The next day.
Although the father and son of the Song Family had not slept a wink all night, they felt unusually clear-headed and refreshed, experiencing a sense of ease they had never known before.
"Dad, I feel so comfortable."
"Son, Dad feels wonderful too."
The father and son exchanged a smile.
To absolve themselves of their heavy karmic burden, the Song Family father and son decided to follow Ye Qingyun's advice and perform more good deeds.
Equipped with this resolve, the two of them set out, accompanied by the martial artists of the Song Family, looking for any opportunity to do good.
When the local villagers saw members of the Song Family approaching, they all scrambled to hide, not daring to get anywhere near them.
Seeing this, the father and son felt deeply ashamed.
"It seems our family really did commit far too many evil deeds in the past."
They resolved to turn over a new leaf and never commit another wrongful act, no matter how small.
"Father, look at that old woman over there. Is she trying to cross the river?"
Song Chenglong pointed to an old woman standing by the river not far away.
Song Xiaotian looked over, and his eyes immediately lit up.
"You're right, son. That old woman does indeed want to cross the river. Go and give her a hand."
"You got it!"
Song Chenglong hurried over to the riverbank.
"Granny, do you want to cross the river? Don't worry, let me help you."
Full of enthusiasm, Song Chenglong hoisted the old woman up onto his shoulders without giving her a chance to object, channeled his spiritual energy, and strode across the water.
In just a few brief moments, he reached the opposite bank.
After setting down the utterly bewildered old woman, Song Chenglong even straightened her clothes for her.
"Granny, no need to thank me. This is only right."
Song Chenglong waved a hand and strode away triumphantly.
"Ah, doing good deeds feels amazing!"
Filled with pride, Song Chenglong felt as though his entire being had been elevated.
It took a moment for the old woman to finally collect her wits.
"That godforsaken lunatic! I just crossed over from that side of the river, why on earth did he carry me right back?!"
The old woman cursed to high heaven.
...
The Song Family father and son continued their search for their next target of charity.
Soon, they spotted a group of children playing together.
The children, all around seven or eight years old, were chasing each other around a well, playing and shouting merrily.
"Father, look! Those children are playing right next to that well. It's too dangerous! What if one of them falls in?"
Song Chenglong said with a worried expression.
Song Xiaotian nodded repeatedly.
"You're right. It's far too dangerous. We must help these poor children."
With that, Song Xiaotian walked over.
"Children, step back for a moment."
Song Xiaotian said with a gentle, kindly smile.
The children had no idea what was going on, but seeing a strange man in fine clothes walking toward them with a bizarre grin, they panicked and scattered in all directions.
"Such lovely children."
Song Xiaotian smiled and immediately channeled his spiritual energy.
Rumble!
A massive chunk of earth not far away suddenly levitated into the air out of nowhere.
With a wave of Song Xiaotian's arm, the soil crashed down and completely filled in the well right in front of them.
"There, now the children won't have to worry about falling into the well while they play."
Song Xiaotian turned and walked away, immensely satisfied.
"Another good deed done. When the Master finds out, he will surely praise us."
Not long afterward, some villagers came over with buckets to fetch water.
Only to discover that the well had been filled in.
"Which bastard filled in our village's well?!"
"Utterly despicable!"
"They'll be struck by lightning for this!"
...
Several days later, the reputation of the Song Family father and son as tireless do-gooders had spread far and wide.
However, whenever the villagers saw them coming out to do good deeds, they scattered even faster than before.
It was truly a case of wherever they went, not even a chicken dared stay in their path.
Watching the villagers flee in panic, the father and son were utterly baffled.
"Why is it that people seem to welcome us even less than before?"
Song Xiaotian asked, bewildered.
Song Chenglong furrowed his brow. "It must be that we aren't doing enough good deeds. We need to step it up."
"You're right, son! We'll step it up!"
...
On this particular day, Ye Qingyun was busy drying sweet potato strips.
There weren't many, but every single one had been planted and harvested with his own hands.
In the distance, someone came running over in a panic.
"Hm?"
Ye Qingyun couldn't help but look up.
The person was disheveled and looked like a beggar.
However, it wasn't Guoxiaoyun, whom Ye Qingyun knew.
"Are you Ye Qingyun?"
The beggar appeared quite young, only a little over ten years old, and he asked the question breathlessly as soon as he reached him.
"I am. Who are you?"
Ye Qingyun asked, puzzled.
The beggar caught his breath, his expression deeply anxious.
"Something's happened to Guoxiaoyun."
