Just as Lu Chen left the Rainy Night Inn.
In a distant region.
Within a mysterious pavilion.
The same ancient bronze mirror as before flickered once more.
Lines of writing automatically surfaced across its surface.
[Heartless Blade Lu Chen, having practiced martial arts for only seven days, drew down lightning from the heavens amid tonight's torrential rain and slew Town Suppression Bureau Squad Leader "Iron Masked Judge" Yu Tianli with a single stroke. He also killed his accompanying men, "Gu King" Zhang Qian and "Nine-Fingered Asura" Yin Jiuzhu. His name shook the world, and he ranked eighty-third on the Kirin Ranking!]
Several strangely dressed figures widened their eyes in shock, their faces full of astonishment as they all looked toward the writing.
"The Kirin Ranking has been updated again!"
"Lu Chen rose from ninety-first to eighty-third?"
"Hiss! What a Lu Chen. In only a few days, he actually managed to kill Yu Tianli!"
"Quick, announce it to the world. The Kirin Ranking has changed again."
They immediately sprang into action.
Spirit pigeons flew out from this place one after another.
In another direction.
Qinghe County.
The county branch of the Town Suppression Bureau.
Battalion Commander Gongsun Ming frowned as he dealt with a pile of documents on his desk, sighing from time to time. The Great Yu realm was swaying in the wind and rain, chaos had begun to emerge everywhere, and things had truly reached an exceedingly dangerous stage.
Not only were the major martial arts sects stirring restlessly.
Even rebels had begun rising up frequently in the various counties...
"All chaos begins in the Martial World. Could it be that no dynasty throughout the ages can escape this law?"
His thoughts surged like raging waves.
Suddenly.
A figure rushed in from outside and said urgently, "Battalion Commander, something has happened. Panshi City's Squad Leader Yu Tianli has been killed. Zhang Qian and Yin Jiuzhu, who accompanied him, have also been slain!"
"What?"
Gongsun Ming furrowed his brow and swept his gaze over, saying, "Yu Tianli was killed? Wasn't he investigating the murder of Panshi City's County Magistrate? Who did it?"
"It was still that Lu Chen. After killing County Magistrate Lin Mingyuan, even Yu Tianli has now fallen to his vicious hand!"
The man's expression shifted as he said, "He slew Yu Tianli with his blade and has risen from ninety-first on the Kirin Ranking to eighty-third!"
"Useless trash!"
Gongsun Ming's gaze darkened as he barked the rebuke.
He had naturally received reports long ago regarding Lu Chen's earlier deeds.
He had originally thought that with Yu Tianli personally taking action, capturing him would be as easy as reaching into a bag.
Yet he had never expected that even someone of Yu Tianli's strength could be slain!
Just what cultivation did this Lu Chen possess?
"Damn Lin Mingyuan. Such a person appeared within his jurisdiction, yet he knew nothing of it. He brought me such enormous trouble for nothing... Lin Mingyuan, even in death you cannot rest in peace." Gongsun Ming paced back and forth.
"Battalion Commander, Yu Tianli was the nephew of Grand Commander Yu Siyuan. Now that he has been killed..."
The man was somewhat uneasy.
Gongsun Ming could not help growing irritated as well, a headache pounding through his mind.
A Grand Commander was a rank above even him!
An official one rank higher could crush a man to death!
"Where has that Lu Chen fled to now?"
"We have not found out yet."
"Pass down the order. Have Hundred Commander He Qianxing personally make a move. He must capture Lu Chen and bring him to justice. Also, put his name on the Black Ranking and have those Blade Hunters keep an eye out for him as well!"
Gongsun Ming said darkly.
"Yes, sir!"
The man's heart trembled. Hundred Commander He Qianxing, Qinghe County's strongest Hundred Commander!
His cultivation was at the Eighth Rank!
With him making a move, it would be as easy as reaching into a bag!
Two days later.
The small town bustled with people coming and going.
It was a fresh and lively scene.
The streets were filled mostly with peddlers and porters carrying shoulder poles. From time to time, one could see Martial World figures with sabers at their waists and swords on their backs hurrying past.
