"Ah!!!"
Zhou Kaishan crashed heavily to the ground, his face contorted as he let out a wretched howl.
Blood stained a stretch of the bluestone street red.
He struggled to rise, bracing his left hand against the ground and bending his knees, every muscle in his body straining as though about to burst.
But a vast surge of True Qi pinned him so firmly that he could not move, like Mount Tai bearing down upon him.
He could only watch helplessly as the youth slowly approached.
The saber gleamed, its light dazzling.
Overpowering him with cultivation realm alone!
His opponent used no skill whatsoever, suppressing him by sheer force of a realm a notch above his own.
That was precisely what made Zhou Kaishan feel so stifled.
He had an entire repertoire of martial arts, yet no chance to use any of it!
Hatred seethed in his heart. That damned Lu Guan had hidden himself so deeply.
His cultivation realm was clearly a notch higher than Zhou Kaishan's, yet he insisted on posing as someone at the perfected Qi and Blood Realm.
What a vile disposition!
"Spare him!"
Suddenly, a figure leaped out.
His blue robes fluttered, a longsword hanging at his waist. It was the handsome young man who had followed Wang Quan earlier.
He held a token bearing four golden characters: "Langya Demon Suppression."
"I am Qin Tiannan, a commandant of the Langya Demon Suppression Bureau, ordered to arrest Zhou Kaishan!"
"You cannot kill this man now. He must be handed over to the commandery city before a decision is made."
Hearing this, Lu Guan raised his eyes.
His gaze was utterly indifferent, making Qin Tiannan's heart tremble. The commandant from the commandery city instinctively explained:
"The evidence that this scum colluded with demons is all but conclusive. Once he is escorted back to the commandery city, he is certain to die... you needn't dirty your hands."
As he spoke, a persuasive note entered his voice.
In truth, Qin Tiannan had not intended to intervene.
However...
He glanced out of the corner of his eye at the deputy commander hidden in the crowd, feeling helpless.
Someone had taken a liking to this talent and could not bear to see the youth's future ruined.
Before being convicted, Zhou Kaishan was still a commandant of the Demon Suppression Bureau. How could a mere captain like him kill the man?
If everyone acted this way, wouldn't everything descend into chaos?
Today he killed a commandant, tomorrow someone else killed a company commander. How would the Demon Suppression Bureau maintain order?
"No need for such trouble." Lu Guan's voice came, calm as still water. "I don't mind dirtying my hands."
Officials shielded one another. He did not trust this man who had suddenly appeared before him.
Where had he been earlier?
It was more convenient to do it himself.
With those words, he raised his saber and brought it down again.
Clang!
The next instant, a length of longsword blocked his blade.
Qin Tiannan stood with his sword held across him and shook his head helplessly. "Why can't you tell goodwill from ill intent?"
Then, with a slight exertion of his wrist, he actually pushed the saber in Lu Guan's hand several inches higher.
"You're no match for me. Save your strength."
Although Lu Guan and Zhou Kaishan had exchanged blows for only a few breaths, Qin Tiannan had seen their strength perfectly clearly.
In his eyes, Lu Guan's saber technique was mediocre. Only his perfected True Qi Realm cultivation seemed especially terrifying when paired with his age.
Even across all of You Province, he would rank among the outstanding few.
But so what? Cultivation realm did not equal combat strength, just as having money did not mean knowing how to spend it.
This youth's saber technique was very crude. Every slash and chop rested entirely on Qi and Blood Realm foundations, without truly incorporating the subtleties of the True Qi Realm.
That was hardly surprising. If his martial attainments were as high as his cultivation realm, how was anyone else supposed to live?
Qin Tiannan himself had only barely managed to keep pace in cultivation realm by virtue of being several years older.
His ability to suppress Lu Guan so easily still depended on his formidable body-refining cultivation and considerable martial attainments.
Since childhood, he had soaked his sinews and bones in heavenly materials and earthly treasures and received instruction from renowned masters. He had entered the True Qi Realm at twenty-two; now, at twenty-eight, he had reached the perfected True Qi Realm.
There was a reason he was the youngest commandant of the Demon Suppression Bureau in Langya Commandery City.
Of course, judging by the current situation, that title might soon change hands.
"Is that so?"
A slightly odd expression appeared on Lu Guan's face, and his gaze immediately fell upon his remaining Cultivation.
With a slight stir of his thoughts, he immediately synthesized a Dao Seed.
[Remaining Cultivation: 413 years]
Immediately afterward, he invested it in the Demon Subduing Saber Technique.
[A Dao Seed rests within your breast; heaven aids your progress] [Through a century of contemplation, you successfully build upon the old to create the new with the Dao Seed's help, raising the Demon Subduing Saber Technique to another level]
Memories of countless saber swings flooded his mind, finally forming a brilliant saber light that seemed capable of cutting through everything before him.
[You name it the "Demon Suppressing Saber Record"] True Qi · Demon Suppressing Saber Record (uninitiated)
Keep adding points!
[In the first year, you believe that with the solid foundation laid by the Demon Subduing Saber Technique, learning this martial art will be effortless... unfortunately, your aptitude is mediocre, and you fail to comprehend it thoroughly] [After two and a half years, you gain a profound understanding that the Qi and Blood Realm is the Qi and Blood Realm, and the True Qi Realm is the True Qi Realm; the two must never be conflated. At last, you successfully reach initiation] [In the eleventh year, through painstaking practice and unceasing daily diligence, your saber technique advances greatly, successfully reaching minor accomplishment] [Another twenty years pass. Every move of the Demon Suppressing Saber Record has become part of your instincts, qualifying as major accomplishment] [In the sixty-second year, every move you make fully embodies the Demon Suppressing True Intention, reaching a sublime state and successfully attaining perfection] [Remaining Cultivation: 315 years]
Lu Guan felt the changes in his body.
The Demon Suppressing Saber Record centered on the word "suppress."
It emphasized concealing one's edge and returning to simplicity and truth, keeping its brilliance contained in ordinary moments, then shattering stone and startling heaven once the saber struck.
The next instant, Qin Tiannan's expression changed drastically.
The saber resting on his sword had suddenly grown heavy!
Lu Guan's expression remained unchanged as he silently pressed his blade down several inches, returning it to its original position.
It was only a few fists' breadths from Zhou Kaishan's throat.
"Commandant Qin, if you don't let go, blades have no eyes."
At those words, Qin Tiannan's refusal to admit defeat instantly surged up.
Even across all of You Province, he was a celebrated heaven's chosen.
How could he allow himself to return empty-handed from insignificant little Qianqiu County?
He was about to speak when his pupils abruptly contracted.
Silvery-white saber light filled his entire vision.
The next instant, his longsword flew from his hand, tracing a graceful arc before plunging into the blue paving stones.
A thin red line appeared on his wrist, a few beads of blood seeping out.
Terror filled Qin Tiannan's heart, and he instinctively touched his neck.
That slash could have flicked his sword away, and it could just as easily have flicked the head from his shoulders.
His head was still there, however, while someone else's was gone.
Zhou Kaishan's head rolled to the ground.
Qin Tiannan opened his mouth but said nothing.
Damn it, this brat had actually been hiding his skill!
Such transcendent saber technique was at least at the level of a perfected True Qi Realm saber art!
Yet even with that, he had pretended his saber skills were mediocre, making others lower their guard.
How sinister!
But at that thought, his heart jolted again.
Not only did he possess a high cultivation realm, but he also had a perfected saber technique at his disposal.
Where had this monster sprung from?
Could the shallow waters of Qianqiu County truly have nurtured a flood dragon?