Double Kill

The two constables were unfortunate. Even at death, they never understood that their superior had used them as guns.

But they were fortunate too, because even if they had understood, they still could not have escaped the fate of being used as guns.

Better to die in muddleheaded ignorance and be done with it all.

"Hey!"

"You inside—Shen Yi, right?"

"We know you're hiding in there, but I'll still give you a word of advice. Come out obediently."

"Murdering fellow officials is a capital crime. We'll leave you an intact corpse and spare you too much suffering."

"But if you end up in our Pacification Office's Imperial Prison, those seventy-two punishments—every single one will make you wish you were dead."

"Understand?"

Shen Yi remained silent. He had never been one to fear death, so naturally he would not be frightened by a few words.

He hid behind the corpses of the two constables.

Circulating his inner force, he called out loudly:

"Niu Ben brutally murdered a civilian girl without restraint. Xu Ping and Liu Fang aided and abetted his evil. The Pacification Office may tolerate such heaven-defying atrocities..."

"But I cannot."

"Nor will I surrender without a fight."

Outside the cave, there was a moment of silence. Then someone gave a dark chuckle.

"You've got some guts."

"But she was only a lowly woman from the pleasure quarters. Things like this happen every moment of every day across the Nine Provinces."

"Why throw away your fine life for a moment's satisfaction? To me, that's sheer stupidity beyond saving!"

Light flickered in Shen Yi's eyes.

The two Black Guards outside guarded the entrance. They were certainly in no hurry, nor would they risk entering.

They only needed to wait by the tree stump for the hare, cut off Shen Yi's food and water, and quietly await reinforcements. Then he would become a turtle in a jar.

Waiting only to stretch out his neck for the blade.

So he had to break out as quickly as possible.

Shen Yi immediately poured the eleven months of secluded cultivation time he had just gained into the Array Breaker Art.

He chose to improve his inner cultivation mainly because his blade technique had already reached great mastery. He did not know whether another eleven months of secluded cultivation could bring a qualitative leap.

Moreover, this breakout would likely become a drawn-out battle. Improving his inner cultivation would comprehensively enhance his endurance in combat.

Shen Yi chose to conclude. His consciousness seemed to be pulled into that mental space once more, entering a merciless, selfless state of secluded cultivation.

You began cultivating the Array Breaker Art with single-minded focus. The circulation cycle at the entry level had already become smooth and unobstructed. You began condensing inner force, attempting to open more meridians and acupoints and construct more complex circulation cycles.

One month of secluded cultivation: You found that expanding your meridians remained difficult, but your inner force was like a reservoir, gradually accumulating. Its efficiency in battering through blocked meridians had also improved considerably, making your resolve ever firmer.

Six months of secluded cultivation: Your meridians steadily expanded, your circulation cycles gradually became more complex, and your accumulated inner force grew from a small puddle into a large pool.

Eleven months of secluded cultivation: You opened more and more meridians. Your inner force flowed smoothly without obstruction, and its accumulation expanded from a large pool into a small pond. Your incomplete Array Breaker Art reached minor mastery.

The secluded cultivation ended, and Shen Yi was dazed for an instant.

Then the aura around his entire body became steadier and heavier.

Though the incomplete Array Breaker Art at minor mastery had not yet broken through into the ranked realm, it had come very close.

Shen Yi immediately grabbed the collars of the two constables' corpses, one in each hand. His inner force surged like a rolling flood.

It was also like war drums pounding.

Making his muscles and bones resonate in unison.

For an instant, Shen Yi felt as if he stood upon a battlefield. This was the Array Breaker Art: using inner force to stir the blood and vital energy into turmoil.

It could unleash extraordinarily powerful explosive force in a short time.

He smiled sharply.

"In this rotten world, if one cannot indulge in a moment's satisfaction, what meaning is there in clinging to life?!"

Shen Yi's voice rang with force.

Like gold and stone striking the ground, unbreakable and unyielding.

