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"Qiao… Qiao Pian?"

The leader of the Luo family’s heart pounded, he almost couldn’t catch his breath, and his back broke out in a cold sweat.

During these days, Qiao Pian had become almost like a nightmare to him. He had worked hard to build the Luo family into a prominent local clan, but because of Qiao Pian, he had suddenly returned to his impoverished state of the past.

"Don’t get too worked up first, it’s not good for your heart." Qiao Mu kindly reached out and placed his hand on the back of the Luo family’s leader, sending a warm energy that made the old patriarch feel all warm inside.

Chief: …

Is Qiao Pian afraid of being angered on the spot, so he kindly transfers his inner strength to him? He really, I’m so touched…

"You cheated my people out of ten thousand taels, and you dare to come back?" After the initial shock, the chief’s face turned completely dark.

The money of the villagers is indeed not his.

But the Luo family is a family that does business together, the other villagers are penniless, some even owe debts, he alone cannot bear it, it’s impossible to regain the past glory.

Qiao Mu didn’t respond, just gave him a sharp look, and in an instant, the chief no longer felt warmth, as if he was in an icehouse, every inch of his skin felt like it was being cut by a knife.

The previous chief was a self-proclaimed stubborn old man of faith, but as the younger generation in the clan were progressively cheated of money, his beliefs also collapsed, no longer as stubborn as before.

"Master Qiao, this visit this time, is it to inquire about the secrets of Golden Village?" The chief quickly changed his tune, completely yielding:

"I can say, but I hope Master Qiao will consider the difficult life of my people and return the ten thousand silver coins."

Qiao Mu’s face remained the same, and he said calmly:

"You mean, the owner of Shanzhen Tower, right?"

Qiao Mu had the habit of not hanging himself on a tree. During these days, he had Impermanent Demon Cat searching the entire city and found more than ten pieces of gold nuggets.

In Taotie City, there were more people who obtained gold nuggets than just Luo family’s leader. It’s just that this person was clever and turned the gold nuggets into a profitable gold business, making a big profit from it.

The leader’s face changed dramatically:

"How did you know… that the gold nuggets in my possession were indeed obtained from the owner of Shanzhen Tower. Most of the gold nuggets in the city come from him." Luo family’s leader’s words hinted at trouble brewing, "And now that you know, why did you come specifically to see me?"

"Nothing else." Qiao Mu said casually:

"Just catching up, I recently earned ten thousand silver coins and wanted to share the joy of making money with you."

"You, you, you—" The leader of the Luo family spat out a mouthful of blood again, feeling dizzy and unconscious once more.

Qiao Mu ignored the Luo family’s leader, leaped out of the window, and disappeared like a wisp of smoke.

Qiao Mu didn’t expect any information from the Luo family’s leader.

This person was a cunning merchant, if he had given information, he might have set a trap.

Qiao Mu’s "Eye Sword Technique" originated from the Spirit Refining martial artist Sword Ghost. He had cultivated this technique to the level where he could use his eyes as a sword, creating sword light that turned illusions into reality, reaching an incredible realm. ȑἁɴỒ₿ÊṤ

Dealing with an ordinary person like the Luo family’s leader who had no martial arts training, Qiao Mu felt somewhat constrained.

His Eye Sword Technique was always used against martial artists, it was too fierce. Like a sharp sword drawn from its sheath, it emanated a sharp edge that could make people’s hearts shatter invisibly, causing devastating harm.

To control its power and suppress the minds of ordinary people without killing them, Qiao Mu lacked this experience.

But Condor Wei En, the number one in the world, was different, this was his specialty.

After leaving the chief’s house, Qiao Mu didn’t immediately go to Shanzhen Tower, but headed to a bamboo forest on the outskirts of the city.

In the bamboo forest, a person was standing from a distance, and it was Master Chen who had been waiting here for a long time.

"Mr. Qiao, you really came?" Master Chen was initially a bit nervous, but seeing Qiao Mu’s furrowed brow, he relaxed.

During these days, Qiao Pian’s name went from being famous throughout the city to being shunned by everyone like a street rat, which made him truly worried.

