Stop it, Taoist, Your Fight almost Ruins the DAO!

"You speak falsehoods, young master!"

"All people love the seams of a coffin, unaware it's also known as the Immortal's Cave."

Pfft!

A mouthful of tea sprayed out from Ye Rusuang's lips, almost choking her to death~

She couldn't help but cough repeatedly, as two maids with buns glared fiercely at Yi Chen, stepping forward to pat her back.

Yi Chen bowed to the crowd and then withdrew from the cabin.

A buzz of discussion erupted behind him

"Who in the world is this~"

"Young Master Ye, you're just too kind, willing to take along a pitiable traveling merchant, and this destitute scholar is bad enough, but to invite him to join our banquet as well."

"Young Master Ye, you're really making trouble for yourself. With bodies as precious as ours, we should limit contact with these inferior people to avoid bad luck," everyone chimed in.

"Exactly, these people should not be associated with," Young Master Nan concluded his summary.

Seeing Yi Chen had stirred the crowd's anger, Ye Rusuang didn't find it appropriate to call him back; in fact, she thought he was more interesting than this crowd, at least he was sincere.

Yi Chen's actions, of course, indicated he no longer wanted to play these boring games with the group of young masters. Initially, he could tolerate eating some golden thread pastries,

but as the conversation went on, someone kept 'unintentionally' revealing their identity and wealth, subtly taunting him, so he simply couldn't bear it any longer.

He was just a passerby; why bother with so much concern.

Boarding the ship was a whim, and so was leaving. He sought freedom and ease.

Come to think of it, Yi Chen did notice something amiss about two young masters. If others were ingratiating and coveting Ye Rusuang, these two seemed to harbor malicious intent, their gaze often discreetly lingering on the guards outside Ye Rusuang's cabin.

They also frequently checked the sky outside, as if waiting for someone.

But that was none of his concern as long as it didn't trouble him. The loves and hates of a bunch of young masters and missies were none of his concern; if not for the need to keep his identity hidden, he would have long since flown away.

The next pier was the Fisherman's Wharf in the southern part of Jiangnan Circuit, and Yi Chen decided to disembark there.

Just as he was contemplating this, Yi Chen's pupils suddenly contracted. Five figures in black robes with hoods descended from the sky, the leader exuding an imposing aura similar to the Ghost King of heaven.

On the chest of each black robed person was embroidered a longsword dripping with blood.

It was none other than the Blood Killing Tower, a notorious martial faction in the Jiangnan Circuit.

Before coming to Jiangnan Circuit, Yi Chen had done some homework with Lin Zhenbei about the major powers there.

The Blood Killing Tower had left a significant impression on him.

It was a comprehensive organization that specialized in kidnapping, murder, and theft.

Its leader was Gui Zhongdao.

Before Gui Zhong's dramatic rise, the Blood Killing Tower was a small assassination organization with limited influence.

But everything changed when Gui Zhong became the head of the Blood Killing Tower.

Gui Zhong rejected traditional paths, focusing on results-driven strategies, aligning targets with the market environment of Jiangnan Circuit, implementing comprehensive plans, targeting the pain points of Jiangnan Circuit, and executing a well-crafted series of tactical moves.

Before his reformation, the Blood Killing Tower only knew how to take contracts to kill people, living a fraught existence, not just living on the edge of the knife and blood, but also not earning much gold, silver, and cultivation resources.

Gui Zhong was more astute. If there was no business, he would create it, adopting an outward expansion strategy, no longer waiting for business to come to him. For some small and medium-sized families, he adopted kidnapping for ransom, with a high regard for credibility, releasing hostages as soon as the payment was received, aiming to build a good reputation.

He also restructured the organization and incentive systems of the Blood Killing Tower.

He focused on the top-level structure, clarifying the differentiated race tracks for each member of the gang, achieving coupling of team value.

Team members had clear division of labor: those who seized hostages did just that, those who acted undercover did their part, and those exploring and assessing the market did their jobs. They no longer distributed rewards based on cultivation level but on contribution, valuing the importance of logistics.

As a result, the Blood Killing Tower thrived by steering clear of major powers, moving location after each hit, maintaining a tight organization, offering fair prices, and with Gui Zhong's True Person Realm cultivation, it grew stronger and recaptured its glory, becoming a well-known assassin power in Jiangnan Circuit.

