Identity Exposed, Eagle Wolf Guard Appears

"Such a powerful physique!"

Seeing Zhou Qing struck by the hidden weapon only for it to be directly bounced away, the Monkey Masked Man's expression changed drastically.

He had not expected Zhou Qing to have not only cultivated his lightness skill and blade technique to the perfected realm, but also trained in a body-tempering technique.

His flesh was so strong that ordinary blades and swords could hardly harm him.

Fast, physically powerful, and armed with a perfected blade technique whose killing power was fierce and sharp.

He practically had no weaknesses.

"Run!"

The Monkey Masked Man made his decision without hesitation. With a flicker of his body, he rapidly retreated.

"Do you think you can escape?!"

Zhou Qing's voice was like the whisper of death—cold and merciless—as it instantly enveloped the Monkey Masked Man's mind.

Hearing Zhou Qing's voice at his ear, the Monkey Masked Man's face filled with horror. He felt an enormous pressure descending from the heavens, making it difficult even to breathe.

Then, Zhou Qing's figure instantly appeared before him. He swung his blade; the edge was formless, and the blade left no trace as it passed.

The trajectory of the strike was impossible to grasp.

The next second.

The Monkey Masked Man saw a headless corpse running.

"That is... my body!"

The Monkey Masked Man was terrified beyond measure.

His head had parted ways with his body, flying high into the air. In disbelief, he watched the headless corpse on the ground run several more steps before toppling over.

At that moment, he understood.

The headless corpse he had seen was actually his own!

He had never imagined Zhou Qing's strength could be so terrifying that a single slash had instantly killed him, a Peak Third-Rate Martial Artist.

"This time, I kicked an iron plate!"

That was the Monkey Masked Man's final thought.

Then, the head wearing the monkey mask fell to the ground and rolled several times. Its eyes were wide open, filled with terror and unwillingness.

As the saying went, if you walked by the river often enough, your shoes were bound to get wet. One mistake had cost the three of them their lives.

Zhou Qing sheathed his blade and began searching the bodies, taking every valuable item from the three men. Then he called out to the surroundings, "If you want to die, feel free to come after me!"

As his words fell, Zhou Qing's figure flashed and vanished from where he stood.

Silence!

The surroundings were deathly still.

The Martial Artists hidden in the darkness who had wanted to profit from the chaos were all stunned by this scene.

The Bronze Masked Man and his two companions were all Peak Third-Rate Martial Artists. They had been doing this sort of cutthroat, cost-free business in the Black Market for far more than a day or two.

Yet today, they had kicked an iron plate.

Before Zhou Qing, the three of them had possessed no ability to resist at all. Every one of them had been instantly killed with a single slash. Such blade technique had surely been cultivated to the perfected realm.

As for the Hundred Refinements Golden Body Technique Zhou Qing cultivated, the Martial Artists in the darkness did not yet know about it. Because it was night, they had not seen that Zhou Qing's body had actually sent the hidden weapon flying. They assumed Zhou Qing had knocked it aside with his long blade.

That meant Zhou Qing had not completely exposed his strength.

"Perfected Swallow Dips Water, and that blade technique... it seems to be the Traceless Blade Technique, also at the perfected realm."

"Swallow Dips Water and the Traceless Blade Technique, both cultivated to the perfected realm... could this man be Zhou Qing, the fugitive wanted by Black Stone County?"

"That is right. This man must be Zhou Qing, the fugitive from Black Stone County. Though many people cultivate these two martial arts, those who can cultivate both third-rate martial arts to perfection are as rare as phoenix feathers and qilin horns."

"Besides the reward offered by the Black Stone County government office, there is also a reward from Zhou Manor. Whoever kills Zhou Qing can receive three thousand taels of silver."

"Three thousand taels of silver? You would need the strength for it. Judging from the power Zhou Qing displayed just now, even ordinary Second-rate Martial Artists are no match for him."

