Nine Layered Wave Slashes

Carefree Steps stretched his figure into a blurry afterimage. He poured Nei Jin furiously into the Six Harmonies Saber, its blade cutting through the air with a piercing hiss.

Gale Slash. A Perfection-level saber technique. Hua Jin cultivation, driven to its utmost.

The man in the lead did not react until the flash of the blade was three feet from him. His pupils abruptly contracted.

He retreated swiftly, drawing his sword to block at the same time, but Lu Feng was too fast-his sword was only halfway out when the saber swept across his neck.

"You... you're at Hua Jin!"

His voice cut off abruptly.

A head wrapped in a black cloth flew into the air, tumbling twice before it hit the ground and rolled a long way.

[Ding! Congratulations, host, on successfully killing an Early Hua Jin martial artist. Technique obtained: Nine Layered Wave Slashes;]

Lu Feng did not even look at the head.

Without pausing, he turned and charged at the remaining masked men.

The Six Harmonies Saber darted through the crowd, each stroke precisely cutting into a throat or the back of a neck, clean and swift, without the slightest wasted effort.

In just a few breaths,

all seven masked Nei Jin men fell, with none left alive.

Lu Feng sheathed his saber and turned around.

Zhu Lin, Luo Fang, and Zhou Si stood rooted to the spot, their expressions as though frozen in place.

"Lu Feng!" Luo Fang was the first to speak, her voice a full pitch higher than usual. "You... you broke through to Hua Jin?"

Lu Feng nodded, his expression unchanged. "I gained an insight while cultivating in the cave the day before yesterday. I got lucky and broke through."

The three exchanged glances.

He gained an insight and got lucky, and just like that, he broke through to Hua Jin.

Even breaking through a minor realm required the aid of pills; breaking through a major realm was as hard as ascending to the heavens.

How many people spent their whole lives stuck at Nei Jin Perfection, unable even to touch the threshold of Hua Jin? And he had crossed it with a simple "I got lucky"?

But this was no time to press him for answers.

Zhou Si suppressed the shock in her heart and said gravely, "Let's check who these people are first. See if there are any clues."

Zhu Lin and Luo Fang stepped forward and searched several of the corpses from head to toe-their collars, cuffs, belts, and soles. They turned out every place something might have been hidden.

A short while later, the two straightened up and shook their heads.

"There's nothing to identify them. No tokens, documents, or keepsakes. Nothing."

Lu Feng was about to speak when Zhou Si suddenly crouched down and turned over the leader's right hand.

An old scar ran diagonally across his palm from the web between his thumb and forefinger to his wrist bone. It was long and narrow, as though someone had pierced his palm with a sword while he was gripping his own.

She stared at the scar for a moment, then released his hand and stood up.

"No need to look any further. I know who sent them."

"Zhao Long," Lu Feng said.

Zhou Si looked at him. "How did you know?"

"A guess." Lu Feng's tone was flat.

"He wants to kill me, but he doesn't dare make a move inside the Demon-Slaying Bureau, so he could only set an ambush at the edge of Su Prefecture's jurisdiction."

"He could mobilize a Hua Jin expert and seven skilled Nei Jin fighters. Thinking it over, Zhao An's uncle is the only one it could be."

Zhou Si was silent for a moment, then nodded. "That's right. They didn't leave anything to identify themselves, but I deliberately tested them when we fought just now."

"Although they deliberately disguised the style of their techniques, the foundations were still there. They were trusted men from the Zhao household."

She paused, her tone growing more serious. "You should know about the Zhao Commandant's Residence."

"Zhao Long himself is at Early Grandmaster. His younger brother Zhao Hu is at Hua Jin Perfection, only one step away from becoming a Grandmaster."

"Besides them, the Zhao household has dozens of skilled Hua Jin fighters and hundreds of Nei Jin martial artists."

"Zhao Long has spent many years building his power in the Northern Demon-Slaying Bureau. His influence is tangled and deep-rooted; even Su Prefecture has to show him some respect."

Lu Feng went over the numbers in his head. His expression did not change; he simply nodded. "Thanks for the warning."

"But don't worry," Zhou Si added.

"He still wouldn't dare make an open move inside the Demon-Slaying Bureau's main hall or the commandant's residence."

"The Demon-Slaying Bureau has an iron law: anyone who kills a comrade is to be killed without mercy. No matter how arrogant Zhao Long is, he wouldn't dare cross that red line."

"What you need to watch out for is going out on missions, especially those outside Su Prefecture's jurisdiction."

"I understand."

Along the way, Lu Feng also asked in detail about the Zhao household's network of connections.

Which commandants were close to Zhao Long, which demon slayers were his protégés, and which mission areas lay within the Zhao family's sphere of influence-he silently committed every detail to memory.

Half a day later, the walls of Jinguan City appeared on the horizon.

The four did not return to their quarters, but went straight to the Merit Hall.

The steward took the storage bag Zhou Si handed over and scanned it. When he looked up, there was a hint of surprise in his eyes. "Eight second-tier demonic beast heads, and one Half-Demon corpse." He paused. "Did you kill that Half-Demon?"

"Yes." Zhou Si nodded.

The steward asked no more questions and lowered his head to calculate the merit points.

A moment later, he swiftly wrote several lines in the register, then handed the tokens back one by one.

"Forty-three thousand merit points in total."

Zhou Si took her token and turned to the other three. "Thirty-one thousand for Lu Feng, and four thousand each for me, Zhu Lin, and Luo Fang. Take out your tokens and I'll transfer the points."

Zhu Lin and Luo Fang immediately took out their tokens. Lu Feng, however, stood where he was.

"Let's split them evenly! Ten thousand is enough for me."

All three looked at him, their eyes full of confusion.

Thirty-one thousand merit points was no small sum. A Meridian-Unblocking Pill cost only five hundred, and a fine second-tier saber was only five thousand.

Lu Feng had killed the vast majority of the demonic beasts and Zhu Ren on his own. It was only natural that he should get the largest share according to the work done.

"Everyone put in a lot of effort along the way."

Lu Feng paused, then said something more practical.

"Besides, I'll still need your help with the Zhao household in the future."

Zhu Lin and Luo Fang exchanged a glance, then looked at Zhou Si.

Zhou Si was silent for a moment, then nodded. "All right. We'll do as you say."

After dividing the merit points, Lu Feng said goodbye to the three and went straight back to his quarters in Su Prefecture.

He pushed open the courtyard gate to find the courtyard empty.

Chen Hu's door was tightly shut, with no light showing through the crack.

Lu Feng knocked on the door.

There was no response. He knocked a few more times, but there was still no response.

His heart sank slightly, and he turned to find Xiaolian.

Xiaolian was sorting documents at the commandant's residence. When she heard him ask about Chen Hu, she put down her brush, an odd look on her face.

"Chen Hu went out on a mission with Patrol Officer Li Mu a couple of days ago and took to bed as soon as he got back. He was injured, but not badly. He's recuperating in his room."

Lu Feng thanked her and hurried to Chen Hu's door. This time, he did not knock, but pushed it open and went straight in.

Chen Hu was lying alone on a wooden bed, his right leg and left arm wrapped in bandages. Several wounds on his face had yet to heal completely.

At the sound of the door, he struggled to sit up, but Lu Feng pressed him back down when he was only halfway upright.

"Don't move."

"Lu Feng! You're back?"

When Chen Hu saw who it was, he was delighted at first, but a trace of unease soon crossed his face.

"When did you get here?"

"I just got back."

Lu Feng sat down by his bed and placed his fingers on his wrist, sending a thread of Nei Jin into his meridians.

A moment later, he withdrew his hand.