Supreme Sword Exalt

Yang Ying stopped in his tracks and slowly turned around. He gave Gu Han a few suspicious looks, clearly not believing him. “A way to make money?”

If you had a way to make money, would you still be this poor?

Gu Han raised an eyebrow. “What? You don’t believe me?”

Yang Ying shook his head. “No, but you can tell me about it.”

He silently told himself, Let’s listen first. It doesn’t cost anything. What if he really has a way? Maybe. Possibly.

Gu Han regarded him with thinly veiled contempt. He really is someone who values wealth over his own life!

Without beating around the bush, he licked his lips. “You just mentioned it. There are many Yang and Meng family members on that bounty board. Think about it, if you add them all up, what a huge fortune that would be...”

Yang Ying turned and left. “Farewell!”

That’s it? That’s the way to make money? Any fool could think of that! The problem is, who would be so reckless to dare claim those bounties?!

Gu Han frowned deeply. “Brother Yang, I think you’re a decent guy. I feel like we could work together, that’s why I’m sharing this with you. Aren’t you tempted at all?”

Yang Ying answered extremely bluntly, “Nope. Even assassins ranked higher than me wouldn’t dare to casually move against those people. If you value money over your life, go do it yourself. Don’t drag me into it.”

Gu Han was persistent. “Brother Yang, reconsider, this is a chance to make a fortune.”

Yang Ying stared at him. “Why are you telling me all of this?”

Gu Han didn’t hide it from him. “You’re very strong. There are definitely people above the Spirit Profound realm on that bounty board, so it’s a bit risky if I act alone. But if we work together, forget the Spirit Profound Realm—we could even one-shot a Divine Connection Realm expert!”

In truth, strength came second. Gu Han saw Yang Ying for who he truly was. Although the aloof assassin placed wealth above life, he wasn’t greedy. More commendable still was his clarity in matters of grudges and favors, never taking even a fraction more than he deserved. To Gu Han, he was an ideal partner.

“Take care!”

After giving Gu Han this blessing, Yang Ying strode forward without looking back.

Gu Han asked again, “Brother Yang, are you okay with the way things are?”

Yang Ying didn’t answer, but his speed didn’t decrease either.

Gu Han suddenly sighed. “Haa... I heard that you and your sister suffered greatly all these years. Not only did the family refuse to help you, they bullied and harassed you endlessly. Yang Lan said many years ago, your mother secretly hid some essence crystals for your cultivation. However, she got caught and was almost beaten to death by them.”

Yang Ying’s steps abruptly slowed. For a reason he couldn’t explain, it felt like a fire was burning in his heart.

Gu Han stared at him closely. “And Yang Lan? Even a lowly servant dared to torment her! She must have endured far worse on a daily basis. Brother Yang, are you really okay with that?”

Yang Ying halted in his tracks, clenching his fists tightly. “So what?!”

The mention of the past instantly ignited the hatred buried deep in his heart, so overwhelming that he began to tremble.

“Of course I hate them! I wish I could kill every single person who bullied my sister and my mother! But...” Yang Ying turned around, his eyes bloodshot. “What am I supposed to do?! Take revenge and risk them finding out it was me?! There’s no coming back from that!”

Gu Han stared at him. “That’s why I’ll cooperate with you. You divert their attention, and let me handle the rest. This way, they absolutely won’t discover it was you.”

Yang Ying fell silent again. “Forget it.”

Gu Han wore a look of regret. “If you still refuse, I won’t force you. I’ll just think of another way myself. Thanks again for today.”

He cupped his fists toward Yang Ying and began to leave.

A constant struggle erupted in Yang Ying’s eyes as he watched Gu Han’s departing figure. All the suffering his family had endured flashed one after another.

As if possessed, he called out to Gu Han, “W-wait!”

Gu Han turned around instantly, overjoyed. “Brother Yang, I knew it, you’re also a man of vengeance!”

Yang Ying ignored his flattery. “Are you sure you can pull this off?”

