A Madman

"Fur Ball..." "No!" Before Su Yu could even finish speaking, the little fellow refused flatly. The little fur ball wasn't stupid. It was way too dangerous. Su Yu smiled warmly. "Don't be so quick to refuse. I've noticed death qi can't seem to touch you. Look at you—you've been following me this whole time, and you don't appear afraid of death qi at all. So I think having you deal with the dead spirits and draw them away is a fantastic idea." "No!" Su Yu's face darkened, but the little fur ball dug in its heels, thoroughly unwilling. *I'm not doing it!* *This ball is afraid of those things too!* Su Yu ignored it. Pondering for a moment, he quickly rummaged through his spoils. Sure enough, there was an ancient city token inside the Shanhai expert's storage ring. It bore an emblem—the insignia of the ancient city. The token contained a map of the city. The map clearly displayed the ring numbers. This was an ancient city token for the outermost rings, the lowest grade available, belonging to the 36th ring. "Can this command dead spirits in the 24th ring?" Su Yu didn't know. He wasn't entirely clear on how to use an ancient city token either. Still, the Xuan Armor race seemed to possess quite a few of them. Outside, dead spirits continued to batter the main gates in a relentless barrage of booms. Setting aside further speculation, Su Yu hurried into the rooms around the courtyard, sweeping everything he laid eyes on into his storage ring and leaving nothing behind for his enemies. The Xuan Armor race had been garrisoned in the ancient city for centuries, so they naturally held a fair share of treasures. Su Yu didn't bother sorting them out; taking everything was all that mattered. With the loot secured, golden light flared across his physical body, signaling an imminent advancement. His seventeenth cast was on the verge of completion. Slaying another Shanhai had granted him heavenly origin qi from the world's reward, further fortifying his physical frame. Terrifying as death qi was, having heavenly origin qi to neutralize it meant it posed little threat to him. *Rumble!* The commotion outside grew louder and louder. Stronger dead spirits were likely being drawn to the disturbance. Time to leave! If he stayed any longer, he would be trapped. He had to make his move while the spirits were still few and their strength was limited. If Shanhai or Sunmoon dead spirits had shown up, they would have likely broken through by now. *Maybe I can kill one or two...* After a brief thought, Su Yu abandoned the idea. Why bother killing them? Leave them be! Not everyone had heavenly origin qi. Even the Immortal race, while possessing sacred lands of heavenly origin qi, could only bring so much with them. When the dead spirits multiplied, Su Yu would be in trouble, but his pursuers would be in far worse trouble. They could even serve as roadblocks to intercept his enemies. "Tonight, I'm going to fill this entire city with dead spirits!" Snorting, Su Yu turned back to the little fur ball. "Fur Ball, go out and lure them away for just a moment. An instant is all I need. Once you're back, if the next world reward is willpower, it's all yours!" "Really?" The little fur ball blinked. *All mine, for real?* "Really!" The little fur ball hesitated for merely a split second before bobbing its round body in agreement. Anything for food! Su Yu drew a deep breath, retrieved an ancient city token, coated his body in heavenly origin qi, and swung the gates open. In that instant, four dead spirits materialized, shooting jets of death qi straight toward him. At the threshold, however, the warding effect intercepted them, allowing only faint traces of death qi to seep through. The little fur ball appeared in a flash, rocketing outward. Of the four dead spirits, three immediately veered off to chase it, while the remaining one lingered at the gate. Su Yu charged out simultaneously. A thundering punch launched forth! Infused with heavenly origin qi, his blow sent the dead spirit flying. Sizzling sounds crackled endlessly over its form as the death qi violently clashed with the heavenly origin qi. The spirit thrashed about in agony, letting out an ear-splitting howl. Su Yu vanished from the spot in a flash. At that exact moment, several more dead spirits coalesced around the area. One among them was exceptionally colossal, radiating immense power. Death qi surged violently! *** "Chaos has erupted!" Across the district, living beings hunkered inside their closed houses, trembling in terror. Everything was going berserk. Someone was fighting outside! Dead spirits had appeared! The ancient city was not a place where one could act