Departure

"C-can we... can we go now?"

Someone asked cautiously, their voice trembling.

"Get lost!"

Chen Xuan said coldly.

The dozen or so people acted as if they had been granted amnesty, turning and running away.

They scrambled and shoved, pushing against one another, wishing their parents had given them an extra pair of legs.

In the blink of an eye, the bloody alley was empty, save for the corpses littering the ground and Chen Xuan standing alone.

Chen Xuan turned to look in the direction of the Treasure Pavilion.

He could feel that deep within the Treasure Pavilion, violent fluctuations of true energy were still erupting; experts of the Zhuqi Realm were fighting inside.

"A bunch of petty thieves, daring to loot a burning house with nothing but your meager strength."

Just then, a thunderous roar erupted from deep within the Treasure Pavilion.

Immediately following, a terrifying aura far surpassing that of an ordinary Zhuqi Realm expert exploded outward, carrying a heart-stopping pressure.

Chen Xuan felt his mind being fiercely gripped by an invisible force, and the true energy within his body stagnated for a moment.

The sensation was like an ant facing a giant dragon, a feeling of irresistible terror rising from the depths of his soul.

"This is... an expert above the seventh level of the Zhuqi Realm."

Chen Xuan's pupils shrank.

Without a second thought, he turned and ran.

The seventh level of the Zhuqi Realm, the Tuosu Realm, meant one had been reborn and transcended the mundane; not only was the quality of their true energy far superior to ordinary Zhuqi Realm experts, but they had also mastered the power of the mind, capable of directly influencing the spiritual world of others.

Such a powerhouse could shatter a person's mind with a single thought, forcing them to surrender without a fight.

For such experts, the common tactic of human waves was useless; they feared no siege, and even when facing an army of thousands, they could come and go as they pleased.

Though Chen Xuan was confident, he was not stupid.

With his current strength, he was certain he could handle experts at the second or third level of the Zhuqi Realm, but against a Tuosu Realm powerhouse above the seventh level, he had no chance of winning.

Rumble--

Just as Chen Xuan was leaving, a massive explosion came from deep within the Treasure Pavilion, sounding like a thunderclap from the nine heavens.

The terrifying shockwaves of true energy spread out like ripples, sweeping across the surroundings; wherever they passed, houses collapsed, walls crumbled, and the very earth trembled.

The remnants of the auction house building collapsed completely, turning into a pile of ruins.

Bricks and tiles were sent flying by the blast, whistling through the air like hidden weapons; each fragment contained terrifying power, enough to pierce armor and kill a Body Tempering martial artist.

Those martial artists still inside the auction hall "profiting from the dead" were struck by heavy injuries.

Some were crushed by giant stones and died on the spot, their brains splattered; others were blown away by the shockwave, limbs severed, letting out shrill screams in the air; others were struck in vital spots by debris, collapsing while clutching their wounds as blood gushed out.

Screams echoed one after another.

At the same time, more than a dozen figures at the Zhuqi Realm level darted out from deep within the Treasure Pavilion, fleeing in all directions.

Their speed was immense, like frightened birds, clearly terrified out of their wits by that horrific aura.

A quarter of an hour later, Chen Xuan arrived at the South City Gate.

A large crowd had already gathered at the gate: ordinary people dragging their families along, wandering martial artists carrying packs, and low-level martial artists with panicked expressions.

They stood or sat, their faces filled with terror, looking back toward the city from time to time, fearing that the horrific slaughter would spread to this area.

The City Lord's Mansion had also reinforced its guards; two rows of heavily armed guards stood at the city gate, over a hundred men, all of them at the sixth level of Body Tempering.

They wore iron armor and held long spears, scanning their surroundings with vigilant eyes, forming a tight defensive line.

Leading them was a bearded man in iron armor, an expert who had reached the Zhuqi Realm, holding a large Xuanhua axe and scanning everyone leaving the city with eyes like a hawk.

Caltrops were set up on both sides of the city gate, leaving only a narrow passage.

