Book 1 - Chapter 73: Forceful Tearing

Chapter 73: Forceful Tearing

The dark fog blocked both vision and hearing.

The conductance of sound in this fog was greatly diminished, making Su Chen, who was used to relying on his hearing, feel very uncomfortable.

Perhaps this was also the other party’s intention?

Placing a blind person in a situation where they could not rely on their hearing to put an immense amount of pressure on that person’s heart.

Was this repayment? A warning? A threat? Or was it some other meaning?

Su Chen did not know.

And he did not care.

Although his sight and hearing had been greatly affected, Su Chen could still feel the fierce battle that was occurring not too far away from him. Baron and Li Mingtang especially were like two blazing suns in the dark fog. Even though they were shrouded in fog, he could still feel the forceful Origin Energy movements, not to mention the fact that wave after wave of Origin Energy was constantly pushing aside the fog.

The battle between Yang Opening experts was indeed no small matter. The fluctuations from their battle was enough to disperse the black fog, so everything was broken on sight. The brick building was just like it was made of mud. Even the stone tiger in front of the door was easily broken into pieces. The shockwaves were so large that they even limited the obstruction of the dark fog.

In terms of strength, Baron held the obvious advantage.

His combat style was open, forceful, and robust. Each broadsword strike was filled with a steady power. Although it didn’t appear flashy, it contained a fatal power. In comparison, Li Mingtang was clearly more nimble, often attempting to widen the distance between them and attacking with the flying rings. His flying rings were also a kind of Origin Tool, which would return to his arm automatically after being thrown and could form a protective arm brace for close-quarters combat.

However, these multiple forms evidently didn’t have any point in front of Baron. Baron’s broadsword chopped towards Li Mingtang’s arms, causing sparks to fly wildly into the air, clanging like a blacksmith forging iron. Li Mingtang’s face continued to pale as he tried to neutralize the violent vibrations that Baron’s strikes inflicted on him.

The two of them had fought each other before, and Li Mingtang had suffered a great loss and was forced to flee. Regardless of combat style or cultivation base, Li Mingtang was completely suppressed by Baron. This was why the Immortal Temple had chosen to send Baron to participate in this battle.

On the other side, the situation was even more one-sided.

There were only two Blood Boiling and three Qi Drawing Realm cultivators, while the black-clothed people had three Blood Boiling and three Qi Drawing Realm cultivators, and they had higher cultivation layers than the opponents, so they had the absolute advantage. However, one of the Blood Boiling black-clothed cultivators was significantly weaker in combat compared to the other two for an unknown reason. He was only barely holding on when faced with the fierce onslaught of bandits. Even so, he probably wouldn’t be able to hold on for much longer.

Upon seeing this scene, Su Chen said in a low voice to Iron Cliff, “Iron Cliff, break the wall on that side, then immediately run back to me.”

Iron Cliff lowered his head, charging towards the wall that Su Chen had pointed out.

This was a wall that separated the Golden Name Workshop with its neighbor. A horde of bandits appeared from behind the wall. These bandits had been affected by the fog and didn’t know yet that there was a battle going on here. But as soon as the wall toppled, even if they were more blind they could recognize something was wrong. When adding on Iron Cliff’s obvious body figure, they instantly recognized what was happening and charged over, yelling.

Iron Cliff turned around and ran, with a large group of people chasing him. They then discovered that their leader was embroiled in a bitter struggle and hurried over to assist. Those who were more quick-witted pulled out a whistle and began to blow on it. The whistle was extremely piercing and was able to break through the fog, alerting the bandits who were standing guard near the road.

Upon seeing this, Night Demon angrily yelled, “Su Chen, what are you doing?”

Such a complete annihilation plot was forcefully broken by Su Chen.

Su Chen leisurely replied, “Isn’t it just two extra Qi Drawing cultivators and ten or so martial artists? At most it’ll take a little more effort to deal with them, so why care about it? Also, if I don’t draw them out, how can I go inside to try and find the treasure?”

As he spoke, he brought Iron Cliff and walked into the Golden Name Workshop.

“Dammit, what a wily bastard,” everyone cursed upon seeing this scene.

Although they had decided on a method of dividing the spoils, in reality no one trusted each other.

Every person wanted to be the first to find treasure rather than others.

To Baron and the others, they had a large number of people, so naturally they had the advantage.

However, they had not expected that Su Chen would be so devious, directly attracting the ambushing soldiers and prolonging the battle. He and Iron Cliff were the first to step inside.

While everyone cursed Su Chen for his devious schemes, they couldn’t do anything to him. Because those bandits were extremely vicious, each one of them going all out, the others would not be able to win in a short amount of time.

At this time, Su Chen had already entered the Golden Name Workshop.

Without investigating too carefully, Su Chen barked out, “Iron Cliff!”

“Understood!” Iron Cliff placed the iron trunk on the ground, opening it up. Inside was an impressive golden suit of armor. The instant the trunk was open, the armor stood up like a person, extending itself and leaping onto Iron Cliff’s body, instantly covering him from head to toe and leaving no cracks.. Even his eyes were protected by a special water crystal visor.

“Ha!” He took a step forward with a huge burst of power. The ground cracked beneath his feet.

