The Song Dynasty was the king for thirteen years before he knew that he was Tianlong.

Chapter 440 Swift and Decisive Actions (Seeking Monthly Tickets)

By this time, it was completely dark, and the moon peeked out slightly, appearing languid and dim.

The grove was utterly quiet and deserted. Zhao Ti slowly walked along the winding path into it.

He sensed the pursuers following him closely, their movements extremely subtle and weak; unless one possessed profound inner strength, it would be difficult to detect them.

This person's lightness skill was superb, in no way inferior to the Sima family girl he met that night, and perhaps even better.

After walking for several dozen breaths, Zhao Ti quickened his pace and arrived deep in the forest, stopping beside a large tree.

At this moment, the sound behind them no longer tried to conceal itself, but instead came step by step with a series of "pat pats".

Zhao Ti slowly turned his head, a slight smile playing on his lips: "As expected, it's you, you old servant!"

The person who followed was none other than the elderly man surnamed Zhu from the pleasure boat.

The old man's face was contorted in a ferocious grimace, his hands clenched into eagle claws, and he said in a sinister voice, "You little beast, do you live in the woods?"

Zhao Ti looked him up and down and said indifferently, "Old dog, what are you following me for? Do you want to apologize again?"

The old man gritted his teeth upon hearing this: "You little beast, I see you really don't know your place. How dare you use sweet words to bewitch my young lady in the pleasure boat and talk back to me? Don't you know what death means?"

Zhao Ti said calmly, "Old dog, you're speaking rudely. In this peaceful world, under the clear sky, are you not afraid of the law to threaten me like this?"

"The law?" The old man grinned menacingly. "My Yang family is the law. For a scholar like you who can't even kill a chicken, I am the law!"

"The Yang family?" Zhao Ti shook his head: "Although the current royal family is of the Yang family of Huazhou, they have long since established their own genealogy and rebuilt their branches. Your Yang family really has no connection to the law!"

"How do you know which Yang family I'm talking about? And how do you know that the current royal family comes from the Yang family of Huazhou?" The old man was taken aback upon hearing this, and a look of doubt appeared on his face.

He carefully examined Zhao Ti's clothing. Zhao Ti was wearing the most ordinary cloth shirt, the kind of material commonly used by ordinary people in the city, which could be bought for a few copper coins.

They wore the most ordinary cloth shoes, which only commoners would wear; wealthier families would not use them.

Zhao Ti's book box was made of the most ordinary bamboo, unlike some well-off students who carried wooden boxes made of nanmu, sandalwood, and rosewood.

"Who exactly are you?" the old man wondered. The other party had pointed out without hesitation that the Yang family of Huazhou was one of the eight great families in the world, and had also mentioned the relationship between the Yang family and the royal family. This was not something that an ordinary person could know.

You should know that such things don't circulate among the common people; unless you're the son of an official or someone of extraordinary birth, it's extremely difficult for anyone to know about them.

"Who am I?" Zhao Ti shook his head: "As I said before, I am an unknown scholar from Yuzhou."

"Very well, I don't think you come from any special background. You may have just heard these things from others, but is it something you can say? Aren't you afraid of getting into trouble for your words?" The old man sneered. "However... after today, you won't have the chance to say it again!"

"Old dog, do you really dare to do something so wicked?" Zhao Ti frowned. The other party's tone was murderous. Did he really dare to use such a vicious method?
According to the laws of the Great Qian Dynasty, murderers must pay with their lives, and even with many reasons, they would be imprisoned for many years, or even tattooed and exiled to the army for service.

The old man laughed loudly: "You little beast, you don't know my name. Back in the day, when the name Iron Claw Water-Walking was mentioned in the martial arts world, who wouldn't tremble with fear? I've killed countless people in my life and treated human life as worthless. What's the big deal if I kill you today!"

"So, you've got multiple lives on your hands?" Zhao Ti's tone turned serious. "How could the Yang family possibly take in someone like you?"

"Hmph?" The old man sneered, "If it weren't for the fact that the eldest master of the Yang family went to Dongting alone back then and destroyed my Lianhuan Water Fortress, how could I have submitted to him and become a slave to the Yang family!"

"Master Yang?" Zhao Ti's eyes showed a questioning look: "You have committed so many evil deeds and are utterly wicked, why didn't he just kill you to rid the people of this scourge?"

"Hahaha!" the old man sneered, "What do you know, you little beast? There are many experts like me in the aristocratic families. Which one of them doesn't have a life on their hands? The aristocratic families recruit us to serve them, so why would they kill us? But knowing all this is useless, because you will die soon. No, no, no, I won't let you die so easily. You dared to curse me, and you even dared to bully the young lady and incite her to punish me. I will torture you in every way possible, making you wish you were dead, and you would wish you were dead!"

