He had crept over to the Xing residence intending to strike an underhanded blow, while members of the Xing clan had snuck out into the dead of night, who knew against whom they intended to strike.
*Follow them and see!*
With a shift of his body, Lin Zheyu quickly trailed behind.
He moved swiftly, catching up to the two figures in night robes in no time.
Both were at the peak of the Viscera Tempering Realm, their strength only mediocre.
Lin Zheyu followed silently behind them. His consummate Golden Goose Skill, paired with the Turtle Breathing Art to conceal his presence, meant that even a martial artist of his own level might not have detected him.
*Hmm?!*
Soon, Lin Zheyu noticed something was amiss.
Wasn't this the direction toward his own residence?
There was no one else in this direction, only commoners.
*Are they after me?*
Lin Zheyu was somewhat speechless.
Good grief, talk about tacit understanding.
In the blink of an eye, they reached his courtyard.
Seeing the two preparing to vault over the wall, Lin Zheyu tapped the ground with his toes and shot forward.
*Thud, thud.*
Two muffled impacts sounded, and the rapidly moving shadows collapsed to the ground.
Lin Zheyu hauled one in each hand and slipped into his courtyard.
Tearing off the black cloths covering their faces, he found a familiar face—Xing Penghai!
*To think this guy actually delivered himself right to my doorstep.*
Lin Zheyu was at a loss for words.
He did not recognize the other man.
However, from the man's person, Lin Zheyu retrieved an assortment of small vials and poison pouches filled with various toxic powders. He was clearly a master well-versed in the dao of poison.
Lin Zheyu had no intention of waking them; he did not need to think twice to know what they had come for.
*Crack, snap.*
The sound of bones shattering rang out starkly in the moonlit night. The pair's tightly shut eyes snapped wide open, filled with utter bewilderment.
***
At the Xing clan estate.
Inside the main hall, a gentle voice sounded.
"Master, it is time to rest," a young woman said softly.
The woman appeared to be only in her early twenties, with an alluring figure, a seductive face, and large, watery eyes.
"Go rest first; I will be along shortly," Xing Zhicheng replied quietly.
He sat quietly in his chair, holding a volume of books, reading by candlelight.
Xing Zhicheng was not worried about his son's safety.
Xing Penghai was operating alongside Fugui, who was an expert in the dao of poison. Even against a powerhouse at the First Blood Transformation, an ambush caught off guard would succeed.
To say nothing of a little squirt who had not even reached the viscera refining realm.
"Your concubine is not tired and will stay to keep you company," the woman murmured. She walked behind Xing Zhicheng and began kneading his shoulders.
"Master, the other great families in the city have all begun arranging for their clansmen to leave Songyi City to avoid disaster. When will our Xing clan arrange for people to depart?"
"When the time comes, may your concubine ask for a few spots so my parents and family can leave together?"
the woman asked softly, her fair, delicate hand stroking Xing Zhicheng's chest.
Although it was difficult for the Xing clan as a whole to evacuate, arranging for some direct descendants and inconsequential personnel to leave in order to preserve bloodlines for the Xing clan was well within their means.
"We will discuss it in a few days. The rebel army hasn't attacked yet, so there is no rush," Xing Zhicheng said flatly.
He caught the woman's slender hand, gave a gentle tug, and pulled her into his embrace.
*Crack!*
At that very instant, the roof violently ruptured.
A dark figure dropped down from the ceiling, a fiercely sharp blade cleaving straight toward Xing Zhicheng.
*Squelch.*
"Aahh!"
A tender shriek tore through the air. In his panic, Xing Zhicheng threw the woman outward, and she was cleaved in two midair.
Blood splattered across the floor.
Xing Zhicheng had no intention of clashing with the masked intruder. That strike just now had unquestionably reached the strength of the First Blood Transformation or higher; he was no match!
Without sparing a glance at the corpse on the floor, Xing Zhicheng dashed madly for the door, intending to use the guards to besiege the intruder together.
The guards held crossbows; as long as he could delay for a short time, experts from the Xing clan would arrive to reinforce him.
Yet how could Lin Zheyu let him have his way?
With a flicker of his body, he vanished on the spot. When he reappeared, he was already right in front of Xing Zhicheng.
Xing Zhicheng clutched his neck with both hands, eyes wide with terror and indignation.
*Such speed!*
Just a moment ago, he had felt his vision blur as a cold glint flashed before his eyes, followed immediately by an icy chill and piercing pain across his neck.
*Spurt, spurt—*
Blood sprayed outward. His body crashed to the ground with a thud, his head rolling free of his neck and tumbling beside the woman's corpse.
