14: Chapter 14 Martial Arts Divided into Nine Ranks

What a pity for the three wives.

What a pity for those comfortable days of fine clothes and rich food.

What a pity, he hadn't had enough of the identity of Zhao Long yet.

One can only say that plans can't keep up with changes.

The surrounding bandits looked at each other in dismay, completely failing to understand what the Chief was saying.

A pity?

A delicate and pampered playboy Young Master; if he's killed, he's killed. What's there to be pity about?

"Chief, are you... alright?" a bandit standing nearby asked cautiously.

Chen Fan did not answer.

He was adapting to this new body.

A vast, chaotic memory filled with blood and violence was surging frantically into his mind like a bursting flood.

[Black Wind Demon, a fierce soldier from the border army. Due to participating in a city massacre and committing excessive slaughter in violation of military law, he became an outlaw and has occupied Black Wind Mountain for over ten years...]

[Martial Arts Cultivation: Eighth Rank.]

[Cultivation Technique: "Gale Saber Technique"]

Countless images flashed through his mind.

Eating meat in large chunks, drinking wine from large bowls.

Fighting in a sea of corpses and blood.

On a dark and windy night, swinging a saber to chop off the head of a caravan guard.

These memories were crude and savage, yet filled with vigorous vitality.

More importantly, the power flowing within this body.

Within the Dantian, a faint but real current of air slowly rotated according to his will. That was Internal Energy.

Although the Meridians were crude, they were unobstructed.

The muscles all over his body were filled with explosive power.

This is a Martial Artist.

From Black Wind Demon's memories, Chen Fan finally gained a clear understanding of this world's martial arts.

There are nine ranks of martial arts, with the First-Grade being the most respected.

Ninth Rank Body Tempering, Eighth Rank Internal Breath, Seventh Rank True Qi.

Ninth to Seventh Rank are known as the Lower Three Ranks of Martial Artists.

Starting from the Sixth Rank, one can project True Qi externally, shattering monuments and stones.

Third Rank Martial Artists are called Grandmasters, and even in the entire Great Shang Dynasty, they are as rare as phoenix feathers and unicorn horns.

They are great figures who establish their own sects.

Daoist Master Xuan Yangzi, the master of Qingyang Taoist Temple, is a genuine Seventh Rank expert. His Qingyang Sword Technique is unrivaled in the entire Qinghe County area.

No wonder Black Wind Demon's group dared to kidnap the County Magistrate's son but didn't dare to step foot into Qingyang Taoist Temple.

One is Eighth Rank, the other is Seventh Rank.

A difference of one rank is as vast as the distance between heaven and earth.

Even so, for Chen Fan, this was an epic leap.

From a pampered playboy who couldn't even lift a chicken to an Eighth Rank Martial Artist who could shatter stones.

Although only a Martial Artist of the lowest rank, he could still be considered a figure of some note within this hundred-mile radius.

He weighed the Ghost-Headed Greatsword on his shoulder.

Very heavy.

At least eighty catties.

But in the hands of Black Wind Demon's body, it felt as light as nothing.

Chen Fan grinned.

This feeling wasn't bad.

"Chief?"

The bandits nearby saw their boss standing there, frowning one moment and grinning foolishly the next, making their hair stand on end.

Could he have been possessed by something unclean while killing this playboy?

Chen Fan snapped out of it and restrained his outward emotions.

He scanned the surrounding bandits with their various expressions, using Black Wind Demon's fierce gaze.

"What are you looking at!"

He roared in a muffled, gruff voice.

"Haven't you damn lot ever seen a dead person?"

"Dispose of the body! Move everything on the carriage back for me!"

The bandits were startled by his roar and immediately jolted.

That's it!

This was the Chief they were familiar with!

The group immediately moved nimbly; some went to drag the body, others went to search the carriage for valuables.

Just then, a rustling sound came from the nearby woods.

A figure wearing the robes of the Qingyang Taoist Temple darted out from behind a tree.

It was Wang Chong.

With irrepressible excitement and pleasure on his face, he immediately burst into loud laughter upon seeing Zhao Long's body on the ground.

"Hahaha! Dead! He's really dead!"

Wang Chong ran over quickly and even recklessly kicked the corpse.

"Useless trash! Go on and be arrogant! Be haughty!"

He cursed as if venting, his face full of resentment and distortion.

The surrounding bandits stopped what they were doing and looked curiously at this Taoist who had suddenly appeared.

Having cursed enough, Wang Chong finally looked up at Chen Fan, who was carrying the Ghost-Headed Greatsword.