"Hmm?" Zhao Ti shook his head: "So this is how aristocratic families operate. It's utterly despicable. Since they won't eliminate a villain like you, then..."

"What is that?" The old man suddenly burst forth with energy, his clothes billowing in the night wind, making a terrifying sound.

"Then call me over," Zhao Ti said leisurely. "But it's a pity I don't have a sword in hand, so I can't just kill you, you old dog, with my sword!"

"What did you say?" The old man's eyes showed surprise and doubt, and he snorted again, "Do you know swordsmanship?"

Zhao Ti then took down his book box and placed it on the ground, glancing to the side: "Picking leaves and flying flowers, using tree branches as swords is not an impossible task."

As he spoke, he reached out to touch a branch hanging from the tree.

The old man's eyes flashed, and he suddenly roared, "You little beast, stop pretending! Prepare to die!"

He flashed forward with incredible speed, leaving a trail of afterimages and emitting a whistling sound, instantly arriving in front of Zhao Ti.

His hands were cleaved into claws, veins bulging, as if cast from iron and steel, with a sinister blackish-gray color. One hand reached for Zhao Ti's throat, and the other for his chest.

Hmm... Zhao Ti frowned. He hadn't gotten the branch yet when the other person arrived.

At this point, it's not wise to insist on using any particular sword. With the opponent's exceptional lightness skill, using a broken tree branch to execute sword techniques would inevitably put us at a disadvantage.

Although he believed that his opponent was no match for him, this was not the same as the sparring of the past few days; it was a life-or-death struggle. As the saying goes, even a lion uses its full strength to hunt a rabbit.

Without much hesitation, he flipped his hand, and four-colored light flashed instantly, as if lighting up the forest with dazzling lights, before he slapped it out.

"What?!" The palm strike was as fast as lightning and as dazzling as light. It was too late for the old man to stop or dodge.

An aura immediately surged from his claws, faintly forming a shadowy aura in front of him, intending to resist Zhao Ti's palm strike.

Zhao Ti used half of his power this time. His Four Illuminations Divine Skill was unparalleled in its ferocity and domineering strength. It instantly annihilated the old man's energy and then slammed into him.

"Ah..." The old man let out a scream, spitting out blood, his body flying backward like a kite with a broken string. "Four...Four Illumination Divine Skill, how is this possible..."

The old man was thrown more than ten feet away, crashing heavily to the ground, his face ashen, roaring.

Zhao Ti darted forward, the old man landed, and he arrived beside him.

"You, how could you possibly possess the Four Illuminations Divine Skill..." The old man's eyes almost popped out of their sockets, and his voice trembled uncontrollably.

Zhao Ti looked at the old man with his hands behind his back. This palm strike had already severed the old man's heart meridian, and he was doomed to die. The old man was still able to speak because of the deep resentment in his heart. His decades of profound internal energy were keeping him alive, but he could not move and could not maintain it for long.

"Why can't I know the Four Illuminations Divine Skill?" he said calmly.

"You, you're not from the Yang family, how could you possibly know this divine skill, and even master it..." The old man's face was full of shock and fear as he murmured.

“Who said only the Yang family knows this skill?” Zhao Ti interrupted him, his face expressionless.

"You...you have some nerve! Although I die here today, if the Yang family finds out about your skill, their fate will be ten or a hundred times worse than mine!" the old man coughed, blood gushing from the corner of his mouth, the blood faintly shimmering with four kinds of light, caused by the infiltration of the Four Illuminations Internal Force.

"Hmph!" Zhao Ti said, "Old dog, don't try to confuse me. So what if it's the Yang family? Have you ever seen any member of the Yang family whose Four Illuminations skill is more profound than mine?"

"You, you mustn't be so arrogant and smug. Master Yang will soon master the Four Illuminations Divine Skill. You are no match for him at all. Besides, there are other senior elders in the family who may not be weaker than you!" The old man kept shouting, but his voice gradually weakened.

Hmm? Someone in the Yang family has actually mastered this skill? Is he a peerless genius? Even a peerless genius couldn't achieve this so quickly. A peerless genius should be around a hundred years old, or even older, before they can master it, right? Judging from the way he's addressed, that old man can't possibly be over a hundred years old. How can he be about to master it? Could it be that he took some kind of elixir to accelerate his cultivation?
Zhao Ti bowed slightly and looked at the old man, saying, "So what if I've achieved great success? I'll be at great success in a few more days. The Yang family doesn't distinguish right from wrong and harbors a scoundrel like you. I'd like to have a go at them."

"You, you're about to reach the Great Perfection? You... could you possibly be a member of the royal family?" The old man was utterly astonished upon hearing this, and suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood: "Impossible, this is impossible..."

