Not only did Qian Rongzhi not warn Zhuo Zhibo that Li Qingshan might have been hiding his strength, but she even purposefully misled him, as if Li Qingshan's victory was extremely lucky. Even if the Holy Church had no interest in it, she still grew tired of this old bastard. She really hoped that he would die a violent death just like that old bastard Qian Yannian. This kind of silent method was often more terrifying than straightforward plots and schemes.
Sure enough, Zhuo Zhibo followed his usual train of thought and sneered. "It's good that he's alive. It saves me the trouble of making another trip. I can even personally kill him and vent my hatred."
"Are you going to kill him once he returns?" Qian Rongzhi hid her smile in the depths of her pitch-black eyes. She was prepared to watch the show that was about to unfold.
Zhuo Zhibo instead said, "We'll have to think about this at length." Although he was a commander, he was not bold enough to kill a Hawkwolf guard so brazenly. Afterwards, he sneered. "Though, do you think he'll be able to do well under my command? I want to show him whether the headquarters of the Hawkwolf Guard is surnamed Zhuo or Li. "
Qian Rongzhi said, "On this mountain, in this Jiaping city, is there anything that doesn't belong to you? Even I'm the same. "
Zhuo Zhibo laughed aloud. He would continue to watch over Jiaping city, watching over everything like a hawk forged from steel, until the day he died.
When he saw the Clear river turn around the mountain again, Li Qingshan directly leapt off the boat. Under the cries of the passengers, he climbed up the cliff face.
He returned to his residence first and settled Little Ann down before going to see Zhuo Zhibo. He was very interested in seeing how this commander Zhuo's attitude would change now.
Li Qingshan clasped his hands. "Greetings from subordinate Li Qingshan, commander Zhuo." That was what he said, but he stood with his head held high like a javelin. He showed no respect at all.
Zhuo Zhibo stopped pretending to be friendly. He asked coldly, "Why didn't you return immediately after completing the mission?"
Li Qingshan said in a manner that was neither servile nor overbearing, "I obviously had matters to attend to."
Zhuo Zhibo was even more displeased. A person who was about to die actually dared to be so arrogant. "I'll deduct half of your merit points. You may leave!"
Half of their hard-earned merit points had been casually deducted. That was the equivalent of dozens of Qi Gathering Pills. Who wouldn't be angry?
Li Qingshan suppressed his anger and didn't argue. He turned and left. He also couldn't kill a Black Eagle commander on this mountain.
Right now, 'the tiger harms the man, the man harms the tiger's heart', but because of the same reason, they could not easily make a move, but they were already sharpening their knives.
As soon as Li Qingshan stepped out of the door, he bumped into Ge Jian.
Ge Jian, on the other hand, had been waiting for a long time. With a face full of ridicule, he said, "Li Qingshan, do you really think you're a big shot just because you killed an old man who's about to be buried? You actually dared to speak to the commander like that, now you're suffering! "
Li Qingshan said, "It is indeed a good dog raised by Zhuo Zhibo."
His words were full of energy. Of course, he was not afraid that Zhuo Zhibo, who was in the building, could not hear him. His expression became more and more gloomy.
"What did you say!?" Ge Jian, who had been scolded in front of his face, was even more furious. This was not the first time Li Qingshan had humiliated him like this. Back then, it was because he was worried that Li Qingshan had a powerful background that he had tolerated him.
Li Qingshan sneered, "You only dare to bark at me here!"
Ge Jian choked and couldn't speak. He had originally wanted to provoke Li Qingshan. As long as Li Qingshan made the first move, Zhuo Zhibo would have a reason to interfere. But it was true that without Zhuo Zhibo, how would he dare to provoke Li Qingshan? That was a monster who had killed a fifth layer Qi Practitioner.
Li Qingshan waved his hand, "Come, come with me to the front and explain things clearly. I'll let your plot succeed this time, and see if Zhuo Zhibo can save you."
How would Ge Jian dare to follow? At that time, even if Zhuo Zhibo's plan succeeded, he would still be a dead man. He put on a brave front and said, "You … don't be so arrogant. I'll see what happens to you."
Li Qingshan did not look at him anymore. He turned around and was about to walk up when the old man guarding the treasure house stopped him. "Who said you could go up there?"
Li Qingshan said, "I have merit points, of course I can go up there!"
"Go, go, go. The treasure house is under maintenance right now. Unauthorized people are not allowed to enter."