recklessly. If the dead spirits failed to eliminate their target, stronger ones would emerge in rapid succession until the transgressor was wiped out or fled the city. The only other alternative was an ancient city token of high enough rank to command the dead spirits to disperse. *** At the same time. In the outer rings. Cheng Kai, Grand Commander of the Xuan Armor race, suddenly swiveled his gaze toward the middle rings of the city. Under the night sky, deep darkness and surging death qi erupted from a specific quarter. A red gleam flashed in Cheng Kai's eyes as he stared in that direction. "That's our outpost, isn't it?" Beside him, a Shanhai expert nodded. "Yes, Commander!" "What happened?" Cheng Kai narrowed his eyes. "The death qi is so thick... Have dead spirits appeared?" Turning toward the powerhouses beside him, he barked, "Duan Kai, go take a look!" "Yes, my lord!" Beside them, Dao Cheng intervened hastily, "Wait! Do not split up!" Staring into the distance, Dao Cheng said solemnly, "Beware of a trick to lure the tiger from the mountain, or a tactic of besieging a post to strike reinforcements! If something went wrong, it's already done. Dispersing now will only give the enemy a chance to pick us off one by one amidst the confusion..." With that, he pulled out his sub-ranking. Su Yu's name had not moved. Su Yu had killed Shanhai before, so slaying one now didn't trigger any change in ranking. Meanwhile, none of the Xuan Armor experts stationed at the outpost were on the rankings—or rather, the clan had no ranked geniuses left—so the list offered no obvious clues. Seeing no movement on the ranking, Dao Cheng frowned slightly and turned his gaze back to the distance. Divine characters floated into his palm, forming an impromptu divination. A moment later, he said, "Don't go. The omen is terrible!" Cheng Kai said in a low voice, "That is our clan's outpost! A great number of our elites are inside!" Lingyun and Shanhai cultivators were considered elites anywhere. Losing them would be a catastrophic blow. They had already suffered heavily with the deaths of a Sunmoon and two ranked geniuses. Dao Cheng asked, "Does the Xuan Armor race possess soul-binding techniques?" "No!" Cheng Kai shook his head. "Only a few of our Sunmoon elders leave soul fragments in our ancestral land that shatter upon death." In that case, they couldn't even confirm whether those back at the outpost were dead or alive. In the distance, death qi continued to boil. Cheng Kai spoke up. "Hei Kai, have the Night Patrol investigate!" Hei Kai hesitated briefly before nodding. After issuing a few terse commands, two Lingyun riders from the detachment spurred their mounts and galloped toward the outpost. Dao Cheng took a deep breath. "Then let us proceed! If something happened over there, it might be a counterattack from Su Yu or other humans!" Glancing at a captured human beside them, he said flatly, "Continue. Seize every human in sight!" "Will it work?" Cheng Kai cast a skeptical glance at the captive. "Can we really threaten Su Yu using these weaklings?" "We can test it. Human emotions are intricate; sometimes it is difficult to fathom what they are thinking." Beside them, Jiu Xuan piped up, "Brother Dao Cheng, how about I go take a look?" "No!" Dao Cheng refused. The omen was terrible; going there was out of the question. None of his divinations today had yielded anything auspicious. Formidable though Jiu Xuan was, if she actually ran into Su Yu, she might not be able to subdue him and could end up in grave danger instead. Dao Cheng spoke swiftly. "Proceed according to plan. Shrink the perimeter step by step to trap Su Yu. Even if we cannot capture him immediately, we must box him in. As long as he is contained within the city, he cannot escape. Sooner or later, he will die or become an ancient city resident!" Once someone became an ancient city resident, they ceased to be a threat. "Have the Night Patrol seal the city gates. One can only leave through the nine official gates. As long as the exits are blocked, we can take turns containing him. Over time, Su Yu will be finished!" A turtle trapped in a jar! Cheng Kai hesitated. "What if human powerhouses arrive to reinforce him...?" "No need to worry. Zheng Ping extracted Huang Teng and is currently rushing back, but interceptors are ambushing them on their route. Even if human reinforcements arrive, their priority will be to rescue them. They won't have the time or reach to meddle here! In ten days at most, Su Yu will be thoroughly ruined!" "What about City Lord Tianhe...?" Sealing the gates was no small matter. Dao Cheng smiled faintly. "It doesn't matter. Tomorrow, I will send