Ye Qingyun's expression shifted instantly.
"What happened to him?"
"Last night, a man in black grabbed Guoxiaoyun and carried him away."
Ye Qingyun's heart skipped a beat.
Could it be that Guoxiaoyun had run into the evil cultivator Bai SuyI had warned him about?
"Do you know where he was taken?"
Ye Qingyun asked urgently.
"I'm not sure, but the man in black headed east."
Chapter 35: One Shot, One Kill
He headed east?
Ye Qingyun frowned deeply.
He would have loved to go rescue the boy.
The problem was that Ye Qingyun knew he was a weakling; going there would likely mean walking straight to his death.
The kidnapper was an evil cultivator, after all.
Anything with the word "evil" attached to it implied someone ruthless and vicious.
Ye Qingyun didn't dare risk his life like that.
Which meant he had to find someone to help.
Ye Qingyun did know quite a few martial arts experts.
The trouble was that he had no way of contacting any of them.
What should he do?
What should he do?
Ye Qingyun was frantic with anxiety.
Even though Guoxiaoyun and he were merely casual acquaintances, Ye Qingyun genuinely liked the spirited little beggar.
If the boy were to die just like that,
Ye Qingyun would carry the heavy burden in his heart, perhaps feeling guilty for the rest of his life.
"Looks like I have no choice but to break out my trump card."
Ye Qingyun took a deep breath.
He hardened his heart.
He had to take the gamble.
He turned and went into the house.
Moments later, he emerged fully equipped.
Slung across his back was a long, narrow object wrapped in cloth.
At his waist hung two strange boxes.
He wore a thick grey tactical vest over his torso.
Even his head was covered by a sturdy steel helmet.
Fully armed!
All of these gadgets were things Ye Qingyun had cobbled together in the past under the cruel torment of the system.
At the time, Ye Qingyun hadn't even believed he could manufacture such contraptions.
And yet, they had actually worked.
Consequently, these items had become Ye Qingyun's ultimate trump cards.
Unless it was an absolute emergency, he would never touch them.
But now,
to save a life, Ye Qingyun had no choice but to bite the bullet and go.
"Damao, you're coming with me!"
Ye Qingyun glanced at the lazy Damao and gave the command.
Damao immediately ambled over and fell in behind him.
The grey Rabbit, however, was left behind at the house.
Ye Qingyun descended the mountain and headed straight east.
"Damao, can you smell Guoxiaoyun's scent?"
Ye Qingyun asked tentatively.
He hadn't really expected much, but to his surprise, Damao actually lowered its head, sniffed around, let out a bark in a specific direction, and bolted forward.
Startled, Ye Qingyun immediately gave chase.
"Are you sure you didn't get it wrong?"
Ye Qingyun asked, feeling rather skeptical.
Damao shook its head, as if telling Ye Qingyun to trust its nose.
With no other choice,
and having no idea where the man in black had taken Guoxiaoyun, Ye Qingyun could only treat a dead horse like a living one.
"I hope we find him!"
Heading east all the way, they soon entered a expanse of deep mountains.
It was a remote place with lush vegetation, where the cries of birds and beasts echoed from time to time.
Damao continued to lead the way.
Before long,
Ye Qingyun arrived outside a mountain valley.
Any further, and they would be entering the valley itself.
However, Damao stopped and let out a low growl, appearing on high alert.
Seeing this, Ye Qingyun immediately grew cautious as well.
"Could they be inside?"
Ye Qingyun crept forward carefully,
peering into the valley.
His pupils instantly constricted.
There were many people inside the valley!
Furthermore, the vast majority of them were children.
Almost all of them were under ten years old, around seven or eight.
These children lay sprawled out haphazardly across the valley floor, completely motionless.
It was impossible to tell whether they were dead or alive.
A dozen men dressed in black stood within the valley, each sitting cross-legged with a faint grey aura swirling around their bodies.
What shocked Ye Qingyun the most, however, was what he saw at the very back of the valley.
Sitting there was a creature who looked like a skeleton wrapped in skin.
A literal skeleton wrapped in skin; there was practically no flesh left on his entire body, just a layer of withered, blackened hide stretched tight over bones.
This freak's eyes were like two grey vortexes.
The grey energy emanating from the dozen men in black was all flowing into this strange entity.
The sight was utterly bizarre,
making Ye Qingyun's hair stand on end.
It looked like some sort of evil ritual.
Anxious, Ye Qingyun frantically scanned the area for Guoxiaoyun.
