Chapter 247: Murong Bufan’s Surprise

[Ding! Protagonist Xu Liang, under the collaboration of the host and the female lead, strongly retaliated against Long Ritian! He is currently questioning his life! Xu Liang’s protagonist halo -400! Host luck points +400, ability points +40!]

[Xu Liang’s remaining protagonist halo: 1000!]

As Xu Liang received his system rewards, Wang Haoran also heard the system prompt.

After obtaining the “Yin-Yang Creation Body,” his physical constitution had increased by 100 points.

Looking at his impressive 540 ability points, Wang Haoran couldn’t help but say—

“System, allocate points!”

[Wang Haoran: “Villain’s Comeback System” Host

Luck Points: 1400

Ability Points: 0

Combat Power: 1024 (Early Legend)

Constitution: 620 (Love Gu, Yin-Yang Creation Body)

Mental Power: 560

Charm: 400

Skills: Appraisal;

Seize;

Super Ability Shield;

Enhanced Perception;

Instantaneous Movement;

Burst lv2;

X-ray Vision lv2;

Impenetrable Fortress lv7;

Culinary Skills lv2;

Piano Performance lv4;

Ancient Medical Techniques lv2;

Photographic Memory lv1

Items: Persuasion by Reason, Limited Edition Any Door]

Looking at his personal panel, Wang Haoran felt somewhat satisfied.

All his abilities were in round numbers, and although his combat power wasn’t a round number, 1024 was still pleasing to the eye.

“Xu Liang’s protagonist halo is down to 1000…”

“After dealing with him, I’ll go find Murong Bufan!”

“I remember, Murong Bufan’s protagonist halo is still… 3800…”

“I wonder how that guy is doing in the ancient martial arts world…”

Wang Haoran muttered to himself.

***

Ancient Martial Arts World.

Murong Bufan, who was in Wang Haoran’s thoughts, was not having a good time.

He was confused and puzzled.

In the Transformation stage, he could easily contend with master-level experts.

Upon reaching the peak of the Transformation stage, he could even face mid-level masters head-on!

But now… after advancing to the initial Grandmaster stage, he could only fight with those in the same stage!

Even mid-level Grandmasters could beat him into a sorry state!

After advancing in stage, his strength had inexplicably decreased!

How was he supposed to get his revenge like this?

Through recent battles, he understood the reason for his decline in combat power.

He couldn’t use his family’s secret technique, “Star Shifting,” and the power boost from the “Nine Transformations of the Heavenly Dragon” was significantly less than before.

To put it in simple terms, if his previous power boost was a bucket of water, now it was just about a tablespoon!

Murong Bufan knew there was a problem with his strength but couldn’t identify the cause!

After much contemplation, he recalled the battle with Xiao Longchen, where he was hit with a “kick”…

Thinking about his mother, who was still under house arrest at the Wang family, and his cousin Yu Xi, who was forced to break off their engagement, Murong Bufan felt very agitated.

Currently.

He was walking towards the ancestral shrine of the Murong family.

Although the Murong family had been looted, the ancestral shrine with the spirit tablets of his ancestors remained untouched.

Entering the shrine, he knelt down.

“Murong Bufan, the 17th generation descendant of the Murong family, pays respects to the ancestors!”

After respectfully kowtowing three times, he prepared to leave.

Back then, his father had died tragically, and he had fled the ancient martial arts world in disgrace, so his father’s tablet wasn’t here.

He planned to make one later.

However, just as he stepped out of the shrine, he heard a sudden “thud.”

Murong Bufan turned around to find that a spirit tablet had mysteriously fallen from the altar.

He quickly picked it up and checked it, discovering a crack in the tablet!

“Ancestor Yuan Tu, please forgive this unfilial descendant!”

Murong Bufan was about to place the tablet back.

This spirit tablet belonged to his ancestor Murong Yuan Tu.

His grandfather had told him stories about this ancestor when he was young.

According to his grandfather, this ancestor Yuan Tu was the second person in the family, after the founder Murong Longchen, who had the potential to reach the pinnacle of the ancient martial arts world.

With his unmatched mastery of the “Seventy-two Stances of Evil Extermination Sword Technique,” the Murong family name once again resounded in the ancient martial arts world.

However, this ancestor was eccentric and reclusive, living a life without a wife or children, rarely interacting even with the Murong family.

The Evil Extermination Sword Technique was something he had stumbled upon and didn’t belong to the Murong family, so the family had always demanded he transcribe and submit it.

Unfortunately, the ancestor never heeded these orders and took the secret to his grave.

For this reason, his tablet was placed at the periphery of the ancestral shrine.

But.

Upon inspecting the crack, Murong Bufan discovered something peculiar.

“This is… a piece of cloth?”

Peering through the crack, he found a cloth hidden inside the wooden tablet.

“……”

“……”

Murong Bufan felt a voice in his heart urging him to retrieve the cloth, insisting it was extremely important.

“Ancestor Yuan Tu, please forgive this unfilial descendant!”

Ultimately, Murong Bufan apologized once more, then gently pried open the tablet to retrieve the cloth.

Inside was a portrait of his ancestor.

The left hand was pinching fingers, while the right hand wielded a sword.

Fingers pointing upwards, sword tip downwards.

Below the portrait were the words “Evil Extermination Sword Technique.”

“……How could a portrait be a sword technique?”

Murong Bufan scrutinized it thoroughly, but it seemed like an ordinary portrait.

He couldn’t help but ponder.

“The person in the portrait… should be ancestor Yuan Tu…”

“Why would he leave this portrait… and even hide it in his tablet?”

Looking at the strange posture, Murong Bufan unconsciously imitated it.

“……Could it be?!”

A sudden flash of insight struck Murong Bufan. He moved to the kneeling mat’s position and faced the ancestral tablets.

After positioning himself, he found—

His pinched fingers were pointing to the shrine’s beam!

Murong Bufan quickly leapt up to the beam and searched meticulously.

Finally, he found a hidden compartment.

Opening it, he found an ancient sword manual inside!

“This is… the Evil Extermination Sword Technique!”

“Truly, there is always a way out!!!”

Murong Bufan was ecstatic.

He hadn’t expected that a simple ancestral visit would lead to such an unexpected gain!

He was so eager that he didn’t even jump down from the beam but immediately started flipping through the yellowed pages.

On the first page, in bold characters, it read—