After County Lieutenant Hu slapped his jaw back into place several times, the interrogation finally began to proceed smoothly.
County Lieutenant Hu wiped his hands, picked up the teacup on the table, took a sip, and said in a deep voice, "Name!"
"Cao Yongjun."
"Where are you from?"
"Shiwu Village, Yuzhou."
"Cultivation realm?"
"Sixth Layer of the Meridian Opening Realm."
"Why... huh?"
The hand holding the teacup trembled slightly. County Lieutenant Hu suddenly raised his head and stared at the other man with his eyes wide.
Sixth Layer of the Meridian Opening Realm...
That meant the man had opened six meridians. He was practically guaranteed to break through to the Innate Realm, with an extremely low chance of failure.
Generally speaking, those Innate Realm martial artists who had appeared in Qiulin County before had usually attempted their breakthrough after opening only four or five meridians.
That was because opening meridians became increasingly difficult the further one progressed.
Most martial artists who felt their talent was lacking would not waste time continuing to open meridians. Instead, they would directly attempt to break through to the Innate Realm.
County Lieutenant Hu had already opened four meridians, but he had not rushed to break through because he came from a decent background. His Lineage could provide him with considerable assistance and cultivation resources.
Moreover, as the County Lieutenant of Qiulin County, he could earn a share of the credit whenever one of his constables slew a demon. Thus, he was confident that he could open one or two more meridians without expending too much effort.
Even so, in his expectations, opening six meridians would already have been quite impressive.
After opening six meridians, the chances of breaking through to the Innate Realm would rise dramatically. It could practically be considered a foregone conclusion.
He would even have a chance to glimpse the realm beyond the Innate Realm.
But now, this Demonic Cultivator before him was actually... wait!
He suddenly realized that something was wrong.
How had that fellow Shen Lin captured him???
A sixth-layer Meridian Opening martial artist—and a Demonic Cultivator at that!
A martial artist in the same realm would be practically incapable of defeating him.
Before reaching the Innate Realm, even martial artists who possessed Blood Qi Power were ultimately still made of flesh and blood.
Even martial artists who had opened every meridian in their bodies could still be wounded by sharp weapons and crossbow bolts.
But Demonic Cultivators who cultivated demonic arts were different.
Even in the Meridian Opening Realm, they could wield all sorts of strange abilities.
When Hu Dongxing had first entered the County Yamen, he had once joined the previous County Lieutenant in besieging a Demonic Cultivator.
That Demonic Cultivator had been at the third layer of the Meridian Opening Realm.
At the time, the County Lieutenant had been at the fifth layer of the Meridian Opening Realm and could attempt to break through to the Innate Realm at any moment.
Even so, that County Lieutenant had not underestimated the enemy. Instead, he had gathered nearly every martial artist in Qiulin County and coordinated with the armored soldiers of the Patrol Inspection Division to surround the Demonic Cultivator.
Hu Dongxing would never forget that battle.
Three Meridian Opening martial artists had died, including the previous County Lieutenant, who had failed a forced breakthrough, and two Attendants from major Lineages.
More than half of the martial artists in the County Yamen had been killed or wounded, while the armored soldiers of the Patrol Inspection Division had been almost completely wiped out.
All because that Demonic Cultivator possessed extraordinary abilities and could control blood.
Ordinary people below the martial artist realm would have their blood sucked dry in an instant at the first meeting.
The sturdy armor worn by the Patrol Inspection Division's soldiers had been utterly useless.
Martial artists could hold out a little longer, but they would still be left utterly limp and unable to divide their attention to fight.
Only beings in the Meridian Opening Realm could rely on their profound Blood Qi Power to suppress the turmoil in their blood.
But even that was still insufficient to defeat the enemy.
That Demonic Cultivator could condense blood into armor and weapons. Even when struck head-on by the Patrol Inspection Division's crossbow bolts, his defenses could not be pierced.
It was comparable to the protective true aura of an Innate Realm martial artist.