From the moment Lin Zheyu crashed through the roof to the moment he slew Xing Zhicheng, only a few breaths had passed.
*Swish, swish, swish!*
The guards outside finally reacted, raising their crossbows and unleashing a volley toward Lin Zheyu.
Lin Zheyu did not linger. Tapping the ground with his toes, he leapt onto the perimeter wall and vanished into the darkness of the night.
*Screeech!*
Two streaks of smoke shot up into the sky—an emergency distress signal.
Lin Zheyu glanced back, sneered coldly, and darted into an alleyway, disappearing completely.
***
The Xing estate was thrown into utter chaos.
Xing Zhicheng being slain inside his own residence was nothing less than a slap in the face to the Xing clan.
Not long after the distress signal was released, a man with an impassive expression slowly materialized out of the dark.
"Sixth Elder!"
The guards in Xing Zhicheng's residence greeted him respectfully in unison.
The newcomer was the Sixth Elder of the Xing clan.
He was an emaciated old man with a goatee, eyes as sharp as an eagle's, and withered hands bearing nails pointed and sharp as eagle talons.
Without looking at the surrounding guards, the old man walked into the room, squatted down, and examined the corpses on the floor.
"Both killed with a single strike."
"To kill Zhicheng in a matter of breaths, his strength must be at least at the Second Blood Transformation."
The old man's gaze was chilly.
He inspected the bodies thoroughly, yet could discern no traces of the assailant's cultivation arts or methods.
The other party had relied purely on raw speed and power to kill Xing Zhicheng and his concubine, leaving behind no telltale signs of any specific technique.
"Was it someone from the Feihong Gang or the Nine Stars Gang?"
The old man frowned slightly, his expression exceedingly grim.
They had only just dispatched men to intercept and slaughter the convoys of those two gangs evacuating Songyi City; he had not expected a retaliation so swift.
To guard against vengeance from the Feihong Gang and the Nine Stars Gang, the Xing clan had long made preparations. Yet they had never anticipated that the intruder would be this formidable and fast.
In just a few breaths, he had cut down Xing Zhicheng and slipped clean away.
The old man stood, walked into the courtyard, and looked in the direction Lin Zheyu had fled.
Just moments ago, the Third Elder had already given chase. With the Third Elder's speed, he ought to be able to catch up.
***
Through the night.
Two figures flashed past, their speed astonishing.
Relying on his consummate Golden Goose Skill, Lin Zheyu left his pursuer trailing far behind.
*He kept up—not bad speed!*
*To possess such speed at the Second Blood Transformation, he must be an expert who excels in leg techniques,* Lin Zheyu thought to himself.
Shifting his trajectory, he darted toward the desolate outskirts of Songyi City.
With his speed, shaking off the man behind him was effortless.
Lin Zheyu only wanted to lure him to a remote spot and dispatch him along the way.
Only by hurting the Xing clan until it truly ached, leaving them shorthanded among their experts, would they stop scheming against him day in and day out.
*Hmm?*
*Why did so many people follow?*
Suddenly, Lin Zheyu frowned slightly.
Within his perception, several powerhouses had appeared one after another, hanging far behind them.
He could not tell whether they were from the Xing clan, or from the Feihong Gang and Nine Stars Gang.
*What a pity.*
Lin Zheyu glanced back at the old man and sighed softly. Too many people had followed; it would be unwise to make a move.
He was wary of playing the mantis stalking the cicada while the oriole waited behind, accidentally walking into someone else's trap.
The qi and blood power within him erupted with a roar, and Lin Zheyu's speed surged abruptly.
Under the moonlit night, a dark shadow flashed past, rapidly opening a wide gap between himself and the old man behind him. In a few breaths, he was gone without a trace.
*What terrifying speed!*
*Just what level of strength does this person have?!*
The old man who had been pursuing Lin Zheyu broke into a cold sweat when he saw Lin Zheyu's sudden burst of speed.
He glanced at the figures catching up around him and let out a quiet sigh of relief.
If not for these few people making the intruder wary, with that kind of speed and strength, killing him would have been child's play.
*When did a powerhouse of this caliber appear in Songyi City?*
The old man's brow furrowed tightly.
He could not see through the other party's cultivation. To possess such speed, the person was either stronger than him or deeply versed in leg techniques.
According to the intelligence gathered by the Xing clan, those who met both criteria did not exceed ten people.
Comparing them against the individuals in his memory, the old man frowned even more. The man's physique differed greatly from any of them.
"Isn't this the Third Elder of the Xing clan? Out at such a late hour—did you come out to admire the scenery?" an old man slowly stepped forward and asked with a chuckle.
