SWNOVELXO Chapter 146: The Matter Concluded
Zhao Yannian made a series of preparations, essentially waiting for the rabbit to come to him.
Sure enough, after midnight, someone pushed open his door. Several burly men with knives walked in, and then, one after another, they fell to the ground.
Seeing this, Zhao Yannian felt a pang of disappointment. These people had, in the end, chosen to eliminate him. Since that was the case, he couldn't be blamed.
Of course, Zhao Yannian was also a cautious person. Even though everyone who came in had been taken down, he still stayed hidden on the ceiling beam, not moving a muscle.
He waited for a long time, and then another group of people arrived.
This time, the Village Chief, having not seen any movement for a long time, brought another group of people in. When he saw the skilled fighters lying on the ground, he instinctively felt something was wrong and was about to turn and leave, but it was too late.
The moment he entered, Zhao Yannian pulled the trigger on a crossbow he had already prepared. An arrow shot out silently, triggering a mechanism hidden in the darkness.
After another series of loud crashes and thuds, the Village Chief and his group also fell.
But even though he was in a sorry state, his body sore and weak, having lost the ability to move, he was still conscious.
At this point, he also realized he had misjudged the situation. This young man was overly cautious, and all the things he used were extremely valuable. He was likely someone from a major power.
After figuring this out, he didn't care if Zhao Yannian could hear him or not and immediately begged for mercy:
"Young Hero, please spare my life. This old man is willing to offer the true Divine Technique, I only ask that you spare me."
This was the only thing he had that was worth offering. Even the City Lord had gone to great lengths for it. He felt that Zhao Yannian would also be tempted.
Upon hearing this, Zhao Yannian frowned slightly. Did this mean the old fellow had held back something from the City Lord?
Although he was somewhat curious about that mysterious Cultivation Technique scroll, due to his own strength, rationality still prevailed. He suppressed his curiosity, but now, feeling confident of victory, he felt a bit impulsive and asked:
"Oh? Interesting. Bring it here and let me see it first. Since you, old fellow, could fool that City Lord, you probably could fool me too. I don't want to be played for a fool by you."
Finally, Zhao Yannian's voice came from all directions, making it impossible to pinpoint his exact location.
The Village Chief's ears twitched, and he focused intently, but he couldn't even confirm Zhao Yannian's direction.
It hasn't been that long, has it? Why are young people so cautious these days? Am I outdated?
He somewhat doubted if he had been isolated from the world for too long and felt quite helpless. But to survive, he decided to continue playing along:
"Young Hero, I didn't trick Shangguan Yan. It's just that corresponding to the manual, there's actually a scroll of Harvesting and Replenishing Technique. Only when the two are combined can they achieve the greatest effect and allow for rapid progress."
What he said was true, but also false.
It was true because after years of pondering, he had discovered that by cultivating with blood and then harvesting and replenishing at the right time, one could indeed avoid the suffering of losing one's lifespan. It was false, of course, because the so-called配套的采补之法 (配套的采补之法) was just the Chamber Arts he had learned in his youth, which had minimal effect.
Upon hearing this, Zhao Yannian's brows furrowed. Hearing this description, it didn't sound like a proper Cultivation Technique. After a moment's thought, he asked:
"Where is the item? Take it out and put it down yourself. Of course, if you think I'm like the City Lord, who absolutely needs it, I'm afraid you'll be disappointed."
He spoke with full arrogance. In his heart, he naturally didn't believe that a random Cultivation Technique from this remote place could be better than the one he was currently cultivating. He just wanted to see what this so-called Divine Technique was all about. If that Cultivation Technique was not only harmful to oneself but also to others, then he absolutely couldn't keep it.
The Village Chief was stunned for a moment, then remembered his recent experience and found himself unable to refute. He dejectedly took out another scroll, which was exactly the same as the one given to Shangguan Yan, and whispered his plea:
"Young Hero, I was blinded by greed. I was also afraid that someone would leak the news and bring disaster to Huang Family Village. For the sake of Huang Family Village's safety, I was forced to resort to this desperate measure. Since the Young Hero is unharmed, please, for the sake of that cup of wedding wine, spare this old man this time."
He had already understood his situation, but he had just begun to figure out a method that might lead to the peak. He naturally didn't want to die so silently and still held onto a sliver of hope, hoping that Zhao Yannian was a young master with no Jianghu experience.
Unfortunately, Zhao Yannian wasn't foolish. He was about to be killed; how could he let bygones be bygones? He thought to himself:
If you repay evil with kindness, how do you repay kindness? I hope in your next life, you can be an upright person.
Immediately, he took out a strong crossbow, strung it, and pulled the trigger. With a whoosh, the crossbow bolt shot out, piercing the old man's head.
Although the old man's eyes showed unwillingness, he couldn't resist the loss of Life Force, and the light in his eyes gradually faded.
Then, he leaped down from the ceiling beam, picked up the Blood Burning Realm Breaking Technique, and after a few glances, he confirmed that it was an Evil Technique, just without the extreme aspects like killing people and taking blood.
After reading it, Zhao Yannian put it away. He gently pinched his chin with one hand, his eyes rolling as he pondered:
I didn't expect that just such a mediocre Cultivation Technique would wipe out the true Huang Family Village completely. Even twenty years later, because of it, Huang Family Village was almost flattened again. I wonder what the result will be in another twenty years?
From the scattered words, he had already understood the turmoil it had caused in the past. He had also personally witnessed a City Lord sending out a large army because of it. Comparing all this, he felt extremely fortunate. He had Cultivation Techniques, he had Pills; he didn't need to worry about these resources at all.
To them, perhaps it truly deserves the name Divine Technique, but to me, it's useless.
He had cultivated until now, and breaking through Minor Realms and Major Realms was not difficult at all. Naturally, he didn't understand how desperate those who couldn't break through for years were to take another step forward. It was precisely because of this that various evil methods existed throughout time.
After a moment of sentiment, Zhao Yannian quietly left. He chose to continue his journey.
He didn't take the forest path but entered the mountain forest.
After walking a distance, he turned around and looked at the village far behind him, sighing in his heart:
Since you want to live like ordinary people, I hope you get what you wish for.
Although he hadn't been in the village for long, he had felt the simplicity and innocence of the young people there. He sincerely hoped they could remain that way forever.
Thinking this, Zhao Yannian quickened his pace and slowly disappeared into the night and the mountain forest.
It had only been less than two short days, but he felt he had made much greater progress than he had thought and pondered in the past.
Seeing him enter the mountain forest, Zhao Li flicked his finger, and an Energy Barrier quietly protected Zhao Yannian. It could even withstand an attack from a Dou Venerate.
He still needed to study the Blood Burning Realm Breaking Technique. If he suddenly had an Enlightenment at some point and accidentally fell into a state of Enlightenment, failing to notice Zhao Yannian and letting something happen to him, it would be difficult to explain. That's why he added this layer of protection for him.
It wasn't until Zhao Yannian disappeared into the mountain forest that he withdrew his gaze. He looked at the villagers but didn't do anything else and quietly left this place as well.
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