by D cat
"Wow~ So beautiful~"
Picking up a Spirit Stone, Su Lang revealed an expression of intoxication and enjoyment.
A single Middle-Grade Spiritual Stone could improve his system's functions by leaps and bounds.
He calculated the profit gained and losses suffered during this trip: a clone lost and twenty Middle-Grade Spiritual Stones gained. Without a doubt, exchanging a single clone for twenty stones was a worthwhile trade.
He could even regain the clone he lost within 24 hours, so—tis but a scratch!
Moreover...
"Hehehe, just gotta make up for it if you suffer a loss!"
The corner of Su Lang's mouth slowly curled up as he looked at the Gold Flame Leopard stronghold outside the window.
On the other side:
The clone had just shattered its own skull, and a bloody mist was surrounding the stunned group of Ye Lingfeng.
Never did they expect that the black-robed killer was so decisive and fierce.
In the very next second, something even more surprising happened.
The black-robed man's corpse gradually turned into dust right in front of their eyes. In the end, it completely disappeared.
"Th-this... Did his corpse actually disappear?"
"Not only his flesh but even his clothes, weapons... everything has disappeared!"
"Just which faction is this person from? Someone being so absurd and strange is simply unheard of!"
"That's right, this is too strange. Even if we don't focus on the absurd fact that his body disappeared after his death, there is another weird thing. Somehow, he could use our Ye family's lightning attribute cultivation technique. Our family has never taught it to an outsider!"
Everyone looked at each other in dismay. Fear rose in their eyes, and a chill rose from their backs.
"I know! I know about him!"
At this time, Yang Shi excitedly ran towards the stunned group and said, "I have some clues!"
"Little bastard, what are you doing? I'll beat you to death!"
Yang Tianrui cursed angrily. Because of this useless son of his, Yang Family had just lost 200,000 gold coins.
One must know that this was more than half of their family's savings!
CHAPTER 57 - WHO WAS SU LANG
"But I really do know him!"
Yang Shi shrunk his neck in fear. He lowered his head and did not dare to look at Yang Tianrui.
"Yang Shi, what do you know?"
Ye Lingfeng stepped forward and asked. Since the one asking was the young master of the Ye family, Yang Tianrui did not dare to stop him.
Yang Shi took a deep breath and said, "Brother Ye, Father, Uncle Ye, I'll let you on a big secret. This black-robed man was Su Lang's subordinate!"
"Su Lang? Who is Su Lang?"
Everyone was confused. In their memories, no one named Su Lang could pull off something like this. So, they were alien to the Su Lang mentioned by Yang Shi.
All this while, they thought that this black-robed man's master must be a big shot. Never did they expect that the clone's master was a seemingly ordinary man called Su Lang. Su Lang—a guy they could've squashed like an ant a few days ago.
"A big shot?"
Yang Shi was stunned. "Su Lang is indeed a big shot, but he is different from ordinary big shots. He is... strange."
"Tell me more about him,"
Ye Lingfeng said with a frown.
"Yes, of course, yes."
Yang Shi nodded hurriedly. "Yesterday morning, I wanted to experience life, so I went to the League of Martial Cultivators to collect my allowance. There, I met this Su Lang guy for the first time.
"At that time, he was a mere Initial Body Tempering cultivator, and many of us even laughed at him.
"I even made a bet with him. It was a bet about when he could break through the Intermediate Body Tempering Realm.
"In the end, he broke through on the spot! For once, I thought he was faking, but when I felt the spiritual fluctuation, I was sure that he had broken through.
"If that wasn't weird enough when I met him today, something even absurd happened. He had actually broken through multiple times in a single day and was now an Initial Martial Mortal!
"Moreover, he defeated four of my Initial Martial Mortal with a single strike. This trio here was also involved and can confirm what I just said."
As he spoke, Yang Shi pointed at the trio from before.
As if fearing that delay could cost them their lives, they simultaneously nodded.
"From Initial Body Tempering to Initial Martial Mortal realm in a single day! Is he cheating?"
