Shattered Star Flurry

From the moment Li Qingyue used his Reignbow Arbiter Martial Soul to meet the attack to the battle's end, not even three minutes had passed.

Only after the two bodies exploded completely did a passing resident witness the gruesome scene. Panicked screams and cries rang out.

Only then did the guards of this so-called wealthy district come rushing over.

They stared in horror at the carnage strewn across the ground, then fumbled to call the City Police.

Watching from a distance, Li Qingyue felt nothing in particular.

He swept the area once more with his Stellar Hunt Mark. Once he confirmed that no one else was lying in wait nearby, he calmly turned and left.

But his gaze had begun to grow cold.

He could not keep living in this residential complex.

Something had already happened here. If those two really had been sent by the Qiangu Family, his move this time might already have caught their attention.

Even if he had not been exposed yet, the Qiangu Family would surely send someone to investigate their deaths.

When that happened, even if there was a ninety-nine percent chance they would not suspect him, he had no intention of gambling on the remaining one percent.

Twin Martial Souls really were a problem.

Although he usually used the Ancestral Phoenix only as a top-tier aid for alchemy and Forging, there was still a risk of someone discovering it.

In fact, with Mu Chen and the others' keen eyes, they had probably already realized his Martial Soul was among the strongest of the Fire Element.

Li Qingyue did not know whether they would make the leap to the Flame Phoenix, and he had no wish to gamble on that either.

Mu Chen most likely would not betray him.

And with the connection to the Leng Family, even if Mu Chen did suspect something, he probably would not tell anyone.

But there was no telling what others might do.

One day, someone might happen past his forging room and accidentally notice something was off about him.

So aside from Forging and alchemy, Li Qingyue almost never used the Ancestral Phoenix Martial Soul.

If only I could do alchemy and Artifact Refinement inside a small world.

Then no one would ever notice anything unusual about me.

As Li Qingyue pondered this, a thoughtful look entered his eyes.

If he remembered correctly, Gu Yue did have a Pocket Secret Realm.

She had casually created that realm when she was the Silver Dragon King. It was not very large, but it was more than big enough for him.

Getting it from Na'er as she was now, however, was nearly impossible.

And once Gu Yuena had fully recovered, getting it would probably be even harder.

At that thought, Li Qingyue shook his head slightly.

It was hard to say how things would turn out.

By then, he had reached the bus stop.

The bus ride from there to the Blacksmith Association took only half an hour.

The route passed through a remote wealthy district, so buses were few, but passengers were even fewer.

That meant he could almost always find a seat with ease.

And with his delicate looks—a boy most people mistook for a girl—no one deliberately tried to take his seat.

He had grown used to sitting down every time.

Half an hour passed quickly, and his bus pulled up steadily outside the Blacksmith Association.

After getting off, he headed straight for the upper floors.

The staff on the upper floors—or rather, the attendants—were long accustomed to seeing Li Qingyue.

The boy often came here to practice Forging, and his relationship with Mu Chen was no secret.

Mu Chen's last Final Disciple: that status alone was enough to turn heads.

It was practically official confirmation of the boy's talent and worth. They could hardly fail to take him seriously.

Li Qingyue did not ignore the attendants' smiles, nor did he put on an aloof air.

He returned their smiles warmly, then entered the office.

Mu Xi was already seated inside.

Pen and paper in hand, the girl waited quietly for Li Qingyue.

Mu Chen smiled when he saw Li Qingyue arrive and beckoned him over.

"Sit down, Qingyue."

"Today, I'll teach you some Forging techniques for Thousand Refinement."

"I know you already have a deep understanding of Thousand Refinement, but if you learn some of the special techniques for first- and second-grade Thousand Refinement, they should help you a great deal."

Mu Chen's tone was gentle.

Li Qingyue's performance in Forging over the past few years had clearly pleased him immensely.

Li Qingyue had not set aside much time to practice Forging, but the boy's talent was simply too great to ignore.

He was gentle and quick-witted, neither a naive fool nor an unruly thorn in anyone's side.

He was clever and sensible, handled people well, and treated Mu Chen with due respect as his teacher.

Mu Chen was genuinely fond of Li Qingyue.

Seeing her father like that, Mu Xi could not help pursing her lips.

She liked Li Qingyue a great deal herself.

After all, it was hard not to like someone good-looking and gentle who paid attention to other people's feelings.

In truth, that was the difference between them in temperament and emotional intelligence.

When you met someone in real life who seemed to suit your every need,

it often did not mean you were truly made for each other.

Rather, their emotional intelligence and intellect far surpassed yours. They could adapt to your habits and remember every little detail about you, creating that sense of perfect harmony.

Time spent practicing Forging always seemed to fly by.

When the two-hour afternoon practice ended and Li Qingyue came out, he saw Leng Xiaoyue waiting by the door.

Gone was her sharp, professional look from before. Her eyes were full of exhaustion, with dark circles beneath them.

She looked at Li Qingyue anxiously. "Something terrible happened outside the building entrance. Two Qiangu Family spies were killed at the entrance to our residential complex."

"Judging by the direction they were heading in the security footage, they were probably going to our complex. But somehow, both their bodies suddenly exploded."

Leng Xiaoyue took a deep breath. There was tension in her eyes, but a trace of relief as well.

If Li Qingyue had still been there at the time, something really might have happened to him.

She had watched Li Qingyue leave before anything happened to those two, so she was not overly worried now.

Once she had confirmed Na'er was safe, she had brought her straight here.

But Li Qingyue froze slightly at Leng Xiaoyue's words.

He had clearly killed the two with Shattered Star Flurry, and he had not made much effort to conceal it.

Yet from what Leng Xiaoyue said, the cameras had not caught him at all.

That surprised Li Qingyue.

Seeing him frown, Leng Xiaoyue wasted no words. She stepped forward and showed him the security footage saved on her phone.

Li Qingyue looked at it.

From beginning to end, he never appeared anywhere in the footage. Not the slightest trace of him remained.

The two men's deaths really did look as if they had exploded out of thin air.

It was clear they seemed to be resisting something. But after only a moment's struggle, their bodies were pierced one after the other. Cracks spread across them, and at last they burst apart completely.