"Black Wind Demon, well done!"

He spoke in the tone of a superior praising a subordinate.

"You handled this business cleanly and efficiently. My uncle's side will credit you for this!"

Chen Fan looked at him expressionlessly.

From Black Wind Demon's memories, he already knew that this fool was the one behind everything.

The letter that made him come down the mountain was also forged by this kid.

Truly... seeking death.

Wang Chong was completely unaware of the impending danger.

He looked at Chen Fan and continued, "According to our agreement, after the deed is done, my uncle will help you delay the county office's suppression plan. Also, those three concubines of the Zhao family are all peerless beauties, especially the legal wife Lin Waner, who is the number one beauty in Qinghe County..."

As he spoke, he showed a lecherous smile that men would understand.

"When the time comes, it wouldn't be too much to share one with the brothers, right?"

Chen Fan's face still showed no change.

He simply took the Ghost-Headed Greatsword off his shoulder and dragged it on the ground.

The blade scraped against the ground, making a piercing friction sound.

Wang Chong's words stopped abruptly.

He looked at Chen Fan with some confusion.

"You... what do you mean by this?"

Chen Fan did not answer.

He was just thinking about a question.

Zhao Long's identity, although unable to Cultivate martial arts, was peaceful, comfortable, and accompanied by three beauties.

Black Wind Demon's identity, although having become a Martial Artist, involved fighting and killing every day, living on the edge of a blade, and becoming a major criminal wanted by the imperial court.

Between these two lives, which one was actually better?

It seemed... like an unsolvable problem.

Forget it, no more thinking.

He looked up at the stunned Wang Chong.

This fellow was a complete scoundrel.

Better to deal with this trouble in front of him first.

"What do I mean?"

Chen Fan spoke, imitating Black Wind Demon's tone, and broke into a cruel smile.

"I was thinking..."

"Who the hell do you think you are?"

"You think you're worthy of negotiating terms with me?"

Wang Chong's face instantly turned the color of pig liver.

"Black Wind Demon! Don't forget! Who gave you the information! Who helped you..."

His talk was cut short.

Because that Ghost-Headed Greatsword dragging on the ground had already turned into a black bolt of lightning, whistling upward at a speed completely inconsistent with its heavy appearance!

Gale Saber Technique!

No method, no skill, only the purest, most extreme violence!

Wang Chong's pupils shrank suddenly.

He wanted to dodge, but the Aura of an Eighth Rank Martial Artist erupting with full force locked him firmly in place, leaving him without even the strength to move a finger.

He could only watch helplessly as that door-sized great saber enlarged infinitely before his eyes.

"Puchi!"

A dull thud.

Like the sound of a watermelon being smashed open.

Wang Chong's head, still carrying shock and confusion, soared into the sky.

The headless corpse stood for a moment, the blood spraying from the neck reaching three feet high.

Then, with a "thump," it collapsed to the ground.

The entire mountain forest was deathly silent.

All the bandits were frozen like statues.

Their mouths hung open, eyes wide and round, staring fixedly at the twitching corpse on the ground.

Killed?

Just like that... killed?

That was a Taoist from Qingyang Taoist Temple! He was the inside contact for this operation! He was the Chief's partner!

How could he chop the man down before he even finished his sentence?

Chen Fan flicked the blood off the blade and shouldered the heavy Ghost-Headed Greatsword again.

He looked at the two corpses on the ground.

One was his past.

One was the person who ended his past.

Now, they both lay together.

"Ch... Chief..."

A bandit leader spoke with a trembling voice.

"Th... that was one of ours..."

Chen Fan turned his head and gave him a cold glance with those bloodshot eyes belonging to Black Wind Demon.

"Not anymore."

His voice was devoid of any emotion.

He pointed at the two corpses with the tip of his saber.

"Burn them."

"Clean this place up; don't leave a single trace."

The bandit leader shuddered and didn't dare ask another word.

"Yes! Chief!"

Chen Fan ignored everyone, shouldered his saber, and turned toward Black Wind Mountain.

Sunlight filtered through the gaps in the leaves, casting mottled light and shadow on his burly back.

A bandit watched his receding figure and couldn't help but whisper to a companion.

"Don't you think... the Chief is a bit different today?"

Another bandit quickly covered his mouth, shaking his head in terror.

"Don't talk nonsense! Do you want your head separated from your body like that Taoist?"

Chen Fan's steps paused for a moment.

He stopped in place and turned his head; his face, covered in a thick beard, was very calm.

"Back to the mountain!" he ordered.