Ping'an County's eastern outskirts.
The Jinyiwei Baihu Office barracks.
Chen Fan's residence.
After washing up, Chen Fan sat cross-legged on his bed. With a thought, he checked his attributes panel:
[Name: Chen Fan]
[Realm: Spirit Concealment Realm (Limit)]
[Cultivation Methods: Body Tempering Fist (Perfect) Draw Sword Slash (Perfect) Heaven and Earth Grinding Disc Fist (Perfect)]
[Remaining Lifespan: 100 years]
[Current Demonic Creature Lifespan: 3,175 years]
Ever since he had cultivated the Heaven and Earth Grinding Disc Fist to the Great Perfection Level, he had broken through the Ten Realms of Martial Dao and condensed an Innate Body. His aptitude had improved, and even his lifespan had increased substantially.
Ordinarily, though, someone at the Spirit Concealment Realm Peak could live for around a hundred and fifty years. But this body of his was only sixteen years old, and even though he had reached the limit of the Spirit Concealment Realm, he had only a hundred years of lifespan left.
Talk about rotten luck!
Still, he had reached the pinnacle of the Spirit Concealment Realm, making him invincible among those at the same level and stronger than Demonic Creatures of the same realm. He was more than satisfied with that.
He had personally slain most of the Demonic Creatures they'd killed that day, so he'd accumulated a vast amount of Demonic Creature Lifespan in a single day.
Over three thousand years! When had he ever fought such a wealthy battle?
"I have to go to Longyuan Prefecture and exchange for a Spirit Aperture Realm Cultivation Method. If I can also get a powerful blade technique and a movement technique, that'd be even better."
"Over three thousand years of Demonic Creature Lifespan looks like a lot, but my aptitude and comprehension are honestly pretty average. I might need even more to cultivate a Spirit Aperture Realm Cultivation Method to Great Perfection."
"If I want to refine it further and make it more complete, better suited to me, and more powerful, then I may need an ocean of lifespan. These three thousand years might not even be enough!"
"Besides, I still need to learn more advanced blade and movement techniques. Those all require lifespan to refine. At first glance I look rich, but in reality I'm still pretty poor."
"But with this much capital, entering the Spirit Aperture Realm will be much easier. I can also speed up the opening of my acupoints and rapidly increase my strength. It's still a big step forward."
Chen Fan thought as he looked at the Demonic Creature Lifespan on his attributes panel. He was like a rich landlord counting the grain in his storehouse. This was the capital he needed to cultivate!
The next second.
Chen Fan seemed to sense the atmosphere around him changing. A wave of danger swept over him, and he sprang up from the bed, grabbing the Embroidered Spring Blade from the table in his bedroom.
Rumble!
A tremendous crash suddenly rang out. A massive, pitch-black figure dropped from the sky and smashed Chen Fan's residence to pieces.
Chen Fan leaped away, putting several yards between himself and the enormous creature. Only after it hit the ground did he realize it was a gigantic Black Gorilla!
"Roar! Roar! Roar!"
The Black Gorilla pounded its chest, then let out a furious roar. It glared at Chen Fan with eyes as big as bells, roared, and swung its fist at him with all its might.
"Give me back my two cousins' lives!"
Chen Fan: "???"
Could it be talking about the two Ape Demons he'd killed at the Ping'an County Teaching Official's home?
Those had been White Apes, and this damn thing was a Black Gorilla. Why was it claiming they were relatives?
Rumble!
Facing a fist as big as a cooking pot, Chen Fan felt no fear. He punched back just as hard. It was as if a savage dragon lay coiled within him; he unleashed his strength, his fist shooting out like a dragon, unstoppable!
Crack!
The two fists, one large and one small, smashed together. A sharp crack rang out, and the Black Gorilla's fist was blown apart by Chen Fan's punch.
Chen Fan leaped into the air and kicked the Black Gorilla squarely in the head. The tremendous force sent it flying, smashing through half a wall, and Chen Fan's house collapsed completely!
The Black Gorilla crashed heavily to the ground, its head caved in. Chen Fan's kick had crushed its skull. Blood poured from its seven orifices; it was clearly breathing its last.