Li Qingshan's pupils shrank and his brows furrowed.
The old man felt an invisible force pressing down on his chest, making it hard for him to breathe. He forced himself to say, "What, you still dare to barge in?"
Li Qingshan slowly raised his right hand, and the old man's throat skipped a beat. His muscles tensed up. His remaining true qi, which had been eroded by time, began to circulate wildly. He could sense that as long as Li Qingshan struck, it would be a terrifying attack that could collapse the mountains. Under the tremendous pressure, he did not even have the confidence to receive the next strike.
However, Li Qingshan only patted the old man's shoulder. "You're on your own!" Afterwards, he turned around and left the treasure house.
The old man immediately became covered in cold sweat. He clutched his knees and gasped for air. He was a veteran of the jianghu for many years, yet he had actually been frightened by a half-grown junior. He felt utterly humiliated. He roared at Li Qingshan's back, "You're the one who should be on your own!"
What happened afterwards was basically the same. There were no spiritual artifacts, no pills. The extremely rare merit points had been reduced to meaningless numbers.
Li Qingshan wanted to exchange for a new Wind-entwining blade, but he was turned down. Originally, the weapons damaged by the Hawkwolf Guard during missions could be exchanged for free. These people did not refuse to give it to him, only finding various reasons to turn it down. However, apart from beating them up, there was no other way to make them submit.
These important places that were in charge of wealth were obviously all under the control of Zhuo Zhibo's trusted aides. As a matter of fact, he did not even need to say anything. All he needed was a single gesture, and Li Qingshan would be completely immobilised in the Hawkwolf Guard.
In the end, Li Qingshan arrived before an extremely ancient building. The three words' Eagle Hunting Building 'were written on it. This was where the Hawkwolf Guard handed out missions. This was probably the only place on the mountain that was not under Zhuo Zhibo's control.
It was not that he could not control it, but because he could not obtain spiritual artifacts or pills from here. He could only obtain a pile of troublesome missions, and he needed Zhuo Zhibo's permission to exchange the merit from completing the missions for actual items.
Li Qingshan smiled. As long as this place was open to him, it was fine. To him right now, whether it be spiritual artifacts or pills, none of them were the items he needed the most. What he needed the most right now was in the Eagle Hunting Building.
A few Black Wolf guards were currently handing in missions in the main hall. As soon as they saw Li Qingshan enter, they immediately fell silent. Their mouths opened and closed silently as they communicated with true qi, discussing quietly.
Li Qingshan walked up to the platform, and the attendant behind it stood up in a hurry. He said politely, "Sir, you've only just returned, yet you're already going out to hunt?" There were no secrets on a small mountain like this. However, although he had heard about the conflict between Li Qingshan and Zhuo Zhibo, he dared not show any disrespect to Li Qingshan.
Li Qingshan said, "Let me see what missions there are."
The attendant immediately took out a thick book nimbly. "Please have a look, sir. (Book of Life and Death) "
The book was completely black, as if it had been soaked in countless layers of grease, yet it also seemed like the colour of coagulated blood. It gave off an ominous feeling with a single glance, but it gave off a faint glow. Holding it in his hand, it just happened to give off a warm feeling.
Li Qingshan said, "This book has probably been around for a long time!"
The attendant explained obediently, "It's been around since the establishment of the guards in Jiaping city. It's probably over a thousand years old!"
Li Qingshan said, "Then it really is quite old. Does this book have a name?"
The attendant said, "This is only a low grade spiritual artifact used to record missions. It doesn't have an official name either. However, the people of the jianghu call this book the Blacklist!" Although he was only an attendant, as the guardian of the Blacklist, he obviously showed pride on his face.
Li Qingshan said, "Blacklist? Why is it called that? Is there anything particular about it? "
The attendant said, "That's because all names that make it onto the Blacklist are certain to die."
Li Qingshan smiled. "Birth, old age, sickness, and death are unavoidable. If you don't make it onto this book, you'll definitely die."
According to his understanding, the White Lotus Mother who had sacrificed two hundred thousand people should have made it onto the Blacklist as well. She even required a mighty White Hawk commander, a Golden Core cultivator, to personally take action. However, she did not seem to have been apprehended by Gu Yanying. At the end of the day, strength still reigned supreme in this world. Nothing was inevitable.
However, to a group of people of the jianghu, the names written down by Qi Practitioners could basically be regarded as a true death list. Afterwards, he thought about it. What he was about to do was rather similar to the White Lotus Mother, except he stood on the side of the law. He was an enforcer, and he was licensed to kill.
