It’s worth mentioning that some villagers found five horses tied to tree trunks not far from the village. As soon as Ian Song heard the news, he knew these must be the mounts that Malin Ma and his four companions rode in last night.
Those five horses could easily expose the fact that he killed Charles Ma and the others.
With his strength, he had no reason to fear the Ma Family. But what if they targeted his father-in-law instead?
So, Ian narrowed his eyes. Since that was the case, the only way to be truly safe was to deal with Charles Ma’s father and their inner-qi guard captain, Harlan Chen, once and for all.
Ian Song was never one to be overly scrupulous.
That very night, he quietly left the village and sped toward the county seat.
He covered the fifty-li distance in just half an hour. The city wall of Huangshan County was about five meters high, but there were no county soldiers guarding it—after all, Valeguard was enjoying a time of peace and prosperity, and no bandits or outlaws dared attack the city. As a result, the guards had grown lax.
A five-meter wall would be difficult for an ordinary martial artist to scale, but it posed no challenge for someone like Ian, whose inner-qi cultivation had reached its peak.
As he approached the wall, he took a running start from five meters away. At the moment he reached it, he planted his feet against the stone, kicked off several times, and soared upward, landing easily atop the wall.
Scanning his surroundings and confirming he hadn’t alerted any guards, Ian leapt down from the wall and headed straight for the Ma Family estate.
As the largest household in Huangshan County, the Ma Family’s mansion was impressively grand, spanning dozens of acres.
Old Master Ma had two sons—one scholarly, one martial.
Charles Ma was an inner-qi martial artist, while his younger brother Martin Ma had already passed the child-student exam and was studying at the prefectural academy, preparing to take the licentiate exam this year.
Vaulting over the wall, Ian pulled out a black cloth he’d prepared in advance and tied it over his face.
Though the Ma Family was the biggest household in Huangshan County, their defenses were still extremely tight. The main reason was that their methods were notoriously ruthless—they’d ruined countless families over the years.
Not only did Charles Ma have a habit of forcing himself on village girls, but even Old Master Ma, now nearly fifty, was a notorious womanizer. Unlike his son, he’d forcibly married any woman he fancied and kept her in his mansion—he now had thirty-five concubines to his name.
Because he’d committed so many evil deeds, Old Master Ma was always afraid someone might sneak into the estate to assassinate him. So, even with an inner-qi expert for a son, he’d spent a fortune hiring another inner-qi master to serve as his chief bodyguard.
The estate’s guards numbered over a hundred.
The Ma Family mansion was sprawling, but Ian moved through the inner courtyards with practiced ease. It wasn’t that he’d been here before; he was simply broad-minded and, in his previous life, a master of formations. Most buildings involved some feng shui principles in their construction.
Feng shui was just the surface layer of formation arts.
After dodging three waves of patrols, Ian finally slipped into the inner courtyard.
The inner courtyard housed only the women of the family, so there were fewer guards. The main reason was that Harlan Chen lived right next door to Old Master Ma, providing close protection.
Soon enough—
Ian sensed Harlan Chen’s presence.
The aura of an inner-qi master was totally different from an ordinary martial artist; there was no way Ian could miss it.
Of course—
He could fully control his own aura. Before his reincarnation, he’d been a million times stronger than he was now—just one glance could have flattened all of Huangshan County. So hiding his presence was child’s play.
He quietly crept up to Harlan Chen’s door.
First, Ian had the System scan Harlan Chen inside the room. Then he retreated into the courtyard, picked up a pebble, and flicked it with his finger so it struck the door.
"Who’s there!"
A cold shout came from inside, and then the door swung open. Harlan Chen stepped out, gripping a long spear, his sharp gaze sweeping the courtyard.
Just then, he suddenly froze, every hair on his body standing on end. He instinctively tried to retreat, but he was still too slow—a flash of sword light appeared at that very moment.
"Splurt!"
Blood sprayed everywhere—a fresh wound appeared on Harlan Chen’s forehead.
"Thud!"
Harlan Chen’s corpse collapsed straight to the ground.
Ian glanced at him coolly, then walked toward the next room, where the sounds of a man and woman moaning drifted out. You had to admit, Old Master Ma’s stamina was impressive—even at this hour, he was still hard at work.
He kicked the door open, instantly startling the couple in bed.
Old Master Ma was pampered and looked quite overweight. The woman on top of him was much younger, completely naked and straddling him.
She was attractive and well-built, but Ian didn’t feel even the slightest ripple in his heart.
“How dare you! Who are you?”
Old Master Ma shuddered all over and barked out the question.
“The one who’s here to take your life!”
Ian replied.
Hearing this, Old Master Ma’s face changed dramatically and he screamed, “Guards!”
"Whoosh!"
In a blur, Ian darted to the bedside, raised his sword, and decapitated Old Master Ma. The woman shrieked at the sight and fainted instantly.
With everything done, Ian slipped away. Not long after he left, the guards finally arrived…
After leaving the Ma estate, Ian exited the city overnight and returned to Songjia Village.
