I Can Upgrade Everything Infinitely-Chapter 70 - 69: Kill! Arriving in Qingfeng Town

"You..."

Xu Qing frowned. Jiang Feiying had collapsed to the ground, heavily injured. Just moments ago, Xu Qing had shattered forty-nine of her masks. Out of one hundred and eight, only fifty-nine remained. These remaining fifty-nine masks were also covered in cracks, with only a few still reasonably intact.

At that moment, Jiang Feiying’s body began to turn somewhat illusory.

Clearly, something was wrong with the Jiang Feiying before him.

"Is the... is the fight over?"

"Who won?"

"..."

Inside the inn, many of the guests were secretly watching. They certainly didn’t want the demoness to win. Given her temperament, if she won, everyone in the inn would likely be slaughtered.

"Die!"

BZZZT!

Suddenly, Jiang Feiying erupted. All her masks fused together, merging with her body and transforming into an extremely fast streak of light that shot toward Xu Qing.

"!!!"

Xu Qing’s pupils contracted.

WHOOSH!

He retreated at his fastest speed.

"DETONATE!!!"

BOOM!!!

A terrifying explosion erupted.

In her final moment, Jiang Feiying had self-destructed without hesitation. The terrifying Mighty Power of the blast radiated outwards, blowing a massive crater in the ground and sending dirt flying everywhere.

"!!!"

Everyone was utterly horrified.

"*Cough, cough...*"

As the dust and muddy water settled, Xu Qing was revealed. He wasn’t dead, but his clothes were in tatters, exposing the Soft Hedgehog Armor he wore underneath. The Soft Hedgehog Armor grew like a regenerating organism, spreading like plant vines to cover his entire body and block the Mighty Power of the explosion.

However, the force of the explosion was indeed incredibly powerful. Although the Level 10 Soft Hedgehog Armor blocked ninety percent of the Mighty Power, the remaining ten percent still injured Xu Qing.

BZZZT! BZZZT!

The Soft Hedgehog Armor quickly retracted, shrinking back like plant vines until it once again became a form-fitting Inner Armor covering only his upper body.

"Phew..."

Xu Qing took a deep breath, looking at the crater with lingering fear. ’I can’t believe she had a trick like that up her sleeve. If I didn’t have the Soft Hedgehog Armor to protect me, even if I hadn’t been killed, I would have been severely injured.’

[Soft Hedgehog Armor LV10: 1530/5120 (Originally a form-fitting soft armor woven from golden thread and Centennial Vine, possessing concealment and defensive effects to protect vital parts of the body. After nine upgrades, it has undergone an unprecedented transformation. Its defensive capabilities have been greatly enhanced, and it has gained the ability to regenerate. It can automatically defend when encountering danger, cover the entire body, and is even sufficient to withstand most attacks at or below the second step of the Martial Dao: Immortal.)]

"*Cough, cough...*"

Xu Qing coughed up the congested blood in his chest, and his breathing became much easier. The massive crater from the explosion was already filling with a good amount of rainwater due to the downpour.

Then, inside the pit, Xu Qing saw a shattered mask. It was crafted from human skin using a special technique, making it lifelike—identical to Jiang Feiying’s face. It was already broken, but then it spontaneously burst into flames without a spark and completely disintegrated.

’So it wasn’t Jiang Feiying herself.’

At this point, Xu Qing understood. No wonder he had felt something was off about this Jiang Feiying. It wasn’t her real body, but an avatar created from a mask—a type of clone.

"This..."

Xu Qing’s expression grew solemn. He murmured, ’Just a clone already possessed such incredible strength. How powerful must Jiang Feiying’s true self be?’

"Hooo..."

Xu Qing took a deep breath. ’It’s a good thing I left Qingbei Town. If I had stayed there until the Jiang Family’s group set out, I really would have been doomed.’

’Unless...’

’I, too, can step into the Immortal realm.’

’Also...’

Xu Qing took the Evil Ghost Mask from his robes. ’Could the reason Jiang Feiying is targeting me be this Evil Ghost Mask in my hand?’

There was a reason for his suspicion. Judging from Jiang Feiying’s attacks just now, they were all manifested from one mask after another.

Moreover, this clone itself was created from a mask.

Therefore, it was only natural for Xu Qing to suspect that Jiang Feiying was after the Evil Ghost Mask he possessed.

In fact, Xu Qing had guessed correctly.

’What should I do now? Should I stay and rest at this inn, or travel through the night and rain toward Qingfeng Town?’

Xu Qing stared into the pitch-black night, lost in thought.

Soon, Xu Qing gave up on the idea of traveling through the night.

The reason was simple.

Traveling at night was too dangerous. Out in the wilderness, there was no telling what he might encounter. If he were to run into some terrifying Deceit or evil spirit, his calls for help would go unanswered by heaven or earth.

Besides, since Jiang Feiying had sent a clone, it was unlikely there would be a second wave of attack. Even if Jiang Feiying learned of her clone’s demise, the inn was a long way from Qingbei Town. She couldn’t possibly reach this place before dawn.

’I’ll leave tomorrow.’

Xu Qing made his decision.

He returned to the inn.

