Xie Wenyuan was seething with rage.

Right away, an urgent voice of a maid could be heard from outside, "They're here, they're here."

Chen Ku's eyes narrowed slightly. He saw a young maid scurrying over, carrying a wooden tray. On the tray was a high-quality purple clay teapot, still steaming.

BUZZ~~

Instantly, he flew over and, without anyone noticing, injected all the Sixth Grade Red and Seven Clever Bone Dissolving Powder stored in his secret pouch into the spout of the teapot.

After doing all this, he suddenly had an impulse and used his Inner Qi Force Power to carve the special floral signature given by Grey Clothes Tower into the underside of the mahogany stand.

WHOOSH~~

He immediately took flight, soaring hundreds of yards away. He left Xie Residence posthaste, watching from high in the sky with his Golden Eyes Hundred Li as the maid delivered the tea to the main hall.

Because of the great distance, he could no longer hear any voices.

Chen Ku saw Xie Wenyuan, his face cold, apparently scolding the maid for being slow with the tea. Then, the old butler poured a cup of tea for Xie Wenyuan and placed it to the side.

Xie Wenyuan first picked up the cup of tea but did not drink it immediately. He said something to the old butler, then put the cup down again.

Chen Ku watched, tense and anxious.

Then, Xie Wenyuan picked up the teacup again and gently sipped a small mouthful.

Chen Ku watched intently as the other party drank that small sip, secretly worrying: Is such a small amount enough to be fatal?

Just as he was worrying, he suddenly saw Xie Wenyuan's face turn purple. The cup in his hand slammed to the ground with a CRASH! and blood flowed from his seven orifices.

"Master!!!"

Immediately, the old butler's despairing and horrified cry echoed throughout Xie Residence, "Quick, someone come!!"

And so, the man who had dominated Baojiao County for eighty years, the only one who had trained the Iron Cloth Shirt to be impervious to swords and spears, impervious to water and fire, and had reached the Perfection Realm, rapidly lost his life force.

"[Diagram Master has killed Xie Wenyuan, acquiring one Four Realm Evil Energy]"

As Chen Ku heard the reminder from the Transformation Diagram and saw an Evil Qi slowly drifting from Xie Wenyuan's direction, he left Xie Residence without looking back.

Then, he didn't immediately return to Medicine King Hall but activated the Hundred Li Tracking Technique to trace the whereabouts of Xie Qingfeng and Qi Wanshan.

"Hundred Li Tracking Technique!"

Immediately, his sense of smell detected that these two had already taken a carriage towards the outskirts of the city, accompanied by a team of government soldiers.

Chen Ku followed behind.

Less than an hour later, the two arrived at a mine, a coal mountain located behind Baojiao County.

Chen Ku, having transformed into a bee ahead of the two, flew into the coal mountain. He saw the huge furnace inside, with various components and processes, and heard the hammering sounds of nearly a hundred blacksmiths.

The master craftsman of the coal mountain immediately came out to greet Xie Qingfeng. "Thirteenth Young Master."

Xie Qingfeng ordered, "Move ten Divine Force Crossbows and load them onto the cart."

Chen Ku's interest was piqued, and he followed the group into the mine. After several twists and turns, they reached a cave.

Inside, there were large chests. A craftsman opened one to check; each large chest housed a Divine Force Crossbow that shimmered with a cold gleam. They verified the count of ten crossbows. Then, each person picked up a chest and walked out.

Chen Ku then carefully counted the remaining chests in the cave and found there were still twenty.

Firewood Iron Shop has actually forged thirty Divine Force Crossbows in five years, and who knows if this is all of them...

He was shocked.

It was known that the City Defense Forces of the county government office were only equipped with twenty Divine Force Crossbows.

I didn't bring my Storage Bag today, but I've memorized these chests. I'll come back later as the Flower Fox Mink, carrying the Storage Bag, and take them all...

Chen Ku transformed back into a bee and flew out. Outside, he saw a large iron furnace at the center of the entire casting cave.

Curiosity prompted him to fly up for a closer look.

WHOOSH!

A terrifying wave of heat immediately billowed up from within the furnace, causing his heart to tremble. This Flame Qi... it's already reached the high temperatures of a Fourth Realm Fire Qi, like in the Flower Fox Mink's memories of Fire Beak Mountain! What kind of material needs such intense flames to melt?

He braved the high temperature, looking down from above.

Inside the furnace, there was a golden stone the size of a water tank. At its base, under the smelting heat of the Fourth Realm Fire Qi, a drop of golden liquid was on the verge of falling.

Is this the so-called Ruyi Stone? The key material for forging Divine Force Crossbows?

Looking at this large stone, Chen Ku knew without even thinking that it must be a material for forging peerless weapons. With such a high melting point, its hardness was unimaginable...

Next time I come, I'll take this stone too!

Chen Ku restrained his eager impulse.

He flew towards the entrance of the cave.

However, just as he reached the entrance, he heard Xie Qingfeng let out a grief-stricken wail, "Ah!"

"Young Master, the Master... After you left, he died of poisoning!"

Chen Ku, in the form of a little bee, fluttered his wings and brushed past Xie Qingfeng, who was overcome with despair and grief, his anguished cries shaking the mountains and causing rocks to tumble down.

