Martial Saint with Passives

As a businessman, he trusted his own judgment and knew this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity he absolutely couldn’t afford to miss!

Mrs. Yin also nodded repeatedly. "Yes, yes! Young Master Jiang, please accept it! If you don’t, we’ll feel terribly uneasy!"

Yin Yingying looked at Jiang Che, her eyes sparkling, full of trust and admiration. "Jiang Che, just take it! You saved my father and our whole family, so what’s this little bit of money? In the future, my father will definitely raise the Tributor’s fee he pays you!"

Seeing the sincere and eager gazes of the three Yin Family members, a warmth flowed through Jiang Che’s heart.

He really did need the money.

A spot for Cloud Mist Ridge, the next scroll of the Nine Heavens Azure Cloud Technique, Withered Soul Grass, daily Cultivation...

Every single thing required a massive amount of funds. He would remember this kindness.

Jiang Che no longer refused. He solemnly accepted the money pouch and put it away.

"Alright. Uncle, Auntie, Yingying, I, Jiang Che, will accept this money. Thank you!"

Seeing Jiang Che accept the money, all three members of the Yin Family smiled in relief.

Jiang Che added, "Uncle, Auntie, Yingying, it’s getting late. You’ve had quite a scare, so you should get some rest. I have matters to attend to back at the Sect, so I’ll take my leave now."

"Take care, Young Master Jiang! Be careful on your way!" Yin Rong said, hurrying to see him out.

He left the Yin Mansion and started on the road back to the Cangyun Sect. The night breeze was cool.

Jiang Che carried the heavy money pouch. Aside from the ten thousand taels from the Yin Family, it also contained a considerable amount of "spoils" he had looted from the Iron Bone Gang.

’I’ve really struck it rich this time...’

He began to calculate how he would spend the money.

As he mulled it over, a smile crept onto his face, and his steps grew a little lighter.

However, this feeling of ease lasted only for a moment.

As he turned into a relatively secluded alley, Jiang Che’s steps faltered for a second.

The Omen had been triggered!

Jiang Che didn’t turn around immediately, but his muscles had already tensed unconsciously, and his Qi Force began to circulate on its own.

Using his peripheral vision, he discreetly scanned the deep darkness of the night behind him.

At the alley’s entrance, a blurry shadow flickered in the darkness and vanished, so fast it was like an illusion.

Jiang Che’s heart went cold. ’Someone is following me!’

The night wind, carrying the alley’s chill, brushed against Jiang Che’s cheek.

The heavy pouch was still tucked in his robes, but the sense of relief from surviving the ordeal and the joy of his reward had been utterly shattered by the faint, probing gaze from the shadows behind him.

The Omen’s warning was like cold needles, pricking at his nerves.

’The one following me is extremely powerful!’

Jiang Che didn’t break his stride, but he subtly changed direction, deliberately ducking into deserted and secluded alleyways.

After numerous twists and turns, he finally came to a stop in a dead-end alley situated between several abandoned courtyards.

The moonlight was stingy, casting down only a few faint glimmers that barely illuminated a few feet of ground in front of him. Behind him lay an impenetrable darkness.

He turned to face the profound darkness at the mouth of the alley, his voice perfectly calm.

"Friend, you’ve followed me all this way. Come on out. It’s quiet here—a good place to talk."

After a moment of dead silence, the shadows at the alley’s entrance seemed to come alive, writhing inward and coalescing.

A figure slowly emerged from the darkness, stopping at the boundary between moonlight and shadow.

The man was of medium height, dressed in unremarkable, grayish-brown short robes. His face was so plain you could lose him in a crowd and never find him again.

But the almost tangible pressure that emanated from him made Jiang Che’s heart clench.

’Late-stage Bone Forging Realm!’

’He’s stronger than Ba Hui of the Iron Bone Gang, and on a completely different level than those two Demon Sect spies from the Golden Leaf Forest!’

An invisible Qi Force circulated around the other man’s body, and the very air seemed to grow thick and heavy.

Under the pressure of his opponent’s aura, Jiang Che could feel the Qi Force inside him spontaneously accelerate, moving to protect his vital points.

And yet, amidst this chilling killing intent and the fluctuations of Qi Force...

A faint, familiar scent, mixed in with the night wind, drifted over to him.

It was cold and putrid, carrying the faintest hint of blood.

It was the exact same scent he had smelled that night on the two Demon Sect spies in the Deer Garden at the Golden Leaf Forest!

"So, you’re a remnant of the Demon Sect,"

Jiang Che’s voice grew cold.

He clenched his fists, his knuckles turning white.

Not out of fear, but excitement.

It was an almost barbaric excitement, one that ignited deep in his bones when faced with a powerful enemy.

This was, by far, the strongest opponent Jiang Che had ever encountered.

He had a premonition that after this life-or-death battle,

his comprehension of the Martial Dao would reach a new level!

As for whether he could actually win...

Jiang Che wasn’t worried.

’If it really comes down to it, I’ll just transform into my Black Armor Form and tear this person to shreds.’

The corners of the gray-robed man’s mouth pulled back into an incredibly stiff arc, like a mask that was cracking apart.

His voice was hoarse and dry, like sandpaper grating on stone:

"Golden Leaf Forest... ’Big Foot’? You killed our people and framed a monster that doesn’t exist. I don’t know how you pulled it off, but that was a clever trick..."

His murky eyes locked onto Jiang Che, like a viper staring down its prey.

"Those two were useless; their deaths mean nothing. But you... you interfered with the Holy Alliance’s business, and for that, you must pay the price..."

Jiang Che’s brow furrowed even deeper.

’How did this person from the Demon Sect track me down?’

’Do they have some kind of special technique?’

At the same time, the Qi Force from the Nine Heavens Azure Cloud Technique within his body began to surge, gathering power and ready to be unleashed at a moment’s notice.

"I don’t know what you’re talking about." Jiang Che’s tone was flat, but his gaze was as sharp as a blade. "If you want to fight, then fight. Enough with the pointless chatter!"

The instant the last word left his mouth, Jiang Che moved!

He stomped a foot down hard!

BANG!

The hard stone slabs beneath his feet shattered!

Like an arrow loosed from a bow, Jiang Che shot forward, tearing through the air and creating a piercing sonic boom!