"This is too unbelievable. Yang Shi, are you sure you just didn't see it incorrectly?"
"Breaking through from the Initial Body Tempering Realm to Initial Martial Mortal Realm in a single day and possessing combat strength that far surpasses that of an Initial Martial Mortal... just how is this possible?"
"How could such a strange thing happen in the world? It's like a fantasy!"
Ye Lingfeng and the others widened their eyes, their faces full of disbelief.
"Just wait. This isn't even the strangest thing of them all!"
Yang Shi widened his eyes and shouted, "A few hours back, I saw Su Lang summoning his subordinates out of thin air! It was this black-robed man.
"Moreover, Su Lang's aura and this black-robed guy's aura were completely the same. Since the subordinate looked quite similar to the fanatic responsible for the destruction of the Ye family's stronghold, we were stunned.
"Then, the strangest thing happened.
"Su Lang forced us to write three cultivation techniques, and then he took ten minutes to learn all of them!"
"What!"
Ye Lingfeng and the others were so shocked that their mouths fell to the ground. Their mouths were so wide open that one could shove a foot in it.
The disappearance could be explained with some far-fetched reasons. Alien abilities could be explained by some unknown top-tier cultivation techniques.
The one thing that they just couldn't make heads or tails of was his ability to practice skills within seconds.
He practiced three cultivation techniques in ten mere minutes. That was to say that he practiced one cultivation technique within a few minutes. This was simply too inconceivable!
Among the people present, Ye Lingfeng had the best aptitude and comprehension ability. However, it would take even him at least a month to master a simplistic beginner-level cultivation technique.
But learning one in a few minutes? Ye Lingfeng didn't even dare to dreams about it!
"Believe me. I'm telling the truth!"
When Yang Shi saw the disbelief and befuddlement on everyone's face, he immediately guaranteed.
"Hiss!"
Ye Lingfeng took a deep breath.
He knew Yang Shi would not lie. So, everything that he had just said about Su Lang was true.
Stuff that he couldn't even dream of was something Su Lang was doing on a regular.
Shock, jealousy, and fear gradually filled Ye Lingfeng's heart and soul.
"This person is too strange. We can't allow him to develop like this."
Ye Lingfeng turned to look at Ye Tian and Ye Zhi. "Third Uncle, Fifth Uncle, we must kill this person!"
Ye Tian nodded with an ugly expression. "That's right, this person already has a blood debt with us. If he kept on improving like this, it would be the end of our Ye Family!"
Actually, even though everyone seemed shocked and terrified, they were also feeling an unspoken excitement in their heart,
Since Su Lang was able to become so powerful in such a short period, he must have a huge secret.
Perhaps it was some super supreme treasure from a long time ago that he found by mistake.
Su Lang was still weak right now. If they could kill him and take the treasure as their own, the Ye Family would surely soar to the sky. They could stand at the peak of this planet!
CHAPTER 58 - ALL THREE FUNCTIONS ARE UPGRADED FOR
ME!
After fantasizing about their future prosperity, Ye Lingfeng and Ye Tian looked at Yang Tianrui and the others from the Yang family.
Su Lang definitely had a supreme treasure. Right now, both the Yang and Ye family knew about this heaven-shaking secret. So, how could one tolerate the other knowing the secret?
As a result, the members of the Ye family and the Yang family glared at each other with killing intent.
The scene suddenly became silent. A breeze blew, and everyone felt a trace of coldness, a chill in their spines.
Yang Tianrui and the others felt that something was wrong. Their backs and palms instantly broke out in cold sweat.
The Yang family wouldn't even withstand a single blow from the two top-tier cultivators of the Ye Family and the numerous other strong cultivators they had in their entourage.
Currently, the Yang family were on the brink of a complete annihilation.
The atmosphere gradually turned cold, and killing intent began permeating the air. Yang family knew that the Ye family was about to attack them.
When Yang Shi saw this scene, his legs gradually turned soft, and he could not even speak.
