Everything According to Plan

"How often have those scions of noble clans ever cared about your lives?"

The other man's tone was calm, yet strangely bewitching.

And it was completely true.

Zhao Hong wondered whether, if he were truly driven into a corner, he could face death so calmly.

Yet to his surprise, there was not the slightest unrest within the group.

"Evil Skin Cult scum, you dare try to undermine our morale?"

"What noble clans do is none of your concern."

Liu Zheng barked coldly, his voice grim.

The black-robed man smiled faintly, undisguised killing intent filling his eyes.

A Profound Embryo. The outcome was beyond doubt.

"Just you alone?"

Zhao Hong narrowed his eyes and spoke slowly.

He had silently pushed his senses to their limit, yet detected no one else hiding nearby.

But he could not let down his guard.

"One man is enough to deal with all of you!"

"What exactly are you trying to do? Even if you can wipe out the garrison at Clawfang Mountain, you'll face the Judge's Office's thunderous wrath."

The black-robed man took two steps forward. Once he clearly saw Zhao Hong's face, a trace of surprise flashed through his eyes.

Then his expression turned mocking. "The Judge's Office's thunderous wrath? There'd better be some, or my cult will be terribly disappointed."

"Wouldn't it have been nice if everyone had just minded their own business? If you must blame someone, blame yourselves for insisting on meddling in the Azure Cloud Mountains."

Mind their own business?

Zhao Hong nearly laughed in anger.

With the Evil Skin Cult's conduct, how did they have the nerve to say that?

Not to mention meddling in the Azure Cloud Mountains.

This was originally within Great Li's territory.

Meddling in the Azure Cloud Mountains... wait.

Zhao Hong's heart stirred. Could it be that before this Judge's Office had been established, the Evil Skin Cult had already had some special purpose within the Azure Cloud Mountains?

On further thought, it was entirely possible.

But now was not the time to consider such matters.

"Brother Liu, how much merit would killing this bastard count for?"

Everyone was stunned by his words.

But in an instant,

a frenzied thought rose in the hearts of every martial artist from the Judge's Office.

Maybe they really could kill this bastard.

Liu Zheng suddenly said, "Given the current situation, at least three major merits."

Three major merits—without exaggeration, that was an enormous contribution.

Even top martial artists among the Silver Bell Guards rarely earned that much in a single mission.

The main reason was the current situation,

as well as Zhao Hong's cultivation.

This was a life-or-death battle across realms.

"Three major merits."

Zhao Hong licked his lips, his eyes blazing.

Adding in the people he had saved earlier,

he figured that afterward, it would amount to far more than three major merits.

The Judge's Office's merits were good things.

"Brother Liu, you go first."

"I'll hold him off. Be careful all the way after you leave."

"Once I kill this bastard, I'll catch up as soon as I can."

Zhao Hong waved a hand.

"What?"

"Zhao Hong, are you insane?"

"We're not leaving."

The crowd instantly erupted.

"Arrogant."

Even the black-robed man grew enraged. Killing intent surged in his eyes as the aura around him rapidly rose.

"This is an order!" Zhao Hong swept a cold gaze over Liu Zheng, Wang Yunshan, and everyone else. His entire body exuded a savage, imposing force that brooked no doubt.

Everyone's hearts trembled, their expressions incomparably complicated.

No one had expected Zhao Hong to choose to stay behind alone.

Even if Zhao Hong could not kill the black-robed man, with the strength he had displayed, he could at least hold him back for a while and give them a chance to escape.

An order!

Should they obey it or not?

He was the leader they had chosen themselves only temporarily.

"Why are you still standing around?"

Impatience showed on Zhao Hong's face.

More people meant more strength, but that depended on the situation.

Right now, even the strongest among them was far too weak compared to him.

They would only hold him back.

Liu Zheng's eyes reddened. He gritted his teeth and said fiercely, "Go."

"Go."

"Zhao Hong, take care."

"We'll wait for you behind us."

One Silver Bell Guard after another solemnly clasped their fists in salute.

As though bidding farewell forever.

Sun Tao's expression was immensely complicated. He recalled Zhao Hong's humble manner when he had first arrived, asking him questions about everything, then looked at him now—towering like a mountain.

Golden Bell Guard, inspector—what fucking bullshit.

Zhao Hong laughed in anger.

"Damn it, you all think I'm going to die? Not one of you is hoping I'll be alright?"

"Get lost already."

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

The group hesitated no longer, scattering and circling away like lightning.

Zhao Hong stepped forward and blocked the black-robed man's path.

