Wariness

The commotion across the city was immense, drawing patrolling soldiers into motion one after another. Lin Zheyu moved swiftly through Songyi City under cover of night. Emergency signals flared up in several more locations. Nearly all the attackers were expert martial artists who struck decisively and fled the instant they succeeded. The timing of their strikes was intriguing—it fell on the very eve of the departure of the Feihong Gang's second evacuation convoy. They were clearly stirring up chaos to ensure the Feihong Gang could not withdraw so easily. "Hahaha! If you've got the guts, come catch me!" A dark figure laughed wildly, bounding across the rooftops and rapidly drawing away into the distance. Behind him were two grim-faced experts from the Feihong Gang. After pursuing him for a short distance, they halted their steps, giving up the chase. "Head back. Don't pursue," Ren Jie said, his gaze solemn. As they watched the man in black pull away, the grim looks on their faces suddenly froze. Beneath the moonlight, a shadowy figure burst from the darkness with astonishing speed. The newcomer brought a palm down toward the black-clad man's head. Before the terrified gaze of the runner, the palm crashed home, accompanied by the sharp crack of shattering bone. *Aaaagh!* A bloodcurdling scream rang out across the night sky. The mysterious figure's palm strike drove the man's head straight down into his chest cavity. His body crashed heavily to the ground with a dull thud. Having landed the strike, the mysterious figure slipped into the darkness and vanished. Ren Jie and his companion exchanged a glance. Shock and disbelief filled their faces, tinged with bewilderment. "Come on, let's examine the corpse and see who attacked us." "This fellow was at least an expert of the First Blood Transformation. Losing someone of this caliber will surely pain the Xing clan," Ren Jie said, laughing heartily as his foul mood evaporated. He did not even need to look to know the perpetrator belonged to the Xing clan; only the Xing clan possessed enough experts to mount simultaneous assaults in so many places. *Whoosh, whoosh—* Lin Zheyu tapped his toes lightly against the tiles, darting through Songyi City as the wind whistled past his ears. Like a king of the dark, he harvested living souls one by one. Lin Zheyu used the Turtle Breathing Art to conceal his presence and relied on his consummate Golden Goose Skill to close the distance rapidly. Then, channeling a threefold surge of qi and blood power, he unleashed strikes whose might far surpassed the Fourth Blood Transformation. Everyone he set his sights on ended up a ghost beneath his palm. Even other martial artists of the Fourth or Fifth Blood Transformation could never have accomplished this with such clean efficiency. In the Qi and Blood Realm, although every three layers marked a threshold and reaching the Third Blood Transformation brought a massive leap in strength, the disparity was still not so vast as to guarantee a one-hit kill. Before learning the Mountain-Shattering Palm, Lin Zheyu had needed to rely on his Golden Goose Skill and engage in a brief skirmish before he could dispatch an expert of the First Blood Transformation. Yet once he mastered the Mountain-Shattering Palm, his destructive power tripled. He would sneak close to his target, activate his qi and blood burst technique to close the remaining distance in a flash, and unleash a Mountain-Shattering Palm before they could react, killing them on the spot. *That's the third one. Does the Xing clan truly have so many hidden Qi and Blood Realm experts?* Lin Zheyu wondered inwardly after felling another First Blood Transformation expert. Still, he did not dwell on it, instead speeding toward the next location where a distress signal had flared. Killing a few more of these troublemakers would serve as repayment for Xu Jingwu's kindness. *Later, I'll drop by the Zhao clan compound to see if I can find an opportunity to take Zhao Guanbin's life as well,* Lin Zheyu thought to himself. With such a massive uproar tonight, it was a rare opportunity. In two more days, he would be leaving Songyi City. Once gone, barring any unforeseen circumstances, he would likely never return. Taking advantage of this opening would allow him to fulfill the promise he had made to Old Master Chen. *Rustle, rustle...* Within a wooded grove in Songyi City's inner district, several figures clad in black darted into the trees and vanished. "It's me!" one of the black-clad men called out. "Why is it you? Where's Zhao Chen? Didn't he strike before you?" another man in black asked as he stepped out from the woods. "How should I know? He probably got tied down." "It's not just Zhao Chen. Han Liang and Xu Guang haven't returned either," another person said gravely. "Pair up in teams of two and investigate each area. Given their speed, they should have returned long ago," a man in black with a somber countenance said in a deep voice. Soon, the six figures vanished from the spot, heading toward the locations where Zhao Chen and the others had carried out their raids. By the time Lin Zheyu arrived at the next site, the culprits had already vanished without a trace. The flares rising from all corners of the city kept everyone on high alert, and no one dared pursue too far. "Time to check the Zhao clan." Lin Zheyu shifted direction. Instead of heading toward the next distress call, he made his way toward Zhao Guanbin's residence. Zhao Guanbin lived within the Zhao clan compound. The clan possessed many formidable figures and specialized in poisons; if one ventured deep into the compound without extreme caution, one might not even know how one died. Lin Zheyu did not dare charge in heedlessly, choosing instead to conceal himself in the darkness outside and observe. *Strange. Didn't a distress signal rise from here earlier as well? Why doesn't it look chaotic like the other places?