The lecherous middle-aged man was an old member of the Jin family''s herbal gathering team. Now at the fifth level of Qi Refining, his progress had stagnated. In his younger years, he hadn''t had enough resources, and now, as age crept upon him, further advancement was becoming increasingly difficult. No matter how hard he worked, it seemed likely that he would be stuck at the fifth level for the rest of his life, with the sixth level remaining out of reach.


    Realizing that effort would no longer bear fruit, the man chose to give in to laziness. Every time he returned from the mountains with a bag of spirit stones, he would spend them extravagantly on young female cultivators, indulging himself in fleeting pleasures. His mantra was simple: life is short, why suffer?


    Earlier that day, Jin Wuqing had summoned him, asking him to help investigate the identity of a certain cultivator. The middle-aged man had been curious about why Jin Wuqing suddenly wanted to check someone''s background. However, once he saw the situation, everything became clear.


    It was that little girl, Lin Ke''er. She had a lover. And she had been kissing him in public so passionately.


    Lin Ke''er was young and beautiful, with a slender waist, long legs, and a figure that made her a sight to behold. Her face, delicate and charming, was simply irresistible.


    The middle-aged man had long known that Jin Wuqing liked Lin Ke''er.


    At first, Lin Ke''er had kept delaying her joining the team, which caused some dissatisfaction from the team leader, Jin Zhaodi, who had considered replacing her. It was Jin Wuqing who had insisted on waiting for her, more than a month in fact. And now, the woman he had waited for had openly shown affection for another man, even engaging in a public kiss. If it had been the middle-aged man, he could have accepted it. There were plenty of other female cultivators to choose from. Why cling to just one?


    But Jin Wuqing was young and impulsive, and now he had the intent to kill.


    The middle-aged man, on the other hand, had no trouble finding out Ye Chen''s identity. After all, Ye Chen was famous. The number one simp of Silver Moon Market, a name that everyone had either seen or heard of. Only Ye Chen, such an eccentric, could give away all his resources to female cultivators.


    After understanding Ye Chen''s identity, the middle-aged man hesitated for a moment. Ye Chen was not a rogue cultivator; he was a member of a cultivation family. Rogue cultivators had no backing. If they were killed, the enforcement teams wouldn''t even bother to investigate. They would simply find some other cultivator to take the blame. But a family disciple was different. Killing him might lead to trouble.


    However, Jin Wuqing had already made up his mind to kill. He even took out a medium-grade spirit stone to pay the middle-aged man for the task.


    After a brief moment of hesitation, the middle-aged man agreed. In fact, in the mountains, they had often committed evil deeds like killing and looting, so there was no psychological burden at all. Moreover, the middle-aged man had cultivated a technique that concealed his aura and was skilled with throwing darts.


    The throwing darts were low-grade magic tools, silent and incredibly fast, capable of piercing through even protective spells. They were also poisoned. If the target was unprepared, a single dart could end their life. At the fifth level of Qi Refining, and with ample experience in killing, the middle-aged man felt confident.


    Ye Chen? He was only at the fourth level of Qi Refining. All his good resources had been given to women. A simple wave of the man’s hand could end his life. Jin Wuqing had also borrowed his sister''s storage bag. He could easily stuff the body into the bag and dispose of it in the mountains later. There was virtually no risk of being caught.


    At that moment, seeing Ye Chen enter the alley, a cruel smile spread across the middle-aged man''s face, and he quickly followed. His footsteps made no sound. Standing in the alley, he saw Ye Chen walking ahead leisurely, without any haste.


    Aside from Ye Chen, there was no one else in the deep alley. The middle-aged man took out a simple, unadorned throwing dart from his robe. He channeled his spiritual power, and the dart briefly glowed before he swiftly hurled it with unerring precision. It was so fast that even a mid-stage Qi Refining cultivator wouldn’t see it clearly. They could only hear a faint whoosh of something shooting through the air.


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    Ye Chen, that simp, must be carrying plenty of spirit stones on him. Moreover, he was an alchemist, so there might even be a fair amount of pills with him. Tonight, the middle-aged man would indulge in the pleasures of Ice Spirit and Fire Dance, savoring an entire night of exquisite bliss.


    But the next moment, a look of astonishment appeared on the middle-aged man''s face. Because Ye Chen, with his back to him, shimmered with golden light. He had actually blocked the throwing dart.


