Slay Xiao Bao, See Injustice on the Road!

"Hiss!"

The aura of destruction condensed to its peak within the dead-end alley!

A crimson and searing white sword of light, fused with the slaughter of Yuantu, the deathly silence of Abi, and the purification of Red Lotus Karma Fire!

Like a spear of judgment, it hovered before Lin Chen's loosely cupped palms.

Where the sword tip pointed, the edge was laid bare:

"Hiss!"

The air let out a shrill scream, unable to bear the burden!

This was his first time facing a Dou Master, and although he had some confidence.

To prevent any accidents, he had poured his entire Dou Qi into this single strike!

"Hiss!"

The air was sliced apart!

In the shroud of night, a streak of light flashed and vanished!

In Xiao Bao's pupils, that pinpoint of destructive, searing white was reflected.

Before he could even react!

Boundless terror completely froze his thoughts and his body.

All his Dou Qi, all his defensive instincts.

Under that supreme pressure originating from the laws of the Primordial Era, they were as fragile as paper!

He could not even let out a desperate cry, only watch helplessly as that light representing death.

Under Lin Chen's icy gaze, it erupted with a roar!

"Sever!"

Lin Chen chanted silently in his heart, his cupped palms pushing forward!

There was no earth-shattering explosion.

Only a faint, almost imperceptible "hiss," as if space itself had been torn asunder!

That crimson-white sword light, which had condensed such terrifying power!

Had already vanished from his hands.

In the next instant, it appeared before the center of Xiao Bao's brow!

Its speed surpassed his perception!

The final sight in Xiao Bao's eyes was that pinpoint of searing white light expanding infinitely.

And then... eternal darkness.

Puff!

A soft sound, like a hot knife slicing through solidified grease.

The crimson-white sword light passed through the earthen-yellow Dou Qi veil that Xiao Bao had hastily gathered on his skin without the slightest obstruction.

It pierced through the center of his brow and exited from the back of his head!

There was no spray of blood, because the Red Lotus Karma Fire entwined around the sword light, at the very moment of penetration!

Had incinerated everything around the wound—flesh, bone, and even soul fragments—into the smallest particles!

Xiao Bao's burly body stiffened violently.

His face was frozen in extreme shock and bewilderment.

The luster in his eyes dimmed and vanished in an instant, like a candle blown out.

His Dou Master cultivation, which he had been so proud of, faced with that sword light fused with supreme treasures.

Was like dew under the sun.

Without being able to offer even a shred of resistance, it completely evaporated.

"Urgh..."

A barely audible grunt squeezed out from his throat.

His body, as if all its bones had been pulled out, slumped forward limply.

He crashed heavily onto the cold, filthy ground, devoid of any further life.

One strike! A one-hit kill on a one-star Dou Master!

Lin Chen's body swayed violently, his complexion turning as pale as paper in an instant.

Beads of sweat the size of peas rolled down his forehead.

The blood-red Dou Qi that had filled his body was almost completely drained the moment he unleashed this ultimate strike!

An intense wave of weakness washed over him like a tide, his legs turning to jelly, barely able to keep him standing.

The combination of the Yuantu Abi Twin Swords and the Karma Fire Red Lotus possessed earth-shattering power, but the cost was equally terrifying!

If his foundation were not far deeper than others of the same rank, he would likely have already collapsed into a coma from exhaustion.

Yet, he forced himself to stay upright.

The crisis had not yet passed!

He scanned his surroundings rapidly.

The dead-end alley remained deathly silent, the distant clamor seemingly blocked off by an invisible barrier.

He had not alerted anyone!

Very good!

Lin Chen took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing his churning blood and the sensation of dizziness.

He staggered over to the corpse of Xiao Bao.

He quickly dragged him into the depths of the alley!

Looking at this traitor who had caused his parents' deaths and betrayed him, there was not a shred of pity in Lin Chen's eyes.

Only cold indifference.

"Refine!"

He extended his hands once more, circulating the Blood Scripture!

Although Xiao Bao was dead, the life essence and Dou Qi origin accumulated over a lifetime by a Dou Master had not yet dissipated!

These were excellent nutrients for repairing the Yuantu Abi Twin Swords!

A torrent of energy, even more surging and violent than when he had devoured the woman in red, flowed into Lin Chen's body through his hands.

This energy was far purer and more robust than what he had absorbed from the Dou Practitioner, containing the weight and condensation unique to a Dou Master.

Lin Chen did not immediately refine and absorb it to raise his own cultivation; instead, he resisted the immense temptation.

