Martial Saint with Passives

Chapter 146: Chapter 102: Undercover

These three were all Martial Artists of the Stone Skin Realm.

To the average person, they were considered experts, and they had robbed quite a few people before.

But this time, Jiang Che didn’t deliberately reveal his Qi Blood, so they failed to see his true strength.

As a result, not only did they fail their robbery, but they ended up getting robbed themselves, and their Martial Arts were crippled.

On this day, Jiang Che was practicing his swordsmanship in the courtyard.

His figure was erratic and unpredictable, like a leaf falling in the wind.

The gleam of his sword flickered in and out of sight.

This was the Flying Leaf Swordsmanship he had bought from the Xuanji Secret Market some time ago.

Suddenly, a short arrow shot in from outside the courtyard, embedding itself in the doorframe with a THUD.

Jiang Che froze for a moment before walking over.

He saw a piece of paper attached to the arrow.

Jiang Che took the paper and unfolded it.

A look of joy immediately spread across his face.

It was a clue from Four Seas Tower about his parents!

It turned out that after his parents left the city, they were ambushed halfway by Horse Bandits and taken to Black Wind Mountain!

’Black Wind Mountain!’

Jiang Che had suspected before that his parents might have been captured by Horse Bandits.

But Black Wind Mountain was crawling with bandits. Even their leader, Tuoba Lie, was likely above the Force Integration Level, making him incredibly powerful.

On top of that, he had killed Tuoba Lie’s adopted son.

Going there rashly would be far too dangerous.

Besides, it had only been a possibility back then.

That was why he hadn’t made any reckless moves.

Now that he had confirmed information, Jiang Che decided to make a trip to Black Wind Mountain.

Six months ago, he truly wouldn’t have been able to go.

But now, his strength had increased significantly, and he had even activated a life-saving Divine Technique like [Invisibility].

Jiang Che felt that as long as he avoided Tuoba Lie, he shouldn’t face any mortal danger!

Over the next few days, Jiang Che began to gather information about Black Wind Mountain.

When he learned that the Black Wind Mountain Horse Bandits were still actively recruiting Martial Artists from all over, a plan began to form.

「Government Office.」

"You’re looking for a wanted criminal?" Liu Hai asked, somewhat surprised.

Jiang Che nodded. "That’s right. A strong one, preferably Iron Skin Realm or above. I want to earn some bounty money."

Liu Hai felt that Jiang Che’s motives weren’t so pure, but they had been unable to find these fugitives anyway. Having someone help was for the best.

With that, Liu Hai gave him a list of wanted criminals.

Jiang Che looked through them one by one.

’...Hu Bugui, skilled in Saber Technique, Mid Stage of the Iron Skin Realm, has committed multiple massacres of entire families, not even sparing a three-year-old girl. Extremely vicious. Bounty: three thousand silver...’

Jiang Che’s eyes lit up. He was most satisfied with this one.

"This Hu Bugui. Give me his detailed file."

Liu Hai nodded and took out a dossier.

After memorizing the details, Jiang Che left.

He didn’t go looking for Hu Bugui himself. Instead, he went to the Four Seas Tower.

"Do you have any leads on Hu Bugui?"

In a secret room, Jiang Che spoke to the masked contact from Four Seas Tower.

"We do. Five thousand silver," the person said.

Jiang Che was speechless. The price of the information was higher than the bounty.

But for the sake of his plan, Jiang Che gritted his teeth and paid the price.

Watching the gold bars in his pouch visibly shrink, Jiang Che felt a pang of helplessness.

After getting the lead, Jiang Che wasted no time and went straight to the man’s residence.

It was a shack on the banks of the Quicksand River.

According to the Four Seas Tower, Hu Bugui usually pretended to be a deaf-mute fisherman. At the first sign of trouble, he would escape by boat. He was extremely cunning.

As Jiang Che approached the shack, he used his Perfection Level Shadow Tracing Step to close in silently.

Hearing the sound of breathing inside, Jiang Che kicked open the simple wooden door. A gaunt man with a dark face and a scar on his forehead glared at him with murderous eyes.

"Hu Bugui?"

Jiang Che asked.

The man knew his cover was blown. He dropped the pretense and slashed directly at him with his saber.

Seeing that Jiang Che didn’t dodge, Hu Bugui sneered.

Plenty of experts had come to capture him.

But in the end, they all became souls reaped by his saber.

This person before him would clearly be no different.

CLANG—

The saber struck Jiang Che’s shoulder, but it didn’t make the expected sound of a blade cutting into flesh.

Instead, there was a powerful reverberation, as if it had struck solid steel.

Hu Bugui froze. Then, he saw a massive fist smashing toward his chest.

"Ugh..."