"Indeed. To kill Zhou Qing, one must be a Peak Second-rate Martial Artist, and one must also have cultivated one's lightness skill to the perfected realm. Otherwise, it would be difficult even to catch up to him."

"Do not forget that Zhou Qing is a fugitive wanted by the imperial court. Black Stone County has already reported this to the prefectural office and issued a Wanted Poster. The Black Market is not far from the Prefecture City. It likely will not be long before the Eagle Wolf Guard receives word."

"The Eagle Wolf Guard!"

Hearing those three words, the Martial Artists hidden in the darkness all changed expression. Clearly, they were deeply wary of the Eagle Wolf Guard.

Although those of the martial world called the Eagle Wolf Guard the imperial court's hawks and hounds, ordinary Martial Artists only dared curse them in private. In public, they did not dare spout nonsense.

No matter what, the Eagle Wolf Guard was the Great Xuan Dynasty's strongest external military force. Every member was carefully selected and highly skilled. They followed an elite path and never accepted unworthy men. Even the lowest-ranking Eagle Wolf Guard could easily suppress a Peak Third-Rate Martial Artist.

Above the Profound Wolf Guard stood the Red Wolf Commander, who commanded the pack of wolves.

"If the prefectural office dispatches the Eagle Wolf Guard, Zhou Qing will likely face grave danger."

"Indeed. Anyone targeted by the Eagle Wolf Guard has never escaped. Zhou Qing will not escape this calamity."

"This Zhou Qing is bold indeed. Knowing he is wanted by the authorities, he still dared show himself at a Black Market so close to the Prefecture City. Is that not a naked slap across the Eagle Wolf Guard's face? If the Eagle Wolf Guard does nothing, how will they intimidate those scheming scoundrels of the martial world in the future?"

"Indeed. The Eagle Wolf Guard will definitely act."

"..."

The crowd discussed the matter heatedly, all pessimistic about Zhou Qing's fate.

After all, the Eagle Wolf Guard was simply too powerful. Let alone Zhou Qing, even a First-rate Martial Artist targeted by the Eagle Wolf Guard would have only a dead end awaiting them.

Within the martial world of the Great Xuan Dynasty, no single force could contend with the Eagle Wolf Guard alone. At minimum, half the forces of the martial world would need to join hands to oppose the imperial court.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—

The Martial Artists hidden in the darkness swiftly departed.

They did not possess the strength to kill Zhou Qing and claim the silver rewards from the authorities and Zhou Manor. However, if they hurried to the Prefecture City now and sold the Eagle Wolf Guard the news of Zhou Qing's appearance, they might still gain some benefits from it.

Half an hour later.

A man dressed in a black Profound Wolf uniform arrived at the place where Zhou Qing had killed the Bronze Masked Man and his two companions.

This man was Zhao Sheng, a Profound Wolf Guard of Anqing Prefecture's Eagle Wolf Guard. The fugitive Zhou Qing had appeared in the Black Market, and the Red Wolf Commander had ordered him to track Zhou Qing down and bring him to justice.

Among the Eagle Wolf Guard, Wolf Guards were divided from low to high into four ranks: Profound, Red, White, and Gold. Though the Profound Wolf Guard stood at the bottom of these four ranks, one had to be at least a Second-rate Martial Artist to qualify.

Above the Profound Wolf Guard was the Red Wolf Commander, who commanded the wolves.

Having arrived where Zhou Qing had appeared, Zhao Sheng immediately activated the Spiritual Scent Technique and began tracking him.

This Internal Art strengthened the sense of smell among the five senses. Once cultivated to the perfected realm, one could distinguish the body scents of ten thousand people as easily as reading fingerprints.

Only half an hour had passed, and Zhou Qing's lingering scent had yet to completely disperse, allowing him to track it with the Spiritual Scent Technique.

If too much time had passed, there would be no way to do so.

This was a technique created specifically for tracking by a master within the Eagle Wolf Guard.

Zhao Sheng activated the technique and caught the lingering scent Zhou Qing had left in the air. His gaze sharpened as he swiftly pursued the direction of that scent.