Two Lives Cut Short (First Update, Please Subscribe)

Hong Cheng moved as swiftly as a ghost. Though his right arm was badly twisted, it did not seem to affect him much.

Whoosh!

Bang—

The two clashed in the open space, their figures flashing so quickly that ordinary people would have had no way of seeing them clearly.

Only a cold, sinister chill mingled with rolling waves of heat.

Boom!

Shen Changqing slashed out with his long blade. Hong Cheng evaded it, but Shen Changqing seized the opening, driving his other hand toward him with force enough to split steles and crack stone.

Iron Sand Palm!

His palm was crimson, like a red-hot branding iron. The instant it struck Hong Cheng, the stench of scorched flesh rose into the air.

"Ah!"

With a shrill scream, Hong Cheng was sent flying sideways.

But at that very moment.

Yin energy surged behind him. A freezing touch came with a burst of pain.

Even the fifteenth level of the Thirteen Guardians Body-Hardening Art was forcibly breached. The astral qi hidden within his flesh erupted, blocking part of the attack.

Seizing the chance.

Shen Changqing swept his long blade out from beneath his arm. Its scorching blade seemed like flames meeting ice, letting out a sizzling sound.

"Ah—"

Another piercing scream rang out.

Shen Changqing drew back his blade and turned, retreating all the way to the prison entrance before he had the chance to see what had ambushed him.

It was a grotesque creature with disheveled hair and a rotting face, identical to the female corpse he had seen in the illusion of the ruined temple.

But there was one difference.

This grotesque creature's left arm had already been severed, leaving only its right arm intact.

Clearly.

This was the Specter-rank grotesque creature that had ambushed him earlier, only to be injured by his counterattack.

"They're both out!"

Shen Changqing drew a quiet breath. His gaze moved between the two grotesque creatures as the mangled flesh on his back slowly healed.

The hierarchy among grotesque creatures was strict.

That injured Specter-rank grotesque creature had to be obeying the Grudge-rank creature possessing Hong Cheng.

From the looks of it, the Eternal Life Alliance had indeed sent only two grotesque creatures.

"Two grotesque creatures—one Specter-rank and one Grudge-rank. The Eternal Life Alliance truly thinks highly of me!"

Shen Changqing sneered. In the next instant, he shot forward like an arrow loosed from its bow, charging toward the Specter-rank grotesque creature.

When picking persimmons, one squeezed the soft ones first.

Of the two grotesque creatures, the injured Specter-rank one was the easiest to kill.

As Shen Changqing rushed at it, the female corpse seemed to sense danger. Her body scattered like smoke, as though she had never been there at all.

In response.

He pushed his senses to their limit.

"Here!"

He stepped to the left, and his long blade followed like a shadow. What should have been empty space immediately revealed the female corpse's form after the blade fell.

Facing Shen Changqing's full-powered strike, and crushed by an absolute disparity in strength, the yin energy around the female corpse flickered like a candle flame in the wind, ready to be snuffed out at any moment.

At the same time.

Just as the female corpse was about to be slain, Hong Cheng's ghostlike body closed in and attacked Shen Changqing from behind.

The Grudge-rank grotesque creature made its move.

Yin energy blanketed the heavens and covered the earth.

In that instant, an all-encompassing chill swept over him. Yet rather than fear, Shen Changqing's face broke into a ferocious grin.

"I've been waiting for you!"

The blade slashing toward the female corpse abruptly withdrew. Shen Changqing shifted half a step sideways and fell backward, crashing directly into Hong Cheng's embrace.

Ever since the Thirteen Guardians Body-Hardening Art had reached perfection, he had already attained the point where force followed his will.

With one strike of his back.

Its power was not much weaker than the force to split steles and crack stone head-on.

Caught off guard, Hong Cheng's breastbone caved in. He staggered backward again and again.

With one blow landing true.

Shen Changqing twisted his body, and his long blade howled through the air, sweeping straight for Hong Cheng's neck.

The blade flashed past, and a head the size of a fighting measure flew into the air.

Blood gushed from the severed neck.

A white shadow emerged from the corpse and, with lightning speed, tried to vanish into the distance.

"You still want to run!"

Shen Changqing roared. He stomped hard on the ground with his right foot, shattering the bluestone tiles. Borrowing that force, he soared into the air from where he stood and slashed viciously at the white shadow.

Rip—

Ah!!

The sound of cloth tearing was accompanied by a shrill, despairing scream as the white shadow was cut in two by the long blade.

Shen Changqing landed.

When he turned back to look at the female corpse, it had already vanished without a trace.

The scene.

Fell silent at once.

Only Hong Cheng's severed body lay quietly there, blood spreading across the ground.

"Two demons!"

Shen Changqing looked at Hong Cheng's corpse, his expression darkening. There was not the slightest joy at having killed that grotesque creature.

The Eternal Life Alliance had sent two demons.

One had come to rescue the Zhao Family's people, while the other had come to assassinate the other people in the yamen.

From this, it was clear.

Their aim had not merely been to break out prisoners. They wanted to kill everyone in the yamen, avenging the death of that strange entity in Ancient Moon Village.

To put it plainly.

That Grudge-rank grotesque creature had come specifically for Shen Changqing.

Standing where he was.

Shen Changqing silently recovered from the expenditure of the recent battle.

The fight might not have lasted long, but every breath had been deadly, and the expenditure had been anything but small.