Hu Bugui suddenly felt a chill pass through him.

He looked down and saw a gaping hole that went straight through his chest!

"Sorry about that. It was a critical hit," Jiang Che said apologetically.

Those were the last words Hu Bugui ever heard.

He didn’t understand what a "critical hit" was, and now he would never have the chance to ask. Soon, his world faded to black.

Jiang Che was also a bit surprised.

He hadn’t built up any stacks of [Stacking Force] or [Fury].

But with just the power bonus from [Mountain Collapse] and the critical hit from [Break Extreme], it still dealt triple damage.

This guy at the Mid Stage of the Iron Skin Realm couldn’t even take a single punch!

Next, Jiang Che took out the Human Skin Mask, placed it on the man’s face, and dripped some special potion onto it.

About an hour later, Jiang Che removed the Human Skin Mask.

It had perfectly copied Hu Bugui’s face.

"Dead men really are the most cooperative..."

Jiang Che sighed.

Then, he began to loot the man’s belongings.

In the end, he found gold bars worth about ten thousand silver and some Exotic Beast Dried Meat.

There was also a Secret Manual for the Gale Saber Technique.

’Looks like that five thousand silver was well spent...’

Setting aside the gold bars...

...a Saber Technique for the Qi Blood Realm like this was worth ten thousand silver in the Xuanji Secret Market.

Jiang Che suddenly felt this seemed like a great way to get rich.

He picked up the man’s saber and discovered it seemed to be forged from some kind of Secret Iron. Otherwise, it would have shattered on impact when it struck him.

Next, Jiang Che took a few sets of his clothes.

Then, he began to destroy the corpse and erase all traces of the crime.

Jiang Che didn’t choose to take the man’s head for the bounty.

His real goal was to create an identity for himself and join the Black Wind Mountain Horse Bandits.

Therefore, he had to let this Hu Bugui continue to "live."

Afterward, Jiang Che hacked open the man’s stomach and threw him into the Quicksand River. Then he set the shack on fire.

After confirming no traces were left behind, Jiang Che departed.

「Black Wind Mountain.」

A gaunt swordsman with a dark face and a scar on his forehead arrived at the outpost at the foot of the mountain.

"Halt! Who goes there!" two men in black shouted, glaring at the newcomer with hostility.

"My good men, I am Hu Bugui. I’ve come to join Black Wind Castle!" the dark-faced man said.

It was Jiang Che, disguised as Hu Bugui.

Hearing that he had come to join them, the two men’s expressions softened slightly.

"Show us your Qi Blood. What’s your Realm?"

Jiang Che nodded and, without holding back, circulated his Qi Blood at full power.

"Mid Stage of the Iron Skin Realm!"

The two men were a little surprised.

Although people came to join them all the time, most were Martial Artists at the Bull Skin Realm or Stone Skin Realm.

Those at the Iron Skin Realm were very rare. But that was normal; an Iron Skin Realm expert was considered a master anywhere.

Their attitudes instantly became much more respectful, but their expressions also grew tense.

After all, if this man was using recruitment as a pretense for an attack, the two of them, at the Stone Skin Realm, would be no match for him.

After clarifying his identity, one of them said:

"You wait here. I’ll go make a report!"

Before long, a burly man arrived. He was clad in Beast Hide, with a Curved Saber at his waist and a small braid in his hair.

His Qi Blood was vigorous; he looked to be at the Late Iron Skin Realm.

His attire looked extremely similar to the Horse Bandits Jiang Che had killed on Moon Viewing Mountain.

"You’re Hu Bugui?" The man sized Jiang Che up and down. Seeing that he was indeed at the Mid Stage of the Iron Skin Realm, he nodded to himself.

"That is I."

"Alright, come with me. I’ll take you to see Master Wu!"

With that, Jiang Che followed the burly man up the mountain.

The two followed a carved-out mountain path and soon arrived at a mountain fortress.

The fortress was quite large, with rows of houses packed closely together. There were also markets, taverns, and gambling dens.

Along the way, Jiang Che saw many Martial Artists coming and going, all of whom had vigorous Qi Blood and fierce expressions.

Finally, the man led Jiang Che to a spacious residence.

On the way, Jiang Che had chatted briefly with the man and gathered some general information.

He learned that this was the residence of the so-called "Master Wu."

Tuoba Lie had eight adopted sons, and this Master Wu was the fifth one.

The one he had killed before was the eighth.

Jiang Che followed the man inside. In the main hall, a massive tiger skin was spread on the floor, and a giant of a man with a bear-like build was seated at the head of the room.

The man wore a large gold earring in his right ear, had a shaved head, and a full, bushy beard.

His entire body radiated vigorous Qi Blood and a powerful aura. He was unmistakably a master at the Force Integration Level!