him some heavenly origin qi to ease the suppression of his death qi. Lord Tianhe will turn a blind eye to this." Cheng Kai nodded slightly, then added, "I can direct the Night Patrol to some extent, but the city gates are guarded by the City Lord's personal detachment, the Tianmie Guards. I hope no conflict arises." Dao Cheng replied indifferently, "It won't. The Immortal race is conducting business. I trust City Lord Tianhe knows what choice to make. Even if he harbors thoughts of leaning toward the humans, he must consider whether the Immortals will permit it!" Cheng Kai pressed no further. As long as Dao Cheng was confident, that was enough. He only feared antagonizing the City Lord, which would spell trouble within the city walls. Right as the thought crossed his mind, death qi surged dramatically in the distance! *Roar!* A low, guttural roar from a dead spirit reverberated through the night. Not far away, Hei Kai stiffened and barked, "The Night Patrol soldiers who just went to investigate are dead!" "Dead?" Cheng Kai gasped. Two Lingyun cultivators had been wiped out. What audacious madness! The Night Patrol were all ancient city residents. Slaying residents here would attract a massive swarm of dead spirits. Who was crazy enough to do that? Su Yu? If it was him, provoking so many dead spirits would make it impossible even for him to clean up the mess! Dao Cheng remained unflustered. "General Hei Kai, dispatch more Night Patrol troops to patrol the area. Let him kill!" *You want to kill? Go right ahead! Put them to the sword! Su Yu might be carrying some Sky Origin Fruits, but that doesn't matter. The more you kill, the more dead spirits will appear. When you've killed enough to summon Shanhai or even Sunmoon dead spirits, you're dead! Even I would be in deep trouble facing a newly advanced Shanhai dead spirit, likely needing to flee the city just to survive.* He turned to Cheng Kai. "Have the Night Patrol seize control of the city gates immediately!" "Understood!" Cheng Kai barked, "Hei Kai, rally our clansmen to assemble at the city gates and take over. Tell the Tianmie Guards we will explain everything to the City Lord tomorrow!" "Acknowledged!" Without another word, Hei Kai led the Night Patrol rushing toward the gates. *** A short while later. The ranks of the Night Patrol swelled past a hundred soldiers, converging at the city gate. "General Tianmen, the Night Patrol is taking over the gate. Tomorrow, we will report the matter to the City Lord!" Hei Kai quickly approached the gate with his troops. Up on the wall, a Shanhai man looked down at him silently. After a prolonged pause, he said coolly, "Hei Kai, do not forget that this is Tianmie Ancient City. No matter how mighty the Xuan Armor race may be, you cannot stir up waves here. The City Lord has chosen not to meddle in the city's internal affairs, yet you dare attempt to seize the gate?" "I ask General Tianmen to grant us this convenience!" Mounted on his steed, Hei Kai replied in a heavy tone, "Su Yu has slain two ranked geniuses of our race. Our Eternal ancestor views this with grave importance, and we have no choice but to corner him. Furthermore, we act under orders from the superior race... General Tianmen should understand what I mean!" The Immortals were present as well! The Shanhai commander fell silent for a moment before addressing the armored soldiers around him: "Withdraw!" Just as he leaped down from the wall, Hei Kai stepped in his path, saying solemnly, "I must ask General Tianmen to temporarily lend us the city gate token!" All nine gates were wide open! Closing them required the city gate token. As the gatekeeper, Tianmen held the token in his possession. Without it, the gates could not be shut, leaving Su Yu an easy avenue of escape. Tianmen's expression hardened, his tone turning frosty. "Hei Kai, you seem to have forgotten who rules this city! What impudence!" With that shout, the soldiers around him drew their blades in unison! The Night Patrol soldiers leveled their spears in response, locking the two sides in an armed standoff. The city gate token! Losing custody of that item would be an enormous problem. Opening and shutting the gates depended entirely upon it. Once the city was sealed off, it became a tomb of death, which encroached directly upon City Lord Tianhe's sovereign authority. Hei Kai felt a prickle of unease, but he pressed on. "It is merely a temporary loan. Once Su Yu is captured, we will return it. There is no need for General Tianmen to be angered." "Return it?" Tianmen sneered coldly. "I refuse! Not only will I not lend it, but we are no longer relinquishing the gate. If you wish to guard it, do