I Can Upgrade Everything Infinitely-Chapter 74 - 73: Instant Kill

"Sir, please take a look."

The elderly shopkeeper introduced the items to Xu Qing, "On your far left is the Blood Dragon Elephant Meat. A single cube, just one centimeter on each side, weighs a full pound."

"Right in front of you is the ’Bitter Bamboo Meat.’ It looks like strips of split bamboo, with a natural green color, yet it has the texture of meat. Its consistency is similar to beef jerky, but the flavor is entirely different and simply cannot be compared."

"And finally."

"To your far right, in this box, is the Jade White Jade Meat. As you can clearly see, its shape and color resemble jadeite. It looks almost like candy, but I assure you, it’s real meat."

"This is all the Level 3 Spiritual Food you requested: one hundred pounds of Blood Dragon Elephant Meat, one hundred pounds of Bitter Bamboo Meat, and one hundred pounds of Jade White Jade Meat."

"Mm."

Xu Qing nodded. He inspected the items carefully, confirming there were no issues with the three types of Level 3 Spiritual Food. The elderly shopkeeper, in turn, confirmed that Xu Qing’s silver notes were genuine.

With that, the transaction was complete—a simple exchange of money for goods.

"Good."

Xu Qing picked up the three Jade Boxes and, under the astonished gazes of the other customers, left the Black Market Spiritual Food Store with a full three hundred pounds of Level 3 Spiritual Food.

"Sir."

Just as Xu Qing was leaving, the elderly shopkeeper offered a kind reminder.

"Mm."

Xu Qing nodded in acknowledgment.

Afterward, Xu Qing headed straight out of the Qingfeng Town Inner City Black Market. The entrance and exits of the Inner City Black Market were not in the same place. To be precise, the Inner City Black Market had nine exits.

The Inner City Black Market had nine different streets, and at the end of each street was an exit that led out of the market.

Thus, Xu Qing walked directly to the end of the Ninth Street.

Sure enough, he saw a towering wall that connected with the ceiling of the Black Market. Embedded in this wall was a gateway.

At this moment, people were already passing through the gateway to leave the Black Market.

"..."

Xu Qing’s expression was calm. He walked forward at a steady pace and stepped into the gateway. As he crossed the threshold, his vision blurred, a sign he was being affected by an Illusion Realm.

He passed through the gate.

"Here..."

Xu Qing looked around and found himself in a deserted alley. Behind him, there was no gateway—only a solid wall from which he had just emerged.

Furthermore, Xu Qing realized he couldn’t go back the way he came. To return to the Black Market, he would have to go back to the dilapidated temple and enter through the dry well inside.

’Looks like I’m out.’

Xu Qing mused, ’Time to head back.’

This time, Xu Qing had achieved his goal. He had spent the entire sum of nine hundred thousand silver he earned from Mo Yi Yun on a full three hundred pounds of Level 3 Spiritual Food.

Also, regarding Mo Yi Yun’s invitation to the Inner City auction, Xu Qing could only apologize in his thoughts. He most likely wouldn’t be going.

’Three hundred pounds of Level 3 Spiritual Food.’

Xu Qing mused, ’I’ve already broken through to the Inner Gang Level. Back when I was at the Outer Gang Level, I only needed to eat one pound of Level 3 Spiritual Food per day.’

’But now that I’ve advanced to the Inner Gang Level, my Cultivation and Power have increased, and my appetite has naturally grown with them. I’m afraid one pound of Level 3 Spiritual Food a day won’t be enough anymore.’

As he was thinking,

SWISH! SWISH! SWISH!!!

Before Xu Qing could even leave the deserted alley, he sensed he was being followed. Several black shadows moved in swiftly, blocking his way forward and back.

Moreover, two more figures stood on the rooftops on either side of the alley, looking down on Xu Qing. He was completely surrounded.

"Brother, I see you’re carrying so many boxes. That must make it hard to travel. Why don’t you hand them over to us? We’ll help you carry them."

Directly in front of him, Xu Qing saw a burly, middle-aged man wearing a black bear mask. He stood an imposing two meters tall.

"No, thank you,"

Xu Qing said.

"Hahaha..."

The man in the black bear mask laughed and moved closer to Xu Qing. "Brother, no need to be so polite. When you’re out and about, it’s only right to help each other."

As he spoke, the man in the black bear mask had closed the distance to three meters in front of Xu Qing.

SCREEE!!!

In an instant, an ear-piercing eagle’s cry suddenly rang out.

RIP!

SQUELCH!!

Blood splattered.

Xu Qing had struck first. He tossed the three Jade Boxes into the air with both hands and then took a single step forward.

