Slay

Li Qingfeng, who had burst through the window, wore a grave expression.

His heart skipped a beat.

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

Moreover, judging by the radiance of their spiritual light, it was far brighter than his own.

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

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

Zhang Wanlong shot to his feet, opening his mouth to call for armored guards.

But the young man beside him stopped Zhang Wanlong.

"Father, no rush. Have you forgotten that I am already an Immortal Master?" The youth's expression was calm, as if he paid no heed to Li Qingfeng in his night clothes.

Zhang Wanlong suddenly remembered this, and the panic in his heart subsided.

As long as one was an Immortal Master, they were a congenital expert among ordinary people.

The cleansing of marrow and refining of essence by spiritual power granted even the frail a physique as strong as that of a common man who had trained for decades.

And this was merely the lowest level of a Qi Refiner's external manifestation, the easiest to display.

Thus, Zhang Wanlong did not summon the soldiers guarding the government office.

"Who are you!" Zhang Wanlong sat back down, his face tinged with some anger.

To prevent assassination, the Prefectural Governor's Mansion's defenses were extremely tight; he hadn't expected anyone to still sneak in.

A barrier of spiritual power materialized before Zhang Gui, blocking the erosion of the black mist.

Li Qingfeng also hadn't anticipated failing to pull both men into a dream.

He had planned to finish them off while they were off guard.

Now he had to face the Prefectural Governor and a young Qi Refiner head-on.

Li Qingfeng had sobered up considerably, tension rising in his heart, and even his breathing grew quicker.

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

This was a capital crime that could implicate the entire family.

Let alone a Prefectural Governor of a region.

From within the Soul Banner, Tushan Jun saw Li Qingfeng's hesitation.

No matter how mature, he was still a young man. If he were a reckless fool, it might be one thing, but being literate made him clever; sometimes, such people thought all the more.

When listening to Sun Adviser's lament, anger had suppressed his reason.

Now that reason resurfaced, the sway of emotion left him in a dilemma.

But the arrow had already been nocked and had to be loosed; being discovered in his true form would also mean death.

As spiritual power filled his body, a fierce, murderous glint flashed in Li Qingfeng's eyes.

Months of fist technique practice had nurtured a three-tenths share of vicious spirit.

From within the Soul Banner, Tushan Jun watched coldly.

Of the Demon Ape Mind-Settling Fist, only the third stance was a method to calm the heart and grind away hostility.

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

Coupled with the surging spiritual power of the Blood Fiend Art affecting the mind, even a somewhat timid person would act decisively under the goading of vicious spirit.

This vicious spirit was meant precisely for such moments of dilemma.

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

"Accept your death." Li Qingfeng roared, the floor tiles beneath his feet shattering with a boom as he charged straight at Prefectural Governor Zhang Wanlong.

Shoot the rider first, capture the chief to defeat the bandits.

In Li Qingfeng's eyes, Zhang Wanlong had no spiritual light and absolutely could not withstand his killing technique.

Zhang Gui would surely come to the rescue, thus losing the initiative.

A look of terror appeared on Zhang Wanlong's face.

Too fast.

Far faster than ordinary assassins.

A mere strike made Zhang Wanlong feel its overwhelming force.

The murderous aura carried a dense killing intent.

Zhang Wanlong truly sensed the breath of death.

It reminded him of many similar but slightly different assassination attempts.

And this time, it surpassed them all.

Just as Li Qingfeng had expected, Zhang Gui struck out fiercely and, despite being behind Li Qingfeng, actually blocked in front of Zhang Wanlong.

As mana surged, Zhang Gui stood firm before the bridge, his hands threading through and striking outward.

He slapped Li Qingfeng's shoulder.

That single palm strike sent Li Qingfeng off balance.

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

His shoulder went numb, strength draining from it, and it hung limp at his side.

At the same time, after the exchange of mana blasts between the two sides, a young man in a quiet chamber suddenly opened his eyes.

Mana rippled around the youth.

He moved like a startled hare, swift as a hunting leopard.

Spiritual light flickered in his gaze, locking onto the source of the mana fluctuations.

He headed straight for the Prefectural Governor's Mansion.

"Mana fluctuations... you're a Qi Refiner too?" Zhang Gui narrowed his eyes, a sharp glint flashing within them, his expression turning puzzled.

He also felt somewhat restrained.

Zhang Gui recognized Li Qingfeng's identity—he was indeed a Qi Refiner.

But that probing palm strike made Zhang Gui understand that Li Qingfeng's strength was beneath his own.

Even if Li Qingfeng was a Qi Refiner, he was only at the early stage of Qi Refining, likely at the first or second layer at best.