Before his words had faded, two dark shapes flew from the cave one after the other, smashing outward with irresistible force as a gale howled around them.

The two Black Guards waiting by the stump at the entrance had just been left speechless by Shen Yi's ringing declaration.

The next instant, the corpses of the two constables were already crashing toward their faces.

Both cried out in alarm. One swiftly retreated and dodged aside, avoiding the human hidden weapon hurtling at him like a thrown stone.

The other gripped his blade in both hands and brought it down in a Mount Hua Cleaving strike.

Slash!

The constable's corpse was instantly split in two by the fierce blade, denied even an intact body. The Black Guard who had struck snorted disdainfully.

But when he looked up, his pupils abruptly contracted.

A figure shot out from between the divided remains like a leopard.

A flash of snow-bright blade light suddenly appeared, sweeping horizontally toward him.

The Black Guard knew this strike well. It was Falling Moon over the River from the Wind Severing Blade.

Yet Shen Yi's blade was too fast!

This Black Guard considered himself a diligent practitioner of the Wind Severing Blade for many years, having finally reached the threshold of mastery.

But compared to Shen Yi's blade, he could scarcely hope to catch up.

That snow-bright blade light was like a full moon sinking into a river, moonlight spreading across the water's surface before condensing into a single line.

In the Black Guard's terrified eyes.

That sliver of moonlight arrived in an instant. Before he could raise his blade, it had already swept across his neck.

Pfft!

Blood sprayed out, sliding down the snow-bright blade.

Killed a ranked martial artist. Gained secluded cultivation time: one year and one month.

Shen Yi had no time to rejoice.

Killing intent suddenly erupted behind him.

The other Black Guard, Sun Lin, appeared behind Shen Yi like a ghost and chopped down with his blade.

Coldness filled his eyes.

There was even a faint trace of smugness.

When Shen Yi had thrown the corpse to test the way, Sun Lin had immediately retreated and dodged without hesitation. He had guessed that Shen Yi intended to use the force of the throw to close in, but he had not warned Ma Cheng.

He had intended for Ma Cheng to withstand Shen Yi's first wave of attacks and create an opportunity for him to strike.

Though Shen Yi's strength had surprised him, catching Ma Cheng off guard and killing him with a single stroke.

Ma Cheng's sacrifice had been worthwhile.

At the very least, it had created an opening for Sun Lin. And this way, all the credit for killing the vicious criminal would belong to him alone.

However beautiful Sun Lin's plans were.

He had measured Shen Yi's depths by his own strength.

Shen Yi twisted and spun.

Like a fallen leaf swept up by a hurricane, his body rose in an instant, evading Sun Lin's blade from behind by a hair's breadth.

The horizontal blade in his hand followed the motion, twisting back in a reverse slash!

Pfft!

A deep, bone-revealing wound instantly opened across Sun Lin's body, running from his shoulder to his waist and hip. Even his intestines could faintly be seen through the wound.

Disbelief flashed through Sun Lin's eyes.

He staggered and dropped to his knees, one hand clutching his abdomen as he tried to hold in his spilling intestines.

"That strike just now... was it the Wind Severing Blade?"

Clang!

Shen Yi sheathed his blade and said calmly:

"Yes."

"That strike was Beacon Fires Northward."

Sun Lin's eyes widened. Beacon Fires Northward—a slanted reverse slash after turning back. He had practiced it more than a hundred times, yet he had never imagined it could be unleashed in such a perilous situation, from such a posture.

The same blade technique.

Yet in different hands, it could be so utterly different.

"Your... blade technique has reached such a level. Why were you willing to be an insignificant constable in the Pacification Office, unknown and obscure..."

Shen Yi actually gave a self-mocking laugh.

"I should thank the Pacification Office. If it had not rotted to the roots, it would not have forced me onto this road of no return."

"Urgh..."

With a heart full of doubts, Sun Lin crashed to the ground.

Shen Yi's strike.

Had already severed his life.

Killed a ranked martial artist. Gained secluded cultivation time: one year and four months.