Instantly, Xu Qing vanished from his original spot.

"!!!"

The man in the black bear mask’s eyes widened. He felt a lethal aura wash over him, and by the time he reacted...

...Xu Qing was already upon him.

"You..."

The man in the black bear mask was just about to counterattack.

SPURT!!

Xu Qing’s right hand sliced through the air, shaped like a talon. It swept across like a hawk hunting its prey, like a great Dapeng bird tearing through the sky, and shredded the throat of the man in the black bear mask. Xu Qing even ripped his windpipe clean out.

Blood sprayed forth.

At that moment, with his windpipe torn out, the man in the black bear mask couldn’t even scream. The intense pain twisted his face into a grotesque mask of its own.

However, he wasn’t dead yet.

BANG!

Xu Qing punched with his left fist, unleashing the terrifying Bengjin of Baji Fist. The strike landed on the man’s chest, and a powerful burst of Gang Qi shattered his heart.

BOOM!

The body of the man in the black bear mask flew a full ten meters before crashing to the ground, where it lay motionless.

He was dead.

"B-Boss..."

"Oh no!"

"How could this be?!"

The other three men were completely dumbfounded. Their pupils contracted in utter horror and fear. It had all happened too fast; they didn’t even have time to react. By the time they came to their senses, their boss was already dead.

After all, their boss had been very strong. He had opened his Ren and Du Meridians, built the Bridge of Heaven and Earth, and truly stepped into the Outer Gang Realm. He was a genuine Outer Gang Expert.

An expert like him could have served as a Vice Gang Leader in one of the three major gangs in the Outer City, and might even have had a shot at becoming a Gang Leader.

Yet now he was dead, killed by Xu Qing’s hand.

In fact, they had never considered the possibility of failure.

Even in the Inner City, an Outer Gang cultivator was considered an expert. Across all of Qingfeng Town, Inner Gang powerhouses were rare, those at the Innate Gang Qi level could be counted on one hand, and the Immortal masters almost never showed themselves, as they were all preparing or in seclusion to break through to the ’Second Realm’.

Given this situation, the ones who truly held power publicly were those at the Innate Gang Qi level. This naturally made Inner Gang experts, who were only one level weaker, truly significant figures.

Under these circumstances, they had never imagined they would fail in their ambush of Xu Qing. Their team had successfully ambushed people in the Black Market several times before and had, in fact, never failed.

Furthermore, on previous occasions, they had even run into an Outer Gang Expert. By working together, they managed to defeat him, forcing him to flee for his life.

But now, they could never have imagined that their boss, a cultivator at the Outer Gang Level, couldn’t even withstand a single exchange. He had been killed in a single clash.

Too strong.

He was simply too strong.

This level of skill.

This level of Power.

Their opponent was definitely an expert who had reached the Inner Gang Level.

Facing such an expert, they, who were merely at the Dan Jin Realm, had no chance of victory. Their only hope of survival was to flee with all their might.

"Run!!!"

Without hesitation, the three men exchanged a look and immediately fled in three different directions, running as fast as their legs could carry them.

CLANG! CLANG!

Xu Qing waved his right hand. His Level 10 Iron Sword and Level 10 Wandering Dragon Sword shot from his waist, flying through the air like the Hundred-step Flying Sword. Two screams followed.

THWIP! THWIP!

Blood splattered.

Two of the men were precisely pierced through the heart by the Flying Swords.

Finally, Xu Qing caught the three falling Jade Boxes and quickly caught up to the last man. As the man stared in abject terror, Xu Qing slapped his head down into his chest cavity.

And with that, all four men who had tried to ambush Xu Qing were dead.

Among them were one Outer Gang expert and three at the Dan Jin Realm.

Afterward, Xu Qing quickly searched the bodies. He found silver notes worth one hundred thousand and a hand-copied Fundamental Skill on the body of the middle-aged man in the bear mask.

However, after a quick glance, Xu Qing saw that this hand-copied book was only a Mid-grade Fundamental Skill, which could at most be cultivated to the Inner Gang Level.

Even so, a Fundamental Skill was extremely valuable. Even a hand-copied version could fetch a price of several million silver in the Black Market. But selling it carelessly without knowing its origin could attract a great deal of trouble.

After all, many factions strictly forbade the leak of their advanced Martial Arts and Fundamental Skills. If a leak occurred, they would use every means at their disposal to erase all traces of it.

’I’ll deal with that later,’ Xu Qing thought to himself.

「Back at his residence」

Xu Qing took off the Sheep Horn Mask. With a burst of Gang Qi from his hand, it turned to dust. He then removed the Evil Ghost Mask, revealing his true face.