by D cat
No one knew just how much manpower and capital it took to build such a stronghold. But everybody knew that it was built with the sweat and blood of the citizens.
And once the Vicious Beast's Tide leveled a stronghold like that, all the efforts would be in vain. Such wastage of manpower, capital, and joint effort wasn't something easily tolerable.
Thus, people were more inclined towards going out for a hunt in groups and then resting in the pre-existing strongholds. They could safely plan for their next hunt and not worry about the beast tide.
"Let's see. Which one of them is the Ye family stronghold?"
Su Lang read the map and memorized the location and details of all the Yu family strongholds.
The Yu family was worthy of being one of the four major powers. It had 33 F-grade strongholds, 5 E-grade strongholds, and 1 D-grade stronghold.
"Let's start with the nearest one—F-grade Dark Serpent District stronghold!"
Su Lang sneered. He ordered his clone to stop hunting and rush towards the F-grade Dark Serpent District stronghold.
CHAPTER 35 - YE FAMILY'S DARK SNAKE AREA STRONGHOLD
As the clone moved forward, he encountered various F-class Vicious Beasts.
Ding! You have obtained the Ox Horn Technique. Ox Horn x2, Ox Back Armor x1, Ox Blood x20, Ox Beast Tendon x4..."
"Ding! You have obtained Molten Fire Frog's Web x4, Molten Fire Frog's Tongue x1, Molten Fire Frog's Skin x1, Molten Fire Frog's Tail x1..."
"Ding! You have obtained... "
"Damn! The speed at which I'm earning is too good!"
Su Lang left the League of Martial Cultivators building with a jovial smile while looking at the increasing number of storage spaces and the items within them.
After returning to the hotel, he prepared for the upcoming battle. He made his bed, stretched his legs, and laid down.
Standard Martial Cultivators were humans too, so they needed their rest. He feared that if he kept on working so hard, he would just drop dead all of a sudden.
After working so hard during the day, Su Lang felt a little tired and decided that he deserved a rest. So, while the clone was doing the "easy" task, he decided to take a rest.
In the blink of an eye, the night passed.
"System, how long before I can breakthrough again?"
Being the hard worker he was, Su Lang decided to worry about his cultivation first thing in the morning.
"Host, you'll breakthrough again after 50 hours."
"What! Doesn't that mean I have to wait for two entire days?"
Coming up with something sinister, Su Lang curled his lips and looked through his clone's eyes.
Right now, the black-robed clone was in the F-class dark snake area and was hunting dark snakes that came to him from everywhere.
"Ding! You have obtained Dark Snake Scales x26, Dark Snake Fangs x2, Dark Snake Skin x1, Dark Snake Tendon x1, Dark Snake Flesh x5..."
"Ding! You have obtained..."
"I wonder how rich I'm after hunting for an entire night."
Filled with excitement, Su Lang opened his Storage Space, and a hill abruptly blocked his sight. Looking at it carefully, he was stunned to find that all those Vicious Beast items had formed a small hill!
It was quite obvious to Su Lang that Standard Martial cultivators were different breed indeed. After becoming a Standard Martial Cultivator, his clone's hunting efficiency went through the roof.
"Time to walk on road of vengeance!"
Filled with confidence, Su Lang's lips turned into a smirk. He ordered the clone to cease hunting and rush towards the stronghold.
As one of the four major families in the Red Maple City, the Ye family stronghold was majestic. It had such a vast territory that the Ye family even allowed hunters to hunt dark snakes in its territory. Moreover, outside hunters could even sell their hunt and rest in the stronghold using that money.
So, entering the stronghold was a piece of cake for Su Lang.
"Who is this black-robed guy?"
"Wait! This spiritual fluctuation... h-he is a Standard Martial Cultivator!"
"Get out of his way! He isn't someone we can offend. If we end up offending him, we will die without even knowing it."
"... "
When the surrounding Body Tempering cultivators saw the mysterious black-robed Standard Martial Cultivator, they were filled with awe.