Finally,
he spotted him.
Guoxiaoyun was lying not far from the valley entrance, his eyes closed, though he still seemed to be breathing.
Ye Qingyun felt a slight weight lift from his chest.
As long as he was still alive, that was what mattered.
Calming his nerves, Ye Qingyun counted the men in black in the valley.
"A total of twelve."
He unslung the object from his back and peeled away the cloth.
It was none other than a sniper rifle!
Ye Qingyun looked down at the weapon. He had built it with his own hands, but until today, he had never fired a single round from it.
Today,
however, he was going to use it.
Ye Qingyun retrieved a silencer from his pocket and screwed it onto the barrel.
"Damao, go hide by yourself."
Damao immediately scampered far off.
Ye Qingyun pressed his eye against the scope.
His hands were trembling slightly as he gripped the rifle.
But moments later, he grew completely calm.
His hands became exceptionally steady.
He took aim!
And pulled the trigger!
*Puff!*
With virtually no sound at all, a hole was punched straight through the forehead of one of the men in black.
The man jerked slightly, his head slumped to the side, and he died right where he sat.
Emotions churned within Ye Qingyun.
This was the first time he had ever killed a person.
Yet he was killing to save a life.
Moreover, his targets were evil cultivators—enemies of all humanity whom anyone had the right to execute—so Ye Qingyun didn't feel an overwhelming psychological burden.
Ye Qingyun continued to fire.
*Puff, puff, puff, puff, puff!*
One, two, three...
All twelve men in black were silently and swiftly dispatched by Ye Qingyun.
The twelve of them still maintained their cross-legged postures, not a single one toppling over.
Yet the grey light around their bodies had naturally vanished.
"Hm?"
The freak deep within the valley seemed to sense something.
He abruptly raised his head, fixing his gaze on the twelve men.
"Why have you stopped? Continue converting the essence of these children for me!"
The freak let out a hoarse voice, sounding like two pieces of old tree bark rubbing together, grating harshly on the ears.
Naturally, the men in black were unable to answer him.
The freak frowned.
The next moment, however,
his expression shifted dramatically.
For he had already perceived that the twelve men had ceased breathing.
They were dead!
Someone had silently wiped out all twelve of his subordinates?
What kind of terrifying entity was this?
An expert had arrived!
The freak immediately scrambled to his feet, scanning his surroundings.
"What formidable expert has slain my disciples? Show yourself at once!"
Ye Qingyun's heart tightened.
Had he been discovered?
No matter then.
He aimed directly at the freak.
He fired a shot!
The bullet tore through the air.
But the next second, Ye Qingyun was utterly stunned.
The freak actually reached out and grabbed it.
He caught the bullet barehanded!
"Holy cow!"
Ye Qingyun's jaw practically hit the floor.
A scene straight out of over-the-top fantasy dramas was playing out right before his very eyes today.
The freak caught the bullet, opened his palm, and looked at it.
"What is this object? It's actually so hard?"
The freak was secretly shocked as well.
He had relied on his profound cultivation base just to catch that bullet.
Realizing that the sniper rifle couldn't deal with this monster, Ye Qingyun stopped hiding.
He stood straight up, drew two pistols, and bit the bullet as he stepped into the valley.
"Your Excellency is practicing evil arts here and taking the lives of so many children. Don't you think you're inviting divine retribution?"
Ye Qingyun held up both guns and demanded coldly.
Chapter 36: Dugu Qiubai?
The freak stared at Ye Qingyun, and Ye Qingyun stared back at the freak.
The two of them locked in a staring contest.
The atmosphere grew slightly tense.
On the surface, Ye Qingyun looked as steady as an old dog.
In reality, he was panicking like mad.
Internally, he was cursing up a storm.
"Goddamn useless system! It taught me everything except how to cultivate."
"If I could cultivate, would I need to rely on guns?!"
"I'm probably stepping into a nine-to-one death trap this time!"
Despite his panic, in order to protect his own life, Ye Qingyun had to put on a facade of absolute calm.
He even deliberately let a trace of disdain show on his face.
"Why can't I sense this person's cultivation level at all?"
Doubt swirled in the freak's mind.
With his strength, within the borders of the Tianwu Dynasty, the people whose cultivation he couldn't see through could be counted on one hand.
Yet this bizarre man before him was completely unreadable.
In fact, he gave off the impression of an ordinary mortal.
However, the freak didn't believe for a second that Ye Qingyun was a mortal without any cultivation.
If he were a mere mortal, how could he have silently killed all of his disciples?