"Come on, come on! The latest Kirin Ranking has been updated again!"
"Didn't it just get updated a few days ago?"
"This time, it's because of that Lu Chen again. He rose from ninety-first to eighty-third."
"No way! What kind of speed is that? What did he do this time?" Amid the surging crowd, a man wearing a bamboo hat and black robes followed everyone toward a wall ahead.
High upon the wall.
Two lists hung there.
Both had only just been posted.
One was the renowned Kirin Ranking.
The other was the Black Ranking specifically issued by the Imperial Court!
The Kirin Ranking listed all promising young talents.
The Black Ranking listed all major criminals wanted by the Imperial Court.
"What a Lu Chen. This fellow really is a man of the hour. Not only is he on the Kirin Ranking, his name has even appeared on the newly updated Black Ranking."
"What? He's on the Black Ranking too!"
"Look! Sixtieth on the Black Ranking, with a reward of five thousand taels of silver!"
"Such a high reward!" "Several nights ago, Lu Chen used his blade to draw down lightning and killed Town Suppression Bureau Squad Leader Yu Tianli, along with two assistants... Hiss! Yu Tianli was at the Sixth Rank, wasn't he?"
"Do you even need to ask? Mid-stage Sixth Rank, and he also possessed high-grade martial arts!"
"Is this Lu Chen for real? The ranking says it has been less than ten days since he began cultivating. Less than ten days, and he can already kill a Sixth Rank expert? What kind of joke is this?"
"Reaching Fifth Rank in four days and slaying Sixth Rank in seven. This Lu Chen has an enormous secret on him!"
"Nonsense. Of course everyone knows he has a huge secret, but do you dare set your sights on him? This fellow is a genuine ruthless man. Look how many people he has killed since he first emerged?"
"Exactly. He is simply a born killing demon, a baleful star."
The crowd was clamorous. Every Martial World figure felt secretly chilled.
Every one of Lu Chen's deeds, every single incident, was enough to astonish others.
Judging by the way he acted.
Once he made a move, he always silenced everyone involved.
Not a single person who offended him had survived!
Some people had even had their entire families exterminated alongside them.
Within the crowd.
Lu Chen narrowed his eyes, a cold glint surfacing within them.
The Kirin Ranking...
Just who arranged this?
It had described his deeds in such detail, even recording the length of time he had cultivated.
This was equivalent to tying him up and roasting him over a fire!
When others saw how quickly he cultivated, they would surely covet it... And there was the Black Ranking too!
A bounty of five thousand taels of silver!
There would likewise be no shortage of people willing to move for those five thousand taels.
This time, he had truly become famous throughout the land.
After watching quietly for a while, he turned and left.
"Have mercy, spare some money, spare some money..."
On the street, an old blind beggar held a bamboo staff in his left hand and a broken bowl in his right, wandering about pitifully as he begged passing pedestrians for alms.
Lu Chen casually tossed several copper coins toward him.
The instant Lu Chen turned around, a cold gleam suddenly flashed through the old beggar's supposedly blind eyes. A dagger appeared from his sleeve in an instant and stabbed fiercely toward Lu Chen's back.
Without even looking, Lu Chen spun his scabbard. Moving at an inconceivable speed, though striking later he arrived first, and jabbed directly into a fatal point on the old beggar's chest. With a bang, the old beggar's eyes bulged wide and he collapsed limply to the ground.
[You have sent off a Blade Hunter harboring malicious intentions. Merit Points +30.]
"Blade Hunter?"
Lu Chen's heart tightened.
The authorities had sent them out too?
This was bad!
He immediately unleashed his movement technique. With a flicker of afterimages, he vanished from the area.
Just as he disappeared, figures sprang out from every direction and landed swiftly, appearing at once beside the dead old beggar.
"Lu Chen appeared?"
"What incredible speed. He has already escaped!"
"Chase him!"
The group swiftly gave chase.
But after they chased out, there was no longer the slightest trace of Lu Chen.
Before you continue