Identity is Earned

"Huh?"

"What White Jade City?"

"What do you mean, stealing my Immortal Arts?"

Hearing the words of the black-clothed person, or rather, Lin Yu, everyone, including the Four Fiends of Youli, was utterly bewildered.

Su Haoming's lips twitched beneath his mask, and he looked at Lin Yu speechlessly.

These plot points were not pre-arranged at all; Lin Yu was completely making them up on the spot...

Lin Yu ignored everyone's gazes and continued his impromptu performance.

When you're out and about, your identity is what you make it. Why bother with such trivial details?

Yuan Lai snapped back to reality and frowned, "What White Jade City? What nonsense are you spouting?"

"...At death's door, and you still want to quibble!"

Lin Yu snorted coldly, then raised his right hand and clenched his fist.

Instantly, a terrifying suction force appeared out of nowhere. The smallest of the Four Fiends, the Dwarf, was lifted into the air. The chain hammer in his hand fell to the ground as he flew towards the stone platform in terror.

"Bang!"

With a dull thud, the black-clothed person grabbed his head and lifted him into the air with one hand.

The next moment, the black-clothed person's palm glowed, and the Dwarf let out a scream as his entire body trembled like a sieve.

What kind of sorcery is this?!

Everyone was shocked. The other three members of the Four Fiends of Youli roared in fury.

The heavily injured one clutched his chest, his eyes spitting fire as he glared at the stone platform.

The other two let out a roar and leaped high, brandishing their weapons.

Seeing this, another black-clothed person stepped forward and swung his long sword downwards.

Xun Feng Seal · Shaoze Gangfeng!

Instantly, surging Magic Power erupted from the Shaoze Acupoint at the tip of his finger. It flowed along the sword, transforming into a rapidly rotating stream of cutting air.

To outsiders, it looked as if an invisible sword energy had detached from the sword and swiftly sliced towards the Great Axe Big Man below.

"Pfft!"

Blood splattered. The Great Axe Big Man's chest gushed blood as he fell towards the ground.

The Chang'an Catchers exchanged bewildered glances upon seeing this.

The Hardening Secret Technique, which even arrows couldn't penetrate, had been breached by the black-clothed person's sword!

...What is this?

Could it be the legendary sword qi?!

For a moment, everyone, including Su Wuming and Lu Lingfeng, stared at themselves in shock.

This made Su Haoming feel secretly pleased, even eager to deliver some lines.

But unfortunately, his Elder Brother had astonishing hearing. If he spoke, his identity would surely be revealed.

No choice, Su Haoming could only shut his mouth tightly and play the role of a silent, mysterious expert.

--No, even playing the expert was becoming difficult.

The Magic Power within him was almost depleted. Those two wind blades just now were his last ripple.

Thinking of this, Su Haoming couldn't help but shift his steps, silently standing behind Lin Yu.

At the same time, Lin Yu had finished his soul-searching and obtained the Hardening Secret Technique of the Four Fiends of Youli.

"Is that all?"

"Its value is far less than Fan Xian's Overlord True Qi..."

Lin Yu's face showed disappointment, then he shook his head and casually tossed the body.

In an instant, the Dwarf's body, like a cannonball fired from its barrel, slammed into another burly Youli Clan member in mid-air.

The two collided instantly. The burly Youli Clan member, who had been leaping high just moments before, plummeted to the ground at an even faster speed the next second.

"BOOM!"

With a loud crash, the high platform was gouged out by their impact, with spiderweb-like cracks spreading across its edges.

Yuan Lai, who was closest to them, saw clearly that the Dwarf's head had smashed through the burly man's chest.

Both of them had their limbs twisted, blood flowing from their seven orifices, and by all appearances, they were not alive...

In the blink of an eye, two of the Four Fiends were dead and two were injured.

The entire cave was silent. Everyone stared blankly at the two black-clothed figures, their worldviews seemingly shattered.

Lin Yu leaped down from the high platform and calmly walked towards the other two heavily injured burly men.

From the Dwarf's memories, he already knew the nature of the Four Fiends of Youli. It could be said that each of them had hundreds of lives on their hands; calling them indiscriminate killers would be letting them off easy.

Since that was the case, Lin Yu no longer intended to spare their lives.

The two burly men clutched their bleeding chests and gritted their teeth as they climbed up from the ground.

Just as they picked up their weapons, intending to fight this unprecedentedly strong enemy to the death, Lin Yu's figure twisted and disappeared. In the next second, he instantly appeared behind them.

"...Huh?"

The two stared blankly at the spot where Lin Yu had vanished. Before they could react to what had happened, the world before their eyes plunged into darkness.

"Thump! Thump!"

