One Word

Another two days passed, and the academy's recruitment was still in full swing. However, Qin Yu was already preparing to leave.

Saying goodbye in person was too troublesome, and Qin Yu was not good at handling farewells. So he decided to leave a letter before departing, explaining everything clearly.

After placing the letter beneath a teacup, Qin Yu took one last look around the guest room he had occupied for several days. Then he pushed open the door and stepped into the night.

The Xiao Household compound was silent, with lanterns beneath the covered walkways casting clusters of dim yellow light.

The guards at the gate recognized him and asked no questions.

Qin Yu nodded to them before leaving the Xiao Household through its main gate, following the familiar route toward the western side of the city.

Before leaving, he still wanted to take one more look at that little house.

Indeed, there was nothing left there worth missing. He simply wanted to go.

Mundo... Qin Yu could go wherever he wanted.

But just as he was about to reach the alley, he suddenly stopped.

His senses silently spread through the ground beneath his feet, and his brows furrowed slightly.

There were people in the alley.

Four in total. Their auras were kept low, their breathing deep and restrained. Clearly, this was not their first time doing something like this.

Their strengths varied, but even the weakest was an Eight-Star Fighter, and...

There was also a Two-Star Battle Master.

In all of Wutan City, those with such strength who also held a grudge against him...

Last year, Qin Yu had made Jia Lie Ao lose face one day, then left for Jia Nan Academy the next. Jia Lie Ao had not even gotten the chance to retaliate.

It seemed that after a year, Jia Lie Ao's pent-up anger had reached its limit. He had been waiting for Qin Yu to return so he could take revenge, was that it?

As Qin Yu walked, he loosened his wrists. The Dou Qi within him slowly began to circulate, and his entire body entered a combat state.

The instant he stepped into the alley's shadows, a short blade stabbed in from the side, aimed straight for his throat.

The attacker struck cleanly and decisively without a word, clearly intending to kill him.

The others also revealed themselves, rapidly charging toward Qin Yu.

Qin Yu twisted aside, and the short blade swept past his collar. Then his right fist blasted out fiercely, the full force of a Seven-Star Battle Master's Dou Qi unleashed with the same intent to kill.

Bang.

A dull thud rang out, like a hammer smashing into mud.

The man flew backward and crashed into the alley wall, sending web-like cracks across its surface.

He slid down the wall and collapsed to the ground. A fist mark had caved in his chest, blood foam spilling from his mouth as his pupils rapidly lost focus.

Killed with one punch.

Qin Yu did not look at the man's corpse. With a light tap of his feet, he vaulted over the two attackers rushing toward him and flashed directly before the Two-Star Battle Master.

"So fast?!"

Moonlight illuminated the Two-Star Battle Master's stunned face. Clearly, he had not expected Qin Yu to be so fast.

Wasn't this guy just a One-Star Dou Practitioner a year ago?!

As he activated his Battle Qi Gauze in an attempt to defend himself, Qin Yu's Qilin Fist came at him instead, its triple layers of force stacked together.

The next second, that overwhelming force passed through the Battle Qi Gauze and pierced straight through his body, even blowing a gaping hole through his clothes.

Qin Yu did not close his eyes, allowing the man's blood to splatter across his face.

At the same time, the two men behind him turned back, raised their weapons, and viciously chopped down at Qin Yu's back.

They were deathsworn warriors raised by their clan. Their mission was to kill. Even though two of their companions had already fallen, they still had to eliminate the target!

But the next second, the two deathsworn warriors' weapons seemed to strike into sand, easily blocked by Qin Yu's Thousand-Ridge Earth Dragon Armor.

Before either of them could react, Qin Yu had already turned around. One punch each, and both were dealt with.

After reaching up to wipe the blood from his face, Qin Yu took a deep breath and dropped heavily onto the ground.

The night wind filled his lungs, carrying a faint scent of rust.

This was his first time killing someone. Mentally, he had given himself countless warnings long ago. After all, having come to this world, did he really expect to keep his hands completely clean?

That was truly asking too much.

Yet when he saw the state of the corpses, a wave of physical discomfort still rose within him.

Like someone who had never tasted strong liquor before, swallowing it for the first time and feeling that burning sting.

Qin Yu slowly exhaled, calming the turbulent emotions surging in his chest.

A moment later, he found a token in the Battle Master's robes, completely confirming his earlier suspicions.

"They really think highly of me. A year ago, I was only a One-Star Dou Practitioner, yet a year later, you sent a Battle Master to kill me..."

Perhaps his previous defeat of a Six-Star Fighter had made that fellow uneasy.

Qin Yu looked at the token, his thumb rubbing the engraved indentation. He remained silent for a long time.

These people had failed tonight, but if the Jia Lie Clan could send one group, they could send a second.

He was about to leave Wutan City. Once the Jia Lie Clan discovered they could not find him, what would they do?

Qin Yu's gaze fell upon that familiar door, and a trace of ruthlessness flashed through his eyes.

At the academy, there were regulations and arena rules. That was why Qin Yu had never taken Bai Cheng, Zhao Yuan, or those people who provoked him in the arena seriously.

After all, there were only so many tricks they could use at the academy. They were not difficult to handle, and he only needed to consider how to grow stronger.

But this was not the academy. There were countless methods available here, and Qin Yu naturally could not deal with matters by the academy's standards.

He put the token into his Storage Ring, rose to his feet, and looked toward the Jia Lie Clan.

In that case, he would delay his departure.

He would make sure the Jia Lie Clan could never pose any threat to him again.

And to achieve that goal, the most direct and effective method was one word:

Kill!

He turned back for one final look at the little house, dragged away all the attackers' corpses, and cleaned the bloodstains from before the door.

"It won't be long."

Facing the desolate little house, Qin Yu murmured softly. It was unclear who he was speaking to.

Then Qin Yu turned and left, returning to the Xiao Household.

As the Jia Lie Clan's sworn enemy, the Xiao Household would surely have a comprehensive understanding of that clan.

For example, Jia Lie Bi's exact cultivation level, how many High-Rank Battle Masters the clan had, and whether there were any hidden experts.

And...

The precise itineraries of those High-Rank Battle Masters, even the elders at the Da Dou Shi level.

After all, Qin Yu intended to uproot them completely.

Only after understanding all of that could he decide where to begin cutting.

When he returned to the Xiao Household, dawn had not yet arrived. The gate guards were already yawning, but the moment they saw Qin Yu return, they immediately perked up.

Judging from how he had looked earlier, hadn't he been planning to leave quietly? Why had he returned?

Had the plan changed?

Entering the guest room, Qin Yu pulled out the letter from beneath the teacup and sat quietly on the bed, waiting for the sunlight to arrive.