Blood Nail City Wall

As Wang Quan stepped out of the creaking wooden door of Wei Dayong's house, the night descended like thick ink. The moment he left the courtyard, four chilling presences locked onto him from different directions like venomous snakes!

From the darkness, a tall, gaunt man with a pale, paper-like face, holding an ancient compass, appeared first. The compass needle was fixed firmly in Wang Quan's direction, emitting a faint hum. His voice was sharp and carried a condescending tone as he scrutinized Wang Quan. "It's him! His aura is blazing like fire, his blood like mercury! The perfect test subject our master is looking for... yes!"

Beside him, a burly man with a face full of flesh and sinew grinned menacingly and stepped forward. His palm, like a large fan, reached directly for Wang Quan's shoulder. His voice was hoarse, "Kid, you're lucky. Our master fancies you. Come with us obediently, and you'll suffer less physical pain. If you resist..." He cracked his knuckles, the threat palpable.

Wang Quan didn't even lift his eyelids. The instant the man's fingers were about to touch the hem of his clothes, his figure blurred like a phantom!

The next moment, he was already several yards away. Without stopping, his form became an almost invisible black shadow, moving at a speed far beyond normal comprehension. With a few leaps, he crossed the silent street and headed straight for the desolate fields outside the city.

The four men clearly hadn't expected their target to be so terrifyingly fast. Filled with shock and anger, they immediately urged their movement techniques to give chase. Their speed was not slow either; they were clearly skilled, at least masters who had touched the threshold of the Mortal Transformation Realm, and they kept close behind Wang Quan.

In the blink of an eye, both parties landed on an open field ridge outside the city. The moonlight was pale, illuminating withered stubble and cold earth.

Wang Quan stopped and slowly turned around, his gaze calmly sweeping over the four men who were closing in, forming a semi-circle. "Who do you belong to? Li Chongshan?"

The tall, gaunt man holding the compass stiffened, seemingly surprised that Wang Quan had directly named the General of the Middle Army. But he quickly sneered, "Since you've guessed, why not surrender? You can't imagine the methods of our master, you mere peasant who stumbled upon some luck!"

Before he finished speaking, the man with the fleshy face couldn't hold back any longer. He let out a roar, "Why waste words! Take him down!" He lunged forward, a fierce grappling hand aimed directly at Wang Quan's throat. The wind from his fingers was sharp, clearly indicating he practiced a brutal bone-breaking and muscle-dislocating technique.

Wang Quan didn't even make an obvious dodging motion. Just as the man's claws were about to touch him, his shoulder shifted imperceptibly. The man's confident grab inexplicably missed, grazing Wang Quan's collar.

In the gap created by his movement, Wang Quan casually raised his right foot and, with a seemingly light kick, struck the man's lower abdomen.

"Bang!"

A muffled thud. The sturdy man was sent flying backward as if hit by a charging bull. He spewed a large mouthful of blood mixed with internal organ fragments in mid-air, landing heavily in a ditch seven or eight meters away. He twitched twice and fell silent.

"What?!"

The pupils of the remaining three men contracted sharply, their faces etched with horror. They hadn't seen how Wang Quan made his move at all! One kick, a seemingly casual kick, had killed a master close to the Mortal Transformation Realm?

"Tough opponent! Let's go together!" the tall, gaunt man shrieked. The three no longer dared to be careless. They unleashed their full cultivation simultaneously, their fists, palms, and fingers attacking Wang Quan's vital points from three different angles with whistling gusts of wind! Their coordination was seamless, their attacks like a storm, blocking all escape routes.

However, Wang Quan remained standing in place, not moving an inch. He didn't even raise his hands to block.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

Three muffled thuds, like hitting thick leather, sounded almost simultaneously. The three attacks landed squarely on Wang Quan's chest, back, and ribs.

But Wang Quan's clothes didn't even sway. The faint luster on his skin, like old bronze, flashed slightly. All the force vanished as if a clay ox had entered the sea, disappearing without a trace.

The three men felt as if their fists had struck a mountain ten thousand feet high. The recoil sent sharp pain through their wrists, their blood churned, and their faces instantly lost all color.

