Killing Intent

"Ugh..."

The guard clutched his throat as blood gushed like a spring. His legs gave way, and he fell to his knees.

"Xiao Guang!"

On the ground, Liu Zhengcun, gravely wounded, stared wide-eyed at his nephew's gruesome death before him, his eyes brimming with uncontrollable fury.

"How dare you... How dare you!?"

Li ChunJun turned and walked toward Liu Zhengcun, who lay on the ground, sword in hand and without a word.

Blood dripped from the tip of his sword, one drop at a time, onto the ground.

The sight jolted him out of his burning rage, and he quickly regained his composure and reason.

"Stop! I'm an official of Great Shang, and I work within the Prosecutor's Office. If you kill me, there'll be nowhere left for you to hide in all the world. You'll truly be doomed beyond redemption..."

No matter how much he hated Li ChunJun at that moment, no matter how much he might want to grind him to dust if he ever got the chance, right now...

He had to survive.

Only by surviving could he have a future!

Unfortunately...

His words about the consequences fell on deaf ears.

Li ChunJun even quickened his pace, reaching Liu Zhengcun in an instant.

He said nothing, but his actions made his intentions clear.

Liu Zhengcun seemed to finally understand. Pain flashed in his eyes, along with regret, but above all, there was resentment.

Pain that his nephew had died because of him.

Regret that, despite knowing the Jin Family was wicked and that retaliation had come knocking, he had still chosen to get mixed up in their affairs.

And resentment that he had had such a bright future ahead of him, boundless prospects, only to end up dying at the hands of a nobody like Li ChunJun.

He opened his mouth and cried out in anguish, "I hate—"

Before he could finish, Li ChunJun bent down abruptly, flicked his hand, and thrust his sword. The blade pierced Liu Zhengcun's throat, silencing the words he had tried to force from his vocal cords.

"Shk!"

Stab. Withdraw.

The whole thing was over in a second.

As he pulled out the sword, bright red blood sprayed into the air, scattering like blossoms.

But Li ChunJun had seen this sight too many times in recent days.

He didn't spare Liu Zhengcun another glance. Turning around, he picked up the rifle from the ground and strode away without looking back, disappearing around the corner of the parking lot.

All that remained in the parking lot was Liu Zhengcun, clutching the hole in his throat in agony, glaring after Li ChunJun with eyes full of hatred and resentment as his body convulsed and trembled.

Until...

The ground beneath him slowly turned red with blood, and he finally stopped moving.

"Level 6 creature killed. Experience +283!"

"Level 5 creature killed. Experience +122!"

Life Level: 7 (451/700)

Da Fa Building Materials Company.

One of the major companies in Guangzhou City's building materials market, Da Fa Building Materials Company had partnerships with many local government departments.

With its extensive connections and successful advertising, the company's owner, Song Yuan, had made a fortune in less than ten years. Across Guangzhou City, everyone would have called him a successful man and a business magnate.

Of course, those who knew the company's inner workings understood how it had made its fortune.

By squeezing other companies out of the market through all sorts of means, it had effectively established a monopoly over Guangzhou City's building materials trade.

Over the past decade, several companies had tried to enter the market and threatened Da Fa Building Materials Company's position. Each time, they had inexplicably run into all kinds of trouble. Some owners had died mysterious deaths; others had met with accidents and ended up as corpses in the wilderness.

But at that moment, this prominent leader of Guangzhou City's building materials industry was straightening his clothes and appearance. He stood quietly outside the entrance to Sword Tasting Hall with three trusted subordinates, beside three luxury cars worth millions each.

Sword Tasting Hall wasn't located in the city center, but the land it occupied was still worth a fortune. Its parking lot stood outside the hall.

Many passersby noticed Song Yuan, standing in a black suit with several men beside him in front of three top-of-the-line luxury cars, and couldn't help taking a second look.

Some curious people even wandered over, hoping to use a clever angle to sneak a photo with the cars.

Of course, the bodyguards stationed nearby drove every one of them away before they could get close.

Just then, another young man wearing a hat and carrying a guitar case approached, apparently hoping to take a photo.

Two bodyguards stood at the edge of the group. Neither counted among Song Yuan's trusted men. They exchanged a glance, and one of them moved to intercept the man, clearly accustomed to this sort of thing.

"Move along. Who let you come over here? Don't you have any sense?"

The bodyguard reached out to shove him away.

But...

His words seemed to have no effect on the man's approach.

This immediately irritated one of the bodyguards, whose expression turned vicious. "I said this area's closed off. You're not allowed over here. Are you deaf? If you don't need your ears anymore, I'll—"

Before he could finish shouting, the figure suddenly accelerated and was upon him in an instant.

The other bodyguard noticed something was wrong and turned to look. Before he could figure out what had happened, a cold sword blade suddenly burst through his colleague's back.

The angle...

The sword had clearly pierced his chest at the heart and run straight through his body!

"Shk!"

The sounds of a sword thrusting and being withdrawn followed.

In just a second, Li ChunJun shoved the bodyguard aside and strode forward, his cold gaze fixed on Song Yuan, who stood solemnly beside the luxury cars ten-odd meters away.

Only then did the other bodyguard, the one assigned to drive away passersby, finally react.

At the same time, he realized who the hat-wearing man suddenly approaching them was.

His eyes widened in terror. "You're Li—"

"Whoosh!"

A streak of sword light flashed past.

Moving faster than an ordinary person could react, it tore through the bodyguard's throat, cutting off his horrified cry.

Then Li ChunJun, striding forward, suddenly accelerated.

He sprinted! He charged!

The sudden turn of events, coupled with the brief scream from the second bodyguard as he died, made Song Yuan, who had been waiting solemnly outside, turn his head slightly.

He frowned, apparently annoyed that some clueless petty thief had come to bother him just when he was eager to impress the hall master.

What kind of status did their hall master have?

If Song Yuan's martial arts achievements hadn't caught the hall master's eye, and his company hadn't happened to own several black luxury cars suited to the atmosphere of an occasion like Madam Jin's funeral, he might never have been entrusted with driving the hall master around that day.

But when he got a clear look at the figure charging toward him, he froze for a moment.

Then delighted excitement filled his eyes.

"It's you!?"

Li ChunJun, wanted by the business world, the political world, the martial world, and the underworld!?

Heaven had a road, but you wouldn't take it; hell had no door, yet you barged right in!

If he could capture Li ChunJun and present him as a gift to the hall master...

No, this man was vicious. He might not be able to take him alone.

But where were they?

Right at the entrance to Sword Tasting Hall!

All he had to do was call inside, and his senior and junior brothers would come pouring out. Even a man in the Harmony Realm would be beaten to death on the spot.

So he didn't need to kill Li ChunJun himself. He only had to hold him off for a moment!

"Heaven means to destroy a man by first driving him mad! Li ChunJun, you're courting death!"