Nine Heavens Crimson Thunder Art

Li Ye and Zhou Bao chatted a while longer before each returning to rest.

He slept straight through until the afternoon.

A blood-soaked corpse was carried up from down the mountain, alarming the upper ranks of the Corpse Refining Courtyard.

"Draw lots."

A Middle-aged Man in a yellow robe spoke with his back to the crowd.

The room immediately fell silent.

Someone brought over a teacup. The leaders of the Black-Clad Academicians in charge of the various courtyards stepped forward one after another and used two fingers to pluck a folded note from the cup.

They then unfolded them.

In the end, everyone's gaze settled on Wu Qing, the leader of the Black-Clad Academicians in charge of Courtyard No. 3.

"Courtyard No. 3, assigned roast chicken."

The Esteemed Deacon in yellow said it in a tone that brooked no argument.

Li Ye got out of bed to find a roast chicken sitting outside his door.

There was also a jug of wine.

His heart sank. "Roast chicken again."

Li Ye did not dare delay. He immediately ran to the Corpse Incineration Room to light the fire and heat the furnace.

Then he returned and wolfed down the roast chicken and wine.

Halfway through eating, Li Ye discovered a note inside the chicken's belly. Unfolding it, he found several lines of small writing.

They contained someone's basic information.

Zhou Lie: Constable of Dragon City. Obsessive by nature, violent-tempered, possessed immense strength, skilled with the saber, and known as Mad Blade.

Died at noon. Currently undergoing Corpse Transformation.

Li Ye nearly spat out the chicken in his mouth.

Obsessive by nature, possessed immense strength?

The former meant his obsessions ran deep; the latter meant he had excellent physical conditioning. And he had been a constable in Dragon City, with cultivation to boot.

This was fucking one hundred percent perfect conditions for Corpse Transformation. No wonder he transformed before nightfall—if he hadn't transformed, that would have been the strange part.

"Hehe, with you bunch of wine sacks and rice bags, you think you can catch me?"

A brazen voice rang through the prosperous Yang City.

With two loud bangs, two constables were kicked dozens of meters away by a powerful foot. Their chests caved in, their organs ruptured, and they died on the spot.

Atop a high wall, a black-clothed, masked man of medium build let out a sinister cackle.

The man promptly turned into an afterimage and sped away.

Suddenly, several flashes of cold light appeared ahead—the steel sabers of the constables.

The Black-clothed Man did not slow down. He sprang into the air, his palms and fingers striking repeatedly through empty space as Qi Mang scattered in every direction.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The constables were sent flying in an instant, collapsing to the ground and unable to rise.

The Black-clothed Man continued onward, only to encounter another group of constables blocking his way. A ferocious glint flashed in his eyes. His legs dragged out layer upon layer of afterimages as he unleashed a chain of kicks, sending the obstructing constables flying like sandbags and shattering their weapons into fragments.

The lighter injuries left those constables with broken tendons and shattered bones; the worse ones had their breastbones crushed, their hearts burst apart, and died.

The Black-clothed Man's legs were like divine iron, swift as lightning and immensely powerful. Even the constables' hundred-forged steel sabers shattered effortlessly beneath his kicks.

The people in the distance felt chills rise from the depths of their hearts. Such power was truly rare.

This black-clothed, masked man was none other than the legendary Night Roaming God. He cast a contemptuous glance around him before drifting away.

Screech!

A glowing sword whistled toward him, its sharp aura bursting forth in all directions.

"Qi Gathering Realm Great Perfection?"

Night Roaming God was greatly shocked. He flipped backward to evade the incoming weapon.

Thud!

The longsword missed and plunged into a thick wall of blue bricks, its hilt swaying and trembling.

Before Night Roaming God could react, a cyan afterimage swept in. A White Palm seized the sword hilt and, with a gentle exertion of force, pulled the longsword from the wall.

The mirror-bright, snow-white blade reflected a handsome face.

He looked eighteen or nineteen, with sword-like brows sweeping into his temples, cool phoenix eyes, a high nose bridge, thin lips, and an air of heroic spirit.

Night Roaming God's expression suddenly turned ugly. "Divine Concealment Sect?"

"You've made your move too."

The youngster said blandly, "With you here, where would that leave the Divine Concealment Sect's reputation?"

"Night Roaming God, you're the one courting death. Hand over your life!"

As soon as the man in azure finished speaking, a chilling killing intent blanketed the entire alley.

"Is that so? Catch me first, then talk."

"Hehe!"

Night Roaming God chuckled twice. Swift as a startled hare, his body flickered, and he shot toward the distant place at an unimaginable speed.

Swoosh!

