Soft, fragrant, vast.

  These were the sensations Han was feeling at this moment.

  Bai Ruoyue was supporting Han, disregarding the dirt, letting Han lean against her. Her face showed both worry and anger as they made their way toward Heiyun Town.

  "Junior Brother, are you okay? Hold on, Junior Brother. You're not in any danger."

  "Senior Sister..."

  "Speak, Junior Brother, I'm listening."

  "I'm fine, just slow down a bit. My feet are getting scraped from being dragged along."

  Bai Ruoyue was moving incredibly fast; the two warriors from the Zangfu realm earlier couldn't compare to her speed.

  Han was completely being dragged along.

  "At a time like this, you still can't be serious!" But Bai Ruoyue obediently slowed down.

  "I'm really fine, just a little injured."

  "Senior Sister, how did you know I was in trouble?"

  It was Bai Ruoyue who had rushed toward Han just moments ago.

  "Someone saw the disciples of Taibai Martial Academy being surrounded and reported it to the academy."

  Han nodded. Thankfully, his Taibai disciple attire had been maintained when he returned to Heiyun Town.

  "Junior Brother, do you know who attacked you?" Bai Ruoyue asked angrily.

  "How dare they harm you? This debt must be repaid!"

  Han shook his head. "It was two Zangfu realm warriors, but I don't know them. They're just pawns in someone else's game. I don't know who the mastermind is yet."

  "But I took their souls. Once we return, I'll extract the truth from their memories."

  This development was something the mastermind would never have expected.

  Who could have imagined that two Zangfu warriors would be killed by Han, a mere practitioner at the Jingmai level?

  Strength trumps all cunning and schemes!

  "Good, that's good," Bai Ruoyue said with determination, her voice full of murderous intent. "Once we find out who the mastermind is, I'll go personally to settle the score!"

  "By the way, where are the two assassins?" Han blinked. Did Senior Sister run so fast that her mind left the martial academy?

  "Senior Sister, I took their souls," Han repeated.

  "I know, you took their souls..." Bai Ruoyue suddenly turned and stared at Han.

  "Souls?"

  "They're dead?"

  "Yes, otherwise, how could their souls be here?"

  "How did they die?"

  "They were beaten to death."

  "By who?"

  "By me."

  "Slap!"

  Bai Ruoyue lightly slapped her own face, then pinched Han's cheek.

  "Ouch, Senior Sister, what are you doing?"

  "Just checking if I'm dreaming," Bai Ruoyue muttered, a bit dazed.

  "You killed two Zangfu realm warriors?"

  Han immediately threw their bodies out as proof.

  "But you're just a beginner in the Jingmai realm..."

  Bai Ruoyue suddenly grabbed Han's face with both hands, shaking him left and right, then started checking Han's injuries, feeling over his body.

  "You're not on the brink of death..."

  "Junior Brother..."

  "Hmm?"

  "You're not human, are you? You're a demon in human skin, aren't you?"

  "Speak properly, don't curse."

  "How could you possibly kill two Zangfu realm warriors?" Bai Ruoyue was still in disbelief.

  "It was simple: a quick strike, one sword, and they were dead."

  Bai Ruoyue's expression was full of incredulity. This was a shock too great to process. It felt like her very soul was about to fly out of her body.

  Han put the two bodies back away, and then tugged Bai Ruoyue, who had been standing still.

  "Senior Sister, let's go back."

  "Oh."

  It was no big deal, yet such a big reaction.

  Looks like Senior Sister’s resilience to shocks needs some improvement.

  It’s not like I just killed two Zangfu realm warriors with my beginner Jingmai cultivation, after all.

  Look how calm I am—I'm not even proud of it.

  Han strode ahead confidently, his gaze sharp.

  Bai Ruoyue followed behind, occasionally glancing at Han, then lowering her head.

  "Hehe."

  Suddenly, Bai Ruoyue burst into laughter, her laughter long and warm, giving Han a shock.

  "Senior Sister, what are you laughing at?"

  "I'm laughing because you're amazing," Bai Ruoyue said brightly.

  "I can't even imagine how much glory you’ll bring to Taibai Martial Academy in the future, Junior Brother."

  Han smiled. "We’ll be as successful as Xuan Du Temple!"

  "Taibai Martial Academy will become the national academy of Great Qi."

  Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.

  "That would be perfect!"

  "But those hidden rats who dare to harm you must not be let off!"

  Bai Ruoyue came up to support Han again, rushing back to Heiyun Town.

  Meanwhile, Shen Long and the others were anxiously waiting at the academy. They would have gone to look for Han, but Bai Ruoyue told them to stay behind in case something went wrong.

  When they saw Han and Bai Ruoyue return, they finally sighed in relief.

  However, upon seeing Han's injuries, they were furious, filled with righteous anger.

