32: Rules? My rules are the rules!
The sun climbed high, and the clamor of Southern Commandery City gradually intensified.
Lin Que changed into a clean black robe, the not-so-valuable Storage Pouch hanging from his waist, and slowly strolled toward the Black Alley.
With Shopkeeper Wang, the “local tyrant,” going to contact the major Waste Pill channels, Lin Que didn't stay idle. He planned to visit the Black Alley again and completely clear out the remaining stock held by the crippled old man.
However, before he even reached the depths of the Black Alley, a burst of noisy smashing and crying sounds drifted over.
“Old bastard! You refuse the toast only to drink the forfeit, eh?”
“Who exactly was that fat sheep who bought a hundred taels of gold from you yesterday? Where is he?!”
Lin Que paused slightly, a cold light flashing across his deep eyes before vanishing.
He walked toward the source of the noise.
He saw that the familiar corner stall was now surrounded by people.
The crippled old man was kicked onto the ground like a dead dog, his face covered in blood, desperately clutching a tattered cloth bundle to his chest. Surrounding him were seven or eight burly men wearing uniform cyan close-fitting attire with a small sword embroidered on their sleeves, viciously stomping on his stall.
The ground was covered in crushed Waste Pills and medicinal dregs, a black mess emitting a pungent odor.
“Sirs! I truly don't know!”
The old man cried out, his voice hoarse: “He was just a passing Young Master who bought the goods and left. How would I dare ask for his name?”
“You don't know?”
The leading horse-faced man sneered, slamming the sheathed longsword in his hand heavily onto the old man's face, knocking out his teeth:
“In this small territory, is there really someone our Iron Sword Sect Outer Gate can't find? Old bastard, since you won't talk, then these hundred taels of gold... we'll keep them safe for you!”
Saying this, the horse-faced man reached out to snatch the cloth bundle from the old man's embrace.
“No! You can't take it! I'm saving this to buy Bone-Mending Paste...” the old man struggled desperately.
“Go to hell!”
A fierce glint flashed in the horse-faced man's eyes. The foot wearing a heavy refined iron combat boot lifted high, and a faint cyan spiritual light shimmered beneath the sole—this was the **“Stone Crushing Kick”** augmented by spiritual power.
If this kick landed solidly, the old man's already crippled sternum would certainly be pulverized.
The Loose Cultivators watching in the Black Alley turned their heads away, not daring to speak.
Although the Iron Sword Sect was only a Third-rate Sect in Southern Commandery, in the Outer City District, they were undoubtedly the local overlords.
Just as the iron boot was about to descend.
Bang!
A dull thud echoed.
There was no sound of bones shattering, nor the old man's miserable shriek.
A slender, fair hand appeared out of nowhere, steadily supporting the iron boot that could crush rocks.
The air seemed to freeze for a moment.
The horse-faced man was stunned. He pressed down hard, but felt as if his foot had kicked a piece of Ten-Thousand Year Profound Iron, leaving the sole of his foot numb.
He followed the hand upward with his gaze.
He saw a handsome black-robed youth supporting his foot with one hand, a trace of playful mockery hanging on the corner of his mouth.
The youth hadn't used any spiritual power, yet his palm faintly glowed with a dark metallic sheen.
Mortal Extreme · Iron Skin Technique Perfection · Black Iron Physique!
“Friend, you're raising your foot quite high.”
Lin Que suddenly clenched his five fingers, gripping the opponent's ankle like an iron vise:
“Since you don't want to walk, you won't need this foot anymore.”
Crack!
A sharp, teeth-grinding crunch!
“Ah!!!”
The horse-faced man let out a mournful shriek; his ankle had been forcefully crushed into a comminuted fracture by Lin Que's single hand!
Lin Que casually tossed the burly man, who weighed over a hundred catties, like trash, sending him flying into a nearby garbage heap.
“And you dare ask for my name?”
Lin Que clapped his hands, his expression indifferent.
“Senior Brother!!”
The remaining seven Iron Sword Sect Disciples paled in shock, drawing their longswords and surrounding Lin Que.
“Kid! You dare injure someone from my Iron Sword Sect?!”
“You're a Body Cultivator?!”
Although these people were only in the Late Stage of Qi Condensation, they still had some discerning vision. Lin Que hadn't used spiritual power just now, relying purely on the strength of his Physical Body to crush the defense of the refined iron combat boot; this was definitely a Body Refining master who had achieved success.
“Body Cultivator?”
Lin Que smiled.
He flipped his wrist, and a crystal clear, longan-sized pearl appeared in his palm.
The surface of the pearl flowed with a seven-colored halo, making it strikingly beautiful.
[thousand changes multi-treasure pearl]—one of the six great treasures of Wuyou Hall, capable of transforming into thousands of weapons at will.
“Dealing with trash like you doesn't require any Body Cultivator methods.”
Lin Que's mind stirred.
“Transform.”
Buzz!
The myriad treasures pearl in his hand instantly elongated and darkened, transforming into an entirely black, four-foot-long Horizontal Saber amidst a dazzling shift of light and shadow.
The saber body was straight, the cold light sharp, emitting a terrifying aura of slaughter.
“Is that... a Spiritual Artifact?!”
Greed appeared in the eyes of the Iron Sword Sect Disciples. A weapon that could change shape at will—this was definitely a rated Advanced Spiritual Artifact!
“Everyone attack together! Kill him and seize the treasure!!”
Seven longswords, whistling through the air, stabbed toward Lin Que from all directions.
Although these sword moves were crude, augmented by spiritual power, they were enough to cut through metal and jade.
Facing the encirclement, Lin Que Advanced instead of retreating.
He took a deep breath, the Moon Devouring Art within his body roared into operation, and an extremely cold Evil Qi instantly enveloped the saber body.