He pulled up the System interface and discovered his Qi Luck had actually increased by 120 points.
So it turned out Old Master Ma was a man of considerable destiny. Too bad for him—he’d just helped Ian out.
Suddenly—
Ian sensed something: the System was brewing a minor divine ability on its own. For just 500 Qi Luck, he could fuse the Luck-Sight Golden Eyes ability.
The Luck-Sight Golden Eyes would let him see the Qi Luck points on any living being.
Ian didn’t hesitate. He spent 500 Qi Luck right away. His eyes itched, then a cool sensation washed over them, and he felt his vision change.
The next morning—
After getting up, Ian was brought wash water by Mira Xu.
The three girls’ status had already been settled—they were now official maids of the Song household.
With a thought—
Ian activated Luck-Sight Golden Eyes and looked at Mira Xu. Instantly, a golden number appeared above her head: five points.
(This chapter isn’t over yet ^.^, please click next page to continue reading!)
“Mira Xu actually has five points of Qi Luck?”
Ian found it odd. If she had five points of Qi Luck, she should be considered lucky—so how did she end up captured by bandits and taken to the mountains?
Then Ian checked the Qi Luck of the other two girls and Yoyo Chen.
The other two girls had the same Qi Luck as Mira Xu—five points each. But Yoyo Chen’s Qi Luck had reached over fifty points.
Suddenly, Ian realized—this wasn’t their original Qi Luck. It was only because of his influence that they had so much.
After all, a person’s Qi Luck could be affected by outside forces.
After breakfast, Ian took a stroll through the village, using Luck-Sight Golden Eyes to check the villagers’ Qi Luck. Most were ordinary—three points at most, some only had one.
There was even a villager who’d been sick for years—his Qi Luck was actually negative.
Songjia Village was as peaceful as ever, but a major event had rocked the county seat: overnight, Old Master Ma and his inner-qi guard captain Harlan Chen were killed.
When the news spread, many people secretly applauded—mainly because the Ma Family was universally hated.
The Ma Family sent people to search for their eldest son and also notified their second son at the prefectural academy.
Meanwhile, the county magistrate sent constables to investigate the Ma Family.
But the constables were just going through the motions—after all, with an inner-qi expert dead, ordinary constables couldn’t uncover much.
Several days passed in a flash.
The Ma Family’s second son rushed back from the prefectural city, but the eldest son seemed to have vanished. Rumors soon spread that he might be dead too.
For a while—
The other major households in the county began to plot. If the Ma Family’s eldest son was dead, the second son alone—just a licentiate—couldn’t hold onto such a huge estate. Maybe it was their chance to grab a piece for themselves?
So, over the next half month, the county’s big households kept probing the Ma Family’s limits. But after nearly twenty days with Old Master Ma dead and no sign of Charles Ma, they finally lost patience.
And so—
That night, the Ma Family’s second son was killed by one of their own guards.
After killing the second son, the guard fled.
With the second son dead, the Ma Family estate was left ownerless. The county magistrate and his deputy joined forces, uncovered a slew of crimes, and sent people to confiscate the entire Ma estate.
All gold, silver, and jewels were seized.
As for the land and shops, they were sold off cheaply to other big households in the county.
And so, the Ma Family was completely wiped out in Huangshan County.
Ian heard bits and pieces about the county’s affairs, but didn’t pay much attention—he’d already expected the Ma Family’s downfall.
Only ten days remained until the licentiate exam.
In a few days, he’d be heading to the prefectural city to take the exam.
Five days later—
Ian said goodbye to Yoyo Chen and set off for Mingshan Prefecture.
Yoyo Chen walked him all the way to the village entrance. Over the past twenty-plus days, she’d practiced the perfected Body-Fortifying Art every day, and with good meals, she’d changed a lot—she was now tall and graceful, a far cry from the scrawny girl she’d once been.
Even her once-flat chest had started to develop.
“Little husband, you have to be careful on the road!”
Yoyo Chen reminded him tearfully.
“Mm, I know. You should head back.”
Ian waved to her.
After saying goodbye, Ian boarded the horse carriage waiting nearby, driven by Chris Chen, and set off for the prefectural city.
Knowing Ian was heading to the city for the exam, his butcher father-in-law insisted Chris Chen escort him. Ian couldn’t refuse, so he agreed. Originally they’d planned to take an ox cart, but Ian thought it was too slow and rented a horse carriage instead.
Ever since Ian taught Chris Chen the Body-Fortifying Art and Tiger-Wolf Boxing, Chris had trained diligently. In just under a month, he’d made great progress; though he hadn’t formed inner qi yet, he was at least twice as strong as before.
During these days, Ian also clarified the martial hierarchy:
Those who hadn’t formed inner qi were called warriors; those who had were martial masters. Those who transformed inner qi into true qi were Innate, and above Innate were Grandmasters.
Grandmaster martial artists were extremely rare—there were fewer than ten in all of Valeguard.