The Night Roaming God perched on Jiang Wang's shoulder spoke calmly. "I can let you wield that power, but the time is limited. You must end this quickly."
Jiang Wang said nothing more. Tan Lao Liu had noticed the fallen Flying Sword, and delight had already crept across his face. He immediately urged the Flying Sword again, intending to pierce Xiaoyu's head.
At the critical moment, Jiang Wang flashed before Xiaoyu. He clenched his fist and smashed the Flying Sword to pieces, the force of his punch blasting through the wall right after.
Tan Lao Liu did not even have time to scream before he turned into a cloud of blood.
Jiang Wang immediately crumpled to the ground.
"Young master!" Xiaoyu came back to her senses, tossed aside the Long Night Saber, and hurried to support Jiang Wang.
"I meant to let you kill him with your own hands, but I ended up stealing it from you." Jiang Wang rubbed Xiaoyu's head and smiled. "Next time. Next time, I'll definitely let you do it."
Xiaoyu shook her head. She did not blame Jiang Wang for killing Tan Lao Liu. Rather, she felt that her own fear had given Tan Lao Liu the chance to strike back. If not for her young master, she would surely have lost her life.
She had rehearsed the scene of killing her enemy countless times in her mind. Why, when the moment truly came to act, had she still been afraid?
Yet the truth was not as she thought. Her fear was real, but so was her determination to kill Tan Lao Liu. That little bit of fear could actually be ignored.
The Green-robed Cultivator and White-robed Cultivator had also joined forces and subdued Akong.
"Mr. Jiang, what should we do with her?"
Jiang Wang looked at Xiaoyu. Xiaoyu glanced at Akong and shook her head.
Akong was even younger than she was. When disaster had struck the Yu Estate, Akong had not been there either.
Jiang Wang understood and turned to look at Akong.
His expression instantly became strange.
Akong, pinned down by the two Green-robed Cultivators, struggled to pull a flattened steamed bun from her robes. Muttering something under her breath, she took a huge bite, then wore an utterly satisfied expression.
"Uh... she doesn't seem to be a bad person. She's just... a little dim-witted. Let her go for now."
The Green-robed Cultivator also wore an odd expression. "This girl fights in a very strange way. Even with death looming over her, she was still thinking about eating steamed buns. She is indeed dim-witted to an excessive degree."
The White-robed Cultivator looked at the blasted wall. Tan Lao Liu had been obliterated so completely that not even dregs remained. He said nervously, "In the end, this is still the worst possible outcome. Now that things have come to this, we must prevent the Qingxuan Bureau from learning what happened here."
He immediately grabbed the Green-robed Cultivator and said, "The Du Family is the culprit. As you said, we must cut the grass and remove the roots. We absolutely cannot let the Du Family spread word of this matter!"
Jiang Wang said nothing. After the two Green-robed Cultivators left, he looked at Akong again. "The person you followed was killed by me. You don't intend to avenge him?"
Akong swallowed the last bite of her steamed bun and replied placidly, "He gave me food, so I followed him. What does his death have to do with me? Besides, all his money is with me anyway."
Jiang Wang had not expected such a situation. He said again, "At least he gave you food. Fine if you don't avenge him, but you're cutting ties with him so cleanly—and even running off with his money?"
Akong seemed sleepy as she muttered hazily, "However much food he gave me, I did an equal amount of work for him. We had always kept accounts clear. He's dead, so there's no use leaving the money with him. What does it matter if I take it?"
Jiang Wang said, "It still feels a little wrong somehow, but what you said seems quite reasonable."
The White-robed Cultivator returned. "Mr. Jiang, Du Heng and his two sons have already escaped. My brother has gone after them."
Jiang Wang threw out a command token. "Go thirty li outside the city and mobilize the Black Flame Army. Not a single one may escape."
The White-robed Cultivator caught the token and soared away.
Only then did Xiaoyu seem to notice the bird perched on Jiang Wang's shoulder. She asked curiously, "Young master, what is that?"
Jiang Wang replied casually, "A Monster."
Xiaoyu was shocked. "Young master, you really are connected to Monsters?!"
If Tan Lao Liu had not lied, then the matter of the Yu Estate...
Before Xiaoyu could break down, Jiang Wang smiled and said, "But it says it is a god. It does seem to be one, too. With this divine bird watching over you, Xiaoyu, you will surely have all your wishes fulfilled."
"A divine bird?" Xiaoyu looked at the Night Roaming God. Seeing how listless it was, she asked doubtfully, "Why does it look like it's about to die?"
Jiang Wang said, "It always looks like that. Don't mind it."
The Night Roaming God's voice suddenly appeared in Jiang Wang's mind. You're the one who looks like you're about to die! Why do you blurt out everything? You aren't an immortal. If you expose my identity as a deity, do you know what kind of trouble you'll face?
Jiang Wang frowned and tried speaking in his mind as well. I was only telling Xiaoyu. She's easy to fool. If I make up any excuse, she'll forget all about it.
The Night Roaming God's voice appeared in his mind again. It had better be so. I have suffered eight lifetimes' worth of bloody misfortune. I spent centuries searching for an immortal, thinking I could finally return to my divine rank, only to run into a fake! My Golden Elixir! What a complete waste!
