I bought a secret manual of the Hehuan Sect for ten yuan.

"I want to know, did you just give it your all?"

Xiao Xinghe leaned against the stone wall in the corner, his chest heaving violently, his expression dejected, and his hands trembling uncontrollably, like someone with severe Parkinson's disease.

Qin Ge stood not far from him, holding a teapot in her hand, with a smile on her face.

Xiao Xinghe was almost out of breath, while Qin Ge was not only unharmed, but also had the strength to save the teapot when fighting him!

He really... handled it with ease!

That's so hurtful to someone's self-esteem.

"All out?"

"Are you kidding me? Even if I went all out, could you handle it?"

"Probably only about 20% of his full power!"

Qin Ge made it up off the cuff, but he really didn't use his full strength; at least he didn't use the Black Jade Flying Sword.

"Twenty percent?!" Xiao Xinghe almost spat out a mouthful of blood, but seeing Qin Ge's mischievous smile, his agitated emotions calmed down a little, and he finally let out a long sigh.

"What are you sighing about!" Qin Ge looked at him with exasperation. "Old man, don't go back on your word!"

"It's an honor for you to have my appreciation, but who are you trying to annoy with that bitter, resentful look on your face?"

"Don't worry, come along. I guarantee you'll experience a completely different life!"

"Once we get back to Donghai, I'll arrange a marriage for you. What kind of older woman do you like?"

"If one isn't enough, two will do!"

Xiao Xinghe: "..."

I, for one, was once the dignified Azure Dragon King of the Black Robe Hall...

Well, it's a long story.

"I can agree to that, but I have two conditions."

"First, I will no longer be an assassin. If you simply want me to kill for you, then you might as well just kill me!"

"Secondly, I've known those eight people outside for quite some time now, and they're all decent people with good character and temperament. You must spare their lives!"

Xiao Xinghe's churning internal energy calmed down considerably, and he stood up, patting the dust and rubble off his body.

He took a few steps forward, snatched the teapot from Qin Ge's hand, and started gulping down the tea.

Qin Ge initially approached the matter with a try-it-out mentality, but unexpectedly, it went so smoothly to get Xiao Xinghe to agree.

He was secretly overjoyed, but said jokingly, "So compassionate, do you want to become a Buddha?"

"The first condition is nothing; I never intended for you to be my assassin in the first place."

"But the second condition..."

He glanced towards the door. "I can't agree to that!"

"I haven't moved anything out of here yet. If I leave those people here, they might leak the news and ruin my plans."

"Your considerations aren't without merit." Xiao Xinghe pondered for a moment and then nodded slightly. "However, I understand them. If I just tell them, they won't do it."

"If you're still not at ease, I can persuade them to work for you."

"If they don't agree, then it's up to you to do with them."

"What do I need them for?" Qin Ge asked without hesitation. If they were beautiful women, that would be fine, but what would he do with eight men? Arrange for them to farm in Nanshan Village?

"I can't support that many people; we don't have enough food at home!"

Those experts weren't entirely useless. If they came from clean backgrounds, they could be placed in the Shadow Martial Hall to strengthen the Jiangcheng branch.

But they are assassins from the Ink Robe Hall. Can we let them into the Shadow Martial Hall?

"Don't try to fool me, kid!"

"With so much treasure here, can't we even support a few people?"

If he hadn't been defeated, Xiao Xinghe would have really wanted to beat Qin Ge, "Don't worry, I brought them all together, and I also taught them their martial arts."

"They are indeed from the Black Robe Gang, but they have never actually been assassins."

"Even the weakest martial artist among the eight is at the Earth Realm, and you're already complaining?"

Outside the door, seven people were whispering amongst themselves, while another person, who had been seriously injured by Qin Ge, lay on the ground half-dead.

After the commotion inside the stone chamber subsided, they began to discuss it. They all knew that the fight inside had ended, but they didn't know the outcome, and no one dared to go in.

The discussion revolved around the battle inside the stone chamber, and who won and who lost.

Who is that young man? How come he can fight Xiao Tianwang for so long?

Later, they all felt that they had been too presumptuous and rude. How could they have discussed such a question? It was obvious that no matter who that young man was, Xiao Tianwang would definitely beat him to a pulp.

That was the previous Azure Dragon Heavenly King!

"Cough cough..."

Upon hearing Xiao Xinghe's voice, everyone stiffened as if by reflex and turned to look.

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing Xiao Xinghe's face.

Since King Xiao is unharmed, he must have won. That young man has most likely died inside the stone chamber!

Speculation is one thing, but seeing is believing.

However, the figure that appeared behind Xiao Xinghe nearly caused their brains to shut down.

How come he's alright?

"King Xiao, this is...?"

One of them had barely opened his mouth when Xiao Xinghe raised his hand to interrupt him, "From today onwards, you no longer need to guard the vault."

"I know you're all very curious."

Ignoring everyone's bewilderment, he slightly turned to Qin Ge's position and said, "His name is Qin Ge. I just fought him, and I lost."

"As agreed..."

Xiao Xinghe found it difficult to speak, so he reorganized his thoughts and said, "As agreed, I will follow him and work together to achieve great things."

"I hope you will follow Qin Ge like I do, otherwise I will have no choice but to kill you!"

His words were like thunderclaps, leaving everyone stunned and speechless. The person lying on the ground almost jumped up on the spot.

Is there something wrong with my ears? What did Xiao Tianwang just say?

He said he lost to this young man, but he still wants to follow him?

I heard that even the current leader of the Moyi Hall can't command this old king, yet he wants to follow a young man?!

Qin Ge chuckled to himself. This old man was quite concerned about his image; he had clearly submitted to the enemy but had managed to portray it as a magnificent and ambitious conspiracy.

Let's work together on this great cause!

Xiao Xinghe was slightly embarrassed. "I know it's hard for you to understand, but I'm the one who trained you all. I can tell you with absolute certainty that Qin Ge is a genius. Following him is not only not a disservice, but also a great opportunity for you!"

"I won't waste any more time on nonsense. Just answer me: yes or no!"

The group exchanged glances, and with just that, they made their decision, speaking in unison, "We are willing to follow King Xiao!"

Xiao Xinghe waved his hand and nodded in satisfaction, "From the day I stepped down and came here, there has been no longer any Heavenly King Xiao."

"I allowed you to call me Heavenly King because we used to guard this place together. But you can't call me Heavenly King anymore after we leave here."

"This is to avoid unnecessary trouble. Remember, never mention that you are from the Black Robe Hall again!"

"Cough cough..." The Heavenly Realm expert lying on the ground suddenly coughed violently, perhaps due to the great shock.

"King Xiao, Ye Chen seems to be dying!"