"All abilities increased by a thousand… not bad at all."
Zhao Xuan's eyes brightened again.
But his attention quickly returned to the spatial relic core that had dropped from the old man's corpse.
A spatial relic core—
once bound with spiritual power—
could be stored directly in a person's mind.
And once its owner died,
the relic core would automatically drop.
"A man like Hang City's richest patriarch… he must've stored plenty of treasures inside this thing."
The thought sent a gleam of excitement flashing across Zhao Xuan's eyes.
Without hesitation—
He pressed the relic core against his forehead.
His spiritual power seeped in.
It was unowned.
So in an instant,
the relic core accepted him as its new master.
After that—
He opened the relic gate and stepped inside.
The space was tiny.
Truly tiny.
Compared to Zhao Xuan's desert relic,
this one was pitifully small—
only the size of a single private bedroom.
But the entire cramped space was filled to the brim with piles of herbs and spirit plants.
And without exception—
Every single item was a fifth-rank or sixth-rank medicinal treasure.
Yet even that wasn't the most shocking part.
The most shocking were—
Seven transparent crystal orbs, neatly arranged on the floor.
"These should be the relic cores of those seven low-rank relics the Li family controlled," Zhao Xuan muttered.
He picked one up, glanced at it, then tossed it aside.
Honestly—
Low-rank relics no longer interested him.
First:
With his current strength, he couldn't even enter them—
the relic laws would reject him.
Second:
A low-rank relic only produced around three to four million a day—
and that's before subtracting labor costs.
Zhao Xuan could kill a single fourth-rank Land King and earn that much instantly.
"Most of these herbs boost spiritual power, huh? The Li family sure are 'good people.' They knew my spiritual power was lacking, so they thoughtfully delivered a pile of supplements to me."
Zhao Xuan scooped up a large number of fifth- and sixth-rank herbs, then left the cramped relic space—
Returning to his vast personal relic.
As soon as he entered—
He saw a familiar sight.
A huge golden rat, legs crossed leisurely, was sitting beside the pile of Monkey King Fruits Zhao Xuan had bought earlier from the Ability User Guild.
It was stuffing its face.
The moment it saw Zhao Xuan—
"Squeak! Squeak-squeak!!"
It shot him a glance—
And then vanished in a streak of golden light, disappearing over the distant horizon.
So fast Zhao Xuan couldn't even react.
"Grass!"
He looked down at the half-eaten Monkey King Fruit on the ground and cursed.
Then—
A wave of confusion washed over him.
"No… no… no… how did that giant golden rat get in here?"
He suddenly remembered something.
Nine days ago.
Right before he fainted—
he'd seen a streak of golden light.
And earlier today, while showering, he saw black little paw prints on his face in the mirror.
"Don't tell me… that golden rat slipped in right before I closed the relic gate? And it even stepped all over my face?"
His eyes narrowed.
The relic gate's closing speed was based entirely on his intent.
If he thought "close fast,"
the gate closed instantly.
He clearly remembered—
that day he closed it extremely quickly.
But the golden rat still got inside.
Which meant one thing—
Its speed was terrifying.
And judging by the way it escaped just now—
That much was obvious.
"A little fourth-rank creature… with speed like that? Interesting. Very interesting."
Zhao Xuan shook his head.
"Forget it. If it meant me harm, it would've acted while I was unconscious. My injuries come first."
He sat cross-legged.
Drank mid-grade energy fluid in gulps.
Ate fifth- and sixth-rank spirit plants like snacks.
Then closed his eyes and began restoring himself.
Time flowed quietly.
Meanwhile—
Hang City was in chaos.
One by one, the highest authorities rushed over.
The Ability User Guild President, Jiang Youde, arrived first.
Moments later—
South Jiang Province Governor, Fu Haojie, also arrived.
Elite city guards surrounded the entire Li Estate.
A fifth-rank high-level Grandmaster—the Li family steward—
dead.
A sixth-rank Grandmaster—the Li family patriarch—
dead.
A sixth-rank Grandmaster—the City Guard South Commander, Lu Fei—
dead.
A mysterious sixth-rank corpse suspected to belong to the Demon Cult—
dead.
And finally—
Inside the estate—
They found the corpse of the Li family's pseudo-seventh-rank old patriarch—
his skull literally smashed apart by a fist.
Everyone inhaled sharply.
Because—
The surviving city guards and Li servants all pointed to the same killer:
Zhao Xuan.
At first, the leaders all had the same reaction:
Impossible.
Sure—
They all acknowledged Zhao Xuan was a genius.
A monster.
But—
He was still just a fourth-rank junior Grandmaster.
That he could kill fifth-ranks—
fine.
But crossing two entire ranks to kill a sixth-rank?
Hard to believe.
But killing a pseudo seventh-rank??
Absolutely insane.
Pseudo-seventh-rank was essentially half a Sovereign.