Who would have thought that the man in azure would follow like a shadow? Like a green hurricane, he appeared before Night Roaming God, the longsword in his hand sweeping for the other man's throat.

Night Roaming God's heart jolted. He leaned backward to evade the sword, while his thick, iron-like leg viciously kicked toward the youngster's chest.

Boom!

The air exploded in bursts beneath his foot.

This kick carried the force of a thousand jun!

No, ten thousand jun!

The man in azure seemed to have expected it. His expression remained calm as his body tilted and fell toward the ground, yet did not fully collapse. Like a roly-poly toy, he avoided the kick.

Seeing his kick miss, Night Roaming God stopped fighting and decisively fled the scene.

Yet the man in azure followed like a shadow, catching up ahead of him once more.

"Soaring Dragon Movement Technique?"

Night Roaming God cried out.

Corpse Refining Courtyard:

Two Corpse Deliverers carried a blood-soaked corpse into the Corpse Incineration Room. After setting it down, they hurriedly left.

The Black-Clad Academicians flooded in, staring coldly at Li Ye.

Li Ye cupped his hands slightly, then entered the Corpse Incineration Room without another word.

Immediately afterward, a Black-Clad Academician stepped forward and locked the door.

The Corpse Wrapping Cloth had been dyed scarlet with blood, with several strands of red hair mixed within it.

A red-haired monster?

The corpse had indeed transformed!

Li Ye's heart tightened. Rather than approach, he directly activated his skill.

"Words Manifest Reality!"

"Corpse Suppressing Incantation!"

He shouted softly. A faint glow flowed over his tongue as he recited the enhanced eighty-one-character Corpse Suppressing Incantation in one breath, finally forming a dazzling Golden Light that shot forth.

"It's faster."

Li Ye noticed the difference between the enhanced Corpse Suppressing Incantation and before.

The speed had increased by a great deal.

The Golden Light it unleashed was also far more brilliant, its power more than doubled.

The consumption was greater than before, but still within what he could bear.

Bang!

The light of the Corpse Suppressing Incantation was like a golden Electric Arc, landing on the corpse in the blink of an eye and making it shudder violently.

Then it went still.

It worked?

Delighted, Li Ye stepped forward to inspect it.

When he lifted the Corpse Wrapping Cloth, he revealed a rugged face covered in stubble. The man's eyes were wide with fury, baleful qi churning in his pupils as though they were about to bulge from their sockets.

Li Ye jumped at the vicious sight.

There was a deep bloody footprint in the corpse's chest, its five internal organs completely shattered.

This had been the fatal wound suffered by the corpse's owner while he was alive.

"That kick had to contain ten thousand jin of strength."

Li Ye's scalp tingled.

The corpse was already covered in red hair, each strand around ten centimeters long.

...was still growing.

Li Ye hesitated no longer and threw the corpse into the Corpse Incineration Furnace.

The growth of Red Hair meant the corpse was undergoing a Corpse Transformation, its strength constantly rising.

If he delayed any longer, it would surely break free from the Corpse Suppressing Incantation's restraints.

The firelight swayed, unfolding Images from the corpse Master's life.

They were more or less the same as what had been recorded on that sheet of paper.

This man had cultivated since childhood, tempered his body, and upon reaching adulthood entered the yamen as a Constable, eventually becoming Chief Constable.

For the next dozen-odd years, he fought criminals without cease.

But this fellow had a violent temper. Once he started fighting, his killing intent could not be reined in.

He had injured innocents on many occasions.

Thus, he was demoted from Chief Constable back to Constable, and his salary plummeted.

Whenever Zhou Lie was punished until he had not a penny to his name, he would find a place to wipe out bandits and make a fortune.

Buzz!

A stream of white mist shot out and burrowed into Li Ye's body.

Ever since entering the fifth level of the Body Tempering Realm, Li Ye had clearly felt that the amount of Body Tempering cultivation he required had increased.

In the past, two months' worth of cultivation was enough to break through one level.

Now, even three months might not be enough.

Zhou Lie had been so fierce—surely the refined cultivation essence within his corpse would be quite considerable.

Li Ye could not help but look forward to it.

The next moment, a passage of scripture appeared in his mind.

Not Body Tempering cultivation?

Li Ye was somewhat disappointed.

Nine Heavens Crimson Thunder Art: When you cultivate it to the utmost limit, nothing will remain unbroken. But its origins are mysterious. Cultivate carefully.

A cultivation method from this world? Li Ye was slightly dazed.

His mind held quite a few cultivation methods and experiences from the Holy Son's training, but with the divine artifact that was the Corpse Incineration Furnace, Li Ye had almost forgotten about cultivation itself.

That was right, I need a cultivation method to train with too.

Li Ye thought to himself.