"Hm?" Shen Zhui, whose eyes had been forced shut by the fierce wind, had no idea what was happening, but he heard the old man in front of him roar angrily.
"Wang Long, what do you think you're doing?! Do you want to fall out with my Li Family?! Let go of Young Master!"
A figure with fluttering robes appeared beside Li Ming at some unknown point. With both hands behind his back, several strands of white hair at his temples danced in the wind, giving him an otherworldly air.
The newcomer was none other than Wang Long, the head of the Martial Arts Department!
"Uncle Cang, Cang, Cang Uncle, save, save me..." Li Ming's legs went weak, and his teeth chattered.
He no longer possessed his former impassioned air, the bearing of one who pointed out the course of the world. His face was filled with terror.
Although Wang Long was still a meter away from him, he was completely unable to move, because he could feel several strands of invisible Gang Qi at his throat.
The moment he dared to move, he would die without a doubt!
"Your Li Family still dares mention the word 'face'?" Wang Long said coldly. "A Xiantian Master must never meddle in the affairs of Houtian Martial Artists. And now you actually dared to intercept and kill a criminal constable of my Martial Arts Department! Old Ghost Cang, go ahead and try. Let's see whether Shen Zhui dies first, or your Li Family's young master!"
"You!"
Elder Cang immediately grew frantic, and his tone unconsciously softened.
"Wang Long, Captain Wang, let's talk this out. Please, please don't hurt my young master."
Seeing this, Wang Long chuckled lightly. "A dignified Xiantian Martial Artist, yet you have no backbone at all. If you dared to kill Shen Zhui with one punch, I might even respect you a little more... You really have grown accustomed to being a dog. Someone like you will probably never reach the Spirit Bridge Realm in this lifetime."
After Wang Long humiliated him, Elder Cang's face flushed crimson. "Wang Long, don't push me too far!"
Wang Long sneered and waved a hand. "I can push you even further!"
"Zzt~" A streak of Gang Qi cut across Li Ming's cheek, leaving a shallow bloody mark.
"Young Master!" Elder Cang roared furiously and moved to pounce forward.
"Take one more step and die!" Wang Long said coldly. A second, slightly deeper cut appeared.
"Fall back! Fall back! Are you trying to get me killed?" Li Ming immediately shouted.
Elder Cang had no choice but to retreat another step.
After a period of silence, Elder Cang sighed. "Wang Long, we admit defeat in this matter. Tell me, what exactly will it take for you to let the young master go?"
"Simple." Wang Long pointed at the group of martial artists rushing up from the foot of the mountain.
"These people attacked a criminal constable. Their crimes are heinous. They die."
The dozen or so people had only just arrived when they heard this, and terror immediately filled them.
Elder Cang turned his gaze toward them. A trace of resolve flashed in his eyes, and he gritted his teeth. "Fine!"
"Elder Cang, don't!"
"Spare us! We did nothing wrong—"
"Ah~"
"..."
"Pfft, pfft, pfft, pfft~" Blossoms of blood burst into the air one after another.
Elder Cang swept out his long sleeve. Tiny hidden weapons flashed from within, carrying penetrating true qi as they instantly pierced through everyone's throats.
Caught off guard, and lacking a profound movement technique like Shen Zhui's, those people all died in an instant.
Even A'Da, a Ninth Stage Houtian Martial Artist, failed to react.
"You! I regret this—"
His eyes were filled with unwillingness, and he stared in Li Ming's direction with boundless hatred.
Even in death, he could not understand why he had sworn loyalty to the main household, abandoning even his own brothers, only to meet such an end.
"Ruthless." Seeing this scene, Shen Zhui's heart trembled as well.
Twenty-one people had been killed in a single breath, without the slightest hesitation.
This Li Family truly was vicious and merciless.
"Wang Long, are you satisfied now? Hurry and let the young master go!"
Wang Long merely shook his head and pointed at Shen Zhui. "Use your Essence of Xiantian Spiritual Energy to heal him."
"Wang Long!!!" Elder Cang was truly enraged. "You're bullying me too much!"
Wang Long looked at him calmly without replying.
"Pfft~" Another cut appeared on Li Ming's face.