so yourselves. The Night Patrol does not possess the authority to take over this post! Nor are you, Hei Kai, the supreme commander of the Night Patrol—you lack the standing! If the Immortals wish to intervene, tell them to come here themselves!" "..." Put in an awkward spot by this rebuff, Hei Kai said tightly, "Tianmen, it is only a temporary measure to seal the gates, and everything will be restored shortly! When the humans besieged Tianmie City in the past, you suffered plenty of humiliation at their hands. Trapping Su Yu now is also a way to avenge the City Lord..." Tianmen replied indifferently, "That is the City Lord's affair, nothing to do with you! Nor do we require your clan to seek vengeance on our behalf. The ancient cities have always remained neutral, and our patience is wearing thin. Do you truly believe the human Invincibles can do nothing to an ancient city?" As Hei Kai prepared to argue further, Cheng Kai's voice boomed from the distance: "Assist them in guarding the gate, Hei Kai! Say nothing more!" Since Tianmen refused to hand over the token, there was no point in pushing him further. Antagonizing Tianhe within the city would serve no one well. As long as they secured the gates, the objective was met. Hei Kai said no more. Over a hundred Night Patrol soldiers quickly fanned out to guard the other eight gates, while Hei Kai personally garrisoned the main gate. "Everyone, stay sharp!" Turning back to Tianmen, he said in a low voice, "General Tianmen, please activate the Nine Gates Revealing Mirror!" Tianmen frowned. "The resource consumption is immense!" "The Xuan Armor race will cover it!" Hei Kai replied immediately. "Every bit of expense will be borne by our clan!" Glancing at him, Tianmen said flatly, "Very well. Keeping it active for one night will cost ten thousand drops of origin liquid and ten drops of Shanhai essence blood!" "You..." Hei Kai bristled with anger. That was exorbitant. It wasn't as if he didn't know the actual operating costs; it didn't require nearly that much. The Nine Gates Revealing Mirror was designed specifically to illuminate those cloaked in stealth or concealment techniques. The moment someone approached under stealth, the mirror would project their position—one of the formidable mechanisms of the ancient city. Despite his resentment, Hei Kai swiftly agreed. *** Meanwhile, Cheng Kai listened to the report. Once the nine gates were placed under watch, he shifted his attention elsewhere. He had tried sending several sound transmission talismans, but received no response. He sighed heavily. "The clansmen stationed at the outpost... have likely perished!" Beside him, Dao Cheng and the others remained silent. A disastrous start! Was it truly Su Yu? If so, his audacity was staggering. Over by the outpost, the death qi still hadn't dispersed, which meant the culprit was still alive. "Brother Dao Cheng, perhaps we should go inspect the site..." Cheng Kai suggested. "We can go together and give him no opening!" Dao Cheng surveyed their surroundings, taking a deep breath. "No. Continue sweeping and capture more humans. His whereabouts are unpredictable right now; even if we go, pinning him down will be difficult!" "Very well!" Cheng Kai had no choice but to follow his lead. Even if capturing humans might achieve nothing, it was worth a shot. "Resume the search!" Cheng Kai barked, and the others quickly continued their sweeps. *** At that moment, Su Yu was frowning. *No one's coming to investigate?* *These guys have this much patience?* Though he was currently being pursued by dead spirits, he wouldn't mind taking the opportunity to stir up some trouble for them. To his surprise, the Xuan Armor race hadn't sent anyone else. Gritting his teeth, Su Yu suddenly shot toward the outer perimeter. *If you won't come to me, I'll go to you!* The moment he moved, two dead spirits bolted after him. Soon after, a shadow melted into his body—the little fur ball had returned, but the number of pursuing dead spirits had now reached four. Death qi wafted through the air. Su Yu cursed inwardly. *Too many of them. The target is too conspicuous. Wherever the death qi goes, they'll know I'm coming.* *Troublesome!* *This wretched city comes with too many headaches.