Jiang Wang seemed interested, though it was this method of speaking that interested him.
He thought, Just as you said, I did hear that the immortal seekers came because of the Mirage. But I know very well that I am no immortal. You never asked me. You kept talking to yourself, then spat out your Golden Elixir. You can't blame me for that.
When the Night Roaming God did not respond, Jiang Wang continued, What is that stone statue in the Mirage that looks exactly like you?
The Night Roaming God's voice carried some confusion. Strange. This truly is a deity's fruition. Once your cultivation rises and the Divine Kingdom is truly complete, I can use it to return to my divine rank. But how is this possible?
You aren't an immortal. It is already strange enough for you to possess a Divine Kingdom. How could it produce a fruition as well?
It seemed to perk up. Could it be that you really are an immortal? A newly born immortal? That is why you possess a Divine Kingdom, yet there is nothing within it? Is that why my Golden Elixir could transform into a fruition? I do not know what immortals are like in the beginning. Perhaps this is the truth!
Jiang Wang asked, You followed an immortal, so how could you not know what immortals are?
The Night Roaming God said, I was created by an immortal. Though I followed an immortal from birth, how could I know how an immortal became an immortal?
Jiang Wang mused, Could I be an immortal? No matter how I think about it, that seems impossible.
The Night Roaming God said excitedly, Never mind whether you are truly an immortal. Since a fruition has been born in the Divine Kingdom, you possess the qualifications to become an immortal. It seems my luck is still quite good. I endured several centuries already. Holding on until you truly become an immortal should not be a problem.
Jiang Wang could not be bothered to think about something so vague and intangible. There were more practical matters to consider. When we left Qixia Street and I used that power, why didn't you tell me there was a time limit?
The Night Roaming God said, You never asked. Besides, my mood was a complete mess at the time.
It quickly added, Perhaps because you have not yet become an immortal, your body simply cannot bear the power of the Divine Kingdom. That has left you weak as death. If there is no way to improve this, you may not have many years left to live.
The Night Roaming God sighed. I am truly unlucky. The Divine Kingdom directly absorbed my power and thereby stabilized itself, so your lifespan will not be shortened further. But it has weakened me to the level of the Monster Ao Yin.
You need to work harder. Gain control of the Divine Kingdom's power as soon as possible. Otherwise, before you become an immortal, both of us will be dead.
Jiang Wang nodded. It seemed he would have to provoke more powerful enemies.
Perhaps he should let Du Yanruo and the others go?
But when he considered the Qingxuan Bureau's power in the Sui Kingdom, that was clearly not a good idea for now.
He looked at Akong.
Perhaps leaving the sole person who knew the truth free would create another hidden danger.
Though he felt that the danger Akong posed was far less than that of the Du Family, keeping her under his control would undoubtedly be safer.
Thus, he no longer paid Akong any mind and prepared to return home with Xiaoyu first.
The night was deep.
There were no pedestrians on the street.
Just as they were about to leave South City Alley.
A black shadow blocked the entrance.
Jiang Wang's expression turned solemn.
This scene felt strangely familiar.
"Feng Linghuai, you finally showed yourself."
A short blade appeared in the black shadow's hand, gleaming with cold light in the darkness.
"Young Marquis Jiang, while I was waiting for an opportunity, you were investigating me as well."
Jiang Wang said in a low voice, "Your disciple accepted a task he should not have accepted. Besides, those who become Jianli must be prepared to die when their missions fail. It is understandable for you to seek revenge, but you truly should not."
Feng Linghuai said evenly, "What I am doing does indeed violate the rules of the Jianli. But I only ever took one disciple. He died in Hun City without cause or explanation. If I do not avenge him, I am unworthy of being his master."
Jiang Wang looked at Xiaoyu.
Xiaoyu's face was deathly pale. If not for the martial aura she was using to force herself upright, she would likely already have collapsed.
He supported Xiaoyu with one hand and spoke in his mind. Bird, is there a way to fight him head-on?
The Night Roaming God said, Your body cannot withstand it. It seems I will have to act. But there is something I must say.
Jiang Wang asked doubtfully, What?
The Night Roaming God said, Please change the way you address me.
Jiang Wang said, All right, bird.
The Night Roaming God immediately spewed a string of curses. Furiously flapping its wings, it flew into the air, and its body instantly became incomparably enormous, covering the entirety of South City Alley.
Feng Linghuai staggered back in shock. "A Monster?!"
"Monster your head!" The Night Roaming God's scarlet eyes, like twin moons, stared fixedly at Feng Linghuai. It gently exhaled, and a hurricane rose at once.
South City Alley seemed to face a calamity. The houses swayed on the brink of collapse, as though being dismantled, layer upon layer flying into the sky. The bluestone paving was peeled up cleanly, while Feng Linghuai was struck as if by a devastating blow, spraying blood as he vanished into the night sky.
Looking at the scene of shattered walls and broken ruins, Jiang Wang's heart bled.
Fortunately, this was a street rather than a place where common folk lived. Otherwise, a single breath from the Night Roaming God would have left living beings strewn everywhere.
But with this place destroyed so thoroughly, he would probably have to pay a great, great deal of money.
Before you continue