The commotion outside naturally caused Ye Rusuang's guards to sound the alarm, and everyone panicked as they gathered above the deck.

Gui Zhongdao waved a black mana with a cold face, sending Ye Rusuang's two guards vomiting blood and flying away. Having just made a breakthrough to the seventh level of the True Person Realm, he instantly took control of the situation, and for a moment, everyone on the pleasure boat was silent as if chilled by frost.

Two young masters approached the robed figure with sneers on their faces.

"Zhang Long, Li Long, to think that you two are traitors, does your Linshui Zhang family and Li family no longer wish to live? How dare you conspire with Blood Killing Tower to trap us all." Nan Gongzi's expression was a mixture of shock and anger, his face a picture of panic.

These two had also boarded partway through the journey, only earlier than Yi Chen.

Ye Rusuang, however, was quite rational now, "Nan Gongzi, no more words, we've been deceived. The Linshui Zhang family and the Li family certainly have these two bastards; their names are real, and the things they told us about the Zhang and Li families of Linshui are true."
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"But they themselves are fakes, all they did was to gain our trust."

"If I am not mistaken, these two must be carrying tracking magic artifacts."

Gui Zhongdao looked at Ye Rusuang with surprise: "This one is quite astute. Raise the ransom by thirty percent, I think the Ye family will accept."

Yi Chen crouched at one end of the deck, watching everything with cold eyes, not panicking at all.

As far as he knew, Gui Zhongdao never killed indiscriminately in his actions, only kidnapping the target persons. As long as there was no resistance, all was well. This man had a quirk – he wouldn't kill without getting paid, as he felt it was a loss.

In order to avoid the attention of the Yan Family and Zhang Longyi's lineage, Yi Chen decided to tolerate it for now. He couldn't afford to expose this persona lightly; otherwise, based on the disappearance location of his main account, there was still a risk of being exposed, rendering all his efforts futile.

Tolerate it for a moment, and all will be calm!

Tolerate! Tolerate! Tolerate!

Yi Chen practiced deep breathing and mental preparation.

The five from Blood Killing Tower descended onto the deck, with 'Zhang Gongzi' smiling as he took out pen and ink, urging the remaining young masters and misses to write letters home.

'Li Gongzi,' holding a long sword, approached Yi Chen and a few merchants with a cold sneer.

"What do you want to do?" Gui Zhongdao looked at 'Li Gongzi' with surprise.

"Tower Master, this is a big deal, I want to use the lives of these poor scholars to deter these young masters and misses who have never seen blood."

Gui Zhongdao frowned slightly but, considering 'Li Gongzi's' major contribution to this abduction, he eventually stayed quiet, indicating tacit consent.

This man was his capable lieutenant; this kidnapping, from scouting to planning the target, was almost single-handedly arranged by him. Just that he was a bit too bloodthirsty; nevertheless, a minor flaw did not hide his merits.

Upon hearing this, the merchants began kowtowing desperately like smashing garlic, loudly begging for mercy. At this point, Yi Chen stood out like a crane amongst chickens.

Holding the long sword, 'Li Gongzi' walked menacingly towards the merchants, taking a deep breath and displaying a face of intoxicated pleasure. He relished the feeling of others' fear.

The sensation of toying with and controlling the life and death of others was simply, exhilarating.

After a deep breath, 'Li Gongzi''s expression turned cold, and he strode towards Yi Chen.

"Zhang San, I actually liked the last poem you recited."

"However, right now, the expression on your face, Master Li is very unhappy."

"I'm also very unhappy!" Yi Chen said coldly.

With a crisp snap!

A headless corpse appeared before him.

Yi Chen couldn't hold back any longer, his sense of righteousness reemerged, and he killed the idiot with a slap.

A wretch who couldn't even beat his greatest son was daring to act tough.

Ye Rusuang's eyes widened in an instant.

"Zhang Long, you are…"

Yi Chen glanced at Ye Rusuang indifferently: "I've told you from the beginning, I was born with divine power."

With a wave of his hand, he drew the long sword on the ground into his hand. Yi Chen, with a fierce expression, met Gui Zhongdao's gaze: "Tower Master of Blood Killing Tower, can you give me, Zhang San, a little face, and let's call it even? Everyone goes their separate ways from here!"

"Otherwise, I, Zhang San the Life-Reaping Scholar, will have to lose my temper."