Regardless of where the black-robed clone passed, the people made way for him.
This was the might of a Standard Martial Cultivator!
"Welcome to the Ye family's Dark Serpent District stronghold."
A Quasi Martial Cultivator bowed and greeted him with a smile. "How may I address you, Esteemed Sir? If you need help with anything, please let me know."
Although Quasi Martial Cultivator was full of smiles, one could see a hidden pride in his eyes.
Following him were four more Quasi Martial Cultivators.
These people were the guards of the stronghold.
"As expected of a Standard Martial Cultivator; even the Ye Family has to treat him with respect."
"That's right. Guard Ye is usually arrogant and haughty but look at him now... All smiles like a little girl."
"..."
The other passersby and stronghold residents sighed with emotions when they saw the Ye family welcoming the black-robed cultivator.
But soon, the peaceful atmosphere came to a change.
The mysterious black-robed man showed no hints of returning the bow or even replying politely.
"Esteemed Sir..."
The black-robed clone did nothing and just kept his head slightly lowered. The awkward silence made Guard Ye frown.
All of a sudden, the mysterious man raised his head.
"Those eyes!"
When the group saw Su Lang's eyes, they felt as if they were struck by lightning and stood rooted there. The killing intent that permeated his eyes was so terrifying that they knew that fleeing was the only option left for them.
Not caring about anything else, Guard Ye moved his body and was about to flee.
"Swoosh!"
Suddenly, a crescent moon blade shone in the sky. The next second, everyone could see half of it stained with blood and the remaining half still shimmering in the sun.
"Huh! Wha—Huck!"
Guard Ye tightly clutched his bleeding neck as he looked at Su Lang with disbelief.
As for the other Quasi Martial Cultivators, they just stood there with black faces. Not only could they not react to the current situation, but they couldn't even believe it.
"Ding! You have obtained Cultivation Technique Manual x2, Advanced Mortal Weapon x1, Gold Coin x20, Silver Coin..."
As soon as the system notification resounded, Guard Ye fell down to the ground.
Silence akin to that of an abyss permeated the atmosphere.
Yet, the very next second, the scene erupted like a volcano.
"H-he actually dared to kill a Ye family guard!"
"How bold! Maybe he is crazy? "
"My God, what did I just see? Did someone just kill a member of Ye family!"
"According to what I know, this guard, Ye Wu, was from the main branch of the Ye family. He was about to become a Standard Martial Cultivator!"
"What? Killing someone with the Ye family bloodline? He is dead for sure even if he is Standard Martial Cultivator!"
"This black-robed martial artist is dead for sure! Deader than a skeleton is what he is!"
"... "
Everyone was so shocked that their hair stood on end and their scalps went numb.
Even as they discussed, they didn't forget to make some distance from the black-robed guy. Soon, the area around Su Lang's clone turned into a no man's land.
CHAPTER 36 - THUNDER ATTRIBUTE CULTIVATION TECHNIQUE!
"Y-you... How dare you kill someone in the Ye family stronghold!"
One of the remaining Quasi Martial Cultivators pointed at Su Lang and shouted with anger and a bit of disbelief.
"Haha, I like opponents who don't flee when faced with trouble."
The corner of Su Lang's lips curled as he ordered, "Kill him!"
Swish!
The crescent moon blade reappeared and the Quasi Martial Cultivator was cleaved in half.
"Ding! You have obtained High Grade Mortal Weapon x1, Gold Coin x12, Silver Coin..."
The black-robed held the Tang Blade as blood slowly dripped off its edges. He moved his head and looked at the next Quasi Martial Cultivator menacingly.
"This guy is crazy! Run!"
"Light up the distress signal! Go back and ask for an expert to kill this maniac!"
"..."
The remaining three Quasi Martial Cultivators were scared to the point of trembling. They roared furiously as they ran in all directions.
As for the other people, be it the passersby or the Ye family Body Tempering cultivators, they all ran for their lives.
