Chapter 122: The Fierce Tiger Hall Leader Takes Action in Person

Bloodthirsty Berserker Blade (Earth-Grade Divine Weapon): Increases attack power by fifty percent, attack speed by fifty percent, and critical-hit rate by fifty percent. It also possesses the exclusive skill “Fury,” which doubles attack damage for one minute. The skill has a cooldown of two hours. In addition, its attacks inflict a bleeding effect, causing the opponent to lose one percent of their health every second.

“Impressive! Truly impressive! An earth-grade divine weapon, and its attributes are ridiculously good! If I didn’t already have the Black Dragon Blade, I’d definitely use this one. Damn, what a treasure! After spending so many materials to forge it, it was absolutely worth it!”

Nowadays, even an ordinary earth-grade weapon could be auctioned for more than a million taels of silver. The weapon forged by Wu Tian had reached the divine level of the earth grade, making it worth a hundred times more than an ordinary earth-grade weapon.

Wu Tian possessed the heaven-defying divine weapon, the Black Dragon Blade, so he naturally had no use for the Bloodthirsty Berserker Blade. Nevertheless, its attributes were truly outstanding, and its skill was astonishingly powerful. Wu Tian therefore decided to put the blade up for auction. It would certainly fetch a handsome price, and with enough money, he would be able to accomplish far more.

Not long after Wu Tian’s weapon-refining furnace exploded, the city guards arrived. When they saw that all the members of the Python Mercenary Corps, dressed in black and masked, were lying on the ground, they immediately arrested every one of them.

“Whose room was that explosion?” asked a city-guard commander clad in armor.

“Officer, that was my room,” Wu Tian replied.

“What exactly happened? Did you get into a private fight with these masked men and cause the explosion?” the commander demanded.

“Officer, I honestly have no idea what happened. I was sleeping peacefully when the house suddenly exploded and blew me straight out. As for these people, I have no idea what they were trying to do.” Wu Tian spread his hands and put on an innocent expression. In any case, the men had already been blasted to within an inch of their lives, so he had no need to take action himself.

The commander frowned, then turned to the innkeeper beside him. “Is that what happened?”

“Officer, I’m not entirely sure either. But there definitely wasn’t any fighting just now—the explosion happened all of a sudden. These men were probably responsible,” the innkeeper said after thinking it over.

“These men were dressed in black and masked in the middle of the night. They clearly aren’t good people. The explosion was most likely their doing. Listen carefully—arrest every one of them and bring them back. Not a single one is to be left behind!” the commander ordered, directing his men to take all the members of the Python Mercenary Corps into custody.

After the city guards had departed with the members of the Python Mercenary Corps, Niu Wuji said smugly, “Serves them right! They actually dared to assassinate the boss in the middle of the night. The fact that they weren’t killed by the blast was already more mercy than they deserved!”

“Not being killed doesn’t mean they got off lightly.” Wu Tian smiled. The members of the Python Mercenary Corps were truly something else. They had happened to run into him while he was refining a weapon, only to be caught in the resulting explosion. He really did not know what to say about them.

…

While Wu Tian’s weapon-refining furnace was exploding, in a secluded estate somewhere in the Imperial City—

“Hall Master, someone outside claims to be a disciple of the Heaven-Cleaving Sect and wishes to see you,” one of the underlings reported to the master of the Fierce Tiger Hall.

“A disciple of the Heaven-Cleaving Sect?” The hall master frowned slightly. “Let him in.”

“Yes, Hall Master.”

A short while later, a man named Chen Long, a disciple under Elder Liu Qingxu, entered the room. He clasped his hands and bowed. “Hall Master Tiger, I am Chen Long, a disciple under Elder Liu Qingxu of the Heaven-Cleaving Sect. I have long admired the renowned name of the Fierce Tiger Hall’s master. Meeting you today, I find your reputation entirely deserved!”

