Chapter 152
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Chapter 152: The Scalding Spoils
"Ah!"
With a piercing scream, the gray-eyed thieves, ensnared within the Exorcising Net, disintegrated into nothingness.
This was the last of the evil cultivators pursuing Wang Chen.
By now, Wang Chen was certain that these gray-eyed thieves could no longer be classified as mere evil cultivators.
They were, in fact, genuine Evil Spirits!
This was precisely why, after eliminating over thirty gray-eyed thieves, he had only amassed Virtue.
Not a single trace of Heavenly Merit was to be found.
Only Evil Spirits would vanish completely under the Exorcising Net, leaving behind no remnants of their existence!
With that, the battle concluded.
Wang Chen exhaled deeply and summoned his Cultivation Panel to review.
【Virtue (Breakthrough): 1425】
Thanks to this resounding victory, his Virtue points had skyrocketed to over a thousand.
He felt an unparalleled sense of prosperity!
Indeed, Wang Chen could have garnered even more Virtue.
However, the last two gray-eyed thieves had been eradicated using the Exorcising Net, which slightly diminished his Virtue earnings.
Though somewhat regrettable, the Pure Spiritual Energy derived from converting dark forces would significantly bolster Wang Chen’s combat stamina.
This would ensure he wouldn’t find himself in dire straits due to depleted energy during critical moments.
Thus, the loss was entirely justified!
Next came the task of scouring the battlefield and gathering the spoils.
Wang Chen tallied the gray-eyed thieves he had vanquished, totaling thirty-seven.
Excluding the two obliterated by the Exorcising Net, he had claimed thirty-five heads!
Even though these gray-eyed thieves were true Evil Spirits, their heads were indistinguishable from those he had previously obtained, and he was confident they could still be exchanged for contribution points at the Elder Teaching Hall.
Thirty-five heads at the Qi Training level equated to three thousand five hundred contribution points.
This windfall could allow Wang Chen to comfortably reside within the inner mountain gate of the Yunyang Sect for three and a half years!
The Evil Energy Pearl he had previously secured could easily be traded for the much-needed spirit stones.
Honestly, with such a bounty of heads, Wang Chen felt the weight of his gain!
Just imagine if he were to present all thirty-five heads of gray-eyed thieves to the Elder Teaching Hall in one go.
What would transpire?
The contribution points were certainly within reach, but the issue was that such actions would draw far too much attention!
Others would inevitably speculate about where Wang Chen had found so many gray-eyed thieves and what methods he had employed to achieve such remarkable results.
Falling under the scrutiny of the observant would be an absolute certainty!
One shouldn’t expect the overseers at the Elder Teaching Hall to possess high moral standards or to keep his secrets strictly confidential.
After some consideration, Wang Chen decided to place all the heads into a recently emptied storage bag.
On this outing, he had brought three storage bags with him, each containing different items.
The sinister aura emanating from the gray-eyed thieves’ heads, when mixed with other items, could easily lead to complications, so they needed to be handled separately.
Beyond that, Wang Chen had no other gains.
Perhaps due to their complete transformation and control by powerful Evil Spirits, these gray-eyed thieves carried no storage bags, and all their weapons were heavily tainted with malevolent energy.
Forget about using them himself—even selling them at a bargain price would find no takers!
Wang Chen had a sudden idea and attempted to envelop the gray-eyed thieves’ bodies with the Exorcising Net, but there was no reaction whatsoever.
His effort to extract spiritual energy from the Evil Spirits’ corpses was a complete failure.
He gathered the headless bodies together and then used the Fire Crow Technique to incinerate them entirely.
Finally, Wang Chen summoned the Willow Leaf Flying Boat and embarked on his journey home.
Having earned enough contribution points, lingering in the icy, desolate outer realm was simply asking for trouble.
He was already beginning to miss the warmth of home.
And his dear Little Yuan Yuan.
However, as he departed, Wang Chen faintly heard enraged roars coming from the direction of the market town.
Wang Chen paid no heed.
Whatever presence lurked within that Evil Nest, it no longer had anything to do with him.
Until his breakthrough to opening the aperture, he wouldn’t be returning there to grind for Virtue!
To him, the sound was nothing but pure, impotent rage.
If they dared, they could come to the Yunyang Sect to settle the score!
He—tui!
Upon returning to the inner mountain gate, the first thing Wang Chen did was head to the Elder Teaching Hall to submit…
a single head.
Although his storage bag held a total of thirty-five heads, he only presented one this time.
Wang Chen planned to empty the storage bag in several batches, submitting tasks intermittently, with no more than one or two heads each time.
That way, it wouldn’t draw too much attention.
Of course, this approach couldn’t completely prevent trouble from arising.
But it was certainly far better than revealing everything all at once!
By extending the timeline of his tasks to a year or more, he could maintain an even lower profile.
After all, the mission to eradicate the gray-eyed thieves had no set deadline.
Upon returning from Yunlong City to Sunset Peak Manor, Wang Chen resumed his life of quiet cultivation.
However, his quietness wasn’t about idleness or resting on past laurels like a stagnant fish.
In fact, the battle against the gray-eyed thieves had significantly boosted Wang Chen’s confidence and further solidified his heart of the path.
In that battle, Wang Chen faced dozens of enemies alone, armed with nothing but a single sword.
He confronted the strong enemy head-on and emerged victorious, truly showcasing his unique style and indomitable spirit.
The significance of this battle was far greater than Wang Chen had initially realized!
His focus on Sword Control had now risen to an even higher level.
Wang Chen calculated that his Sword Control required three more points to achieve perfect mastery.
Since he had already allocated points to reach the basic level, the next three points would cost him a total of 1,110 points of Virtue!
Once achieved, he would be able to fully embody the role of a true sword cultivator without any difficulty.
He made sure to set aside those 1,110 points of Virtue in advance.
This left him with 315 points of Virtue remaining.
With this, he could upgrade three master-level spells to perfect mastery!
Wang Chen spent an entire day adjusting his energy, spirit, and mind to their optimal state before beginning the process of enhancing his skills.
First was the Fire Crow Technique.
The Fire Crow Technique was highly compatible with his root bone, possessed formidable combat power, and could even enhance the flying sword.
Thus, achieving perfect mastery in this technique offered exceptional value.
Next, he turned his attention to Beginner Talisman Making.
He had long desired to improve this skill.
Talismans were not only a vital part of his combat arsenal but also a means to earn spirit stones.
The cost-effectiveness of upgrading this skill was even more appealing.
Finally, Wang Chen allocated the last 100 points of Virtue he could spare to Object Manipulation.
The reason was straightforward: Object Manipulation was a prerequisite skill for Sword Control.
His ability to cultivate Sword Control to its current level was largely due to his mastery of Object Manipulation.
Achieving perfect mastery in this skill would only make him even stronger!
In truth, whether it was the Fire Crow Technique or Object Manipulation, Wang Chen’s ultimate goal was to enhance both his flying sword and Sword Control.
Having experienced the immense benefits of the flying sword, Wang Chen found himself utterly captivated.
Even if he had never aspired to become a pure sword cultivator, his dream of mastering the flying sword now burned brighter than ever!
