In a fit of rage.
He wished he could rush before Wei Qing at once and tear him limb from limb.
However.
Just as he raised his foot, Chen Feng's figure flashed before him, standing like a great mountain between him and Wei Qing.
"Your opponent is me."
"Chen Feng."
Cheng Hao let out a furious roar. His true essence surged wildly within him, his eyes bloodshot as he pounced toward Chen Feng to kill him.
Seeing this, Chen Feng's lips curled into a faint smile.
When a person lost his reason, he would unconsciously expose his own weaknesses.
[Clang! Killed Peak Seventh Rank Puppet] [Strength +50, Constitution +60, one Martial Skill Upgrade Card] [Martial Skill Upgrade Card: The host can raise any martial skill to the Perfection Realm] [Please choose a martial skill, host?]
"Ephemeral Art"
Following the principle that among all martial arts under heaven, speed alone was undefeatable.
Wei Qing instantly decided to raise his speed first.
"Buzz..."
As the command was issued, a vast amount of Ephemeral Art cultivation experience flooded into his mind.
[Clang!] [Ephemeral Art has broken through to the Perfection Realm. The profound meaning Divine Movement has been comprehended automatically!] [Divine Movement: Speed increased by 300%]
Wei Qing was overjoyed. His figure suddenly blurred, leaving only an afterimage where he stood. His true body appeared like a ghost before the one-armed Yan Qingshan.
"You... how could this be..."
Yan Qingshan's face was deathly pale. Clutching his severed arm, he staggered backward, his eyes filled with disbelief.
Wei Qing's aura was clearly only at the Eighth Rank Realm, yet the speed he had just displayed was something even a Fifth Rank expert might not be able to match.
Unfortunately, he was ultimately one step too late.
The blade had already reached his eyes.
"Hmph, do you really think I'm a soft persimmon?"
Yan Qingshan let out a savage grin and abruptly pulled a blood-red jade talisman from his robes with his remaining left hand—
"You want to kill me? Then we'll die together!"
"Boom—!"
The jade talisman exploded, and flames soared into the sky. Violent energy swept across a radius of ten zhang!
Wei Qing's gaze sharpened. The profound meaning Divine Movement erupted, and his figure retreated like a phantom. His blade carved a silver arc before him—
"Swish!"
The flames were split in two by the blade qi, failing to touch him in the slightest!
"What?!" Yan Qingshan fell into utter despair.
Wei Qing stepped forward, the blade flashing. Yan Qingshan's head flew into the air. His body stiffened, then toppled straight to the ground.
[Clang! Killed High Seventh Rank Martial Artist] [Spirit +50, Strength +48, Constitution +52, Bone Tempering Pill x1]
Wei Qing did not linger. His figure flickered.
He appeared behind the three black-clad men besieging Shen Yan, his blade light slicing through the night.
"Chik..."
The black-clad dead soldier closest to him abruptly froze. A hair-thin bloodline appeared across his neck.
Before losing consciousness, his body still maintained its attacking posture.
The other two men's pupils shook violently as they spun around.
One of them had only just raised his arm.
The blade flashed again!
His throat was already pierced through by the blade.
In the instant the last man became distracted, Shen Yan seized the opportunity and severed his head with one sword. He finally fell to his knees, dead.
[Clang! Killed Peak Eighth Rank Martial Artists in Succession] [Spirit +65, Strength +75, Constitution +71, Meridian Opening Pill x1]
The two exchanged a glance, then charged toward the remaining black-clad men...
On the battlefield to the other side.
The mysterious man was blasted three zhang back by Chen Feng's palm strike, spitting out a mouthful of blood with a "puff."
"Damn brat."
He had originally held the upper hand, but because Wei Qing had killed Yang Kui, the backlash from his spiritual connection with Yang Kui had struck him.
Chen Feng seized the opportunity and attacked furiously.
In an instant, he had reversed the disadvantage.
Then, at the moment Yan Qingshan died and the mysterious man became distracted, Chen Feng struck him with a palm and severely wounded him.
