The old man fled, and Su Yu sheathed his saber.
The wilderness two days from now would be the true meat grinder. A fleeing rat was not worth wasting his strength on.
"Clean up. Bring the corpse."
Only then did Tang Shan come to his senses. He slipped his short saber back into his belt and stepped forward to shoulder the foul-smelling remains of the half-demon.
In the side hall.
Lin Xiao finished listening to the report.
"Ghost Shadow Sect, Corpse-Eating Hound, Mortal Realm Eighth Layer."
His fingers struck the tabletop heavily. These rats, which had disappeared for so long, had suddenly emerged to snatch a corpse. They definitely had a purpose.
"Come down to the dungeon with me."
Lin Xiao picked up his long whip and rose.
"The City Defense Battalion captured a Ghost Shadow Sect remnant several months ago, an elder's daughter, no less. She's the one we're escorting in two days. I'll take you to meet her first."
On the dungeon's lowest level, a jailer pushed open the rusted refined-steel barred door of Water Cell A.
A woman could be seen hanging from an iron frame.
Four thick iron chains cruelly pierced her shoulder blades and ankles. Flesh curled outward, and bloody water dripped from her toes into a puddle.
Hearing the noise, the woman raised her head with difficulty, her cracked red lips parting.
"Yue Rao."
The instant those two syllables squeezed out from deep in her throat, a cloyingly sweet scent filled the damp cell.
Tang Shan's eyes instantly lost focus. His face flushed with blood, and his breathing grew extremely heavy.
He completely released his saber hilt, his hands tugging uncontrollably at his collar as he staggered toward the iron frame directly ahead.
"Charm arts?!"
Su Yu's eyes flashed. He immediately raised his hand and punched Tang Shan in the chest.
A muffled thud rang out.
Tang Shan flew backward off his feet, his back slamming heavily into the moss-covered stone wall.
Agonizing pain shot straight to his head, and reason reclaimed the high ground.
He huddled in the corner in horror, staring fixedly at the floor, no longer daring to raise his head.
Su Yu placed his right hand on his saber hilt and pushed upward with his thumb. His black-and-gold saber slid half an inch out of its sheath as his Prison-Suppressing Demon-Subduing cultivation method circulated at full speed.
The cloying fragrance that had entered his body was instantly evaporated by his raging blood and vitality. Yue Rao let out a muffled groan.
The chains shook violently, scraping together with a piercing screech.
She stared fixedly at Su Yu. All the seductive charm in her eyes vanished, replaced by profound horror.
Standing behind him, Lin Xiao's eyes flickered with surprise.
Mortal Realm Seventh Layer.
He remembered perfectly well that this brat had only been at the fourth layer yesterday.
How much time had passed? Less than two days, and he had broken through three layers in succession?!
Lin Xiao forcibly suppressed the shock in his eyes and turned his gaze toward Yue Rao.
"Put away those filthy tricks."
"What orders did the Ghost Shadow Sect receive to enter the city overnight and steal a corpse?"
"Heh, heh!"
Yue Rao gave two dry laughs at his words. The chains tugged at her wounds, and fresh blood welled out again.
"You think too highly of me, Chief Lin."
"I, Yue Rao, am merely a weak woman, and a prisoner besides. How would I know what the Ghost Shadow Sect is doing?"
Lin Xiao snorted and crushed a dry bone on the floor underfoot.
"Let's go."
He turned and strode out of the water cell.
Neither soft nor hard tactics worked on this woman. There was no point wasting more time here.
Back in the side hall, Lin Xiao spread out a parchment map.
"The plan has changed."
"The escort originally scheduled for three days from now has been moved up to dawn tomorrow."
"Make preparations overnight. We leave the city tomorrow morning."
Su Yu's gaze swept over the wilderness route on the map. Breaking camp ahead of schedule could completely disrupt the Liu Family's and Ghost Shadow Sect's assassination arrangements.
The wilderness route stretched six hundred li, beyond the constraints of the county town's rules.
The various factions would inevitably launch attacks along the way. This was precisely the hunting ground for slaughter he needed most.
Lin Xiao tossed him a black iron token.
"I received intelligence that the Liu Family has mobilized elite death warriors."
"Once we leave the city, everything will be beyond control."
"With this token, you have absolute authority to act as circumstances demand."
