Kill Another Qianjun

June 11.

After a day of brewing, the news still spread.

People from Great Xia Prefecture would soon arrive to take part in the higher academy assessments in Nanyuan. Some had already reached Nanyuan and were waiting for the assessments.

Along with the news came some criticism.

"Great Xia Prefecture wants to take away Nanyuan students' spots in the higher academies!"

"Marquis Xia only cares about money, not whether the people of Nanyuan live or die. He even wants to sell Nanyuan City to Great Ming Prefecture."

"Nanyuan has already been abandoned by Great Xia Prefecture!"

"..."

All kinds of voices spread. Some came from ordinary citizens, while others were deliberately muddying the waters with ulterior motives.

The City Lord's Mansion responded swiftly. Jifeng Hall remained on standby around the clock, and Nanyuan Academy began explaining the matter to all its students.

The assessment slots for those from Great Xia Prefecture were specially granted slots and had nothing to do with Nanyuan.

They were additional slots and would not take up any of Nanyuan's students' places.

Public opinion began to shift. Of course, not everyone believed it, but the backlash was no longer as fierce as it had been at first. Most citizens believed the explanation soon enough.

Jifeng Hall.

This was not Su Yu's first visit. The previous few times, he had come with Liu Wenyan.

This time, he had not called Liu Wenyan and had come alone.

In Jifeng Hall's bustling lobby, Su Yu did not add to the chaos. He was crouching in a corner, chatting with an old Jifeng constable who was smoking.

"Uncle Li, have you found any traces of the Ten Thousand Races Cult?"

"We're investigating."

The middle-aged man's surname was Li. He was an old hand at Jifeng Hall, at the Thousand Jun Sixth Stage, though he was merely a low-ranking Jifeng constable because his strength was too weak.

Despite his lack of strength, the man had spent many years in Jifeng Hall and was well-informed.

Puffing on his cigarette, he chuckled. "Little Su, among all the students in Nanyuan's secondary academies, you're the one!"

The man gave him a thumbs-up. "You joined a manhunt before even graduating. You're the first!"

"But..." After praising him, the man lowered his voice. "Your teacher didn't come this time. It's very dangerous for you to follow us alone! To put it bluntly, without your teacher here, there may be times when we can't even save you in time."

Like an obedient child, Su Yu hurriedly nodded. "Uncle Li, I won't cause trouble. I'll just wait on the outskirts and watch you all. If you can let one or two heavily injured ones slip through so I can complete my teacher's assessment, I'll thank heaven and earth."

The man chuckled. "Don't worry. If there's a chance, we'll let one or two badly wounded ones get away. Even the Hall Master has to give Instructor Liu some face! Besides, we've dealt with your father plenty of times. Back when we hunted down Ten Thousand Races Cult members, your father sometimes lent a hand. He could practically count as Jifeng Hall's unofficial personnel."

Su Yu smiled and hurriedly thanked him.

His father did not actually like meddling in other people's business, but when it came to killing Ten Thousand Races Cult members, anyone in Nanyuan capable of fighting was willing to lend a hand.

Su Long, at the Thousand Jun Ninth Stage, was considered quite a formidable expert in Nanyuan.

As the two chatted, a captain-level Jifeng constable in the lobby suddenly barked, "Northern Squad, assemble!"

The moment the words fell, Old Li tossed aside his cigarette butt and ran toward the lobby.

Su Yu hurriedly followed as well. He did not join the formation, instead standing silently behind the group.

The captain who had summoned the squad glanced at him but said nothing. In a deep voice, he said, "Traces of the Ten Thousand Races Cult have been found in the outskirts! This is not a large gathering. Some of them came out to incite the public. Based on current intelligence, we can only confirm that there are roughly three of them."

"Their exact strength is unknown, but people tasked with spreading rumors generally won't be too strong."

"The mission has been assigned to the Northern Squad. You have three minutes to make all preparations. We move immediately!"

"Yes!"

Everyone answered in unison. A Jifeng Hall squad had thirty people, which was not a small number.

