On Par with the Prefecture City's Geniuses? Mu Yang Draws His Blade!

On Par with the Prefecture City's Geniuses? Mu Yang Draws His Blade! Inside the study of the Zhou Family residence.

Zhou Heng and Xue She sat with teacups in hand, chatting idly.

"Brother-in-law, Mu Yang has practiced martial arts for barely three months, yet he was able to kill even the Yellow Wind Old Monster. With talent like his, would he be one of the leading figures among the younger generation even in the Prefecture City?" Zhou Heng said with a sigh.

Leaning back in his chair, Xue She took a sip of tea. "Lei Jiaojiao, the legitimate daughter of the Lei Family in Qinghe Prefecture, bathed in medicinal liquid from childhood. From the age of six, she used all kinds of demon meat and precious medicines to strengthen her foundation. When she first began practicing martial arts at twelve, she had already reached Skin and Flesh Realm Perfection. The following year, she completed her first Tendon Tempering and Bone Forging."

"Three years later, she underwent Tendon Tempering and Bone Forging again, achieving Steel Tendon Iron Bone. That same year, she broke through to the Blood-Marrow Realm. Another two years later, she reached Blood-Marrow Realm Perfection. Now, at the tender age of twenty-three, she is already at Fourth-Stage Condensing Qi Realm Perfection and can enter the Fifth Rank Channel-Opening Realm at any moment."

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

As he spoke, Xue She wore a deeply wistful expression.

The Blood-Marrow Realm Late Stage he had struggled half his life to attain had already been surpassed by others at eighteen.

Was his talent inferior to theirs?

Perhaps that was part of it.

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

The precious medicines that Qingxi County might not see once in ten years were things Lei Jiaojiao had eaten since childhood. The Third Rank demon meat that he could only eat once after a long wait was practically served at every meal for Lei Jiaojiao, and hers was of even higher quality.

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

That was the difference in background and resources.

In that regard, he was far, far inferior.

Even Mu Yang, blessed with exceptional talent, was no different.

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

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

No matter how outstanding one's talent, unless one lived by another's breath and attached oneself to the powerful and wealthy, the road ahead would be strewn with hardships!

"Alas!"

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

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

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

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

Knock! Knock! Knock!!!

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

"Come in!"

After Zhou Heng spoke, a Zhou Family servant immediately pushed open the door and rushed in, reporting anxiously, "Master! Something terrible has happened! Head Constable Mu... Head Constable Mu has brought a demon corpse and charged all the way to the gates of the Wang Family estate!"

Zhou Heng and Xue She: ???

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

What happened?

Hadn't Mu Yang only just returned home? Why had he gone to the Wang Family estate again?

And why bring a demon corpse when going there...

Wait, a demon corpse!

A scene 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 attack them directly in the city?"]

So that was it—Mu Yang intended to use fabricated evidence!

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

But upon thinking it over carefully, there seemed to be nothing wrong with it.

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

The Wang Family, meanwhile, bullied men and women alike and ran rampant without restraint. Their reputation had always been atrocious.

If Mu Yang claimed the Wang Family had a problem, the common people would truly believe him.

What was more, the Wang Family's collusion with demons was a fact to begin with. As long as Mu Yang firmly insisted on it, then took advantage of tonight to search the Wang Family and uncover a few traces, that would be enough to convict them.

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

"Brother-in-law, let's go on ahead. Tonight, we'll make the Wang Family's crimes ironclad!"

Meanwhile, outside the Wang Family estate.

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

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

The vermilion gates stood wide open. Lamps blazed brightly both inside and outside, yet an air of chilling slaughter hung in the air.

After receiving Wang Shijun's order, six Wang Family servants wielding Black Gold Iron Staffs immediately surged forward with fierce expressions, surrounding Mu Yang on all sides.

Wang Shijun's face turned cold as he shouted sternly, "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?"

"Put down your weapon and surrender immediately! For the sake of the government, I may even 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.

He merely swept his gaze around, confirming the positions of the six servants.

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

But just as his words fell—

Whoosh—!

A streak of silver flashed past, so fast that no one could see its trajectory.

The savage grins had yet to fade from the servants' faces when the iron staffs in their hands had already been severed in two.

Then came a series of dull thuds.

Six heads hit the ground, and scorching blood dyed the long street red.

The entrance to the Wang Family estate instantly fell into dead silence.

"What a fast blade!"

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

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

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

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

Forcibly suppressing the alarm in his heart, Wang Shijun abruptly drew the longsword at his waist.

While using words to distract Mu Yang, he circulated his Blood Qi and stomped the ground. His body shot toward Mu Yang, who had just completed his slash, like an arrow.

Cold light flickered across the sword blade. Its tip was sharp and menacing, carrying the howl of tearing wind as it stabbed directly at Mu Yang's heart.

Mu Yang's blade was fast, but his sword was not slow either!

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

Mu Yang merely shifted slightly aside, avoiding the incoming sword. 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 hitting the ground.

Wang Shijun's sword-wielding arm was severed cleanly at the shoulder.

"Aah—!!!"

A heart-rending scream tore through the night sky.

Wang Shijun's face instantly turned pale as paper. Clutching the smooth stump of his arm, he staggered backward, stumbled, and crashed heavily to the ground.

The agonizing pain made his entire body convulse. The arrogance in his gaze toward Mu Yang was gone, leaving behind only fear so thick it could not be dissolved.

Mu Yang still said nothing. Holding his blade in one hand, he walked toward Wang Shijun step by step.

"Stop!!"

An angry roar suddenly exploded from nearby.

A figure swept 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 come upon hearing the commotion—Wang Rudong.