* "Death qi..." Su Yu suddenly pulled out his sub-ranking. "Do a job for me. Toss a bunch of bloodstained jade talismans out into the streets!" "Ten drops of Shanhai essence blood!" "Damn it, are you robbing me? Hiding inside a room and tossing out some bloodstained talismans is something any breathing creature can do, and you dare charge me ten drops of Shanhai essence blood?" "Clearly stated prices!" Four simple words—take it or leave it. "Fine!" Su Yu ground his teeth and agreed. He was simply short on hands; otherwise, why would he deal with these bastards? The Heaven Hunting Pavilion was pure black-hearted greed! Just throwing some bloodstained talismans, and they demanded such an outrageous fee. "Can I pay afterward? I can't pay right now. If you want the payment immediately, come get it. I'm being chased by dead spirits—decide for yourselves!" There was no reply from the other end. As Su Yu fled through the streets, a pale shadow suddenly flickered into view ahead. Holding an ancient city token, the figure flashed it toward the pursuing spirits, freezing them in their tracks. Then the figure turned toward Su Yu and said in a muffled tone, "Payment! Halting dead spirits is free of charge!" *Holy crap!* Su Yu's heart jolted, but he quickly understood. These guys had ancient city tokens as well, and of a fairly high rank. No wonder they dared show up to collect! They had some nerve, fearless of being killed and having their tokens snatched. Ignoring Su Yu's inner thoughts, the pale shadow repeated, "Payment. I cannot hold them for long; the effect will break shortly. Is the deal still on?" "Fine!" Su Yu gritted his teeth and tossed a vial over without wasting words. The pale shadow vanished on the spot. The next instant, the dead spirits resumed their chase. Right then, pockets of death qi began erupting across various parts of the city as dead spirits manifested one after another. Someone was tossing bloodstained jade talismans outside. As long as a person didn't throw them for three consecutive days, they wouldn't be turned into ancient city residents. Clearly, the Heaven Hunting Pavilion controlled a good number of people here. The dead spirits pursuing Su Yu wavered momentarily, seemingly torn between collecting the fresh talismans and continuing their hunt for Su Yu. Taking advantage of that split-second hesitation, Su Yu slipped into the void and vanished. *** Chaos! Tianmie Ancient City was descending into utter bedlam tonight. Su Yu traveled covertly through the air, pushing his sensory jade to its limits to scan his surroundings. Soon, several bright light dots representing Shanhai experts appeared. Su Yu counted them. One was missing. One was missing! They had actually separated! He swiftly flew around, steering clear of the main search group. The missing one was Hei Kai. Su Yu could lock onto his location—the fellow was actually over by the city gate. He had some nerve, daring to split off alone. Before even reaching the gate, Su Yu spotted mirrors mounted above each of the nine gateways. Even if he had never eaten pork, he had seen pigs run. These were undoubtedly detection devices meant to expose those moving in stealth or phased through space. Sure enough, many figures were stationed here. The Night Patrol! The Night Patrol wore different armor from the city gate guards—one was full black armor, while the other was half-silver. At the main gate, he spotted Hei Kai. The Shanhai man who had previously warned him was atop the wall, while Hei Kai stood before the gate. "Two Shanhai Realm experts..." That gatekeeping Shanhai was likely well beyond the early Shanhai stage. Su Yu's sensory jade barely registered a clear reading on him, meaning he was likely late Shanhai. With that fellow present, things would be exceedingly tricky. *What should I do? Strike or not?* He had only thrown off the dead spirits temporarily; they would catch up before long. If he didn't strike now, he would be exposed soon anyway. Yet if he attacked, another Shanhai powerhouse was right there. And not the kind he could easily kill! Su Yu wrestled with indecision. He was reluctant to give up, but retreat seemed the only sensible option. Otherwise, with his profound armament in that fellow's storage ring, detonating it would guarantee an instant kill. Just as Su Yu prepared to withdraw, Tianmen's indifferent voice echoed from the wall: "Hei Kai, you have already entered Tianmie City, and in this lifetime, you will likely never leave it. Betraying the City Lord for the sake of the Xuan Armor race will not end well for you!" Hei Kai replied coldly, "Betrayal? General Tianmen jokes. I merely serve my own race; how can that be called betrayal? This is not something the General needs to concern himself with!" Tianmen said flatly, "Suit yourself!" With that, he flew toward another gate. It seemed someone was attempting to enter the city under cover of night and had been held up, so Tianmen flew over to handle the matter personally. Su Yu blinked, slightly taken aback. *Did he spot me?* *Or is he intentionally creating an opening for me, or perhaps trying to bait me into a trap?