Prefectural City's Fury! Wanted Notice!

The mornings in Nujiang County were always accompanied by the clamor of the docks and the damp air from the river.

But today, the atmosphere was different.

Oppressive.

Stifling.

Like the suffocating feeling just before a torrential storm.

Inside Lu Chen's small courtyard, however, it was utterly tranquil.

Ever since he had quietly returned yesterday, he had locked himself in the secret chamber.

This breakthrough had been too rushed. Although he had forced his way through with the help of the Marrow Cleansing Pill's medicinal power, his foundation was still somewhat unstable. Moreover, the Profound Nether Cold Qi within him was now in a weakened state due to excessive depletion.

After a full night of regulating his breathing, Lu Chen had finally stabilized his realm firmly at the early stage of the Bone Refining Realm.

Now, he felt as if his entire body was brimming with power.

With just a slight exertion of force, his bones would emit a series of sharp cracks, like the Tiger Leopard Thunder Sound.

"So this is the Bone Refining Realm..."

Lu Chen clenched his fist, feeling the terrifying strength transmitted from his palm.

If before he had relied on the defense of the Iron Cloth Shirt to grind down his opponents, now he was a true humanoid beast.

Whether in strength, speed, or explosive power, he had improved several times over!

"Bang, bang, bang!"

Urgent knocking shattered the courtyard's stillness.

Lu Chen frowned, withdrew his energy, and stood up.

Opening the door, he saw Wang Xiaoliu standing there in a panic, drenched in sweat, having even lost one of his shoes.

"Chief! Bad news! Something huge has happened!"

The moment Wang Xiaoliu saw Lu Chen, he dropped to his knees with a thud, his voice choked with tears.

"What's the panic?"

Lu Chen said coldly. "Has the sky fallen?"

"Almost!"

Wang Xiaoliu swallowed hard, trembling as he pulled a crumpled piece of paper from his chest.

"Chief, take a look at this..."

Lu Chen took it.

It was a notice.

More precisely, a Wanted Notice.

On it was a portrait of a man.

Though the drawing was somewhat crude, those cold, sharp eyes and the distinctive broken brow—anyone could recognize him at a glance: it was Lu Chen!

And beneath the portrait was a line of blood-red characters that made one's heart pound:

[Wanted Notice]

[Criminal: Lu Chen]

[Crimes: Colluding with Demons, harming fellow martial artists, murdering Flying Horse Merchant Association steward Qian Tong and several guards, and stealing the association's precious treasure!]

[Reward: Five thousand silver taels for any clue! One hundred thousand silver taels for his head! Additionally, the title of Ye Family Guest Elder of Canglan Prefecture will be granted!]

[Issued by: Ye Family of Canglan Prefecture]

"Hiss—"

Even Lu Chen couldn't help but draw a sharp breath at the numbers on the paper.

One hundred thousand taels!

This Ye Family really knew how to spend big!

After all, in this world, an ordinary person's life was worth only a few silver taels. Even the life of a Body Tempering Realm Martial Artist was only a few hundred.

One hundred thousand taels could buy half of Nujiang County!

Not to mention the title of "Ye Family Guest Elder"—a protective talisman that countless rogue cultivators dreamed of!

"Chief, the whole place has gone mad now!"

Wang Xiaoliu said with a mournful face. "This Wanted Notice was plastered all over the county's streets and alleys this morning. Not just in Nujiang County—I heard it's been posted in several neighboring counties too!"

"Now every Martial Artist in the city is looking for you! Even in our own gang... quite a few brothers have shifty eyes!"

Wealth moves men's hearts.

Faced with such an enormous bounty, so-called brotherhood in the martial world was as thin as paper.

Lu Chen stared expressionlessly at the Wanted Notice in his hand, his fingers lightly tracing the vermilion seal of the character "Ye."

He wasn't surprised.

Qian Tong was dead—the Ye Family would surely be enraged.

But he hadn't expected the Ye Family to react so quickly, so fiercely.

They'd even slapped him with a charge like "Colluding with Demons," a massive hat meant to ruin his reputation and make him a rat scurrying through the streets, beaten by all!

"It seems that signal flare was indeed for communication."

Lu Chen sneered inwardly.

The signal Qian Tong had sent before dying had not only exposed his location but also relayed his "crime" back to the Prefectural City.

"Boss, let's run!"

Wang Xiaoliu grabbed Lu Chen's thigh. "While no one's blocking the door yet, we can take the water route! Once we're in the Great Marsh Mountain Range, they won't find us!"

Lu Chen looked down at this loyal subordinate, a faint warmth stirring in his heart.

Even in a situation like this, the kid still thought about letting him escape—he was a man who valued loyalty.

"Run?"

Lu Chen shook his head, casually crumpling the Wanted Notice into a ball. With a burst of force from his palm, the paper instantly turned to powder.

"Why should I run?"

"This is Nujiang County. My turf."

"If they want to kill me, let them come."

"We'll see if their blades are sharper or my bones are harder."

Wang Xiaoliu froze.

He stared at Lu Chen's eerily calm face and suddenly felt an unprecedented aura of dominance.

That poise—unshaken even as Mount Tai crumbled before him—steadied Wang Xiaoliu's panicked heart as if by miracle.

"But... it's the Ye Family..." Wang Xiaoliu stammered.

"So what if it's the Ye Family?"

Lu Chen turned and walked into the house, his voice flat. "A strong dragon doesn't crush a local snake. Besides, I'm no snake."

"I'm a dragon."

Meanwhile.

Black Water Gang Main Hall.

Gang Leader Chen Wanli sat on the Tiger Skin Throne, a symbol of power, his face dark enough to drip water.

On the table before him lay another identical Wanted Notice.

