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A thoughtful expression could be seen in Xu Qing’s eyes. He needed spirit stones and physical ingredients. Lots of them. So many that not even concocting white boluses would be enough.

My monthly salary in the Violent Crimes Division is three spirit stones. The white boluses... can bring in 20 spirit stones a month if I work hard. That means I can currently rely on 23 spirit stones per month.

He frowned.

If he wanted rapid cultivation progress, he needed one spirit stone per day. And if he wanted to buy materials from the Sixth Peak disciples’ shop, then he had to deal with prices that were dozens of spirit stones at the minimum.

My berth costs 30 spirit stones a month. Therefore, I need an income of at least 60 spirit stones a month. But that would only be enough to keep things going as they are. If I want to upgrade my dharmaboat, I need even more.

With such thoughts on his mind, he opened his bag of holding and looked inside. He currently had 20 spirit stones left, which was the bounty he’d earned from the Violent Crimes Division after killing Master Greencloud.

There are three main ways I can get more spirit stones. The first would be to go exploring the forbidden regions. The second would be bounty hunting. And the last would be to go to sea and harvest materials myself.

The first method was the wheelhouse of the First Peak. That meant that if you wanted to go into the nearby forbidden regions, you had to get a First Peak guide. Such guides obviously charged for their services.

The third method, going out on the open sea to hunt for materials, was probably the most suitable. Unfortunately, it didn’t just require a high cultivation base, it also required a suitable dharmaboat. Without a sufficiently strong dharmaboat, one could go out to sea and never come back.

Xu Qing felt his cultivation base was high enough, but his dharmaboat level was just too low. And to upgrade it, he needed more spirit stones and materials. It was something of a catch-22.

The fastest method is going to be bounty hunting. Either that or start killing fellow disciples. Then, once I get both my dharmaboat and cultivation base high enough, I can go out onto the open sea. At that point, I’ll get so much momentum going I’ll be unstoppable!

Xu Qing’s eyes shone. As far as he was concerned, it would be much preferable to go after bounties than to kill fellow disciples who hadn’t done anything to provoke him. Therefore, after making a decision, he sat down cross-legged in his second-class dharmaboat, put a spirit stone into the spirit convergence formation, and started his cultivation.

Before much time had passed in his cultivation routine, he opened his eyes and took out his identity medallion. A new voice message had just come in.

“Junior Brother Xu Qing, it’s me, Zhou Qingpeng. Was that you I saw at the medicine shop? You’ve changed a lot! It took me a while to figure out who you were. I could tell you were interested in those ghostlonging horseshoe crabs. My clan runs a medicinal ingredient business, so if you need something like that, I can make some arrangements to get them for you. It’ll be expensive though.”

After listening to the message, Xu Qing thought about it for a moment. It seemed Zhou Qingpeng wanted to earn some spirit stones. At the same time, Xu Qing really was interested in getting some ghostlonging horseshoe crabs to use in his poison research. After some thought, he agreed to the proposal.

Time passed. Six days went by in a flash.

During that time, Xu Qing checked in at the Violent Crimes Division every morning, making sure to get an updated bounty list when he did. He also had his informant start digging around for information. However... there were a lot of people in the Violent Crimes Division who wanted to make money by hunting bounties. Because of that, everyone kept their information to themselves. What little information Xu Qing did end up getting usually turned out to be outdated and useless. After a while, Xu Qing realized he needed to change his strategy.

Meanwhile, a new disciple joined the Violent Crimes Division.

This person had an impressive background, and was not in the same bureau as Xu Qing. Nor was this person an ordinary member of a unit. Instead, he was immediately appointed as the captain of Earth Bureau Unit Three. Apparently, he had some tricks up his sleeve, as it only took him two days to whip the more than twenty members of the unit into complete subservience. Clearly this person was formidable in some way.

Each of the four bureaus in the Violent Crimes Division had different directors, and though they would work together on big cases, most of the time they went their own ways. As a result, there usually wasn’t friction between the different bureaus. Normally speaking, the fact that Earth Bureau Unit Three got a new captain usually wouldn’t cause any waves. However, the appointment of this new captain did indeed cause some waves.