* The timing was too coincidental! The moment he arrived, the commander left, leaving Hei Kai alone at the main gate. Su Yu didn't believe his luck was that good. Still, now that the opportunity had presented itself, he didn't care. The gatekeeper clearly wasn't on good terms with Hei Kai. Which made sense—the commander wasn't of the Xuan Armor race, so there was no reason for him to offend the humans on Hei Kai's behalf. Suppressing his aura entirely, saber in hand, Su Yu swallowed another drop of Shanhai essence blood. The next instant, a breathtaking saber beam erupted! Killing intent spilled into the open! The "Quiet" divine character activated, leaving Hei Kai temporarily unaware of where the danger was coming from. *Kill, War, Blood, Fire, Thunder...* With multiple divine characters now at fourth tier, Su Yu's fused divine character battle technique unleashed power whose willpower rivaled the peak of Lingyun. Hei Kai was a Shanhai, but that didn't mean his willpower had reached the Shanhai level. Many Shanhai warriors possessed willpower merely at the Tengkong level. Before the blade even descended, Hei Kai felt a wave of daze wash over him. However, his origin qi erupted violently, quickly snapping him to his senses. With a savage roar, he activated his armor transformation! His armor gleamed brilliantly! Origin qi surged as his apertures flared open in Shanhai aperture fusion. Though he had not yet finished fusing his Shanhai apertures, he had already begun his secondary aperture fusion following the Wanshi Realm. His spear thrust outward, striking like a venomous viper! Right at that moment, a profound armament stored within his ring abruptly exploded with a deafening boom! The storage ring shattered to pieces! Not only was the ring destroyed, but the blast sent Hei Kai staggering sideways. His spear thrust flew off course! A look of shock flashed across Hei Kai's eyes—a profound armament had self-destructed... Before the thought could finish, the saber slashed down! *Boom!* This was a divine character battle technique. The strike cleaved straight through his sea of will, leaving his physical body unharmed. The "Vibrate" divine character quivered violently, shattering the sea of will into absolute dust. Su Yu whipped out a kick, channeling the physical power of a Shanhai through his martial technique, Time. With a sickening crunch, his boot drove straight through the sturdy armor, detonating the Xuan Armor core within Hei Kai's chest! In the blink of an eye, Su Yu swept Hei Kai's corpse into his storage ring. A cloud tumbled down from above, but before Su Yu could see what it was, the little fur ball gulped it down in a single bite. "Mine! Willpower!" "..." *Damn it! What a terrifying memory you have. I was just throwing out casual words earlier!* Having slain Hei Kai, Su Yu went all in, rocketing forward. Surrounding black-armored Night Patrol troops, including several Lingyun cultivators, had no time to react before their heads went flying in showers of blood. From the distance, Tianmen bellowed, "Insolence! How dare you ambush the Night Patrol! Guards, secure the gate while I slay this fiend!" His shouts were thunderous, yet his movements were remarkably leisurely. By the time Su Yu had slaughtered everyone and dead spirits began surging into the area en masse, Tianmen finally arrived. Holding up a token, he barked, "Fall back!" The dead spirits hesitated briefly, but soon dissolved away one by one. A moment later, whistling wind tore through the air. Cheng Kai and his cohort of powerhouses arrived in haste. Cheng Kai's expression was black as thunder as he surveyed the carnage. Dao Cheng rapidly manipulated his divine characters, staring into the distance where death qi was roiling. After a split second of hesitation, he shouted, "Pursue!" Cheng Kai and the others abandoned all hesitation and gave chase! Damn it all! Over such a short distance, the enemy had dared to launch an ambush, slaying not just Hei Kai alone, but slaughtering more than half the Night Patrol detachment as well! Once they were gone, Tianmen smiled faintly. With a casual wave of his palm, he pulverized the remaining Night Patrol survivors on the ground! "Commander!" The surrounding gate guards looked at him in shock. "Worry not. They were killed by the dead spirits!" With that, death qi seeped from General Tianmen's body, invading the corpses and rapidly corroding them. He said coolly, "This city is still Tianmie City, not Xuan Armor City." The guards' hearts clenched, and none uttered a word. Soon, someone whispered, "My lord, was that Su Yu just now?" "Perhaps!" General Tianmen chuckled. Who could say for sure? That fool Hei Kai, as an officer of the Night Patrol, had actually obeyed the commands of the Xuan Armor race. Did he truly believe the City Lord would tolerate that? Their City Lord didn't care about ordinary squabbles, but that didn't mean he would permit betrayal on his own turf. Once you became a city guard, you were no longer a member of your race—you were a guardian of the ancient city. "A self-destructing weapon..." Tianmen murmured to himself. *I didn't take any of that fellow's weapons, did I?