As he pondered.
The black-haired zombie had already launched its attack. Its stiff body was not slow at all; instead, it moved with astonishing speed, reaching Yang Ye and the others in the blink of an eye.
"Ah!!!"
A shrill scream rang out.
Pfft!
Blood splattered.
Wang Changye had been unable to dodge in time. At the critical moment, he could only avoid a fatal blow as best he could, but the black-haired zombie bit off his left arm at the shoulder.
Crunch! Crunch!
Before everyone's eyes, the black-haired zombie swallowed Wang Changye's arm.
"Bastard!"
Wang Changye's face turned pale.
Roar!!!
The black-haired zombie roared.
Clang!
The next moment.
Accompanied by a chilling flash of sword light, a figure descended from the sky. Moving swiftly, he slipped through the crowd like a serpent and charged at the black-haired zombie and the three enhanced corpse ghouls.
"Who?"
"This..."
Yang Ye and the others were all startled.
Crack!
A crisp sound rang out.
The black-haired zombie howled. Its nails had already grown into jet-black claws, yet during its clash with Xu Qing, every one of them was severed by the iron sword.
Roar! Roar! Roar!!
All around.
The black-haired zombie and the three enhanced corpse ghouls kept roaring at Xu Qing, their furious cries sending dense yin energy and corpse qi rushing toward him.
"S-Senior..."
"..."
Yang Ye and the others saw the severed black claws lying on the ground. Recalling what had happened yesterday, they guessed that this swordsmanship master before them was the senior who had beheaded a corpse ghoul with one strike yesterday.
"Stand back."
Xu Qing lowered his voice. Moreover, after the Ghost Mask had been upgraded, it could conceal his face and hide his aura.
"Y-Yes, sir..."
"Yes!"
After hearing Xu Qing's order, Yang Ye and the others exchanged glances, signaled the other members, and slowly retreated behind Xu Qing.
As for Wang Changye, whose arm had already been severed, the black-haired zombie had bitten it off. The flesh around his wound had begun to blacken, with wisps of corpse qi and yin energy seeping out.
Clearly.
Wang Changye had already been poisoned by Corpse Poison. If it was not dealt with quickly, once the poison reached his heart, there would be no saving him. Not only would he die, but he might even undergo corpse transformation after death.
Roar!
At that moment.
The three enhanced corpse ghouls were the first to pounce at Xu Qing from three different directions. Xu Qing's expression remained calm, utterly at ease against the three enhanced corpse ghouls.
The Serpent Evasion Technique unfolded, nimble beyond compare. As he evaded the three enhanced corpse ghouls, the iron sword in his hand had already descended.
Clang!
Beneath the moonlight.
A flash of cold, gleaming sword light vanished in an instant.
Pfft!
Blood sprayed.
Xu Qing's iron sword cleaved off the head of one enhanced corpse ghoul. He felt no resistance whatsoever, as though slicing through tofu with a knife.
"!!!"
"S-So strong..."
"My heavens!"
"Th-This..."
"The corpse ghouls couldn't even withstand one sword strike from this senior. He cut off one corpse ghoul's head so easily."
"That's incredible."
"..."
Everyone was astonished.
Pfft! Pfft!
Xu Qing struck swiftly, his sword light becoming even faster. Although he had never practiced swordsmanship, Xu Qing was still a dark-force martial artist. He was fast, his reactions were quick, and his strength was formidable.
Besides.
The iron sword in Xu Qing's hand was a Divine Sharp Artifact.
Therefore.
The remaining two corpse ghouls did not last more than two moves against Xu Qing before he severed their heads as well. Three headless corpses lay on the ground.
Roar!!!
The black-haired zombie lunged forward, roaring repeatedly as corpse qi surged around it. Whether in speed, reaction, strength, defense, or any other aspect, it surpassed the corpse ghouls by an entire level.
Unfortunately.
Before Xu Qing, it still could not withstand the sharpness of the Iron Sword LV10. Furthermore, the iron sword possessed an evil-breaking effect. After only a few exchanges.
"Die!"
Pfft!
Xu Qing severed the black-haired zombie's head as well. With a thud, the black-haired zombie collapsed. From the beginning of the battle to its end, only a few minutes had passed, yet Xu Qing had already finished it.
Done.
Xu Qing was quite satisfied. His current strength had long since undergone a world-shaking transformation, increasing tremendously. Especially now that he had this LV10 Iron Sword, he was like a tiger that had grown wings.
It could be said.
If Xu Qing could learn a decent sword technique and pair it with the iron sword in his hand, his strength could rise by another level. He would even be able to contend with an expert of transformed force.
"Th-That's it?"
"That was way too fast."
"Those monsters were so terrifying that we were no match for them at all, yet they couldn't even last a few moves against Senior before they were all dealt with."
"Is this the gap in true strength?"
"..."
Everyone drew in a deep breath, their gazes filled with reverence as they looked at Xu Qing's back. Wang Changye, Yang Ye, and Qin Daniu all wore respectful expressions, their eyes full of longing.
"Thank you, Senior, for saving our lives."
"Thank you..."
Yang Ye, Wang Changye, Qin Daniu, and the others bowed to Xu Zhengqing.
"I was only passing by."
Xu Qing glanced at Wang Changye and saw his wound. "You should hurry back and find a way to cure the Corpse Poison. Otherwise, if you delay any longer, there will be no saving you."
