Martial Saint through Reading

”Thank you, my lord.”

The group of porters and laborers cried with joy, while the guards present frowned.

More than ten guards and over fifty porters followed Huang Xiao, taking many twists and turns until they arrived at a dark place.

As soon as they stepped in, over twenty cold-faced individuals holding weapons appeared around them.

”My lord...” A porter sensed that something was wrong.

”Lord Huang, I haven’t seen anything,” the guard who was beating the porters realized something.

”Hmph!” Huang Xiao snorted coldly, ”Is it that you haven’t seen anything, or you’ve seen it all?”

”Kill them all, leave no one alive!”

”Yes!”

Under the silver moon, blood splattered, and in no time, over fifty bodies collapsed.

”My lord, all done.”

”Good.”

”Don’t waste the bodies, process them and reward the brothers below.”

”Thank you, my lord.”

”The transportation of Jingyan and food supplies must speed up, we must set out by around 2:40–3:00 a.m.”

”Rest assured, my lord.”

”The pair of girls you fancied during the day, I’ve already captured them for you.”

”Oh? Where are they?” Huang Xiao’s eyes lit up.

”My lord, they’re in cabin number twelve, should I take you there?”

”Haha, not bad, let’s go.”

”What’s your name?”

”Reporting to my lord, my surname is also Huang, called Huang Sheng.”

”Huang Sheng, I’ve remembered you. From now on, stay by my side.”

”Thank you, my lord.” Huang Sheng was overjoyed.

The two emerged from the darkened area and headed straight for the pier, eventually boarding one of the large ships.

”This way, my lord.”

The two pushed open the cabin door and entered.

Inside the dim cabin, two women were tied up.

They were two women with attractive appearances and decent figures.

Upon seeing the two women, Huang Xiao’s eyes immediately shone with lascivious light.

”Tsk-tsk, truly a rare find, such women, and I discovered them.”

Huang Xiao walked up to the two women, looking them up and down without restraint.

The two women huddled together, terrified.

”Tsk-tsk...”

The more so, the more excited Huang Xiao became.

He crouched down, wanting to reach out to touch.

At this moment.

A strange blue-green glow flashed across the watery eyes of the two women.

Hmm?

Huang Xiao was initially startled, then his face of lust was replaced by sheer joy.

Wind Spirit Race!

They were remnants of the Wind Spirit Race!

He hid his smile and turned to look at Huang Sheng standing by the door.

”Huang Sheng, who else has seen them?”

”Reporting to my lord, only I have seen them.”

”Come in.”

Huang Sheng, puzzled, entered the cabin.

”Close the door.”

The cabin door closed.

Slick—

In an instant, a cold gleam flashed, and a splash of crimson sprayed onto the ship’s body.

Huang Sheng clutched his neck, looking at Huang Xiao in terror.

He didn’t understand why the backer he just found suddenly wanted to kill him.

”Hmph, considering you have the Huang surname, I’ll let you die knowing. They are Wind Spirit Race, a secret that cannot be known by outsiders.”

Wind Spirit... what is it?

Huang Sheng never understood until death why his lord would kill him over something called the Wind Spirit Race.

Huang Xiao kicked aside Huang Sheng’s corpse, turned again as he looked at the two Wind Spirit women.

”Tsk-tsk, such a pity.”

Leaving these words, he walked out of the cabin and stepped onto the pier, seeming to head somewhere.

Meanwhile, in the shadows around the pier, Chu Ming’s eyes flickered.

”Wind Spirit Race?”

Just as he arrived at the pier, the Sword Gourd Spirit detected the events unfolding in the cabin.

The Wind Spirit Race was a minority clan like the Wolf Race.

Unlike the Wolf Race, which was besieged by the Great Qin Dynasty a century ago for massacring ordinary people, the Wind Spirit Race was a clan that submitted to the Great Qin Dynasty.

But decades ago, due to the construction of the West Capital Grand Canal, the Wind Spirit Race clashed with the Great Qin Dynasty.

According to unofficial history, the canal was supposed to cut through the ancestral land of the Windling Tribe, but they resisted and then disappeared.

How they disappeared, even unofficial accounts provide little record.

