Exposed

Axiu clutched her head and screamed.

She had not heard the sound of the window breaking at all.

All she saw was the terrifying burly man's savage grin freezing at the corner of his mouth before his head rolled off with a gurgle.

Only a crimson neck remained.

Blood spouted like a pillar, shaking the heart.

Slaying an Entry Realm martial artist granted 1 year and 2 months of secluded cultivation time.

Remaining secluded cultivation time: 1 year and 10 months.

Axiu watched as a young man in black, holding a horizontal saber, appeared behind the headless corpse and flashed her a brilliant smile.

Yet it did not bring her the slightest comfort.

Her scream instead rose ever more shrill.

"Villain! How dare you?!"

The black-clad leader roared and charged in through the front door, only to see his subordinate had already become a soul beneath Shen Yi's blade.

Shen Yi grinned.

He raised his saber again.

Blade light scattered like shattered stars filling the sky, sweeping toward his opponent and the black-clad helpers behind him.

At the same time.

Inside the main house.

Two men in black stared at the empty room.

Their gazes immediately locked beneath the bed.

Old Jiang and Jiang-aunt were lying under the bed, trembling like leaves.

Unlike the black-clad man Shen Yi had killed, the two of them had no perverse tastes. They only wanted to complete their task as quickly as possible.

The older of the two was more cautious.

He drew the broadsword at his waist.

Power gathered along the blade, and he slashed down at the wooden bed.

With a crisp crash.

Before saber force like a surging wave, the wooden bed split in two with a crack, revealing Old Jiang and Jiang-aunt.

The black-clad man's eyes narrowed.

They were merely a pair of country folk.

Yet the residual force of his saber strike had not dissipated, and it continued howling toward Old Jiang and Jiang-aunt.

Even though the saber force was waning, if it landed on Old Jiang and Jiang-aunt, they would still be cut in half at the waist and perish on the spot.

The two men in black cared even less if they killed the wrong people.

If they died, they died.

One of their other tasks had been to silence witnesses.

Suddenly.

A shrill whistle cut through the air outside the window.

A black shadow burst through the window and plunged straight into the ground before Old Jiang and Jiang-aunt. It was a broken saber!

Its hilt was deep red, its body jet black.

Delicate patterns had been carved across it.

With a clang!

The broken saber crashed against the saber force, its blade trembling violently as it let out a long cry like a dragon's roar.

Yet it ultimately blocked the saber force.

Right after that.

A broad, towering figure leaped in through the doors and windows from the backyard.

Qin Jianghe, his entire body wrapped in bandages.

He smashed through the doors and windows, charging in at full gallop!

"If I let my lifesavers die before Qin's very eyes, what face would Qin have left to drag out a wretched existence in this world!"

Qin Jianghe strode before Old Jiang and Jiang-aunt, shielding them with his body.

He snatched up the broken saber from the ground.

Facing the two men in black, he held the saber crosswise in both hands before him and declared loudly:

"Whatever means you have, bring them all at me!"

The two men in black exchanged a glance.

Both saw wild delight in the other's eyes.

"Qin Jianghe, you are exactly who we were looking for!"

Boom!

The two sides shot toward each other like arrows loosed from the string, crashing together thunderously.

Crash.

Accompanied by a wooden door splintering into pieces, the black-clad leader flew backward and slammed heavily onto the ground.

Shen Yi emerged with a saber in one hand.

In the other, he dragged the corpse of another black-clad man.

He stood at the entrance to Axiu's room.

Casually, he tossed the black-clad corpse to one side.

Shen Yi glanced toward the main house. He had heard fighting from inside just now, so there had to have been some other development.

Or perhaps.

That had been the purpose for which these black-clad men had come.

But he did not dwell on it. He acted only according to his heart, and he had already gained no small harvest from this fight.

After killing one man just now.

He continued to carry out his strategy of attacking the enemy's weakness.

