Chapter 1 The Stillness Before the Storm

From absolute stillness to absolute motion, it only took an instant.

Beng, beng, beng~~~

An Qisheng's nine major tendons tightened to their limit, emitting a sound like a drawn bowstring being released!

Old Daoist Wang Quan's energy was depleted, his inner strength scattered, and his physique was failing, but his tendons were far stronger than ordinary people!

Even on Planet Xuan, some older generation martial artists, even when old and frail, skinny as a skeleton, could still explode with great strength when they moved, because their tendons had been trained to the extreme!

An Qisheng exerted his strength, tightening his nine major tendons, unleashing the most powerful and fierce *pieshen chui* (deflecting body punch) from Tai Chi. If he couldn't kill a small bandit with this, then he would have wasted all those years of practicing martial arts!

"Old thing!"

The other bandits were startled, then enraged.

Zheng, zheng, zheng~

In the next instant, cold, gleaming blades sliced through the air.

The six bandits erupted, their frigid blades seeming to seep blood under the red moon.

Shua~

An Qisheng's clothes on his chest and back were simultaneously cut open by the blades, revealing taut skin.

His mind was clear as a mirror, dodging the blades by a hair's breadth while suddenly exerting force with his feet.

Bang!

Qi and blood surged!

Beneath his torn Daoist robe, his muscles bulged!

As his arm lashed out, his whip-like arm suddenly exploded with terrifying power, passing through the gaps in the blades and smashing into the neck of one of the bandits!

Kacha!

A single sweep of his arm, a guaranteed kill!

"Old bastard!"

Su Erg just roared and was about to attack when he saw the old Daoist's arm lash out like a whip or a blade, snapping the man's neck in two!

The man's head flew up, as high as the spurt of blood!

Whoosh!

Withdrawing his arm, An Qisheng showed no mercy, exerting force with his feet to move and dodge between the blades.

His fists and palms rained down, and the remaining five bandits all flew backward, either with ruptured organs or broken bones.

The killing moves of his fist techniques were always fatal.

Pa-ta~

With a turn of his wrist, An Qisheng turned around.

Beneath his scattered white hair, his eyes gleamed coldly like flickering ghost fires:

"I spared you last time, why are you here to die again today?"

"You..."

Looking at the old, gaunt face like a ghost, the killing intent in Su Erg's heart seemed to be extinguished by cold water, and the arm holding the short blade trembled slightly.

In the blink of an eye, all seven of his brothers he had brought were dead in a gruesome manner.

He couldn't help but tremble in his heart, could it be that this old ghost was not injured at all?

"I, I..."

Su Erg's throat itched, and his voice was hoarse:

"Senior, please spare me this time..."

An Qisheng's eyes turned, rippling:

"To be honest, I'm very curious, who told you that I was seriously injured?"

He was very curious, it seemed that this group of bandits was convinced that he was seriously injured.

"Senior, if I tell you, will you let me go?"

Su Erg swallowed, hoping for a chance.

An Qisheng smiled slightly:

"You should know that I am not a bloodthirsty person, otherwise I wouldn't have let you go last time."

Looking at the seven still steaming corpses, Su Erg felt a chill in his heart, uneasy:

"Senior, do you keep your word?"

An Qisheng waved his hand:

"Speak!"

"It was Doctor Zhen. He deliberately deceived your two disciples, swindled away the money from your Daoist temple, and was afraid that you wouldn't die completely. Those two little brats might cause him trouble in the future...

He knew that you had a feud with our Snake King Mountain, so he told us..."

Su Erg gritted his teeth and confessed everything.

"Zhen Rencha?"

An Qisheng's eyes narrowed.

This person was a good friend of the old Daoist. After learning of his serious injury, he had served him diligently. According to the two little guys, he had entered the mountains to find medicine for the old Daoist and had not returned yet.

Unexpectedly, he actually...

"Senior, can I leave now?"

Su Erg gripped his dagger tightly, his mind on high alert.

An Qisheng glanced at him, not saying a word.

He just shook his head in his heart, it was rare that this kind of person could even be a bandit.

But thinking about it, what kind of quality could you expect from someone who had fallen to the point of becoming a bandit...

"Go."

