Shoulder to Shoulder with the Prefecture City's Geniuses? Mu Yang Draws His Blade!

Shoulder to Shoulder with the Prefecture City's Geniuses? Mu Yang Draws His Blade! Inside the Zhou Family residence, in the study.

Zhou Heng and Xue She held teacups as they chatted.

"Brother-in-law, Mu Yang has only practiced martial arts for three months, yet he was able to kill even the Yellow Wind Old Monster. With talent like his, if we look across the Prefecture City, would he count as one of the leading figures among the younger generation?" Zhou Heng sighed.

Leaning back in his chair, Xue She took a sip of tea and said, "Lei Jiaojiao, the legitimate daughter of Qinghe Prefecture's Lei Family, bathed in medicinal liquid from childhood. From the age of six, all manner of monster meat and precious medicines were used to build her foundation. When she first began martial training at twelve, she directly reached Skin and Flesh Realm Perfection. The following year, she completed her first Tendon Tempering and Bone Forging."

"Three more years later, she underwent Tendon Tempering and Bone Forging once again, achieving Steel Tendon Iron Bone. That same year, she broke through into the Blood-Marrow Realm. Two more years later, she cultivated to Blood-Marrow Realm Perfection. Now, at only twenty-three, she has already reached Fourth-Stage Condensing Qi Realm Perfection and can enter the Fifth-Stage Channel-Opening Realm at any time."

"And even so, among Qinghe Prefecture's younger generation, she can only barely rank in the top five."

As he said this, Xue She wore a wistful expression.

He had struggled for half his life to reach the Blood-Marrow Realm Late Stage, while others had far surpassed him by eighteen.

Was it because his talent was inferior?

Perhaps that was part of it.

But more than that, it was the gap in resources.

Precious medicines that Qingxi County might not find in ten years had been eaten by Lei Jiaojiao since childhood. Third Rank monster meat that he needed to wait ages to eat even once was practically on her table every meal, and of even higher quality.

Now, she was not even half his age, yet her strength vastly exceeded his.

That was the difference in background and resources.

In that regard, he was far inferior.

Even Mu Yang, despite his exceptional talent, was no different.

The further one traveled down the martial path, the greater the demand for resources became.

Without precious medicines and monster meat, let alone advancing further, even maintaining one's own strength was difficult.

No matter how gifted one was, unless one lived by another's favor and attached oneself to the powerful and wealthy, the road ahead would be full of rough ground and pitfalls!

"Alas!"

After hearing Xue She's words, Zhou Heng could not help but sigh as well.

Though he was not proficient in martial arts, he knew how difficult martial training was. He also understood that reaching higher realms in the future would inevitably require enormous resources.

And from what he had learned of Mu Yang over these past days, Mu Yang was clearly not the sort of person who would cling to the powerful and wealthy.

"I hope Mu Yang will have a bright future..." Zhou Heng sighed.

Knock! Knock! Knock!!!

Just as Zhou Heng and Xue She were lamenting, hurried knocking suddenly rang out.

"Come in!"

After Zhou Heng spoke, a Zhou Family servant immediately pushed open the door and rushed in. In a highly anxious tone, he reported, "Master! Bad news! Head Constable Mu... Head Constable Mu has carried a monster corpse to the entrance of the Wang Family estate to kill!"

Zhou Heng and Xue She: ???

The two looked at each other, each seeing bewilderment in the other's eyes.

What had happened?

Had Mu Yang not just returned home? Why had he gone to the Wang Family estate to kill again?

And if he was going, then fine—but why bring a monster corpse...

Wait, a monster corpse!

An image flashed through Zhou Heng's mind, and he suddenly recalled what Mu Yang had said while they were drinking.

["Then if there is evidence, can we directly attack them within the city?"]

So Mu Yang was going to use false evidence!

They had never imagined that evidence could be obtained this way.

But on careful thought, there did not seem to be any problem with it.

Mu Yang was now Qingxi County's great hero. His consecutive monster slayings were known throughout the city, and his reputation was at its peak.

