Lu Ming, Heavenly Secret Pavilion Spy!

"Lu Ming, you dare show your face!"

On the main street, countless onlookers retreated as two powerful figures charged forward, leaving only Lu Ming standing alone in the road.

A flicker of killing intent surfaced in Shen Changfeng's eyes. This man had toyed with him, and now dared to appear—was he here to savor his humiliation?

Was this brat so bold, so arrogant?

Or did Lu Ming have another trick up his sleeve, such as reporting him to the authorities?

A trace of mockery crept into Shen Changfeng's gaze. The authorities? Before the Shen Family, they weren't all that useful either.

In this world, martial arts reigned supreme!

Since Lu Ming dared to show himself, no matter the reason, it could no longer stop his death.

Shen Jue, your brother will avenge you today!

"Die!" Shen Changfeng and the savage Guo Zhengwei arrived before Lu Ming at the same time, their blades and swords already raised, about to strike down.

Just then.

A figure flashed in like a ghost, blocking Lu Ming's front, and shouted:

"What do you think you're doing, committing murder in broad daylight?"

These words struck Shen Changfeng and Guo Zhengwei like a tolling bell, causing both their bodies to jolt and their weapons to freeze mid-air.

"What petty scoundrel..." Guo Zhengwei instinctively wanted to curse, but as he focused his gaze, his soul fled in terror. He sobered up with a fright, a cautious expression creeping onto his face as he said:

"Pavilion Master Qin! What brings you here?"

Shen Changfeng's pupils also contracted sharply. The man standing before Lu Ming had an ordinary appearance but carried immense authority, his presence like an abyss, completely suppressing him.

This person was none other than the deputy pavilion master of the Heavenly Secret Pavilion, Qin Zhonghai!

"Pavilion Master Qin! What is the meaning of this?" Shen Changfeng looked past Qin Zhonghai at the calm-faced Lu Ming, confusion and unwillingness coloring his face.

If there was any force in the city he dared not provoke—or even the Shen Family dared not provoke—Wei Jinlin of the Military Service Bureau counted as one.

Beyond that, there was the Heavenly Secret Pavilion!

The city often said the "Two Guilds, Three Halls, Three Great Families" were the first-rate powers of the county town.

In truth, besides them, the Red Cloud Chamber of Commerce and the City Lord's Mansion were also first-rate powers on par with the "Two Guilds, Three Halls, Three Great Families."

Only, these two forces—one a merchant guild, the other a maintainer of order—rarely fought for territory with martial force in the city, so they weren't counted among them.

And there were two other forces, the Military Service Bureau and the Heavenly Secret Pavilion, which stood even above them—places even first-rate powers dared not provoke lightly.

An ordinary first-rate power typically had only its leader as a Bone Forging Realm martial artist.

But the Heavenly Secret Pavilion—even its deputy pavilion master, Qin Zhonghai, was a Bone Forging Realm martial artist. Moreover, he was a strong one among them.

With Qin Zhonghai stepping forward, he had no choice but to lower his treasured sword, his heart filled with extreme frustration.

Today, nothing seemed to go his way.

"Lu Ming is now an Outer Pavilion spy of my Heavenly Secret Pavilion."

Qin Zhonghai said flatly, his gaze sweeping over Shen Changfeng and Guo Zhengwei with overwhelming authority, causing both their faces to change and their breaths to catch.

"Lu Ming? A spy of the Heavenly Secret Pavilion?" Shen Changfeng looked at Lu Ming in disbelief. "How is that possible? When?"

Qin Zhonghai said, "Does the Heavenly Secret Pavilion need to explain its actions to you?"

Shen Changfeng's face darkened. "I wouldn't dare. It's just... just that my fourth brother's death is connected to Lu Ming. This is a blood feud!"

Qin Zhonghai said coldly, "I went to that pavilion and looked around.

"That Shen Jue clearly fell to his death from a sudden crack in the ground, with no signs of human interference.

"If you want to take your anger out on others for that, I don't care. But taking it out on Lu Ming? Lu Ming is a spy of my Heavenly Secret Pavilion. Are you trying to provoke my Heavenly Secret Pavilion?"

Shen Changfeng's face paled. "This Humble One wouldn't dare."

Qin Zhonghai spoke slowly, "From now on, whoever dares to target Lu Ming over these baseless matters will face severe punishment from my Heavenly Secret Pavilion without exception!"