He focused his attacks on the weaker black-clad man. As for the black-clad leader, he merely used the "Deflect" formula and the "Entangle" formula to circle around him in battle.

Shen Yi's saber technique had already surpassed that of the men in black.

After changing tactics.

That black-clad man could not withstand even two moves, and the black-clad leader had to repeatedly come to his rescue. Otherwise, he would have died immediately.

Yet even with the black-clad leader watching over him.

That black-clad subordinate was like the shortest stave in a barrel. Once Shen Yi had his eye on him, he was ultimately unable to escape death.

Shen Yi silently recited in his heart:

"Pour one year of secluded cultivation time into the Fragmentary Array Breaker Art."

You had already mastered the Fragmentary Array Breaker Art inside and out. The path to perfection lay clear before you; all that remained was to tread forward step by step until success was achieved.

After one year of secluded cultivation, your inner force accumulated like an endlessly flowing river, while your meridians expanded like water dripping through stone. Success was in sight.

With the aid of that instant of secluded cultivation.

In the midst of battle, Shen Yi's inner force became even more abundant in the span of a breath, surging like a river.

With one slash.

He knocked aside the black-clad leader's steel fork.

Then he slashed again.

Taking the life of that black-clad subordinate.

He gained another 1 year and 3 months of secluded cultivation time.

Remaining secluded cultivation time: 2 years and 1 month.

Terror appeared in the black-clad leader's eyes.

He too had heard the fighting in the main house.

They must have already caught the hidden Qin Jianghe. The man was seriously injured and already at the end of his tether.

With several of them acting together, capturing him should have been as easy as turning over one's hand.

Who could have expected Shen Yi to emerge halfway through?

Just who was this man?

Suddenly.

A flash of inspiration struck the black-clad leader's mind, and he shouted sharply:

"Your saber technique!"

"It is the Pacification Office's Wind Severing Blade!"

"You are a Black Guard of the Pacification Office?!"

The black-clad leader immediately shook his head.

"No!"

"When Black Guards go out, they always wear black robes embroidered with silver cranes and carry long Embroidered Spring Blades at their waists. You clearly do not wish for anyone to recognize your whereabouts!"

"You!"

The black-clad leader suddenly understood.

"I know now!"

"You are Shen Yi! You fled the Pacification Office two days ago and are now wanted by the Pacification Office!"

Shen Yi narrowed his eyes slightly.

He had not expected the other man to identify him solely from his saber technique.

This Wind Severing Blade was far too recognizable.

Then even stronger killing intent burst from his eyes. Since the man had recognized him.

He absolutely could not be allowed to live.

The black-clad leader also sensed the killing intent in Shen Yi's eyes and immediately understood that Shen Yi meant to kill him to silence him.

He hurriedly explained:

"Shen Yi!"

"You are now wanted by the Pacification Office! Like a dog without a home, is that not pitiful?"

"But our Whale Gang does not fear the Pacification Office."

"As long as you help us capture Qin Jianghe, we will let bygones be bygones over our previous conflict. We can even admit you into the gang, giving you a place to settle!"

"What do you say?"

Shen Yi ran one palm over the gleaming blade.

"Your Whale Gang is powerful and does not fear the Pacification Office. That, I believe. But you, a mere Second-Class Realm martial artist, can make such a decision?"

"How am I supposed to believe that?"

The black-clad leader panicked.

"I am the deputy incense master of the Whale Gang's Yaksha Branch. I can speak before the Military Advisor—I can personally guarantee you!"

Seeing that Shen Yi's killing intent had not diminished but instead grown stronger, the black-clad leader's words began to tremble ever more:

"As long as!"

"As long as you spare my life!"

Shen Yi grinned.

"You seem rather knowledgeable."

"If you can recognize this strike, I will spare your life."

Shen Yi held his saber across his body.

His feet stood one before the other.

As saber intent gathered, everything became utterly still, and all sounds fell silent.

Within that silence.

The black-clad leader seemed to hear the wind beginning to rise.

Bang!