"Stop, stop! I'll heal him!" Elder Cang hurriedly waved his hands, not daring to resist any further.
Not to mention that a hostage was currently in the other party's hands—even without one, he was no match for Wang Long and could only resign himself to his fate.
"Come here!"
A force of suction swept over, and Shen Zhui's body was pulled toward Elder Cang.
"Old Ghost Cang, let me remind you: don't try anything funny, or he still dies." Wang Long issued a warning.
Elder Cang's expression stiffened. He let out a cold snort, and the thought that had just arisen in his mind was immediately extinguished.
"Shen Zhui, if you feel anything wrong, speak up."
Seeing the old man suffer, Shen Zhui felt delighted inside. "Reporting to the captain, it's fine even if he tries something! Shen Zhui's life is cheap. If I can drag the Li Family's young master down with me, it'll be worth it!"
Wang Long gave Shen Zhui a deep look and nodded.
As for Elder Cang...
Since things had already come to this, he simply pretended not to hear.
He clasped one hand around Shen Zhui's wrist, and a precise, majestic stream of Essence of Spiritual Energy poured into Shen Zhui's body.
Xiantian Spiritual Energy was far purer than Houtian Vital Energy, and it possessed miraculous healing effects.
Moreover, this was no ordinary Xiantian Spiritual Energy.
Just as Houtian Martial Artists accumulated Essence of Vital Energy, what Wang Long had demanded was Essence of Xiantian Spiritual Energy!
For a Xiantian Martial Artist, accumulating Essence of Spiritual Energy was even more difficult. If it was depleted, replenishing it was nowhere near as simple as it was for a Houtian Martial Artist.
Even Elder Cang could not help feeling the pain of it.
The moment the Essence of Spiritual Energy entered his body, Shen Zhui began guiding it, flushing through his meridians, nourishing his organs, and healing his injuries.
Afraid that Shen Zhui might turn around and claim there was a problem, Elder Cang did not dare slack off now.
He healed Shen Zhui without holding anything back, treating him even more gently than his own father!
The Essence of Xiantian Spiritual Energy was controlled with incomparable gentleness, and Shen Zhui did not feel the slightest discomfort.
After one stream of Essence of Xiantian Spiritual Energy entered his body, Shen Zhui's complexion began to grow rosy.
After two streams entered his body, Shen Zhui's sixteen streams of Essence of Vital Energy were instantly replenished.
Just as the old man was preparing to withdraw his hand, Shen Zhui's face suddenly turned pale again, making him look as though his serious injuries had not yet healed.
Afraid that Wang Long might be dissatisfied, the old man had no choice but to grit his teeth and send in a third stream of Essence of Spiritual Energy.
Shen Zhui remained calm on the surface. He guided this third stream of Essence of Spiritual Energy while circulating the "Bloodburn" technique, beginning to assault his ninth acupoint!
He had discovered long ago that this Essence of Spiritual Energy was practically more effective than a hundred Great Return Pills. At once, he had conceived the thought of breaking through!
As Shen Zhui launched this sudden assault, he immediately felt the bottleneck of the ninth barrier loosen slightly!
Could such a good thing really happen?! Shen Zhui discovered that he had pried the bottleneck loose with astonishing ease. How could he be willing to stop? He began frantically circulating the "Bloodburn" technique!
After repeating this twice, the bottleneck was already tottering on the verge of collapse. At that moment, however, Shen Zhui noticed that the old man had withdrawn his hand.
"You... have some nerve!" Elder Cang now understood exactly what Shen Zhui had been plotting. He immediately withdrew his hand angrily.
Shen Zhui did not mind. With a trace of regret, he said, "Thank you, Senior. I'm one step closer to breaking through the realm."
Provoked intentionally by Shen Zhui, Elder Cang nearly failed to restrain himself from killing him with a single palm strike.
This expenditure would require at least half a year of recuperation. He would also have to consume Heavenly Treasures of considerable value before he could recover.
But when he thought of Li Ming still being in the other party's hands, he could only force down his anger.
"Wang Long, what else do you want?"
Wang Long smiled and waved toward Shen Zhui. "Shen Zhui, come here."
"Wait!" Elder Cang's eyes shifted as he stopped Shen Zhui. "Release the young master first."