The captain was at the Thousand Jun Ninth Stage. There were also several members above the Qianjun Seventh Level, while the rest were at least at the Thousand Jun Fourth Stage.

After the members dispersed to make preparations, the captain walked over to Su Yu and said sternly, "The Hall Master has other duties and won't be going. Your teacher didn't come either. Su Yu, you've participated in manhunts before. You know how dangerous this is!"

"I know your teacher is in the Soaring Realm, and I'm on good terms with your father, but... during the mission, no one will specifically look after you! This is a mission, not child's play!"

"One moment of carelessness means death. Every year, people from Jifeng Hall die in the line of duty. You may participate, but you cannot interfere with Jifeng Hall's operation. If you encounter danger, you can run or call for help, but we may not necessarily save you!"

"Your life is a life, but so are everyone else's. We will not ruin the entire operation plan for your sake!"

The captain looked exceptionally severe. "You can choose to leave now. Otherwise... you bear all consequences yourself!"

Su Yu, at the Kaiyuan Realm, was simply too weak.

Even though Su Yu had joined operations before, Liu Wenyan had been present then, and even Hall Master Zeng Hua had accompanied them. There had been no danger at all.

Today was different. Today, Su Yu had come alone.

"Captain Liu, don't worry. My father is a soldier, and I count as a reservist. I won't cause trouble for everyone!"

Su Yu replied hurriedly.

Captain Liu nodded slightly, his attitude softening somewhat. "Then be careful. I've heard that you're a Civilization Master and possess some special methods, but don't act rashly!"

"Understood!"

Su Yu answered, secretly smiling bitterly. What Civilization Master? I was nowhere near that.

The people of Nanyuan still only had a vague understanding of Civilization Masters. Below the Soaring Realm, there were no Civilization Masters.

Three minutes later, the entire squad gathered again in full gear.

Outside the lobby, two trucks had already started.

Everyone boarded the vehicles, and Su Yu followed them aboard.

No one spoke much in the truck. They organized their equipment and checked their supplies...

Su Yu checked his own things as well: a Mid Yellow Tier saber and four drops of Iron Winged Bird Essence Blood. Three of those drops had been exchanged at the academy early that morning, costing him three Merit Points. He now had only ten Merit Points left.

It was better to be prepared than caught unprepared, lest one drop proved insufficient in a dangerous situation.

The four drops of essence blood were not kept together either, lest they be lost in battle. Su Yu had wrapped one drop in a small capsule and held it directly in his mouth, ready to swallow it instantly at a crucial moment.

After several days of training, Su Yu had barely entered the beginner level of the Thunder Origin Blade. He could now slash out that blade strike, though it would not be very fast.

The Thunder Origin Blade consumed a great deal of qi. Su Yu could not draw in ambient qi, so he had also brought a drop of Qi Liquid this time.

There was still one drop left at home, so there was no need to carry too much Qi Liquid.

One drop was enough for him.

"Three drops of essence blood and one drop of Qi Liquid are worth nearly two hundred thousand."

Su Yu sighed inwardly. If the saber was included, his preparations before the battle had cost several hundred thousand. If he gained nothing, he would be in deep trouble.

It would be best if he did not need to use any of it and could kill a Qianjun expert for some Merit Points.

If he used anything, then after consuming even one drop of essence blood, he would need to kill at least one Qianjun expert to make it worthwhile.

This was the first time he had participated in such an operation entirely on his own. Alongside his excitement, Su Yu could not help feeling a little nervous.

If he failed this time, no one would finish the enemy off for him.

Old Li was beside him as well. After checking his equipment, he saw Su Yu tense all over and could not help laughing. "Relax. Don't be nervous. Once we get there and get out of the truck, we'll move very fast. You might not even be able to keep up, kid."

Su Yu nodded seriously. "I know. I'll wait on the outskirts."

"Be extremely careful. If the enemy is uninjured, then even if you see him, it's best to pretend you didn't. It's fine if he gets away. We can kill him sooner or later. Don't stumble and fall flat on your face now!"

"Thank you, Uncle Li."

