Slaying Second Master Ying

Night fell like a curtain.

Chen Chun had not gone to bed. He sat cross-legged on the bed, circulating the Blazing Flame Cultivation Method to slowly heal his wounds.

His injuries were severe. It would take several days to recover fully.

He was in even greater danger than Qin An. Many demons in Ding County wanted him dead, forcing him to make every moment count.

Just then, wind stirred outside.

Chen Chun caught a foul, fishy smell. He opened his eyes and warily picked up the long blade beside his bed.

"A demon!"

Though he had never joined the Evil Extermination Division, Chen Chun knew enough from his work as an Undercover Agent.

That foul stench meant a demon had found him.

Danger was closing in.

Chen Chun took a deep breath, tightened his grip on the blade, and quietly pushed open the door.

The sight before him stopped him cold.

Qin An sat in the room drinking tea, Sharp Knife in hand, utterly composed.

In the dim yellow light, a constable's half-eaten corpse lay on the floor, its twisted expression horrifying.

Two enormous figures stood outside. Moonlight struck their sharp beaks, drawing out a chilling gleam.

Eagle Demons from Flying Cloud Gorge!

Chen Chun immediately stepped out with his blade and gritted his teeth as he took his place beside Qin An. Sweat covered his forehead.

He could sense their auras.

One belonged to the Body Infusion Realm.

Of the two Eagle Demons before them, one had reached the Body Infusion Realm—more than enough to kill them both.

Chen Chun was about to speak, but Second Master Eagle gave a cold laugh before he could.

"You can still sit there drinking tea in front of Second Master? You're an interesting butcher."

"Third Brother, take his head and avenge Eighth Brother."

Behind him, Third Master Eagle let out a vicious laugh, spread his wings, and lunged at Qin An.

There was no wasted talk once the fighting began. In a flash of lightning and flint, death was upon them.

Chen Chun had barely opened his mouth when Qin An kicked him back into the room. Qin An's voice followed him.

"Stay out of my way."

Me?

In the way?

I'm in the Qi Concealment Realm, at least. That counts for something in Ding County.

We're outmatched. Another pair of hands could take some pressure off.

Why is Qin An so arrogant?

Chen Chun scrambled to his feet. "I'll help you."

Arrogant or not, Qin An was fighting for his life. Chen Chun had to help.

But when he reached the doorway, the sight before him left him rooted to the spot.

Third Master Eagle's corpse twitched on the ground, blood spilled everywhere.

Qin An held a handful of Third Master Eagle's feathers and slowly wiped his blade clean. His face was perfectly calm.

Qin An killed a demon at the peak of the Qi Concealment Realm? Just like that?

Chen Chun could hardly believe it.

Not long ago, Qin An had needed some effort to kill Eighth Master Eagle. How had it been so easy today?

Second Master Eagle glanced coldly at the corpse. "Body Infusion Realm."

Chen Chun whipped his head toward Qin An.

He's reached the Body Infusion Realm?

Wasn't he only in the Qi Concealment Realm recently? When did he advance?

Had he been hiding his strength all along?

Qin An raised Sharp Knife. "I killed your brother. Aren't you angry?"

Second Master Eagle licked his lips. "I was. But then I thought about having the flesh of a Body Infusion Realm cultivator all to myself. Now I'm glad he's dead."

Qin An shook his head. "Cold-blooded indeed."

Second Master Eagle entered the room.

He was so tall that, when he ducked inside, he seemed like a dark cloud pressing down, blotting out the moonlight.

The instant Second Master Eagle stepped in, Qin An moved.

Ice and Fire Qi coated Sharp Knife as he drove it fiercely toward Second Master Eagle, the blade tearing through the air.

Second Master Eagle froze for an instant, then snarled, "You dishonorable little wretch!"

What a fine setting this was. Both of them were in the Body Infusion Realm, as rare in Ding County as phoenix feathers and qilin horns. Yet the little wretch had attacked without so much as a greeting, ruining the whole scene.

Clang!

A clear metallic note rang out.

Second Master Eagle's hands curled into talons that gleamed coldly as he caught Sharp Knife. "Second Master will savor you!"

A fist answered him.

Coated in Ice and Fire Qi, it slammed toward Second Master Eagle's chest.

Boom!

Second Master Eagle staggered back several steps, every feather on his body glinting coldly. "What strength."

Qin An arched a brow. "Not a scratch?"

From nearby, Chen Chun shouted, "Once demons reach the Body Infusion Realm, they can temper what they were born with! He tempered his feathers. They're as hard as iron!"

"I see," Qin An said.

No wonder this Eagle Demon had dared to come. He relied not only on his strength, but on that coat of feathers.

Second Master Eagle spread his wings and charged. "Second Master's defense is unmatched! How could a little wretch like you break through?"

His talons swept forward like the wind, carrying force enough to pierce Qin An's chest.

But at that moment, Sharp Knife suddenly accelerated in Qin An's hand.

His strokes were not merely fast. They came in broad, sweeping arcs.

Chen Chun suddenly realized that his family's Wind-Splitting Blade Technique seemed different in Qin An's hands.

Second Master Eagle screamed.

Sharp Knife had pierced his feathers and wounded him.

His talons struck empty air, unable to catch the blade.

The technique was both sweeping and ferociously swift.

Qin An's voice wound through Second Master Eagle's thoughts like a nightmare. "You've only just entered the Body Infusion Realm, haven't you? Your realm advanced, but everything else is still at the Qi Concealment Realm. And you came here to die?"

With that, Qin An seized Second Master Eagle by the neck with his left hand and stabbed the same spot again and again.

Second Master Eagle struggled desperately, but the Ice and Fire Qi seemed to seep into every opening. One moment he was cold as ice; the next, he burned like fire.

Each thrust of Sharp Knife made him convulse.

Gradually, Second Master Eagle stopped twitching. He lay on the floor, his body cooling.

Qin An put away Sharp Knife, then bent down to butcher him, his face calm.

Second Master Eagle had been strong, but he and Qin An were in the same realm.

Qin An's Wind-Breaking Goose Blade Technique was a Body Infusion Realm technique. Second Master Eagle had still been using his Qi Concealment Realm methods. Naturally, he was no match.

In the room deep at night, only the sounds of Qin An's butchery rose, making every hair stand on end.

Before long, Qin An found the Blood Crystal. He circulated the Water-Fire Duality Cultivation Method and stored the crystal within his body.

Chen Chun swallowed and did not dare say more.

He suddenly felt a touch of fear toward Qin An.

The man before him surpassed him by far in both strength and methods.

All his earlier worries had been pointless.

Qin An wiped the blood from Sharp Knife, sheathed it at his waist, and glanced back at Chen Chun.

Chen Chun instinctively lowered his head. It felt as though a tiger had fixed its gaze on him; he did not dare meet Qin An's eyes.

After a moment's thought, Qin An said, "I'll be out all day tomorrow. You're coming with me."

Danger had come for him again and again. Qin An urgently needed to unlock a new profession and learn Azure Bird Leap.

As for Chen Chun, his identity was unusual. Keeping him safe would spare Qin An a great deal of trouble later.

Chen Chun nodded at once.

Qin An returned to his room.

The blood in this room, naturally, was Chen Chun's to clean up.

The next day.

Qin An and Chen Chun went out onto the streets of Ding County.

Qin An had to unlock the new profession today and raise it to level three as soon as possible.