A look of humiliation and unwillingness flickered in Shen Changfeng's eyes. He clenched his fists and squeezed out a single word through gritted teeth: "Yes."

Qin Zhonghai turned his head to look at Guo Zhengwei.

Guo Zhengwei quickly said, "I naturally won't go after Nephew Lu either. Haha, Nephew Lu, I was out of line just now. Feel free to drop by anytime."

He spoke with bloodshot eyes, then prepared to take his leave.

"Chief Escort Guo, you're mentally unwell. Stay at my Heavenly Secret Pavilion for treatment for a while!"

Qin Zhonghai's expression was blank as his figure suddenly flickered, already before Guo Zhengwei.

Guo Zhengwei's face changed drastically. "Pavilion Master Qin..."

The words had barely left his mouth when Qin Zhonghai's palm struck his neck.

The Nine-Ring Blade in Guo Zhengwei's hand had just lifted when his eyes rolled back and he collapsed, unconscious.

Clang! The Nine-Ring Blade fell to the ground.

Heavenly Secret Pavilion members swiftly stepped forward, carrying the unconscious Guo Zhengwei away and retrieving the Nine-Ring Blade from the ground.

Shen Changfeng's pupils contracted sharply. One move—just one move—and he had taken down Guo Zhengwei, a master of Tendon Refining at its peak!

Though Guo Zhengwei was mentally unstable and caught off guard, and Qin Zhonghai excelled in light footwork at such close range...

Even with all those excuses, this was still a peak Tendon Refining martial artist, knocked unconscious like an ordinary man with a single palm strike.

Killing the chicken to scare the monkey!

Guo Zhengwei was a local strongman of Red Cloud County, yet Qin Zhonghai had taken him down with ease. Such a blatant display of deterrence told everyone that he meant what he said.

Attacking Lu Ming came with a price.

In comparison, Shen Changfeng's own attack on Lu Ming out of blood vengeance, without being subdued by Qin Zhonghai, actually counted as fortunate.

Shen Changfeng gritted his teeth slightly, his face burning with heat as he felt a deep humiliation.

Breakthrough—he had to break through as soon as possible, he roared inwardly, watching helplessly as Qin Zhonghai led Lu Ming onto the carriage, heading toward the Heavenly Secret Pavilion.

Before boarding the carriage, Lu Ming turned his head to glance at Chen Jinyang lying in a pool of blood on the street. He figured that even if Chen Jinyang survived, he would be crippled.

This was the price for scheming against him.

Lu Ming felt a surge of satisfaction, then looked at Qin Zhonghai. Recalling the strength the man had just displayed, he couldn't help but feel a chill of awe inside.

No wonder even Zhu Lie, the master of the first-rate Blazing Flame Martial Hall, had treated Qin Zhonghai with great respect during the arena battle.

Zhu Lie was also a Bone Forging Realm martial artist, yet his strength likely couldn't match Qin Zhonghai's.

It seemed that even within the same Bone Forging Realm, there were gaps in power. Qin Zhonghai was clearly the more talented type among Bone Forging Realm martial artists.

Lu Ming sighed inwardly, then spoke solemnly:

"Thank you for your help, Pavilion Master."

The reason he had dared to step out of the Military Service Bureau today was that he had received Qin Zhonghai's invitation, requesting a meeting at the Heavenly Secret Pavilion.

He had witnessed the prestige of the Heavenly Secret Pavilion during the arena battle last time, and sensing that Qin Zhonghai wanted to recruit him, he naturally couldn't miss this opportunity.

That day beneath the arena, leaders of many factions had asked Qin Zhonghai to look after their juniors, but he had refused them all.

Back then, Qin Zhonghai had only exchanged light footwork with him, and now he had come personally to recruit him.

Truly, a pearl shines on its own. Even with all his efforts to suppress himself, he couldn't hide the luster of uncut jade.

Lu Ming felt a quiet smugness inside, and a heavy stone in his heart finally settled.

With Qin Zhonghai's actions today, Shen Changfeng likely wouldn't dare make any more moves for a while.

He no longer had to fear being assassinated the moment he stepped outside. From now on, he had backing.

Just as he was feeling pleased, he suddenly heard Qin Zhonghai say:

"I heard you placed third in the Military Service Bureau's minor test. I want to ask, how is your Water Gliding light footwork coming along?"

Second-rate light footwork, Water Gliding?

Lu Ming froze, then felt a wave of unease rise in his heart.

This technique... he hadn't even had time to learn it yet!