Guo Kai thumped his chest hard, producing a dull boom.
"The captain saved my life in the Netherworld. This time, even if going to Linjiang means climbing a mountain of blades and descending into a sea of fire, I won't so much as furrow my brow!"
"Good."
Zhang Yunqing nodded. "Go. Be careful in everything you do."
After leaving the Juntong branch building, Li Xiang and Guo Kai did not linger on the streets.
City God Headquarters' desperate counterattack and the support of heroes from across the land had stabilized Demon City's defenses for now, but the atmosphere remained so oppressive it was hard to breathe.
The spatial rift torn across the sky had been forcibly suppressed, yet it continued to spew gray-black Death Qi. Everywhere on the streets were terrified civilians hurrying along and wary warlord soldiers carrying loaded guns.
Now and then, a few mutilated cultivators' bodies, covered in white cloth, were carried past in haste.
The cruelty of war had left an indelible, blood-soaked mark on this city, once the Far East's most prosperous metropolis.
Li Xiang led Guo Kai through a maze of alleys with practiced ease, avoiding the closely guarded checkpoints as they followed the address Zhang Yunqing had given them.
The Shocking Heron Martial Hall was now stationed in a relatively remote part of the Chinese Quarter's old district.
The compound had once belonged to a salt merchant. With the defensive line under strain, the warlords had temporarily requisitioned it to house some of the martial sects that had retreated from the South.
About an hour passed.
Li Xiang and Guo Kai stood before a sprawling compound with a somewhat dilapidated entrance.
Its vermilion gates were shut tight. Two young disciples in Shocking Heron Martial Hall attire stood guard outside, bandages wrapped around