A Thousand Jin of Strength

Chen Guan stepped up to the warehouse entrance.

He saw Qingshi County's soldiers slaughtering the surrounding commoners indiscriminately.

Several hundred people had already died here, and the rest dared not approach any further.

"Stop!"

He bellowed and directly blocked himself in front of the commoners.

Li Tong frowned as he walked out. "Chen Guan? You still dare to come into the city?"

"The ones colluding with demons are the Qin Family. Has Lord Li still not received word by now?"

Chen Guan's words left Li Tong momentarily speechless.

After a long pause, he finally spoke. "This official has naturally received word, but the Qin Family's collusion doesn't prove you're innocent! Besides, why are you blocking me here now?"

"Li Tong, give me back my son!"

"Lord Chen, Li Tong has captured the city's children and locked them in this warehouse!"

"That's right, Lord Chen, you must seek justice for us!"

"..."

The commoners fell to their knees one after another, wailing loudly.

Anyone seeing such a scene could hardly fail to feel compassion!

Yet Li Tong looked down on them with utter disdain.

"You say there are children in this warehouse? This official has already opened it for you—there's nothing inside but grain!"

Li Tong stepped forward and declared in a loud voice.

Chen Guan frowned at him.

That day, he had seen with his own eyes the children locked up here.

"Lord Chen, don't listen to his lies—he must have hidden the children away beforehand!"

The commoners glared at Li Tong and accused him loudly.

But with the children no longer in the warehouse, there was no evidence to execute Li Tong!

"Everyone, go back for now. I'll find a way to get the children back!"

Chen Guan knew the commoners gathered here were useless!

They would only provoke Li Tong into attacking them.

Only then did Li Tong look smug. "Lord Chen is right—you mustn't wrong this official. I have devoted myself to Qingshi County for years!"

His words were utterly mocking at this moment.

The commoners were deeply reluctant, but seeing Chen Guan's expression, they agreed.

Just as Chen Guan was about to leave, Li Tong came up beside him. "Lord Chen, since the Qin Family has colluded with demons, this official has already sent men to take over the Chen Family. You need not involve yourself in this matter!"

His cunning gaze made Chen Guan instantly understand why he had only appeared after the Qin Family soldiers were dealt with.

So this was Li Tong's deliberate scheme.

Li Tong was using his hand to eliminate the Qin Family.

That way, all the credit for taking Qingshi County would be his alone.

"Then I'll leave it to Lord Li!"

Chen Guan did not refuse; he simply cupped his hands and left.

He believed the children had not been completely moved by Li Tong!

So he planned to return at night to check—if he could rescue the children, that would be best.

He returned to the Qin Family and had Qin Yanran arrange a quiet room for him.

"Open the system panel."

Chen Guan sat cross-legged on the bed and spoke slowly.

[Host: Chen Guan]
[Lifespan: 4 years]
[Demon Lifespan: 1,100 years]
[Martial Art Pecking Sparrow Strength (Mortal Grade High Rank), upgrade to next realm requires Lifespan: 0/120 years]
[Martial Art Whirlwind Wind Steps (Mortal Grade High Rank), upgrade to next realm requires Lifespan: 0/300 years]
[Technique Dragon Elephant Subduing Demon Art (Mystic Grade Low Rank), current progress: 3/9, upgrade to next realm requires Lifespan: 0/800 years]

Looking at the information displayed on the system panel, the Demon Lifespan he now possessed was enough to advance one realm of the Dragon Elephant Subduing Demon Art.

Moreover, it could elevate the realm of Whirlwind Wind Steps by one level.

Next, he would secretly go to rescue the children.

The enemies he would face were of unknown cultivation levels, so naturally, the stronger he became now, the better.

"Upgrade Dragon Elephant Subduing Demon Art and Whirlwind Wind Steps."

Chen Guan issued the command without any hesitation.

Immediately after, his dantian radiated a golden light.

The dragon-elephant silhouette flickering over his body became noticeably clearer.

Having already fused with the Dragon Elephant Power, it now began circulating through his meridians on its own.

After a short while, all the Dragon Elephant Power converged into his dantian.

[Dragon Elephant Subduing Demon Art upgraded to Layer 4, entering Blood Forging Realm Layer 4, obtaining Layer 4 Dragon Elephant Power. Lifespan required for next realm: 0/1600 years]

[Whirlwind Wind Steps (Mortal Grade High Rank) upgraded to Minor Completion, speed increased by 60%, obtaining martial art Exquisite Leg. Lifespan required for next realm: 0/450 years]

The system prompt sounded in his mind.

Chen Guan stood up and swung his fists, a smile spreading across his face.

His strength now exceeded a thousand jin—a far cry from what it once was.

And now that he had entered the Blood Forging Realm's fourth layer, his chances of success in tonight's operation would be much higher.

The night was dark and the wind high.

Chen Guan wore a set of night clothes that Qin Yanran had prepared for him.

He stealthily made his way to the warehouse behind the County Office.

Although quite a few Officers were guarding the area, at this hour they had long since fallen into a deep sleep.

Chen Guan slipped into the warehouse with ease.

And just as Li Tong had said.

The warehouse now contained nothing but piles of grain—nothing else.

The children he had seen imprisoned here earlier were nowhere to be found!

But there had been so many children here; if Li Tong wanted to move them, it would have caused a huge commotion.

So the children must still be here somewhere, simply hidden away by Li Tong using some unknown method.

He paced back and forth through the warehouse, observing his surroundings.

But he failed to notice the faint silver light flickering among the grain.

"Where the hell are the children hidden?"

Chen Guan muttered to himself, his brows tightly furrowed.

The moment he approached the innermost wall, hundreds of Officers sprang out from among the grain stores.

"Chen Guan, the magistrate knew you'd come to the warehouse tonight, so he had us waiting long in advance!"

The leader stepped forward with a cold laugh.

Chen Guan stared at them coldly, showing not a trace of panic.

If he wanted to find where the children were, he needed someone who knew the truth to lead the way.

"Let's get started."

He stretched his body.

Now was the perfect chance to use these Officers to see just how strong he had become.

"Kill him!"

The leading Officer roared and charged forward with his men.

Chen Guan activated Whirlwind Wind Steps and plunged into the crowd, landing an Exquisite Leg kick on an Officer's stomach.

The thousand-jin force shattered the Officer's internal organs, killing him mid-air before he even hit the ground.

The strongest among these Officers was only at the second layer of Blood Forging Realm. Chen Guan cut through the crowd like he was walking through an empty field.

Screams echoed throughout the warehouse, but none of them escaped beyond its walls.

Just as he was slaughtering his way through, various traps suddenly emerged from the surrounding walls.

Countless poisoned needles and hidden weapons shot out from all directions, completely surrounding Chen Guan.