Snake Slithering Through the Dark Alley

Night descended once again.

Qingyang City fell into an eerie, deathly silence.

The streets, bustling by day, were now devoid of a single soul. Every household kept their doors and windows tightly shut; even the stray dogs that usually loved to roam at night seemed to sniff out the murderous aura in the air, tucking their tails and hiding in dark corners.

Only squads of Wang Family guards, clutching torches, marched in rhythmic unison, patrolling the empty streets. Their armor gleamed and their blades were drawn, their cold iron boots striking the flagstones with a crisp "clack, clack, clack" that sounded like a funeral bell tolling in everyone's heart.

In the east of the city stood the Black Cloud Martial Hall.

Here, the lights were blazing, as bright as day.

Inside and outside the martial hall, guards were posted every three steps and sentries every five, their formidable auras weaving into an invisible net that shrouded the entire building, leaving no gaps. Any bird attempting to approach would be shot into a mist of blood by sharp arrows in an instant.

Inside the main hall of the martial hall.

A man as tall as an iron tower with a hideous scar across his face sat at the head of the table. He wore heavy black iron armor, not even removing it while indoors. He was the chief commander of the Wang Family guards, Wang Hu.

"Keep your spirits up, all of you!" Wang Hu's voice was as loud as a bell, echoing through the hall. "The Family Head has ordered that even if we have to dig three feet into the ground tonight, we must unearth that little bastard from the Chen Family! Anyone who dares to slack off will be executed without mercy!"

"Yes!" the dozens of guards in the hall shouted in unison, their voices shaking the roof tiles.

Wang Hu nodded in satisfaction, a glint of bloodlust flashing in his eyes. He enjoyed the feeling of holding such power. He even felt a sense of disdain for the caution shown by the Family Head, Wang Wei.

A kid who hadn't even grown his hair out yet, who had only managed to kill that useless drunkard Wang Fugui by sheer luck, had scared the Family Head into this state?

Ridiculous!

In his view, as long as that brat dared to appear before him, he could crush him to death with one hand!

He picked up the strong liquor on the table and downed it in one gulp, the spicy liquid sliding down his throat into his belly, making him feel as if the blood in his entire body were burning.

However, he did not notice.

Hidden in the shadows of the rafters directly above his head, a figure that had merged almost perfectly with the darkness was quietly overlooking everything in the hall.

Chen Chen.

He was like a dormant viper, restraining all his aura and adjusting his heartbeat and breathing to an incredibly slow frequency.

The Nine Nether Soul Refining Art was being pushed to its absolute limit.

His powerful Spiritual Power allowed his perception of the surrounding environment to reach an unfathomable realm. He could clearly "see" the strength of the blood and qi of every guard in the hall, "hear" their subtle breathing and heartbeats, and "sense" every gap and flaw in their patrol routes.

He had long since memorized the intelligence maps provided by Uncle Fu.

The Black Cloud Martial Hall's overt defenses were indeed as solid as a wall of bronze and iron. But every fortress had its weak point.

And that weak point was the long-abandoned dry well in the back courtyard of the martial hall.

According to Uncle Fu's intelligence, this dry well connected to the underground drainage system built decades ago in Qingyang City. Although most of it had collapsed, one passage could barely reach the area near the martial hall's kitchen.

This was Chen Chen's infiltration route.

He waited.

Patiently waiting for the right moment to arrive.

The Hour of the Rat.

The night was at its deepest, and people were at their most exhausted.

Even the most determined martial artist would experience a lapse in focus after a long period of high tension.

Now was the time!

Chen Chen's figure, like a weightless fallen leaf, leaped down from the rafters and landed silently in a shadow at the back of the hall.

He did not alert a single soul.

He slipped through the gap in the guards' shift change, like a wisp of blue smoke, merging into the darkness of the back courtyard.

He had found the dry well.

Without the slightest hesitation, he lifted the heavy manhole cover and leaped inside.

