Unrestricted Dao Lord

TAP. TAP. TAP.

The sound of footsteps rang out.

In truth, the footsteps were very faint.

But outside the Fire Melting Cave, many were masters of the Postnatal Realm. Even footsteps this faint were audible to them.

"Someone else is coming out."

"The phenomenon at the Fire Melting Cave has already vanished. Anyone still inside could be the one who caused it."

"The problem is, there are still too many people who haven’t come out yet. It would take too long to investigate them all. Otherwise, we’d surely be able to identify who caused the phenomenon."

The Elders and Peak Masters of the various peaks knew that the matter itself wasn’t complicated. However, too many people were involved, and their statuses were quite special, making any investigation difficult.

When a figure appeared at the mouth of the cave, both Pei Hongluan and Zhang Yuan were a little surprised.

"Junior Brother Zhang! It’s Junior Brother Zhang!"

Zhang Yuan said aloud.

"Hm? So that’s Zhang Su?"

"I heard that after Bamboo Sword Peak rejected Zhang Su, Old Ghost Zhao went up to Bamboo Sword Peak and had a huge argument with Old Ghost Qu. In the end, Old Ghost Zhao took Zhang Su as his disciple."

"Heh heh, Old Ghost Zhao got lucky. Not long after taking Zhang Su as his disciple, Zhang Su achieved ’Three Stars in One Day’ during his evaluation, making a huge name for himself and shaking the entire Inner Sect."

"However, Zhang Su probably didn’t cause the phenomenon in the Fire Melting Cave this time. His Cultivation is still a bit low—only at the Outer Force Cultivation level..."

Seeing Zhang Su, the numerous Elders and Peak Masters began to discuss amongst themselves.

After all, Zhang Su’s name had been on everyone’s lips in the Inner Sect recently.

But few had actually seen him in person.

The gaze of Qu Zhengliu, the Peak Master of Bamboo Sword Peak, also fell upon Zhang Su.

Even though the affair between Bamboo Sword Peak and Zhang Su had caused quite a stir, this was the first time he had ever seen Zhang Su.

Zhang Su appeared very composed.

Even facing the stares of so many Postnatal Realm experts, his expression didn’t change in the slightest.

In reality, Zhang Su was also quite surprised.

’I don’t know who these people are, but I can still sense the oppressive aura radiating from each of them.’

’So many Postnatal Realm experts... I wonder what happened in the Fire Melting Cave for all of them to be gathered at the entrance.’

Zhang Su bowed to Elder Jiang Hengyue, who was guarding the Fire Melting Cave, and asked, "Elder, am I permitted to leave?"

Jiang Hengyue nodded. "Your month in the Fire Melting Cave is up. You may leave."

"Thank you, Elder."

After speaking, Zhang Su walked past the crowd of Postnatal Realm experts without the slightest hesitation and left directly.

The crowd’s eyes flickered, but no one suspected a thing as Zhang Su departed.

They had already ruled out the possibility of Zhang Su causing the phenomenon in the Fire Melting Cave.

"Let’s just wait here and see who else comes out of the Fire Melting Cave."

Everyone was certain that the person who caused the phenomenon was hiding among those who had yet to emerge from the Fire Melting Cave.

They would just have to wait a little longer.

They would definitely find them!

...

Zhang Su had already left the Fire Melting Cave.

He couldn’t stop thinking about the efficiency of Cultivation inside the Fire Melting Cave.

But upon leaving, he had seen all those Postnatal Realm masters standing guard like hungry tigers.

That was enough to extinguish any thought of re-entering the Fire Melting Cave.

’It certainly won’t be my turn again anytime soon.’

As for why all those Postnatal Realm Elders and Peak Masters had gathered at the Fire Melting Cave, he had no idea.

Nor did he care.

’It has nothing to do with me anyway.’

’One month. My Cultivation has improved, but my ten Martial Techniques still haven’t reached Perfection... I don’t have enough time to look for another opportunity now. I have to leave the mountain...’

Going to the Fire Melting Cave had its pros and cons for Zhang Su.

The pro was that his Cultivation had improved.

The con was that he had no time to find an opportunity, and his ten Martial Techniques were still far from reaching Perfection.

Among them was the Wind and Thunder Sword Technique.

This Swordsmanship was indeed quite powerful, a Top Martial Technique at the Inner Strength Level.

Especially when integrated with Zhang Su’s other Martial Techniques, it formed a miraculous perception akin to Martial Sense, making it feel as if he had divine assistance when he executed his Swordsmanship.

If the Wind and Thunder Sword Technique could reach Perfection, its power would surely rise to another level.

But his little sister’s wedding was in the middle of this month.

Time was running short, so Zhang Su had to set off early.

With this in mind, Zhang Su first made a trip to the Trading Hall to exchange for a plentiful supply of Primordial Yang Powder.

Then he went to the Instructor Pavilion to bid farewell to his master.

Zhang Su arrived at the Instructor Pavilion and bowed respectfully to Zhao Qianfeng. "Master, my younger sister is getting married, so I plan to make a trip down the mountain."

Zhao Qianfeng narrowed his eyes and waved his hand calmly. "Since you’re leaving the mountain, your master has a few words of advice for you. When you run into trouble, don’t be a coward. Kill if you can. If you can’t, create the conditions to kill."

"If you decide to act, you must cut the weeds and pull out the roots. Show no misplaced compassion!"

