Su Yu bent down, pressing the edge of his black-and-gold saber against Liu Ang's neck.
"What was that you said? Whose rules are the law in Nanhe County?"
Liu Ang's body convulsed in the muddy water, his broken right arm twisted at a grotesque angle. Blood stained the earth beneath him black.
"Urgh... you..."
His mouth hung open, broken sounds leaking from his throat like air through a crack, every word thick with sticky, bloody froth.
"Su Yu, my father is the head of the Liu Family. He's a Spirit Realm expert. If you dare touch me, the Liu Family will never let you off."
Faced with Liu Ang's threat, Su Yu remained expressionless and lowered his wrist slightly. The spine of his saber pressed into flesh, drawing a string of round blood beads.
Atop the city wall, over a hundred archers held their bows fully drawn, their trembling fingers barely able to hold the strings.
"Let the Third Master go!"
Liu Hu, captain of the Liu Family guards, stepped forward, his heavy sword pointing diagonally at the ground. His voice reverberated through the open space before the city gate.
Tang Shan guarded the flank with his saber in hand. He could sense the eerie gleam flickering on the tips of those crossbow bolts.
"Brother Su, the arrows are poisoned!"
Su Yu turned a deaf ear to him. Driving his foot down, he crushed Liu Ang's remaining left shoulder bone.
"Aah!"
The piercing scream instantly tore through the damp chill after the rain. Liu Ang's face contorted beyond recognition from the agony.
"Kill him! Hurry up and kill him!"
Liu Ang howled like a madman, the terror in his eyes having long since drowned his reason.
"Loose!"
Liu Hu swung his hand sharply, and dozens of feathered arrows rained down with shrill whistles.
Su Yu stood where he was without a trace of panic on his face. He planted his foot and unleashed Wandering Dragon Steps.
His figure flickered rapidly, like a nimble roaming dragon, easily evading the volley of arrows.
At the mortal realm ninth layer, both his perception and his reactions far surpassed those of ordinary people.
Those arrows, fired by mere mortal realm second- and third-layer martial artists, could not harm him at all.
Su Yu lowered his head to look at Liu Ang, who lay like a dead dog.
"This is what you were counting on?"
At that moment, the madness vanished from Liu Ang's eyes, leaving only the despair of plunging into an abyss.
He sensed an exceptionally violent presence emanating from Su Yu, and an intense oppressive force suddenly bore down on him.
"I... we could...!"
Before Liu Ang could beg for mercy, Su Yu abruptly exerted force with his right hand. His black-and-gold saber let out a clear, ringing hum.
Swish!
Saber light flashed.
The ultimate-realm killing move, Wind Falls Silent, Leaving No Trace, sliced the air apart in an instant.
Liu Ang's plea for mercy cut off abruptly.
There was no spray of blood, nor any dull crack of breaking bone.
His head slid backward eerily, the cut as smooth as a mirror. Only after it had rolled several meters away did blood gush like a fountain from his severed neck.
The two-meter-high column of blood flowed outward, staining the ground red.
Dead silence fell over the city gate.
The overbearing Third Master of the Liu Family had been beheaded in public, just like that.
"Kill him! Avenge the Third Master!"
After the brief silence, Liu Hu roared like a cornered beast and charged, swinging his heavy sword.
Liu Hu knew his family head's methods all too well. With Liu Ang dead, returning would mean certain death for him too.
The next instant, Su Yu vanished.
His perfected Wandering Dragon Steps turned him into a streak of black lightning.
He wove through the tightly packed formation, each flicker of his figure bringing a streak of tragically vivid red.
Pfft.
His saber pierced Liu Hu's throat.
Following through with a sweeping kick, Su Yu sent Liu Hu's two-hundred-jin torso straight into several private soldiers behind him, smashing them apart.
Slaughter Points jumped wildly in his mind.
[Human at the mortal realm eighth layer killed. Slaughter Points gained: 80]
In fewer than ten breaths, severed limbs littered the ground before the city gate.
The remaining private soldiers broke completely, throwing down their weapons and fleeing desperately into the city.
The defenders atop the city wall lowered their bows, their commanding officer's palms drenched in cold sweat.
Clop... clop... clop...
Just then, a rapid clatter of hoofbeats came from the distance.
Wearing a dark red cloak, Lin Xiao arrived with a squad of Demon Suppression Guards. He reined in his warhorse, his gaze sweeping over the scene of carnage.
"Su Yu, you certainly work fast."
Su Yu sheathed his saber and pulled a stack of bloodstained letters from inside his robe.
"The Liu Family colluded with demons and secretly murdered humans. Here's the evidence."
Lin Xiao took the letters, a cold curve forming at the corner of his mouth.
He turned to face the crowd, his Spirit Realm pressure sweeping across the entire area.
"Everyone, heed my command! The Liu Family has colluded with demons, committing treason punishable by death!"
"All Liu Family members and private soldiers are to surrender their weapons immediately! Anyone who disobeys will be killed without exception!"
The commander on the city wall was the first to drop to his knees. "This subordinate awaits your orders."
Lin Xiao walked up beside Su Yu and lowered his voice. "With Liu Ang dead, that old bastard Liu Tianjue will absolutely go mad."
Su Yu looked toward the distant Liu Family estate, a sharp glint flashing through his eyes.
Then he casually snatched up a fallen spear, drove it through Liu Ang's head, and hurled it upward.
Bang!
The spear embedded itself firmly in the plaque above the city gate, the terrified head facing the bustling main road.
The sky over Nanhe County had truly fallen.
Su Yu swung onto his horse and galloped toward the Demon Suppression Bureau.
He swept his mind over the panel. His Slaughter Points had already reached 580.
He could feel the Qi vortex condensed within his body roaring wildly.
Deep within the Liu Family estate, news of Liu Ang's death had already arrived. Liu Tianjue's eyes had turned an eerie dark purple.
"I want him dead! Right now!"
In the shadows, the black-robed figure let out a grating laugh.
"In that case, let my darling take a stroll through the city."
Before long, in a dry well in the south of the city, a claw covered in green hair abruptly clamped onto the rim.
From the bottom of the well came a chewing sound that set teeth on edge.