Chapter 55: A Bountiful Harvest

“Congratulations to player Wu Tian for slaying the level-three Martial Spirit minor boss He Jiang. You have gained 30,000 experience points, 20,000 taels of silver, +1 Instant Kill Value, and additionally, you have received a ‘Spatial Ring’ and a letter. Main quest completion progress has increased by 1/10. For completing 1/10 of the main quest, you have earned an extra system reward.”

“Congratulations to player Wu Tian for receiving an extra system reward: 100,000 experience points, 10,000 taels of silver, +50 Instant Kill Value, and +10 System Shop Exchange Points.”

A series of system notifications chimed in Wu Tian’s mind, each one listing the rewards he had received. He could hardly believe that killing a minor figure like He Jiang could yield so many benefits—it was simply exhilarating.

The experience points and silver were already considerable, but what surprised him most was the 51-point boost in Instant Kill Value, as well as the 10 points added to his shop exchange balance. On top of that, He Jiang’s spatial ring had dropped as loot. Although a spatial ring was not a weapon or piece of defensive equipment, it was still incredibly rare. Even in Pingyang City, few possessed such an item. That He Jiang had managed to keep one so well hidden was truly something.

Wu Tian hastily opened the spatial ring and was instantly shocked by what he saw: a vast array of equipment, monster cores, and elixirs, including some truly valuable items—Earth-grade equipment, level-four monster cores, and the like. Wu Tian quickly estimated that the contents of the ring were worth at least several million taels of silver.

“I’ve really scored big by killing He Jiang. The items in this spatial ring alone are worth millions if I sell them. Most of it’s useless to me anyway—only the spatial ring itself might come in handy. After all, my system backpack increases my burden when I store things, but with this ring, I won’t have to worry about that.”

As Wu Tian was delighting in his new spatial ring, his attention fell on the letter that had dropped as loot.

“Elder He, Wu Tian has already regained his cultivation. I order the sixteen Nie family guards to assist you in eliminating him. He must not be allowed to live, or he will disrupt my grand plan. You must succeed this time—remember! Burn this letter after reading.”

It was clear this letter was written to He Jiang, and from the contents, Wu Tian surmised it came from someone in the Nie family. Yet He Jiang, overconfident as he was, hadn’t burned the letter immediately, which was why it now found its way into Wu Tian’s hands.

Wu Tian placed the letter into his system backpack, then turned to Qin Long. “Qin Long, return to your post as if nothing has happened here.”

“Yes, master!” Qin Long replied, withdrawing at once.

Wu Tian cast another glance at He Jiang’s gradually vanishing corpse, then swiftly left the scene, wary that someone might take notice of the commotion.

“Master, I’ve avenged you at last. That old scoundrel He Jiang has been sent to hell by my hand. But the Nie family is still pulling the strings, and there’s an even bigger force at work behind them. Master, I promise to uncover the truth, so that your spirit may rest in peace.”

...

The Nie family head, Nie Yuntian, was beset by a sense of unease. Well into the second half of the night, he paced back and forth in his room, frowning.

Suddenly, a shadow flickered past his door.

“Patriarch!”

With a sweep of his hand, Nie Yuntian flung open the door, and the shadow slipped inside.

“Reporting, Patriarch! Disaster has struck. All sixteen guards we sent have vanished, and He Jiang is missing as well!” The black-clad figure knelt on one knee, delivering his report.

Nie Yuntian’s face changed at once. “Where exactly did they disappear?”

“According to He Jiang’s plan, he lured Wu Tian to the woods west of the city. But when I got there, not a soul could be found. I did see signs of a fight at the edge of the woods, but not a single person remained—no corpses, nothing. The whole situation is extremely odd!”

Nie Yuntian fell silent, his brows tightly knit and his eyes filled with alarm.

“There were clear traces of battle, but not a soul to be found?” He looked hard at his subordinate. “Was the entire group wiped out, with all evidence destroyed?”

“That’s a distinct possibility.”

“Eight guards at the fifth rank of Martial Master, three at the sixth, three at the seventh, and even two at the eighth. Add to that He Jiang, a level-three Martial Spirit, and they were all eliminated? Who could accomplish such a feat—someone with such terrifying power?” Nie Yuntian was deeply shaken.

“I’m certain this wasn’t Wu Tian’s doing. While he has some skill, he’s still too young. Defeating the guards might be possible, but killing He Jiang—a level-three Martial Spirit? That’s out of the question. He couldn’t have managed it so easily.” The subordinate analyzed the situation.

“If not Wu Tian, then who? Could he have a powerful ally behind him?” Nie Yuntian mused, stroking his chin. “If that’s the case, we have a problem. Last time, we failed to kill him. Now, not only has his cultivation recovered, it’s even stronger than before—and if he has powerful assistance, this will be much harder to handle.”

“Patriarch, there’s another matter I must report. He Jiang once hired the Asura Sect to assassinate Wu Tian, but the attempt failed. As you know, the Asura Sect never lets a target go. We may not need to act ourselves—Wu Tian is sure to die at their hands sooner or later.”

“The Asura Sect never lets go, do they? I didn’t expect He Jiang to make such a move. Good—very good! Now that he’s provoked the Asura Sect, unless he has divine powers, he’s doomed. You’re right, all we need to do is wait. Wu Tian’s days are numbered!” With this thought, Nie Yuntian felt a weight lift from his mind.

“Still, keep a close watch on Wu Tian’s movements, and report anything immediately.”

“Yes, Patriarch!”

...

The Nie family wanted Wu Tian dead, and Wu Tian was equally determined to destroy the Nie family. But he wasn’t foolish enough to attack them head-on just yet. Though he was confident, the Nie family boasted scores of experts—Wu Tian’s current strength was not enough to wipe them out. Just the family head, Nie Yuntian, was believed to be at least a level-six Martial Spirit; Wu Tian had no way to match him.

For now, Wu Tian was busy selling off the contents of He Jiang’s spatial ring, and his buyer was the Benevolent People’s Apothecary, which operated under the Shunfeng Trading Company—more than capable of handling such goods.

“Brother Wu, where did you get all this? Weapons, elixirs, monster cores, formation scrolls, spirit stones, spirit herbs—practically everything under the sun. Are you sure you want to sell all of it?” Attendant Hu stared in astonishment at the mountain of items Wu Tian had casually produced.

“These are just things I’ve collected over the years. They’re useless to me now, so I’m selling them off. How much can you offer?” Wu Tian replied with a straight face, not the slightest blush.

“Hold on a moment. I’ll need to call some people over to sort and categorize everything before we can assess the value. This isn’t the sort of stuff you weigh on a scale.”

“All right, but you’d better brew me a few pots of Qi Gathering Tea while I wait, or I’ll have a hard time killing time.” Wu Tian grinned broadly.

Attendant Hu rolled his eyes in exasperation, but soon enough had someone bring Wu Tian a large pot of Qi Gathering Tea.