"This person's cultivation is unfathomable, and the objects in his hands are truly bizarre. My injuries aren't healed and my vitality is depleted; I must proceed with caution."
The freak grew secretly apprehensive.
These two people were each panicking more than the other.
Both were deeply wary of their opponent.
"Who on earth are you?"
The freak demanded in a deep voice.
Ye Qingyun took a deep breath.
"Want to know who I am? Do you think you're qualified?"
The freak frowned.
"Even if Your Excellency possesses profound cultivation, this old man is no mere nobody. If we truly fought, Your Excellency might not be a match for me."
These words were purely the freak trying to save face.
His sole purpose was to probe Ye Qingyun's bottom line.
Ye Qingyun was actually quite terrified.
What if they really fought? Would he have to rely on these two pistols?
They certainly wouldn't be reliable.
Screw it, he'd bluff this old coot first.
"Since you're so confident in your strength, I shall tell you my name."
Ye Qingyun took a deep breath.
"I am Dugu Qiubai."
Dugu Qiubai?
The freak paused, searching his memory carefully.
He didn't seem to recall hearing of such a person.
Still, the name sounded undeniably arrogant.
Qiubai—Seeking Defeat?
Utterly and brazenly conceited.
"Hmph, this old man has never heard of this name."
The freak said coldly.
Ye Qingyun sneered.
"A frog at the bottom of a well like you, how could you have ever heard my name?"
"You can go ask Xu Changfeng of the Xuanjian Sect. Back then, he visited me three times to ask for guidance on martial arts. I merely gave him a few pointers, and it benefited him endlessly, leading to the achievements he has today."
Disregarding everything, Ye Qingyun began spinning wild falsehoods.
The freak was genuinely startled.
"Xu Changfeng was actually given pointers by this person?!"
What kind of figure was Xu Changfeng?
He was the Sect Master of the Xuanjian Sect and the top powerhouse in the Tianwu Dynasty today.
Although the freak was immensely strong, he knew that if he crossed Xu Changfeng, he would still have to give him a wide berth.
If the freak were back at his peak strength, perhaps he could contest Xu Changfeng.
"And what about Martial Emperor Dongfang Su? Before he ascended the throne, he overestimated himself and came to challenge me."
"With a single finger, I defeated him and taught him the lesson that there are heavens beyond heavens and people beyond people."
Ye Qingyun continued his wild rambling.
The freak shivered in fright.
Even Martial Emperor Dongfang Su had been defeated by him?!
Granted, that was when Dongfang Su was young, but even in his youth, Dongfang Su was an extraordinarily formidable expert.
Defeated with a single finger?
What kind of terrifying strength was that?
"Oh, and do you know Shen Tianhua?"
Ye Qingyun added.
Shen Tianhua?
This time, the freak's expression changed drastically, and a look of sheer terror even surfaced in his eyes.
Shen Tianhua, the Old Man of the Seven Absolutes!
Back then, the freak had been defeated precisely at the hands of Shen Tianhua, suffering heavy damage to his cultivation, scattering his vital energy, and nearly dying.
Had he not relied on a fake-death profound technique he had practiced in his youth to fool Shen Tianhua, his soul would have long since departed to the netherworld.
Because of that disastrous defeat, at the mere mention of Shen Tianhua's name, the freak couldn't help but tremble with dread.
Could it be that this fellow calling himself Dugu Qiubai actually knew Shen Tianhua?
"Judging by your reaction, it seems you know Shen Tianhua?"
Ye Qingyun acutely noticed the terror blooming on the freak's face.
Neither of the two names he mentioned earlier—neither Xu Changfeng nor Dongfang Su—had elicited any fear from this freak.
Only when Shen Tianhua was mentioned did the man grow afraid.
Could it be that this freak had suffered at the hands of Old Man Shen back in the day?
Very likely!
Thinking of this, Ye Qingyun regained a bit of confidence in his heart.
"I might as well tell you, Shen Tianhua even brought his newly accepted disciple to visit me a few days ago, hoping I could offer the boy some guidance."
"It's a pity that Shen Tianhua's aptitude was lacking back then; he only understood a fraction of what I taught him, barely muddling his way to the level he's at today."
Ye Qingyun wore an expression of deep disappointment, as if hating iron for not becoming steel.
As if in his eyes, a supreme powerhouse like Shen Tianhua was nothing special at all.
The freak stared, looking at Ye Qingyun in disbelief.
"You actually gave guidance to Shen Tianhua?!"