  This time, Bai Ruoyue directly took a pill left by her father at the academy and fed it to Han.

  Compared to the battle by the river, Han's injuries this time were much more serious.

  Upon learning that Han had killed two Zangfu realm warriors, everyone reacted similarly to Bai Ruoyue, if not even more shocked.

  After all, now they had been completely surpassed by Han.

  "I got some things from the county city, and it took everything I had to kill them," Han said. "I'm still not a match for Zangfu realm warriors."

  Although Han had many techniques, there was still a significant gap between his power and the Zangfu realm. Without using those items, Han was still within the Jingmai realm.

  Han wasn’t proud of this achievement. On the contrary, this battle gave him a clearer understanding of his own strength.

  "That’s still impressive," Zhang Yuantao praised.

  "Master told us that some super geniuses outside can also kill Zangfu realm warriors with their Jingmai strength, but that’s only possible when they reach the peak or even perfection of the Jingmai realm."

  "Junior Brother, you’ve only just entered the Jingmai realm and already have this kind of power. The super geniuses outside can’t compare to you."

  "That’s right, even Senior Sister can’t match you." Shen Yu chimed in. "Senior Sister only became capable of battling Zangfu warriors after mastering the Jingmai realm."

  Bai Ruoyue shot a fierce glare at Shen Yu, scolding him for bringing up the wrong topic.

  "Senior Sister is also amazing."

  Han said sincerely, and it was from the bottom of his heart.

  There was no denying Bai Ruoyue's talent and strength.

  Han had long realized that Senior Sister and the other talents from Heiyun Town weren’t on the same level—she was in a league of her own.

  The Junior Disciple Remains Silent, While Senior Sister Claims Her Glory

  After using various healing pills, Han revealed the two bodies and took out their souls.

  "These two are... Chen Bo and Zhao Xie?"

  Zhang Yuantao recognized them.

  "They were free warriors, and they’ve been in the Zangfu realm for two years. They usually lurk around Heishan, ambushing other warriors, gaining quite a notorious reputation."

  "They dared to attack Junior Brother? They deserved to die!"

  "Junior Brother, you’ve done the people a great service."

  Although there were many Zangfu realm warriors in Heiyun Town, they were all well-known.

  Chen Bo and Zhao Xie were rogue Zangfu warriors with a reputation for cruelty and evil deeds.

  Of course, although they had entered the Zangfu realm two years ago, they were still only at the beginning stages.

  Han then began to probe their souls, searching their memories. This wasn’t a Daoist technique but a form of soul power, something Lu Qingmo had taught him.

  "Someone approached them yesterday, promising them each a weapon and a method for cultivating in the middle stages of the Zangfu realm, asking them to kill me."

  Han furrowed his brow. “Is my worth only two weapon artifacts and a middle-tier practice manual?”

  “Is this some kind of joke?!”

  “…Why are you focusing on such a strange point?”

  “Junior Brother, who hired them to kill you?”

  “I don’t know. The person didn’t reveal their identity.”

  “But I’m sure that person is also a practitioner of the Zangfu Realm.”

  Han shook his head and mentally sketched out the figure of the employer from the memories of the two assailants.

  Zhang Yuantao and the others carefully examined the image, but all of them shook their heads—they didn’t recognize him.

  “If he hasn’t disguised himself, he must belong to one of the hidden forces,” White Ruoyue said with a cold smile.

  “To go so far as to plot my assassination…” Han muttered, and the others understood immediately.

  “This weapon artifact has never appeared before,” Zhang Yuantao remarked as he looked at the half-practice manual they had found on the corpses, shaking his head. “It’s not a well-known martial technique from any faction.”

  Two weapon artifacts, a practice manual—this was the complete reward, but the mastermind had obviously not given it all at once.

  They only received part of the reward. Once the deed was done, they would be handed the rest.

  And if they had succeeded in killing Han, they wouldn’t have gotten the second half.

  “They’re careful,” Han mused. “An unknown practitioner, new weapon artifacts, and martial techniques—everything’s unfamiliar.”

  “Who could want to kill Junior Brother…” White Ruoyue pondered, her face not looking very pleased.

  Things seemed to be at a standstill. Perhaps the mastermind hadn’t considered the possibility of failure, but they had been cautious enough to leave no trace.

  After a moment of contemplation, White Ruoyue’s expression became serious. “No matter what, attacking Junior Brother is unacceptable.”

  “Junior Brother, let’s find Aunt Mu and see if she can help us trace the mastermind!”

  Han had no objections, but first, he needed to wash up and change clothes.

  His ceremonial robes had been damaged. While not completely destroyed, they required some time to recover, so he couldn’t wear them for now.

  At the Peach Grove, Lu Qingmo wasn’t there initially. The two of them waited a while before she returned.

