Starting as a Grandmaster, all of my cultivation techniques are at max level.

After Liu Yan, the fourth elder of the Wusheng Sect, left, Xia Jin emerged from behind a boulder in the corner.

He walked to the wrecked pit and glanced at Yue Qianfeng's unrecognizable corpse.

"I will send your corpse back to the Jade Balance Sect! Consider it my first gift to the Jade Balance Sect!" A smile flashed in Xia Jin's eyes as he grabbed Yue Qianfeng's corpse and quickly disappeared from the spot.

That same day, in a small town outside Lingtian City, several镖师 (bodyguards/escorts) who specialized in transporting goods received an unprecedentedly large order.

Transporting a corpse to the gate of the Jade Balance Sect will earn you a reward of one hundred taels of gold.

"Brother Wu, do you think we'll offend the Jade Balance Sect by accepting this mission like this?" In the main hall, a round-faced bodyguard picked up the teacup in front of him, about to take a sip of tea, but couldn't help asking.

"Hey, Brother Wang, it's just a corpse, right? We can just dump it at the entrance of the Jade Balance Sect under the cover of night and leave. Who would know it was us who did it!" Another bodyguard with prominent cheekbones said dismissively.

"Old Li is right!" The old bodyguard surnamed Wu nodded, a ruthless glint in his eyes. "That's a hundred taels of gold. After this job, we brothers will be free for the rest of our lives! We won't need to be bodyguards anymore!"

......

On the third day after the death of Yue Qianfeng, the third elder of the Jade Balance Sect,

The sky was just beginning to lighten.

Two young men dressed in the robes of the Jade Balance Sect disciples walked out of the mountain gate, preparing to descend the mountain.

Just a few dozen steps outside the mountain gate, one of the burly disciples of the Jade Balance Sect noticed a protrusion on the bluestone ground not far away. After taking a few steps forward, he smelled a faint stench of corpse.

He immediately frowned in disgust.

"Look at this, Junior Sister Murong! So early in the morning, which despicable bastard dared to leave such a curse at the gate of our Jade Balance Sect!" The burly Jade Balance Sect disciple covered his nose and couldn't help but curse.

"Senior Brother Sun, don't you think something's strange?" Junior Sister Murong stopped and looked around, a hint of doubt flashing in her eyes.

"Strange, what's strange about it?!" Senior Brother Sun couldn't help but frown.

"Senior Brother Sun, in Beiji, who doesn't know my Jade Balance Sect? To dump a corpse in front of my sect's gate—not just anyone would dare do such a thing!"

"Sigh! I say, Junior Sister Murong, you must be overthinking it! There aren't that many reasons." Senior Brother Sun shook his head, feeling that Junior Sister Murong was making a mountain out of a molehill.

He immediately stepped forward, impatiently raised his leg and kicked the unsightly corpse into the roadside bushes.

"Get the hell away from me! You rotten bastard!"

Senior Brother Sun's kick sent the corpse flying several meters away.

As the corpse rolled into the nearby bushes, a wine gourd and a pale blue jade pendant were faintly visible at its waist.

"Let's go! Junior Sister Murong, what are you standing there for? We need to get to Blackstone Town before noon." Senior Brother Sun urged her when he saw his junior sister standing there in a daze.

"Wait, wait! Senior Brother Sun, look!"

Junior Sister Murong's voice changed tone as she pointed a trembling finger at the wine gourd.

"This wine gourd, doesn't it... look a bit like Elder Yue's...?" Her face turned pale, her legs went weak, and she almost collapsed to the ground.

When Senior Brother Sun saw his junior sister suddenly change like this, he couldn't help but look in the direction she was pointing.

This sight startled him greatly.

Others might not know, but how could he, who frequently delivered wine to the Third Elder, not recognize that wine gourd?

His heart sank, and a strange chill ran from the soles of his feet to the top of his head, but he still held onto a sliver of hope that the corpse was not that of their Jade Balance Sect's Third Elder.

"Junior sister, wait a minute, let me go take a look first." Senior brother Sun slowly walked to the corpse, and as soon as he bent down, he saw the jade tablet next to the wine gourd.

"It's...it really is the Third Elder?!" Sun Yue's eyes widened, and he staggered back several steps.

He turned around abruptly, not even glancing at his junior sister, and rushed hurriedly into the sect.

"Help! Help! Something terrible has happened!! The Third Elder... the Third Elder...!"

......

In less than the time it takes to drink half a cup of tea, a huge crowd appeared outside the mountain gate.

Meanwhile, Xu Shan, the Grand Elder of the Jade Balance Sect, led dozens of high-ranking members of the sect as they quickly walked out of the mountain gate.

Xu Shan spotted Yue Qianfeng's corpse at a glance, especially the familiar wine gourd and jade pendant. He shuddered and flashed to the body's side.

"Junior Brother Yue!!" Xu Shan looked at Yue Qianfeng's disfigured corpse, squatted down to examine it, and his eyes instantly turned bloodshot. His beard trembled with extreme anger.

The Third Elder... he was beaten to death, punch by punch!

An extremely terrifying pressure erupted from his body.

"Who—!? Which damned bastard dared to kill an elder of my Jade Balance Sect!!!"

With this roar, the bluestone pavement within a hundred-meter radius couldn't withstand the force and sank half a meter. Several century-old oak trees nearby snapped in half under the impact of this power.

Xu Shan took a deep breath, grabbed Yue Qianfeng's body, and transformed into a streak of light, heading straight for the main hall of the Jade Balance Sect.

"Bang!"

The palace gates were kicked open.

Inside the main hall, Qiu Changtian, the sect leader of the Jade Balance Sect, was cultivating with his eyes closed. Suddenly sensing the approaching violent aura, he slowly opened his eyes.

"Elder Xu, what's wrong with you? Why are you in such a panic so early in the morning..." However, before he could finish speaking, his eyes narrowed.

Because he had already seen Elder Xu Shan rushing in carrying Yue Qianfeng's body.

After Xu Shan gently laid the body down, he raised his head, looked up at Sect Master Qiu Changtian, and said in a deep voice:

"Sect Master... Junior Brother Yue... was murdered, his body was desecrated, and abandoned at the sect gate!"

Xu Shan clenched his fists, a fierce killing intent flashing in his eyes.

"This enmity is irreconcilable! Anyone who insults my Jade Balance Sect shall have their entire family executed! Sect Master, please order an immediate investigation into the culprit and avenge Junior Brother Yue!"

Qiu Changtian stepped down from the main seat with a blank expression.

He stopped only when he reached Yue Qianfeng's unrecognizable corpse. He bent down, extended his right hand, and a white aura emerged from his palm, directly enveloping the corpse.

Ten breaths later, Qiu Changtian withdrew his hand, a cold glint flashing in his eyes.

"Sect Master, what have you discovered?" Elder Xu Shan hurriedly stepped forward and asked upon seeing this.

"The remaining aura on the Third Elder's body, besides the most obvious and extremely powerful true energy..."

"I also vaguely sensed another aura. However, before I could investigate it further, that aura dissipated on its own," Qiu Changtian said, frowning slightly.

"This...could it be that the two of them joined forces to harm Junior Brother Yue?" Xu Shan's pupils contracted.

Qiu Changtian shook his head, slowly turned around, and faced the outside of the hall. A chilling aura began to emanate from his body.

"Leaving everything else aside, that incredibly fierce aura—in this Northern Hebei, only those brainless bastards from the Wusheng Sect, who cultivate the 'Mountain-Slaying and Mountain-Shaking Force,' can match it!"

"Tomorrow, I will personally make my way to the Gate of No Life!"