Night Raid

Chen An immediately asked:

"If someone could truly cultivate seven streams of true qi at once, wouldn't that make them invincible within the prefectural city?"

Lin Qing burst out laughing.

"That really is wishful thinking! An ordinary person's dantian can only contain one stream of true qi. If they forcibly cultivate more, at best their foundation will be damaged; at worst, they will suffer qi deviation and endanger their life!"

"The true disciples of the Mountain-Shaking Sect are peerless geniuses, yet in the end, they can only barely contain two kinds of true qi within their bodies. Even so, that is enough to rank second on Qingchuan Prefecture's Stormcloud Ranking!"

Cheng Heng and Chen An exchanged a glance, both feeling as though their horizons had been greatly broadened!

Gaoyang County was merely a county town. The true world lay beyond!

The night was deep, and all things were silent.

Several consecutive days of travel had left the people from the Might-Guard Escort Agency and the others weary from the jolting journey, so they casually found an inn along the way and settled in for the night.

By then, everyone had long since gone to sleep, and everything around them was utterly still.

Inside the small room where Cheng Heng stayed, the lamplight was dim, with only the wick occasionally giving a soft crack.

He sat cross-legged on the bed, still wearing his fitted blue clothes. The habits he had formed over the years remained unchanged; even though his cultivation technique could no longer improve, he had never relaxed his demands on himself.

In the dead of night... everything seemed almost ordinary.

Suddenly!

Cheng Heng's half-closed eyes snapped open. A sharp gleam flashed through them as he instantly gathered his entire aura.

Someone was coming!

Though the sound was faint, it could not escape Cheng Heng's senses. After years of bitter cultivation, his five senses had long surpassed those of ordinary Skill-Transforming Force martial artists. Every rustle of wind and grass within several yards could be perceived clearly.

Crack!

An almost imperceptible crisp sound rang out, and Cheng Heng instantly locked onto the intruder's location!

In an instant, Cheng Heng shot out of the room like a ghost and lunged straight at the shadow beneath the courtyard wall.

The newcomer wore black night clothes. Judging by appearance alone, it was impossible to tell who he was.

Yet from the eyes exposed by the man in black, it was not difficult to see that he had clearly never expected Cheng Heng to discover his trail so quickly!

His reaction was also unbelievably fast!

The instant Cheng Heng rushed out the door, thick force gathered in his palm, erupting into an incomparably powerful palm force.

Bang!

Fist and palm collided with a dull boom!

The two separated at once, and Cheng Heng shouted:

"You old bastard, you really still refuse to give up! I've been waiting for you all along this journey!"

The newcomer was none other than Wu Yong.

Ever since Cheng Heng had set foot on the official road toward the prefectural city, Wu Yong had followed him all the way. Having finally found an opportunity tonight, he had intended to use the cover of darkness to kill Cheng Heng, this hidden danger, on the road.

He had never expected his tracks to be discovered in advance!

Wu Yong could not be blamed for striking now. If Cheng Heng truly reached the prefectural city safely and entered a sect, then Wu Yong would be the one unable to sleep at night from then on.

Since he had already been discovered, Wu Yong simply stopped hiding.

"Hmph, Cheng Heng, today this old man will surely take your life and avenge my two disciples!"

Boom!

Wu Yong erupted with a terrifying aura. His figure flickered abruptly as the Air-Splitting Palm shot straight toward Cheng Heng's neck.

Hiss!

Cheng Heng sneered. In his eyes, Wu Yong's every move was riddled with flaws.

This was all thanks to Cheng Heng's countless day-and-night battles against Wu Yong's projection.

He knew every one of Wu Yong's techniques like the back of his hand!

Facing the charging Wu Yong, Cheng Heng remained calm. In an instant, he tempered the Vajra Art to its utmost limit, stepped sideways to evade that heavy, forceful palm, then drove his right fist with pinpoint accuracy into the joint where Wu Yong's shoulder and neck tendons connected!

Bang!

A heavy thud!

Cheng Heng's fist force was thick and powerful. His horizontal-training Skill-Transforming Force exploded within Wu Yong's body in an instant.

Wu Yong's pupils suddenly contracted, his face filled with disbelief!

He could never have imagined that the strike he had believed certain to kill would be broken so easily by Cheng Heng!

Just then, several figures rushed out from the inn. They were Lin Qing, Chen An, and the others, who had heard the sounds of fighting outside.

"Hmph! I'll spare you for today!"

Seeing that several exchanges had yielded nothing and Cheng Heng's side had already awakened, if he lingered any longer, he might not be able to escape later!

Wu Yong's face was full of venom as he prepared to leap away.

But then a furious shout came from behind him:

"You old bastard, since you came today, don't even think of leaving!"

Cheng Heng unified his waist and stance. The Skill-Transforming Force throughout his body instantly coursed through him, gathering upon his right fist.

He smashed a fist viciously into Wu Yong's chest.

Pfft!

The sound of a fist sinking deeply into flesh and bone rang out.

Cheng Heng's right fist drove deep into Wu Yong's chest, and lethal force instantly penetrated all the meridians in his body.

"Urgh..."

Wu Yong's eyes widened round as blood gushed wildly from his mouth. Then he fell to the ground with an incredulous expression!

Wu Yong, a veteran Skill-Transforming Force martial artist, was dead!

"Hiss..."

Chen An sucked in a cold breath in disbelief. Watching the scene that had unfolded in the blink of an eye, his mind suddenly froze!

Junior Brother Cheng had killed Wu Yong of the Prosperity Martial Academy in just a few moves?

Cheng Heng looked at the corpse before him, whose eyes had gone lifeless, his expression cold. He swiftly gathered all the man's belongings into his robes.

There was an ancient book, which he had no time to inspect closely.

There was also some loose silver.

Lin Qing looked at Cheng Heng, a trace of surprise appearing in his eyes.

He had also seen the battle just now with perfect clarity.

Cheng Heng's responses in every aspect could no longer be described merely as those of someone who had just entered the Skill-Transforming Force realm!

His clean, decisive, and incomparably ruthless fist techniques had plainly surpassed even Wu Zhong!

"Excellent fist technique! Excellent skill!"

"It seems I'll have to give serious thought to Brother Cheng's future compensation!"

Lin Qing strode up to Cheng Heng, his face full of admiration.

Cheng Heng lightly wiped the blood from his body and calmly said to Lin Qing:

"You flatter me, Escort Chief Lin. Wu Yong and I had already become enemies back in Gaoyang County. I had long expected him to strike on the road, and today proved exactly as expected!"

Lin Qing gave Cheng Heng a deep look. "I had also heard something of the grudge between the Prosperity Martial Academy and Tiger-Subduing Martial Hall. Killing Wu Yong today can be considered a complete settlement with him!"

No matter how much Lin Qing thought about it, he could not understand how, whenever Wu Yong made a move, Cheng Heng was able to know his technique in advance.

As a result, Wu Yong had only been able to display thirty percent of his strength, and his death had been truly stifling!

Lin Qing believed that if he had fought Cheng Heng today, it was still impossible to say whose deer would die and whose hand would claim it!

After Cheng Heng cleaned up the items around them, he said apologetically:

"Today's matter disturbed everyone's rest. Another day, I will apologize properly to all of you!"

Lin Qing waved a hand, unconcerned. "Brother Cheng, you're too polite!"

Afterward, everyone tacitly understood and dispersed on their own.

These people were all veterans who often traveled escort routes, living lives of licking blood from the blade's edge.

They had long been accustomed to such scenes. Rather than waste time on this, they might as well return to sleep early, restore their energy, and properly escort the shipment tomorrow!