20: Murder and Arson Gold Belt

Tonight, the alley where Zhang Qingxiao and the others lived was much quieter.

Since Widow Sun stopped receiving guests here, no one else had come by, except for those responsible for patrolling tonight.

Just as Zhang Qingxiao was drifting off to sleep, the sounds of fighting and shouting came from the alley entrance.

Zhang Qingxiao stood up from his reclining chair in an instant, immediately alert.

Grasping his Magical Artifact longsword, he quickly ran toward the mouth of the alley.

The others in the alley heard the commotion and, whether they were on patrol duty tonight or not, all rushed out of their courtyards and ran toward the alley entrance.

When Zhang Qingxiao arrived at the alley entrance, he saw that one of the two people responsible for guarding it had already fallen in a pool of blood.

The others who were nearby and had arrived first were already entangled in a fight with the opposing party.

There were seven or eight people on the other side, clearly holding the advantage.

Magical Artifacts danced in mid-air, colliding with each other and emitting harsh, metallic clashing sounds.

Zhang Qingxiao had no time to think; he instantly condensed three blue-purple Fireball Techniques in his hand and sent them flying precisely toward three of the enemies.

The fireballs struck the spiritual energy shields created by the three Body Protection Talismans, exploding with "Bang! Bang! Bang!" sounds.

The spiritual energy shields shattered instantly. Zhang Qingxiao lunged in front of one of them, swung his Magical Artifact longsword, and took advantage of the opponent's daze to slit their throat with a single strike.

He moved his feet again to arrive behind another person, swung the longsword in his hand, and thrust it in with force, piercing straight through the opponent's heart.

The last Cultivator whose Body Protection Talisman had been broken finally reacted, and upon seeing how ferocious Zhang Qingxiao was, turned to flee.

However, at that very moment, he suddenly felt a sharp pain in the back of his head, followed by darkness before his eyes. His whole body pitched forward, and he only had time to let out a muffled groan.

Zhang Qingxiao pulled out his Magical Artifact longsword and was about to observe the surroundings when his heart suddenly tightened, and an extremely ominous premonition surged into his mind.

Without time to think, he rolled on the ground, and immediately heard a whistling sound as something narrowly grazed over his head.

"That was close!"

Looking up at the Magical Artifact flying past, Zhang Qingxiao thought to himself.

Seeing the Magical Artifact flying back, he moved his mind, shot out a Spirit Arrow Technique, and struck the Magical Artifact, causing it to pause for a moment.

Taking the opportunity to scan the surroundings, he identified the Cultivator controlling the Magical Artifact, and a blue-purple Fireball Technique instantly condensed and smashed toward him.

This person clearly knew the power of the Fireball Technique and wanted to dodge, but found it impossible to escape. He could only recall the Magical Artifact, preparing to use it to block.

Who knew he was still a step too late.

While the Magical Artifact was still flying in mid-air, the fireball had already struck his spiritual energy shield and exploded.

Without the spiritual energy shield, Zhang Qingxiao raised his hand and unleashed a Spirit Arrow Technique.

Before the opponent could react, it shot toward his forehead.

As the opponent fell to the ground, Zhang Qingxiao immediately collected the opponent's Magical Artifact.

"Fellow Daoist Zhang, what impressive skill."

The person in charge of tonight's watch saw Zhang Qingxiao kill the last person and complimented him.

With his own strength, without even using a Body Protection Talisman, he killed four Middle Stage Cultivators and made it look so easy.

At this moment, everyone who had come over held him in high regard.

At the same time, they followed suit and stepped forward to offer compliments.

"Fellow Daoist, you flatter me, you flatter me!"

"I nearly lost my life just now."

"Fellow Daoist, I wonder how items on these people are typically handled?"

Zhang Qingxiao was quite pragmatic. Those three poor wretches yesterday had nothing but the three Body Protection Talismans they used, which left him speechless for quite a while.

This was also the reason why, after killing the last Middle Stage Cultivator holding a Magical Artifact, he immediately collected the opponent's Magical Artifact.

But with so many people watching, he couldn't just leave with the Magical Artifact, so he had to ask about the rules first.

"Any items on the people that Fellow Daoist took down naturally belong to Fellow Daoist."

"Then I can rest assured."