Two 'invulnerable' bodies crashed to the ground.

Lin Yu didn't even glance at the two who had fallen behind him. Maintaining his unhurried pace, he calmly walked towards Yuan Lai.

Yuan Lai suddenly snapped back to reality, his face filled with terror as he looked at Lin Yu.

"Who... who exactly are you?"

"Didn't you just want to capture the Four Fiends of Youli? I didn't steal your Immortal Arts. You... you don't come any closer!"

Seeing the terrified expression on Yuan Lai's face, Lin Yu finally stopped, his voice a low murmur as he said:

"All these years, you've been harboring the Four Fiends of Youli?"

"..."

Yuan Lai's pupils constricted.

Su Wuming reacted, feeling rather gleeful.

"No, it wasn't me!"

Yuan Lai retreated backward, nonsensically refuting.

He only stopped his frantic behavior when he reached the edge of the high platform. He then threw the Bone Flute in his hand at Lin Yu, roaring, "Quick, kill him!"

After speaking, he seemed to activate some mechanism. He leaped forward, jumping into a Secret Tunnel that had opened below at some unknown time.

"Bang!"

The thrown Bone Flute exploded in mid-air before it even got close.

Lin Yu calmly watched Yuan Lai's retreating back and lightly stomped his foot.

"Boom!"

With a loud noise, the entire high platform began to shake violently. The force of the tremor not only spread a crack across the platform but also precisely collapsed and buried the Secret Tunnel beneath Yuan Lai's feet.

Yuan Lai stared in terror at the uneven pile of rubble below.

Before he could hit the ground, Lin Yu had already reached the edge of the high platform, extending his five fingers toward him with a detached expression.

The next second, Yuan Lai's body froze in mid-air, then shot upward violently, his neck precisely landing in Lin Yu's palm.

At this moment, a group of Black-clothed Death Warriors charged toward the high platform at Yuan Lai's command, but were sent staggering by the force emanating from the ground.

After finally regaining their balance, the object of their loyalty had already fallen into the hands of the mysterious expert.

The many Black-clothed people stopped in their tracks, looking at each other, at a loss.

Just then, Lin Yu turned his head and glanced at them.

In an instant, the Black-clothed people felt as if they had been struck a heavy blow, as if their souls had been ripped from their bodies and submerged in the dark depths of the sea, unable to escape this suffocating and terrifying sensation no matter how they struggled.

In just a moment, all the Black-clothed Death Warriors lost their composure, stood stunned, and completely lost the will to resist.

"Heh heh--"

Yuan Lai's struggling voice came from below.

Su Wuming suddenly snapped back to reality. Disregarding the fact that another Black-clothed person was beside him, he shouted:

"Stop!"

"..."

Lin Yu's eyebrows twitched behind his mask. He looked at Su Wuming with some surprise.

As their eyes met, Su Wuming's heart skipped a beat, but he still braced himself and said:

"This... Your Excellency, this person is a wanted criminal of the imperial court. If you have no compelling reason to kill him, why not hand him over to me? I, Su Wuming, guarantee with my life that this person will receive the punishment he deserves!"

As soon as he said this, the surrounding Chang'an Catchers became uneasy.

Only Lu Lingfeng snapped back to reality, his face filled with shame.

Then, he gritted his teeth, stepped forward, and also said loudly: "What County Lieutenant Su means is also what this general means. My Great Tang has its own laws. If the two of you consider yourselves people of the Great Tang, please hand this person over--"

Mid-sentence, Lu Lingfeng noticed Su Wuming frantically signaling him.

This made Lu Lingfeng quite confused—was there something wrong with what he said?

There was a big problem!

Su Wuming glared at Lu Lingfeng irritably.

The situation now was that the other party was stronger. Couldn't you speak a little more politely?

After scolding Lu Lingfeng in his mind, Su Wuming immediately put on a serious expression and cupped his hands towards Lin Yu below. "Your Excellency's martial arts are peerless, and your bearing is extraordinary. I, Su, have lived for thirty-six years, but this is the first time I've met someone like you!"

"Indeed, with Your Excellency's martial arts, we are certainly no match for you."

"But this person disregards human life, abducted the Bride, turned her into black tea, and caused chaos in Chang'an. His crimes are heinous!"

"As the County Lieutenant of Chang'an, I must apprehend him and bring him to justice."

"Therefore, I implore Your Excellency to fulfill the wishes of Chang'an, to fulfill my wishes, and to fulfill the wishes of those twelve innocent Brides who died tragically, allowing me to give their families an explanation!"

By the end, Su Wuming's tone was heavy. He cupped his hands in a salute and bowed deeply to Lin Yu.