#4 - A little famous
Cracking sounds emanated from my body, as if something within was being shattered.
The breakthrough process was incredibly fast, and a sense of power even greater than before filled my entire being.
Breaking through from the first to the second tier was a qualitative change.
"Compared to now, how weak I was before breaking through," I thought to myself.
Opening my personal information panel:
Name: Qin Buyi
Cultivation: Second Tier, Early Golden Core (14/50)
Strength: 14
Speed: 14
Stamina: 14
Attack Power: 14
Defense Power: 14
Luck: 14
......
Life-Slaying Blade, Second Tier (14/50)
Attack Power: 14
Life-Slaying Blade Technique, First Tier (10/10, Missing Subsequent Levels, Unable to Break Through)
Attack Power: 10
"Are you the leader of the Nine Dragons Gang?" I asked.
From the Eye of Exploration, I learned that the opponent was in the early stage of the Golden Core realm, with slightly higher stats than me.
"How is that possible! You were just at the Foundation Establishment Completion stage, and instantly broke through to the Golden Core? You must be hiding your cultivation level."
Faced with the illogical event of my instantaneous breakthrough, the Nine Dragons Gang leader refused to believe it.
"Young friend, now that you are in the Golden Core stage and have killed seven hall masters of my Nine Dragons Gang, how about we let this matter drop?" the Nine Dragons Gang leader said.
Offending an opponent with the same cultivation level as himself, whose background was unknown, was clearly foolish.
He could always train more subordinates if they died, but if the opponent was in the Foundation Establishment stage, he would have killed them without a second thought. However, since the opponent was in the Golden Core stage, the Nine Dragons Gang leader had to consider the situation.
This was the benefit of increasing one's strength, making the opponent wary and gaining equal treatment.
"So, it's you."
I ignored the Nine Dragons Gang leader's proposal. If I didn't kill him, the system would eliminate me.
The two sides already had a feud, and besides, I wasn't one to be merciful.
Seeing me adopt an attack stance, the Nine Dragons Gang leader cursed inwardly, "Madman!"
"Life-Slaying Blade Technique, First Form: Carnage."
I waved the Life-Slaying Blade at high speed, causing it to vibrate. In the process of vibration, the Life-Slaying Blade emitted an evil, bloodthirsty aura.
This was my first time using the Life-Slaying Blade Technique. Before, the Nine Dragons Gang's hall masters were too weak in my eyes.
So weak that I could easily kill them without using the Life-Slaying Blade Technique.
The Nine Dragons Gang leader's pupils shrank: "This blade, this blade technique, is dangerous, I can't fight it head-on!"
I was emitting an extremely dangerous aura at this time, and the Nine Dragons Gang leader felt that if he confronted this blade head-on, he would definitely be seriously injured or even killed.
Without hesitation, the Nine Dragons Gang leader turned around and fled.
He fled quickly, but I chased even faster.
My speed greatly increased after the breakthrough, and I arrived behind the Nine Dragons Gang leader in the blink of an eye.
"Damn, what kind of monster is this? How is he so fast?"
Seeing that he couldn't escape, the Nine Dragons Gang leader conjured a long sword out of thin air and turned around to meet the attack head-on.
I held the long blade and slashed downwards, while the Nine Dragons Gang leader held his long sword horizontally above his head to block.
"Clang!"
The blades clashed, creating a fierce collision.
The enormous force transmitted from the sword made the entire arm of the Nine Dragons Gang leader holding the sword go numb instantly.
"What great strength."
The Nine Dragons Gang leader gritted his teeth and resisted with difficulty.
"Crack!" "Crack!"
The bluestone pavement under the Nine Dragons Gang leader's feet began to crack little by little.
"Bang!"
The huge force transmitted from the Nine Dragons Gang leader's body to his feet, and the bluestone ground could no longer bear it, exploding and scattering throughout the courtyard.
"Chop!"
I shouted loudly, and the force on my hand increased by another thirty percent.
"Ah!"
Dense beads of sweat covered the Nine Dragons Gang leader's forehead.
"What kind of monster is this? Fast, strong, and even has such great endurance?"
What the Nine Dragons Gang leader didn't know was that, under the system's enhancement, all of my stats were extremely balanced.
A monster with no weaknesses, whose attack power, defense power, speed, endurance, etc., could all reach the extreme.
"Crack!"
The sound of the sword breaking rang out, and the Nine Dragons Gang leader's heart trembled. In this moment of life and death, the shattering of a weapon was tantamount to announcing death.
"How is it that even my weapon is inferior to his?"
"I admit defeat, I admit defeat. I'll give you all my wealth, spare my life," the Nine Dragons Gang leader begged for mercy.
I didn't say a word, and the strength in my hand didn't decrease by half.
"If you kill me, the Tang family of Qingyang City won't let you off," the Nine Dragons Gang leader said anxiously.
The cracks in the middle of the sword held by the Nine Dragons Gang leader continued to widen.
"Crack!" "Crack!"
"Bang!"
The sword shattered.
"Chih!"
The sound of the Life-Slaying Blade cutting into flesh rang out, and the Nine Dragons Gang leader was split in half from the middle.
"Hoo~"
I let out a long breath.
[Ding! Main Quest Two: Annihilate the Nine Dragons Gang, completed.]
[Quest rewards have been issued.]
I added the attribute points obtained from completing the quest to my cultivation, and also broke through the Life-Slaying Blade Technique, which had been stuck at the first tier due to the lack of subsequent cultivation methods, to the second tier.