* Lin Zheyu thought with some puzzlement as he watched the Zhao guards patrolling outside in an orderly fashion. From the look of things, nobody seemed to have died inside. It appeared the expert targeting the Zhao clan had failed to achieve their objective. *There's Zhao Guanbin!* *Too far away—it won't be easy to strike. Besides, there's another expert beside him.* Lin Zheyu looked toward the roof of the Zhao compound, where two figures stood. Bathed in bright moonlight, one was easily recognizable as Zhao Guanbin. The other bore a strong resemblance to him—his elder brother, the current Zhao Clan Head, Zhao Guanhua, whose strength had reached the Third Blood Transformation. The Zhao clan's martial strength was secondary; their primary method of attack was poison. If one became entangled with them, the slightest carelessness could lead to intoxication. Against members of the Zhao clan, one had to achieve a kill with a single strike. If that failed, one could never afford a protracted fight that gave them room to use their toxins. *Tap, tap, tap...* Patrols of soldiers marched past, and the turmoil across Songyi City began to quiet down. The Feihong Gang had been caught off guard at first, but with so much time elapsed, they had long since regained their footing. *Whoosh—* Just then, two black figures flashed through the night and slipped into the Zhao clan compound. Lin Zheyu's eyes flickered, and he shrank further into the shadows. *Are they from the Zhao clan?* He found it rather intriguing. Among the people who had struck tonight, the Zhao clan had likely played a part as well. Perhaps one of the three men he had killed had belonged to them. *** Inside the courtyard of the Zhao clan compound. The brothers Zhao Guanbin and Zhao Guanhua stood side by side, facing two men dressed in black. The two visitors had already lowered their cloth face masks, revealing weathered faces that appeared to belong to men in their sixties. All four men wore unsightly expressions. "Something happened to Zhao Chen?" Zhao Guanhua asked, his expression dark. Tonight, their Nine Stars Gang had dispatched three people: one from the Zhao clan and two skilled hands from two other families. Zhao Chen had been the strongest of the three. Zhao Guanhua had considered various possibilities, but he had never imagined Zhao Chen would meet with disaster. Zhao Chen specialized in leg techniques and had reached the Second Blood Transformation. Even if he ran into a powerful foe, he should have been able to hold out until reinforcements arrived. "Could that old fellow from the Xu clan have stepped in?" Zhao Guanbin asked with a frown. If the Xu clan's old fellow had taken action alongside other Qi and Blood Realm martial artists, it was possible they could have detained Zhao Chen in short order. Even so, Zhao Chen should not have been denied the chance to release a distress signal. "Impossible." "The Xing clan is keeping watch on that old fellow from the Xu clan. If he made a move, Xing Rui would intervene to stop him," one of the men in black said. "Could it be a helper hired by the Xu clan?" the other black-clad man suggested. "It's possible." "Did anyone else meet with mishap?" Zhao Guanhua asked. "Yes. Four have died in total. Three perished without a sound, while the other was besieged by several Xu clan experts; although he managed to fire a distress flare, he couldn't hold out until help arrived," the black-clad man reported. "Three died without a sound?" "The Xu clan came well prepared, actually securing the help of such a formidable expert," Zhao Guanbin said, his expression solemn. "Stay here and don't wander off. I'll head over to the Xing clan to take a look," Zhao Guanhua said. "Don't go. If the Xu clan brought in an expert of that level, they must be scheming something significant. Brother, you'd better stay and oversee the clan. I'll go check on things," Zhao Guanbin said after a moment's thought. At a critical juncture like this, nothing could happen to his elder brother; it was better for him to make the trip instead. "Fine. The three of you set out together." After a brief pause, Zhao Guanhua drew several bottles of medicinal pills and poison powders from his robes and handed them over. "This powder is the Zhao clan's most precious Earth Boron Fiend. Take it with you, and take the antidote first. If you run into an expert, scatter it immediately." "Even a martial artist of the Marrow Tempering Realm will become stiff throughout their body upon being poisoned, their qi and blood circulating sluggishly, leaving less than a tenth of their strength intact," Zhao Guanhua said gravely. This was their clan's most prized poison powder, capable of dealing with Marrow Tempering Realm martial artists and even exerting some effect on Transforming Jin masters. The