After all, he was the first one to invest money and lend five hundred taels to Qiao Mu.

He thought Qiao Mu would disappear and run away, but didn’t expect him to come specially to meet him.

Nowadays, those who lend money are in charge, so Qiao Mu’s request for a meeting truly made him uneasy.

"This is a thousand taels." Qiao Mu didn’t say much, and directly gave Master Chen a thousand-tael silver note.

"Why is it a thousand taels? The loan was only five hundred taels, right?" Master Chen was puzzled.

"I will repay the borrowed five hundred taels, and I will give you another five hundred taels as payment for guarding this city and watching over the Luo family," said Qiao Mu.

Master Chen suddenly felt the one thousand taels banknote in his hand become heavy.

The Qiao family member was not just a lone martial artist, but a mysterious family with many outstanding martial artists whose skills were unmatched.

So, dealing with the Qiao family’s money was quite a challenging task…

Qiao Mu said, "Taotie City is just a small city on the mountain. Besides the skilled outsiders, you are already the top martial artist in this city. With you here, the Luo family won’t cause any trouble."

What about the city lord of this city?

As a second-ranking martial artist in the Spiritual Refining Period, Master Chen could easily defeat the city lord in a one-on-one duel, but he couldn’t handle an army alone.

Moreover, why would he want to antagonize the authorities of the Great Yan Imperial Court by picking a fight with the city lord?

Although the authorities in the Southwest Province had lost contact with the Great Yan Imperial Court and were no match for the Feather King Army, defeating Master Chen as a second-ranking martial artist in the Spiritual Refining Period wouldn’t be difficult.

After the two people finished talking, Master Chen left.

Qiao Mu was about to leave the bamboo forest when he saw a figure in blue clothes carrying a spear made of iron bars blocking his way.

With a shake of Qing Li’s hand, a blurry white object flew towards Qiao Mu. As he caught it, he realized it was a silver coin.

The weight of the silver coin was only about an ounce. It seemed like Qing Li’s purse was almost empty…

Just then, as Qiao Mu thought about it, the figure in blue clothes brandishing a spear lunged forward with a sharp piercing sound in the air.

Prairie Fire!

Qing Li, being a half-demon, had physical strength far beyond an ordinary person. With her high level of skill in spear techniques, the iron bar spear in her hands unleashed tremendous force, like a fierce wildfire.

Despite being a woman, her fighting style was fierce and explosive, like a volcanic eruption.

Swinging the long spear around, the air made sharp noises, the tip of the spear separating the airwaves, the ground easily cut open into long trenches. She was extraordinarily fierce.

However, his opponent was Qiao Mu, who was also good at overpowering others with strength.

After exchanging blows for dozens of rounds, Qiao Mu’s internal strength surged again.

"Heavenly Demon Disintegration Method, double power."

The originally strong white energy turned into a blood-red color, doubling in size in an instant, with blood seeping out of the pores of his hands and arms.

With a burst of physical strength and internal power, Qiao Mu’s long spear pushed aside Qing Li’s spear, the immense force causing her to drop her weapon.

The long spear rotated several times in the air before embedding itself into the ground at an angle.

"Why use the Heavenly Demon Disintegration Method?" Qing Li asked, sounding puzzled.

Their fight was not a fight to the death, and both of them understood that. So why resort to such a dangerous and powerful technique?

"The Heavenly Demon Disintegration Method is part of my strength, and I’m not going to hold back," Qiao Mu said confidently.

The Heavenly Demon Disintegration Method, when used at five times the normal power, can be deadly for most people, but for Qiao Mu, it may only result in a week of weakness.

Using the Heavenly Demon Disintegration Method at only twice the power can cause severe damage to the arms, requiring three days of using the Shape Changing Skill to heal.

Qiao Mu’s body has been strengthened by years of using the Heavenly Demon Disintegration Method, making his internal pathways wider and stronger, so a mere two times the normal power is like a drop in the bucket.

Qing Li felt speechless and turned to leave, but before she did, she glanced at Qiao Mu and said:

"These past few days, I have come to realize that your deceit is just one rogue taking advantage of another."