Just then, Chen Fan felt the ground tremble slightly. Two hands suddenly shot up from beneath him, grabbed both his legs, and tried to drag him underground!
He staggered, then stomped down hard, snapping the arms clamped around him. He plunged one hand deep into the earth and yanked out a small pangolin. Grabbing it by the head, he twisted hard and killed it on the spot!
"Kill!"
At that moment, Li Mo and seven Jinyiwei Xiaoqi Officers under his command rushed at Chen Fan from all sides alongside more than a dozen Demonic Creatures. They wore night clothes and had their faces covered.
But the Embroidered Spring Blades in their hands and the standard-issue Jinyiwei boots on their feet had already given them away. In truth, they didn't care whether Chen Fan saw through their disguises.
Tonight, it was either his death or theirs. There was no third option.
Their masks were nothing but a fig leaf, a way to hide their guilty consciences!
"You're nothing but a pack of rabble. Even if twice as many of you came, I could still slaughter you all!"
"Cao De, you cur, why don't you come out and fight me yourself?"
"Why stir up the Demonic Creatures and a bunch of fools to attack me instead?"
"Are you trying to wear me down?"
Chen Fan shouted. His thousand-forged Embroidered Spring Blade, cast from black iron, slid from its sheath as he unleashed the Great Perfection-level Draw Sword Slash. His blade flashed coldly. A Snake Demon's head split in two, and Demon Blood dyed the sky!
"Don't get cocky! I'll take your head!"
"Raging Blade Eight Slashes!"
Li Mo roared from within the crowd, Embroidered Spring Blade in hand. He unleashed a far more profound blade technique, and his blade whirled like a storm. A dense gale of blade energy surged up and swept straight toward Chen Fan!
This was a blade technique Li Mo had exchanged for with years of accumulated merit at the armory of the Longyuan Prefecture Jinyiwei Commander's Office. It could be called an advanced version of the Draw Sword Slash.
Cultivated to its peak, this technique could unleash eight blade auras with a single strike. It was terrifyingly powerful. Li Mo could only produce three blade auras, but that was still enough to make him proud.
With this technique, he could kill a Spirit Concealment Realm Fourth Stage Demonic Creature despite being only at the beginning of the Spirit Concealment Realm Fifth Stage. He could even fight one at the Fifth Stage!
He knew he might not be a match for Chen Fan, but Chen Fan had more than just him to deal with today. With so many Demonic Creatures and martial experts closing in, even two fists couldn't fend off four hands!
"All members of the Ping'an County Jinyiwei Baihu Office, follow me and slay the Demonic Creatures!"
"Kill! Kill! Kill!"
At that moment, the entire Ping'an County Jinyiwei Baihu Office lit up. Lu Xuenning, Huang Chengyue, Wang Chao, Qin Yuan, and Zhao Changfeng—the three Xiaoqi Officers—suddenly arrived with more than forty Jinyiwei.
Wearing Flying Fish Robes and wielding Embroidered Spring Blades, they charged straight at the dozen or so Demonic Creatures and the seven Xiaoqi Officers!
"How could this be?"
"Who let the secret out?"
Li Mo was horrified. His blade technique fell into disarray, and Chen Fan seized the opening, slicing off his right hand. The Embroidered Spring Blade fell from his grasp and clattered to the ground.
He tried to move, but Chen Fan's blade had already come to rest against his neck.
"Li Mo, you thought you'd covered your tracks perfectly. You deliberately arranged for Zhang Kai to watch every move Lord Chen Fan made, but we were keeping an eye on him too!"
"Today, after Lord Chen Fan returned to the Baihu Office, Zhang Kai slipped out to secretly warn you. Little did he know, everything was under Brother Wang Chao's watch."
"Our aim was to draw you out."
"Now, with more than forty Jinyiwei brothers, three Jinyiwei Xiaoqi Officers, the former Jinyiwei Zongqi Officer, and the County Yamen's ninth-rank Black-Robed Head Catcher as witnesses, the evidence that you colluded with demonic creatures to murder your colleagues is irrefutable. What do you have to say for yourselves?"
The Jinyiwei Xiaoqi Officer Zhao Changfeng stepped up to Li Mo and yanked off the mask covering his face, revealing his true appearance.
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