* *Phew, thank goodness!* Sure enough, one should either forge weapons oneself or seek out reliable armamentsmiths. In any case, never accept weapons from an armamentsmith like Su Yu—who knew when they might blow up in your face. "Hei Kai was near second-layer Shanhai, yet he was cut down in a single blow... That fellow is truly terrifying!" *** While Tianmen pondered these things, the dead spirits trailing Su Yu reached ten in number. It was frightfully alarming! The sizzling sounds grew louder and louder! Copious amounts of death qi roiled, assaulting his flesh, while Su Yu burned through immense reserves of heavenly origin qi to fend it off. Right then, his physical frame shuddered violently! With a resounding boom, golden radiance flared brilliantly. His body, which had already been teetering on the edge of the seventeenth cast, finally broke through to seventeen casts. With seventeen casts complete, his aperture strength instantaneously surpassed the power of nine thousand apertures, giving his physical prowess a massive surge. Once he reached eighteen casts, his physical strength would approach the power of ten thousand apertures, truly knocking on the door of the Shanhai Realm. At present, the Shanhai essence blood he had swallowed hadn't been fully exhausted, yet Su Yu felt its amplification had reached diminishing returns. With over nine thousand apertures of strength, perhaps he could try swallowing middle-stage Shanhai essence blood for an even greater burst. Middle-stage Shanhai shouldn't be too much of a problem, right? Or maybe... not quite yet. When he had asked previously, that fellow from the Vanguard Camp at fifth-layer Shanhai wielded a staggering fifty thousand apertures of strength. The gap between early and middle Shanhai was considerable. Within the Shanhai Realm, the gulfs between early, middle, and late stages were vast. Behind him, Cheng Kai closed in rapidly, though he didn't dare get too close, barking coldly, "Su Yu, what brazen audacity!" Su Yu ignored him. Right then, a chilling voice called out, "Su Yu, you can run, but there are plenty of humans left in this ancient city. With their meager strength, where can they possibly flee?" "Su Yu, why don't you and I spar? If you do, I will spare these humans!" At that precise moment, Su Yu pulled out an object—the fresh corpse of a Xuan Armor clansman. A Lingyun-level corpse. Spinning around, he hurled it backward and smashed a punch into it! *Boom!* The Lingyun corpse exploded on the spot. Freshly dead, its blood was still warm. In an instant, copious amounts of black blood splattered through the air, and seven or eight dead spirits materialized from the void! *Boom!* Cheng Kai and his powerhouses collided head-on with the dead spirits. Cheng Kai hastily produced a token and bellowed. The dead spirits wavered reluctantly, but soon veered off toward Su Yu, swelling the pack behind him to over a dozen. Cheng Kai sneered coldly, "This trick won't work! You are digging your own grave, and no one can save you!" Su Yu's idea of using dead spirits against them was pure wishful thinking. Now, Su Yu had even more dead spirits on his tail. This ancient city was teeming with countless dead spirits. Provoking so many meant he had nowhere left to run. Su Yu did indeed feel the oppressive chill of the dead spirits. A few Lingyun dead spirits seemed mixed among them, their death qi potent enough to gnaw at his flesh. He brought out his own ancient city token, which momentarily halted several spirits, though the others continued their relentless pursuit. Behind them, Cheng Kai and his men ground to a halt as the paused spirits blocked their path. Cheng Kai frowned. Crossing paths with dead spirits here was a huge headache. Ancient city tokens worked, but not indefinitely. "Fall back for now!" Dao Cheng shouted. They couldn't afford prolonged contact with these spirits. Several weaker members of their group already had death qi boiling around them; lingering any longer would spell disaster. Cursing under his breath, Cheng Kai had no choice but to order his men to pull back. Ahead, Su Yu vanished into the