Ambushed at the Start? Effortlessly Counter-Killed

Lin Hanzhou's consciousness struggled to coalesce from a void of chaotic darkness.

The first thing he perceived was a stench of blood so thick it felt tangible.

This scent was a hundred times more pungent than anything he had smelled on the palace square back in his day.

The raw odor of earth mixed with the faint, acidic rot of corpses assaulted his nostrils, sending his stomach into a violent churn.

Next came the tactile sensation of his body.

He felt as though he were lying on a warm, sticky "bed."

He instinctively twitched his fingers, brushing against cold, rigid limbs and coarse hempen clothing.

"Hmm?"

Lin Hanzhou snapped his eyes open, and what greeted his vision was a living hell.

The setting sun, red as blood, stained the entire sky a grotesque, dark crimson.

He was standing in the square of a small village, and beneath him, beside him, and all around him lay over a hundred corpses, scattered in disarray.

There were white-haired elders, sturdy youths, women with faces frozen in terror, and even... infants still in their swaddling clothes, their eyes not yet fully opened to the world.

Every face was locked in the final expression of fear and resentment they had felt before death.

Their blood pooled into tiny rivulets, soaking the yellow earth of the village entrance into a dark, bruised brown.

This was a slaughterhouse that had just witnessed a one-sided massacre.

Even though Lin Hanzhou had once been an emperor, well-accustomed to life and death, he could not help but knit his brows tightly at the horrific scene before him.

He rose slowly from the sea of blood and mountain of corpses, looking around with a heart full of confusion.

A dying dynasty? Is this the world I have transmigrated into? Such a brutal start?

He could feel the power within his body—so abundant and youthful.

His cultivation at the second stage of the Qi Gathering Realm and his talent as a Martial Arts Prodigy were both fully present.

But before he could clear his thoughts, a cold, murderous intent erupted without warning from the shadows behind him.

A sharp, icy glint, like a viper striking through the night, moved with blinding speed toward the back of his neck.

An ambush?!

And from a practitioner of no small skill!

Had it been any ordinary second-stage martial artist, caught off guard and facing such a cunning, lethal strike, they would surely have met their end.

But Lin Hanzhou was no ordinary man.

From the moment he saw the carnage, he had kept his senses at peak alertness.

He detected the killing intent the instant it manifested.

Lin Hanzhou didn't even turn to look; with a simple shift of his feet, his figure ghosted three feet to the left.

The fatal glint missed him entirely, burying itself with a dull thud into a corpse before him.

"Dodged... he dodged it?!"

A voice filled with shock drifted from the shadows.

A young man dressed in a blue robe with cloud patterns, holding a long sword, wore an expression of utter disbelief.

He had been certain that his strike—in both timing and angle—was perfect.

Even a Martial Master of the same rank should have found it impossible to evade so effortlessly.

Yet, the greater shock was still to come.

In the split second the attacker's mind reeled from his failed strike, Lin Hanzhou's figure was already upon him.

To think, things would be this exciting the moment I arrived.

The thought flashed through Lin Hanzhou's mind, and without a moment's hesitation, he unleashed a straight punch, channeling the surging spiritual energy of his second-stage Qi Gathering Realm, slamming it toward the man's face!

This punch used no flashy techniques; it was pure, unadulterated power and speed.

The wind of the blow whistled, carving a visible white wake through the air!

Feeling the terrifying force of the incoming punch, the young attacker's face drained of color.

He tried to dodge, only to realize the opponent's footwork was exquisite, sealing off every possible path of retreat.

He could not comprehend how a youth who looked no older than seventeen or eighteen could possess the cultivation of a Martial Master, let alone such seasoned, masterful footwork.

It defied all reason!

What he didn't know was that the hundred-plus years Lin Hanzhou spent in the Great Sui world were not wasted.

Though limited by the lack of spiritual energy, which slowed his cultivation, he had long since honed his footwork and swordsmanship to the realm of perfection.

Do you have any idea what one hundred and fifty-one years of bitter cultivation is worth?!

With no time to think, the young man could only channel all his true qi into the longsword in his hand, holding it horizontally to block the strike head-on.

"Clang—!"

A deafening sound, like a massive bell tolling, suddenly exploded outward.

The moment the fist met the sword, the young man felt a terrifying force surge wildly into his body through the blade.