"By order of the City Lord, the rebels of the Seven Kill Sect are causing chaos. The entire city is under martial law. Anyone leaving the city must submit to inspection; those who disobey will be executed."

The bearded man's voice was loud, echoing through the night sky.

With a Zhuqi Realm expert presiding, those leaving the city lined up obediently in a long queue, moving forward slowly, with no one daring to cause trouble.

The guards checked them one by one, asking for names, origins, and destinations; every detail had to be verified to prevent the Seven Kill Sect rebels from blending in.

Chen Xuan stood in line, his expression calm. He was an outer disciple of the Guiyuan Sect, an identity that could withstand scrutiny, so he did not fear the guards' questioning.

The line moved slowly forward.

Soon, it was Chen Xuan's turn.

"Name?"

The guard asked without looking up.

"Chen Xuan."

"Where are you from?"

"An outer disciple of the Guiyuan Sect, dispatched to Lianshan City, currently serving as the branch leader of the Red Sun Gang in Qingshi Town. Here are my identification tokens."

Chen Xuan took out two tokens and handed them to the guard.

One was his Guiyuan Sect outer disciple token, and the other was his Red Sun Gang branch leader token.

"A disciple of the Guiyuan Sect?"

The guard took the tokens, examined them carefully, and after confirming there were no issues, returned them to Chen Xuan.

"No problem, you may pass."

The guard's attitude had become noticeably more respectful.

As one of the Three Great Sects that dominated Tiannan Prefecture, the Guiyuan Sect was not someone these guards from the City Lord's Mansion could afford to provoke.

The guards let him through immediately.

They only cared about whether the tokens were genuine; as for whether he was truly a Guiyuan Sect disciple, that was not their concern. Even if someone were impersonating one, it would be up to the people of the Guiyuan Sect to pursue the matter, which had nothing to do with them.

Chen Xuan put away his tokens and walked quickly out of the city gate.

The grievances between the Seven Kill Sect and the various major powers had nothing to do with him.

He only wanted to cultivate in peace and constantly improve his strength. In this world where the weak are prey to the strong, strength was everything.

Meanwhile, inside the prefecture city.

The death squads of the Seven Kill Sect had also been mostly wiped out.

On the streets of the East District, corpses lay scattered in disarray, blood gathering into small streams that flowed through the cracks in the bluestone pavement.

There were bodies of the Seven Kill Sect death squads, the City Lord's Mansion guards, and, most of all, innocent civilians.

This sudden catastrophe had plunged the entire city into bloodshed and chaos.

"Heaven creates all things to nourish man, yet man has no goodness to repay Heaven."

"The Seven Kill... shall last forever..."

A Seven Kill Sect martial artist whispered a slogan before dying, then collapsed stiffly to the ground.

Similar scenes were playing out simultaneously in every corner of the East District.

Not a single one of the Seven Kill Sect's death squads surrendered or fled; they all died in battle on the streets.

But their sacrifice had "bought" time for the Vice Sect Leader, who had already escaped the city with the Seven Kill Sword.

High atop a building.

Shen Qianqiu and Liu Rufeng remained where they were, watching the chaos in the city, their expressions as calm as water, as if the slaughter below were merely a play.

"A lot of people have died," Liu Rufeng said indifferently. "But they are all insignificant. Next, we just wait for the Seven Kill Sword to drink the blood of one hundred thousand people."

"One hundred thousand people's blood—it's not too much, but it's not too little either." Shen Qianqiu turned around and walked downstairs. "At the speed of the Seven Kill Sect, it will take three months at the fastest, or half a year at the slowest, to complete."

Liu Rufeng followed behind him with a faint smile on his lips. "When that time comes, the inheritance of the Sword Venerable Shasheng will belong to our three sects.

The Sword Venerable Shasheng was a powerhouse who surpassed the Grandmaster realm. To obtain this inheritance, sacrificing one hundred thousand people is worth it."

"I hope so," Shen Qianqiu's voice drifted up from below. "However, we must still guard against the Blood Fiend Devil Sect. Although our three sects are cooperating this time, the inheritance of the Sword Venerable Shasheng must not fall into the hands of the demonic path."