Are You Human or Ghost?!

The moment the chaos erupted, Jiang Yuan's aura surged explosively.

His qi and blood no longer burned. Instead, they turned the color of flames, becoming more restrained yet more aggressively imposing.

The Acquired Savage Physique was fully unleashed, transforming Jiang Yuan into a little giant.

Jiang Yuan's pupils were no longer black, but crimson, with a faint trace of azure at their centers.

The faint black qi winding around the Hua Jin Martial Artist before him was something Jiang Yuan had never seen before.

Jiang Yuan silently committed the strange phenomenon surrounding the Hua Jin Martial Artist to memory.

Yet his hand shot forward.

His other palm reached for the Hua Jin Martial Artist's head.

The Hua Jin Martial Artist's expression changed drastically. His pupils contracted as he immediately reached for his waist, intending to draw his weapon.

The next second, the outstretched hand drooped, suddenly powerless.

Looking up again, Jiang Yuan's hand was already gripping the Hua Jin Martial Artist's head. His palm tightened, and muscles like granite bulged along his arm. His arm swelled by a full circle as his five fingers forcibly crushed the Hua Jin Martial Artist's skull. Red and white matter burst everywhere.

Expressionless, Jiang Yuan activated the power of his strange bones and burned all the fluids splashed across his body clean.

Then he looked toward the Faceless Man on the other side, who had already lost the ability to speak.

"Y-you-you-you! Are you human or ghost?" An expression of utter shock was forcibly squeezed onto the Faceless Man's featureless face.

Jiang Yuan flexed his hand and walked over. Just as he was about to say something, he shook his head instead.

"Forget it. No matter what I say, you won't tell me the truth. Better just die!"

"W-wait..." Sweat covered the Faceless Man's forehead. Hearing Jiang Yuan's words, he panicked and was just about to say something when, the next second—

Bang. Red and white splattered out.

Jiang Yuan burned the fluid from his hand clean.

He did not understand this man. Even if the man wanted to say something, it might not have been true. He might even try to play tricks afterward and bring greater trouble.

So he killed him.

Jiang Yuan did not want to leave trouble behind.

As for the people behind them, he was right here. Sooner or later, they would come looking for him.

And as for why these people had vanished, did he not have a powerful uncle?

Could a kid in the Late Qi and Blood Stage possibly kill a Hua Jin Martial Artist?

Jiang Yuan rubbed a spark into existence in his hand and dropped it onto the corpses. The bodies burned, turning to ash not long after.

[Points +80]

[Points +80]

[Points +100]

These were the Points he had gained from killing the three of them.

The number of Points was neither much nor little, but what puzzled him was that the Hua Jin expert also counted as something strange?

And despite the Hua Jin expert's strength, he had only yielded twenty more Points than the two Faceless Men.

Truly strange.

Jiang Yuan patted down his clothes and tidied himself up. Then, with a whistle from his lips, the chestnut-red steed emerged from the grass beside the road and ran to his side.

Jiang Yuan stroked the fine horse, mounted it, and headed toward Quhe Town. He still had a task to complete there.

*

*

*

"Father! What are you saying?!" Anger and embarrassment colored the girl's adorable face.

She was a slender, delicate girl. Her raven hair, piled like clouds and heaped snow, was arranged in a drifting-cloud bun, adorned with a light jade hairpin. She wore an ice-blue, front-fastened high-waisted ruqun dress.

Her features were lovely, bright as a pearl and fair as beautiful jade. A faint scholarly purity rested between her graceful brows.

But the girl's embarrassed anger ruined that air of purity.

"Wan'er, this was an agreement your Uncle Wen and I made back then..." A middle-aged man clad in luxurious robes yet built as broad and sturdy as a bear sat in his seat. Without anger, he still carried an air of authority. He lowered his eyes, took a sip of tea, and spoke helplessly.

"Father! How could some inexplicable marriage contract suddenly appear? Besides, Wan'er's partner must be the one Wan'er loves. How can this be..." The girl named Wan'er stamped her foot and spoke unwillingly.

"Enough! I am a chief escort of the Zhenyuan Escort Agency. How can I break a promise without cause? Although Jiang Yuan only reached the Mid Qi and Blood Stage at sixteen, he accumulated strength and burst forth late, breaking through to the Late Qi and Blood Stage within a year. He has also mastered two ultimate arts to the minor-success level. He is not lacking."

This middle-aged man was none other than Beichuan Qingtian, one of the three chief escorts of the Zhenyuan Escort Agency.

And the girl before him was Beichuan Qingtian's only daughter, Beichuan Wan.

Beichuan Wan lightly bit her lip, moisture faintly glimmering in her beautiful eyes.

Seeing this, Beichuan Qingtian sighed and continued, "The marriage contract Uncle Wen and I made back then was this: if that boy Jiang Yuan amounted to something, then the contract would stand. If he was merely a wastrel, I would not feel at ease handing you over to him. He had shown no signs of anything before, but who would have thought that he would either remain silent or astonish the world with a single cry? He shone brilliantly in the exchange competition with the Fengxing Family..."

Beichuan Qingtian paused, then continued, "A parent's command and a matchmaker's words. Unless you can make Jiang Yuan personally agree to dissolve the marriage contract, or defeat him head-on! Then I can speak to your Uncle Wen on your behalf."

At those words, Beichuan Wan was overjoyed. Clenching her small fist, she gritted her teeth and muttered, "I'm about to break through to the Late Qi and Blood Stage too. Jiang Yuan, just you wait!"

"But that boy Jiang Yuan truly is not bad. Even Feng Xiaoyao of the Fengxing Family is no match for him. I watched him grow up. He was somewhat lazy before, but his character was good. Now that he has achieved something, I can also..."

Before Beichuan Qingtian could finish, Beichuan Wan snorted and left, heading toward the training grounds.

Seeing this, Beichuan Qingtian gave a bitter smile, shook his head, and softly finished what he had left unsaid.

"I can also rest assured entrusting you to him..."

*

*

"Damn it! A day ago, Pan Qi and Pan Jiu's Sin Qi Bottles shattered. Shi Wu's Sin Qi Bottle shattered too! Could Wenzhao have noticed something?"

Within the pitch-black house, a figure cloaked in a black robe stood before the main seat. Darkness enveloped his entire body, making it impossible to see the face beneath his hood.

Two differently dressed people knelt on one knee before this figure.

One of them was unexpectedly Yin He of the Zhenyuan Escort Agency.

"Yin He!"

"Here."

"Go test Jiang Yuan. A mere Late Qi and Blood Stage brat could not possibly withstand Shi Wu's pursuit. Wenzhao must have given him some powerful means or be protecting him. Go find out exactly what is happening."

"Yes!"

"Be careful. There are very few planted agents within the escort agency. Your role is the most important."

"Mm."

"And you—since you have arrived in Haiyuan City, the next stage of the plan can be launched at the same time. Mm, the more chaotic Haiyuan City becomes, the better."

"Yes, my lord!"

After giving his instructions, the black-robed figure transformed into black water and seeped into the ground.

"He'er, have you decided what you should do?"

"Get lost! Is He'er a name you're allowed to call? As for what I intend to do, do I need to tell you?" Yin He rose from the ground, her temperament completely different from the pure, delicate girl she had seemed beside Jiang Yuan.

At this moment, Yin He was as seductive as a thorny rose, with a faint viciousness on her face.

Yin He gave a soft snort and left the house, leaving behind the lonely figure within.