Lin Xiao needed a swift blade that did not follow the rules.
Su Yu took the token without saying anything more.
Crossing the threshold, he summoned the system panel with a thought.
He had only sixty Slaughter Points left, while extrapolating cultivation methods required hundreds or thousands of points.
He needed a great deal of slaughter to fill that gap.
The next day. Dawn.
Cold mist shrouded the drill ground tightly, and white frost coated the flagstones.
Three refined-steel prison wagons stood in a row, rune-covered chains wound around their heavy metal bars.
Twenty Demon Suppression Guards stood fully equipped.
Liu Ying wore crimson light armor and held a long cowhide whip pointed downward.
Su Yu and Tang Shan stepped through the drill ground's gates.
Liu Ying turned and brought her right hand down sharply.
Crack!
The long whip struck the refined-steel bars, sending sparks flying.
"Squad Leader Su."
"All twenty of us have been standing here in the cold wind waiting for you?"
The four Demon Suppression Guards flanking her gripped their saber hilts and advanced two steps, vaguely forming an encirclement.
Su Yu did not stop walking. He barreled straight into the Demon Suppression Guard directly ahead.
The sheer physical strength of the Mortal Realm Seventh Layer crushed straight through.
The guard blocking his way flew sideways with a sharp crack from his breastbone and crashed heavily into the muddy water.
Su Yu passed through the group and walked to the rear.
He stopped.
From beginning to end, he never glanced at Liu Ying.
In his eyes, this woman was already a walking corpse.
Tang Shan held down his saber hilt, his expression hostile. Faint fluctuations of spiritual power emanated from his body. Just last night, after consuming that vermilion fruit, he too had successfully broken through to the Mortal Realm Fifth Layer.
In the past, he might have felt somewhat pleased with himself. Now, however, after witnessing Su Yu's freakish speed of advancement, he only felt that he could not be more ordinary.
Liu Ying's face turned livid, and she sneered.
"The wilderness route stretches six hundred li, with demons running rampant along the way."
"Squad Leader Su had better stay close to the group."
"Don't let the demons gnaw you down until not even your bones remain."
Su Yu still did not react. His senses had long since begun quietly spreading outward.
They pierced the thick gray-white mist.
A man lay prone atop the tower in the northeastern corner of the drill ground, his breathing deliberately suppressed to the utmost.
Yet palpable killing intent remained firmly locked on the back of Su Yu's neck. He knew without thinking that this was someone the Liu Family had arranged.
Su Yu tapped the blade with his index finger. Top-tier prey had already delivered itself to his doorstep.
Once they were outside the city walls, they would see who the true hunter was.
The jailers escorted Yue Rao over with a black hood over her head and roughly shoved her into the middle prison wagon.
The heavy lock snapped shut.
Standing on the raised platform, Lin Xiao swung his arm down.
"Move out."
The axles turned.
The procession formed a long snake formation and passed through Nanhe County's towering city gates.
The official road lay desolate.
Liu Ying rode a black horse at the very front, while Su Yu and Tang Shan had deliberately been assigned to cover the rear.
They were farthest from the core of the group.
If a surprise attack came, they would definitely bear its brunt and fall into a deadly predicament, attacked from front and rear.
Su Yu was very satisfied with this position.
Out of sight of the main group, he could harvest Slaughter Points without restraint.
The procession traveled ten li and entered Black Wind Valley, flanked on both sides by smooth, sheer cliffs.
Only a thread of white light remained overhead, and their surroundings abruptly darkened.
The wind stopped.
Only the sound of wheels grinding over loose stones echoed between the rock walls.
Su Yu stopped abruptly.
Suddenly, the airflow ahead changed course, and Yue Rao jerked her head up inside the prison wagon.
Su Yu gripped his saber hilt with a reverse grip and abruptly drew his blade.
Without any windup, the Gale Saber Technique slashed directly into empty space above and to the right, the black-and-gold edge violently tearing through the air.
Clang!
The blade intercepted a thick, heavy iron arrow, black from end to end, in midair. The tremendous physical force split the short arrow in two down the middle.
The arrowhead skimmed past Su Yu's cheek and buried itself deep in the cliff face half a meter away.
Shattered stone tumbled through the air.
At the very front, Liu Ying yanked hard on the reins with both hands, and the black horse threw back its head with a long neigh.