Let Go of Lord Linghu!

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh-

After several soft whistles through the air, the alley fell deathly silent.

The three men formed an encirclement, blocking the alley ahead, behind, and above.

Dressed as a wandering Taoist, Chen Yuan crouched on the upturned eaves, a black-sheathed longsword in hand, and looked down at the white-robed young man in the alley.

"Who might you be?"

The monk who had smashed through the wall rolled a string of prayer beads in his hand and glanced at the black eagle circling overhead.

"Probably some rich brat with no sense. What do we do?"

The three had been hiding here when a lone young gentleman stumbled upon them. What else could they do?

Xie Jinhuan stood where he was, his hand on his weapon. Facing formidable enemies closing in from three sides, he initially braced himself for a great battle, but soon noticed something amiss.

He seemed to have cheats enabled!

More precisely, his martial skills were almost uncannily good.

With his full attention focused, he could clearly hear all three men breathing. He could even judge their current condition from the faint sounds of the breeze brushing their limbs and robes.

The monk ahead breathed steadily, and some unusual energy seemed to flow within him. He was probably a genuine monk who had practiced Buddhist arts. There was also a money pouch hanging at his waist, which could replenish his travel funds...

The Taoist overhead was more alert. His right leg was bent in a crouch, his sword held across his body. He looked casual, but the posture actually made it easy to leap backward and open up distance. He was drawing breath into his chest, poised to strike...

The martial artist behind him was small fry. He gripped his saber too tightly to wield it freely and was currently looking for a chance to stab him in the back...

Xie Jinhuan had no idea how he knew all this, but the situation was indeed clear at a glance.

He even knew that killing these three would take five seconds at most. If he took a second longer, it would count as softhearted mercy.

The only thing on him related to martial arts was a book of training insights called the Joyful Heart Sutra. Judging by the handwriting, he had written it himself.

But he could not remember where he had learned it, and a book of training insights could not possibly have given him such seasoned combat experience.

Full of questions and uncertain of his current circumstances, Xie Jinhuan did not want to invite trouble, so he still gave the three men a chance.

"I don't want to take lives needlessly. Put down your weapons, hold your heads, and squat down, and I can spare you. Otherwise, you'll bear the consequences."

"Heh."

The monk scoffed.

Crouching on the rooftop, Chen Yuan studied him carefully for a long while. He could only tell that Xie Jinhuan possessed extraordinary martial skills, not where they came from. After some thought, he said:

"In the martial world, we die standing rather than live on our knees. If you have what it takes, then the three of us were simply unlucky to run into you."

As his words fell, the alley sank into silence, leaving only the rustle of the wind.

Blocking the way behind him, the martial artist gripped his three-foot saber and carefully watched Xie Jinhuan's shoulders and feet.

Noticing that Xie Jinhuan had left his back unguarded, he seized a fleeting opportunity and stamped down hard!

Clang-

In an instant, the blue bricks beneath his feet shattered, and a silver gleam flashed through the alley!

The saber wielder shot forward like a flying shuttle, whipping up a powerful blade wind as he closed on Xie Jinhuan's back in a flash. The other two moved at the same time!

But what none of them expected was that the white-robed gentleman in the alley was far stronger than they could possibly imagine!

Clatter-

The instant the martial artist attacked, Xie Jinhuan had already gripped his mace's handle. Rather than turn, he stepped backward and drew the mace in the same motion.

Before the martial artist could thrust his saber during his sudden assault, Xie Jinhuan had already backed into his arms. The rounded pommel struck his solar plexus like a cannon hammer!

Thud-

A muffled impact rang out, mingled with the sound of blood and bone bursting!

The martial artist stopped dead. His robes burst, his back bulged, and a jet of blood shot straight from his mouth and nose!

The martial artist was finished in an instant. The monk ahead felt his hair stand on end and immediately tried to stop, but it was too late!

Xie Jinhuan had never paid any attention to the martial artist behind him. As the Thirty-Six-Section Heavenly Gang Mace left its sheath, his left hand was already sliding along its body.

Hiss-

True qi from his entire body gathered into the mace, even producing a faint hiss as it concentrated!

Sensing a terrifying, all-piercing sharpness bearing down on him, the monk knew things were bad. He planted his feet in the earth, his chest swelling as he gave an explosive roar:

"Ha!"