Name: Qin Buyi
Cultivation: Second Tier, Early Golden Core (19/50)
Strength: 19
Speed: 19
Stamina: 19
Attack Power: 19
Defense Power: 19
Luck: 19
......
Life-Slaying Blade, Second Tier (19/50)
Attack Power: 19
Life-Slaying Blade Technique, Second Tier (19/50)
Attack Power: 19
"If I had broken through to the second tier of the Life-Slaying Blade Technique earlier, I could have killed the Nine Dragons Gang leader with one strike."
Being able to kill the Nine Dragons Gang leader so easily was thanks to the Life-Slaying Blade Technique. Now that it had broken through, its power had undergone a qualitative change.
Recalling the scene of killing the Nine Dragons Gang leader, I had a clear understanding of my own strength. I was invincible in the early stage of the Golden Core realm, and could fight against those in the middle stage as well.
[Ding! Epic Quest Initiated!]
[Epic Quest: Obtain the Star Core in Falling Star Mountain Range within three months.]
[Quest Rewards: Return to Blue Star, Ten Attribute Points, Third Tier Life-Slaying Blade Technique, Awakening Secret Realm once. Failure results in obliteration!]
[Ding! Main Quest Three Initiated!]
[Main Quest Three: Go to the Tang family and obtain the Tang family's secret treasure, the Star-Fixing Compass.]
(Note: To find the Star Core in the Falling Star Mountain Range, it is best to have the assistance of the Star-Fixing Compass.)
[Quest Rewards: Eight Attribute Points, Open the System Shop. Failure results in deduction of five attribute points!]
[Ding! Pre-requisite conditions for War Quest triggered!]
[War Quest Pre-requisite Condition: Choose to befriend the Tang family or completely stand against the Tang family.]
[If the Host chooses to befriend the Tang family, the War Quest will be transformed into a side quest!]
[If you choose to stand against the Tang family, the War Quest will be initiated.]
(Note: War Quest, a war launched by one person, to kill, conquer, plunder, and become the strongest.)
(Note: War Quests are extremely dangerous!!!)
"Star Core? Tang family? War Quest?"
These three quests are interlinked. To obtain the Star Core, you must first obtain the Tang family's Star-Fixing Compass.
"The Nine Dragons Gang leader said before his death that the Tang family would not let me off if I killed him."
I stood in place, thinking.
"Based on the current situation, the probability of befriending the Tang family is not high."
"Even if we become friends, the Tang family will definitely not give me their secret treasure, the Star-Fixing Compass."
"The most direct way to obtain the Star-Fixing Compass is to snatch it. In that case, wouldn't befriending the Tang family be redundant?"
"What is uncertain at the moment is how dangerous the War Quest will be after standing against the Tang family."
After figuring out the result, I pulled a ring from the ring finger of the Nine Dragons Gang leader's corpse.
The weapon that the Nine Dragons Gang leader conjured out of thin air was stored in this space ring.
After breaking through to the second tier, my thoughts condensed into divine sense. My divine sense entered the space ring, and the space inside the ring was about one cubic meter in size.
I took out everything in the ring, some sundries, a pile of spirit stones, and a token.
I discarded the sundries, there were about two thousand low-grade spirit stones, and the spirit stones were put into the system's storage space.
The front of the token was written with a big "Tang" character.
"It seems that this should be the power secretly cultivated by the Tang family."
"Clang!"
The blade flashed, and the token was split in half from the middle of the "Tang" character.
Having already decided to be an enemy, I used this method to express my attitude to the Tang family.
Inside the restaurant.
I sat on the second floor near the window, with a table full of dishes in front of me.
Since being teleported to the Falling Star Mountain Range, I hadn't had a good meal.
The news of the Nine Dragons Gang's destruction spread quickly, and the most discussed topic among the diners in the restaurant was this matter.
"Have you heard? The Nine Dragons Gang offended someone they shouldn't have."
"From the leader to the seven hall masters, none were spared. They were all killed in less than a day."
"Is that the insignificant Nine Dragons Gang?"
"I heard that their leader just broke through to the Golden Core realm a few days ago. How could he be killed?"
"Since the Nine Dragons Gang leader broke through to the Golden Core realm, his subordinates have become more and more arrogant. This time, they kicked a steel plate."
"I have to say that the person who did it is also a ruthless person. This time, the Nine Dragons Gang is finished."
"I just passed by the Nine Dragons Gang's residence. Those gang members are preparing to run away with valuables."
Qingyang City, Tang family internal meeting.
The head of the Tang family, Tang Zhentian, is rumored to have broken through to the Nascent Soul realm long ago.
"Three hundred years ago, our Tang family ancestors obtained the Star-Fixing Compass and a message while exploring the ruins. The Falling Star Mountain Range contains a Star Core. By using the power of the Star Core, our Tang family can become a top family."
"In three months, the Star Core of the Falling Star Mountain Range will be born. This is related to whether our Tang family can rise from this. During this period, no mistakes can be made. Anyone who may affect our Tang family's century-old plan must be killed."
After Tang Zhentian finished speaking, he paused and asked the second elder, who was in charge of the family's intelligence, "Second, is there anything happening recently?"
The second elder replied, "Returning to the head of the family, nothing major has happened. It's just that today, a non-influential gang secretly cultivated by the family had all of its high-level members killed within a day."
Tang Zhentian didn't even lift his eyelids. Such a trivial matter was not enough for him to take to heart, and he said indifferently, "Have you found out who it is?"
"A foreigner who doesn't know where he came from, his cultivation is probably in the early stage of the Golden Core realm," said the second elder.
"Find out and kill him. Just a mere foreigner," Tang Zhentian said carelessly.
"Yes!"