"Sir, are... are you all right?"

The waiter and the Shopkeeper crawled out from a corner, their voices filled with concern.

"I’m fine."

Xu Qing shook his head.

"Good, good."

The Shopkeeper and the waiter were both filled with awe.

"Sigh..."

The Shopkeeper sighed, looking at the wreckage that littered the floor. "So many tables and chairs were destroyed. I’m going to lose so much silver!"

"Shopkeeper."

Suddenly, Xu Qing stopped and looked back. "The guests who were eating and resting on the first floor are all dead. They should have a good deal of travel money and valuables on them."

"I’ll trouble you to gather all of it. When you’re done, you can take a tenth as compensation."

"Right away, Sir!"

The Shopkeeper was overjoyed to hear this.

As for the guests on the second and third floors, they all looked at Xu Qing with reverence. Whenever they crossed paths with him, they would lower their heads and bow.

This was the respect shown to the strong.

Half an hour later,

The inn’s Shopkeeper had finished looting all the valuables. There was nothing particularly special, and the total value was about five thousand eight hundred taels of silver.

The Shopkeeper took his tenth, which was five hundred and eighty taels. The remaining five thousand two hundred and twenty taels all went into Xu Qing’s pocket.

"Sir, please don’t hesitate to ask if you need anything at all."

The Shopkeeper said, bowing and scraping.

"Mm."

Xu Qing gave a faint nod.

「The scene changed.」

Qingbei Town.

The Inner City.

Jiang Family Mansion.

Inside Jiang Feiying’s chambers.

Within a secret room.

"Pfft—"

Suddenly, Jiang Feiying’s beautiful eyes flew open as she spat out a mouthful of blood. Her exquisite, flawless face, already snow-white, grew a shade paler.

’My clone...’

Jiang Feiying couldn’t believe it. ’How is this possible? How? My clone only had the power of one hundred and eight masks fused into it, but it was still comparable to an average expert with Innate Gang Qi. How could it have been destroyed? Don’t tell me Xu Qing has already reached the Innate Gang Qi realm?’

’Or could it be...’

’Immortal?!’

Shock.

Utter shock.

"Damn it."

Jiang Feiying’s expression turned ugly. Even with her Qi Cultivation technique, she couldn’t control her emotions, unable to calm herself for a long time.

"XU QING!!!"

Jiang Feiying clenched her fists. "You won’t escape my grasp!!!"

「A silent night passed.」

The next morning, Xu Qing woke early. After washing up, he ate a pound of White Jade Tiger Meat. He felt his spirits rise, and the injuries on his body had fully recovered.

"Time to go."

Xu Qing checked out of his room, bid farewell to the inn’s Shopkeeper and waiter, and continued along the main road, traveling at full speed the entire way.

Of course, Xu Qing encountered many things along the way. He saw dried bones by the roadside and met common folk who had suffered from various disasters, as well as sallow-faced, skeletal refugees.

Clearly, although winter had passed and spring of the new year had arrived, the plight of the common people in the Great Zhou Martial Country had not changed much.

Furthermore, while passing a place called Tiger Mountain, he encountered a group of bandits. These bandits were actually just refugees. Although they tried to look fierce, they were all as skinny as skeletons and had no real fighting strength. After Xu Qing casually cut down a few of them, the rest scattered in terror.

’When the Court is in turmoil and the country is in upheaval, it’s always the common people at the bottom who suffer the most,’

Xu Qing murmured softly. 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

At noon, the sun shone brightly in a clear sky.

Xu Qing arrived at his destination, the place of his birth: Qingfeng Town, one of the county towns under the jurisdiction of Moon River Prefecture City.

"I’m here."

Xu Qing looked up. He stood on the wide main road, waiting in line with the crowd at the town gate. After about half an hour, it was his turn.

Then, Xu Qing paid the entry fee of ’ten copper coins’.

That’s right.

Qingfeng Town’s entry fee was more expensive than Qingbei Town’s, costing a full ’ten copper coins’. Entering Qingbei Town only cost three.

"Go on in."

The gate guard handed Xu Qing a pass and said, "You must be out before sunset. You can’t linger in the town. If you’re caught, you’ll be thrown in jail and sent to the mines."

"Of course,"

"that’s a different story if you have a place to stay."

"Understood."

Xu Qing nodded.

Afterward, Xu Qing entered the town. As they had arranged, an hour later, he found Yu Hu and his family, who had arrived in Qingfeng Town ahead of him.

Yu Hu’s family had already rented a house in Qingfeng Town.

「At Yu Chen’s residence.」

"Master."

Yu Hu bowed. "You’re finally here."

"Mm."

Xu Qing nodded. "As long as you’re all safe. Are you getting used to Qingfeng Town?"

"It’s more or less the same."

Yu Chen pondered for a moment before speaking. "However, I’ve noticed that public order in Qingfeng Town is much better than in Qingbei Town. The people here also seem to live more peaceful and contented lives."

"So,"

"I’m thinking of not going back to Qingbei Town. I’m planning to use my savings to open a steamed bun shop here in Qingfeng Town. I’ll start by selling buns and see if other opportunities come up later."

"That works too."

Xu Qing nodded.