"Hmph, Old Ghost Cang, do you think everyone is as shameless as you? One sentence: have Shen Zhui come over first! Otherwise, you can slap him to death, and then I'll kill your young master."
"Your spiritual energy has just been depleted, too. Perhaps I can butcher you along with him. That would be quite a profitable deal!"
Elder Cang hesitated, but Li Ming spoke at that moment, his voice frantic.
"Uncle Cang, let him come over first! Hurry!"
"Young Master..." Elder Cang sighed inwardly and waved his hand, no longer stopping Shen Zhui.
Shen Zhui walked over to Wang Long without haste.
Wang Long indeed kept his word. With a casual wave, Li Ming's body silently flew to Elder Cang's side.
This action made the old man's pupils contract once again.
With such effortless ease, Wang Long was clearly far stronger than him—he had probably already entered the late Xiantian stage and begun constructing the spirit bridge, catching a glimpse of the Power of Heaven and Earth.
"Let's go!" Li Ming's face was pale, and he gasped for breath.
Elder Cang grabbed Li Ming, and the two floated down the mountainside.
Watching the two of them truly leave just like that, Shen Zhui opened his mouth, but ultimately said nothing.
"What were you going to say?" Wang Long glanced at Shen Zhui.
"Captain, are we really just letting them leave?"
"Oh? What do you think we should do?"
"I kill that Li Family young master, and you kill Elder Cang..."
Before Shen Zhui could finish, Wang Long chuckled and shook his head.
"It isn't that simple. To tell you the truth, even if you had truly been killed by Old Ghost Cang today, at most I could only have severely wounded him. As for Li Ming, he cannot be killed."
"Why?" Shen Zhui found it unbelievable. Could it be that Captain Wang had merely been bluffing earlier when he acted so arrogantly?
"A great many things are involved... Killing him outside the city would lead to extremely serious consequences."
"Xiantian experts cannot casually act against Houtian Martial Artists. That is the rule. That is one reason."
"He is the Li Family's young master, an important figure of the Li Family. He has a Sin Concealing Treasure protecting him. Killing him would be easy, but first I would have to destroy the treasure on his body. That would be extremely troublesome for me, and I cannot waste my strength on him."
"Of course, the Li Family would not dare force my hand either... Before anyone has absolute confidence, no one wants to see the worst possible outcome. There are other reasons as well. You will naturally learn of them in the future."
"Yes, subordinate understands." Shen Zhui listened obediently.
Although he did not understand government affairs very well, he still understood this much.
The county magistrate wanted to eliminate the two great families, but he could not act recklessly.
If they could be killed easily, there would have been no need to drag it out for three years.
Moreover, great families controlled the local balance of power and could easily stir up unrest and provoke public outrage.
They had to grasp the proper measure—
They had to overthrow the Li and Yang Families while ensuring their own safety, avoiding excessive impact and harm to the local people, and handling everything beautifully so it became a merit...
Of course, that was not something Shen Zhui ought to be thinking about.
Seeing that Shen Zhui no longer asked questions, Wang Long did not say anything more about it.
"Speaking of which... you really are bold, boy. You actually dared to borrow that power to break through the realm! Weren't you afraid that Old Ghost Cang would fly into a rage and directly destroy your dantian and meridians?"
Shen Zhui took the opportunity to flatter him. "With the captain backing me, what is there to fear?"
Speaking of which, Wang Long had looked after him quite a bit over these three years. He had even been the one to guide Shen Zhui into the Iron Ruler Nine Layers technique. In Shen Zhui's heart, Wang Long could be considered half a master.
"Don't harbor that thought. I didn't come specifically to save you today. I merely received word that the Li Family's young master and Old Ghost Cang had mobilized two Elite Squads and left the city, so I followed them to take a look. I didn't expect to happen upon this matter."
"Now... although they have lost face and suffered a blow to their strength, you have also gained some benefits. But this is not a good thing for you."
"I protected you today, though it was purely by chance. But in the Li Family's eyes, they will think you are important. They will probably begin paying attention to you, and their future retaliation will be even more frenzied."
"In my opinion, you'd better not leave the city for the time being. Stay inside the city and take your shifts."
Please recommend and bookmark! This new book needs everyone's support!