Slaying

Li Qingfeng burst through the window, his expression grave.

His heart sank with a thud.

After all his calculations, he had never expected one of these two to be a Qi Refiner.

And judging by the radiance of his spiritual light, it was far brighter than Li Qingfeng's.

Still, the foot-long banner against his chest gave him a sense of security.

With the Soul Banner in hand, he could fight enemies above his own level.

Zhang Wanlong abruptly rose to his feet and opened his mouth to summon the armored soldiers guarding him.

But the young man beside him stopped Zhang Wanlong.

"Father, no need to hurry. Have you forgotten that I am already an immortal master?" The young man looked calm, seemingly unconcerned by Li Qingfeng in his night clothes.

Zhang Wanlong immediately recalled this, and the panic in his heart subsided.

Any immortal master was an Innate expert among ordinary people.

Mana cleansed the marrow and forged the body, allowing even someone frail by nature to possess a powerful physique equal to that of an ordinary person who had trained for decades.

And that was merely the lowest-level outward method, the easiest for a Qi Refiner to display.

Thus, Zhang Wanlong did not gather more soldiers to guard the government office.

"Who are you?!" Zhang Wanlong sat back down, anger coloring his face.

To prevent assassinations, the Prefectural Governor's Mansion had guards so strict they could be called impenetrable. Yet someone had still managed to sneak inside.

A mana barrier appeared before Zhang Gui, blocking the erosion of the black mist.

Li Qingfeng had not expected that he would fail to pull the two into a dream.

He had intended to finish them off while they were unprepared.

But now, he had to face the Prefect and a young Qi Refiner head-on.

Li Qingfeng had sobered considerably. Tension welled up within him, and even his breathing grew hurried.

Killing a court official without authorization was no different from rebellion.

It was a grave crime that could implicate an entire lineage.

Especially when the target was the Prefect of an entire region.

Tu Shan Jun within the Soul Banner saw Li Qingfeng's hesitation.

No matter how mature he was, he was still only a young man. If he were some ordinary fool, that would be one thing, but anyone capable of reading was intelligent. Sometimes, such people thought far too much instead.

When he had listened to Sun Adviser's account, fury had suppressed his reason.

Now that reason had resurfaced, his emotions instead left him caught between two impossible choices.

But the arrow was already on the string and had to be loosed. If his true face was discovered, death awaited him just the same.

As mana filled his body, a flash of ferocious Baleful Intent passed through Li Qingfeng's eyes.

Months of fist training had cultivated three parts viciousness within him.

Tu Shan Jun watched coldly from inside the Soul Banner.

Only the third stance of the Demon Ape Mind-Settling Fist was a method for calming the heart and wearing away hostility.

The first two stances were, respectively, endurance and violence.

Furthermore, the flowing mana of the Blood Fiend Art affected the mind. Even someone somewhat cowardly would act decisively when stirred by viciousness.

This viciousness was meant precisely for moments like this, when one was caught in a dilemma.

"Using people as medicine, your crime deserves ten thousand deaths."

"Die!" Li Qingfeng roared. The floor tiles beneath his feet exploded as he charged straight at Prefect Zhang Wanlong.

To shoot the horse, first shoot the rider; to capture bandits, first capture their king.

In Li Qingfeng's eyes, Zhang Wanlong possessed no spiritual light and could never withstand his killing methods.

Zhang Gui would surely come to save him, thereby losing the initiative.

Terror appeared on Zhang Wanlong's face.

Too fast.

Far faster than an ordinary assassin.

That simple attack alone made Zhang Wanlong feel the weight of thunder.

Ferocious Baleful Intent carried dense killing intent.

Zhang Wanlong truly felt the scent of death.

It reminded him of many assassinations he had experienced before—similar, yet not quite the same.

But this time was even more terrifying than all the rest.

Just as Li Qingfeng had expected, Zhang Gui attacked fiercely. Despite lagging behind Li Qingfeng, he actually stepped in front of Zhang Wanlong.

As mana surged, Zhang Gui planted himself like a bridge, his hand shaped like a horsehook.

He struck toward Li Qingfeng's shoulder.

The palm strike knocked Li Qingfeng off balance.

Li Qingfeng staggered back several steps, only barely stopping when his toes pressed against the base of the wall.

His shoulder went numb, devoid of strength, hanging limp at his side.

At the same time, after the two sides' mana collided, a young man within a quiet chamber suddenly opened his eyes.

Mana surged through the young man.

He moved like a rabbit unleashed, swift as a hunting leopard.

Spiritual light flickered in his eyes as he locked onto the source of the mana fluctuations.

He rushed straight for the Prefectural Governor's Mansion.

"Mana fluctuations. You are a Qi Refiner too?" Zhang Gui narrowed his eyes. A gleam flashed through them, and confusion appeared on his face.

He was also somewhat restrained.

Zhang Gui had recognized Li Qingfeng's identity. He too was a Qi Refiner.

But that probing palm strike had made Zhang Gui understand that Li Qingfeng was weaker than him.

