You Made Me Kill You

The next day,

The cold wind howled, and Ershui City seemed to have turned cold overnight.

Crack!

A large foot snapped a dry branch beneath it.

Wang Sheng, now dressed differently, stepped out of the inn.

There were few people on the streets, and the city was unusually quiet. The occasional pedestrians who passed by hurried along, not daring to linger.

Sensing no one watching him from the shadows, Wang Sheng headed toward the Martial Arts Academy.

"Don't go out. Haven't you heard? The Liu family was wiped out!"

"What? Hundreds of people are gone?"

"Hide quickly! The Divine Incense Cult is back!"

"The yamen runners are arresting people everywhere!"

As Wang Sheng passed through street after street, he caught bits of hushed conversation.

"Hey, stop! Who are you?"

Several gray-clad yamen runners holding portraits stopped Wang Sheng.

"What are you hiding on you? Don't tell me it's a weapon!"

Their faces were flushed, greed gleaming in their eyes as they sized up Wang Sheng. Though he wore a short shirt, his waist bulged with something, and they had clearly decided he was a fat sheep ripe for the slaughter.

"A Martial Arts Academy disciple!"

Wang Sheng could not be bothered to waste words on them and directly produced the token of an official Zhao Family Martial Arts Academy disciple.

The moment they saw the token, the viciousness in the gray-clad runners' eyes vanished. They immediately backed away several steps, bobbing and scraping with flattering smiles. "Mistaken identity, sir. Please go, please go!"

Any disciple issued such a token was at least a Bright Force Martial Artist.

If he were a Dark Force martial master, then even if he beat these gray-clad runners to death, at most he would only have to pay some compensation.

Wang Sheng remained expressionless and turned to leave.

Behind him came the sounds of several gray-clad runners brutally kicking open a commoner's door and shouting that they were searching for Demonic Cult disciples.

"Ershui City has changed after all!"

"It's become even more chaotic!"

Walking through the city, Wang Sheng keenly felt how, overnight, the hostility in countless people had erupted.

Or rather, the city's powerful figures had truly felt threatened. They had loosened the reins and given the word, so naturally their underlings became utterly unscrupulous.

Just as Wang Sheng was one street away from the Zhao Family Martial Arts Academy, he was stopped again in a small alley.

This time, it was people from the Divine Incense Cult.

"Come, buy an incense stick. One tael of silver each, and it will keep you safe!"

A group of Divine Incense Cult believers pursued members of the Heavenly Mandate Cult while promoting divine incense and recruiting followers.

Wang Sheng knew the Divine Incense Cult was not to be provoked, so he immediately took out a piece of silver and tossed it over.

"Oh? You're quite rich!"

Seeing that a poor wretch in a short shirt like Wang Sheng neither begged nor resisted, but casually tossed out one tael of silver, the leading believers could not help being surprised.

"We have divine incense here that costs one hundred taels per stick. How about it? Want to try it? Breathe in its fragrance, and you'll see immortals!"

A Bright Force believer looked Wang Sheng over and spoke with a mocking grin.

"No need. I am a Martial Arts Academy disciple, and I have urgent business to attend to."

Wang Sheng displayed his token.

"Heh! If you hadn't taken out that token, we might have let you go. Martial Arts Academy? Martial Alliance? What the hell are they before our Divine Incense Cult?"

"I'm telling you, today, you'll buy this incense whether you want to or not. Otherwise, don't blame us for getting rough."

The leading Divine Incense Cult believer, in the late Bright Force stage, wore a cold expression. The scar on his face looked especially savage as he issued his threat.

The Divine Incense Cult and the Martial Alliance stood opposed to one another. In the past, when disciples from both sides met, they would at most exchange a few harsh words. But today, because the Liu family had been exterminated, the powerful figures were deeply dissatisfied with the Martial Alliance. They had given free rein, determined to put the Martial Alliance in its place.

"If I pay for this divine incense, will there be divine incense worth a thousand taels waiting for me afterward?"

Wang Sheng said indifferently.

"Rest assured. As long as you pay, you'll be one of our Divine Incense Cult people. We'll protect you from then on."

