"At a time like this, you still aren't running. I don't know whether to call you brave or a fool." Li Chen Zhou watched him, his hand slowly reaching for the Blood Demon Blade at his waist.
"No matter how fast the Young Duke's blade is, can it be faster than a spring breeze crossing Jade Gate?" Jade Faced Fox's face was full of disdain.
"Yan San just came asking me for someone. Once you enter the Imperial Prison, you'll understand." The Blood Demon Blade left its sheath, a streak of bloody light slashing toward Jade Faced Fox.
True qi gathered in his hands. The instant it met the blade qi, his entire body flew backward, intending to use the recoil of the blade qi to escape. The moment Li Chen Zhou struck, he sensed a martial aura from the same source as Nangong Yue's.
"Lord Li, don't let him get away!" Wang Ying pointed at Jade Faced Fox and shouted anxiously.
"Those bastards from Heavenly Desire Palace again? You came here and still want to run?" Li Chen Zhou instantly changed his stance. "Three Abyssal Slashes, First Slash—Sever Samsara."
Scarlet blood vessels spread through the corners of Li Chen Zhou's eyes. Blood-colored blade qi condensed into the phantom of a rakshasa; wherever it passed, the blue bricks cracked inch by inch, and the ancient locust tree in the courtyard burst into flame without wind. Jade Faced Fox tried to repeat his old trick, but this time the blade qi sent him flying outright.
Jade Faced Fox spat out blood. Just as he was about to hit the ground, he planted one hand and flipped over. His pupils had shrunk to needlepoints, and the veins in his neck writhed like earthworms—after this exchange, he had finally seen the gap between himself and Li Chen Zhou. Though both were at the sixth-rank "mastery through practice" realm, their combat strength could not be mentioned in the same breath.
"Divine Movement Hundred Transformations." He circulated his inner force and prepared to flee. His toes lightly touched the lotus pond, yet not a ripple stirred on the water's surface. His qinggong attainment of treading the moon and leaving behind fragrance was revealed without reservation.
"Want to run? Let's see where you can run to." Li Chen Zhou raised his right hand and grabbed forward. "Soul Absorption Art!"
Jade Faced Fox, who had been about to flee, was caught and rendered utterly unable to move. He was even being pulled closer to Li Chen Zhou. Li Chen Zhou increased his inner force output, and Jade Faced Fox flew backward with terror on his face. His inner force, essence, qi, and spirit formed invisible waves in the air, gathering toward Li Chen Zhou's body.
Just as Jade Faced Fox was about to be drained dry, Li Chen Zhou stopped. Jade Faced Fox collapsed limply to the ground. The moment he tried to rise, the rushing Brocade Guards placed Embroidered Spring Blades against his neck.
"Take him back. Tell Yan San this is a gift for him. I have no other request—castrate him first."
"Ding—Capture of the flower-plucking thief Jade Faced Fox complete. Reward: 10 years of internal cultivation."
Seeing Jade Faced Fox captured, Wang Ying finally breathed a sigh of relief. He hurried to Li Chen Zhou. "Thank you, Lord Li. If not for you, my daughter's chastity would have been utterly ruined today. Someone..." As he spoke, a servant came forward carrying a tray of silver notes. "This is a small token of appreciation from Wang for the Brocade Guard brothers. Please, my lord, do not refuse."
"Lord Wang is too courteous. Since that is the case, Li will not stand on ceremony. On behalf of the Brocade Guard brothers, I thank Lord Wang." With that, Li Chen Zhou signaled for Bookworm to accept the silver notes.
"Since that is the case, the Brocade Guard has many official duties and cannot remain any longer." Li Chen Zhou cupped his hands in farewell.
"On another day, Wang will hold a banquet at my residence. Lord Li, you must honor us with your presence." Looking at the outstanding young man before him, Wang Ying could not help but entertain certain other thoughts.
"Certainly. Farewell." Li Chen Zhou then led the others away from the Wang residence.
After returning to the Brocade Guard station, Li Chen Zhou immediately sought out Yan San.
"That flower-plucking thief—I have a feeling something is off about him. There may be something behind this. Give him a proper welcome."