Qi Refiners were separate from mortals, which also made Zhang Gui hesitant to act rashly.

Killing Li Qingfeng outright would be unwise.

If Li Qingfeng's master or sect behind him was something they couldn't afford to provoke, then trouble would come knocking at their door.

Li Qingfeng had no such concerns. He had come here seeking news of Meng Zhen, only to receive a death sentence. Now, only hatred filled his heart.

Still, even though Zhang Gui didn't press the attack, the noise of their fight had already roused the patrolling soldiers.

The Black-Armored Soldiers surrounded the entire courtyard.

Under Zhang Wanlong's orders, they encircled but did not engage.

Li Qingfeng's peripheral vision caught this, and he knew that if he didn't finish this quickly, he would be trapped and killed here.

His identity simply couldn't withstand scrutiny.

If he was captured, it would absolutely implicate his parents, his family, and his clan brothers.

So today, even if he had to die, it would be in the wilderness.

He made up his mind.

Ten strands of mana surged into the Soul Banner.

"Night Parade of a Hundred Ghosts!"

The small flag in his hand instantly grew to over ten feet, black mist billowing out.

Li Qingfeng gripped the now-wide-open Soul Banner with both hands and shook it with all his might.

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

The forty-seven ghostly entities within the Soul Banner merged into Tu Shanjun's body.

As black qi roiled, the green-faced, fanged Red-Haired Ghost landed on the ground.

The moment it touched down, it exploded into motion, charging like the wind, a wild and chaotic aura of malice pressing down.

It shot straight toward Zhang Gui, who stood in front of Zhang Wanlong.

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

Ten strands of mana could only manifest the Night Parade of a Hundred Ghosts, formed from gathered yin souls, for three breaths. Tu Shanjun had to make every moment count.

Mist spread, but under the torchlight, the demonic ghost's form was clearly visible.

It was like a fierce specter crawling out of hell.

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

Fear seeped out of them unbidden.

Some of the weaker ones plopped down on the ground, unable to stand.

Zhang Wanlong stared in terror at the charging demonic ghost, completely unable to react.

Zhang Gui, standing in front of him, wore a shocked expression. This was his first time seeing such a ferocious ghost, and he could only raise a mana barrier.

Moreover, Zhang Gui hadn't expected that this black-clad man would be carrying a magic tool capable of summoning a fierce ghost.

In an instant, the mana barrier shattered like paper, utterly unable to stop the fierce ghost—it couldn't even make the green-faced, fanged Red-Haired Ghost pause for a moment.

The Red-Haired Ghost's claws tore through Zhang Gui's head in one grab, ripping out his Living Soul and clutching it in its hand.

It turned and returned to the Soul Banner.

Zhang Wanlong's eyes bulged, and a wretched scream tore from his throat: "My son!"

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

"Ah!!!"

A wretched, anguished cry pierced the night.

"Kill him."

"I'll kill him."

"Kill!"

Despite Zhang Wanlong's frenzied roars, the black-armored soldiers had long been terrified out of their wits by the Red-Haired Ghost, their bodies frozen stiff where they stood.

Li Qingfeng hadn't expected the Main Soul evil ghost to be this powerful either.

The Night Parade of a Hundred Ghosts could only last three breaths, draining half his magical power, yet it had unexpectedly slain the enemy in a single strike.

Li Qingfeng still needed to act. Killing only Zhang Gui wasn't enough—Zhang Wanlong had to die.

A life for a life, a debt repaid.

He had to take revenge.

But before Li Qingfeng could make another move, a young man in a Daoist robe appeared in the hall.

The youth didn't even glance at Zhang Gui's corpse; instead, he fixed his gaze on Li Qingfeng, who held the ten-foot Soul Banner. "A magical artifact?"

"A demonic cultivator."

"Kill him!" came Zhang Wanlong's maddened roar from behind.

The youth frowned with slight impatience, cast a brief look at Zhang Gui's remains, but said nothing.

He opened his hand, and his sleeve rolled as he flung out a palm-sized ebony small sword.

Under the infusion of magical power, it expanded into a three-foot-long blade.

"Go."

With a whoosh, it slashed toward Li Qingfeng.

The moment he saw the youth, Li Qingfeng knew he was no match for him. The spiritual light radiating from the youth's body was even stronger than Zhang Gui's.

Not only did he have abundant magical power, but he also possessed an offensive magical artifact.

So Li Qingfeng turned and fled.

He pushed his ten strands of magical power to the limit, enough to let his current body sprint for half an hour straight.

If he was lucky, he should be able to escape the city.