Wanted List, Rank Twenty-Four: Lawless Madman Zhou Qing

Instant kill!

Another instant kill!

Lei Kun, Xu Ning, and Yang Zheng were all Peak First-rate Martial Artists. They were far stronger than Red Wolf Deputy Commander Cloud Piercer Spear Feng Jun, and each possessed considerable renown throughout the Jianghu.

Yet these three powerful men had been utterly unable to resist Zhou Qing's single slash and were killed instantly!

How could this not shock everyone?

Just how terrifying had Zhou Qing's strength become?

"Zhou Qing killed three Peak First-rate Martial Artists with one slash. With such strength, he has probably reached the level of a First-rate Martial Artist."

Amid the crowd, someone muttered, his voice carrying undisguised shock and awe.

"Taining Prefecture's Red Wolf Commander Fang Yuan is a First-rate Martial Artist. Do you think something might have already happened to Fang Yuan? Otherwise, where would Zhou Qing get the nerve to charge straight into the Eagle Wolf Guard's headquarters?"

The moment those words were spoken, the crowd erupted into a frenzy of discussion.

"Commander Fang is a renowned expert of Taining Prefecture, ranked thirty-seventh on the Human Ranking. His strength is formidable—how could something have happened to him?"

"That may be true, but Zhou Qing's strength is right there for all to see. Even Lei Kun and the other two could not withstand a single exchange with him. If Commander Fang encountered him, I fear his chances of survival would be slim."

"Zhou Qing is far too terrifying. Every time he appears, his strength undergoes an earth-shattering transformation. To him, increasing his cultivation seems as simple as breathing or drinking water."

"Perhaps the next time Zhou Qing appears, he will already be an Innate Grandmaster."

"Becoming an Innate Grandmaster is not so easy. Without Spiritual Matter and a Divine Intent Diagram, the chance of breaking through to the Xiantian Realm is zero."

"That may be so, but Zhou Qing cannot be judged by common sense. His rate of progress is far too astonishing. Who can guarantee that he will not find some fortuitous encounter and break through to the Xiantian Realm in one stroke?"

"Exactly. If he truly breaks through to the Xiantian Realm, he may become the next Fire Worship Cult Leader and throw the entire world into turmoil."

The discussions within the crowd grew louder and louder. Everyone's hearts were filled with awe and wariness toward Zhou Qing's strength.

For a time, Zhou Qing's name seemed branded into everyone's hearts, impossible to erase.

Yuanfeng Era, thirteenth year, sixth day of the tenth month.

Mad Blade Zhou Qing appeared in Taining Prefecture. He slew Blood Hand Butcher Li Baichuan, looted the Eagle Wolf Guard's headquarters, and killed Primordial Thunder Hand Lei Kun, One-armed Swordsman Xu Ning, and Ghost Shadow Chasing Wind Yang Zheng—three Blade Catchers who had reached the peak of the first-rate—with a single slash. Void-Splitting Sword Fang Yuan, ranked thirty-seventh on the Human Ranking, was also slain by Zhou Qing.

Aside from Black Lotus Emissary Wang Yan of the Fire Worship Cult, no one knew that Zhou Qing had killed Void-Splitting Sword Fang Yuan.

Naturally, Wang Yan had released this news. He had deliberately revealed it to Wind Full Tower. Wind Full Tower was an intelligence organization; once it obtained such news, the entire world would know.

Wang Yan's purpose was to force Zhou Qing into having nowhere left in the world to hide, leaving him no choice but to join the Fire Worship Cult. Then they could obtain the secret Zhou Qing carried.

This string of achievements was like a series of massive bombs, setting off towering waves throughout the Jianghu.

Every time Zhou Qing made a move, he reshaped people's understanding of his strength, leaving everyone wondering where his limits truly lay.

Void-Splitting Sword Fang Yuan had been an expert ranked thirty-seventh on the Human Ranking and had mastered the power of a Sword Intent Seed, yet even he had been slain by Zhou Qing. It was truly shocking.