“Elder Liu Qingxu of the Heaven-Cleaving Sect…” A flicker of surprise crossed the hall master’s eyes. “So you are a disciple of Liu Qingxu, one of the Sixteen Gates of the Heaven-Cleaving Sect. A pleasure to meet you. May I ask why you have come?”

“Hall Master, I won’t waste your time with pleasantries. I hear that the Fierce Tiger Hall has recently accepted a mission to assassinate Wu Tian. I hope that, for the sake of my master, you will abandon this mission. What do you say?” Chen Long asked with a genial smile.

“Although our Fierce Tiger Hall cannot compare with the Heaven-Cleaving Sect, what kind of principle is it to accept a mission and then abandon it? If we did that, what face would our Fierce Tiger Hall have left in the martial world? Still, there is one way to resolve this. You know that we are a mercenary corps. Our brothers risk their lives to make a living, and we cannot treat their lives as a joke. The reward for the mission to assassinate Wu Tian is fifty thousand taels of gold. If you pay ten times that amount—five hundred thousand taels of gold—we will abandon the mission.”

Five hundred thousand taels of gold was certainly within Liu Qingxu’s means. However, there was no way they were willing to hand such a fortune over to the Fierce Tiger Hall for nothing.

“Hall Master, aren’t you asking for far too much? Five hundred thousand taels of gold is enough to buy an earth-grade pill or piece of equipment,” Chen Long said, narrowing his eyes as he looked at the master of the Fierce Tiger Hall. “Of course, if you insist on refusing, I have nothing more to say. Wu Tian is a disciple of the Heaven-Cleaving Sect. If you kill him, you should understand the consequences.”

The hall master’s expression changed at once. He knew how powerful the Heaven-Cleaving Sect was, but as the master of a mercenary corps, how could he swallow his anger after being threatened by one of its disciples?

“Are you threatening me? A mere disciple of the Heaven-Cleaving Sect dares to threaten me? Hmph! Do you really think our Fierce Tiger Hall is easy to bully? Chen Long, let me tell you the truth: the people who want Wu Tian dead are members of your own Heaven-Cleaving Sect. I take money to do a job. If your Heaven-Cleaving Sect pushes us too far, the Fierce Tiger Hall will fight you to the end! I have nothing more to say. Leave!”

Hearing this, Chen Long raised his brows slightly. “Members of the Heaven-Cleaving Sect want Wu Tian dead? Very well. Thank you for the reminder, Hall Master Tiger. Since we have nothing more to discuss, I shall take my leave. But allow me to offer you one piece of advice: a disciple of the Heaven-Cleaving Sect remains a disciple of the Heaven-Cleaving Sect. If you insist on completing this mission, you will bear the consequences yourself.”

With that, Chen Long turned and left.

After Chen Long departed, the hall master, his face flushed with fury, slammed his fist into the wall and roared, “So what if they are the Heaven-Cleaving Sect? I will complete this mission no matter what! Since I can’t find the second-in-command, I’ll personally go and kill that brat. Let’s see what your Heaven-Cleaving Sect can do to me!”

…

After the explosion, Wu Tian and the others had no choice but to find another inn for the night. When they awoke the next morning, everyone was refreshed. After enjoying a hearty meal, they left Heaven Gate Pass.

Before Wu Tian’s group even reached the city gate, countless people were already watching him, their eyes filled with ill intent. Many of them coveted the bounty on his head, but because private fighting was forbidden within the city, they could only endure their impatience.

At last, the moment Wu Tian stepped beyond the gates of Heaven Gate Pass, the mercenaries and adventurer groups that had been waiting like hungry tigers swarmed around him.

“Heh heh, a bounty of ten thousand taels of gold! We absolutely have to claim it. Looks like today is the lucky day of our Golden Mercenary Corps!”

“He’s prey belonging to our Blazing Sun Mercenary Corps. No one is taking him from us!”

“Ten thousand taels of gold is a succulent prize. Our Windrider Mercenary Corps is determined to have it!”