An Qisheng glanced at him indifferently, turned around and picked up two corpses, throwing them to Su Erg:

"Take your brothers and leave."

"Are you really letting me go?"

Su Erg subconsciously caught the corpses, a little incredulous.

He had come to kill him twice, how could this old bastard be so magnanimous?

An Qisheng didn't speak, looking at him with a smile that was not a smile.

He picked up two more corpses and was about to throw them to Su Erg.

"Senior, I'll take two more trips!"

Su Erg's face changed, and he quickly shouted.

These corpses were not light, two of them already weighed three hundred *jin* (approximately 330 lbs), if he took two more, he could carry them, but he wouldn't be able to walk.

Whoosh!

An Qisheng ignored him, and with a flick of his hand, he threw two more corpses to Su Erg.

Bang!

The corpses came head-on, Su Erg caught them, feeling a strange force contained in the corpses, rushing into his lungs and abdomen.

"You!"

Su Erg's face changed, and he was about to drop the corpses.

An Qisheng had already arrived, and at the moment the corpses were about to fall, he pointed a finger, hitting Su Erg's forehead.

Bang!

Strength mixed with inner force erupted.

Su Erg only felt a pain in his forehead, and before he could say anything, he had fallen into complete darkness with endless regret.

Plop~

Five corpses fell to the ground, blood soaking the ground.

"I didn't kill you last time..."

Looking down at the fallen corpses, An Qisheng's expression was calm and unwavering:

"Because I couldn't kill you."

Having lived two lives, An Qisheng knew very well that in the face of someone who wanted to kill you, any words were useless, only killing them back was the only way.

Killing them cleanly was the best way.

If he wasn't lacking strength at this time, he would have already rushed to Snake King Mountain overnight to eliminate the root of the problem.

Whoosh, whoosh~~~

The night wind blew, and the smell of blood spread with the wind.

An Qisheng bent down and looked through all eight corpses one by one.

It had to be said that this group of bandits had solved his urgent need. He had found more than twenty *liang* (taels) of silver on the eight people. Counting the seven long knives and a dagger, he was making a solid hundred *liang* a day.

"No wonder those young heroes like to eliminate evil and bring peace so much, it's really a good job, reaping both fame and fortune."

An Qisheng sighed with emotion, picked up the silver and returned to the house.

There was no need to clean up the corpses. He would report the case tomorrow, and someone would naturally clean it up.

The bandits of Snake King Mountain and even the entire Huayan Mountains all had bounties on their heads. Eating from bandits and then from the government had always been the basic operation of young heroes in the martial world.

Although he was a little older, he could be called a young hero based on his mental age.

.......

The next morning, the yamen runners had already arrived at the small courtyard where An Qisheng lived, led by Jiang Tingting and Zhang Hao Hao.

"One arm severed the head, the sternum shattered, piercing the internal organs..."

Several constables checked the corpses, and they all felt a chill in their hearts.

This smiling old Daoist was really ruthless, each of these bandits died more miserably than the last.

One of them even had his intestines pulled out, it was too miserable.

"No problem, right?"

Seeing that a few constables and yamen runners were a little distracted, An Qisheng smiled slightly.

"Ah, no, no problem."

The few yamen runners snapped back to their senses and waved their hands quickly:

"The Daoist priest killed bandits from Snake King Mountain. The leader of them counts as a small boss, with a reward of one *liang*. The remaining seven add up to one *liang*. After we report to the magistrate, we will offer the bounty."

The few constables forced a smile, cleaned up the corpses, and hurried away.

Many of the neighbors around saw these extremely miserable corpses, and their faces turned pale with fear.

So much so that Jiang Tingting didn't even have to bargain when she went to the vegetable market to buy vegetables.

The deterrent effect of the killings was evident.

An Qisheng did not take a medicinal bath. After the servants cleaned up the courtyard.

He tore a piece of cloth and wrapped up these long knives, took Jiang Tingting and Zhang Hao Hao, left the house, and walked into the most prosperous street in Nanliang County.

"Tanghulu (candied hawthorns on a stick)."

The two little guys held a string of *tanghulu*, eating them sweetly.

An Qisheng walked straight to a weapons shop.