night. Dao Cheng stared in the direction he had disappeared, his brow furrowed. By human standards, this fellow was remarkably cold-blooded—he hadn't cared in the slightest when threatened with the captured humans. Still, Su Yu was an enormous target. Right now, the area with the densest death qi marked his exact coordinates. He couldn't escape! Even if he hid inside an ancient house, he wouldn't get away. "Follow him! If he takes refuge in an ancient house, all the better—we can trap him inside!" Dao Cheng shouted, and Cheng Kai nodded, quickly leading his troops in pursuit. Two Shanhai experts were already dead! Beside Dao Cheng, Jiu Xuan couldn't help but murmur, "Brother Dao Cheng, he seems even stronger than me..." Dao Cheng said nothing. That fellow's killing intent was simply too heavy! How had the humans produced yet another slaughter-crazed maniac? The backward glance the fellow had cast earlier felt like someone looking at a corpse—his gaze carried more murderous intent than the dead spirits themselves. A truly terrifying creature. *** At that moment, Su Yu pulled out his sub-ranking once more. "Lure away the dead spirits behind me!" "Five drops of Sunmoon essence blood!" "I don't have that. Two corpses of Shanhai Xuan Armor experts!" "Deal. Half an hour at most!" "One hour! Two Shanhai corpses, and you'll only lure them away for half an hour?" *Highway robbery!* "Agreed!" Su Yu stopped replying, cursing them internally. Greedy bastards! He had killed two Shanhai experts and handed over their corpses, yet all it bought him was one lousy hour. *Damn it!* *Don't let me catch you slipping, Heaven Hunting Pavilion, or you're going to pay dearly for this. I'm keeping tabs on this debt.* A moment later, a masked figure appeared—the same pale shadow from before. "The goods!" Su Yu tossed over a storage ring. In a flash, the pale shadow produced an ancient city token, barked a few commands, and the dead spirits, after some hesitation, turned and chased after the figure. Su Yu breathed a sigh of relief! As long as they were gone, good. The pressure from those spirits had been immense. One hour... Those pursuers probably thought the dead spirits were still on his tail. *Now it's your turn!* Concealing his presence, Su Yu flew toward Cheng Kai's group. Before striking, however, he needed to find a spot to test swallowing a drop of third-layer Shanhai essence blood. It would be best if his physical body could wield the power of third-layer Shanhai before he went on the hunt again! Having slain multiple Shanhai experts in quick succession, Su Yu's ranking on the Heaven Hunting Ranking climbed once more. Heaven Ranking, 16th: Su Yu. Record: Slew multiple first-layer Shanhai experts. Across the realm, countless sub-rankings vibrated slightly. When they saw the newly updated record, many cursed under their breath, "What a slaughter fiend!" How many days had he been on the battlefield? How many Shanhai had he slaughtered already? Did he think Shanhai experts grew on trees? *** Human base camp. Marquis Xia was holding a copy of the ranking. Seeing the shift in position, he couldn't help but curse, "This brat... instead of running back, he's still out there killing?" He truly had no regard for his own life! The Great Xia Prefecture couldn't easily intervene right now, and unless the Great Ming Prefecture dispatched a top-tier Sunmoon, bringing that boy back would be next to impossible. *** At the same time. The news spread like wildfire. In the Human Realm, within the Great Ming Prefecture. Zhu Tiandao let out a sigh. *What a troublemaker. Which race has he picked a fight with this time?* *The Xuan Armor race?* *The Xuan Armor race has some nerve. If he wants to kill you, just lie down and let him do it! How dare you resist!* *Did they really think King Xuan Armor was that formidable?* "An Ying!" "Here!" "Take the Shadow Guards to the All-Heavens Battlefield and bring Su Yu back!" Zhu Tiandao said coolly, "Kill anyone who stands in your way!" "My lord, how many should I bring...?" "All of them!" An Ying shuddered. "My lord, all twelve Shadow Guards?" "Go!" "Understood!" An Ying's heart pounded. Twelve Shadow Guards plus himself made thirteen—six of them were Sunmoon, and seven were peak Shanhai. This was the core protection force of the Great Ming Prefecture's Zhu family! Had the Manor Lord lost his mind? Sending all of them into the All-Heavens Battlefield... if they were wiped out... he didn't dare imagine the consequences. Meanwhile, Zhu Tiandao gazed at the ranking over and over, murmuring to himself, "Damn it all, let's make a gamble. He can already slay Shanhai. Perhaps... he truly is the next Ye Batian!"