The others in the truck heard their conversation too. A young squad member who looked only a few years older than Su Yu laughed. "When I first joined a mission five years ago, I was nervous too. Later, I got used to it. Su Yu, just adjust yourself. Don't be afraid."

"Thank you, Brother Chen."

Brother Chen was not very old, not even thirty yet.

At least, he was not considered old in Jifeng Hall. He was one of the younger squad members. Since they had started talking, he became interested and laughed. "Su Yu, you have strong talent as a warrior. Have you never considered applying to the War Academy?"

"My teacher is a Civilization Master..."

Su Yu grinned. "He wants me to attend a Civilization Academy, so I can only go to a Civilization Academy."

"That's true enough. Instructor Liu is actually a Civilization Master. I only found that out recently myself."

Brother Chen spoke with feeling. "In Great Xia Prefecture, warriors are cheap, while Civilization Masters are treasures. Five years ago, when I graduated from Jifeng Academy, even its graduates had trouble finding work in Great Xia Prefecture unless they were top-tier geniuses. People like us... could only return home and find work in small cities."

"But once someone graduates from a Civilization Academy... they become a Civilization Master. Every faction fights to recruit them."

He sounded somewhat sentimental. Jifeng Academy students could graduate in the middle Qianjun Realm, while Civilization Academy students only counted as graduates upon reaching the Soaring Realm.

That difference alone showed the gap between the two.

Of course, Brother Chen soon smiled. "Su Yu, once you get into a Civilization Academy, you'll understand how difficult graduation is. Fewer than fifty Civilization Academy students graduate each year. You should know that they enroll nearly two thousand students annually. The graduation rate is only 2.5%. There are also many older students—among them, only a handful can graduate within ten years."

"So few?"

Su Yu was initially surprised, then nodded slightly. That made sense. The Soaring Realm was required for graduation. Nearly fifty graduates a year meant more than fifty Soaring Realm experts trained annually, which was not actually a small number.

Fifty people a year meant cultivating more than fifty Soaring Realm experts every year. Each was comparable to the city lord of a small city like Nanyuan, so it was not too few.

The others did not know much about this. After finishing his equipment check, someone joined the conversation. "Graduating is that difficult?"

Most of Jifeng Hall's older generation were veterans or soldiers who had returned to civilian work.

Jifeng Academy had not been established for very long, and its graduates were all from the younger generation. Thus, some older Jifeng constables might never even have been to Great Xia Prefecture.

Brother Chen nodded. "It really is difficult! Of course, their graduation standards are different. Someone like Instructor Liu... ahem, ahem, would count as having only just graduated from a Civilization Academy. There have even been people who graduated at seventy."

The moment he said that, everyone's expressions became strange.

Just graduated?

Fine then. They did not understand the world of Great Xia Prefecture. In their eyes, Instructor Liu was now on equal footing with the City Lord, yet at Daxia Civilization Academy, he had only just graduated.

As they chatted, they arrived.

They did not drive directly to the location reported in the intelligence. The trucks stopped roughly a kilometer away.

Everyone got out swiftly. Without saying anything, the captain waved his hand, and the squad split into two groups, advancing separately to encircle the target from both sides.

Su Yu did not follow either squad. He advanced cautiously about three hundred meters behind them.

He had not come to serve as the vanguard. He was staying behind to see whether he could pick up any stragglers.

No one knew how many Ten Thousand Races Cult members there really were. The report said three, but as veteran Jifeng constables, everyone understood that intelligence was not necessarily accurate.

Three people were only what you had seen.

Perhaps more were hiding inside!

Every year, more than one or two Jifeng constables died because the intelligence was inaccurate. It was unavoidable.

Even if there were only three people, the sudden appearance of a Ten Thousand Stones or Soaring Realm expert would mean serious trouble.

There was still hope of dealing with a Ten Thousand Stones expert. If it was someone in the Soaring Realm, then there was truly no chance. They could only count themselves unlucky.

In the distance, an ordinary small courtyard came into view.

It was no different from the usual houses in the outskirts. There were even a few vegetable plots nearby, still green at this time.

The small courtyard had an open field of vision. Ten Thousand Races Cult members liked operating in such environments.