"You've got some nerve, little brat."

"I'll give you one more chance. Submit to my cult, and I'll grant you superior Jade Hide."

The black-robed man truly valued talent.

Such combat power, such courage—both were rare.

"You sure talk a lot."

A chill flashed through Zhao Hong's eyes as he abruptly raised his blade.

Boom!

His entire body thundered as though exploding, kicking up violent waves.

Blood aura surged like a tide, piercing through the sky.

Cloud-Breaking Flash!

Terrifying force, furious as thunder, poured wholly into his blade. With Cloud-Breaking Flash's extreme speed and explosive power, it arrived in an instant.

Slash!

The blade swept up, its aura-flames blazing and tyrannical.

A flicker of shock crossed the black-robed man's eyes.

This brat possessed astonishing strength.

He was nearly at the Profound Embryo realm.

But unfortunately,

before a true Profound Embryo, he had no chance of survival.

"You don't know your place."

Thump!

A sound like a heartbeat came from within the black-robed man's body, directly shaking the surrounding wilderness. Countless raindrops froze in midair out of nowhere.

Then he casually reached out, grabbing at the incoming blade, his eyes full of contempt.

Now.

Zhao Hong's entire body tensed. Facing a genuine Profound Embryo, how could he possibly let down his guard?

Blade intent!

Clang!

The blade's edge quivered as its aura-flames surged.

An indescribable wave swept forth, blanketing heaven and earth.

The black-robed man's expression drastically changed. He felt the aura surrounding him, shaking the wilderness, instantly torn apart by an unmatched invisible sharpness.

"Blade intent? How is that possible?"

Before he could react, that blade intent carried a vast, river-like tide of terrifying murderous ferocity, tyrannical and chilling.

Like a primordial beast.

Roar!

It was as if dragons and tigers roared together beside his ears.

Though the black-robed man was a Profound Embryo, his gaze still went blank for a moment after being caught off guard.

In that instant.

Bang!

Boom!

The ground burst apart, and terrifying force danced wildly like blood-red madness.

The black-robed man grunted, blood spilling from the corner of his mouth. He had actually been forcibly suppressed.

The haze in his eyes abruptly faded, replaced by a savage fury.

"You little bastard, I'm taking your hide for sure."

So young, so powerful, and he had even grasped blade intent. This hide was simply too perfect.

Clang!

A crisp ring entered his ears.

The black-robed man suddenly froze, his gaze instinctively following the blade that shot into the sky.

This blade had clearly suppressed me. How did it leave his hand?

Not good!

His expression changed sharply. His chest swelled, turning crimson through and through.

The black-robed man truly deserved to be called a Profound Embryo. Even under the blade intent's intimidation, his instinctive reaction remained astonishingly swift.

But Zhao Hong was already one step ahead.

The plan was simple.

Blade intent to intimidate him.

One instant was enough.

Throw the blade, then Mighty Vajra Finger!

As the black-robed man reacted, Zhao Hong's five fingers had already hooked like claws and viciously struck down.

The black-robed man could never have dodged. His disordered aura, suppressed by the blade, had not even been adjusted when he could only hurriedly gather strength to defend.

Bang!

Pfft!

Amid agonizing pain in all five fingers, the crimson aura swelling from the black-robed man's chest was violently crushed apart, and Zhao Hong's strike pierced straight through his chest.

At mastery, Mighty Vajra Finger made his five fingers comparable to divine weapons.

Violent force erupted fiercely, shaking layer upon layer.

His internal organs instantly filled with cracks, like a battlefield where dragons and tigers fought.

With a tearing sound,

the Jade Hide that had only just spread beneath the black-robed man's skin, before it could erupt, was ripped open by five hooked fingers in a massive gash.

Pfft!

Blood gushed like a fountain.

A piece of Evil Skin a foot wide and two feet long, mixed with large chunks of flesh, tore away from the black-robed man's body.

A bloody crater appeared across his entire chest.

"Ahhhhhhh~~~"

The black-robed man let out a shrill scream, his vision going dark.

"You little bastard."

"I'll skin you alive."

"Ah!!"

Crimson astral energy erupted wildly, blasting in all directions.

He had already gone mad, with no time to lament his own carelessness.

His internal organs had ruptured, and his Jade Hide was damaged.

His life force was rapidly draining away.

Yet he had not completely lost his mind.

His desperate burst of power was only for defense. One hand shot toward a storage pouch at his waist like lightning.

It contained a large quantity of beast hide and Jade Hide.

Stuff them all into the bloody cavity, and there was still hope.