Someone turned on the distress signal of the stronghold. Immediately, a huge beam of light shot into the sky. It was so bright that it was visible even during the day!
"Kill the Quasi Martial Cultivator. Don't worry about the passersby; just get rid of those Yu family cultivators."
Su Lang gave the order with a cold smile. He opened his Storage Space and took out two leaflets.
Nothing about the leaflets stood out; in truth, written on them were some of the most prized cultivation techniques.
One of them was called the Thunder Filament Art, and the other was called the White Feather Footwork.
These techniques were his spoils of war which he got from fighting the Ye family guards.
"Members of the Ye family are really loaded!""
When he looked at the techniques that would have otherwise cost him a couple thousand gold coins, Su Lang's lips twitched and formed a smile.
Moreover, the Thunder Filament Art was actually a beginner cultivation technique that focused on honing the attribute of a cultivator.
It would have, without a doubt, costed him 20,000-30,000 gold coins if he bought it from the store.
Delighted by his loot... no, spoils of war, Su Lang quickly flipped through the Thunder Filament Art and memorized it in a minute.
"Ding! Detecting beginner skill, Thunder Filament Art. Do you want to learn it?"
"Sure enough, I can learn it by reading it once."
Su Lang immediately replaced the Ghost Moon Saber Technique with the Thunder Filament Art, all while smiling like an idiot.
"Ding! Primary attack technique changed to Thunder Filament Art!"
At the same time, the blade in the hands of that hazy martial artist in the system space disappeared.
The hazy figure sat down cross-legged and raised his hands towards the sky. All of a sudden, purple lightning arcs began dancing around his fingers.
"So cool!"
Su Lang's eyes lit up with excitement.
After playing around with the lightning for some time, he brought out the White Feather Footwork and began reading it.
This skill was s beginner's Body Tempering cultivation technique. It specialized in enhancing the cultivator's movement skill; it was valuable even for a Standard Martial Cultivator.
After Su Lang learned the second technique, he looked at the battlefield and found that his clone was on a massacre mode.
This minutes late.
"Ding! Your mastery in Thunder Filament Art has reached Entry level."
Su Lang, who was hard at work by lying on the bed, jumped up.
"Lightning!"
Su Lang released a suppressed roar and formed a claw with his right hand. Soon, streaks of ferocious lightning accumulated in his palm.
Under the illumination of the crackling lightning, the room light up like the sun.
An idea struck Su Lang, and he pulled out the Tang Blade from his storage space. And then something really cool happened: the streaks began enveloping the blade and danced on it like lightning dragons.
"So freakin' strong! If a Quasi Martial Cultivator even touched this lightning, he would turn into charcoal!"
While carefully examining the energy within the lighting bolts, Su Lang took a deep breath.
"Oh, then there is that White Feather Step technique too."
Su Lang changed the technique to White Feather Step to see its might.
Inside the mysterious black space of the system, the hazy martial artist who was using the Thunder Filament Art before was now practicing the White Feather Step.
The hazy figure stood up and began practicing the various movements described in the White Feather Step technique. With each passing moment, its speed became faster, and its movement became more fluid.
A few minutes later.
"Ding! Your mastery of the White Feather Footwork has reached Entry Level!"
Su Lang felt warmth flowing all over his body, and found that his joints were more agile and his body felt lighter too.
After reaching mastery in White Feather Step, he switched back to Thunder Filament Art and opened the Property Panel.
Name: Su Lang
Race: Human
Qualification Level: Turbid Body
Realm Level: Beginner Warrior
[ Attack Level ]: Intermediate Mortal Realm Cultivator+
[Defense Level]: Standard Martial Cultivator
[Movement Level]: Standard Martial Cultivator+
[Endurance Level]: Standard Martial Cultivator
[Skill Mastery]: Infinite Heart Sutra, Thunder Filament Art (Beginner, Beginner), Ghost Moon Saber Technique (Beginner, Beginner), White Feather Footwork (Beginner, Beginner), Origin Body Forging Technique (Beginner, Beginner)
[Activated System Functions]: One-click cultivation (Level 3), One-click martial arts (Level 3), Clone Dispatch function (Level 1)
The two new cultivation techniques pushed his movement and attack capabilities forward, and now both of them had a "+" before them.
