The Fourth Form, River Severing!

Su Yueli had arrived in the Imperial City only a day ago. Aside from Pang Hu, she had not provoked anyone else.

These great families truly had hands that reached the heavens. In so little time, they had not only found the culprit, but also uncovered where she was staying.

One could not help but marvel at the capabilities of such families.

Su Yueli quietly focused her senses.

Two auras had crept into the dark alley—one at the initial stage of the Fifth Realm, the other at the middle stage of the Fifth Realm.

Had this been two hours earlier, facing two Fifth Realm opponents, fleeing would have been her only option.

But now, she had thoroughly stabilized her Martial Awakening at the Fifth Realm. Even against two opponents, while she might not win, she would at least have the strength to fight.

Then she sensed one of the auras heading directly for Lin Ye's room.

So it really was the Pang Family. Fortunately, that fellow Lin Ye was fond of wandering around, and was still aimlessly strolling the streets.

It was a blessing that he had not returned. At least he would not become dead weight.

Setting her thoughts aside, Su Yueli flipped out of bed and slipped into the blind spot behind the door.

Before long, there came a soft creak as the window latch was gently pried open with a blade.

The black-clad man at the initial stage of the Fifth Realm vaulted into the room, muttering curses under his breath. "Fucking rotten luck. Killing some girl from the outer city, and I still have to get soaked in dew in the middle of the night..."

With a gleaming steel saber in hand, he crept to the bedside in a few steps, abruptly tore back the covers, and viciously drove his blade downward.

Empty.

The black-clad man froze. Strange. Where was she?

The intelligence had clearly said she had returned to her room.

In the instant he was distracted, a chill suddenly rose behind him.

"Looking for me?"

Her cool voice was like a death-summoning talisman.

The black-clad man spun around in horror, only to meet a pale fist carrying terrifying surging blood and qi.

"The Fifth Realm?! The intelligence was wrong—"

His pupils contracted sharply, and terror flooded his heart.

Had the Pang Family's hidden agents not said this girl was only at the peak of the Fourth Realm?!

That heavy, violent gale of force was unmistakably genuine Fifth Realm Martial Awakening!

Unfortunately, he did not even have time to cry for help.

Su Yueli gave him no chance to react either. The inch force of River Severing, the Fourth Form, erupted without warning.

Knowing that her opponent was also in the Fifth Realm, she had used the Fourth Form of her fist technique from the start, concentrating all her strength into this punch.

Her fist struck squarely against his chest.

Crack!

His ribs shattered completely, and his heart meridians were instantly severed by the shock.

The black-clad man flew backward like a torn sack, smashing the rosewood round table in the room and dying on the spot.

Su Yueli paused slightly, staring at her fist in astonishment.

Although she had only just broken into the Fifth Realm and had used her strongest Fourth Form, she should not have been able to kill someone of the same realm in a single move, should she?

Could it be that the black-clad man had been too careless, and before he could react, she had caught him off guard and struck a vital spot?

She could not be sure, but that punch had indeed landed squarely over his heart.

Just as she pondered this, a burst of footsteps in the corridor interrupted her thoughts.

The black-clad man at the middle stage of the Fifth Realm who had gone to kill Lin Ye had come up empty-handed. Having heard the commotion here, he immediately sensed something was wrong, smashed open the door, and rushed inside.

The moment he entered, he saw his companion's corpse lying amid shattered wood chips, while Su Yueli stood in the shadows, staring coldly at him.

The Fifth Realm?! His companion had actually died without withstanding even one move!

The black-clad man's scalp went numb, his shock beyond measure.

He hastily drew the long saber at his waist. Blood and qi surged throughout his body as he raised it to slash at Su Yueli.

Su Yueli lowered her eyes slightly and immediately assumed a stance, ready to defend and counterattack.

But unexpectedly, the black-clad man merely feinted.

His saber had only completed half its swing when he withdrew his force, his body flashing toward the corpse on the ground.

He grabbed his companion by the collar, smashed through the wooden window behind him, and fled madly into the night.

The rule of the Pang Family's dead soldiers was this: if the target was not killed, the corpse could never be left behind for others to investigate.

Seeing this, Su Yueli was just about to give chase.

"Who dares cause trouble here?!"

At the end of the street, a row of torches suddenly flared to life. Amid the clanging of armor plates, a patrol squad of Golden-Armored City Guards swiftly surrounded the area, following the tremendous crash of the shattered window.

Su Yueli helplessly stopped.

The Imperial City's patrols were extremely strict. If she pursued him now, she would surely be taken down as an assassin causing trouble within the city.

The captain of the City Guard led his men into the ruined guest room and questioned her sternly.

Su Yueli restrained her blood and qi, her expression calm as she roughly recounted being ambushed by thieves. She only concealed the fact that she had killed one of them.

She merely said that they had intended to murder her and steal her belongings, but when she awoke and fought back, they had leaped out the window and fled.

The disturbance had drawn many of the inn's guests out to watch, and they murmured among themselves.

"Miss Su!"

A young man carrying a long saber squeezed out from the crowd. It was Lin Ye, who had just returned from wandering the streets.

Seeing the room in complete disarray, Lin Ye broke out in a cold sweat and hurried inside to ask what had happened.

The City Guard captain inspected Su Yueli's and Lin Ye's tournament wooden plaques. Seeing that they were legitimate martial artists here for the Martial Dao Tournament, and that there were neither corpses nor bloodstains at the scene, he did not make things difficult for them.

"To think such vicious criminals would dare act beneath the Imperial City's walls. You have suffered a fright, miss. We will strengthen patrols nearby and investigate this matter to the very end!" After offering these formal words, the captain turned and left with his men.

They understood as well that assassins capable of sneaking into the Imperial City without a sound were most likely dead soldiers raised by noble clans. Such rotten accounts could never be traced to their source; this was merely going through the motions.

After the Golden-Armored Guards left, Lin Ye shut the half-broken door, still shaken by the close call.

"Miss Su, are you all right? It must have been someone sent by the Pang Family!" Lin Ye gritted his teeth.

Su Yueli glanced at him and said evenly, "Someone from the Fifth Realm went to your room as well. If you had not been wandering outside all this time, I would be collecting your corpse by now."

At those words, Lin Ye abruptly shrank his neck and swallowed hard.

His habit of wandering around had actually saved his life!

"What do we do now?" Lin Ye asked.

"When soldiers come, raise a wall against them; when water comes, cover it with earth. They failed this time and have not figured out my true strength, so they probably will not dare act rashly again within the next three days. We will wait until the Martial Dao Tournament begins."

Su Yueli brushed the dust from her clothes, walked to one side, sat down cross-legged, and closed her eyes to rest.

Meanwhile.

Outside the inn, among the crowd of onlookers that had yet to disperse.

A young man in a plain long robe stood with his arms folded, his gaze fixed darkly on the damaged window on the second floor.

The young man was handsome, his aura restrained, making him utterly inconspicuous within the crowd.

"Was that the Fourth Realm, or the Fifth Realm?"

He rubbed his chin, his eyes brimming with interest.

Ordinary people could not sense the brief collision of blood and qi just now, but he had perceived it with perfect clarity.

That girl appeared to be only a little over twenty.

For someone from an outer city, with no resources being funneled toward her, to reach such a profound realm was truly rare.

She was simply a genius among geniuses.

A smile curled across the young man's lips. "It seems this Martial Dao Tournament will be interesting. The position of champion will likely not be so easy to take."

With that, the young man turned and disappeared into the night.