You can't best this lunatic who trades blows with his life on the line."

Yet, Qin Buyi, having taken a punch that could have shattered his heart, remained unfazed, as if the pain belonged to someone else.

"Cough!"

Qin Buyi coughed up a mouthful of fresh blood, betraying the severity of the punch that was far from inconsequential.

Wiping the blood from his blade, he didn't halt his assault, even as the Grand Hall Master's screams echoed through the hall.

As Qin Buyi approached, brandishing his knife like the grim reaper, the last vestiges of resolve within the Grand Hall Master crumbled.

"Don't, please don't kill me!"

"I'll be your loyal hound, just spare my life."

"Haha, it can't be, it can't be real, all of this must be an illusion."

The Grand Hall Master, now lost to insanity, alternated between sobbing and laughing hysterically in the courtyard. Qin Buyi remained vigilant.

"Chi!"

The razor-sharp blade plunged into the Grand Hall Master's heart, his eyes slowly losing their light.

Just then, a voice from outside called out, "Spare him!"

The Nine-dragon Gang Master entered, his face a mask of calm, but his quivering fingers revealed his inner turmoil.

Ding! The side quest to eliminate all the Hall Masters was now complete.

The rewards had been distributed.

"So, he's achieved Foundation Stage Perfection. No wonder he's so audacious," the Nine-dragon Gang Master muttered through clenched teeth, his voice laced with resentment.

Qin Buyi had previously allocated the attribute points from slaying the other Hall Masters to his cultivation.

Now, Qin Buyi's personal status panel read:

Name: Qin Buyi

Cultivation: First Rank, Foundation Stage Perfection (10/10, ready for breakthrough)

Strength: 10

Speed: 10

Physical Strength: 10

Attack Power: 10

Defense: 10

Fortune: 10

...

Killing Saber, First Rank (10/10, ready for breakthrough)

Attack Power: 10

Killing Saber Technique, First Rank (0/10, lacking further progression, unable to break through)

Attack Power: 10

The reward for defeating the Great Elder was one attribute point, and completing the side quest earned an additional three attribute points, totaling four unallocated points.

He directed all four points into his cultivation.

"Breakthrough!"