More than half of the Pure Yang true qi in his dantian had already been depleted.

The battle had been so fierce, yet no one from the yamen had come to investigate. Added to the commotion elsewhere in the yamen earlier, either everyone had died, or the survivors were hiding somewhere else and did not dare show themselves.

But no matter which outcome it was, Shen Changqing did not feel much about it.

After a long while.

A faint sound came from nearby.

Shen Changqing turned his head and happened to see a furtive figure.

The distance was too great, and he could not make out the person's face for the moment.

"Who's there? Come out!"

"Y-yes, Lord Shen!"

A trembling voice sounded through the silent night, but the figure did not dare approach easily.

Shi Qingsheng?

Shen Changqing recognized him from his voice alone.

"It's me!"

Having received confirmation.

That figure finally dared to walk over shakily. Once he came fully into view, Shi Qingsheng's face was revealed.

Unlike before, he now looked panicked. When he saw Hong Cheng lying on the ground with his head separated from his body, his face went deathly pale.

"M-my lord, Captain Hong, he—"

Shi Qingsheng's fingers trembled, and he stammered badly. Especially when he saw Shen Changqing standing there with his blade in hand, blood still dripping from its tip, his heart quivered fiercely.

Shen Changqing sheathed his blade.

"A demon attacked the yamen. Hong Cheng was possessed, so I killed him. What is the situation elsewhere now?"

From the instant he had been possessed by the demon, Hong Cheng had effectively been dead.

Whether the demon would later leave Hong Cheng's body or not, he was doomed to have no way to survive.

Shi Qingsheng, on the other hand.

A registrar with no strength even to truss a chicken had somehow survived until now, which surprised Shen Changqing somewhat.

Hearing that.

Shi Qingsheng forced himself to calm down, though he still swallowed hard while looking at Hong Cheng's corpse. "R-reporting to you, my lord, this subordinate was sleeping when I heard the disturbance, so I immediately headed to the area where the yamen runners lived.

"Unfortunately, by the time I arrived, several of them had already become dried corpses.

"Later, I heard commotion here as well, so I came to take a look. I never expected that you, my lord, had happened to kill the demon."

At that.

Shen Changqing understood.

With Shi Qingsheng's courage, there was absolutely no way he would have rushed over the moment he heard the commotion. Most likely, he had only dared go and look after the disturbance had completely died down.

As for why he had not died, it could only be attributed to good fortune—the demon had not found him yet.

After killing several yamen runners and possessing Hong Cheng.

The Grudge-rank grotesque creature had learned that the prison break had failed and immediately rushed over to provide aid, temporarily sparing Shi Qingsheng.

"I've killed the demon. There will not be any major activity for a while. Go summon people immediately and deal properly with the bodies of Hong Cheng and the others. Do not neglect the compensation that should be given.

"As for the rest, you need not concern yourself with it."

Shen Changqing gave the order.

At this, Shi Qingsheng nodded. "This subordinate obeys!"

After Shi Qingsheng withdrew, Shen Changqing finally sank his mind inward and checked his panel.

Killing a Grudge-rank grotesque creature was certain to bring considerable gains.

The grotesque creature in Ancient Moon Village had not even reached Grudge rank, yet it had contributed fifteen points of killing value. The creature that had possessed Hong Cheng could not possibly be worse.

Sure enough.

The killing value on the panel had risen directly from two points to thirty-two.

Excluding the two points he had already possessed, that Grudge-rank grotesque creature had contributed a full thirty points of killing value.

"Thirty-two points of killing value can raise my strength by quite a bit!"

Shen Changqing nodded in satisfaction. It counted as the only good news of the night.

"The Eternal Life Alliance just sent two demons. I killed one, while the other escaped. My strength has certainly been exposed as well. Though the Eternal Life Alliance is unlikely to make any moves in the short term, there is no guarantee that an accident will not occur.

"To ensure nothing goes wrong, increasing my strength cannot wait."

Having made his decision.

Shen Changqing's thoughts settled upon the Heavenly Martial Astral Qi.

With the higher-tier Heavenly Martial Astral Qi, there was no need to raise the Pure Yang Art.

With a thought.

Four points of killing value were consumed, and the Heavenly Martial Astral Qi was directly raised to the fourth level.

At the fourth level of the Heavenly Martial Astral Qi, the quality of the true qi in his dantian increased considerably. His qi and blood had suffered some loss, but it remained within a tolerable range.

It was tolerable—

Then he would continue raising it!

At once.

Under Shen Changqing's will, the Heavenly Martial Astral Qi began steadily rising.

Fifth level of Heavenly Martial Astral Qi!

—

Sixth level.

Seventh level.

When the Heavenly Martial Astral Qi rose to the eighth level, the Heavenly Martial true qi in his dantian underwent a powerful transformation. It seemed to become denser, and more powerful as well.

Immediately afterward.

An intense feeling of weakness surged into his heart, making Shen Changqing's face turn pale.

"I've reached my limit!"

He was already familiar with this state.

He had increased his strength too quickly, causing a deficit in his qi and blood.

In other words.

The Heavenly Martial Astral Qi could only be raised to the eighth level for now. He would need to wait until his body recovered somewhat before beginning the next round of improvements.

But even so.

The Heavenly Martial Astral Qi at the eighth level was enough to let a martial artist officially step into the Innate realm.

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