Six Chang Ghosts walked through the dead of night.
They had no breath or heartbeat to begin with.
On top of that, they deliberately kept their footsteps feather-light.
As they moved, they made almost no sound at all.
They were like shadows drifting along the ground.
Their silence was enough to make one's blood run cold.
Even the finest assassins could hardly have matched them.
The three Chang Ghosts led by Elder He headed straight for Lu Jing'an's courtyard.
The night fog was thin, and moonlight occasionally spilled through gaps in the clouds.
It revealed three blurry silhouettes.
They swiftly and soundlessly vaulted over the courtyard wall.
When they landed, they didn't even disturb a single dead leaf.
They crept straight toward Lu Jing'an's room.
"Who's there!"
A guard on night patrol suddenly caught sight of several shadows flashing past a corner of the wall. His heart tightened, and he immediately shouted.
Ever since the last assassination attempt,
the night patrols at Lu Jing'an's courtyard had been stepped up.
Lanterns had also been hung throughout the courtyard, their intersecting light and shadows illuminating most of the grounds.
With such precautions, it was indeed extremely difficult to hide completely.
Before the shout had even faded,
the Chang Ghost who had been Elder He lunged at the guard like a specter.
His withered fingers clamped around the guard's throat like iron pincers.
Crack.
The faint snap of breaking bone was swallowed by the night wind.
At almost the same moment,
Lu Jing'an sat up in bed.
His eyes were clear, without the slightest trace of sleepiness.
He quickly felt his way to the window and retrieved the pistol hidden beneath the table.
He gently opened the window a crack and peered outside.
Three stiff-moving figures with deathly pale skin stood in the courtyard.
A dark, viscous liquid dripped from the fingers of one of them.
Lu Jing'an's pupils suddenly contracted.
"People from the Li Family?"
His first thought was that the Li Family had used a ploy of making a show in one place while secretly striking elsewhere.
But he immediately dismissed the idea.
The three had vacant eyes, and their stiff movements were strangely coordinated. They were clearly no longer ordinary people.
They were Chang Ghosts.
He hadn't expected the Tiger Demon to send Chang Ghosts to raid the Lu Family at night.
But Lu Jing'an had no time to think it through.
The contents of the files he'd read at the Peacekeeping Bureau that morning flashed through his mind:
Chang Ghosts had no souls or spirits and were controlled by Tiger Demons.
Ordinary blades and swords could barely harm them. There were only two ways to defeat them.
One was to kill the Tiger Demon controlling them.
The other was to completely destroy their heads.
Bang!
Without hesitation, Lu Jing'an pulled the trigger.
Perhaps because he had officially crossed the threshold into becoming a Martial Cultivator,
his control over his body and his perception of his targets had both become much sharper.
Within ten meters, Lu Jing'an could hit every shot.
The brass bullet pierced the left Chang Ghost's brow with pinpoint accuracy.
But the Chang Ghost's body only jerked backward.
A black hole had opened in its brow,
yet it didn't fall.
It even stepped forward again.
So the file hadn't meant "smash" figuratively.
The gunshot exploded through the silent night.
The entire Lu Mansion seemed to awaken like a beast.
Lights flickered on one after another, and the sounds of voices and footsteps surged in from all directions.
Chen Xuan was the first to arrive. His figure was like smoke, and in the blink of an eye, he had landed in the courtyard.
"Teacher, watch out! They're Chang Ghosts. You have to blow their heads apart!" Lu Jing'an shouted urgently.
Before his words had even faded,
Chen Xuan had already darted forward like a gale.
His leg lashed out like a whip.
The right Chang Ghost's head burst like a watermelon,
and its headless body toppled stiffly to the ground.
Then he turned, already raising his second leg.
"Teacher, leave the one surnamed He to me!" Lu Jing'an called out hurriedly.
Chen Xuan checked his movement and followed through with a kick, crushing the last ordinary Chang Ghost's head.
Only the Chang Ghost surnamed He remained, standing where he was and slowly turning toward Lu Jing'an.
Gunshots also rang out from the direction of Lu Jinghan and Lu Jinglin's courtyards.
"Teacher, go help them first. I can handle this one," Lu Jing'an said.
Chen Xuan glanced at him and nodded. "All right. Be careful, young master."
His words were still in the wind when he had already darted several yards away.
After a few leaps, he disappeared beyond the rooftops.
Only Lu Jing'an and the Chang Ghost surnamed He remained in the courtyard.
In life, the old man had been a Martial Cultivator who had broken through the Blood Barrier.
Though he couldn't use his vital energy now,
his physical strength was still astonishing.
Under the lantern light, his skin gleamed with a dull sheen like leather.
His eyes were empty, yet they remained fixed on Lu Jing'an.
"Roar..."
A low, beastlike growl came from its throat.
It lunged forward, moving even faster than an ordinary martial artist!
Lu Jing'an lowered his center of gravity and stepped aside instead of meeting the attack head-on.
He dodged the lunge and struck with his right hand like lightning.
His palm chopped toward the Chang Ghost's neck.