Zhao Ti smiled slightly and remained silent, letting the other party guess. Even if they died, they would never figure it out.

The old man's eyes slowly became unfocused, and finally he breathed his last.

Zhao Ti suddenly looked puzzled. Although it was his first time killing someone, he felt no ripples or tremors in his heart. This was strange. Could it be because he had read many stories and the other party was extremely wicked?

But that shouldn't be the case. After all, he killed someone. How could he be completely unmoved by such a serious matter? It's as if this isn't the first time he's done something like this. That's really strange.

Zhao Ti pondered for a long time but had no clue, then looked at the old man's corpse on the ground.

The body still needs to be dealt with; it can't just be left like this. After all, the government has discovered the murder, and since it involved a member of the Yang family, they will definitely investigate it thoroughly.

But what should be done? Several ideas suddenly popped into Zhao Ti's mind. He could throw the body into the Jade River under the cover of darkness. The river water could wash away all traces, even those caused by the Four Illuminations Divine Skill. The drawback was that the body would be very likely to be discovered. Even if it was tied with heavy objects and sunk, it wouldn't be safe. There was no guarantee that the heavy objects wouldn't be washed away by the river water and resurface in a short time.

Another idea is to bury it on the spot and cover it up. It should be impossible for anyone to find it in a short time, but it's hard to say in a long time. Moreover, once it is discovered, the traces of death caused by the Four Illuminations Divine Skill may be noticed.

Another idea is to take the body home and bury it deep under a tree behind the house. Even if we move, it might be many years later, and the body will have long since decomposed and become unrecognizable. By then, the matter will have passed, and we can deal with it in another way.

This was a foolproof method, but Zhao Ti's lips twitched. Although the method had no loopholes, he decided against taking it home.

As for drowning, that's not good either. First, it's after dinner at this time, and although it's dark, there might be people strolling along the riverbank. If they're discovered, there's no way to explain it.

It's better to just dig a hole and bury it on the spot, and cover it up. It shouldn't be noticed for a short time. As for the long term, even if there are still signs of the Four Illuminations Divine Skill, who would think of him?

As for the entanglement with him on the pleasure boat today, that is a flaw. But regardless of whether the body is discovered or not, if the Yang family investigates the old man's disappearance, they will think of him. There is no way to hide. So from this point of view, it is not so important.

Unless he goes back now and silences Yang Yao'er as well, but he could never bring himself to do such a thing.

Zhao Ti shook his head at this thought, and began to break off tree branches to dig a hole in the ground. He had profound internal strength, and in no time he had dug a large hole. Then he threw the old man into the hole and buried him.

As for the old man, they didn't even search him; it was of little use. Anything he took and kept would serve as evidence, and he couldn't possibly make such a mistake.

After burying the old man, he carefully covered the soil on top, then checked that there weren't too many obvious flaws before carrying his book box home.

By the time they arrived home, the moon was already high in the sky. Zhao's father sat in front of the door with a cold face and said, "Where have you been? Why are you coming back so late?"

Zhao Ti forced a smile and was about to speak when his mother's voice came from inside the house: "Ti'er, haven't you eaten yet? Come in and eat."

“Yes, Mother…” Zhao Ti hurriedly went into the house, then walked up to his mother and whispered, “Mother, I’ve already eaten. I ate outside with my classmates, so I’m not hungry at all.”

"Did you eat out with your classmates?" Zhao's mother nodded, then whispered, "Boys or girls?"

Zhao Ti glanced at his father, whose dark face was peering into the room from outside the door, and said in a low voice, "Both men and women are included."

Zhao's mother smiled and said, "Alright, alright, now that you've finished eating, hurry back to your room and study."

Zhao Ti agreed, then went out to his room. As soon as he entered, he heard arguing coming from the main house outside. "A doting mother spoils her son! A doting mother spoils her son!"

He hurriedly closed the door, tidied up a bit, and began reading. As night deepened and the main room gradually quieted down, the candles were extinguished, the curtains were drawn, and he began practicing his martial arts.

He first practiced the Peach Blossom Sword Technique, then the Four Illuminations Divine Skill. After completing a full cycle, the Four Illuminations Inner Force was already incredibly dense. He estimated that after practicing it again, he would likely be able to advance to the Great Completion Realm.

Then he sat behind the table and pondered, reviewing what had happened after school that day. After fifteen minutes, he prepared various contingency plans for any unexpected events, took a sip of water, and got up to walk to the wooden box by the wall.

Zhao Ti took the small crystal coffin out of the wooden box, returned to the table, opened it, and quietly examined it.

After a long while, he let out a soft breath and leaned back in his chair. Just then, a ripple appeared before his eyes, as if a mirror had been shattered, and the ripples overlapped and undulated...

(End of this chapter)