Once a large group approached, they could spot them quickly and flee at once.

This was not Jifeng Hall's first encounter with them, and they had plenty of experience. If Su Yu had not kept his eyes fixed on them, he probably would not even have been able to see where they were.

All thirty people were disguised and crawling forward. Su Yu did not dare raise his head either, crouching in a small depression as he waited.

The captain crawling at the front cautiously turned his head for a look. When he did not see Su Yu, he relaxed slightly.

He had actually been worried that Su Yu would carelessly expose himself, making it easy to reveal their tracks.

He had offered a few reminders earlier and worried that Su Yu would not listen. It seemed the boy was quite obedient after all. He was Su Long's son, and with a soldier for a father, Su Yu did not possess the arrogance of those who came from Great Xia Prefecture.

Su Yu gripped his saber tightly and breathed lightly, adjusting his breathing. He was a little excited.

Soon, he calmed down.

This was not his first time. He had already killed several Qianjun experts.

At that moment, when they were roughly a hundred meters from the small courtyard and Jifeng Hall could no longer conceal its tracks, the captain raised his hand. The others swiftly rose to their feet!

No one shouted. The thirty people moved quickly, charging toward the small courtyard with blinding speed.

"Jifeng Hall!"

A fierce cry rang out. A Ten Thousand Races Cult member had been keeping watch in the courtyard. Only now did he notice the approaching people, and one look told him that Jifeng Hall had arrived.

"Retreat!"

A shout rang out. In the next instant, five or six figures leaped out of the small courtyard. Not three people!

These people had experience as well, breaking through in all directions.

Whoever was unlucky would be the one Jifeng Hall caught.

That was their way of survival. When their strength was inferior to the enemy's, they fled immediately without the slightest hesitation. If one could escape, that was one saved. Whoever was killed simply had bad luck.

Jifeng Hall generally did not dare split its forces. Once divided, their combat strength was not particularly strong, and they could easily be crushed by the Ten Thousand Races Cult.

Thus, a thirty-man squad could form at most three encirclements.

That gave the others a chance to escape!

Sure enough, Jifeng Hall's captain did not pursue them all. He quickly formed three ten-man squads. Two squads immediately chased in different directions, while the captain personally led the remaining squad to kick open the courtyard gate and charge inside.

Su Yu watched from behind. From several hundred meters away, with his Eye Aperture open, he could still see clearly.

Watching Jifeng Hall's actions, Su Yu gained something from it as well.

If it had been him, he might have led people directly after the fleeing enemies and failed to consider that enemies could still be lurking in the courtyard.

"Experience..."

Su Yu did not belittle himself either. After experiencing this a few more times, he would soon master such lessons.

The two squads outside quickly caught up with their targets and began surrounding and killing them.

The clash of weapons rang out in the blink of an eye.

Although these Jifeng constables were not especially strong, their coordination was excellent. Su Yu judged that the surrounded enemy was at least at the Thousand Jun Fifth or Sixth Stage, yet almost the instant they clashed, he was cut down!

There seemed to be no one at the Qianjun Seventh Level in that ten-man squad.

After taking one look, Su Yu stopped paying attention to them and quickly scanned the surroundings.

Five or six people had leaped out just now. Two had been killed in the blink of an eye, and the two squads continued their pursuit, but some fish had still slipped through the net.

Those fellows ran quickly too. Their silhouettes had been visible moments ago, but now they had vanished at once.

"The place the Ten Thousand Races Cult chose this time was actually not very good. The field of vision is open, so it's easy to spot an approaching enemy, but escaping is troublesome too. They should have chosen terrain better suited for fleeing..."

Su Yu absorbed the lessons and experience. They might not be useless in the future.

The place I'd chosen wasn't ideal either—behind Jifeng Hall. They might not dare flee this way, and they might not even be able to make it here. Of course, I was only here to pick up scraps. Safety came first.

As he was thinking, shouts suddenly rang out from the small courtyard!

The next moment, several more figures leaped out.

Sure enough, there were still people inside!

By then, the two squads outside the courtyard had already gone far away. With no one blocking him, Su Yu saw a figure swiftly fleeing in his direction.