Boom-

The next instant, Xie Jinhuan's left hand reached the mace's tip, and his body followed the weapon into a forward thrust!

Wrapped in overwhelming force, the Heavenly Gang Mace instantly swept up weeds and broken leaves, becoming an unrivaled tornado!

The tornado tore through the dark alley in an instant. Walls cracked along its path, tiles exploded, and every grain of dust and sand on the ground was swept up!

Before that cutting force, the monk was like a mayfly facing a raging dragon bursting from the sea!

The gulf between them was so vast that the monk did not even have time to feel fear. He merely drove his energy with all his might. A dim golden light emerged on his exposed skin, and his entire bearing became that of an immovable, wrathful vajra guardian!

But against a heavy mace strike capable of demolishing cities and shaking mountains, his mortal flesh was no different from an ant.

Boom-

The heavy mace drove into his flesh, and the monk's chest exploded on the spot!

Blood and bone sprayed as his body was smashed apart at the middle, his shoulders and head flying into the air!

The Taoist Chen Yuan had just leaped from the eaves and was still in midair when half his companion's body flew past his shoulder!

The terrifying shock wave swept beneath him like a storm sweeping away rotten wood, shattering half the alley before blasting a cloud of bloody mist and flying sand from the bend at its mouth!

Above it, Chen Yuan felt as though he had leaped onto the back of a thousand-foot evil dragon. His spirit trembled and his hair stood on end. With all his strength, he kicked off the wall and tumbled sideways, forming a hand seal with his left hand as he went. Azure light visibly surged over his hand, and by the time he landed, he had driven his sword into the ground!

Crackle-

Azure light flowed into the longsword, becoming a thumb-thick serpent of lightning that ripped through the ground straight toward Xie Jinhuan's feet!

But at that very moment, the white-robed gentleman who had smashed the wicked monk apart had already looked back. His mace swept horizontally with the momentum of Mad Dragon Sweeps Its Tail, striking toward the alley behind him.

Boom-

A deafening crash erupted in the alley.

The already shattered bricks and stones were almost entirely torn up, becoming a wave of masonry as wide as the alley. It surged forward with mountain-toppling, sea-overturning force, instantly cutting the narrow alley in two!

Seeing the entire stretch of ground ahead roll toward him, Chen Yuan's eyes went blank!

After all, judging by the force of his attacks, this young man had unquestionably entered the ranks of fourth-grade martial artists and might even have touched the threshold of the third grade.

Every fourth-grade expert in the world was an honored guest of powerful households. This man looked barely twenty. How was that possible...?

Before absolute strength, any countermeasure seemed absurd and laughable. There was not even an opportunity to attempt one!

Faced with a gulf like a heavenly chasm, Chen Yuan reacted like a frightened chicken, dog, ox, or sheep, instinctively turning to flee.

Unfortunately, it was too late.

Whoosh-

A shrill sword cry suddenly rang through the dust-filled alley!

A swirling hollow was punched through the wave of masonry before it could fall!

And at the very front of that vortex were a white-robed afterimage and a point of cold light!

Chen Yuan had only just heard the sound when that cold gleam flashed through the alley, piercing his back and bursting from his chest!

Squelch-

Beads of blood splashed onto the ground.

Chen Yuan's feet stopped short. He lowered his head to look at the dark, blue-green blade protruding from his chest, his eyes filled with disbelief.

"Four and a half seconds. I overestimated you lot a little."

Xie Jinhuan stood behind him holding the sword and raised the Heavenly Gang Mace as he spoke.

Smack-

Half the wicked monk's body fell first, landing on the eaves.

The money pouch that had been knocked into the air landed securely on the tip of the Heavenly Gang Mace!

Xie Jinhuan had refrained from dismembering Chen Yuan with the Heavenly Gang Mace not out of mercy, but because killing them all would make things hard to explain. He needed to leave a survivor as a greeting gift for Head Constable Yang.

Discovering that his martial skills really were absurdly good, Xie Jinhuan had plenty of questions himself. He asked:

"Those last two moves were called 'Black Dragon Strikes the Pillar' and 'Mad Dragon Sweeps Its Tail,' from the Silver Dragon Eight Forms. Have you heard of them?"

Chen Yuan stood rigid, his face deathly pale, not daring to move a muscle. Deep confusion mingled with the terror in his eyes.

Black Dragon Strikes the Pillar? I've never heard of it...

The Lewd Dragon Eight Forms...