With a thought, he rapidly compressed and condensed the massive torrent of energy within his body.

It eventually transformed into a cluster of rich, blood-colored essence that pulsed like a beating heart, which he temporarily stored at the edge of his Dantian sea of energy.

This place was not suitable for a long stay; practicing here would be pure suicide.

After all, he had just finished an assassination!

Whether it was cultivation or repairing the twin swords, it had to be done after returning to a safe place!

However, his own Dou Qi had recovered by a few fractions.

"Hiss!"

Within a few breaths, Xiao Bao's burly body shriveled at a speed visible to the naked eye.

It eventually turned into a skin-and-bones corpse, with no residual energy left whatsoever.

"Still not thorough enough..."

Lin Chen's gaze was cold.

The dried corpse could still leave behind clues.

He moved his mind again, communicating with the faint phantom of the Red Lotus deep within his Dantian.

"Whoosh!"

A small cluster of pure, crimson flames flickered from Lin Chen's fingertip and landed upon Xiao Bao's corpse.

There was no thick smoke, nor any pungent odor.

The Red Lotus Karma Fire seemed to possess a spirit of its own, spreading silently.

Wherever it passed, the corpse dissolved and vaporized rapidly, like snow cast into a raging fire!

Even the remnants of his clothing were consumed, as the gold coins and medicinal pills in his money pouch had already been swept away by Lin Chen's Dou Qi.

Even the slight bloodstains and smudges on the ground were purified clean by those sacred, scorching flames, leaving not a single trace behind!

In that spot, only a tiny pinch of nearly invisible grayish-white ash remained.

Blown away by the night wind, it vanished without a trace.

It was as if a person named Xiao Bao had never appeared here at all.

Having finished handling everything, Lin Chen quickly left the dead-end alley.

He merged into the night like a true ghost.

He did not return to the Orphanage immediately, but instead circled around toward another relatively secluded side gate of the Xiao Clan.

He needed to complete one final task.

He had long since noted who was responsible for patrolling this area tonight.

It was a squad within the guard force known for having a relatively good reputation, led by a man named Xiao Yan.

In the memories of his predecessor, after his parents went missing, this Xiao Yan had privately given the original owner food and comfort several times.

His eyes had held sincere sympathy, a stark contrast to the cold indifference of the other guards.

Lin Chen tore a piece of fabric from the lining of his oversized, worn-out clothes.

Biting his fingertip, he quickly wrote a few lines of crooked, deliberately disguised characters in blood:

"In the cellar behind the abandoned dye house in the west of the city, there are several abducted children. Save them quickly!"

"The perpetrator has been executed. Do not investigate. --A passerby who could not stand by."

He needed to give those innocent children a chance at life.

Xiao Bao was dead, and the Jalie Lang brothers were dead as well; that cellar was in a hidden location.

If no one pointed the way, it might be days before the Xiao Clan discovered it or the children starved to death.

Or perhaps they would never be found at all!

Like a ghost, he lurked in the shadows, watching as Xiao Yan and two of his men patrolled toward his position.

Taking advantage of the moment they turned, Lin Chen flicked his wrist.

He sent the blood-stained cloth strip flying like a dart, striking Xiao Yan's lower back with precision!

"Hm?"

As a Dou Master, Xiao Yan possessed keen senses and instantly detected something amiss!

He spun around violently, catching the incoming cloth strip.

He unfolded it, and his expression changed drastically!

"Captain, what is it?"

A nearby team member asked.

Xiao Yan's sharp gaze swept the surroundings, but the night was deep and empty.

Suppressing the tumultuous waves in his heart, he said in a low voice:

"There's a situation! You two, follow me immediately!"

"Go to the abandoned dye house in the west of the city! Move!"

He chose to believe this anonymous blood-written note without hesitation.

The description of the cellar's location was too specific, and it mentioned "children" and "executed"...

It was better to believe it than to ignore it!

Watching the backs of Xiao Yan and his men as they hurried away, Lin Chen breathed a slight sigh of relief.

This was all he could do.

He did not linger, using the deepest darkness before dawn as his cover!

He slipped back into the Xiao Clan Orphanage without a sound.

Next, he would try to put his plan into action.

In this orphanage, several people shared a room, making it difficult for him to absorb essence for cultivation.

Moreover, increasing his strength by a star or two at this stage would not be of much help to him.

He was more interested in testing his own theory.

Could bloodline essence truly repair the Yuantu Abi Twin Swords?