The four figures in black were indeed the henchmen helping the Qian Bank to lend money at exorbitant rates inside the casino. Seeing Chen Xuance carrying a bundle in and coming out so refreshingly, it was clear that he was an easy target.
On the way there, some were still dreaming of getting rich overnight, but with just a few harsh words, their dreams turned into a nightmare, and their souls went straight to the underworld. Chen Xuance didn't pause, turning around and heading back the way he came.
As the four bodies fell to the ground, there was a commotion behind him. It wasn't ordinary passersby; at this point, ordinary folks would either be paralyzed with fear, scream randomly, or bolt away.
The commotion seemed to have retreated to the roadside ditch, most likely accomplices. Soon, a figure in black, lying in the ditch, was lifted out.
"Sir, spare me, spare me, sir! I was forced into this!" Seeing the clear sky and four bolts of thunder, this little rogue knew he had messed with the wrong person.
He pleaded for mercy, even uttering the classic line: "I have an eighty-year-old mother at home!" Chen Xuance didn't make it difficult for him, letting go of the trembling guy and patting the dirt off him.
After helping the small fellow tidy up, Chen Xuance smiled and said, "Go back and tell the manager of your Qian Bank that I am from the Exorcism Bureau. Don't worry; he won't trouble you."
The little rogue breathed a sigh of relief; anything was better than death. He nodded repeatedly, then quickly left. When the little guy was about five meters away, a thunderbolt struck him on the head.
Chen Xuance shook his head, murmuring, "People are so foolish these days. If I say something, they believe it."
He then skillfully started looting the corpses. After collecting some silver pieces, he headed towards the Exorcism Bureau, muttering, "Damn, what bad luck! Five grown men go out and bring only a couple of silver coins! Ridiculous!"
If the deceased five heard this, they would undoubtedly crawl up from the ground to argue: "Which family's robber goes out with so much silver? Have you no shame? Weren't the bills in your arms all scorched by lightning?"
As for the bodies, someone from the Shuntian Mansion would discover them in the morning. It was clearly a magical execution, a matter that needed to be reported to the Exorcism Bureau.
Returning to the Exorcism Bureau, Chen Xuance found Mabaihu and reported the details of the Black Guard's mission. Finally, he took out the one hundred taels of silver notes given by the Black Guard and handed them to Mabaihu.
"Sir, the Black Guard gave this when they left. Please keep it safe." Mabaihu didn't hesitate, pocketing the silver notes. He then took out a twenty-tael silver note and handed it to Chen Xuance. "You kid, work hard. Use this money to buy some nice clothes. You're not young anymore; stop laughing so foolishly. I'll introduce a wife to you another day."
He patted Chen Xuance's shoulder, displaying great intimacy. Chen Xuance knew Mabaihu was being so friendly because of the presence of Lord Wang. Normally, a reward of one or two taels of silver would be considered generous. With this income, fifty percent would be handed over to the Exorcism Bureau, leaving Chen Xuance with a decent twenty taels. It was quite a generous arrangement.
"Sir, I understand. Tomorrow, I'll get a couple of nice outfits. Oh, and this thing is a gift for you, sir. There's another one. If it's convenient, could you please pass it on to Lord Wang? The crossbow bolts Lord Wang rewarded me with last time, I am deeply grateful, and the gratitude is etched in my heart!"
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As he spoke, he pulled out two Tree Demon Core Wood pendants from his pocket. In the dark night, they emitted a faint glow, clearly not ordinary items.
Lord Ma didn't hesitate; it was evident that these were precious items. Moreover, looking at the craftsmanship of these two pieces, Chen Xuance had indeed put his heart into them. One had a hollow-carved character "Ma," and the other had a hollow-carved character "Wang."
After taking them, a barely perceptible aura flowed into his body, and the whole person felt a bit more spirited. Rubbing the surface of the wooden pendant, unable to discern the material, Ma Baihu couldn't help but ask, "Xuance, what material is this thing made of? I can't figure it out."
Chen Xuance lowered his head slightly and said, "Sir, this is a material I happened to come across. I don't know what it is made of. Since I got this thing, my mind has become much clearer."
Ma Baihu nodded without asking further about its origin. Indeed, in recent days, this seemingly foolish guy had become much more clever.
"Alright, I'll take it and pass it on to Lord Wang for you. You've done well; keep it up!"
He patted Chen Xuance's shoulder again, and Chen Xuance got up to take his leave.
He had carved a total of six jade pendants from the Tree Demon Core. One with the character "Ma" was for Ma Baihu, one with the character "Li" was for Li Gou, and one with the character "Chen" was for himself. The one with the character "Wang" was for Lord Wang and Lord Zhao's group. The one with the character "Qiu" was for Qiu, the deputy commander of the Second Division. The last one was blank, without any characters, to be engraved with words when needed, ready to be given away at any time.
His own piece was currently hanging beneath the copper coins of the Exorcism Bureau on his waist.
Under the pretext of giving gifts, Chen Xuance recounted the incident of killing five people on his way back. Ma Baihu waved it off, not taking it seriously.
Such small fries robbing on the road were not uncommon in the capital city. Nowadays, there was no road without a lost item and no night without closed doors. Killing them was just killing them; the Shuntian Mansion would send some pretext over, and that would be the end of it.
Back in his room, Chen Xuance sat cross-legged, focusing on circulating the Nine Transformation Star Art within his sea of consciousness.
After a quarter of an hour, the first layer of the technique completed one cycle, and he felt nothing.
"Confused. Under the starry sky, having a roof is not suitable!"
Coming out of the room, he climbed onto the roof, sat down, and looked up at the stars filling the night sky.
Closing his eyes, he circulated the technique.
Chen Xuance, with closed eyes, didn't see the next scene.
In the night sky, thirty-six large stars flowed with silver brilliance, like liquid mercury, pouring directly into Chen Xuance's body.
If someone were to overlook from the sky, they would see thirty-six silver pillars piercing the sky southeast of the capital city! The silver brilliance scattered across the southeast area of the city. Only a small part merged with the previously rewarded internal force, slowly circulating within Chen Xuance's body.
Fortunately, this shocking scene only lasted for a moment.
Once the silver brilliance condensed in all thirty-six acupuncture points around Chen Xuance, the stellar power turned into thirty-six invisible silver threads, flowing slowly through his meridians.
At this moment, a white tiger Dharma image flashed deep within the Exorcism Bureau.
In the room, Lord Wang, who was meditating, was full of shock. Finally, he burst into joy, "Commander broke through! Excellent! Fantastic!"
Before he could finish marveling, two more Dharma images flashed.
One was a giant peach tree, and the other was an ancient scroll.
Dharma images, the phenomena brought about by breakthroughs beyond the third stage.
"Elders also broke through! What's going on?" Lord Wang was full of astonishment.
At the same time, he found that his internal force was out of control, rushing through his meridians like a wild horse, and a continuous 'crack' sound came from his body.
Hastily calming his mind, he fully activated his internal breath. After an incense stick's worth of time, Lord Wang vomited a mouthful of black blood, feeling rejuvenated.
Third-stage martial artist, innate! Cleansing the essence and marrow, re-cultivating innate energy! That mouthful of black blood was precisely the impure air dissolved in the blood vessels.
He was the same age as the Prince Jin, finally catching up in cultivation to the Great Liang War God Zhao Cheng'an, becoming a third-stage martial artist! He was also the first high-grade martial artist within the Exorcism Bureau.
From today onwards, he also had the ability to fly in the air.
Within the Exorcism Bureau, those with cultivation had either undergone breakthroughs or their cultivation had spontaneously increased.
That night, the capital city did not sleep.