A minute later, Lu Zheng believed he had already washed away all the blood, so he stood up and grabbed a towel he had cut earlier to dry himself.

  It took him less than a minute, as he wore his underwear.

  His eyes accidentally glanced at the shirt of the internal members hanging at the corner beside the door.

  It seemed the internal members were resting here for the past days to continue their torture of his clan.

  He thought. I can survive more by disguising myself.

  Ravyn’s voice echoed inside his head. You only thought of that?

  Lu Zheng smiled, feeling a bit embarrassed.

  He grabbed his sword inside the scabbard and walked towards it.

  While he was wearing it, he glanced at Zhong Chun.

  Zhong Chun was still thrashing around, screaming.

  He was enduring the pain, but it seemed the anger won over him, causing him to keep cursing Lu Zheng’s name.

  Lu Zheng sighed. He thought. Why is he overreacting? Did he really believe good things will still happen after what he had done?

  Ravyn replied in his mind. It’s because you’re cruel.

  Lu Zheng furrowed his eyebrows. He replied in his mind, Aren’t you more cruel than me?

  Ravyn replied in his mind. I’m saying based on his perspective, not mine.

  Lu Zheng was taken aback. He replied (of course, in his mind), You’re right. He’s being ironic… or being sarcastic at the moment?

  Ravyn instantly replied, Whatever, just kill him already. I have enough of it.

  Lu Zheng nodded. I will.

  He walked towards Zhong Chun and suddenly paused.

  His eyes widened. He thought, seemingly communicating with Ravyn. How can I kill him without having my shirt be tainted with blood?

  Ravyn scoffed. Stab his heart, you doofus. Quickly back away after you pull the sword.

  Lu Zheng was stunned. He nodded.

  He thought. Doofus, huh?

  Stolen novel; please report.

  Ravyn’s voice echoed in his mind, with a tinge of amusement. That’s actually not bad. I’ll call you that starting now, doofus.

  Lu Zheng shrugged. He was careless. It was Ravyn anyway, so he could accept it.

  Lu Zheng continued his pace towards Zhong Chun and stopped in front of him.

  Zhong Chun’s twisted expression was directed at him, shouting, “Have you gone insane, Lu Zheng?! If you can save him, why won’t you do so? Have you got no sympathy for them?”

  Lu Zheng furrowed his eyebrows, tilted his head, and replied to him, “You’re being ironic, are you not?”

  Zhong Chun instantly replied, twisting his expression more, “What do you mean by that?! I said it! I can’t save them! Meanwhile, you have the ability to do so!”

  Lu Zheng rolled his eyes and replied, “Who said I have the ability to do so? I am only in the Apprentice Rank. Top ten of the internal members of the Scorching Blade Clan are in the Intermediate Rank, the Clan Elders are in the Adept Rank, the Clan Grand Elder are in the Expert Rank, and the Clan Head is in the Master Rank.

  What made you think I have the ability to save them?”

  Zhong Chun was taken aback. He paused for a while before responding, stuttering, “E-Even then—”

  “Even then, they can still have a peaceful death if they have been discovered and became their prisoner. Don’t expect your sister to still continue to survive, Zhong Chun. At the very least, I saved her from the continuous degradation of her pride as a woman.

  May you and her reunite with her in the afterlife.”

  Before Zhong Chun could respond, Lu Zheng had already withdrawn his sword from the scabbard.

  Zhong Chun found the words he was about to say stuck on his throat. In the end, what came out was blood after Lu Zheng pierced the sword on his heart.

  He slowly closed his eyelids and the light on his pupils faded.

  Lu Zheng merely glanced at him indifferently before pulling out his sword and leapt backwards at the same time.

  A smile appeared on his face, knowing he avoided having his shirt stained with blood.

  He stood still for a while, contemplating.

  He thought. Should I kill the manager of this inn, who managed to see me?

  However, recalling the manager of the inn, who seemed to have exuded a powerful aura as a martial artist, he hesitated.

  Ravyn’s voice echoed in his head. Change your mind. He’s, at least, on the Adept rank, based on his qi.

  Lu Zheng nodded without hesitation. He thought. I should leave this city, then. Going to the Crimson Lantern Pavillion is akin to killing myself.

  Ravyn’s voice echoed in his head again. What are you afraid of? When it comes to both internal and external techniques comprehension, with the help of the system, you are already in the Adept rank.

  Only your Qi and physical capability are holding you back.

  Lu Zheng was stunned. He smacked his forehead. How could I forget why I rented an inn in the first place?

  He walked towards his old clothes and found his money pouch. There, two Qi Gathering Pills, were waiting for him to be consumed.

  For him to become an Intermediate Rank, he had to possess ten yellow qi on his dantian.

  In addition, with the amount of qi on his dantian, his qi network inside his body, which connected to every part of his body, would be able to strengthen his techniques even more.

  In fact, if he consumed all the qi in the ten yellow qi at once, he would be able to manifest the qi on his sword, strengthening his sword’s durability and sharpness.

  Now that he had eight yellow points, it helped him circulate his qi network to the point his body coordinated with his mind more efficiently.

  The qi flowing on the qi network seemed like a countless hands, manually guiding every part of his body to move how he wanted to.

  Hence, with two Qi Gathering Pills, he would be able to reach the Intermediate Rank.

  Ravyn’s voice echoed in his head, seemingly disagreeing with his thoughts. Seriously, discard those. How dumb can you seriously be, doofus? Use the system efficiently.