Starting with The Eagle Shooting Heroes: I gain a year's worth of skill every day.

Noon.

The blazing sun hangs high in the sky.

This should have been the time of day when the yang energy was at its peak, but the sky above Chang'an was filled with a chill.

Outside the residence of the Vice Minister of Revenue, the long street was deserted and silent.

The cold armor of the three thousand Golden Guards reflected the sunlight, forming an impenetrable steel wall.

The bowstrings were already drawn taut, and sharp arrows were aimed at every entrance and corner of the mansion.

The air was so heavy it was suffocating.

Inside the mansion, all was deathly silent.

The "Three Fiends of Jianghuai," whom Wang Weizhong had hired at great expense—three notorious villains in the martial arts world whose mere presence could silence a child's tears—were now deathly pale, their backs completely soaked with cold sweat.

They stood in a triangular formation, fiercely guarding a secret chamber made of refined steel.

His hand, gripping the weapon, was bulging with veins and trembling uncontrollably.

Deep within the secret chamber, atop a mountain of jewels, Wang Weizhong's obese body lay sprawled in a muddy mess.

His eyes bulged out, bloodshot, as he stared intently at the dripping water clock in the corner.

A drop of water gathers, then falls.

"Tick-tock".

The faint sound echoed in the enclosed space, each time like a heavy hammer striking his heart.

"It's...it's okay..."

His chapped lips moved, and he murmured unconsciously, it was hard to tell whether he was praying or numbing himself.

"The Three Thousand Golden Guards are the most elite guard in the Tang Dynasty..."

"The Three Fiends of Jianghuai are the most elite assassins in the martial arts world..."

"And this door, made of three feet thick steel, even a battering ram couldn't break it..."

"He can't get in! He absolutely can't get in!"

Fear is an invisible knife.

From the moment that note appeared that read "At noon, I'll take your dog's life," this knife had been slowly torturing him in his heart for an entire morning.

Meanwhile, throughout the entire city of Chang'an, countless eyes were peering through the cracks in the windows, watching this place.

Restaurants, teahouses, and the attics of grand mansions.

The powerful, wealthy merchants,江湖客 (jianghu ke, a term referring to people from all walks of life who live in the shadows), and even the scoundrels lurking in the shadows all held their breath.

They are waiting for an outcome.

Or, witness the birth of a myth and the disgrace of an empire.

"It's noon...time has arrived."

In a teahouse on the street corner, someone was looking at the shadow of a sundial, his voice hoarse.

"when--!"

The bells of Jinglong Temple in the west of the city rang out in response, heavy and long, announcing the arrival of the execution time.

The moment the bell tolled.

At the end of the long street outside the Vice Minister's residence, a figure appeared.

He wore a blue Taoist robe and was all alone.

Shen Mo walked silently down the empty street, his steps steady and unhurried.

Every step he took was measured as if he were stepping towards the steel wall formed by the three thousand Golden Guards.

"Halt! Who goes there!"

The captain of the Imperial Guard shouted angrily, but the trembling at the end of his voice betrayed his fear.

He remained silent, his steps unwavering.

"Release the arrows!"

The captain suddenly swung his hand down.

"Buzz—!"

The resounding bowstrings created a continuous chorus as hundreds of armor-piercing heavy arrows whistled out, tearing through the air and forming a dark cloud of death that instantly engulfed Shen Mo's figure.

The next moment, a scene that terrified everyone unfolded.

All the arrows froze when they came within three feet of Shen Mo.

They hovered in mid-air in such an eerie way.

Immediately afterwards, both the steel arrowhead and the sturdy shaft silently disintegrated and shattered into pieces.

Dust and powder filled the air, falling softly.

Without pausing, Shen Mo walked through the "rain of dust" made of arrow powder and entered the Jinwu Guard's formation.

The soldier blocking his way felt a gentle yet irresistible force pushing him towards him.

Their bodies, along with their heavy armor, slid to the sides completely out of control.

A straight path opened up before him on its own.

He single-handedly strolled through the impenetrable encirclement of three thousand men.

He stepped through the gates of the Vice Minister's residence.

"kill!"

The "Three Fiends of Jianghuai" roared like wild beasts, their eyes bulging with fury.

The three men attacked simultaneously, their blades flashing, sword shadows swirling, and palm strikes converging from three directions, carrying their life's work and sealing off all of Shen Mo's escape routes.

Shen Mo didn't even glance at them.

He simply raised his right hand and casually pressed it against the burly man with the ghost-headed knife who was charging at the front.

"Bang!"

A muffled thud.

The fiend's body, along with the steel knife in his hand weighing over a hundred pounds, exploded into a uniform cloud of blood mist in an instant.

No one survived.

The sinister smiles on the other two people froze, turning into extreme fear. Without thinking, they turned and fled.

Shen Mo flicked his finger.

Two invisible energies pierced through the air, arriving first despite being delayed, precisely entering the backs of the two men and exiting through their chests.

Their bodies froze on the spot, the life in their eyes rapidly fading, and they fell straight forward.

There was no more sound.

Shen Mo walked to the door of the steel chamber that gleamed with a cold metallic light.

Inside the secret room, Wang Weizhong heard the screams and muffled thuds outside. He was so terrified that he wet himself.

