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However, as he stood beneath the eaves of the building, he didn’t seem to even notice the wind. He was a part of the shadows, like a skilled hunter, completely unmoving as he stared coldly across the street. He was patient, his breath rate low as he waited.

Two hours passed.

Lights in the houses throughout the city were slowly extinguished, until the city was pitch black and silent but for the sound of the storm. That was when a shadowy figure stuck its head out of the inn. It was a middle-aged cultivator in a long red robe. He was clearly well-built, with broad shoulders and an intimidating presence. He was none other than Master Greencloud. His spirit power fluctuations were extraordinary, like those of the ninth level of Qi Condensation. He was very strong.

However, that level of strength would only be impressive in a small sect or organization. This was Seven Blood Eyes territory. Disciples here had unique techniques that gave them an unusually strong foundation. Furthermore, the ruthless atmosphere of this sect made it such that an ordinary disciple of Seven Blood Eyes who was in the seventh level of Qi Condensation would be able to crush someone from a smaller sect who was in the ninth level.

Because of that, Master Greencloud acted with great caution while here. Remaining inside the inn, he looked out to make sure the coast was clear, then took a single step outside. After taking that single step, he blurred into a run. However, after going only five steps, his expression flickered as though he’d sensed some extreme threat in the area. He hadn’t seen Xu Qing, but trusting his senses, he spun back toward the inn.

Xu Qing frowned. He’d originally planned to let the man run a bit farther before making a move. But seeing what was happening, Xu Qing’s eyes glittered coldly and he started moving. He was like a bolt of lightning piercing through the rainwater.

Something like a thunderclap rang out as, from Xu Qing’s perspective, the rain slowed to a crawl.

Master Greencloud’s face fell as he saw Xu Qing and realized the terrifying speed he was capable of. Also, he could sense the aura of the Forbidden Sea on him, which created such an intense pressure that his own spirit power became sluggish. Instantly, his heart pounded with a profound sensation of deadly crisis.

Eyes turning crimson, he bit down on the tip of his tongue to unleash a secret magic. Tapping into his cultivation base, he shot forward with even greater speed toward the door of the inn.

As all of this happened, an old man inside the inn smoked a pipe and watched Xu Qing through the haze of smoke.

Master Greencloud’s eyes were completely bloodshot as he reached a spot so close to the inn that he was only half a step from reaching the interior. Just as his right foot was about to span the gap, a dark blur bursting with the spirit power of the Forbidden Sea pierced through Master Greencloud’s defenses and stabbed into his right calf.

It moved with such speed and power that Master Greencloud instinctively let loose a bloodcurdling scream.

His right foot was now incapable of stepping into the inn. What was more, he was knocked to the side, where he staggered backward as a second dark blur raced toward him. It was a dagger that flew with shocking speed to stab into Master Greencloud’s left arm.

Thump!

Terrifying spirit power exploded into him, shattering his meridians and blood vessels as he was knocked down and pinned face-first to the ground. He was now within arm’s reach of the inn’s front door. Screaming, blue veins bulging out on his forehead, he struggled to pull the dagger out of his arm and crawl into the inn. But he was too slow.

Xu Qing arrived and stamped his foot down onto the man’s back. The immense force in his foot caused cracking sounds to ring out as Master Greencloud’s spine shattered. More pain coursed through him violently, causing his screams to turn even more bloodcurdling.

Inside the inn, the old man took his pipe out of his mouth. At the same time, a very dangerous aura erupted from him as he looked out coldly at Xu Qing.

“Are you going to break my house rules?”

His eyes had turned yellow, and writhing tentacles wriggled out from their depths. At the same time, his forehead split open, as if something shocking and ghastly existed inside of him.

A strange sound could be heard inside the inn as a massive anaconda appeared, its body as thick as three people put together. Lowering down from the rafters of the inn, it looked at Xu Qing, radiating an icy and bloodthirsty air.

In addition to that, a horde of centipedes burrowed out from the ground, all of them pitch black and obviously extremely venomous, and ready to attack at any moment. Finally, piercing auras emerged from the rooms in the inn, forming ropes that locked onto Xu Qing and encircled him. The ropes almost seemed alive, as if, at any moment, it could bind Xu Qing before he could react. They were permeated with a boundless aura of death, as if they had killed far too many people to even count.

Everything present was focused on Xu Qing.

He stood there at the door, his foot planted firmly on the back of the screaming Master Greencloud. Then he looked up at the old man.

Their eyes met.

Xu Qing didn’t seem to notice the mutant beasts, or the powerful auras locked onto him, or the ropes. Instead, he just looked at the old man.

As he did, a figure appeared behind him, a hobgoblin like a pitch-black evil ghost, just waiting to attack. As the Sea and Mountain Incantation thrummed to life within him, every bit of his flesh and blood seemed to ready for explosive action. It was the same with the Seaforming Scripture. All of the rainwater around him stopped in midair, then began to slowly rotate around him in response to the call of his internal spirit sea.

It seemed he was ready to unleash lethal arts at any moment. His poisons were ready, and his shadow, though silent and undetectable, had already slid inside the inn and was just in front of the gruish old man’s feet.

Especially noteworthy was how the rainwater that flowed above Xu Qing seemed to reveal the outline of an illusory saber. It was barely visible, but it contained impressive might. And though it seemed restrained at the moment, it was capable of sending that heavenly saber slashing down into the earth.

Xu Qing narrowed his eyes. He didn’t seem shaken by the tentacles in the old man’s eyes, or the way his forehead was about to open up. He could tell the innkeeper was strong, but at the same time, couldn’t simply back down.

