Starting with The Eagle Shooting Heroes: I gain a year's worth of skill every day.

That sudden, explosive sound shattered everyone's mental defenses.

The tension that had been building in the minds of the remaining Jin soldiers snapped completely at that moment.

Fear was no longer a trickle, but a flood that burst its banks, instantly drowning their last shred of courage.

"A devil! It's a devil!"

It is unknown who was the first to let out a piercing scream and drop their weapon.

This action seems to be contagious.

"The prince is dead! The Prince of Zhao is dead!"

"Run!"

"I don't want to die!"

The army was defeated like a mountain.

With Wanyan Honglie dead, these Jin soldiers lost their leader. The so-called elite army was reduced to a complete rabble in the face of absolute power.

They abandoned their armor and weapons, shoved each other, trampled on the corpses of their comrades, and fled like madmen out of the palace, wishing they had two more legs.

The entire Zhao Prince's mansion instantly transformed from a solemn military formation into a chaotic slaughterhouse.

Shen Mo had no interest whatsoever in these defeated soldiers.

He didn't even glance at the mutilated corpses on the ground again. With a swift movement, he transformed into a straight black line, shooting directly into the depths of the Prince's mansion's backyard.

There, he had another goal for his trip.

……

It was a luxurious warm chamber, with its doors and windows welded shut with fine iron, and heavily guarded outside.

But by this time, the guards had already fled with the main force, leaving only an empty courtyard.

Shen Mo's figure descended from the sky and landed in front of the warm pavilion.

He ignored the iron lock and simply kicked it casually.

boom!

The heavy iron door, along with its entire frame, was blasted inward by an unparalleled force, crashing heavily into the opposite wall with a deafening roar.

Inside the warm pavilion, a woman dressed in fine clothes but unable to hide her haggard appearance collapsed to the ground in fright from the loud noise. It was Bao Xiruo.

Beside her, a middle-aged man, covered in blood and holding a long spear, stood guard in front of her with a wary expression. He was Yang Tiexin, who had already infiltrated the palace but was now trapped here.

He heard deafening shouts and screams outside, but had no idea what was happening.

When he saw the black-clad figure standing against the light at the doorway, he was slightly taken aback.

That figure... seems familiar...?

Yang Tiexin tried hard to recall, but couldn't remember for a moment. However, he could sense that the newcomer did not have any murderous intent.

Bao Xiruo raised her head and looked at the strange man in black at the door in horror, unsure whether he was friend or foe.

Shen Mo ignored their questions.

He tossed it casually.

A still-bleeding head traced an arc through the air before rolling to Bao Xiruo's feet.

The fear and resentment on his face still lingered before his death.

It was Wanyan Honglie.

Bao Xiruo's scream caught in her throat. She stared at that familiar yet unfamiliar face, her body trembling violently. There was relief, there was pleasure, but above all, a bone-deep terror.

Yang Tiexin gasped sharply, staring intently at the severed head, then looked up at the man in black standing at the door.

This person... actually killed Wanyan Honglie?!

Shen Mo spoke coldly, shattering Bao Xiruo's lingering hope.

"You will never have peace until this man is dead."

The moment the words fell.

It's past midnight.

A new day has begun.

In Shen Mo's mind, a line of cold text appeared precisely on the ancient mirror.

[A new day begins, automatically granting a year's worth of cultivation points.]

boom!

Ninety-nine years of skill combined with the skill gained in this new year converge at this moment.

Quantitative change finally led to qualitative change!

The internal force within Shen Mo's body began to compress inward at an alarming speed, causing him to collapse!

That originally vast and boundless internal force, under extreme compression, transformed into a drop of... silver fluid.

Innate True Qi!

Shen Mo was jolted awake, and instantly understood.

When he first gained his internal energy from the mirror, it was already innate true qi. This is the fundamental reason why he was able to crush the fourth-generation disciples of Quanzhen Sect in such a short period of time.

Innate true qi is the highest starting point for martial arts cultivation.

Ordinary martial artists need decades of arduous training to open up their eight extraordinary meridians before they can possibly transform acquired true qi into innate true qi. But he started at that level from the very beginning.

Now, after a century of accumulated skill, the insurmountable barrier has finally been broken.

The innate true energy condenses and sublimates, transforming into a higher level of innate true energy!

Although the quantity only increased by one year, the qualitative leap was more than ten times stronger!

Once this drop of silvery true energy was formed, it began to frantically devour and assimilate all the remaining innate true energy in his body.

One drop, two drops, three drops...

In the blink of an eye, what flowed through his meridians was no longer invisible energy, but a visible river of silvery qi!