Wang Quan slowly raised his head. The moonlight shone on his expressionless face, his eyes as indifferent as ancient ice. "Haven't eaten enough? Or... is that all the strength you have?"

His calm words carried a chill that seeped into their bones.

The tall, gaunt man's alarm bells rang wildly. A sense of fatal crisis gripped him. He screamed, trying to retreat, "Retreat! Quick, retreat! The intel was wrong! He's not in the Mortal Transformation Realm..."

"Crack!"

His words abruptly stopped. Wang Quan's hand, which had appeared who knew when, clamped onto his left knee like an iron vise. There were no extra movements, just a gentle clench of his fingers.

A sickening sound of bone cracking exploded! The tall, gaunt man's left leg bent backward at a bizarre angle, white bone shards instantly piercing his flesh and exposing themselves to the air!

"Ah!" A scream, so piercing it didn't sound human, tore through the night sky.

Wang Quan casually tossed the screaming, tall, gaunt man aside like a dead dog. He turned his gaze to the other two, who were already terrified and frozen in place.

"Since you don't want to talk, there's no need," Wang Quan's voice remained calm, but it announced the final judgment. "If I kill you, someone will naturally come looking for me."

Before his voice faded, he moved again. Like a tiger entering a flock of sheep, the remaining two couldn't even mount an effective resistance. One was struck in the chest by Wang Quan's seemingly casual palm, his chest instantly caving in, a bloody hole erupting from his back. The other was hit by a fierce whip kick to the waist, flying out like a broken stalk of straw, his spine snapped into several segments, lifeless upon landing.

In the blink of an eye, only four corpses, still warm, remained on the field ridge, along with the tall, gaunt man clutching his broken leg and writhing in agony.

Wang Quan strode in front of the tall, gaunt man, looking down at his face, contorted by extreme pain and fear.

"You... what kind of monster are you..." the tall, gaunt man stammered, tears streaming down his face, "This power... it's not the Mortal Transformation Realm at all... Our master won't let you go..."

Wang Quan bent down, leaning close to his ear, and spoke in a voice only they could hear, his words as cold as ice:

"Who told you I was only in the Mortal Transformation Realm?"

"Forgot to mention, my physical body... is already at Core Condensation."

The tall, gaunt man's pupils dilated to their absolute limit. Endless fear and disbelief froze on his face. The next moment, Wang Quan's toe lightly tapped his temple. After an inaudible bone-cracking sound, the field ridge returned to absolute silence.

Wang Quan scanned the area with a blank expression. He bent down, grabbed the ankles of the four corpses, and, like dragging sacks of garbage, began walking towards the city walls of Anping County.

The heavy footsteps echoed in the silent night. He dragged the four corpses to the base of the tall city walls. It was already the dead of night. The soldiers on guard duty on the ramparts seemed to have heard the commotion; the light of torches flickered.

Wang Quan ignored it all. He took a deep breath, and the terrifying power within him, comparable to a Great Demon at Core Condensation, erupted! He clenched his right fist, his arm muscles bulging. With a piercing shriek that tore through the air, he slammed his fist into the solid city wall!

"BOOM!!!"

A deafening roar shook nearly half of Anping County! Bricks and debris flew. The thick city wall was brutally smashed, leaving four shocking dents!

He casually stuffed the four corpses into the dents like nails, forcefully embedding them into the wall! The corpses were twisted and deformed, firmly lodged within the wall. Dark red blood slowly flowed down the wall, forming an extremely bloody and terrifying pattern under the pale moonlight.

After finishing, Wang Quan brushed the dust off his hands as if he had just completed a trivial task. He looked up, his cold gaze sweeping over the pale-faced, terrified, and silent guards on the ramparts. Then, he turned and melted into the shadows beneath the city wall, disappearing.

All that remained were the four ghastly corpses embedded in the city wall, and the nauseating smell of blood lingering in the air.

Above the city walls, there was a deathly silence. Only the crackling of burning torches and the suppressed chattering of the soldiers' teeth could be heard.