And that was because... this new captain wasn’t human.

Xu Qing caught sight of him from a distance, and immediately recognized him. He was the very same young man who had been standing behind Third Highness the other day. Xu Qing had noted the look of disdain in his eyes when seeing the Third Highness dealing with the two nonhuman young women.

It didn’t take long for the disciples in the Violent Crimes Division to dig up information about his background. Xu Qing learned from other members of Unit Six that this young man was one of the Merfolk.

Merfolk weren’t human, but they were allies of Seven Blood Eyes and traded with the sect. According to the rumors, this newly appointed captain had a high status even among the Merfolk. After coming to the capital city with Third Highness, he had officially joined Seven Blood Eyes, and then been assigned to the Violent Crimes Division.

Xu Qing had come up with his own theories about who the Third Highness was, and after asking some fellow members of Unit Six, he confirmed that he was right. The other disciples were more than happy to share all of the details.

The peaklord of the Seventh Peak had three successor apprentices, two men and one woman. Each of those three individuals was like a crown prince or senior princess in a royal court. A single word from them would cause countless disciples from the Seventh Peak to bow their heads in deference. Actually, most anyone in the entire Seven Blood Eyes would react similarly. They were essentially in the succession line of Seven Blood Eyes in general.

The peaklord of Seventh Peak was extremely talented, and was famous throughout the continent of South Phoenix. He had shocking battle prowess, and was extremely influential. Anyone listed as his successor would be high in the succession list of Seven Blood Eyes.

Among those three, the highest ranking one was the grand highness, who was said to be in seclusion trying to break through a cultivation bottleneck. He hadn’t been seen in public for years. However, all the talk Xu Qing heard was about how mysterious and deadly he was. When he was in Foundation Establishment he had killed numerous enemies in the same level as himself, and had slaughtered entire tribes of non-humans in battle. When it came to the ranking of all successor apprentices in Seven Blood Eyes, the grand highness was listed as second.

As the disciples discussed this matter, the Captain sat off to the side eating an apple. When he finally cut in, he explained everything in a single sentence. “People like that aren’t exactly thirsting for blood at all times, but if you piss them off, you’ll get killed.”

Xu Qing felt fully convinced that the Captain was right.

When Second Highness was mentioned, the other members of the unit all looked reverential. In contrast to the mysterious grand highness who few people had ever seen, the second highness went out in public all the time. In fact, she often went for strolls in the Port District. She had a strong personality, was very decisive, and had a reputation for being aggressive. In fact, her temper was such that she even caused trouble for the elders of the Seventh Peak.

“She’s sick in the head, I tell you,” the Captain muttered.

The most popular of the peaklord’s apprentices was Third Highness. He was inclined to give in to passion, but had no other weaknesses. He often smiled, didn’t act arrogant toward other disciples, and was very generous. When other disciples asked him for help, he did his best to resolve their issues. What was more, he had a good relationship with the nonhumans out on the sea. In fact, many disciples called him the Seventh Peak’s top foreign ambassador. And most disciples admired his romantic flair.

The Captain, munching on his apple, seemed inclined to offer his own assessment. But in the end, he couldn’t think of anything to add, so he just kept eating the apple, a smile on his face.

Xu Qing listened as the discussion continued between the other members of the unit, but didn’t pay very close attention. Whether it was the young Merfolk captain, or the three successor apprentices from the Seventh Peak, they didn’t have much to do with him. What was most important to him at the moment was the bounty list, and his new method of tracking down the targets on the list.

And that was: to trust chance rather than show the initiative.

On this particular day, Xu Qing had the night shift. It was dark and windy, with only a hint of moonlight. The wind carried the humidity of the sea into every corner of the city, as if to bear witness to whatever sinister acts took place during the night.