Su Yu instantly became fully alert!

Here he came!

That speed... it felt about the same as the guy who chased me down last time. Thousand Jun Sixth Stage?

Behind him, the Jifeng Hall captain broke away from his squad and gave chase, shouting, "The person ahead, drop your weapon and surrender! The higher-ups have changed the policy. Those from the Ten Thousand Races Cult whose crimes are not too grave can be sent to the Battlefields of the Heavens to join the war. They will no longer be killed on sight!"

Su Yu was suspicious at first, then quickly understood. This was meant to shatter the other man's will to fight.

There was no such order from the higher-ups!

Great Xia Prefecture's policy was still to kill on sight!

Everyone in the Ten Thousand Races Cult knew that if Great Xia Prefecture caught them, they would certainly die. That was why they usually fought to the bitter end. It made battles much harder. He did not know whether this fellow would believe it.

Clearly, the other man did not believe it—or perhaps he still clung to a sliver of hope. He kept fleeing.

Two hundred meters, one hundred meters...

He was getting closer and closer to Su Yu, though his direction had drifted somewhat off course.

Su Yu crouched down and quietly crept in that direction.

Very soon, the man arrived, only a few dozen meters from Su Yu.

Su Yu rose to his feet and raised his blade. Qi rapidly gathered, and a faint glow spread across the blade. He concentrated all the Qi in his body and roared, "Stop!"

An ambush was no longer possible.

Then he could only kill by force!

"Kaiyuan?"

The fleeing man looked shocked!

A Kaiyuan Realm cultivator!

He was not wearing the uniform of a Jifeng Hall catcher. Was he... just passing by?

A Kaiyuan Realm cultivator dared block him?

Was he insane?

"Don't even think about running!" Su Yu roared. "If I stop you, I'll get Merit Points and bonus marks on my assessment!"

"You're courting death!"

The man did not waste words. He did not want to delay and be caught by the pursuers. Raising his blade, he slashed at Su Yu.

The two swiftly closed in. Just then, Su Yu's eyes widened. "Hall Master!"

The cry rang out, and the Ten Thousand Races Cult member froze as well. A person suddenly appeared before him—beside the Kaiyuan Realm youth stood a middle-aged man, Zeng Hua, the Hall Master of Jifeng Hall.

"I'm finished!"

The man's expression changed drastically. Zeng Hua of the Wanshi Realm had actually come!

He spun around to flee, but at that moment, Su Yu unleashed the Thunder Origin Blade he had prepared for so long!

He went all out!

The Ten Thousand Races Cult member had first charged at Su Yu, then turned to run. His body was still twisting around when the whistle of a blade sounded behind him!

At that moment, Su Yu went all out. The illusion shattered, and the other man had begun to regain his senses.

Unfortunately, it was too late!

Fake...

The thought flashed through his mind. Qi light flickered along the blade like lightning, and with a wet slash, it came crashing down!

Bang!

His head struck the ground. Only after a moment did his body collapse, blood staining the earth red.

Su Yu's face turned pale. He sheathed his blade and vigilantly scanned his surroundings, not daring to let down his guard. He feared someone might suddenly appear. He had already clenched the blood essence in his mouth between his teeth, ready to erupt again at any moment.

The next instant, the captain rushed over. He glanced at Su Yu, nodded slightly, and said with mild surprise, "Not bad. Your strike was decisive!"

Without saying more, the captain gave him a brief compliment and quickly left. The battle was not over yet.

Su Yu let out a long breath. He had done it!

It had been faster and easier than he had imagined.

One slash had killed the other man!

But his body had been drained dry now, his Qi exhausted. Su Yu did not dare waste time. He immediately swallowed a drop of Qi Liquid and began replenishing his Qi.

There goes one hundred thousand... I wonder whether I came out ahead or lost out.

Su Yu laughed bitterly inwardly. Killing a mid-stage Thousand Jun cultivator earned two Merit Points. Had he made a profit, or taken a loss?

Still, consuming the Qi Liquid also helped his cultivation, so it was not truly a loss.