[4: You paid attention to the Lightning Sword Dojo yesterday and received the following information: The Lightning Sword Dojo will divide the Eagle Dojo's territory with the Iron Armor Dojo.]
[5: You successfully entered the entry level of the Lesser Red Sun Technique yesterday and sensed a trace of inner energy. You received the following information: You will enter the third-rate realm in three days.]
[6: You paid attention to the Black River Gang's leader Ji Zhang yesterday and received the following information: Ji Zhang will attend a meeting with the Snow Lotus Sect's Holy Envoy today and will be granted the subsequent three levels of the Bloodthirsty Divine Technique. Powerful martial artists will become Ji Zhang's targets for blood absorption.]
[7: You paid attention to the Eagle Dojo yesterday and received the following information: Du Xiang's son, Du Feng, fled with his sister, Du Yunnian, to seek refuge with their uncle at Black Wind Fort.]
[8: You paid attention to the Eagle Dojo yesterday and received the following information: The traitor Lin Yunfeng was introduced by his uncle Lei Wu and accepted as the ninth disciple of the Lightning Sword Dojo's master 'Lightning Sword' Jiang Haitian.]
[9: You paid attention to the Chen family, one of the four great families, yesterday and received the following information: The Chen family's youngest son, Chen Yi, was taken in as the tenth disciple of the Taiyi Sword Sect's elder Zhao Jianyi. The Chen family will celebrate this prestigious event with a grand feast.]
[10: You paid attention to the Chen family, one of the four great families, yesterday and received the following information: Although the Chen family's primary cultivation method, the Purple Sun Technique, is powerful, it has a significant weakness: the practitioner's power is halved at midnight. To mitigate this flaw, the family head, Chen Kun, has castrated himself three months ago and has been practicing the Purple Rose Sword Technique, which has drastically changed his temperament.]
"Du Xiang, the master of the Eagle Dojo, won't survive more than sixty breaths? Currently hiding in my kitchen?"
Qin Wang's eyes widened in shock as he read the first piece of intelligence, trembling with fear.
Qin Wang did not doubt the reliability of the intelligence panel. If it indicated that Du Xiang was hiding in his home, then it had to be true.
From what Qin Wang knew, Du Xiang was one of the three most renowned figures in Yan Yun County, known as the 'Iron Eagle of the Sky'! Even gravely injured and on the verge of death, he was an extremely dangerous individual.
"Will Du Xiang attack me?!"
Qin Wang was on high alert, knowing that even a dying camel is bigger than a horse. Despite his critical state, Du Xiang was still not someone to be trifled with.
Grabbing the dagger from under his pillow, Qin Wang listened intently for any sounds coming from the kitchen, detecting faint rustling noises.
At this moment, in the kitchen separated by a single wall, a lean, pale elderly man in blue robes lay among the firewood. Blood trickled from his mouth, and his chest was collapsed and covered in wounds. His breath was faint, barely clinging to life.
"Is... anyone... there…"
Du Xiang tried to call out but found his voice was barely a whisper, filling him with despair.
Originally a notorious bandit in Liangzhou, Du Xiang fled to Youzhou's Yan Yun County after offending a powerful force. He adopted the alias Du Xiang and opened the Eagle Dojo, hiding his true martial arts background.
Unexpectedly, his trusted disciple, Shi Lan, poisoned him, leading to a lethal ambush by Jiang Haitian and Lu Ming. Though he escaped thanks to his Eagle Footwork, his injuries were beyond recovery.
His only concern was for his children, Du Feng and Du Yunnian. Though they escaped with his second disciple through a secret tunnel, he hadn't had the chance to tell them about the treasures and manuals he left in Liangzhou and Yan Yun County.
Desperate to send a message, his injuries rendered him speechless.
"I, once the 'Flying Soul Palm' of Liangzhou, have been betrayed by my disciple… and now I die in a commoner's kitchen… I refuse to accept this..."
Du Xiang's body twitched, convulsed, and then went still, eyes open in unyielding defiance.
After a while, Qin Wang noticed the rustling had ceased, confirming that Du Xiang had died within the predicted sixty breaths.
Qin Wang, dressed in a robe, lit an oil lamp and cautiously approached the main room.
In the dim light, he saw the lean, severely injured old man lying motionless among the firewood, eyes wide open in death.
"It really is Du Xiang!"
Qin Wang recognized the face from his distant sightings at the Eagle Dojo.
"He's truly dead!"
Waiting another half hour to ensure Du Xiang was no longer a threat, Qin Wang approached with a stick, poking Du Xiang's clothes. A small grey pouch fell out, containing five banknotes, each worth fifty taels of silver, totaling two hundred fifty taels.
There was also a two-inch-long black object resembling a key.
"No manuals?"
"Only 250 taels of silver?"
Qin Wang inspected Du Xiang's body thoroughly but found nothing else of value.
"Who carries manuals around? At least 250 taels of silver can buy many Qi and Blood Pills."
Comforting himself with this thought, Qin Wang accepted his luck.
Earning 250 taels of silver would have been a lifetime's work without the intelligence panel.
"Burying Du Xiang here seems the best option to avoid unwanted attention."
With this in mind, Qin Wang stored the key and silver, closed the door, grabbed a mattock, and began digging a four-foot-deep hole in the backyard. He buried Du Xiang, covered the site, and disposed of the extra soil in the surrounding vegetation.
Finishing the task, Qin Wang took another half hour before checking the remaining intelligence reports.
"A Black River Gang member was killed instead of me by Ji Zhang?"
Qin Wang shuddered with lingering fear. Without the intelligence panel's warning, he would be a dried corpse now.
"The Eagle Dojo will be burned down by the victims' families?"
Reading the third and fourth pieces of intelligence, Qin Wang felt resigned.
This was inevitable. Families sent their children to train at the dojo, only to lose them in conflicts. Their anger had to be directed somewhere.
"In three days, I will reach the third-rate realm?"
"Excellent!"
Qin Wang's eyes sparkled with excitement.
In this world, martial arts were divided into third-rate, second-rate, first-rate, and martial arts transcendence. Each level was further divided into early, middle, late, and peak stages.
Third-rate martial artist: Internal energy begins to form, techniques are basic but structured, with one to five years of internal energy.
Second-rate master: Six to twenty years of internal energy, with one perfected skill or an unconventional talent integrated into their practice.
First-rate master: Over twenty years of internal energy, multiple skills mastered to perfection, capable of channeling energy externally, using anything as a weapon.
Martial arts transcendence: Enlightenment in martial arts, internal energy transformed into true energy.
Advancing to third-rate finally felt like real progress.