Gu Han pointed at Fifth Brother’s corpse, somewhat displeased. “Brother Yang, you saw the sword strike with your own eyes. Forget him, even a Divine Connection Realm expert might not be able to block it.”

Yang Ying fell silent again. Although he was stronger than Gu Han, he wasn’t confident he could block that sword strike either. He said, seeming to have poured all his strength into it, “I’m in!”

Gu Han’s spirits lifted. “Yes! So, who do we start with?”

Yang Ying took a deep breath. “Wait a moment. I’ll take you somewhere first.”

“Where?”

“The black market.”

“What for?”

“If you want to collect bounties, you need an assassin’s identity.”

***

Over a thousand li from Yue Mountain City, there was a desolate, secluded valley that was seldom visited.

Outside the valley, Yang Ying handed Gu Han a large black robe and a silver mask. “Put these on. These can prevent others from spying on you.”

As he spoke, Yang Ying also put on a set himself. Gu Han tried to sense Yang Ying’s aura, and indeed found it obscure and difficult to discern. This is some good stuff!

Gu Han eagerly put them on.

Yang Ying hesitated for a moment. “Remember. You have to return them to me later.”

Gu Han was speechless.

Led by Yang Ying, the two took several detours, before stopping at the entrance of an inconspicuous cave. After verifying their identities with the guard at the entrance, Yang Ying took Gu Han inside.

They climbed the narrow, cramped stone staircase, and suddenly the view opened up before them. Inside an extremely spacious hall, numerous people in black robes and wearing silver masks came and went. They kept their distance from each other, appearing particularly cautious.

Yang Ying seemed accustomed to it, leading Gu Han into a side passage. “Come.”

At the end of the passage, there was a cave about ten chi in diameter, with a figure standing quietly inside.

“Go in,” Yang Ying said.

Gu Han was very dissatisfied. “Is this really necessary?! Do we need to make it so formal just to earn some money?”

Yang Ying shook his head. “I have to make sure my identity isn’t leaked.”

Upon seeing him so serious, Gu Han shook his head helplessly and immediately entered the cave.

Inside, the figure slowly turned around. “You want to be an assassin?”

Gu Han was speechless again. Why else would I be here?

He nodded. “Yes.”

“Cultivation level.”

“First stage of Essence Gathering.”

“Codename.”

Gu Han fell into deep thought. He remembered Yang Ying had a codename, Shadow. Seems like this is a tradition in the assassin world.

A flash of inspiration crossed his mind. “Fu Fatty!”

He reported this codename that, in countless years to come, would make Fatty grit his teeth in hatred every time it was mentioned. The figure was also taken aback. Clearly, he hadn’t expected that someone would come up with something so bizarre.

The figure shook his head inwardly and casually tossed over a jade token. “Well then, just channel your aura into it.”

Separating a wisp of his aura, Gu Han immediately saw his own information from the jade token.

Codename: Fu Fatty.

Rank: C-

Clearance: Low.

Number of Tasks: None.

Other than that, there was nothing else. He immediately understood it had something to do with authority level. Not that he cared. Assassination held no appeal for him. All he sought were the bounties on the Yang and Meng families.

As soon as he exited the cave, he patted Yang Ying’s shoulder. “Alright! Can we start now?”

Yang Ying then took out another jade token. “Yes. This contains all the bounties issued in the black market. You can directly accept and deliver tasks using your identity jade token. No need to keep running back and forth.”

Gu Han examined the second jade token curiously. “So this thing has other uses! Fascinating! Aren’t they afraid someone might fake it?”

Yang Ying said in an extremely serious tone, “No one would dare. The black market has specialized personnel responsible for verifying the completion of these tasks. Terrible consequences awaited anyone who dared to fake or forge.”

Gu Han pondered thoughtfully. “The black market isn’t as simple as it seems...”