"Deceiving the people of the city is just a farce, a lesson for them to be more cautious. By fooling the villagers into picking stones for a few days, they may learn to avoid falling for similar tricks in the future."

Qiao Mu replied, "If that’s how you see it, so be it. It’s hard to reason with stubborn fools."

"What if the people of the city are deceived again? Not everyone may be as wise as you think." Qing Li remembered Gambler Old Yang.

He had a strong gambling habit, and despite his age, it was clear that experience hadn’t increased his wisdom.

He had been gambling for half of his life, and continued to do so without making any progress.

"Then give up on helping others and respect their fate," Qiao Mu shrugged.

Qing Li fell silent for a moment and then continued:

"If you do this, no one will thank you, they will only bring shame upon the whole city."

"The Qiao family has been known for valuing righteousness over life and death, but now with someone like you, a fraudster, it tarnishes the reputation of the Qiao family, doesn’t it?"

"I indeed played a trick on the entire city, fooled them into going to the riverside to pick up stones, wasted good several days. If they want to scold me a bit, it’s not unreasonable."

Qiao Mu chuckled and said:

"What does it matter to me, whether they call me names or praise me?"

Qiao Mu may seem like a good person on the surface, but he enjoys listening to others praise him.

If he had to choose between a good reputation and a bad one, he would definitely choose a good reputation.

But that doesn’t mean he would endure physical pain or spend decades in prison in his dreams, just for the sake of a good reputation.

He is over seven hundred years old, and he is happy with the fame he has.

If he had a bad reputation instead of a good one, he wouldn’t care too much either.

Qing Li fell silent again, and her opinion of Qiao Mu changed slightly as she looked into his eyes.

"Mr. Qiao is quite carefree, truly admirable."

At that moment, she didn’t address Qiao Mu as "Master Qiao" as usual.

These days, Qiao Mu and Demon Spear Qin Li have fought many times, but they have hardly spoken to each other. Today was considered a lot.

Earlier, she challenged Qiao Mu not because of his character, but because she trusted her foster brother Zhao Hu and thought Qiao Mu was worthy of inheriting the complete "Birds Adoring the Phoenix Spear."

Today, she looked at Qiao Mu with new respect and stopped calling him "Master Qiao".

However, her attitude remained unchanged, not becoming warmer, instead she began to talk seriously about martial arts with Qiao Mu.

"The essence of Prairie Fire is ‘heart like a blazing fire’."

"Life is like wild grass, heart is like a blazing fire."

"This is a lethal move my master, Spear Saint, comprehended years ago. Without the appropriate mindset, using it would just be empty movements with no actual meaning."

Qiao Mu felt a stir in his heart and asked:

"Spiritual refining martial arts?"

"Correct," Qing Li explained.

"Once you reach the level of spiritual refining superb rank in martial arts, there is no turning back. Since you have obtained ‘Birds Adoring the Phoenix Spear’, I believe you also understand the intentions of our master…"

"He wanted to record his martial arts experiences with the intention of creating a new Superb Martial Arts for future martial artists. However, he only completed part of it, leaving behind "Birds Adoring the Phoenix Spear" and a collection of martial arts wisdom in his later years."

Qing Li used to underestimate Qiao Mu, but after learning the reason behind his dishonesty today, she looked at him with new respect and started thinking differently.

Passing on skills from one master to another.

The Spear Saint had already passed away.

Among the descendants of the Spear Saint, there was only Zhao Hu who held the 1st rank. Although his martial arts skills were good, they were not yet at the highest level.

The one who truly deserved the title of "Spear Saint successor" was actually Qing Li, a naturally powerful half-demon.

Even without internal strength, Qing Li’s proficiency in the "Demon Spear" technique was more than enough to inherit the teachings of the Spear Saint.

"To my teacher, merging emotions with techniques, uniting body and mind, is the pinnacle of spiritual refining martial arts beyond the superb rank." Qing Li continued:

"Among them, the best is the "Heavenly Slashing Swordsmanship" of the Earth Sword Immortal."

"This kind of spiritual refining martial art is hard to grasp if your state of mind is not there."

Qiao Mu nodded.

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