CHAPTER 37 - WHY IS THERE NO ONE ELSE
"Hahahaha!"
Su Lang couldn't help but laugh out loud. "With my current strength, I can stand toe to toe with an Intermediate Mortal Realm cultivator; I might even kill him if he underestimates me. This feeling of power... so great!"
Meanwhile, not a single soul could be seen in the Ye family stronghold.
In a span of mere ten minutes, the clone killed every single Ye family member it encountered.
Right now, Su Lang's storage space was overflowing with the spoils of the war. Gold coins, silver coins, Vicious Beast items, herbs, weapons, pills—all formed a small hill in his storage space.
"Sadly, I didn't get more cultivation techniques."
Acting out his regret by spreading his arms, he ordered the clone to look around the stronghold.
Whenever the clone found something valuable, Su Lang would transfer it to the hotel room by the item transfer feature.
Then, he would store the item in his storage space.
Su Lang had to admit that the Ye family's stronghold was a goldmine. He felt that their stronghold was twice as valuable as the one that the Broken Axe Hunting Group had.
After searching every nook and cranny for hours, the clone could no longer find any valuables there.
"The Broken Axe Hunting Group had a safe deposit box, so this stronghold must have one too."
Su Lang was certain of the fact, so he ordered the clone to look around for a little longer.
After a little more looking around, the clone found a huge alloy safe deposit box. It was cemented in the wall of a luxuriously decorated room.
Su Lang did not know the password to the safe.
However, that wasn't gonna stop him from claiming the safe.
"Hit it, smash all the walls around the safe."
Su Lang chuckled and gave the order.
After receiving Su Lang's order, the clone began hammering the wall around the safe.
With his current strength, let alone a stone wall, even a steel wall would give way to him.
"Boom!"
Boom! Huala! Huala! Huala!
Under the insistent hammering of the clone, almost half of the house collapsed.
And in turn, the safe was out of the wall as the was wall was now rubble.
The hard part was done, so the clone sent the safe to Su Lang through item transmission. There, Su Lang stored the safe in his storage space.
Right at this moment, a bellow resounded in the stronghold.
"Audacious maniac! How dare you destroy my Ye Family's stronghold! Die!"
Before the roar could even dissipate, a figure rushed into the stronghold like lightning. The clone couldn't even react as the figure was in front of it within a blink.
"So fast!"
Su Lang was shocked.
Since Su Lang shared the clone's perception, he could feel that the amount of spiritual qi in his attacker surpassed his by a longshot. He was no match for the attacker, and fighting him would lead to the clone's demise.
Su Lang didn't want to lose his clone, so he ordered it to enter the nearby building.
By entering the building, the attacker lost sight of the clone for a second. That was enough for Su Lang to recall the clone and the clone soon disappeared in the thin air.
"Trying to run away? Hump! Once I catch you, I'll fry you in boiling oil!"
The attacker yelled as he, too, rushed towards the building. He aimed at the building and slashed out with his longsword.
The slash was akin to a fisherman's net; it enveloped the entire area.
However...
"What? Nobody?"
The figure stopped in shock.
After the sword slash disappeared, one could finally see his face.
The man had a square mouth and a flat forehead. His face was livid with anger and eyes bloodshot with annoyance.
Had any Ye family member survived the clone's massacre, they would have bowed and called him "Elder Ye Tian."
"Where is he!"
"Why is there no one here?"
"I clearly saw him run in here!"
"This room has no other exit, so how did he disappear without even making a sound."
Ye Tian's eyes were like watchtowers right now, scanning each and every corner of the room.
Within seconds, he had inspected the room and the stronghold in its entirety.