This weapons shop occupied a large area. Various weapons were placed outside, and the sound of hammering iron could be faintly heard inside.

"Shopkeeper, I'm here to dispose of these weapons."

An Qisheng placed the bundle on the counter.

The shopkeeper was a middle-aged man, his skin dark and honest-looking.

He tore open the bundle and glanced at it, shaking his head:

"Daoist priest, these knives are generally made. Buying them would cost at most seven or eight *liang* apiece. It would be troublesome for me to melt them down. How about this, I'll take the seven knives for twenty-three *liang* of silver."

"Twenty-three *liang*? Not bad."

An Qisheng nodded.

It was normal for businessmen to bargain, but he knew that the shopkeeper was not lying, because the knives and weapons he had on display were obviously much better than these.

The marked prices rarely exceeded twenty *liang* of silver, and were mostly around ten *liang*.

Don't think this is cheap.

Although there were some differences in the prices of Da Feng and other countries, the common currency was the same, namely gold, silver, and copper coins.

Among them, one *liang* of gold was equal to twenty *liang* of silver, and one *liang* of silver was equal to more than a thousand copper coins.

And one copper coin, purely in terms of purchasing power, was already comparable to three or four *kuai* (yuan) in modern China. Twenty *liang* of silver was equivalent to eighty to one hundred thousand Da Xuan coins.

The saying 'the poor study literature, the rich practice martial arts' was evident.

Without money, you couldn't even afford the lowest-grade knife.

Let alone medicinal herbs.

The medicinal bath for half a month cost more than thirty *liang* of silver, equivalent to two hundred thousand Da Xuan coins. Can ordinary people afford to spend twenty thousand a day to bathe?

And this was under the condition that Da Feng had relatively abundant products.

If it were other dynasties, the price would be even higher.

"Shopkeeper, what do you think of this dagger?"

Weighing the silver in his hand, An Qisheng took out Su Erg's dagger.

This dagger was about nine inches long, with a uniform color, and the blade was so smooth that it could reflect a person. Compared with those knives, it looked much better.

"This dagger is indeed excellent."

The shopkeeper's eyes lit up:

"Judging from its shape, the person who cast it had excellent craftsmanship. Its shape is similar to the legendary *Bi Xue Han Yue Ren* (Azure Blood Moon Embracing Blade), one of the eight great divine weapons of the ancient *Tianren* (Heavenly Human)...

If the Daoist priest is willing to sell it, I can offer fifty *liang* of silver!"

"Oh?"

An Qisheng's eyes flickered.

This Su Erg was too rich. The previous twenty *liang* of silver plus the jade pendant, plus this dagger, amounted to a hundred *liang* of silver.

Could an ordinary bandit be so wealthy?

Even for a small boss, it was a bit too exaggerated.

The combined wealth of the other people who came with him was not as much as his change...

But then, he suppressed his thoughts and instead asked:

"Shopkeeper, what are the Heavenly Human Divine Weapons you mentioned?"

"Daoist priest, you don't even know about the Heavenly Human Divine Weapons?"

The shopkeeper was also stunned, and then replied:

"Heavenly Human Divine Weapons, as the name suggests, are weapons that only *Tianren* can use. The eight great Heavenly Human Divine Weapons are the weapons created by the eight most talented and brilliant *Tianren* Grandmasters in the world for tens of thousands of years, and they also symbolize their heritage.

It is said that those who obtain the Heavenly Human Divine Weapons have the hope of advancing to the *Tianren* realm above the legendary First Grade."

"*Tianren* realm..."

An Qisheng stroked his white beard, lost in thought.

In Old Daoist Wang Quan's memory, he had seen this term more than once. *Tianren* seemed to be the goal that all martial artists in the world pursued in their lives.

Those legendary *Tianren* had all broken through the limits of lifespan and ascended to immortality after shattering the Heavenly Gate.

How much Dao power would their weapons and inheritance contain?

An Qisheng's heart was a little restless, and he asked:

"Where are those Heavenly Human Divine Weapons?"

The shopkeeper shook his head, a little dumbfounded:

"Old Daoist, don't even think about it! Heavenly Human Divine Weapons can only be taken by peerless geniuses. At your age, I'm afraid you have no hope!"

"........"