Having heard the sound of the Xing clan's distress signal, he had leapt to high ground to observe the situation, only to catch sight of two figures flashing past by chance, prompting him to pursue.
"Hmph, and what if I am admiring the scenery?" the Third Elder snorted coldly.
He swept a glance around. Quite a few had arrived—some from the Xu clan, some from the Chen clan, and some from the Zhao clan—all experts at or above the Qi and Blood Realm.
Tapping the ground with his toes, the old man wasted no time lingering and melted into the night, vanishing from sight.
If he stayed any longer, he worried these people before him might join forces to cut him down.
Now that the great families all suspected the City Lord was no longer in Songyi City, their audacity had grown considerably; coming to blows inside Songyi City was entirely within the realm of possibility.
"Old Zhao, was that your man's doing?" the old man turned toward a figure not far away and asked with a grin.
"That person moved so fast—wasn't it Xu Yingshuo's handiwork?" the other man replied, wearing an expression of surprise.
"Haha, you put on quite a convincing act. Who would have thought your Zhao clan was concealing an expert so accomplished in lightness skills? You hid it deep indeed!" the old man laughed.
"I should be the one saying that to you. Your Xu clan hid it deep indeed!" the man replied flatly.
The two exchanged a glance, both wearing meaningful expressions.
Seeing that there was no more spectacle to watch, the people who had followed turned and departed one after another.
They also needed to return and stand guard, lest their own estates be caught off guard.
***
The Third Elder returned to Xing Zhicheng's residence with a dark expression.
"How was it? Did you capture him?" the Sixth Elder asked.
"He got away."
"That person possesses a method to conceal his strength. I couldn't see through him, but he is definitely above me."
"Moreover, his speed is terrifying. If not for him trying to lure me to an isolated spot, there's no way I could have kept up with him in the first place."
The Third Elder spoke with a grim face.
He had come within an inch of falling into the other party's trap.
"Do you know who struck?" the Sixth Elder asked.
"I couldn't tell."
"There are no more than ten masters in Songyi City with such speed, but neither his physique nor his techniques match anyone we know."
The Third Elder said in a deep voice, "Most likely, it was an expert hired from outside by one of the other families."
***
Lin Zheyu looped around Songyi City to ensure no one was following before returning to his small courtyard.
The two corpses in the yard had already been disposed of, buried by him out in the barren hills.
*It's a pity I haven't been able to track down that Fifth Elder. Who knows where that old fellow went,*
Lin Zheyu thought to himself.
Both Xing Penghai and his father had been eliminated. Now, among the Xing clan, the only one still scheming against him was the Fifth Elder.
As long as he took out the Fifth Elder as well and killed a few more Xing clan experts, they would likely have neither the inclination nor the manpower left to worry about him.
Changing out of his night robes, he washed up with cold water, went into the secret chamber inside the kitchen, and lay down for a comfortable rest.
Ever since the situation had grown tense, he had ceased fully running the Turtle Breathing Art to enter deep sleep, opting for caution instead.
***
Early morning.
The sky was hazy.
As usual, Lin Zheyu rose early to practice martial arts.
His mental state had recovered nicely today. With four days having passed, his essence, qi, and spirit had once again reached their peak.
After finishing his warm-up, Lin Zheyu began a new round of physical training to break his bodily limits.
Having broken his limits twice in a row to earn one unit of Origin Power, this breakthrough would grant him two units.
Once he had the Origin Power, he would be able to advance to the level of Qi and Blood Like a Tiger.
*Thump, thump, thump!*
Muffled thuds resounded in the courtyard, a sound the surrounding neighbors had long grown accustomed to.
They lived relatively far away, so the noise was not particularly loud.
Moreover, people of this era were accustomed to waking early, so no one felt disturbed.
Of course, most importantly, Lin Zheyu was a member of the Feihong Gang, as well as an expert at the Bone Tempering Peak. Even if it were a disturbance, no one would dare come to his door to argue.
Vast qi and blood power erupted within his body, every strike and fist releasing terrifying force.
Upon reaching the Second Blood Transformation, the qi and blood energy in Lin Zheyu's body was exceedingly immense.
Simply exhausting all of his qi and blood required nearly twenty minutes of reckless exertion.
*I need to find a way to get my hands on a powerful martial skill that can consume massive amounts of qi and blood power and unleash might far beyond my realm,*
Lin Zheyu thought to himself.
If he learned such a technique, it could serve as a trump card while also allowing him to rapidly burn through his body's vast qi and blood power whenever he broke through his limits.
Otherwise, as his strength grew, merely exhausting the qi and blood power inside him would take far too much time.
Chapter 86