Thud!
It felt like hitting old bullhide—tough and hard. The force rebounding from the blow left his wrist numb.
The Chang Ghost didn't pause for an instant.
It swung its claws at him as it turned,
its fingertips slicing through the air
with a faint hiss.
This felt different from sparring with Situ Yiyun and the others.
When Situ Yiyun and the others trained with him, they always held back, afraid of hurting him.
But every move from this Chang Ghost was lethal, without the slightest restraint. It forced him to bring all his focus and potential into play.
Lu Jing'an set his footwork in motion and circled the courtyard.
One moment he threw a punch, the next he struck with his palm.
He put everything he'd learned during this period to use.
Footwork, palm techniques, grappling, evasion...
He used it all.
At first, his movements were still awkward. But after a few exchanges,
they gradually grew fluid, as if his body itself remembered how to respond.
After nearly half an hour of fighting, Lu Jing'an suddenly ducked low.
He slipped under the Chang Ghost's arm as a short sword slid from his sleeve.
The instant he turned, he drove it into the back of its head with all his strength!
He twisted his wrist, wrenching the blade around!
More than half the Chang Ghost's head was sliced away, and black, viscous fluid spattered across the bricks.
Its body stiffened for a moment, then crashed to the ground.
Lu Jing'an exhaled and wiped the grime from his short sword.
Its blade was still as smooth as ever, without a trace of blood.
A fragmentary soul suitable for extraction/restoration has been detected. Collect it?
"Fragmentary soul?"
Lu Jing'an was slightly taken aback.
Still, he chose to collect it first.
After collecting the fragmentary soul, Lu Jing'an looked at the other two Martial Cultivators.
There was no such prompt above the other two Martial Cultivators.
"Master must have kicked their heads apart, and their souls scattered with them."
Though he had lost two souls, Lu Jing'an didn't pay it much mind.
Lu Jing'an looked up and saw Chen Xuan standing quietly beneath the covered walkway. He had no idea how long he'd been there.
"Teacher, how are Jinghan and Jinglin?"
"They were startled, but unharmed."
Chen Xuan walked over. His gaze swept over the bodies on the ground, then turned to Lu Jing'an.
"Young master, you showed good judgment in that fight. You knew when to advance and retreat, and your offense and defense were well ordered. You've already developed a sound grasp of the fundamentals.
"With your current footwork and reflexes, you could handle three Martial Cultivators of the same level at once. If you unleash your full speed, you should be able to fight five at the same time."
Lu Jing'an sheathed his sword and smiled. "That's because you taught me so well, Teacher."
But Lu Jing'an knew that his extraordinary reflexes and speed
came entirely from his Affix. But he couldn't explain that.
All he could do was claim that his potential had begun to emerge as his cultivation deepened.
Chen Xuan didn't press him. He only said, "Young master's natural gifts and potential are still waiting to be fully tapped. Don't slack off."
"I understand."
"Don't worry, Teacher. I won't waste my talent and potential."
As they spoke, a servant hurried over.
He said the master had summoned the eldest young master and Mr. Chen to the study.
Lu Jing'an wasn't surprised in the slightest. There was no way tonight's events could simply be left at that.
The study was brightly lit.
Lu Huaiqian sat in the main seat, his expression grave.
Lu Huaishan stood by the window, his back taut as a drawn bow.
At the sound of footsteps, he spun around, his eyes bloodshot.
As soon as he saw Lu Jing'an enter, Lu Huaishan strode forward and began to bow.
Lu Jing'an hurriedly steadied him. "Third Uncle, what are you doing?"
Lu Huaishan's voice was hoarse, and trembled with tightly suppressed emotion.
"Jing'an, if you hadn't sent Mr. Chen to Jinghan and Jinglin's courtyard first tonight, those two might have..."
He couldn't finish. He only gripped Lu Jing'an's arm tightly.
Lu Jing'an said solemnly,
"Jinghan and Jinglin are my younger siblings. Protecting them is only right. If you really want to thank someone, you should thank my teacher."
Lu Huaishan turned and bowed deeply to Chen Xuan. "Mr. Chen, I can never repay your great kindness with words alone."
Chen Xuan shifted half a step to the side, accepting only half the salute. "Third Master, you're too kind. It was only my duty."
What duty? The agreed-upon twenty-year term had long since passed.
Lu Huaishan knew full well that Chen Xuan had stayed with the Lu Family solely because of Lu Jing'an.
He, Lu Huaishan, had to acknowledge that debt of gratitude.
"We can talk about thanks later."
Lu Huaiqian tapped the tabletop, his voice low and cold.
"The most urgent matter right now is that Tiger Demon."
Lu Huaishan abruptly turned around, murderous intent solid in his eyes.
"What's there left to discuss?!
I'll take men into the mountains right now and burn that forest to the ground. Let's see how long it can hide!
I won't be satisfied until I skin the beast and tear its tendons from its limbs!"
Lu Huaishan clenched his fists until they crackled. The candlelight flickered, casting the fury in his eyes a blood-red hue.
Before you continue