    Ye Chen had blocked it? It had to be some kind of treasure. These damn families hoarded all the resources that should belong to rogue cultivators, growing incredibly wealthy. Even a useless simp like Ye Chen had such a trump card. It was infuriating.


    The middle-aged man realized the situation was getting complicated. He immediately attempted to recall the throwing dart and prepared to leave. If the kill didn''t succeed in one strike, he had to leave right away. Otherwise, the noise would attract the enforcement team, and he would be done for.


    But the next moment, a look of horror flashed across his face. Because Ye Chen, who had been dozens of meters away, suddenly turned and charged toward him with an astonishing speed. And most shockingly, a cyan longsword had materialized in Ye Chen''s hand out of nowhere.


    How was Ye Chen so fast? And he even had storage equipment. Just how rich were these damn families?


    This was completely unexpected, but the middle-aged man immediately activated his defensive spell. He planned to weather one strike and then escape.


    However, the next moment, blood splattered. His defensive spell was as fragile as thin paper in front of Ye Chen''s cyan longsword. It didn''t hinder Ye Chen in the slightest. The sword moved with unbelievable speed, so fast that even the wind didn''t make a sound. The middle-aged man''s arm, the one that had just grabbed the throwing dart, was instantly severed.


    A high-grade magic tool? How could this damn simp even have a high-grade magic tool?


    At this moment, the middle-aged man could only think of escaping. But with Ye Chen closing in on him, there was no chance to flee.


    Shing! Shing! Shing!


    The middle-aged man''s arms and legs were swiftly severed. He collapsed to the ground, his body and head the only parts remaining.


    Looking at the blood-soaked ground, where the middle-aged man, now only a head, could still let out a wail, Ye Chen, gripping the Divine Wind Sword, exhaled deeply. But his heart still raced. It was his first time fighting in the cultivation world, and it had been thrilling.


    Although the entire event had only taken a moment, Ye Chen couldn''t help but feel tense. In fact, when he had chopped off the man''s legs, he hadn''t controlled the angle properly and had slightly aimed higher. And the sword was too sharp. It had instantly rendered the middle-aged man a eunuch.


    The only reason Ye Chen hadn''t killed him outright was because he hadn''t yet seen the young man. That middle-aged man had been standing next to the young voyeur earlier. The mastermind must have been the young man.


    In Ye Chen''s eyes, men who would go so far as to hire killers over a woman were clearly lacking in brain development. It was a thoroughly foolish act. But such fools were also the most impulsive. So, they had to be eliminated at the root.


    Since Ye Chen knew nothing about the other party, leaving a survivor was necessary. Ye Chen retracted his sword and sneered, "Who is the young man who instructed you to kill me?"


    At this moment, the middle-aged man lay on the ground, his face ashen. Just last night, he had been lying comfortably in a whorehouse. Now, in the blink of an eye, he had lost his limbs. Even if Ye Chen didn''t kill him, he wouldn''t survive much longer.


    The middle-aged man resented Ye Chen, but he hated Jin Wuqing even more. If it weren''t for Jin Wuqing''s madness over a woman, he wouldn''t have ended up like this. With a storage bag, high-grade magic tools, and spells for speed, not to mention defensive treasures. With such resources, Ye Chen could easily be mistaken for a disciple from a Foundation Establishment family.


    The middle-aged man, having no wife or children, had no concerns. Since he was doomed, he decided to drag Jin Wuqing down with him. They would die together.


    "Jin Wuqing, it was Jin Wuqing who instructed me. He wanted Lin Ke''er, but she stopped going to the mountains because of you… so, he wanted to eliminate you… He''s in his sister''s house, at No. 33 Black Alley. He''s at the fifth level of Qi Refining, almost breaking through to the sixth. His sister, Jin Zhaodi, is at the seventh level of Qi Refining."


    Ye Chen hadn''t expected the middle-aged man to be so forthcoming. He spilled everything at once.


    Jin Wuqing? Fifth level of Qi Refining, almost at the sixth? And he had a sister?


    Ye Chen wanted to eradicate the source, but feared he might not be able to win. However, Ye Chen hadn''t planned on confronting the real culprit personally. If someone had hired an assassin to kill him in Silver Moon Market, should he really go after the mastermind himself? Wasn''t the protection fee for the Ye family''s shop just a waste then? As a member of the Ye family, didn''t he have any face? Where was the justice? Where was the law?


    So, Ye Chen raised his head and shouted loudly, "Enforcement team, hurry up! Someone''s trying to kill me!"