"If the power gap is truly too great and you really can’t win, whether you have to play the fool or bluff your way out, you must survive. Only by living is there a future. Do you understand?"

"Er..."

Zhang Su never would have expected his master to give him such... "unique" advice.

Seeing Zhang Su’s slightly stunned expression, Zhao Qianfeng let out a cold laugh. "My dear disciple, the world below is far more treacherous than the mountain. How many senior brothers and sisters did your master have back in the day? Which of them wasn’t more brilliant than me? But for them to have survived safely to this day... that’s just a vain hope."

"Your master may have a crippled leg, but at least I’m still alive. Once you’re off the mountain and out in the world, there aren’t so many rules."

Zhang Su took a deep breath and said in a heavy voice, "I understand."

"Alright, go on down the mountain."

Zhao Qianfeng waved his hand.

Zhang Su bowed to Zhao Qianfeng once more, then turned and left.

The Guiyuan Sect was about a day’s journey from Qingquan Prefecture.

That was on horseback.

Since Zhang Su was leaving the mountain, he naturally had to rent a horse.

His luck was good this time. The Little Red Horse he rented last time was still there. Zhang Su walked up, patted the horse’s back, and said with a smile, "Alright then. Looks like we’re heading down the mountain together again."

Zhang Su rented the Little Red Horse and headed straight down the mountain.

...

The moment Zhang Su left the mountain, Wei Yunzhou received the news.

"Lu Quan, what’s the status on the people I had you contact?"

Wei Yunzhou asked.

Lu Quan quickly replied, "Senior Brother, I couldn’t get in touch with any Huajin masters. With experts of that caliber, I don’t even have the right to speak to them..."

Wei Yunzhou wasn’t surprised.

’Which Huajin master outside the Sect isn’t a famous figure in their own right?’

’Why would they bother dealing with an Inner Sect Disciple of the Guiyuan Sect for such a paltry sum?’

’Even mentioning my name would be useless.’

"What about Inner Force Martial Artists? There should be plenty of Inner Force Martial Artists willing to risk their lives, right? The price I’m offering this time is not low..."

Wei Yunzhou asked.

"Yes, Senior Brother. The price you’re offering is more than just ’not low’—it’s very high. Many Inner Force Martial Artists in the Jianghu are willing to take your offer. But the final choice must be made by you, Senior Brother."

Lu Quan immediately handed over a list.

The list was densely packed with dozens of names, all Inner Force Martial Artists willing to take the job.

Although they knew that assassinating an Inner Sect Disciple would lead to repercussions from the Guiyuan Sect, these were true desperados of the Jianghu.

After killing Zhang Su and receiving Wei Yunzhou’s huge reward, they would immediately flee the Guiyuan Sect’s sphere of influence.

At worst, they would just become fugitives for the rest of their lives.

But the Inner Force Martial Artists willing to risk their lives like this were basically those who had already exhausted their potential and had no chance of advancing further.

Their strength was often not that great.

Wei Yunzhou wished he could hire every Inner Force Martial Artist on the list to attack at once.

That would guarantee success.

However, no matter how much wealth he had accumulated, even with the addition of the Wei Family’s fortune, he couldn’t afford to hire too many Inner Force Martial Artists.

’Hiring a large number would just create a disorderly mob. They might even fight amongst themselves over the reward...’

"These ’Blood Slaughter Thirteen Riders’ are a good option. All thirteen are Inner Force Martial Artists and sworn brothers who work together seamlessly. They’ve never failed a mission before. Against them, any Inner Force-level Martial Artist is as good as dead!"

Seeing the name "Blood Slaughter Thirteen Riders," Wei Yunzhou was inwardly alarmed.

These were truly vicious men of the Jianghu!

They were ruthless and had committed numerous massacres, wiping out entire families and villages.

Relying on their formidable strength, they rampaged through the Jianghu.

They had now drifted into the Guiyuan Sect’s sphere of influence, and there was even a Sect mission posted within the Guiyuan Sect to hunt down the Blood Slaughter Thirteen Riders.

It was just that no one had completed it yet.

Although Jianghu Martial Artists were often weaker than Sect Martial Artists of the same realm, thirteen Inner Force Martial Artists working together completely crushed Zhang Su in terms of both Cultivation and numbers.

The Blood Slaughter Thirteen Riders were more than enough to deal with Zhang Su!

"Fine, it’s the Blood Slaughter Thirteen Riders then! I can give them what they want, but Zhang Su must die!"

Hiring the Blood Slaughter Thirteen Riders would come at a great cost.

But Wei Yunzhou gritted his teeth; he could still afford it.

This might be his only chance. Wei Yunzhou didn’t want to drag this out any longer. No matter the cost, he had to get Zhang Su killed.

"Yes, Senior Brother. I’ll go contact the Blood Slaughter Thirteen Riders right away."

Lu Quan’s pupils shrank, and he was secretly shocked.

’Wei Yunzhou is truly ruthless.’

The thirteen members of the Blood Slaughter Thirteen Riders acted as one, rampaging through the Jianghu. When they joined forces, they were nearly unrivaled among Inner Force Martial Artists.

Zhang Su’s Cultivation was only at the Outer Force level. To deal with him, Wei Yunzhou was willing to pay any price to hire the Blood Slaughter Thirteen Riders. This was indeed a bit too cautious.

’This time, Zhang Su’s chances of survival are slim to none!’