"Our Yang family and Su Lang are irreconcilable enemies!"
Yang Tianrui's breathing stagnated as he hurriedly said, "I'm willing to make my Yang family a vessel for the Ye family so that we can hunt Su Lang together."
As he spoke, Yang Tianrui really wanted to pinch this stupid son of a bitc—Yang Shi to death.
How could this idiot reveal such a big secret in front of everyone?
Not only did he gave away a precious secret, but he also brought forth the possible destruction of their family.
"Sect Master of the Yang Family, you should understand my concerns."
Ye Lingfeng said coldly, "We don't trust anyone who isn't from the Ye family."
"I'm willing to accept any constraints."
Yang Tianrui's forehead was covered in a cold sweat.
"In that case."
Ye Lingfeng and Ye Tian looked at each other and nodded. "Consume the Ye family's Seven Steps of Life and Death Pill and show your loyalty."
As he spoke, Ye Lingfeng took out a pill and handed it to Yang Tianrui.
It was a green pill that emitted a peculiar smell.
"Seven Steps of Life and Death Pill!"
Yang Tianrui knew what consuming that pill meant as his body shook unconsciously. Yet, he had to take the pill as the fate of their family depended on it.
Yang Tianrui was a powerful Marital Expert realm cultivator. He was the domineering head of the Yang family. He was a high and mighty figure, but he was forced into eating the pill for the safety of his family.
"Good!"
Ye Lingfeng nodded and took out a few more Pills. "These Seven Steps of Life and Death Pills are very precious. Since I don't have a lot of them, only the important members of the family will get it."
As soon as those words were spoken, the atmosphere became incredibly tense. Not only the Yang family members but even the low-ranking members of the Ye family were terrified.
If they didn't get a Seven Steps of Life and Death Pills, then their fate would be death!
...
Time passed.
Su Lang looked away from the window and turned his attention to the mysterious black space.
"204,323 gold coins! Hehe!"
Su Lang looked at his six digits gold coin balance and ordered excitedly, "System, upgrade all three functions for me!"
"Ding! Consuming 10,000 gold coins. Upgrading One-click cultivation function to level 4. Cultivation speed increased to 8 times the basic speed!"
"Ding! Consuming 10000 gold coins. Upgrading One-click martial arts function to level 4. Martial arts speed increased to 8 times the basic speed!"
"Ding! Consuming 10,000 gold coins. Upgrading Clone Dispatch ability to level 3. The number of clones increased by 1!"
In an instant, the speed of the spiritual energy entering Su Lang's body doubled.
It was such a wonderful feeling that Su Lang almost moaned out.
"System, how long before I become an Intermediate Martial Mortal?"
Su Lang asked excitedly, "And when will I reach the Initial level in the Thunder Filament Arts?"
"Host, you'll only need 20 hours to break through to the intermediate realm. The Thunder Filament Arts also requires 20 hours to reach the initial level."
"Another 20 hours? The road of cultivation sure is long and arduous!"
Su Lang shook his head and sighed with emotion. He did not know that if other martial artists found out about his thoughts, they would be angered to death.
Then, without hesitation, he chose to upgrade his cultivation function again.
"Ding! Consuming 100,000 gold coins. Upgrading the One-click cultivation function to level 5. Cultivation speed increased to 16 times the basic speed!"
"Ding! Congratulations on upgrading the One-click cultivation function to level 5. You have obtained a new bonus function—Performance Boost. Your cultivation speed has been increased to 32 times the basic speed for now!"
"Ding! Congratulations, you have upgraded the first function to level 5. If all three functions reach level 5, you will be rewarded with another hidden function of the system."
These three simultaneous system notifications stunned Su Lang.
"Good! Good! Good! Good! Good! Good! Good! DAMN! FREAKIN' GOD! 32 times the cultivation for the goooo!"
Soon, Su Lang came back to his senses, and his fingers trembled with excitement. "And I also unlocked a new system function! System, you are such a gold-digger... I love it!"