Even if Li Qingfeng was a Qi Refiner, he was only in the early Qi Refining stage, perhaps merely at the first or second layer.

Qi Refiners stood apart from mortals, which also made Zhang Gui wary of acting rashly.

It would be unwise to kill Li Qingfeng outright.

What if Li Qingfeng had a master behind him whom they could not afford to offend? If that person came knocking later, it would become troublesome.

Li Qingfeng had no such concerns. He had come to investigate Meng Zhen's whereabouts, only to receive terrible news. Now, his heart held nothing but hatred.

Yet even though Zhang Gui did not continue attacking, the sounds of their fight still alerted the patrolling soldiers.

Black-Armored Soldiers surrounded the entire courtyard.

Under Zhang Wanlong's orders, they only encircled the area without advancing.

Li Qingfeng swept his gaze over them and knew that if he did not end this quickly, he would be trapped here until death.

His identity could not withstand investigation at all.

Once captured, he would surely implicate his parents, relatives, and brothers of the Lineage.

Therefore, even if he died today, he had to die in the wilderness beyond the city.

Having made up his mind.

Ten strands of mana poured into the Soul Banner.

"Night Parade of a Hundred Ghosts!"

The small banner in his hand instantly grew to over thirty feet, black mist spreading everywhere.

Li Qingfeng gripped the suddenly unfurled Soul Banner with both hands and shook it fiercely.

The lifelike evil ghost's eyes on the banner turned, and then that evil ghost actually leaped out of the Soul Banner.

The forty-seven ghosts within the Soul Banner merged into Tu Shan Jun's body.

Amid surging black qi, the Red-Haired Fiend with a blue face and protruding fangs landed on the ground.

The instant he landed, he exploded forward, charging like the wind as wild, violent hostility bore down upon them.

He rushed straight at Zhang Gui, who stood before Zhang Wanlong.

As long as Zhang Gui was dealt with, Li Qingfeng's strength would be enough to handle what followed.

Ten strands of mana could only manifest the soul-formed Night Parade of a Hundred Ghosts for three breaths. Tu Shan Jun had to seize every moment.

Mist spread through the courtyard, yet under the torchlight, the evil ghost's appearance became clear.

He looked like a savage ghost that had crawled out of hell.

The surrounding soldiers were struck as though by lightning, their legs trembling.

Fear spilled out uncontrollably.

Those with weaker nerves simply collapsed onto the ground, unable to rise.

Zhang Wanlong stared at the charging evil ghost in terror. He could not react at all.

Zhang Gui, standing before him, looked astonished. It was also his first time seeing such a vicious evil ghost, and he could only spread open a mana barrier.

Moreover, Zhang Gui had never expected this Black-Cloaked Man to carry a magical artifact capable of summoning a fierce ghost.

In but an instant, the mana barrier shattered like paper. It could not stop the fierce ghost at all, nor could it even make the Red-Haired Ghost with a blue face and protruding fangs pause for a moment.

The Red-Haired Fiend tore Zhang Gui's head apart with one claw, ripped out Zhang Gui's Living Soul, and seized it in his hand.

Then he turned and returned to the Soul Banner.

Zhang Wanlong's eyes widened as a shrill scream rang out. "My son!"

Zhang Wanlong caught Zhang Gui's headless corpse and collapsed to the ground, his body shaking and his face twisted in agony.

"Ah!!!"

A miserable cry of grief echoed through the night.

"Kill him."

"I want to kill him."

"Kill!"

Though Zhang Wanlong roared madly, the Black Armor Soldiers had already been frightened out of their wits by the Red-Haired Ghost and stood frozen in place.

Li Qingfeng had not expected the Main Soul evil ghost to be so powerful.

Night Parade of a Hundred Ghosts could only last three breaths and had drained half his mana, yet it had unexpectedly slain the enemy in a single blow.

Li Qingfeng still intended to attack. Killing Zhang Gui alone was not enough; Zhang Wanlong had to die.

A life for a life, a debt repaid with money.

He had to take revenge.

But before Li Qingfeng could strike again, a young man in Daoist robes appeared in the hall.

The young man did not even glance at Zhang Gui's corpse. Instead, he stared at Li Qingfeng, who held the thirty-foot Soul Banner. "A magical artifact?"

"A demonic cultivator."

"Kill him!" Zhang Wanlong roared madly from behind.

The young man frowned slightly in impatience. He glanced at Zhang Gui's corpse but said nothing.

He raised his hand, his sleeve billowing as he flung out a palm-sized Ebony Small Sword.

Under the infusion of mana, it transformed into a three-foot sword.

"Go."

With a whoosh, it slashed toward Li Qingfeng.

The instant Li Qingfeng saw the young man, he knew he was no match for him, because the spiritual light surrounding the young man's body was even stronger than Zhang Gui's.

Strong mana would have been one thing, but he also possessed an offensive magical artifact.

So Li Qingfeng turned and fled.

He drove his ten strands of mana to their utmost limit. With his current body, it could let him run wildly for half an hour.

If luck favored him, he should be able to escape the city.