「 」

BOOM!

Baojiao County was in an uproar!

All the major industries were in turmoil.

Inside Medicine King Hall, when masters like Yang Luochen, and the three shopkeepers including Cao Shouxiong, heard the news, ecstatic expressions appeared on their faces. They looked at each other in disbelief.

"Who did it?! Who was it? Was it one of our people?"

"No!"

"Our people haven't made a move yet!"

"Entering the Xie Residence isn't easy. According to Kou Ming's plan, one would at least need to secure an identity inside the Xie Residence to even have a chance to strike… Even with Disguise Techniques and masks made of human skin, it wouldn't be easy to get close to the Xie father and son!"

"Then who could it be? Who could have poisoned Xie Wenyuan without anyone noticing?"

"If it wasn't someone from Medicine King Hall, then it must be the Fish and Dragon Association!"

"Does Li Yutang actually possess such skill? Then... couldn't he also find an opportunity to poison us?"

Just as Medicine King Hall was engulfed in an atmosphere of elation and uneasy speculation, within the Fish and Dragon Association, Li Yutang looked equally alarmed. He turned to the hall masters and elders and asked, "Medicine King Hall actually managed to poison Xie Wenyuan without anyone noticing? How did they accomplish that?"

In terms of Cultivation, while Li Yutang was stronger than Xie Wenyuan, the Xie Residence's defenses were even more stringent than those of the Fish and Dragon Association, not less.

If Medicine King Hall had the ability to poison Xie Wenyuan?

Then couldn't they...

Also have the capability to poison him?

Suddenly, an inexplicable pressure and shadow loomed over the minds of everyone in the Fish and Dragon Association.

「At the Xie Residence.」

As the Shopkeeper of Firewood Iron Shop and one of the three great powers in the county, Xie Wenyuan's death was bound to alert the government. Around the same time Xie Qingfeng rushed home, he saw a figure standing by Xie Wenyuan's body with a grave and serious expression: 'Blade King Wang Yixian', ranked sixth among the city's top ten experts and a third-rank arresting officer. On the ground lay an overturned teacup.

Wang Yixian gingerly picked up the teacup and sniffed it. Finding no color or odor, he handed it to the coroner beside him, saying, "Go test this. What poison is it?"

He already had some suspicions. Poisons capable of killing a Fourth Realm Expert so quickly... there were only four or five such types in all of Baojiao County, and they were invariably creations of Medicine King Hall.

But without evidence, he couldn't speak carelessly. It wasn't until he picked up the mahogany base plate that had originally supported the teacup and teapot. The moment he touched it, he noticed an indentation and immediately flipped it over.

There, on the underside, he saw a floral signature resembling a 'snake'.

"Grey Clothes Tower!" Wang Yixian blurted out.

This news swiftly reached Grey Clothes Tower.

The middle-aged man in grey, disbelieving, muttered to himself, Mr. Er Lang?

When Wang Yixian arrived at Grey Clothes Tower to inquire at the earliest opportunity, the middle-aged man in grey was already well-prepared, his composure unshaken. "Blade King must be aware of Grey Clothes Tower's rules. We ensure absolute confidentiality for all our clients' privacy."

"I know," Wang Yixian replied coldly. How could he not know of Grey Clothes Tower's vast influence, which radiated throughout the entire country? It was not an organization the Baojiao County Official Residence could coerce. So he rephrased his question, "I just want to know his code name. That shouldn't be a secret."

"Er Lang."

Suddenly, a question arose in everyone's mind throughout Baojiao County: Who is Er Lang? This code name was as simple as "Whiskers" or "Spot," yet it had managed to strike like thunder from a clear sky, covertly assassinating the old Shopkeeper of Firewood Iron Shop!

A man who had cultivated the Iron Cloth Shirt to the Perfection Realm, long impervious to swords and spears, invincible in both internal and external arts in and around Baojiao County, had unexpectedly died by poisoning.

Almost without a doubt, the Blade-Handler rankings were changed that very day.

Wang Yixian, originally the Number One Blade-Handler and the sixth-ranked expert in the city, was instantly knocked from the 'Number One Blade-Handler' position. His replacement was...

Number One Blade-Handler: Er Lang.

「 」

"Is it one of those people from Qiu Dragon Mansion?" Di Jianqing looked at his two friends and cursed, "Damn it, if it really is one of those Qiu Dragon Mansion people, making such a big splash right after arriving, won't they steal our thunder?"

"This kind of undetectable poisoning... it does seem a bit like the work of 'Tang Family Fort'. Only they could be so clean and leave no trace," Cai Feihong frowned and said, "Could it be Tang Lin'er?"

「 」

As wild speculation filled the city and everyone discussed who Er Lang might be, Chen Ku had already returned to his secret little courtyard outside the city.

[Fifth Transformation Chart, activate!]

From his mind's perspective, the Fifth Transformation Chart had finally met all cultivation conditions. At this moment, it slowly unfurled above the Heart Sea of nothingness.

Five charts now! I've gathered six components for the Hui Dragon. It's time to try refining my shape into the first dragon!

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