Yang Ying nodded. “Of course not. Their background is very strong and mysterious. That’s also why they could remain unscathed for so many years. Moreover, their areas of involvement are very broad. This place is only the tip of the iceberg. Bounties, assassinations, secret missions, treasure hunting—whatever it is, they handle it.”

It finally made sense to Gu Han. For the black market to operate right under the noses of those families, there had to be a superpower behind it!

Looking at the second jade token, he frowned again. “But why don’t I have this thing?”

Yang Ying was silent for a moment. “Your rank is too low, you’re still in the probationary period.”

Gu Han was speechless. The second jade token was extremely convenient. Not only could he view issued bounties by time, but he could also actively input a target’s name.

After just a couple of glances, Gu Han found his own bounty. Two of them, in fact. One million essence crystals each. Hanging among that pile of bounties with rewards of only a few tens of thousands of essence crystals, they were extremely eye-catching.

He sneered coldly. “Cheapskates! My life is only worth two million?”

Yang Ying shook his head. “It’s not strange. They don’t know your true strength.”

Gu Han handed the second jade token to him. “Look. Find all the people from both families, then start taking action.”

Yang Ying explained without beating the bush, “Alright. Yang Wei, Yang family steward, eight stage of Acupoint Unsealing cultivation, bounty two hundred thousand. Yang Yu, branch clan member, third stage of Essence Gathering cultivation, bounty three hundred thousand. Yang Hong, main clan member, ninth stage of Essence Gathering cultivation, bounty five hundred thousand...”

He read on for quite a while. The Yang family alone had forty to fifty members with bounties, several of whom carried more than one, totaling over eighteen million. The Meng family’s situation was much the same. Together, the two families’ bounties totaled thirty to forty million essence crystals—several times more than the other three families combined. That alone revealed just how deeply these two families were hated.

Gu Han’s eyes shone brightly. “Brother Yang, we’re going to strike it rich!”

Yang Ying shook his head. “It’s not that simple. Among them, there are some we can’t hope to touch, and others so strong that even together we likely wouldn’t stand a chance. I just calculated that, combining both families, there are sixty-two targets we can take down with absolute certainty. They each have a reason they must die. Their total bounty is 21,600,000 essence crystals.”

Gu Han stared at him as if seeing a treasure. “Brother Yang, I think we should cooperate more in the future.”

He never expected that in just a short moment, Yang Ying could calculate so many things, even analyzing clearly whether those people deserved to die or not.

What an absolute talent!This feeling of only needing to act, not having to consider other matters is simply too great!

Gu Han even vaguely considered, Should I take a bit of a loss this time? Maybe give Yang Ying a bit more essence crystals to ensure a long-term cooperative relationship in the future?

His spirits greatly lifted. “Tell me, who do we move against first?”

Since they had come this far, Yang Ying no longer had the slightest hesitation. “Yang Wei. He’s an unimportant mine steward, far from the Yang family. Killing him will cause less commotion. We’ll have plenty of time to look for the next target.”

Gu Han didn’t oppose. “Great! You’re familiar with this place, so I’ll just go along with you! ”

***

At the Yang Family Mine.

Yang Wei looked at the several mine slaves hanging there with a sinister smile. “Who told them to dawdle? Beat them!”

The mine slaves pleaded incessantly, “S-spare us, Steward Yang! We really couldn’t hold on anymore, we just rested for a moment. Please, let us go! We won’t do it ever again!”

A sinister smile spread across Yang Wei’s face. “Of course you won’t! Beat them to death!”

Deeply aware of Yang Wei’s nature, the underlings lashed out with their long whips without hesitation. “Understood!”

Only after listening to the screams did Yang Wei feel satisfied and returned to his residence. Stroking the storage ring on his finger, he was in a great mood. This month, he had secretly withheld a few valuable ore pieces again, making a small profit.

Suddenly, someone coldly said from behind, “Brother Yang, you really deserve to die.”

Yang Wei’s heart dropped. “Who—”

He was about to turn around when he saw a flash of light.