Expression calm, he said, “I haven’t stepped inside, therefore, I haven’t broken your house rules.”

The old man’s eyes glittered with an unusual light as he looked at Xu Qing for a long moment, then smiled. “I suppose you’re right.”

All of the auras that had been locked onto Xu Qing vanished. The anaconda slid back up into the roof beams and the centipedes rustled back into the ground.

The ropes also vanished. A moment later, there was nothing there. Only the old man remained, though the tentacles and the split in his forehead were gone, and he looked just like he had before. He was now an old man smoking a pipe.

“Want to sell the corpse?”

Xu Qing shook his head. Grabbing the trembling Master Greencloud by the hair, he looked down and said, “Where’s the woman you kidnapped two days ago?”

Master Greencloud’s hair was disheveled, he was covered in blood, and looked to be in very bad shape. But even as he trembled, it seemed he was going to make it clear he wouldn’t talk... by spitting in Xu Qing’s face.

Before he could, Xu Qing released his hair, allowing his head to drop back down to the ground. Then he patted his head gently.

A moment later, a scream rang out as Xu Qing grabbed Master Greencloud’s right arm and shattered the bones within. Then he did the same with his other arm. Master Greencloud shook from the pain, and screamed uncontrollably. Xu Qing’s expression remained placid. Looking Master Greencloud up and down, he then clenched his hand into a fist and punched the man’s dantian region, crushing his cultivation base. Now that the man wasn’t a threat, Xu Qing stepped over to retrieve his dagger and iron skewer. Finally, he grabbed Master Greencloud’s foot and dragged him away.

The streak of blood left behind was quickly diluted by the rain. But as Master Greencloud felt his wounded flesh scraping against the ground, he screamed even more shrilly.

And thus, Xu Qing walked away, leaving behind a quickly vanishing trail of blood behind him.

Seeing this, the old man’s pupils constricted, and he murmured, “This kid is certainly ruthless enough....”

The screaming Master Greencloud didn’t go unnoticed by people creeping through the darkness of night. When they saw him, they were deeply shaken, and of course, were struck even more profoundly by the expressionless young man dragging him along.

There were some disciples on patrol who, upon hearing the screaming, rushed to investigate. But when they recognized Master Greencloud, they looked in shock to identify who it was that was dragging him through the streets.

Master Greencloud might only be from a small sect, but he was still in the ninth level of Qi Condensation. Yet Xu Qing had not only captured him alive, but had inflicted serious torment in the process. Nobody would dare to mess with a person who could do that.

This fight was going to earn Xu Qing some prestige in the city.

Master Greencloud was strong-willed, and held out for almost two hours before giving in. Just before passing out, he gave Xu Qing the information he sought; the location of the informant that he’d kidnapped.

As it turned out, Master Greencloud had groomed that woman as a personal spy. What was more, he had no idea she’d sold him out to Xu Qing. However, he had a custom of only keeping his spies around for a limited time before getting rid of them.

Sadly for that woman, her turn had come.

After confirming the address, Xu Qing went there and looked around for traps. Once inside, he found himself in a secret subterranean dungeon that stank of evil. There he found his informant, barely breathing.

She didn’t have the spirit coin Xu Qing had given her, and though she still bore the faint scent of his poison powder, this location was sealed to the outside, which was why he’d been unable to find her. She wasn’t dead, but on her left and right were rotting corpses of both men and women. They had died horribly and in torment. What was more, there was a spell formation on the ground; apparently their deaths were part of some sort of ritual.

Seemingly sensing Xu Qing’s presence, his informant opened her eyes. And when she saw the unconscious Master Greencloud, a wave of strength rose up within her. Lunging forward like a wild animal, she tore a chunk of flesh out of the man’s shoulder. Waking up, he screamed, but she just kept biting and ripping out chunks of flesh.

Eventually, when Master Greencloud was a mass of mangled flesh, she stopped, panting. Then she looked up at Xu Qing, who stood there expressionless off to the side.

He looked tall and handsome in his gray robe, but there was also something cold and grim about him that she couldn’t quite pin down. And the aura he exuded left her slightly breathless.

The madness on her face faded, and as she calmed down, she became docile and meek. She even started shaking. Then, she seemed to recall something, and got to her feet and started looking around.

Eventually, she found a jade slip. Getting onto her knees in front of Xu Qing in an almost worshipful posture, she offered him the jade slip with both hands.

He took it and examined the contents. It described a spell formation that, upon being activated, would bestow unfathomable power. In order to activate the formation, it needed to be fed the emotions of living beings. Things like happiness, anger, sorrow, and joy.

Xu Qing looked around at the miserable conditions within the dungeon, then turned to drag Master Greencloud’s corpse away. Just before leaving, he said, “Going forward, I hope you work hard as my informant.”

He also tossed her a spirit coin and an antidote pill.

She took them and watched Xu Qing leave. And deep in her soul, she agreed to his demands.

Dawn was just around the corner as Xu Qing took out a black umbrella and started dragging Master Greencloud’s corpse through the streets. [1]

The dark clouds in the sky seemed to mirror his mood. Eventually, he dropped the corpse off at the Violent Crimes Division, to the shock of his colleagues. By that time, the sun was visible in the sky, and he could also see the face of the god above. Determination appeared in his eyes.

In this brutal, chaotic world, you have to get strong. That’s the only way... to avoid becoming meat on a chopping block!

1. There is no detailed description of the umbrella. However, given the setting, it most likely looks like an Asian-style umbrella, as opposed to the modern Western style. In other words, it ... . Same goes for other umbrellas that appear later in the novel. ☜