Seeing this, he no longer cared about saving face. Throwing his head back, he roared, "Old Ghost Tao, if you don't make a move now, just wait to collect my corpse!"
"Heh heh heh..."
As a sinister laugh rang out, a hunched black figure quietly appeared atop the rear courtyard wall.
He toyed with a pair of walnuts in his right hand. An alluring red radiance flowed across them, as though they had been soaked in blood, emanating an eerie aura.
"I told you long ago to stop while you could, but you just wouldn't listen. If it weren't for Elder Chen's sake, I wouldn't even bother with you."
"Blood Demon Hand—Tao Kun."
Seeing the pair of blood-colored walnuts in the newcomer's hand, Chen Feng could not help crying out in shock.
Tao Kun, an elder of the Ghost Corpse Sect and an Initial Fifth Rank Martial Artist.
Five years ago, in order to cultivate an evil technique,
he had blood-sacrificed all 819 members of Lincheng's foremost lineage, the Luo Family, in a single night.
"Heh heh, I didn't expect anyone to still remember me." Tao Kun raised an eyebrow, a sinister smile hanging from his lips, as though this were something he was immensely proud of.
"The 819 lives of the Luo Family of Lincheng are recorded clearly in the ledgers of the Heavenly Realm Division!"
"Hahaha, and what of it?"
Facing Chen Feng's gritted-teeth expression, Tao Kun bared his teeth without the slightest concealment and let out a brazen, mocking laugh.
"Of course, I'm here to bring you to justice."
A voice cold enough to pierce the bones suddenly rang out from behind Tao Kun. A woman in red, with a Heavenly Realm Division badge hanging from her waist, appeared.
The five words "Profound Tier Garrison Commander" on the badge radiated a dignified gleam beneath the moonlight.
"Heh heh, you finally decided to show yourself."
Tao Kun was not surprised in the slightest. He had already sensed the woman's aura when he arrived at the City God Temple.
"Senior Sister Tantai... what brings you here?"
Chen Feng looked at the newcomer in pleasant surprise.
"Pacification Commissioner sent me on official business. I happened to be passing through." Tantai Yue gave a brief explanation.
Regarding the secret order, the person carrying it was absolutely forbidden to reveal even half a word without permission from a superior.
This was the ironclad rule of the Heavenly Realm Division.
Even though Chen Feng was her father's nominal disciple and her junior brother,
the rules could not be broken.
Tao Kun tilted his head and smiled. "Heh heh, even with you, a Sixth Rank Martial Artist, added to the mix, do you really think you have a chance of winning?"
"Try it, and you'll... Be careful."
Tantai Yue had just begun to speak when the corner of her eye suddenly caught sight of Cheng Hao, who was gravely wounded. He abruptly leaped up and flashed behind Chen Feng, dagger in hand, stabbing toward his heart.
She was just about to go save him when Tao Kun's figure, like a ghost in the night, blocked her path and completely sealed off her way forward.
At that moment, she understood.
From the instant she appeared, she had already fallen into the carefully woven scheme of Tao Kun and Cheng Hao.
Chen Feng's momentary distraction had given Cheng Hao the perfect opportunity to counterattack.
Chen Feng sensed the danger as well. His body shifted slightly, and he was just about to dodge the fatal strike.
Cheng Hao's body suddenly stiffened. A blade tip instantly pierced through him, protruding from his back.
The triumphant smile at his lips froze in an instant. As his body slowly fell, he desperately twisted his head around and finally saw who had ambushed him.
It was Wei Qing!
He had dismembered Yang Kui, leaving Cheng Hao gravely wounded.
He had also destroyed the pawn Cheng Hao had spent years cultivating.
And in the end, Cheng Hao himself had actually died at the other man's hands.
Carrying a heart full of hatred, Cheng Hao closed his eyes in unwillingness.
Everything had happened too quickly.
Even the three of them—Tao Kun included—had failed to notice when Wei Qing had appeared.