"Since the matter here has been resolved, I will head back now."

Zhang Qingxiao said, then walked over to the corpses he had just killed, rummaged through them thoroughly, and then turned and left, returning to his home.

Upon returning home, he realized that he had been carrying Body Protection Talismans but hadn't used a single one.

He couldn't help but secretly warn himself that next time he encountered such a situation, he must trigger the Body Protection Talisman immediately to ensure his own safety.

The others saw Zhang Qingxiao leave with the spoils and didn't think anything was amiss.

Meanwhile, Zhang Qingxiao's reputation gradually spread around the alley.

"Four Medium Grade Magical Artifacts, two Body Protection Talismans, two Light Body Talismans, one Golden Light Talisman—I've made a fortune."

"As expected, murder and arson bring a golden belt."

A Medium Grade Magical Artifact could sell for at least seventy or eighty Low-Grade Spirit Stones, and a Golden Light Talisman now cost twenty Low-Grade Spirit Stones.

The things found on these four people were worth nearly three or four Mid-Grade Spirit Stones.

"If this happens a few more times, I'll be able to afford a Storage Pouch."

Thinking of the Storage Pouch, Zhang Qingxiao felt some anticipation, hoping that a few more waves of such people would come.

The next day, Master Zheng of Talismans had people cut off the heads of the seven people killed last night and hang them at both ends of the alley to deter those with ill intentions.

At the same time, he specifically came to Zhang Qingxiao's home to express gratitude to Zhang Qingxiao on behalf of all the residents in their alley.

Zhang Qingxiao had absolutely no interest in this kind of gratitude that offered no practical benefits; it would have been more comfortable to just give him ten Low-Grade Spirit Stones.

Over the next few days, no more fighting occurred in the alley.

Many people with ulterior motives saw the heads hanging at the alley entrance and chose to retreat on their own.

The residential area for Utility Disciples was so large, there was no need to insist on gnawing on such a hard bone.

It wasn't until the Golden Core Old Ancestor of the Chang Sheng Sect had been gone for seven days without returning with the others from the Chang Sheng Sect that the Utility Disciple residential area became even more chaotic.

Many people speculated that the Chang Sheng Sect might have encountered trouble this time.

As for the shops in the marketplace, they had all run out of stock and simply closed down.

The only ones still open were those two or three Magical Artifact shops and Talisman shops.

There were quite a few people still setting up stalls outside, selling various Talismans, Magical Artifacts, and Medicinal Pills.

But the prices were outrageously high, completely unaffordable for ordinary Utility Disciples.

During this period, Zhang Qingxiao went to the marketplace once, hoping to see if there were any stalls selling Yao Beast meat.

As it turned out, the marketplace had changed drastically.

Not only was there no Yao Beast meat for sale, but there were also very few stalls selling other food, so he dismissed the idea.

The smoked Yao Beast meat at home could still last for ten to fifteen days.

He wasn't in a hurry; if it really came to it, he would just go out and try to hunt Yao Beasts himself.

A living person will always find a way out.

As his strength improved, Zhang Qingxiao became increasingly confident.

After practicing the Spirit Arrow Technique a few times and feeling like he had gained some insight, he moved his mind, and the attribute panel appeared before his eyes.

【Name: Zhang Qingxiao】

【Identity: Utility Disciple of the Chang Sheng Sect】

【Aptitude: Mediocre】

【Lifespan: 32 / 80 years】

【Realm: 4th Layer of Qi Refining, Progress: 33 / 100】

【Cultivation Technique: ChangSheng Skill for Qi Refining Stage, Great Master: 398 / 800; Tiger Leopard Body Tempering Art, Grandmaster: 177 / 1600】

【Skills: Alchemy: Pi Gu Pill, Proficient: 135 / 400; Yellow Dragon Pill, Proficient: 5 / 200; Golden Marrow Pill, Skilled: 28 / 200】

【Spells: Fireball Technique, Grandmaster: 56 / 1600; Dust Removal Spell, Beginner: 35 / 100; Spirit Detection Technique, Proficient: 133 / 200; Spirit Arrow Technique, Grandmaster: 1 / 1600; Ice Technique, Skilled: 186 / 200】

【Swordplay: Chong Ling Swordplay, Grandmaster: 65 / 1600】