Chapter 30: Kraft Paper

Jian Liang felt a chill run through his heart. His body struggled to dodge, but he realized it was already too late.

The sword strike was too fast—so fast that one could only see a flash of sword light passing by.

Chen Fei's strength and reaction speed were, at most, at the level of the Flesh Refining Realm. But his swordsmanship was powerful, especially with the cultivation of sword qi, which was truly stunning. However, at this stage, that should have been his absolute limit.

How could such a sword technique appear in Chen Fei's hands? A technique like this should never have surfaced in a place like Pingyin County; even the great clans of Pingyin County could not possess such a legacy.

*Slash!*

A bloody wound appeared on Jian Liang's chest, piercing through from front to back. Though not large, such an injury was enough to be fatal. Jian Liang's offensive weakened involuntarily, and his entire body tumbled from the wall, crashing onto the ground.

"What kind of sword technique is this!"

Jian Liang struggled to lift his head to look at Chen Fei, only to see Chen Fei appearing before him with an expressionless face, thrusting a sword toward his skull.

*Clatter, clatter, clatter!*

Three hidden weapons suddenly flew out from Jian Liang's sleeves. Chen Fei's sword light flickered, knocking the weapons away, and he noticed Jian Liang was desperately trying to flee into the distance.

Chen Fei's feet blurred, and in a few strides, he caught up to Jian Liang.

Feeling the movement behind him, Jian Liang felt a sense of bitterness. He had intended to stall for a moment to launch his hidden weapons. He hadn't expected Chen Fei to completely ignore the tactic, killing him without saying a single word.

This was not the decisiveness one would expect from a mere minor alchemist; he was steadier than even some seasoned veterans of the underworld. After all, when a person is on the verge of victory, it is inevitable to relax or even become complacent, but Chen Fei did not. He only wanted to kill his target first.

"Spare my life! Name your price, and I will grant it!"

Jian Liang shouted loudly, but all he received was Chen Fei's sword piercing through his throat. Though Jian Liang tried to dodge, he no longer had the strength to do so.

As Chen Fei withdrew the longsword, Jian Liang rolled weakly to the side of the road. His eyes stared fixedly at Chen Fei, filled with an incredibly deep resentment.

Chen Fei met his gaze without the slightest hint of fear or hesitation. *He who kills shall be killed*—this was Chen Fei's philosophy, and he would carry it out to the end.

If Chen Fei wasn't afraid of Jian Liang while he was alive, why should he fear a mere gaze now that he was dying?

Jian Liang raised a finger, pointing at Chen Fei as if wanting to say something, but ultimately his head slumped lifelessly to the side, and he breathed his last.

Chen Fei stepped forward to search Jian Liang's body.

As one of the leaders of that band of mountain bandits, Jian Liang's wealth was certainly considerable. Aside from the silver, Chen Fei was also very interested in Jian Liang's cultivation technique.

After a moment, a look of joy appeared on Chen Fei's face as he produced a piece of cowhide covered in dense rows of text.

Chen Fei couldn't help but recall the faint sound of crashing waves that had echoed during Jian Liang's attack.

Martial artists generally kept cultivation techniques that were not yet perfected close to their bodies. They wouldn't feel safe leaving them elsewhere, and they could take them out from time to time to increase their insights and advance their cultivation.

Chen Fei tucked the cowhide into his robe. As he continued his search, the sound of footsteps suddenly approached.

As Chen Fei looked down, his facial features shifted rapidly; his eyes elongated into phoenix eyes, several wounds appeared on his face, and his physique grew slightly larger in silence.

"Third Brother!"

A voice filled with agony rang out. Ling Hanjun looked ahead in disbelief at Jian Liang, who lay on the ground covered in blood.

Earlier, when they broke through the encirclement, they had split into several groups. He and Jian Liang had stayed together and found several courtyards to hide in.

If anything happened, they were supposed to support each other immediately.

However, just as Ling Hanjun had found cover, he heard a commotion from Jian Liang's direction. He rushed out to check, only to find that Jian Liang was already dead.