The scar-faced believer said carelessly.

"Oh."

"So that's how it is."

Wang Sheng nodded and looked around. There was no one else in the alley.

Then,

Wang Sheng raised his hand and struck out with his palm.

The late Bright Force scar-faced believer did not even have time to react. His solid chest seemed to have been chiseled by an iron hammer, instantly caving in. Blood sprayed everywhere, and like a ragged cloth doll, his entire body slammed viciously into the ground. His life was snuffed out on the spot.

"You're courting death! You dare kill people from our Divine Incense Cult!"

Several believers had grown used to being arrogant. Before they could react or realize Wang Sheng's strength, they drew their blades as if it were only natural.

Wang Sheng remained composed, strolling toward them as though taking a leisurely walk through a garden.

One palm strike—blade shattered, man died.

Not a single person could withstand one move from Wang Sheng.

"Spare us! Spare us!"

"How could you possibly be a Dark Force martial master!"

Among the remaining believers, some were filled with terror and begged frantically for mercy, while others desperately tried to take him down with them. It was all useless.

What Bright Force experts? What strength in numbers? Before absolute power, these people were like dead branches and rotten wood, crushed and blown apart in an instant.

Not one of them could escape this small alley.

By the time only the last man remained, he was kneeling on the ground, trembling from head to toe and muttering to himself, as if terror had driven him mad.

Looking at the corpses and blood strewn across the ground, smelling the stench of blood in the air, Wang Sheng said helplessly, "I didn't want to kill anyone either. But why did you have to force me?"

"With every palm I struck, I erased and denied decades of someone's painstaking cultivation."

"So when all was said and done, this was still your fault."

"You made me kill you!"

Wang Sheng let out one final sigh and brushed his palm across the last man's head.

"You devil! Monster!"

The last man could not help but curse aloud.

Thud!

The corpse fell to the ground.

After making sure no one dared spy on him, Wang Sheng strolled away.

Zhao Family Martial Arts Academy.

The academy grounds were quieter than ever before, and an oppressive atmosphere shrouded the entire academy.

Zhao Jie stood in the courtyard with his hands clasped behind his back, his expression dark.

Before him lay Jin Cang's corpse. Aside from his face, which was still relatively intact, the rest of his body was mangled beyond recognition.

Many disciples did not dare look directly at it.

Jin Cang's family knelt on the ground, weeping softly.

All the disciples stood with their hands behind their backs on either side, silently awaiting Zhao Jie's judgment.

Wang Sheng was among them.

Though many gazes secretly swept over Wang Sheng, his expression remained calm and unruffled, as though he had not noticed.

Could it have been him?

Wu An was restless, constantly glancing at Wang Sheng. His heart was in turmoil, and unease filled him.

Jin Cang had only clashed with Wang Sheng yesterday, yet Jin Cang was dead today!

Wasn't that death far too swift?

If the news of the Liu family's destruction last night had not been so shocking, then word of Jin Cang's death today would certainly have spread throughout the city and sparked much discussion.

A mid-stage Dark Force martial master had been beaten to death in a short time. That meant an expert at the peak of Dark Force had emerged from hiding, no longer concealing his methods, and had begun to enter the fray and kill.

Any Dark Force martial master would have to be on guard upon hearing that.

"Before Jin Cang died, he shouted Jing Kui's name."

"But as your master, I do not believe Jing Kui killed Jin Cang."

"However, Jing Kui cannot be let off either. Detain him for now."

"Members of the Heavenly Mandate Cult died beside Jin Cang. And there is also their blood feud for exterminating the Liu family."

"Today, all of you will follow me to hunt down the Heavenly Mandate Cult!"

Zhao Jie knew it would be difficult to find Jin Cang's killer. But the Heavenly Mandate Cult might also be connected to this, and with the Liu family's extermination added in—

Zhao Jie could only vent his fury on the Heavenly Mandate Cult.

"This disciple is willing to follow Master and slaughter the Demonic Cult!"

Wang Sheng and the others cupped their fists together and shouted in unison.