As it turns out, the Wind Spirit Race did not truly vanish.

He had investigated those two women, confirming that they were indeed Wind Spirits.

Under special circumstances, the Wind Spirit’s pupils turn blue-green, the two women exhibited this behavior.

The Sword Gourd Spirit simultaneously locked onto the two women and the man named Huang Xiao.

Why did Huang Xiao kill the guard upon discovering the women were of the Wind Spirit Race?

Clearly, it was to silence witnesses.

But why silence witnesses?

What does remnants of the Wind Spirit Race mean?

Huang Xiao left the cabin and headed straight to the building behind the pier.

The Sword Gourd Spirit sensed that within the building were several Wolf Race members, the strongest of whom was at the Refining Organ Realm Perfection.

”Lord Lang Yu,” Huang Xiao called outside.

”What is it?”

In the room, Lang Yu sat at the top seat, holding something dripping with blood, with three bloodless women serving him below.

On either side of Lang Yu were four Wolf Race members, holding bloody objects, and women serving at their feet.

Huang Xiao knelt to the ground, stiffening his resolve as he spoke, ”Reporting to Lord Lang Yu, I have discovered two remnants of the Wind Spirit Race.”

”Oh?” Lang Yu’s munching of the bloody object paused, ”Are you sure?”

”I dare not deceive my lord, I personally saw their eyes turn blue-green,” Huang Xiao said softly.

”Where are they?” Lang Yu’s gaze focused, seeming to flash with a fierce light.

”In cabin number twelve.”

”Who else has seen them?”

Hmm?

Huang Xiao, hearing this, suddenly felt all his hair stand on end, his heart pounding.

He thought of Huang Sheng, whom he’d silenced earlier, asking the same question before acting...

Is Lord Lang Yu going to kill him to cover it up?!

Huang Xiao forced himself to remain calm: ”There are a few subordinates who know, it was they who captured the two surviving women of the Wind Spirit Race. If my lord wants to interrogate them, I’ll summon them right away.”

There was a brief silence in the room.

Several members of the Wolf Race looked at Huang Xiao kneeling on the ground, not daring to raise his head, each showing a mocking expression.

”Go ahead and call them. I do need to question them.”

”Yes, I will go right away.”

Like a sound of reprieve, Huang Xiao let out a long sigh of relief in his heart.

If I had known earlier, I wouldn’t have come to report this, would have just secretly enjoyed those two Wind Spirit women myself...!

He cursed his own greed secretly, thinking that reporting it might bring great rewards.

Run, I need to run quickly!

He pretended to get up respectfully, forcing himself to remain calm as he turned away.

Lang Yu watched Huang Xiao’s back with a sinister smile, then glanced at a nearby member of the Wolf Race.

The woman serving beside them dared not breathe loudly.

The member of the Wolf Race pointed at a sharp weapon on the ground, and a woman picked it up, trembling, and handed it over.

Despite the commotion behind him, Huang Xiao dared not turn around, only silently quickened his pace.

In just a few more steps, he would be able to escape from this place.

But just then, a sharp sound of something tearing through the air reached him from behind.

Thud—

A sharp weapon pierced through Huang Xiao’s body.

Clang—

With great force, the piercing weapon nailed itself into the wall ahead.

Huang Xiao froze in place, staring blankly at the blood-stained weapon ahead.

He felt a heat flow from his chest.

He raised his hand to touch it.

Sticky... scorching...

”I...”

A bitter smile spread across Huang Xiao’s face.

Bang—

The body fell heavily to the ground.

”Big brother, how was my aim?” the member of the Wolf Race said with a laugh.

”Not bad at all.” Lang Yu took a few bites of a bloody substance, stood up, and looked outside. ”It’s about time. Let’s go.”

”Haha, let’s go and see those Wind Spirit survivors. If the Counselor finds out, he’ll surely reward you handsomely, big brother.”

”...”

In the shadows.

Chu Ming frowned slightly.

”Counselor?”

He recalled the Primordial Qi Warrior from the Divine Mystery Bureau detected by the Sword Gourd Spirit last night.

He wondered if the Counselor referred to by the Wolf Race was that Qi Warrior.