What sect would give its art a name like that...?

Could he be a practitioner of wicked Taoist arts...?

Before Chen Yuan could answer, another sharp whistle through the air suddenly broke the quiet of the flagstone alley!

Swish-

Xie Jinhuan frowned. Realizing that this attack was far more powerful than those of the three men, he swept his mace back without hesitation, striking at the rapidly approaching gleam...

Moments earlier.

Linghu Qingmo had crept over from outside the ward. Halfway there, he heard unusual sounds from the warehouse. Then half a body flew above the twenty-foot-high warehouse, trailing blood across the sky, while flying sand and bloody mist blasted from the alley below!

Shocked, Linghu Qingmo knew there was a formidable enemy in the alley and immediately vaulted over the large warehouse.

The first thing he saw was a white-robed figure driving a sword into a Taoist's back!

Seeing a fellow Taoist being slaughtered, Linghu Qingmo drew his sword and charged without a second thought, intending to stop it. But the white-robed brute rampaging through the alley proved terrifyingly powerful. Sensing something amiss, he struck backward with his coldly gleaming mace without even moving his body, instantly raising a yellow dragon laden with flying sand and broken stone!

Boom-

His hair standing on end, Linghu Qingmo immediately halted and sprang backward without hesitation. But they were already too close, and the mace's edge still grazed his chest.

Crack-

The fine armor supplied by the Pill King's Residence offered truly impressive protection, but it was not indestructible.

The mace's tip swept across the dark blue-green breastplate with astonishing explosive force, instantly cracking its tightly packed, fish-scale plates!

The remaining force poured into his organs. Linghu Qingmo felt his chest shudder violently, and he flew backward several dozen feet before hitting the ground and tumbling several times.

Thud, thud-

Clatter...

As the figure slid to a stop, the alley fell completely silent.

After that strike, Xie Jinhuan had already drawn the Zhenglun Sword, ready to turn and finish him off.

But when he looked, he discovered that the man lying on the ground was actually a warrior in black armor.

Privately possessing armor was a grave crime. Anyone who dared run around Danyang City wearing it was either from the Capital Prefecture Garrison or one of the Pill King's personal guards. Killing one was tantamount to attacking the sovereign and committing treason-punishable by immediate execution!

"Holy shit?"

Xie Jinhuan had remained utterly unruffled until now, but this gave him a fright.

"Huh? Brother! Sorry, sorry! Don't die!"

Xie Jinhuan hurried over, hoping to salvage the situation, and discovered that the armor was exceptionally well made. The breastplate was cracked, but not completely shattered.

However, a mace was an armor-breaking weapon. Its internal damage could shake a man to death, and this man lay utterly still, clearly unconscious.

Unable to assess his injuries through the armor, Xie Jinhuan was trying to remove his faceplate to check his complexion when a thunderous shout came from the distance.

"Audacious scoundrel! Let go of Lord Linghu!"

Shing, shing, shing...

The sound of sabers being drawn followed.

Looking up, he saw five constables at the alley's mouth, official sabers in hand as though facing a formidable enemy. Two runners behind them had even taken out Qi-Breaking Crossbows and were frantically cocking them.

Killing this bunch of small fry would take five seconds at most.

But Xie Jinhuan was no vicious outlaw. His father could not protect him if he killed constables. He hastily dropped his weapons and raised both hands.

"A misunderstanding! A misunderstanding! We're on the same side!"

"Chirp!"

The little coalball, which had already landed nearby, raised its little wings too!

Seeing Linghu Qingmo's life hanging in the balance, Yang Dabiao had been scared half out of his wits. He had already prepared to draw his saber and fight to the death. At least that would make him a martyr, and he would not later be killed by Her Highness the Commandery Princess and Purple Emblem Mountain.

Yang Dabiao was genuinely stunned to see this powerful outlaw surrender his weapons. Wary of a trick, he shouted furiously:

"Hands on your head! Turn around and squat down! Resist arrest and you'll be killed without mercy!"

Xie Jinhuan had actually taught this method to his father, who had then taught it to the runners under him.

Knowing he had caused trouble, Xie Jinhuan had no intention of resisting arrest. He held his head in both hands and squatted on the ground.

"Brother Yang, it's me, Xie Jinhuan. My father..."

"Tie him up first! Hurry, fetch a doctor..."

"Hey, hey, hey! We're all on the same side. There's no need..."