two black-clad men accepted the powder, while Zhao Guanbin already carried some on him. They took out the antidote for the Earth Boron Fiend and ingested it in advance to prevent knocking themselves out when scattering the poison. The antidote's medicinal potency was fierce; consuming too much would bring adverse side effects to the body. Were it not an emergency, Zhao Guanhua would not have dispensed it lightly. Having swallowed the antidote, the three leapt over the boundary wall and vanished into the night. Watching their departing figures, Zhao Guanhua wore an unreadable expression as he murmured, "Working with the Nine Nether Cult... who knows whether it will bring fortune or ruin." *** Watching from the shadows as the three leapt out of the compound, the corners of Lin Zheyu's mouth curved upward slightly. At last, he had found his chance. For nearly a month, he had frequently lurked in secret, probing for Zhao Guanbin's whereabouts and searching for an opportunity to strike. Yet he had never found a good opening. Tonight, with such a massive disturbance throwing Songyi City into chaos, and Zhao Guanbin actually leaving the Zhao compound, the moment was ripe. He shadowed them stealthily. The night was dark and windy, bathed in clear moonlight. Lin Zheyu followed closely behind Zhao Guanbin and his companions, keeping them within a short distance. Operating the Turtle Breathing Art at full power to suppress his aura to the lowest limit, combined with his consummate Golden Goose Skill, his figure moved like an apparition. Roughly four li from the Zhao compound, Lin Zheyu finally found the ideal moment to strike. *Boom!* A muffled roar sounded as qi and blood power flooded his legs. Engaging his qi and blood burst technique, his body shot toward Zhao Guanbin like an artillery shell. Sensing the sudden disturbance behind them, the trio quickly flung their poison powders backward. Zhao Guanbin reacted swiftly, strength bursting from his feet as he dashed forward while hurling poison behind him. From the corner of his eye, a dark silhouette closed in at terrifying speed. *What incredible speed!* Terror seized Zhao Guanbin's heart. Such astounding speed was something even a Marrow Tempering Realm martial artist might not match. *Bang!* The thought barely flashed through Zhao Guanbin's mind before an overwhelming palm struck him before he could react. An unmatched, terrifying force surged from the attacker's hand. With a wet spatter, blood erupted violently from Zhao Guanbin's mouth, and the tremendous impact blasted him flying through the air. Having landed the strike, Lin Zheyu did not spare Zhao Guanbin a second glance, shifting his footing and vanishing rapidly into the night. The scent of poison powder hung thick in the surrounding air; he dared not linger. *Screech!* The two black-clad men came to their senses, swiftly launching a signal flare while rushing toward Zhao Guanbin. By the time they reached his side, Zhao Guanbin was already drawing his final breath, his eyes wide in unavenged death. *Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh.* Lin Zheyu saw the flare go up as well, his body darting swiftly toward the desolate wilderness outside the city. He did not return to his courtyard right away, fearing someone might track him and expose his identity. *With Zhao Guanbin dead, my affairs in Songyi City are essentially settled. I can leave with an easy mind,* Lin Zheyu thought. In Songyi City now, aside from Senior Brother Han Mo, there was nothing left for him to care for or linger over. "Hmm?!" Lin Zheyu's expression shifted, and he halted his steps, staring toward a dark corner ahead. Two figures emerged from the shadows, blocking his path. "What sharp senses." "Your methods are truly impressive, sir, taking down so many of our fine hands in succession. Yet an attack of such magnitude—just how many times can you unleash it?" The elderly man in the lead looked at Lin Zheyu and spoke placidly. The newcomer was none other than Xing Rui. He looked at Lin Zheyu calmly, his eyes brimming with confidence, completely disregarding his opponent. Ever since learning the Guiyuan Art, his strength had undergone an earth-shaking transformation, growing greater by the day. Not only had he returned to his past peak, but he had taken another stride forward! "To be able to track me down, you people have some skill after all," Lin Zheyu said with a chuckle, adopting a slightly aged, raspy tone. "Heh, merely minor tricks." "Will you come with me of your own accord, or must we escort you by force?" Xing Rui said mildly. "And what if I refuse?" Lin Zheyu sneered, releasing the suppression of the Turtle Breathing Art entirely. The qi and blood power within his body surged like a churning sea, roaring through his vessels with dull rumblings. The two men before him were remarkably strong. He could not see through the old man leading them; despite his aged exterior, the qi and blood power within him was frighteningly potent. As for the other man, the aura radiating from him was merely at the Second Blood Transformation, yet he carried a presence that stirred a sense of wariness in Lin Zheyu. Still, it was only wariness. If he unleashed his full power, driving the Golden Goose Skill with his qi and blood burst technique, he was confident the pair before him would not be able to hold him back.