"Thank you for the reminder, Senior."
Wang Changye bowed once more.
After that.
Xu Qing did not say anything further. He planned to leave. The reason he had acted was merely to test the extent of his current strength. Besides, he now lived on Hongye Street, and he did not want anything to happen there, since it would affect him.
However.
Xu Qing had not expected the iron sword in his hand to be so sharp, nor had he expected it to possess an evil-breaking effect. Before he could truly display his full strength, the black-haired zombie and three corpse ghouls had already been slain by him.
It was somewhat regrettable.
Footsteps rang out in rapid succession...
Just then.
No sooner had Xu Qing left than Xu Weiran arrived with three skilled men. Upon reaching the scene, he saw the corpses on the ground and looked toward Xu Qing's retreating back.
Among the three skilled men Xu Weiran had brought was Zhao Jingyuan. His gaze also fell on Xu Qing, and he vaguely felt that the figure's back looked somewhat familiar.
"What happened?"
Xu Weiran asked.
"Chief Constable, this is what happened..."
Yang Ye quickly recounted the entire matter to Xu Weiran from beginning to end.
"A swordsmanship master."
Xu Weiran looked stunned. He glanced again in the direction Xu Qing had gone, but Xu Qing's back was nowhere to be seen. All he could see was a street swallowed by darkness.
"So you were saved by a swordsmanship master whose identity and name are unknown?"
Xu Weiran asked.
"Yes."
Yang Ye nodded.
"Hongye Street is no ordinary place."
Xu Weiran pondered. "A few days ago, there was a fist-fighting master who blew apart a corpse ghoul's head with his bare fists. Now, another swordsmanship master has appeared and beheaded a black-haired zombie with one strike."
The yamen of Qingbei Town.
Had two law enforcement agencies in total.
They were: the Yamen Agency and the Demon Suppression Agency.
Xu Weiran, Zhao Jingyuan, Yang Ye, and the others were all constables belonging to the Yamen Agency. The Yamen Agency generally handled public security matters in Qingbei Town.
The Demon Suppression Agency was different. It mainly handled Demonic Evils in Qingbei Town. This incident was already close to exceeding the Yamen Agency's scope of authority.
Additionally.
The Demon Suppression Agency's overall strength was far greater than that of the Yamen Agency.
"Yang Ye."
Zhao Jingyuan walked to Yang Ye's side and asked softly in his ear, "Is Xu Qing alright?"
"What could have happened to him?"
Yang Ye replied, "He did not come today at all."
"That's good."
Zhao Jingyuan let out a sigh of relief.
Elsewhere.
In the northern district of Qingbei Town's outer city stood a residence. It belonged to the Ye family, one of the wealthy merchant families of the outer city. As the view drew closer.
Inside the Ye family's basement.
At this moment.
Two shadowy figures stood together. One of them had a graceful, alluring figure. Even though her features could not be seen clearly, every inch of her exuded a soul-stirring charm.
"The commotion you caused this time was a little too great."
The other shadowy figure said, "If you keep this up, the yamen's Demon Suppression Agency will be deployed before long. When that happens, I will not be able to cover for you."
"Hehe, my dear brother, don't worry. In another three days, once I have gathered enough life essence and paired it with this sky-piercing resentment, corpse qi, and yin energy, the thing I want will soon be refined."
The graceful shadowy figure said, "Once I refine it, I will immediately give you what you want. Just a few more days."
"Good."
As soon as the words fell.
The other shadowy figure left.
"Hehe..."
The graceful shadowy figure stared ahead as though she had entered a state of rapture, her tone rising slightly. "Ah~~~, I can feel this aura more and more clearly now~~~"
In the blink of an eye.
The next day arrived.
Morning.
Today is the day.
Xu Qing woke up, washed his face and brushed his teeth, and tidied his appearance. Everything was prepared. Carrying an iron sword on his back, he left home.
Today.
He would head to the Azure Hawk Martial Arts School and become an official disciple of the Azure Hawk Martial Arts School.
Half an hour later.
Azure Hawk Martial Arts School.
Outer courtyard.
"Instructor Zhang He."
After a week apart, Xu Qing saw Instructor Zhang He once again. A faint smile appeared on his face as he greeted Zhang He, but Zhang He seemed rather indifferent.
"Mm."
Instructor Zhang He merely nodded unhurriedly.
Clearly.
It had only been a little over a week.
Xu Qing had never come to Azure Hawk Martial Arts School to practice martial arts. In Zhang He's eyes, Xu Qing simply lacked the will to train; even if he had some talent, he could never achieve anything in martial arts.
In other words.
Zhang He had already been utterly disappointed in Xu Qing.
"Tsk, tsk."
"He finally showed up."
"Haha..."
"It's been over a week, and he's never once come to Azure Hawk Martial Arts School to train. What was he doing here today? Coming to make a fool of himself?!"
"..."
The other students wore mocking smiles.
"Instructor Zhang He."
At this moment.
Ye Langtian walked over, clasped his hands in salute to Instructor Zhang He, and said, "Student Ye Langtian requests to take the assessment for formal disciples of Azure Hawk Martial Arts School."
"Hm?"
Zhang He was taken aback. "You mastered Azure Hawk Force?"
"Yes."
Ye Langtian wore an arrogant expression.
Before you continue