In the hall, War Hall Master Zhao Tieshan and the other high-ranking members all kept their heads down, not daring to breathe too loudly.

"Can someone tell me what's going on?"

Chen Wanli pointed at the Wanted Notice, his voice low and strained. "Didn't Lu Chen go to scout the path for the Flying Horse Merchant Association? How did he suddenly become a wanted criminal for murder and robbery?"

"Gang Leader..."

Zhao Tieshan steeled himself and stepped forward. "This... there might be a misunderstanding. I know Brother Lu. He's ruthless, sure, but he's no backstabber. The Flying Horse Merchant Association must have tried a double-cross, and Brother Lu killed them in self-defense!"

"Self-defense?"

Chen Wanli let out a cold laugh. "That was Qian Tong! Plus four of the association's experts! Lu Chen, alone, killed them all in self-defense?"

"Well..." Zhao Tieshan was at a loss for words.

If you find this book good, to avoid losing it next time, please remember to add it to your bookshelf.

Indeed, it was a bit unbelievable.

Unless Lu Chen's strength had far exceeded their imagination.

"Self-defense or not, the problem now is that the Ye Family is furious!"

Chen Wanli slammed the table. "The Ye Family has already spoken—if our Black Water Gang doesn't hand over Lu Chen, they'll wipe us out too!"

"What?!"

The crowd was shocked.

Wipe out the Black Water Gang?

Wasn't the Ye Family being too domineering?

"Gang Leader! We can't hand him over!"

Zhao Tieshan was frantic. "Brother Lu is a hero of our gang! If we give him up, who will ever fight for the gang again?"

"Yeah, Gang Leader, we need to think this through..."

"Think through my ass!"

Chen Wanli roared. "This is the Ye Family of Canglan Prefecture! A behemoth that can crush us with a flick of its finger! For one Lu Chen, are we going to let the entire Black Water Gang be buried with him?!"

The hall fell silent in an instant.

Everyone understood the Gang Leader's meaning.

Sacrifice the pawn to save the king.

Cruel as it was, it was the most rational choice.

Zhao Tieshan clenched his fists, his eyes full of unwillingness, but he had no strength to argue.

In the face of an absolute disparity in strength, loyalty sometimes truly was just a luxury.

Just then.

A sudden commotion broke out from outside the door.

Immediately after, a gang member on guard stumbled and rushed in.

"Gang Leader! Something terrible!"

"What now?!" Chen Wanli roared impatiently.

"Someone... someone has broken in!"

"Who dares to be so bold?!"

"It's... it's..."

Before the gang member could finish.

"Boom!"

The main hall's door was suddenly kicked open by someone.

The two heavy wooden doors flew off like paper, crashing heavily to the ground, stirring up a cloud of dust.

Through the dust.

A figure in a blue long robe, hands clasped behind his back, walked in slowly.

He looked to be in his forties, with a refined face, like a schoolteacher.

But everyone present, the moment they saw him, felt their breath catch.

It was as if what walked in was not a man.

But a mountain!

That terrifying pressure made even Chen Wanli, a Meridian Connecting Realm expert, unable to help but stand up from his chair, his whole body tense.

"Who are you?" Chen Wanli asked in a deep voice.

The man paid no attention to Chen Wanli. Instead, he swept his gaze across the hall, his eyes indifferent as still water.

Finally, his gaze landed on the Wanted Notice on the table.

"The Ye Family moves quickly enough."

The man let out a light laugh, his voice not loud, yet it carried clearly to every corner.

"However, this Wanted Notice has one thing wrong."

He raised a finger and pointed through the air.

"Sss!"

The Wanted Notice on the table burst into flames out of nowhere, instantly turning to ash.

This display of "releasing inner energy externally, igniting from a distance" made everyone present's pupils contract sharply.

An expert!

An absolute expert!

"Lu Chen killed Qian Tong because Qian Tong deserved to die," the man said calmly.

"As for seizing a precious treasure..."

He turned his head to look at Chen Wanli, a meaningful smile curling at the corner of his mouth.

"That was originally an ownerless object, to be claimed by the virtuous."

"Don't you agree, Gang Leader Chen?"

Cold sweat dripped down Chen Wanli's forehead.

He couldn't see through this man's depth, but he could feel it—this man was dangerous.

Even more dangerous than the Ye Family!

"Who exactly is Your Excellency? Why meddle in the Black Water Gang's internal affairs?" Chen Wanli asked, steeling himself.

The man did not answer.

He simply turned and walked toward the door.

"Tell Lu Chen."

"I'll be waiting for him at the Ten Mile Pavilion outside the city."

"If he doesn't want to die at the Ye Family's hands."

With that, the figure vanished beyond the door like a ghost.

Leaving behind a room full of Black Water Gang higher-ups exchanging bewildered glances.

Lu Chen's small courtyard.

Lu Chen was wiping down his Hundred Refinements Steel Saber.

The blade gleamed snow-white, reflecting his calm eyes.

The wind outside was growing tighter by the day.

He could sense several powerful auras drawing near.

Greedy rogue cultivators, government spies, even old enemies from the past.

All waiting to kick him while he was down.

"Come on."

Lu Chen murmured to himself, "I'll use you to christen my blade."

Just then.

The courtyard door was knocked on again.

This time, it wasn't a frantic pounding.

But a rhythmic pattern—three long, two short.

Lu Chen raised an eyebrow.

This was a Black Water Gang internal signal.

Only those at the Hall Master level knew it.

Could it be Zhao Tieshan?

Lu Chen walked over and opened the door.

Standing outside was not Zhao Tieshan.

But someone Lu Chen never expected.

The Black Water Gang Leader, Chen Wanli.