County Lieutenant Hu had originally assumed that this miserable-looking fellow before him was merely a Demonic Cultivator who had just entered the Meridian Opening Realm.
If that were the case, then it would not have been strange for Shen Lin to defeat him after stumbling into such good luck.
But now, after hearing the man's realm, County Lieutenant Hu felt a headache coming on.
Sixth Layer of the Meridian Opening Realm—he was even stronger than the Demonic Cultivator in County Lieutenant Hu's memory.
Just how had Shen Lin...
"Then how did you..."
County Lieutenant Hu instinctively began to ask, but the moment he opened his mouth, he suddenly seemed to think of something. His expression immediately turned solemn, and he changed his question. "With cultivation like yours, why did you ambush and kill the County Magistrate's nephew? Do you have any accomplices? What exactly are your intentions?"
The string of questions seemed to leave Cao Yongjun momentarily unable to react. He merely stared blankly at County Lieutenant Hu.
"Speak! Could it be you still haven't had your fill of our methods?"
County Lieutenant Hu's expression darkened, and he was frantic inside.
A Demonic Cultivator of such strength could not have appeared out of thin air.
Without someone providing him with resources, even a Demonic Cultivator could not have opened six meridians so easily.
But if these Demonic Cultivators were organized and had done this to target the County Magistrate...
At that thought, County Lieutenant Hu grew even more anxious. He abruptly rose from his seat, wanting to force the answer out as quickly as possible.
The next moment, his expression suddenly froze, and his pupils shrank.
Only after standing up and looking down from above did he notice that a small black feather had appeared atop Cao Yongjun's head at some unknown point.
Not good!
He abruptly raised his head. Through a small opening in the roof, he saw the starry sky.
"How dare you, thief!!!"
He let out a furious roar. His Blood Qi Power erupted in an instant, and he violently smashed through the roof and leaped outside.
Cao Yongjun was dead!
Right before his eyes, he had been silently silenced.
The black feather had pierced deep into the man's skull. Even though he was a Demonic Cultivator, there was nothing anyone could do to save him.
The most important thing now was to capture the one who had struck.
Sure enough, the moment County Lieutenant Hu leaped through the roof, a black shadow entered his field of vision.
The black shadow seemed to tread upon the wind, drifting back and forth between the rooftops without making the slightest sound.
The next moment, the black shadow's body paused slightly, and it looked back.
Compared with him, County Lieutenant Hu had made quite a commotion.
Amid thunderous crashes, County Lieutenant Hu roared as he shot straight toward the other man like a cannonball.
"Such a reckless fool. If it weren't for... hmph!"
The black shadow muttered helplessly and increased his escape speed.
His ability to kill Cao Yongjun in a single strike naturally meant that his strength was not lacking.
Or rather, he far surpassed the reckless County Lieutenant Hu.
Hu Dongxing understood this as well.
But the reason the other man dared to chase after him without restraint was that this was Qiulin County!
A county city under the control of the Human Race!
The next moment, surging waves of Blood Qi Power erupted from all over the city.
Those were the martial artists in the Meridian Opening Realm within the city.
At least a dozen of them—far more than the number of Meridian Opening martial artists publicly known to be in Qiulin County.
If he were surrounded and attacked by so many people...
Thinking of this, the black shadow sighed and suddenly stopped.
Seeing this, Hu Dongxing, who had been chasing behind him, narrowed his eyes slightly. He drew the long saber at his waist, his face filled with caution.
But the other man did not attack. Instead, he bent his legs slightly before suddenly leaping into the sky.
With that single leap, he instantly reached an altitude of more than ten meters.
Riiip!
Amid the sound of tearing flesh, two wings covered in black feathers extended from his back. With a light flap, he flew into the sky.
"Damn it!"
Hu Dongxing watched the small black dot flying into the distance and gradually disappearing. His expression was extremely ugly.
When had a bird demon this powerful appeared within Qiulin County's territory?
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