CHAPTER 59 - YE FEI ZHANG WAS EXTREMELY SHOCKED
Right now, Su Lang's cultivation was increasing by leaps and bounds.
In other words, he only needed five more hours to advance from an Initial Martial Mortal to an Intermediate Martial Mortal.
You have to understand, even a top-tier talent would need half a year to break through from the initial realm to the intermediate realm if he had no external help.
This was simply too monstrous.
"I wonder how awesome it would be if I upgraded my One-click martial arts ability to level 5?"
Excited for his future prospects, Su Lang took a deep breath and unconsciously glanced at his gold coin balance. When he looked at the amount, he couldn't help but reveal a helpless smile.
Right now, Su Lang's gold coin balance was at 74,000, which was not enough to upgrade the One-click martial arts ability.
"After all that... I still have to earn more money!"
Su Lang turned to look out the window, and the corner of his mouth slowly rose.
An E-grade stronghold should definitely be more loaded than an F-grade stronghold, right? "Extracting" about 30,000 to 40,000 gold coins should be easy, right?
While fantasizing about the money, Su Lang was struck by a problem. He was sure that destroying an entire E-grade stronghold while having an Advanced Martial Master attack level would be a bit risky. Especially risky if he wanted to do everything swiftly.
Hence, Su Lang decided to give it his all and cultivate diligently. He laid down on his bed and waited for the breakthrough. Once the system helps him break through the intermediate realm, he would start the operation.
...
On the other side:
Apart from Yang Tianrui, Yang Shi, and Yang Zhen, the other three Yang Family guards were all ruthlessly killed.
A guest elder of the Ye Family had also been killed.
Not a single soul that died here thought that it would die at the hands of its comrades rather than die at the hands of its opponents.
At this time, Ye Lingfeng had already returned to the Ye Family mansion. He saw the patriarch of the Ye family, Ye Feizhang, and Ye Lingfeng's father, Ye Xiangming.
"Grandfather. Father."
Ye Lingfeng bowed. Although he was arrogant in front of everyone, he did not dare to be overbearing when facing Ye Feizhang and Ye Xiangming.
Ye Feizhang drank his tea and asked indifferently.
"Hahaha, my son is a meticulous man. There shouldn't be any mistakes."
Ye Xiangming said with a smile, "That bastard who killed your brother and destroyed my Ye Family's stronghold must have died miserably."
"This... Grandpa, Father..."
Ye Lingfeng hesitated before saying, "That man didn't die. We didn't even see him from the beginning until the end!"
"What? How is this possible?"
Ye Xiangming's smile froze, "Didn't you take help from the Yang family? Wasn't that success rate supposed to be 100%"
"We did kill one man, but..."
Ye Lingfeng took a deep breath and told them everything that had happened.
"What? You are saying that this Su Lang character broke through into the Martial Mortal Realm from Body Tempering Realm in a single day?"
"And then you are also claiming that he could summon his subordinates out from thin air?"
"And, and also that thing about him learning cultivation techniques in minutes."
"Honestly, kid... have you lost it?"
Ye Xiangming was stunned for a second before he stood up from his chair.
"Clang!"
Ye Feizhang found the claims very hard to believe. The teacup in his hand fell to the ground. The tea splashed everywhere, and the fragments flew around.
As a Martial King Realm cultivator and the patriarch of the Ye family, his state of mind was as calm as an ancient well.
But at this moment, there was something that was really stirring his old heart. What stirring? It was actually as if a raging storm was brewing in his heart.
"Grandson, are you sure that it's all true?"
He quickly walked in front of Ye Lingfeng, his eyes as wide as saucers.
"It's true!"
Ye Lingfeng said, "This Su Lang must be hiding some huge secret or a supreme treasure."
"Hiss!"
They were certain the Ye Lingfeng wasn't taking drivel. So, if what he said was true... Ye Feizhang and Ye Xiangming gasped at the same time.
"By the way, does anyone else know about this secret?" Ye Feizhang asked without wasting a second.
