"What are you afraid of?" Shen Bai asked, wiping the blood on the Second Elder’s clothes.
"..."
The Grand Elder wanted to say he was afraid Shen Bai, caught up in the thrill of the kill, might just finish him off as well. But admitting that would make him seem like a coward.
"You’re afraid I’ll kill you," Shen Bai said bluntly.
His thoughts exposed, the Grand Elder took several deep breaths and said, "Your strength is admirable, young friend, but your character is exceptional. You wouldn’t do something like burning the bridge after crossing it."
Shen Bai smiled. "No need to test me. In the Jianghu, they call me the Honest and Reliable Young Master. We’re business partners. Why would I kill a business partner?"
The Grand Elder breathed a sigh of relief.
With that assurance, he relaxed. At least Shen Bai wouldn’t actually kill him.
Shen Bai waved his hand, and the surrounding Space began to dissipate. "Seven Deceitful Objects, not one less. And you need to clean up the aftermath. I trust your ability to handle it quickly. I have other matters to attend to."
When everything returned to normal, he found himself back in the nine-story tower.
Since the battle had taken place in a special Space, no one had noticed.
The Grand Elder nodded. "Please rest here, young friend. I am a man of my word. The seven Deceitful Objects will be delivered shortly. After I’ve finished cleaning everything up, I will return to discuss matters with you."
He couldn’t refuse to hand them over, nor did he dare. The Grand Elder wanted to live a while longer; he had no desire to die just yet.
Shen Bai smiled. "Go on, you’re busy. I can wait."
The Grand Elder said no more. After a quick farewell, he immediately left.
With a god of slaughter like Shen Bai present, he truly didn’t want to stay a moment longer.
He just wanted to leave quickly, handle the situation, conclude his business with Shen Bai, and see this god of slaughter on his way.
Before long, only Shen Bai remained at the top of the nine-story tower.
Shen Bai leaned against the railing, his eyes narrowing as he gazed at the scenery outside.
Red Makeup emerged from Cold Moon and landed beside Shen Bai, her hands crossed over her stomach. "Master, are you planning to use Beast Village to explore more of the Refuges’ secrets?"
She was Shen Bai’s Deceitful Beast and one of the few who understood him well.
When Shen Bai decided to wait for the Grand Elder to clean up, Red Makeup had an inkling of his plan.
Her master never did anything without something to gain. If he didn’t have this idea, he would have never lingered here; he would have taken the Deceitful Objects and left immediately.
Shen Bai nodded. "Now that Beast Village’s crisis is resolved, of course I want to learn more. It will be beneficial for the future."
Beast Village was a Refuge, and it traded goods with Flower Village. Shen Bai wanted to see if he could use Beast Village to find more clues—clues that might even lead to the secrets of the Era of Ten Thousand Cities.
’For now, let’s just wait for the Deceitful Objects,’ Shen Bai thought, wrapping his arm around Red Makeup’s waist.
...
Time passed, and a day went by in the blink of an eye.
When the second day arrived, Shen Bai received the seven Deceitful Objects.
The Grand Elder arrived in a hurry and left just as quickly.
Cleaning up the mess seemed simple, but only the Grand Elder knew all the intricate details involved.
It was certainly difficult, which was why the Grand Elder didn’t stay for long.
Shen Bai paid him no mind and instead picked up one of the Deceitful Objects.
Including the three he already had, he now possessed a total of ten Deceitful Objects.
It was time to level up.
A plume of smoke materialized and floated before Shen Bai’s eyes.
[Sword Manual]
[Appraisal Progress: 0%]
[One strand of Evil Qi can be used for rapid appraisal.]
With a thought, Shen Bai chose to appraise it.
The smoke before him changed once more.
[Similar Divine Power detected. Convert to Soul-Annihilating Sword Skill Level?]
"Convert."
The Soul-Annihilating Sword had already evolved eight times. This would be the ninth, and the amount of Skill Level it would provide was extremely substantial.
[Soul-Annihilating Sword +9000]
9,000 Skill Level points was an amount that would have taken Shen Bai an eternity of grinding to achieve, yet now he had obtained it with ease.
Shen Bai turned his attention to the second Deceitful Object.
[Jianghuai Swordswoman Painting]
[Appraisal Progress: 0%]
[One strand of Evil Qi can be used for rapid appraisal.]
"Appraise."
[Similar Divine Power detected. Convert to Soul-Annihilating Sword Skill Level?]
"Convert."
[Soul-Annihilating Sword +10000]
Before him, the latest Skill Level for the Soul-Annihilating Sword appeared.
[Soul-Annihilating Sword Level 7 (Swordsmanship +64, Anti-Demon +64, Vibration +64, Sword Qi +64, Spirituality +64, Sword Heart +64, Soul Cutting +64): 20000/40000]
He already had 1,000 Skill Level points, and with the 19,000 points gained from this conversion, the Soul-Annihilating Sword now had 20,000 Skill Level points.
’That’s quite a lot. I wonder if the remaining Deceitful Objects will be enough to get the Soul-Annihilating Sword to the next level,’ Shen Bai thought.
As he was thinking this, he casually reached for the third Deceitful Object.
[Daoist Duster]
[Appraisal Progress: 0%]
[One strand of Evil Qi can be used for rapid appraisal.]
’A duster, huh.’ Shen Bai was a little disappointed.
This Deceitful Object had nothing to do with swords, but it was likely related to one of his other Divine Powers.
Thinking this, Shen Bai chose to appraise it.
[Similar Divine Power detected. Convert to Chaotic Heart Spell Skill Level?]
"Convert."
This was the fifth conversion for the Chaotic Heart Spell.
After Shen Bai chose to convert, the smoke reassembled before his eyes.
[Chaotic Heart Spell +5000]
"Continue!"
Without hesitation, Shen Bai began converting the next Deceitful Object.
...
A moment later, after Shen Bai had appraised the sixth Deceitful Object, he had lost twenty strands of Evil Qi.
The reason was simple: the following four Deceitful Objects all turned out to be items that converted into Skill Level for the Chaotic Heart Spell.
The smoke before him gradually condensed, then formed new words that appeared before his eyes.