"I'll ask you again. Who sent you?"
The light in the narrow alley grew dimmer. Chen An's voice remained calm, but he pressed his foot down harder.
"Pah!"
The man spat out a mouthful of bloody saliva and glared viciously at Chen An. "Go on, kill us, brat. Our Holy Church won't let you get away with this!"
The Holy Church?!
Chen An paused. Then a name surfaced in his mind.
The Blood Demon Sect!
Chen An did not know much about the Blood Demon Sect.
He had only heard that it was a notorious cult rooted deep in Human Race territory. Beguiled by the Ancient Devil Race, its members revered the ancient devils as the "rightful rulers ordained by heaven." They believed humans were inferior and ought to become the ancient devils' slaves and food.
The Blood Demon Sect operated with ruthless secrecy. Blood sacrifices, stolen vital essence, and sinister arts were said to be the foundations of its cultivation.
For generations, its members had targeted talented humans and rising stars of the sects, ambushing them and seizing their resources. They then sacrificed their victims' blood and souls to the ancient devils in exchange for sinister power.
The imperial court and orthodox sects had launched many campaigns against them. Yet the Blood Demon Sect's hidden strongholds and talent for concealment had made it impossible to uproot. Instead, it had grown ever more rampant, becoming a thorn in the eye and a splinter in the flesh of every cultivator in the Great Luo Dynasty.
"So you targeted me because I comprehended that trace of saber intent on the Prefecture Academy's plaque?" Chen An asked, looking at the men.
The three remaining men did not answer. They gritted their teeth and shut their eyes, ready to die rather than yield.
"Looks