Meanwhile, the Wang Family bullied men and women alike and ran rampant without restraint. Their reputation had long been atrocious.

If Mu Yang said there was something wrong with the Wang Family, the common people really would believe him.

What was more, the Wang Family's collusion with monsters was indeed true. As long as Mu Yang insisted on it, then took the opportunity tonight to search the Wang Family and uncover some traces, that would be enough to convict them.

With that thought, Zhou Heng immediately said, "Notify the constables of every squad at once. Have them gather at the Wang Family estate immediately."

"Brother-in-law, let's go ahead first. Tonight, we must nail the Wang Family's crimes in place!"

On the other side, before the Wang Family estate.

The night was like ink, so thick it could not be dissolved.

The bright moon was tightly covered by heavy dark clouds, allowing only a few wan strands of bleak light to leak through, barely illuminating the bluestone road before the Wang Family estate.

The vermilion gates stood open. Lamps blazed both inside and outside, yet the air carried a chilling aura of slaughter.

After receiving Wang Shijun's order, six Wang Family retainers holding Black Gold Iron Staffs immediately closed in with fierce momentum, surrounding Mu Yang from every side.

Wang Shijun's face was cold as he sternly rebuked him, "My Wang Family has stood firm in Qingxi County for a hundred years. Is this a place where a mere little constable can run wild?"

"Now, put down your weapon and surrender with your hands bound. For the sake of the authorities, I can still spare your dog life!"

Mu Yang remained expressionless, too lazy even to open his mouth.

He had no habit of wasting words on the dead.

His gaze merely swept over the surroundings, confirming the positions of the six retainers.

Seeing Mu Yang ignore him, Wang Shijun immediately waved his hand. "Get him!"

However, just as his words fell.

Whoosh—!

A flash of silver streaked past, so fast that no one could see its trajectory.

The savage grins had not yet faded from those retainers' faces, but the iron staffs in their hands had already been severed into two.

Then came a series of dull thuds.

Six heads fell to the ground, and scalding blood dyed the entire street.

The entrance to the Wang Family estate instantly sank into deathly silence.

"What a fast blade!"

Wang Shijun's pupils suddenly shrank, and shock surged through his heart.

He had never imagined that this young-looking little constable could draw his blade so quickly.

So quickly that even he, a martial artist at the Early Blood-Marrow Realm, could not clearly see it.

"No wonder you dared cause trouble at my Wang Family. You really do have some skill!"

Wang Shijun forcibly suppressed the alarm in his heart and abruptly drew the longsword at his waist.

While using his words to distract Mu Yang, he circulated his Blood Qi, stomped both feet against the ground, and shot toward Mu Yang like an arrow just after Mu Yang had finished his swing.

Cold light flickered across the blade. The sword tip was sharp and threatening, carrying the sound of tearing wind as it aimed straight for Mu Yang's heart.

Mu Yang's blade was fast, but his sword was no slower!

Yet in Mu Yang's eyes, Wang Shijun's confident sword thrust was as slow as a snail.

Mu Yang merely shifted slightly aside, evading the fierce strike. Then he raised his wrist, and the Feather-Command Broadblade swept upward from below.

Pfft!!

The sound of a sharp blade entering flesh suddenly rang out.

Immediately afterward came the clang of metal falling to the ground.

Wang Shijun's sword arm had been severed cleanly at the shoulder.

"Aah—!!!"

A heart-rending scream echoed through the night sky.

Wang Shijun's face instantly turned as white as paper. Clutching the smooth stump of his arm, he staggered backward before losing his footing and crashing heavily to the ground.

The excruciating pain made his entire body convulse. The arrogance in his gaze toward Mu Yang had vanished, leaving only fear so dense it could not be dissolved.

Mu Yang still said nothing. He merely held his blade in one hand and walked toward Wang Shijun step by step.

"Stop!!"

An angry roar suddenly exploded from nearby.

A figure darted out from the estate like a ghost, appearing before the gates in an instant.

The newcomer's hair and beard were both white. He was none other than the Wang Family Patriarch who had arrived upon hearing the commotion—Wang Rudong.