The next second, he moved.
There was no flashy Spell confrontation, only saber light moving at extreme speed!
Seven Absolute Saber Technique First Form—Stream Severance!
Clang!
A crisp saber hum resonated throughout the Black Alley.
Everyone felt a black lightning bolt flash before their eyes.
The longswords of the two Disciples rushing at the front, made of refined iron, were instantly sliced through like tofu by the black Horizontal Saber!
The saber momentum did not diminish, following the trajectory of the broken swords and sweeping past their throats.
Pfft! Pfft!
Two fine heads flew into the air, and blood splattered.
“What?!”
The remaining five people were scared Soul Flying Away and Spirit Scattering. One slash severed two Magical Artifact longswords? What grade of weapon was this? What terrifying force was this?
“Too slow.”
Lin Que's figure moved through the crowd like a phantom.
Augmented by the Physical Body perfected by the Iron Skin Technique, his speed and explosive power had long surpassed the reaction limits of ordinary Qi Condensation Cultivators.
One Disciple tried to launch a sneak attack using a Fireball Spell.
Lin Que didn't even bother to dodge, allowing the fireball to smash into his back.
Bang!
A hole ripped in his clothes, revealing skin that glowed darkly, without even leaving a red mark.
“H-how is that possible?!” the Disciple screamed in despair.
The response he received was a cold saber edge.
Seven Absolute Saber Technique Second Form—Army Breaker!
The saber light was like a waterfall, heavy and powerful!
Lin Que brought the saber down, splitting the Disciple, along with his sword, directly into two halves!
In just ten breaths.
The Black Alley returned to dead silence.
Seven corpses lay scattered across the ground, some decapitated, others cut in half at the waist, their deaths extremely gruesome.
Blood stained the dirt red, and the thick stench of gore was nauseating.
The horse-faced man whose foot was first crushed was now dragging his crippled leg, desperately crawling out of the alley, his crotch already soaked in piss and shit.
“Devil... you are a devil...”
Before he could crawl a few meters, a black boot stepped onto his back.
Lin Que, holding the black Horizontal Saber (transformed from the thousand changes multi-treasure pearl) that was unstained by blood, looked down at him:
“Just now, you said you wanted to chop me up and feed me to the dogs?”
“No... Immortal Master, spare me! I was blind! I am the nephew of the Iron Sword Sect Grand Elder! You can't kill me!!” the horse-faced man frantically begged for mercy.
“Iron Sword Sect?”
A cruel curve appeared at the corner of Lin Que's mouth.
The long saber in his hand lightly trembled, transforming back into the round, lovely myriad treasures pearl and disappearing into his cuff.
“If I don't look for them, they will come looking for me anyway.”
“Since that's the case, I'll trouble you to go ahead and scout the way.”
Lin Que exerted force with his foot.
Splat!
The terrifying immense strength of the Iron Skin Technique Perfection instantly erupted, directly crushing through the horse-faced man's chest and pulverizing his heart.
Killing, silencing.
Smooth as flowing water and drifting clouds.
Lin Que turned around and looked at the crippled old man who was already scared silly.
The old man was still clutching the bag of gold tightly, trembling like chaff. He never dreamed that this seemingly gentle Young Master could kill Immortal Teachers even easier than slaughtering a chicken!
Moreover, from start to finish, he didn't even use that bizarre “poison-eating” method.
Was this the true face of this lord?
“Old man, don't be afraid.”
Lin Que put on a warm smile and pointed to the pile of Waste Pill mud crushed on the ground:
“They destroyed my goods, and I took their lives. That's fair, isn't it?”
“F-fair! That's extremely fair!” The old man nodded frantically.
“Very good.”
Lin Que scanned the surroundings.
The Loose Cultivators who had been hiding in the shadows and peeping, upon meeting Lin Que's cold gaze, lowered their heads one after another, daring not to look him directly in the eye.
In this battle, Lin Que did not use any “underhanded tricks.”
He used the purest violence and a Divine Weapon to teach everyone a lesson:
Not only should his poisons not be provoked, but he himself was even more untouchable!
Lin Que cleared his throat, his voice clearly reaching everyone present:
“Starting today, I am taking all the Waste Pills, scrap materials, and Toxic Items in this alley.”
“Payment will be in gold, fair to all, young and old.”
“If anyone dares to touch my people or steal my goods again...”
Lin Que kicked away the blood-stained “Iron Sword Token” on the ground and said coldly:
“This is the consequence.”
After speaking, he pulled another Gold Ingot from his robe and tossed it to the crippled old man:
“These hundred taels are an advance payment. Go, call all the ‘Junk Kings’ you can contact in this alley to me. Tomorrow morning, I want to see the entrance of the Listening to Rain Pavilion piled high with the things I need.”
“If the quantity isn't enough...”
Lin Que didn't continue, merely offering a meaningful smile.
“Understood! Understood! I'll go take care of it right away!!”
The old man scrambled to his feet, seemingly ten years younger, and clutching the gold, began shouting throughout the alley: “Collecting goods! Collecting Waste Pills! A Big Boss has booked the whole place!!”
Lin Que watched the old man's busy figure and nodded in satisfaction.
He lowered his head to look at his palm; the dark metallic sheen slowly faded, restoring its fairness.
“The Iron Skin Technique truly wasn't practiced in vain.”
“Paired with the Seven Absolute Blades and the myriad treasures pearl, even without using the System, I am already unmatched by anyone below the Spirit Sea Realm (the Realm after Origin Opening Realm) in the Outer City District.”
Lin Que turned around and strode away, walking over the pool of blood on the ground.
Now that he had established his might, it was time to prepare for the Iron Sword Sect's retaliation.