"Rest assured, Lord Li. Yan has recently researched quite a few new things. This is the perfect chance to test them on this brat." Seeing the newly arrived test subject, Yan San was so excited that his hands trembled. Just as he was about to introduce his latest methods of torture to Li Chen Zhou, someone entered to report, "Greetings, Banner Officer Li, Prison Warden Yan. Centurion Zhang requests Banner Officer Li's presence. He has instructions for you."
"Brother Yan, it seems Centurion Zhang has urgent business. Li must take his leave first." Li Chen Zhou quickly seized the chance to escape—he had no interest whatsoever in Yan San's methods of torture.
"Since that is the case, I will not keep Lord Li." Unable to show off his masterpiece to Li Chen Zhou, Yan San felt a slight regret.
The moment he entered the centurion's office, he heard Zhang Qiang's hearty laughter.
"My lord, Banner Officer Li has arrived," the guard at the door reported.
"Quick, come in, come in." Zhang Qiang's irrepressible delight could be heard from his tone alone.
"This subordinate, Li Chen Zhou, pays respects to Centurion Zhang." Li Chen Zhou bowed.
Zhang Qiang hurriedly waved his hand. "We're brothers here, with no outsiders. There's no need for such ceremony in the future." As he spoke, he went over and pulled Li Chen Zhou to the desk, pointing at the mountain of gold, silver, and valuables piled atop it. "Look..."
Li Chen Zhou asked in confusion, "This is...?"
Zhang Qiang burst into laughter. "All of this was sent by Lord Yang Kun, the Capital City Prefect. The merchants of the Capital City asked him to pass along these gifts of thanks." The joy in his heart overflowed from his expression.
"This much? Lord Yang's efficiency is quite impressive." Seeing nearly ten thousand taels of silver on the table, Li Chen Zhou was somewhat surprised as well.
"Of course. We did him such a huge favor—would he have the nerve to send less?" Zhang Qiang said happily. "How do you think we should handle it?"
Li Chen Zhou said indifferently, "Hand one-tenth over to the Thousand-Household Commander. You and I each keep one-tenth, and use the rest as funds for tonight's celebration banquet for the brothers. What does Centurion Zhang think?"
Hearing Li Chen Zhou's words, Zhang Qiang laughed even more heartily. "Hahahaha! Brother Li, you truly are generous. In that case, Zhang will thank Brother Li on behalf of the Thousand-Household Commander and all the brothers at the centurion's office."
"Tonight, at Elegance Fragrance Courtyard. The brothers will gather. Brother Li, remember not to be late." After saying this, Zhang Qiang gave him a meaningful look. "I have something good for you."
Li Chen Zhou smiled and nodded helplessly.
Meanwhile, at the Nangong Prime Minister's Residence.
"Holy Maiden, Jade Faced Fox has been captured." Half the masked man's face was concealed by his mask, but the anxiety on his face was still hard to miss.
"What? That arrogant fool, incapable of success and more than capable of ruining things." Nangong Yue clenched her silver teeth in fury.
"What should we do? Should we rescue him?" The masked man was somewhat anxious.
"Rescue him? How? Storm the Brocade Guard's Imperial Prison? He's a fool—has water gotten into your brain too?" Nangong Yue's face turned livid.
"We still have to think of something. Among the Four Heavenly Kings of Heavenly Desire Palace, this brat affects two of the votes. If he dies in the Imperial Prison, Desire Zenith Sovereign and Illusion Zenith Sovereign will likely become dissatisfied with you." The masked man said worriedly.
"Damn it." A trace of ruthlessness flashed through Nangong Yue's eyes, though it was mixed with helplessness.
System Panel Host: Li Chen Zhou Martial Realm: Late sixth rank (86/90) Cultivation Techniques: - Thirteen Guardian Golden Bell Shield (Mastery) - Three Abyssal Slashes (Mastery) - Thousand Faces (Mastery) - Soaring Illusionary Steps (Mastery) - Hell Soul Exchange Scripture (Mastery) - Soul Absorption Art (Mastery), god-tier attribute unlocked: 10% Internal Cultivation: 86 years (calculated based on an ordinary person cultivating a basic technique for one year) Lifespan: 32 years Weapon: Blood Demon Blade
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