He hadn't died at the hands of the bailiffs, but had instead lost his life here.

"I'll kill you!"

Ling Hanjun went into a frenzy. Gripping his great saber, he charged toward Chen Fei. The other bandits also rushed toward Chen Fei simultaneously, ready to back up Ling Hanjun.

Having seen Chen Fei kill Jian Liang, his threat level in their minds had been raised to the maximum.

Chen Fei took the silver from Jian Liang's bosom, glanced at Ling Hanjun, and his figure blurred as he bolted into the distance.

In essence, Chen Fei was still only a Flesh Refining Realm martial artist. Compared to the Bone Forging Realm, he was significantly inferior in both strength and reaction speed.

If not for the "Immortal's Guidance" sword technique, it would have been impossible for Chen Fei to kill Jian Liang. If it had been a battle of attrition, Jian Liang could have worn him down until he died.

Facing the even more powerful Ling Hanjun and the other bandits, Chen Fei would have to be insane to attempt a head-on confrontation here.

"He's over there! Chase him!"

The voices of the bailiffs suddenly came from behind. Chen Fei's expression flickered; he considered whether he should briefly obstruct the bandits so he could join the bailiffs in surrounding and killing them.

But he immediately dismissed the thought.

Setting aside the fact that Ling Hanjun was currently consumed by grief and rage and would likely risk being surrounded just to kill Chen Fei first, there were also the bailiffs. They didn't know Chen Fei and would likely mistake him for a bandit and join the hunt against him.

Chen Fei's feet landed on the eaves of the houses. The tiles remained undamaged, and he could still sprint for several meters. Such movement techniques were enough to make ninety percent of Bone Forging Realm martial artists feel ashamed.

As the bandits chased after him, the distance between them only grew.

Ling Hanjun's eyes were bloodshot, wishing he could tear Chen Fei apart with his bare hands, but he could only watch as the gap widened.

"To the ends of the earth, I will kill you!" Ling Hanjun roared, turning to run in another direction.

Continuing the chase would yield no great result and might instead cost him his men. No matter how unwilling he was, Ling Hanjun had to swallow his rage for now.

Sensing the disappearance of the presence behind him, Chen Fei considered his options for a moment before dropping into an alley. His face changed rapidly, and his stature became smaller.

A moment later, Chen Fei darted out of a different alley and ran toward the direction where Ling Hanjun had disappeared.

If this band of bandits wasn't eliminated, Pingyin County would never be peaceful. What Chen Fei needed most right now was time.

As long as he had enough stable time, his strength would continuously improve. Currently, he still relied on "Immortal's Guidance" to kill Bone Forging Realm experts.

Once he grew to the Bone Forging Realm, killing these people would be far less troublesome. For his own sake, Chen Fei had to make this band of bandits vanish from Pingyin County.

He trailed them from a distance, but after a while, Chen Fei lost them.

"I overestimated myself."

Returning to the courtyard that housed his alchemy room, Chen Fei sat under the eaves and looked up at the starry sky.

The reason he was able to follow the bandits in the black market last time was because he had been prepared while they were not. Today, knowing they were being hunted, the bandits would surely have used various methods to evade capture.

Aside from his advantage in movement techniques, Chen Fei was actually quite mediocre in terms of eyesight and tracking ability. If he could still act as a tail with his current skills, those bandits would have been caught by the bailiffs long ago.

"Should I find a technique to enhance my vision or tracking skills?"

Chen Fei felt tempted, but thinking of the tasks he currently had arranged, he couldn't help but sigh. His time was truly stretched to the limit.

This matter would have to wait until he had a bit more free time.

Chen Fei pulled out Jian Liang's money pouch and opened it, only to feel a sense of disappointment. It was likely that the looted silver had been hidden elsewhere; this pouch contained only a few dozen taels of broken silver.

In the past, Chen Fei might have been happy. But now that his alchemy skills had reached a certain level, these few dozen taels were no longer enough to satisfy him.

Tossing the money pouch into the fire to be destroyed, Chen Fei unfurled the piece of cowhide.

(End of Chapter)