Within a radius of three zhang (approximately 10 meters), the air instantly solidified, becoming as viscous as mercury.

Yang Tiexin and Bao Xiruo felt an indescribable, terrifying pressure squeezing in from all directions, causing them to stop breathing and even their hearts to stop beating.

The dust floating in the air has come to a standstill.

The flickering flames of the candles burning in the distance have solidified into an amber-like painting.

Shen Mo slowly raised his hand.

He could feel a strange sense of alienation between himself and the world.

A thought crossed my mind.

A wisp of silver innate true energy flowed from his fingertips, condensing into a silver ray that was an inch long.

This is no longer sword energy.

This is Qi (罡气).

Indestructible, it does not disintegrate even when separated from the body.

He casually slashed at the iron prison door that had been blasted away and then stomped under his foot.

There were no obstacles.

The incredibly hard iron prison door was silently cut open, and a steel plate as tall as a person smoothly detached from the door, the cut as smooth as a mirror.

Yang Tiexin's eyes almost popped out of their sockets.

What... what kind of martial art is this?

Is this something a human could do?!

"Let's go."

Shen Mo withdrew his oppressive aura and led the two out of the warm pavilion.

At this time, the Prince of Zhao's residence was already in chaos.

With Wanyan Honglie dead, his retainers and advisors scattered like birds and beasts. Under the cover of night, they rushed into the storerooms and accounting offices, looting all the gold, silver and valuables they could carry away.

"The prince is dead! Hurry up and seize it!"

"Keeping these treasures is just a way to benefit others!"

Greed triumphed over fear, and these normally dignified hangers-on revealed their ugliest sides. They fled in all directions, clutching their gold and jewels, and before leaving, they set fires in an attempt to destroy all evidence.

The fire spread rapidly.

Countless buildings burned and collapsed in the flames, billowing thick smoke that blotted out the sky.

Shen Mo walked slowly and steadily through the sea of ​​fire.

Just then, three retainers carrying gold and silver rushed out of the side corridor in a disheveled state, bumping right into Shen Mo and his two companions.

"Get out of the way! Don't block the way!"

The man in the lead had a fierce face and was the head of the Prince's household's accounting department. When he saw Shen Mo blocking his way, a fierce glint flashed in his eyes, and he flashed his dagger, about to stab Shen Mo.

Shen Mo didn't even lift his eyelids.

He gently raised his right index finger and pointed it at the three people.

Three streaks of silver energy shot out from his fingertips, so fast they were almost invisible to the naked eye.

puff!puff!puff!

Three soft sounds.

A bloody hole simultaneously appeared between the foreheads of the three people, and their bodies stiffened as they fell backward, scattering the gold and silver jewelry in their hands to the ground with a crisp clinking sound.

They died without understanding what had happened.

Yang Tiexin's pupils contracted sharply, and he gasped.

What... what kind of martial art is this?!

Taking a life from a distance is as easy as taking something out of a bag!

Bao Xiruo was so frightened that her face turned pale, and she tightly gripped Yang Tiexin's sleeve.

Shen Mo's innate true energy flowed naturally around him, forming an invisible barrier.

The flames, powerful enough to melt gold and iron, automatically parted to the sides when they approached within three feet of him.

The flying sparks and billowing smoke were completely kept out.

His clothes were spotless, and his hair was perfectly styled.

Yang Tiexin and Bao Xiruo followed behind him, feeling the absolute safety of that area, and the shock in their hearts was beyond words.

Bao Xiruo couldn't help but ask in a low voice, "This...this benefactor, did you really kill Wanyan Honglie?"

"You've already seen it."

Shen Mo's voice was very calm.

Yang Tiexin took a deep breath: "My benefactor's kindness is beyond repayment!"

"No need."

Shen Mo didn't stop. "I just did what I was supposed to do."

The three of them walked through the sea of ​​fire and out of the gates of the Prince Zhao's mansion.

The streets outside were in chaos, with retainers fleeing with gold and silver treasures mixed together with Jin soldiers running away in all directions, and no one dared to stop them.

……

Fuxing Inn.

The atmosphere in the lobby was extremely oppressive.

Guo Jing was restless, the Seven Heroes of Jiangnan paced back and forth, and Wang Chuyi closed his eyes to rest, but he could not hide his worry.

Huang Rong rested her chin on her hand, staring at the direction of the inn's entrance. For some reason, a hint of worry flashed in her eyes.

"Squeak—"

The inn's door was pushed open.

Everyone's movements froze at that moment.

They all turned to look at the doorway.

Shen Mo walked in.

He was still wearing that night clothes, but there was no blood on his body, not even a speck of dust.