  “Aunt Mu, here’s what happened,” White Ruoyue said, fuming with anger. “These people have no shame—they dared to hire assassins to kill Junior Brother!”

  “Aunt Mu, you have to help us!”

  Lu Qingmo glanced at Han and quickly assessed the extent of his injuries.

  Practitioners had a distinct advantage over martial artists in some ways.

  “This is truly audacious,” Lu Qingmo said coldly. “Daring to murder a Ghostly Wanderer…”

  “Who dares harm my people?”

  “Take their souls out and grab a hair from their bodies,” she instructed.

  Han followed her orders, handing over the items.

  Lu Qingmo then took out a wooden object... a frog?

  She fed the two souls into the wooden frog and inserted the two hairs into its eyes.

  The scene was certainly bizarre.

  Reciting an incomprehensible incantation, Lu Qingmo knocked on the frog’s head three times.

  “Ribbit!”

  The wooden frog actually croaked.

  “You carry it, and the direction its tongue points to will show you where the people these two interacted with recently are.”

  “Is it really that powerful?” Han thought to himself. No wonder this is such a mysterious martial art technique.

  “Wow, that’s amazing,” White Ruoyue exclaimed, reaching out to take the frog. But Lu Qingmo simultaneously handed it to Han instead.

  “…” White Ruoyue paused and looked at Lu Qingmo. After a moment of hesitation, Lu Qingmo casually switched hands and handed the frog to White Ruoyue.

  White Ruoyue took the frog, eyeing Lu Qingmo suspiciously.

  Why was Aunt Mu thinking about Junior Brother in everything now?

  Wasn’t I supposed to be her most precious treasure?

  “Senior Sister, look at the tongue,” Han said, teasing.

  White Ruoyue instinctively stuck out her own soft tongue, but immediately realized what she had done and quickly retracted it, her face turning red.

  Han chuckled, and White Ruoyue shot him a death glare.

  “Just blame yourself!”

  They both looked at the frog’s tongue and noticed it was pointing directly at… Han.

  It was surprisingly accurate, though not very intelligent.

  “If the target isn’t the person you’re looking for, knock on its head three times and it will point to an earlier person,” Lu Qingmo explained.

  White Ruoyue knocked three times on the frog’s head, and sure enough, its tongue changed direction.

  It was strange how the frog’s tongue could bend at such odd angles.

  Exiting the Peach Grove, the two of them followed the frog’s tongue and soon arrived at a house.

  But after Han used his mental power to probe, he realized that this was the residence of Chen Bo and the other assassin. The frog’s tongue pointed to a servant in the house.

  Another target was ruled out.

  Next, the frog pointed to a tavern owner and some freelance martial artists, but all of them were ruled out as well.

  “Seems like these two have interacted with quite a few people from yesterday to today,” Han murmured.

  “This is the life of a freelance martial artist,” White Ruoyue said. “They’re always on the move and need to keep an eye on all kinds of news.”

  Finally, the frog led them to a house on the outskirts of town.

  Han expanded his mental energy secretly and noticed a few people in the yard.

  They were all martial artists, and one of them was a practitioner of the Zangfu Realm.

  But his appearance and figure didn’t match the description of Chen Bo and the others.

  Han quickly sketched out the figure of this Zangfu Realm practitioner for White Ruoyue.

  The man was strong, and Han dared only glance from a distance, not wanting to risk being detected.

  White Ruoyue thought for a moment and then shook her head. “I don’t recognize this Zangfu Realm practitioner.”

  “But for now, he’s the most suspicious.”

  Han nodded. “It’s possible that the mastermind altered his appearance when he met with Chen Bo and the others.”

  Han suddenly felt a bit of awe. This was so cautious—layer upon layer of precautions.

  Why was this mastermind so different from the villains he was used to?

  “You should go back to the martial arts hall and have Third Senior Brother take a look. If he doesn’t recognize this person either, then we can be sure it’s him.”

  Zhang Yuantao took care of the martial arts hall’s daily matters, so he knew all the Zangfu Realm practitioners in Black Cloud Town.

  Han returned quickly.

  “Third Senior Brother doesn’t recognize this person either.”

  “Then it’s him!” White Ruoyue sneered. “He thinks he can escape by changing his face?”

  “Take action!”

  As soon as White Ruoyue finished speaking, she rushed forward and broke through the door.

  Han opened his mouth to say something but couldn’t get the words out.

  She was so eager!

  With White Ruoyue’s strength, dealing with the few people inside the courtyard was effortless, and Han had no concerns.

  By the time Han slowly entered, they had already been subdued.

  Doesn’t anyone realize the worth of Black Cloud Town’s top genius?

  Before Han had advanced to the Zangfu Realm, there was no one in Black Cloud Town who could overpower White Ruoyue.