Shen Mo stretched out his hand, spread his five fingers, and gently pressed them on the three-foot-thick steel gate.

"Sizzle—"

A piercing sound rang out, and a metallic, acrid smell filled the air.

Under the horrified gaze of all the Imperial Guards outside, the supposedly indestructible steel door turned crimson, twisted, and softened at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Finally, with a "boom," it completely turned into a pool of flowing molten iron, making the bluestone slabs beneath its feet sizzle.

Inside the secret room, Wang Weizhong was facing the door when he saw that calm face devoid of any emotion.

"No……"

He couldn't utter the last word.

Shen Mo's figure had already appeared in front of him.

With a single, effortless flick of the finger, it struck precisely between his eyebrows.

Wang Weizhong's obese body suddenly stiffened, and the light in his eyes dimmed rapidly, like a candle flame being blown out by a strong wind.

"Thump."

The obese body crashed down with a heavy thud onto the gold and jewels.

The silence did not stop.

He turned and walked out of the secret room, his figure moving erratically through the vast mansion of the Vice Minister.

All the guards and bodyguards who were armed, as well as the corrupt and bloated staff and stewards who usually acted as accomplices to the tyrants, fell to the ground and died silently after he passed by.

Blood stained every inch of the mansion.

This is not an assassination.

This is cleaning.

A ruthless and efficient massacre that left no one alive!

Within the short time it takes for an incense stick to burn, there were no survivors in the mansion.

Shen Mo stood in the center of the courtyard amidst the mountains of corpses and seas of blood, his blue Taoist robe still spotless.

He slowly raised his head, his gaze piercing through the layers of courtyard walls, landing precisely on the roof of a pavilion not far away.

There, the deputy commander of the Bad Guys, wearing a silver-patterned mask, stood stiff as a stone.

He was drenched in cold sweat, feeling like a rabbit being watched by a hawk, and had even forgotten to breathe.

"Go back and tell your commander."

Shen Mo's voice was not loud, but it exploded clearly in his mind, carrying an air of imperial authority.

"You can't stop me from killing the people I want to kill."

"Don't block the way."

After saying that, he turned around.

Under the deathly silent gaze of the three thousand Golden Guards outside the mansion, he walked step by step out of this hell on earth that he had created with his own hands, and disappeared at the end of the long street.

---

The news spread like wildfire, instantly engulfing the entire city of Chang'an.

When General Chen Xuanli of the Imperial Guard led his men, trembling, into the blood-soaked mansion of the Vice Minister, the face of this veteran general, who had crawled out of the mountains of corpses on the battlefield, lost all color for the first time.

At noon, they will come knocking and exterminate the entire clan!

That Taoist priest named Shen Mo announced his existence to the entire Tang Dynasty in the most arrogant and bloody way!

This is no ordinary martial art, yet it is more terrifying than any other martial art!

The city of Chang'an was plunged into a frenzied panic.

Those powerful and influential people who had committed numerous evils and whose hands were stained with blood were now like frightened birds, kneeling before the gods and Buddhas, trembling and kowtowing frantically.

"Who's this genius passing by?"

What they feared was no longer the laws of the government, nor the swords of the Imperial Guards.

What they feared was that the Taoist priest in the green robe would step into their home at the next noon.

The top floor of a restaurant.

The deputy commander of the Bad Guys, wearing a silver-patterned mask, stared blankly in the direction of the Vice Minister's residence, unconsciously crushing the wine cup in his hand with a "crack".

"Handsome...you...you miscalculated..."

He muttered to himself, his voice filled with undisguised awe and trembling.

"We're not facing a tiger..."

"They are gods and demons walking among humans."

---

Xinghuafang, a small courtyard.

Shen Mo pushed open the door and entered, still carrying that cool sandalwood scent, untouched by any trace of blood.

Yang Yuhuan waited anxiously at the door, and only when she saw him return safely did her heart finally settle down.

Shen Mo sat back down at the stone table, his gaze returning to the black ledger.

A flash of light appeared in the mirror of my mind.

[Punish the entire evil Wang Weizhong family, gaining 58000 Good/Evil Points]

Good and Evil Points Balance: 264601

His finger slowly slid down the densely packed list of names in the ledger.

Each name represents a blood debt, and also a wave of good and evil.

Finally, his fingertip stopped on a name.

Yang Guozhong.

It was at this moment.

Daming Palace, Zichen Hall.

"Bang!"

A priceless glass lamp was smashed violently onto the gold bricks, shattering into pieces.

"Useless! They're all useless!"

On the dragon throne, Emperor Li Longji of the Tang Dynasty wore a disheveled dragon robe, his face was distorted, and his eyes were bloodshot, making him look like a mad tiger.

"Three thousand Imperial Guards! Couldn't stop one man! An entire Vice Minister's mansion! He slaughtered them all!!"

"My prime minister! My vice minister! They're treated like pigs and dogs, killed at will!!"

"Where is the law?! Where is the emperor's authority?!"

The chief eunuch Gao Lishi knelt on the ground, his body trembling like a leaf, his head buried deep in his chest, not daring to lift it even slightly.

Li Longji was breathing heavily, his face, flushed with rage, turned a deep liver color. He stared intently at the blinding sunlight outside the palace, his voice seemingly squeezed out from between his teeth, each word distinct and deliberate.

"Send word... the Bad Commander!"