Below the well, there was a nauseating stench, a mixture of rot and mildew.

Chen Chen held his breath, groping his way forward through knee-deep sewage.

The underground passage was narrow, dark, and oppressive.

But for Chen Chen, this place was a hundred times safer than the brightly lit martial hall outside.

Soon, he found the exit marked on the map.

It was a drainage outlet sealed by iron bars, located right inside the woodshed behind the kitchen.

With Chen Chen's current strength at the Ninth Level of Body Tempering, snapping a few rusted iron bars was effortless.

Like a civet cat, he slipped into the woodshed without a sound.

The woodshed was piled with clutter, and only an old servant responsible for tending the fire was dozing off at a table.

Chen Chen did not kill him.

He bypassed the old servant, pushed open the door of the woodshed, and officially entered the interior of the Black Cloud Martial Hall.

At this moment, he was like a ghost walking through the heart of the enemy.

His goal was clear.

Wang Hu!

According to the intelligence, Wang Hu would return to his room to rest for an hour after the hour of the Rat.

And his room was located on the third floor, behind the main hall.

Chen Chen hugged the shadows of the corners, moving like a ghost.

He pushed the Seven Shadows Step to its limit; with every step he took, the afterimages left behind merged almost perfectly with the darkness, making them nearly impossible to discern with the naked eye.

Along the way, he encountered two patrols of guards.

But his powerful soul perception allowed him to predict their routes in advance, finding the perfect angles to evade them.

Those guards didn't even realize that the Grim Reaper had just passed right by them.

On the third floor, outside Wang Hu's room.

Two fierce-looking Blood Guard stood at the door like temple guardians.

Their temples bulged, and their eyes scanned the surroundings with electric vigilance.

Sixth Level of Body Tempering peak!

Charging in head-on was absolutely impossible.

A cold glint flashed in Chen Chen's eyes.

He did not approach, instead slipping behind a rockery bonsai at the end of the corridor.

He pulled something out from his robes.

It was a hollow bamboo tube containing several Poison Bee that had been sedated with anesthetic.

He had specifically asked Uncle Fu to prepare these during the day.

He aimed the bamboo tube toward the direction of the door in the distance, circulated his blood energy, and blew gently.

"Hum..."

Several tiny, almost imperceptible black specks flew silently toward the two Blood Guard.

The Blood Guard were highly vigilant, but they were guarding against people and killing intent; they never expected an attack to come in such an unexpected way.

One Poison Bee landed on the neck of one of the Blood Guard, its stinger pricking him lightly.

"Hm?"

The Blood Guard felt a slight pain in his neck, as if bitten by a mosquito, and instinctively slapped at it.

But he quickly realized something was wrong.

A wave of intense dizziness surged over him like a tide.

"Not good... there's..."

He only managed to utter two words before his body went limp.

"Old Third!"

The other Blood Guard's expression changed drastically, and he was just about to sound the alarm.

Chen Chen's figure had already erupted from the shadows like a cannonball!

The steel blade in his hand carved a deadly arc under the moonlight.

The Blood Guard only had time to hold his sword horizontally across his chest.

"Clang!"

A loud crash!

The power of Chen Chen's strike, infused with the strength of the Ninth Level of Body Tempering peak, was terrifying!

The fine steel sword in the Blood Guard's hand snapped upon impact!

The blade's momentum remained undiminished as it hacked fiercely into his chest!

[Ding! Killed a Sixth Level of Body Tempering martial artist, gained Cultivation Points +60!]

Chen Chen kicked the corpse aside and, without the slightest pause, smashed open Wang Hu's door!

Inside the room, Wang Hu, who had just taken off his heavy armor and was preparing to get into bed, was stunned by the sudden turn of events.

When he saw the young, cold face of the intruder, his pupils contracted to the limit!

"Chen... Chen?!"

"Commander Wang, your time of death... has arrived!"

Chen Chen's voice sounded like a verdict from hell.

The blade in his hand was raised once more.