Although the attendant was displeased with Li Qingshan's joke about the Blacklist, he did not dare to argue with him. He guided Li Qingshan on how to use it.
Afterwards, Li Qingshan understood why it was called the Blacklist. Flipping through the pages, he saw a string of names. There were normal names, as well as strange daoist or dharma names. The way it was used was rather similar to a mental map. With a single thought, the list would be arranged according to different standards.
These standards included the amount of contribution, the level of danger, the strength of the enemy, and even the estimated benefits and so on. By focusing his mind on a certain name, he would receive a complete set of extremely detailed information, including the cultivation method the enemy practised, the spiritual artifact they used, the area they were active in …
Li Qingshan sighed inside. It really was a large organisation that had existed for several millennia after all. It was well-organised and well-equipped. The information basically simplified the steps of investigation and interrogation, handing over all the work that regular people could do for them to ordinary people. Afterwards, they would confirm the crimes and compile a list. The Hawkwolf Guard would be responsible for killing them one by one.
Every single Qi Practitioner was an expert who stood above all. They viewed longevity as their greatest goal, and they treated cultivation and practising qi as their number one priority. It was impossible for any Qi Practitioner to spend too much time and effort on these miscellaneous tasks. They would be ordered around like miscellaneous soldiers. Otherwise, no matter how great the welfare of the Hawkwolf Guard was, it was impossible for it to be so attractive to Qi Practitioners.
"Sir, once you've chosen your mission, there will be a document that you can refer to at any time. The information on there is already the most detailed information our informants can obtain, but it cannot guarantee that it's completely accurate. I hope you can adapt to the situation, sir, "the attendant reminded him routinely.
"Of course!" Li Qingshan answered. With a thought, the blacklist was arranged according to strength. He glanced at the name at the very top: Zombie Daoist, sixth layer Qi Practitioner. He made it onto the list due to capturing living people on a large scale and refining them into zombies. He's assessed as extremely dangerous. The contribution from completing the mission was actually as great as five thousand.
However, it was very clear that apart from Zhuo Zhibo and the Black Wolf commander who had never shown himself, no one else could complete this. Of course, Li Qingshan possessed the strength to do so as well. However, he only paused for a moment before directly flipping to the back, arriving at the last few pages.
Most of the last few pages of the blacklist no longer recorded the names of people, but the names of gangs and sects. In places like the Black Wind stronghold, a single name was no longer enough for the Hawkwolf Guard to target them.
Afterwards, Li Qingshan chose his mission.
The attendant said in surprise, "Sir, do you really want to accept these missions?"
Li Qingshan nodded without any hesitation. "Go retrieve the documents. I'll set off right now!"
The attendant passed down the order in a hurry. Before long, other attendants returned with a pile of documents. Many of them seemed extremely old and gave off a dusty smell. Clearly, they had just been cleaned.
Li Qingshan stowed all of the documents into his hundred treasures pouch before turning around and leaving. As soon as he made his way out, the Black Wolf guards gathered over in a hurry. "What mission did he accept?"
Afterwards, they looked at one another. They were dumbfounded.
"What does the kid want to do?"
"Uphold justice? Stop joking. "
"No matter how many missions he completes, he won't be able to get any benefits without commander Zhuo's approval."
… …
In the main building, Zhuo Zhibo sipped his tea leisurely. "How's the kid?"
Ge Jian smiled. "The kid ran around aimlessly and was given the cold shoulder." It had finally alleviated his hatred slightly.
Zhuo Zhibo placed down his teacup. "Before I take his life, it's not bad to mess around like this. I'd like to see just how long he can endure it."
Ge Jian said, "I think he'll have to endure it no matter what."
At this moment, a Black Wolf guard rushed in. "Commander, that kid Li Qingshan has accepted a mission and left the mountain!"
Zhuo Zhibo said, "Oh, is he trying to avoid me? Which mission did he accept? "
The Black Wolf guard said, "More than one."
"How many?"
The Black Wolf guard revealed a strange expression. "He accepted twenty-seven missions."
"What! Let me have a look. " Zhuo Zhibo accepted the mission document. There was a dense list of the missions Li Qingshan had accepted, but the contents of the missions took him by surprise. It was not because they were too difficult, but because they were too simple.
The pirates of the Water Snake gang, the horse bandits of Giant Deer valley, and so on were all missions that the Hawkwolf Guard had accumulated over the years.