Someone who could take on multiple sixth-rank Grandmasters alone.
And still win.
So hearing that Zhao Xuan killed such a being?
Too absurd.
Too ridiculous.
But—
The evidence was there.
Over a dozen witnesses.
And high-definition surveillance footage—
Clearly showing Zhao Xuan punching the old patriarch's head apart.
Silence blanketed the entire estate.
Shock.
Awe.
Disbelief.
Even Jiang Youde—normally calm, collected, immovable—
was stunned pale when he saw the video.
After a long while—
The murmurs died down.
Everyone waited quietly for Zhao Xuan to appear.
Time passed.
Eventually—
A spatial crack opened in midair.
Zhao Xuan stepped out.
"Governor Fu, President Jiang."
He bowed slightly.
"Zhao Xuan, what in heaven's name happened?" Fu Haojie asked urgently. "How did you end up clashing with the Li family?"
All eyes locked onto Zhao Xuan.
"Killers meet their killers."
Zhao Xuan glanced at the headless corpse of the old patriarch.
"The Li family coveted my spatial relic. They wanted to kill me and take it."
Greed.
Murder.
Treasure-robbing.
Everyone present narrowed their eyes.
"And the Demon Cult corpses on the road?" Governor Fu asked.
"This is how it happened, Governor," Zhao Xuan said calmly.
"Nine days ago, I accepted bounty missions and entered Lingyin Mountain. While completing the mission, I was ambushed by a group of ability users."
"I killed them, then learned that a Li family steward—someone from the Ability User Guild—had leaked my information to them."
Everyone's gazes sharpened.
"I returned to Hang City today intending to confront that steward. Before I could go to them, the Li family invited me to a 'forgiveness banquet.' The steward was supposed to apologize publicly."
"The banquet went smoothly. But afterward, the patriarch insisted his son—the steward—drive me back."
"Then, shortly after leaving their estate, we were ambushed by the Demon Cult."
"I had just repelled them when Li Yucheng suddenly appeared—
and attacked me while I was injured."
Zhao Xuan took out his phone.
"I recorded everything from the moment I got into their car."
Because his Observation Haki (seeing-and-hearing) had warned him ahead of time.
The recording was a precaution against the Li family framing him.
Now—
It served as solid proof.
He suddenly remembered—
The old patriarch's dying threat.
He had a grandson.
A real seventh-rank Sovereign.
"So what?" Zhao Xuan thought coldly.
"Give me a few months—
I'll cut down a seventh-rank too."
Not arrogance—
just absolute confidence in his system.
Everyone listened to the recording—
And their expressions darkened.
They all understood.
The "apology banquet" was nothing but a Hongmen Banquet—
a trap.
A staged act.
A deception.
A murder covered by Demon Cult involvement.
If Zhao Xuan had died—
The Li family could've blamed everything on the Demon Cult.
After all, their second son (the steward) also died in the cult's attack.
"Zhao Xuan," Governor Fu said solemnly,
"You have nothing to worry about. The South Jiang Governor's Office will give you a fair explanation. As for Old Li's dying threat—ignore it."
"Yes, he has a grandson. Yes, that grandson is a true seventh-rank Sovereign. But he has no right to touch you."
"Today's events—you were entirely in the right."
"You've just gone through a great battle. Go rest. Leave the rest to us."
"Then I'll trouble the Governor and President," Zhao Xuan said politely.
Under everyone's sharp gazes—
He walked away into the night.
Night deepened.
Normally—
This hour would be peaceful.
But tonight—
Because of the Li family incident—
Hang City churned with hidden storms.
By morning—
As the sun rose—
The news spread.
And Hang City erupted.
"Did you hear!?"
"Hear what?!"
"The Li family was annihilated last night!"
"The Li family? The richest family in the southern suburbs?!"
"Yes!"
"How?! How does a family like that just get wiped out?!"
"Heard they colluded with the Demon Cult to kill Zhao Xuan—
and ended up getting slaughtered by him instead."
"What?! That's impossible! They had two sixth-rank Grandmasters! And Zhao Xuan is only fourth-rank!"
"Your info is outdated! Their old patriarch had already become a pseudo-seventh-rank!"
"HISS—
you're saying Zhao Xuan killed a pseudo-seventh-rank!?"
"Yes!"
"Impossible!! That's fake! Has to be fake!!"
"My son's in the City Guard. He told me personally."
"Hissssss…"
"Monster! Monster!! Absolute monster!!!"
"A fourth-rank killing a pseudo-seventh-rank—INSANE!!!"
"Welp, that's the end of the Li family. Richest house in Hang City—gone in a night."
"Serves them right! Who told them to collude with the Demon Cult?! They deserved it!"
Within hours—
Zhao Xuan's infamy—
and reputation—
exploded across Hang City and the entire South Jiang Province.
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