The square was as silent as death.
The Blood Wolf Ancestor's corpse lay near the stronghold gate, his eyes wide open, that crazed smile still lingering on his face.
The Blood Wolf Ancestor, a Grandmaster who had ruled the northwestern Crouching Dragon Mountains for decades, was dead.
His death had been swift. It had also been shocking.
Poison Granny's hand was still trembling.
The snake-headed staff that had accompanied her for sixty years lay quietly at her feet. She had even forgotten to pick it up.
The two venomous snakes on the staff had long since retreated into its shaft, shivering just like their mistress.
The One-Eyed Maniac's lone eye bulged. Its bloody gleam had vanished, leaving only deathly gray.
His fierce, domineering aura had dissipated like air from a punctured balloon.
He opened his mouth to speak, only to find his throat too dry to make a sound.
He was mad, but that did not mean he was unafraid of death.
The two veteran Grandmasters who had rampaged through the Crouching Dragon Mountains for decades now stood frozen like frightened quail.
Li Yun turned, his gaze slowly sweeping across their faces.
It was faint and calm.
Yet both felt a chill shoot up their spines to the crowns of their heads.
"You two."
Li Yun spoke, his voice calm as still water.
"Do you want to continue?"
The One-Eyed Maniac's Adam's apple bobbed as he swallowed with difficulty.
He looked at Poison Granny. She looked back at him.
They saw the same thing in each other's eyes—
Fear.
And a trace of reluctance.
They had ruled the Crouching Dragon Mountains for decades, but they had never encountered anything like this.
A young man barely in his twenties had killed the Blood Wolf Ancestor with one slash, without even furrowing