The gambling halls and brothels had opened their doors, and people streamed in and out of them. Occasionally, it was possible to see people clad in black from head to toe, vaulting over walls and speeding across the rooftops. From time to time, spirit power fluctuations would erupt from an alleyway, as if demons, devils, and ghosts had come to the human world along with the light of the moon.

However, there was one person who walked along and caused everything to go still and quiet in his presence. Only after he passed by did things turn lively again.

Of course, it was Xu Qing.

Ever since he had dragged Master Greencloud’s corpse halfway across the city, his night-time patrols were always like this. It was virtually impossible to keep secrets in the capital city. Master Greencloud had been in the ninth level of Qi Condensation, and even though he was from a small sect, it was no small accomplishment to not only capture him, but kill him in such a vicious way.

Not only that, but Xu Qing had stood toe to toe with the innkeeper on Plankspring Way. All of that went to show that this new addition to the Violent Crimes Division was someone that shouldn’t be trifled with.

Actually, that was one reason why Xu Qing hadn’t run into any of the criminals on the bounty list. He wasn’t worried. He had a new method in mind, and therefore, he stalked through the shadows of the city until he was at Plankspring Way. Blending into the darkness beneath the eaves of a building across the street, he started watching the inn.

Having found no clues, and no information about anyone on the bounty list, he’d decided to simply wait for opportunities to come to him.

Xu Qing was a patient person, and didn’t mind waiting. He’d considered that waiting outside the inn might offend the old innkeeper. However, spirit stones were more important right now. Besides, Xu Qing was certain that if it came to a fight, his battle prowess was sufficient enough that he could hold his own.

Time passed. Four hours later... just before dawn, a figure appeared off in the distance, speeding silently toward the inn.

He was an emaciated middle-aged man with small eyes and a long beard. Given his pointed chin, his beard made him look strange, almost like a rat. His small eyes flickered with vigilance as he approached. The closer he got to the inn, the more visibly he relaxed.

Seven Blood Eyes’ capital city is such a wonderful place. That’s especially true of these inns that stay open at night. According to their rules, they’re safe havens, no matter what. It’s so wonderful. Although, they’re too freaking expensive. It costs 80 for a day. 160 for two days. It doubles every day.... If I stay a few more days, I’ll have to clear out a small town to get enough money to pay. The only downside is that those small townsfolk scream loudly and don’t have much savings to take.

By this point, the emaciated man was only about six meters from the inn’s entrance, and was about to leap the final distance.

That was when a cold wind hit him from behind, accompanied by an icy voice.

“Daoist Rat?”

The emaciated man’s pupils constricted, and all the hair on his body stood on end. Without the slightest hesitation, he waved his right hand behind him, sending a powder flying into the air. Then he shot forward with all the speed he could muster.

Unfortunately for him, he was too slow. In almost the exact same moment that he threw his hand out behind him, a dagger slashed through his throat! Blood sprayed everywhere as the man fell to the ground, twitching and gasping in shock.

Behind him was Xu Qing, his face completely expressionless. That poison powder was completely ineffective when used against him. Ignoring the dying Daoist Rat, Xu Qing looked up at the tavern to see the old innkeeper standing there looking very dour.

“This is Daoist Rat, originally from the Church of Departure,” Xu Qing said, reciting the details from the bounty list. “He’s skilled in the use of drugs that cause confusion and changes in temperament. He slaughters mortal citizens for pleasure, and had a 15 spirit stone bounty put on his head by the Violet Lands half a year ago. He’s wanted throughout all of South Phoenix.”

“You don’t need to recite the description,” the old man said grimly. “I know there’s a bounty out for him.”

Without another word, Xu Qing cut off Daoist Rat’s head, put it in a bag, and then kicked the headless corpse. A thump rang out as the body landed in front of the tavern’s open door.

“He didn’t step into the tavern,” Xu Qing said, “so I haven’t broken any of your rules. Don’t worry, you don’t need to pay for the corpse. Consider it a gift from me.”

With that, Xu Qing backed up a few steps, and when he was sure he was a safe distance away, carried Daoist Rat’s head off.

I still need to make 45 spirit stones this month....