They did not even bother to complete them. That was because the targets of these missions were all regular people of the jianghu. They would only be able to get some silver from them at most. Pills and spiritual artifacts were out of the question, and because they were too simple, the contribution they gave was extremely low. Only Black Wolf guards who had just joined the Hawkwolf Guard would use them for practice before refusing to waste any more time. They would rather practise qi and cultivate on the mountain.
As the lowest level of organization in the Hawkwolf Guard, the first grade of black iron, they were all composed of Qi Practitioners. Their primary targets were Qi Practitioners like themselves. As for the people of the jianghu who practised internal and external martial arts, they mainly served as a deterrent.
As a result, a small vacuum was created. This vacuum was known as the jianghu.
Ge Jian said, "With that, he'll have another excuse to leave Jiaping city."
Zhuo Zhibo snorted. "If he's willing to do the hard work, then let him."
By now, Li Qingshan had already left the mountain. He silently estimated that there would be around a thousand people after completing these missions!
This was his greatest objective — to help Little Ann recover his body. For the sake of this objective, he could temporarily postpone everything else.
Now, he felt more and more like joining the Hawkwolf Guard was an extremely correct choice. Otherwise, would he still be able to go around asking around for bad people? And, if a Qi Practitioner massacred regular people on a large scale, even if they were all bad people, it would still raise a great deal of attention. They might even end up on the blacklist, standing against the state.
It was much simpler now. The information provided by the Hawkwolf Guard was extremely detailed. Every single person who could make it onto the blacklist of the Hawkwolf Guard through their martial arts was a criminal who had committed countless crimes. And, they had all settled down in a certain place for many years, so it was very easy to find them. What he needed to do right now was find them one by one with a licence to kill. Then he would kill his way through until dawn arrived.
Li Qingshan placed his hand on the jar on his waist and thought to himself, Don't worry, Little Ann. Very, very soon, you'll be able to breathe fresh air, taste delicious food, and feel warmth. You'll be able to smile like other children.
Li Qingshan did not leave the city directly. Instead, he paid a visit to the government office first. He wanted to exchange the several million taels of silver on him for some Qi Gathering pills. He had a feeling that this journey would take quite some time. His opponents would not carry hundred treasures pouches on them to provide him with pills for cultivation. He also came to a better understanding of why no Hawkwolf Guard was willing to squash these bugs.
Zhou Wenbin's eyes lit up when he saw Li Qingshan. "You've already reached the second layer. You've progressed much faster than I imagined."
Li Qingshan said, "Thank you for your concern, sir. With a powerful enemy right beside me, I obviously can't afford to be careless."
Zhou Wenbin said, "As long as you know. I heard you killed Qian Yannian in a one-on-one duel?"
Li Qingshan said, "It was just luck!"
Zhou Wenbin said, "Even if it was luck, defeating a fifth layer Qi Practitioner as a second layer Qi Practitioner is still an unbelievable accomplishment. I need to remind you again that the sixth layer is completely different from the fifth layer. "
Li Qingshan nodded. Afterwards, he thought about Xiao An's various abilities. According to the standards of Qi Practitioners, he was at least at the sixth layer or above. Moreover, he was as fast as lightning and possessed tremendous strength. Even when low grade spiritual artifacts landed on him, they would not be able to leave a scratch on him. He was much more powerful than regular sixth layer Qi Practitioners. If he actually faced an opponent, there was no need for him to use the Skull Prayer Beads at all. It was a battle between Qi Practitioners or whatever. All he needed to do was charge up and forcefully tear through their protective true qi, gouge out their hearts, and he would be victorious.
The Path of White Bone and Great Beauty was a powerful ability that completely surpassed this world. The higher one cultivated it, the more terrifying its power would be.
Zhou Wenbin said, "Although the sect has expelled Zhao Liangqing, they've sent people to investigate. They've probably already targeted you. The people of sects probably have no qualms about what they do, so you need to be careful."
Li Qingshan said, "Thank you for your warning, sir. I will be careful." The sect had lost their property in Jiaping City, and they had also lost an expert who was about to break through to the sixth layer of Qi Practitioner, so this kind of reaction was expected.
Zhou Wenbin said, "Fighting for a moment of loyalty is useless. Why don't you listen to me and go to the Hundred Schools of Thought to cultivate for a while and avoid him for a while? When you're fully fledged, why would you need to fear a mere Zhuo Zhibo?"
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