To Zhou Qing, the rankings on the Great Xuan Court's Wanted List seemed like nothing more than a numbers game. At an almost frenzied pace, he continuously rewrote his own record, soaring directly from eightieth place on the Wanted List to twenty-fourth.

One had to know that the criminals ranked within the top twenty of the Great Xuan Court's Wanted List were all grandmasters who had reached the Xiantian Realm. Those within the top fifty were all First-rate Martial Artists who had mastered Seeds of Artistic Conception.

Zhou Qing had directly claimed the twenty-fourth spot, and he had gained a new epithet as well: Lawless Madman.

Lawless Madman—this epithet was both recognition of his strength and the finest description of his way of doing things.

He was bound by no rules and acted entirely as he pleased, like a wild horse that had broken free of its reins. As long as someone was his enemy, no matter who they were, he would cut them all down with a single slash.

The Great Xuan Court repeatedly raised the reward for his capture. Whoever could kill Zhou Qing would be permitted to study a Divine Intent Diagram for one year.

If they were willing to join the Eagle Wolf Guard and serve the court, they would be granted a piece of Spiritual Matter to help them break through to the Xiantian Realm.

Such a reward could not be called anything but lavish. Even some grandmasters of the Xiantian Realm in the Jianghu would likely be unable to resist taking action.

Grandmasters of the Xiantian Realm also had descendants of their own to consider. Innate Spiritual Matter was difficult to obtain, and as long as one could step into the Xiantian Realm, joining the court was not unacceptable.

Besides that, Zhou Qing had also entered the Human Ranking.

The Heaven, Earth, and Human Rankings were three lists published by Wind Full Tower, a Jianghu faction.

These three great rankings encompassed nearly every renowned expert in the entire Jianghu. To appear on one of them was enough to leave behind one's own legend in the Jianghu.

The Heaven Ranking was the supreme honor of the Jianghu. Only Grandmasters who had reached the pinnacle of martial arts and possessed transcendent strength were qualified to be listed upon it.

Thus, those who could rank on the Heaven Ranking were exceedingly few. In the entire Great Xuan Dynasty, only three Grandmasters existed openly: one was the imperial ancestor of the Great Xuan Court, while the other two were one each from the southern and northern martial worlds.

In other words, it would take at least half the Jianghu's forces joining hands to contend against the Great Xuan Court.

Including the Great Xuan Dynasty and its neighboring nations, the number of Grandmasters did not exceed the number of fingers on both hands.

The Earth Ranking was the list of Innate Grandmasters. It had only seventy-two seats, and those ranked upon it were not limited to the Great Xuan Dynasty, but included the surrounding nations as well.

As for the Human Ranking, although it was somewhat inferior to the Heaven and Earth Rankings, every person who could enter it was an outstanding figure among Acquired Realm martial artists of the Great Xuan Jianghu. In particular, the top fifty had all mastered Seeds of Artistic Conception and were First-rate Martial Artists of formidable strength, with the hope of challenging the Xiantian Realm in the future.

Having slain Void-Splitting Sword Fang Yuan, Zhou Qing took his place on the Human Ranking, claiming the thirty-seventh position.

Lawless Madman Zhou Qing had risen from humble beginnings and forcibly carved out a place for himself in this Jianghu filled with experts, entering the ranks of the Human Ranking. That alone was a feat enough to leave countless people in amazement.

Zhou Qing's name spread through the Jianghu like a plague, swiftly stirring up an enormous uproar.

If his previous placement at eightieth on the Great Xuan Court's Wanted List had only earned him a little fame, then now, after slaying Void-Splitting Sword Fang Yuan and entering the Human Ranking at thirty-seventh, he had truly become renowned throughout the Jianghu.

Yet at the same time, as Zhou Qing's fame grew greater and greater, more and more people became interested in the secrets he carried.

Even some grandmasters of the Xiantian Realm had ordered their people to keep a close watch on news concerning Zhou Qing.

No matter how the outside world's winds and clouds shifted, after leaving Taining Prefecture City, Zhou Qing vanished into the deep mountains and ancient forests, devoting himself to cultivating the martial arts he had obtained from the Eagle Wolf Guard's headquarters.