It felt as if he had been rammed head-on by a rampaging beast; his arms went numb, the webbing between his thumb and forefinger split instantly, and blood splattered everywhere.

He was sent flying backward, soaring dozens of meters before he could barely steady his stance.

"Pfft!"

A mouthful of blood sprayed violently from his mouth.

He leaned on his sword, kneeling on one knee, his face filled with horror.

With just a single punch, he had suffered a severe internal injury.

He realized that today, he had likely kicked a steel plate.

"Your Excellency... who exactly are you?"

He endured his injuries and asked with a trembling voice, while hurriedly declaring his background, attempting to intimidate the other party with his connections.

"I am Zhou Fengyu, a disciple of the Cloud Glow Sect, one of the three great sects of the Great Gan Dynasty."

"My master is Grandmaster Luoxia of the Cloud Glow Sect; surely you have heard of his name."

He emphasized the words "Cloud Glow Sect" and "Grandmaster" heavily.

In his view, anyone in the martial arts world of the Great Gan Dynasty could not possibly have never heard of the prestige of the Cloud Glow Sect.

Even less could they dare to offend the personal disciple of a grandmaster.

However, Lin Hanzhou's face remained as indifferent as an ancient well, as if he hadn't heard a word.

Cloud Glow Sect? Grandmaster?

What kind of things are those?

If you have the ability, call them over right now.

He took a step forward, once again unleashing his movement technique, and charged toward Zhou Fengyu.

Seeing this, Zhou Fengyu's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.

He isn't afraid?

He actually isn't afraid of the Cloud Glow Sect?!

How could someone who has cultivated to this realm have never heard the name of the Cloud Glow Sect?

"Your Excellency! Wait!"

"It was my recklessness just now, I have offended you!"

"I am willing to offer compensation for today's events; if you are not satisfied, we can talk."

Seeing the unyielding Lin Hanzhou, Zhou Fengyu shouted in a panic.

He had the potential to become a grandmaster in the future; he did not want to die here for no reason.

Lin Hanzhou sneered in his heart.

You were the one who launched a sneak attack, with every move intended to kill.

Now that you can't win, you want to sue for peace?

In this world, how could there be such a good deal?

He had never shown a shred of mercy to those who wanted to kill him.

His speed increased rather than decreased, and with another punch, accompanied by the sound of tearing air, he struck directly at the man's chest.

Seeing this, Zhou Fengyu was terrified to the core and could only raise his sword to block once more.

But severely injured as he was, how could he possibly block a full-force strike from Lin Hanzhou?

"Crack!"

A crisp sound of bone breaking rang out.

The longsword in Zhou Fengyu's hand was sent flying by the impact.

And Lin Hanzhou's fist slammed solidly into his chest.

"Pfft—!"

Zhou Fengyu's chest caved in deeply, visible to the naked eye.

His entire body, like a kite with a broken string, was sent flying backward again, leaving a rain of blood in his wake.

"You..."

His face was as pale as paper, and he struggled to beg for mercy once more.

But Lin Hanzhou gave him no chance at all; he had already arrived before him, though it was unclear when he had moved.

In his hand, he still gripped the longsword that had just been sent flying from the grasp of Zhou Fengyu.

The icy blade was already pressed against Zhou Fengyu's neck.

"In your next life, before you try to ambush someone, remember to weigh your own worth first."

Before the words had even faded, the longsword in Lin Hanzhou's hand swept down with clean, decisive precision.

A fine head soared into the sky.

Zhou Fengyu, this personal disciple of a Cloud Glow Sect grandmaster, still had eyes filled with endless terror and resentment.

Yet, none of this could change the reality that he was already dead.

After finishing off his opponent, Lin Hanzhou casually flicked the blood off the blade.

He walked over to Zhou Fengyu's corpse and began the familiar process of "looting the body."

Soon, he found a money pouch in the man's robes, containing several dozen taels of loose silver.

Beyond that, there were two thread-bound secret manuals.

One was titled Cloud Glow Heart Method.

The other was titled Flowing Cloud Sword Technique.

Lin Hanzhou did not linger on them for now, simply stowing the silver and the manuals into his own pockets.

With all this done, he could finally settle his mind and sort through the memories of this body's original owner.