At the same time, Iron Cliff lowered his head, slamming into the wall in front of him. He furiously ran, beginning to tear down the house.

That’s right.

Forceful tearing!

This was the tactic Su Chen had chosen to find the treasure. It was simple and explosive, but it was also the most effective.

He had no interest for the small items in the store itself. All that he was concerned with were hidden treasure storages or chests, etc.

He needed to find the treasure storage before the battle ended!

Bang!

They broke into a room.

Nothing.

They broke into another room. Still nothing.

Iron Cliff continued to charge, his feet slamming on the ground and his head breaking through walls. He used the most barbaric and simplest method to sweep the entire area, looking for any possibly hidden existences.

Suddenly, an intense vibration sounded out.

Iron Cliff stopped moving. He had fragmented a bed in front of him, but his foot landed on something that prevented him from stomping forwards.

Iron Cliff reached his hand down, pulling out a large iron trunk from beneath the bed.

“This one, Master!” Iron Cliff said in a muffled voice.

“Open it.”

Iron Cliff broke the lock and opened the trunk.

Boom!

A violent gust of wind burst out from the trunk. Thousands of iron needles slammed onto the metal armor on Iron Cliff’s body, creating a sound like a monsoon.

Iron Cliff’s figure only swayed slightly before he continued to open the trunk, unperturbed.

The mechanism in the trunk could only be activated once. When he opened it again, nothing else happened.

Su Chen looked inside the trunk only to see a few non eye-catching items inside. There were a few scrolls, some small vials, and a piece of jade. There weren’t even any Origin Stones.

However, upon seeing these things, Su Chen’s face revealed a satisfied smile.

After staying by Tang Zhen’s side for so long, Su Chen had picked up a few things. He knew that the items in here were the real valuable items. Each one could be exchanged for hundreds or even thousands of Origin Stones.

He picked up all the items in the trunk, then said, “We earned back one-third of how much we spent earlier.”

“Only one-third?” Iron Cliff was very disappointed.

Su Chen replied, “That’s not too bad. After all, this is not the treasury of the Shadow Mountain Troops; it’s just the treasury of the Golden Name Workshop.”

“How do you know, Master?” Iron Cliff didn’t understand.

Su Chen replied, “Because bandits wouldn’t treat antiques as treasures. They trust in gold, silver, and precious stones more.”

He looked at the surroundings. “A sly individual has more than one fallback plan. As long as Li Mingtang isn’t an idiot, he definitely wouldn’t keep all of his valuables in one place. This place should have at least some of his hidden treasures. Where could they be?”

Su Chen fell into deep thought.

Su Chen turned his head around and looked in another direction.

A room towered above the fallen wall. That was where Su Chen had released the ambushing troops from earlier.

As he looked at that room, Su Chen’s eyes lit up. “Iron Cliff, break that room down for me.”

————————————————

“Ah!” Li Mingtang was sent flying with a pained cry. His entire chest caved in as he spit out a mouthful of fresh blood.

“Tell me, where is the Shadow Mountain Troop’s treasury?” Baron walked over with large strides. At this moment, he was wearing a suit of armor that was exactly like Iron Cliff’s. He looked like a giant golden person. Although he was extremely majestic, his steps did not make as much noise as Iron Cliff’s. This was not because his strength was less than Iron Cliff’s, but rather that his control over it was much stronger than Iron Cliff.

Li Mingtang looked at Baron, wanting to say something. However, in the end he was unable to vocalize it, and his head tilted as he died.

“Dammit!” Baron tossed Li Mingtang to the ground in anger. In order to quickly finish off his opponent, his attack had been too strong.

On the other side, Night Demon and the others had completely killed off all of the remaining bandits.

They looked at each other before simultaneously charging towards the Golden Name Pavilion. They had not taken many steps, however, before a person walked out from the fog.

This was Su Chen. Behind him was Iron Cliff, who was dressed in the golden armor and was carrying a giant trunk.

“There’s no need to search anymore,” he said. “I searched this place already. Evidently, their treasury is not hidden here.”

A black-clothed person harrumphed, “If you say there’s none then there’s none? How do we know if you didn’t hide the treasures after finding them?”

Su Chen tilted his head. “Then what do you think we should do?”

“Take out your ring and let us take a look at it.”

Su Chen thought for a moment, then replied, “I can agree to this. However, I must remind you that this is breaking our mutual trust. Today, you can suspect me, and tomorrow I can distrust you.”

As he spoke, Su Chen tossed his ring over to Baron, not even giving him any time to consider.

Now that the ring was in his hand, Baron could only open it to take a look to avoid appearing weak-willed.

Of course, he didn’t find any treasures.

Su Chen laughed, “Do you need to search my body as well?”

Baron said in a low voice, “There’s no need. Aaron, apologize to Prince Su.”

The black-clothed person called Aaron could only say reluctantly, “Sorry, Prince Su.”

“No worries,” Su Chen replied. “However, since we didn’t find anything here, we can only go to the Shadow Mountain. Of course, if there is anyone who hasn’t given up yet, you can go in to take a look as well. However, you’d best do it quickly. It takes time to get there, and if this matter stretches until tomorrow…… I will need to pay an extra day’s salary.”