Or could it be someone else?

Perhaps it was Tang Xuan, the Blood Sect’s agent, with an aura of blood.

Although he had wiped out several experts from the Blood Evil Sect last night, he knew that many followers of the Blood Evil Sect still lurked within Xirong County.

The real mastermind had yet to appear.

The reason for finding Baiyun Pier was in hopes of uncovering more leads through this link.

According to the Sword Gourd Spirit’s detection, apart from those five Wolf Race experts at the Refining Organ Realm, the rest at Baiyun Pier were relatively weak.

Clearly, Baiyun Pier was merely a transit point for the Blood Evil Sect within the county.

After a moment’s thought, Chu Ming decided to continue investigating and tracking.

The Sword Gourd Spirit detected that the five had boarded a ship and entered the cabin where the Wind Spirit Race was held.

”Big brother, it’s indeed the Wind Spirit Race.”

”Haha, not bad. Contributing these two Wind Spirit women, I’ll surely break through to that level.”

”Congratulations, big brother.”

”Haha...”

The five laughed at the two Wind Spirit women.

Moments later.

”Set sail!”

Under the cover of night, the convoy loaded with Jingyan salt and provisions majestically sailed out from the pier.

And aboard one of these vessels, Chu Ming, concealed in the shadows, accompanied the fleet.

This vessel was precisely the one carrying the five Wolf Race members at the Refining Organ Realm.

Chu Ming gazed at the green waves with deep, unwavering eyes.

Unbelievable amounts of money were spent constructing the West Capital Grand Canal that traversed the Great Qin Dynasty’s western region, now reduced to a smuggling channel for the Blood Evil Sect’s Jingyan salt and provisions.

The convoy sailed from late at night until dawn, reaching the canal boundary checkpoint of Xirong County by daybreak.

As expected, the checkpoint officials responsible for inspections had already been bribed by the Blood Evil Sect.

The convoy moved unimpeded out of Xirong County, continuing along the Grand Canal.

As the Golden Crow rose, the convoy suddenly stopped at a remote location.

Just as Chu Ming wondered why, the Sword Gourd Spirit detected another fleet approaching from a few miles away.

These vessels carried more provisions.

Not just provisions, but he also detected large shipments of armor.

Provisions... armor...

It seemed the Blood Evil Sect could no longer hold back.

Chu Ming remained silently concealed.

Once the two fleets converged, the entire river was filled with ships as far as the eye could see.

Upon investigation, the fleet was coming from the direction of Pingzhong County.

This suggested that the Blood Evil Sect’s infiltration extended beyond Xirong County, likely affecting Pingzhong County similarly.

The grand convoy continued its journey.

Nearing noon, in the main cabin.

”Brother Lang Yu, has the waterway leading to the White River been informed in advance?”

”Brother Lang Ye, rest assured, I instructed someone to open the waterway to the White River last night.”

In the cabin, the original five Wolf Race increased to ten, led by Lang Yu and Lang Ye, both at Refining Organ Perfection.

The waterway to the White River?

Upon hearing this, Chu Ming’s eyes flashed.

The Blood Evil Sect’s fleet intended to enter the White River!

The White River was indeed a true river, flowing through the Great Qin Dynasty and the Nine Hordes Kingdom, among other nations.

The river spanned nearly a thousand miles at its widest and at least a hundred miles at its narrowest, with an average width of four or five hundred miles.

Traveling on the White River felt like traversing a sea, with no land in sight.

The White River’s waters were turbulent and fierce, teeming with water beasts and exotic beasts.

Not to mention, the river was plagued with formidable threats like fierce winds and extreme lightning.

Earlier in Jingyan County, it was near another White River mouth where Chu Ming rescued and sheltered Shen Yi.

”I have full confidence in Brother Lang Yu’s arrangements.”

Lang Ye raised his cup, filled with blood wine.

The ten members of the Wolf Race drank it all in one gulp.

Afterward, Lang Ye’s expression turned somber.

”I don’t know when our Wolf Race will finally reclaim our ancestral land. We’ve been hiding at that barren White River place for close to a century, and everyone is long fed up with it. When will these days ever come to an end?”