In Luo Ning and her maid's eyes, however, it was...
Sikong Jing's fist slammed forward, and the bearded man's entire face caved in. Blood burst out as he fell to the ground, dead!
The scene fell silent. The people around them stopped in their tracks, utterly dumbfounded.
"Big brother! Beast, big brother!"
A shriek tore through the air. Their big brother was dead—Luo Ning's servant had taken him down in just two punches.
One by one, they stared at Sikong Jing in disbelief, unable to accept what they were seeing.
They were a band of horse thieves who ran rampant around Yunye City. Their leader, nicknamed Beast, was notorious for his brutality. Tonight, they had been hired by Lei Shuang, the eldest daughter of the Lei Ying Merchant Guild, to kill someone. They had thought it would be an easy job.
Yet now, Beast had been killed by a mere seventh-level Bright Realm fighter, despite being a whole major realm stronger.
This had to be a nightmare!
"Kill him! Avenge Beast!"
A frenzied cry rang out. The horse thieves seethed with rage and rushed at Sikong Jing.
The true energy inside Sikong Jing surged wildly. Their cries of battle seemed to take him back to the battlefield, to the days when he had ventured alone into the dragon's lair. The blood in his body suddenly boiled.
But it was no longer merely blood. It had become the Blood of Ten Thousand Beasts—violent and savage.
"If your big brother is Beast, then I must be the Berserker!"
A bloodthirsty feeling welled up and swept through Sikong Jing's mind. As his words fell... Roar!
A low growl like that of a berserk beast rumbled from Sikong Jing's throat.
He took one step forward and slaughtered!
Pfft, pfft, pfft...
Blood sprayed through his eyes as he reaped one life after another, as easily as cutting down weeds.
Once, the Invincible Divine General had faced a million enemy soldiers alone and charged straight in. Now, two hundred horse thieves were no more than paper tigers in his eyes.
So what if some of them were in the Dark Realm? His boiling beast blood would tear through everything.
The true energy of the Emperor-Slaying Prison-Breaking Art surged wildly within the dantian shaped like a monster's head. It was as if the beastly dantian had opened its jaws, spewing out true energy that coursed through every part of Sikong Jing's body.
Blood was fire, and true energy was oil... adding fuel to the flames!
Behind Sikong Jing, Luo Ning stood stunned.
She watched as the man who had wanted to buy back the Jadeite Hairpin charged into the crowd. Not one of them was his match; anyone he touched died.
"He's not human! Run, run for your lives!"
The horse thieves were so terrified that their guts nearly split. Someone shouted, and they all fled in every direction.
But Sikong Jing only licked his lips and said coldly, "You won't get away."
He dashed out of Luo Ning's room and slaughtered his way through.
Outside the door, only crazed screams and pleas for mercy remained. After just a few breaths, the sounds stopped.
Sikong Jing landed. Corpses lay at his feet; not a single person had survived.
At that moment, Sikong Jing's gaze fell on Lei Shuang of the Lei Ying Merchant Guild. His eyes glowed red... The next instant, he shuddered violently. He seemed to have been far too bloodthirsty just now.
It seemed the Blood of Ten Thousand Beasts and the Emperor-Slaying Prison-Breaking Art were indeed extraordinary. They could easily affect his state of mind.
He closed his eyes and silently steadied himself. When he looked at Lei Shuang again, his gaze had turned clear and bright.
But in Lei Shuang's eyes, Sikong Jing was still the terrifying butcher from moments ago. She collapsed to the ground with a thud and cried in terror, "Don't come any closer, or the Lei Ying Merchant Guild will kill your whole family!"
She was truly terrified. All her earlier arrogance had vanished.
All that remained in her heart was a frenzied roar: Where had Luo Ning found this monstrous servant?
"Kill my whole family?"
Blood gradually seeped back into Sikong Jing's clear eyes.
He lunged forward, grabbed Lei Shuang by the throat, and lifted her into the air. "I hate it when people use my family to threaten me."
Though they had only been together for a few short days, Su Yuexi and his father- and mother-in-law had already become untouchable to him.
A dragon has scales that must not be touched; touch them, and you die!
"Wait! Don't kill her!"
Just as Sikong Jing was about to crush Lei Shuang's throat, Luo Ning's voice rang out.
Sikong Jing halted, his fingers poised around Lei Shuang's neck. He asked in confusion, "She wanted to kill you, and yet you won't kill her?"
Luo Ning took a deep breath and gently explained, "The Lei Ying Merchant Guild is much stronger than my Luoshui Jade Firm. Lei Shuang is also the most beloved daughter of the guild's master."
"If she dies here, my Luoshui Jade Firm will likely have no choice but to face a terrifying assault."
Luo Ning would have loved to kill Lei Shuang, of course, but she had to consider the consequences.
At the same time, Lei Shuang, struggling in Sikong Jing's grasp, heard those words and regained some of her nerve. She said bitterly, "Servant, if you kill me, the Luoshui Jade Firm will be ruined too. Do you believe that?"
The air seemed to freeze. A strange smile tugged at Sikong Jing's lips. He said bluntly, "What does the Luoshui Jade Firm have to do with me?"
Crack...
Sikong Jing snapped Lei Shuang's neck. Her eyes widened in disbelief, and then she breathed her last.
"You... How could you do that?"
Luo Ning's eyes widened as she pointed at Sikong Jing. He had actually killed Lei Shuang after all.
Sikong Jing only knew that if he let Lei Shuang return alive and she traced everything back to him, she would bring trouble to Su Yuexi and her family.
So he had simply killed her!
He casually tossed Lei Shuang's body onto the ground, looked straight at Luo Ning, and said offhandedly, "I saved your life. Our deal for the Jadeite Hairpin is done. Goodbye."
As soon as the words left his mouth, Sikong Jing vanished from the post station.
Outside the room, Luo Ning stood frozen, her eyes wide and her mind blank.
Just then, her maid came stumbling out, trembling. "Young Mistress, what kind of person is he? He's terrifying."
Hearing that, Luo Ning murmured to herself, "I'd like to know too."
From beginning to end, she had never learned this man's name or his identity.
She only knew that he had come to retrieve the Jadeite Hairpin for his wife, and that despite being only in the Bright Realm, he had killed without batting an eye, terrifying beyond measure.
"Young Mistress, now that Lei Shuang is dead, the Lei Ying Merchant Guild will surely declare war on us. What should we do?"
The maid was badly shaken. Suddenly, her eyes turned cold, and she said, "How about we hurry back to Yunye City, investigate that man's identity and origins, and pin everything on him?"
Only then could they avert disaster for the Luoshui Jade Firm.
Luo Ning froze. Sikong Jing's killings flashed through her mind, and she flatly refused. "No. We'll die!"
At the thought of Sikong Jing's bloodthirsty expression, an inexplicable fear rose in Luo Ning's heart.
When her maid suggested it, her whole body had gone numb, as if a ferocious beast had fixed its gaze on her.
This man can only be befriended. We must never try anything underhanded. That was the purest thought in Luo Ning's heart.
Bang!
Suddenly, someone kicked open the post station's front door.
A middle-aged man who looked like an officer from Yunye City strode inside, followed by a large group of city guards.
The man unfurled a portrait. His deep voice rang out: "Have any of you seen the man in this portrait? He's a criminal exiled to Yunye City, and he's escaped."
Before you continue