Chapter 2 - 2

Chapter 775: Murder Case (1)

Restore scroll position

When Su Yu walked out, he looked up at the sky. It was already dark. What a beautiful night. A moonless and windy night was the best night to kill. But he was afraid that those he wanted to kill would be hard to kill.

It wouldn't be an issue for those below the Mountainsea Realm, but what about those above that realm? As for the reason of the people who had intruded into his home and whether they meant well or not, why should it care?

He only knew that they had all entered without permission. Taking something without permission was the same as thievery.

Huang He was still waiting for him outside the neighborhood. When Huang He saw Su Yu, he hurriedly asked, "Brother Lang, did you find anything?"

"No." Su Yu smiled, "It's just an old house. If there is really a ruin here, I'll start walking with my hands from now on."

"You shouldn't be so confident."

Huang He reminded him that anything was possible.

Su Yu laughed before turning to look at Xia Bing. "Brother, who are the past visitors of Su Yu's house? I'll give the list of names to Su Yu later. With that, I wouldn't have come for nothing."

"No comment."

Xia Bing had a cold expression. He was unwilling to speak.

Su Yu shrugged, "Fine. I doubt the Xia Family will leave anything good behind."

Xia Bing coldly said, "Stop trying to throw mud on the Xia Family. Do you really think that the Xia Family is helpless against you outsiders?"

Su Yu smiled, "Forget it, then. How am I throwing mud at the Xia Family? That's the truth. Since a bunch of outsiders have entered Su Yu's house, are you telling me that the Xia Family has not done the same? Are you kidding me? That house is on the verge of being taken apart. It's clear just how many people have intruded into the house before."

Xia Bing remained silent. There were things that he was unaware of. As for what he knew, he didn't want to tell outsiders anything. After Su Yu left, he turned to stare at Su Yu's house silently.

He didn't know if anyone from the Xia Family had entered Su Yu's house before, but he knew that the Xia Family had tacitly agreed to some people entering the house. Those with strong backgrounds and good connections had all been allowed to enter. Thus, for some outsiders, Su Yu's house was no longer a forbidden ground.

He didn't know why the Xia Family had reached such a decision. He didn't know why the Xia Family was compromising. Was it because of Su Yu's departure? He had no answer. Xia Bing lowered his head. His faith and admiration toward the Xia Family was slowly dropping due to all these recent events.

The Xia Family...was no longer the same Xia Family. The Xia Family's blade was no longer as sharp.

They were allowing these outsiders to create all these troubles right within their territory. Xia Bing didn't know what the Xia Family was planning, but he knew that a lot of his old brothers were furious and disappointed.

Must the Xia Family be so soft? Where was the prefect? Xia Xiao'er was not worthy of his position as an acting prefect. They refused to acknowledge him.

In the past, they might have acknowledged him. But that was no longer the case. Xia Xiao'er had embarrassed the Xia Family and Great Xia. Xia Bing was even starting to suspect that there was a serious case of corruption. Why would he agree to let all these outsiders enter Su Yu's house otherwise?

The entire Great Xia was simmering with rage. Could Marquis Xia see that? Could he hear what the populace has been saying?

***

Su Yu and Huang He started strolling all over the city. This was a normal action. They were basically trying their luck. Perhaps they would get lucky and stumble on the ruin randomly. A lot of people were doing the same within the city.

As they walked, Su Yu said, "Brother Huang, just how many people have arrived in this small city? Are there big-shot Sunmoons among them?"

"There are some Mountainseas here, but not Sunmoons."

Huang He said, "This is still the territory of the Xia Family. They can tolerate a few Mountainsea dao protectors, but forget about Sunmoons. They might suspect a scheme against them if you send too many Sunmoons over. Don't forget what happened in Great Ming. With cult subjugation as the excuse, they killed five Sunmoons in one go. But to be honest. Are all five of them cultists?"

That might not be the case. Some of those Sunmoons might be the spies of some other powers. But they ended up dead. And what could the power behind them even do about it?

"No Sunmoons? How about those from the Xia Family?"

"I don't know about them."

Su Yu smiled and asked nothing else. Huang He wasn't sure, but he had an answer. Just about a kilometer away from them, a Sunmoon was observing him. This was probably the Sunmoon from the Xia Family.

Was this the same old man he met previously? During his departure from Great Xia, an old man had offered him help, but he had rejected it. He was thankful for that decision. If he had accepted that help, he wouldn't know what attitude he should have toward this old man now.

A Sunmoon of the Xia Family was present. But his house had still been broken into. Was this entire thing an act by the Xia Family or had an expert really sneaked into the city? Nobody knew.

Su Yu continued his stroll with Huang He. Whenever he saw someone he didn't know, he would ask about them. The young geniuses of the various prefectures had arrived in Nanyuan. And all of them were accompanied by their dao protectors.

Some were only protected by Cloudbreaches while some were protected by Mountainseas. No Sunmoon was in sight. That was also unnecessary as this place was still under the Xia Family's watch. Nothing bad would happen to these people so easily.

When it was getting late, Su Yu said, "Brother Huang, you arrived before me so you know this place better than me. Do you know any place with good services?"

"Hmm?"

"You understand what I'm talking about." Su Yu kept winking as he said, "Why are you pretending to not understand me?"

Finally, Huang He understood. He felt very helpless. So this fellow was really here to have some fun with the local beauties?

"I know one place..."

"I knew we're the same type of people, Brother Huang!"

Huang He didn't know what to say. He only felt like cursing.

After a long while, he said, "That's a normal place of relaxation. I don't know if they provide the special services you like, but I do know that they provide massage services. Are you interested?"

"Sure." Su Yu said, "Let's go together. I'll pay for it. I'm also quite picky. If I'm not satisfied with their offerings, I'll settle with a massage. I need something like that anyway since I have been on the road for a few days. It's quite tiring."

Tiring? Huang He felt like cursing. Just look at the spotless white robes on this fellow. He did not look like a tired traveler at all. Huang He didn't even feel like talking anymore.

Huang He was also a Skysoar, but he was only a fifth-stage Skysoar. As they walked, Su Yu suddenly asked, "Uhm, cough, Brother Huang, I forgot to ask this. Which family are you from? There are a lot of people with the same surname around. Which prefecture are you from?" ʀᴇᴀᴅ ʟᴀᴛᴇsᴛ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀᴛ novel•fire.net

"..."

Huang He was feeling even more tired. But he still introduced himself, "I'm from Great Qi. We met once before. You must have forgotten about me..."

"Great Qi..." Su Yu thought about it and nodded, "Now I remember. I went there once in year 344. Did we meet that time?"

"Yes. Once."

"It has been seven years, so it's normal that I won't remember it. It's not like you're a beauty. The Huang Family of Great Qi..."

Su Yu thought for a bit before recalling that family, "There is a General Huang in Great Qi. Are you from this family? Not bad at all, Brother. Your ancestor is a Sunmoon. So you're a Sunmoon descendant. I have been assuming that you're from a common family like me."

Huang He smiled, "How can I compare against you? My ancestor is six generations apart from me. Our relationship isn't that close. A Sunmoon descendant will only benefit greatly if if they are within the first three generations."

"That's still not that bad. At least you're not sixteen generations apart." Su Yu smiled, "Don't you have a dao protector?"

"Not everyone will be assigned a dao protector." Huang He said, "Generally, you need to be a genius or someone from a family with very few descendants. Otherwise, you won't get a dao protector. What's the point of assigning a piece of trash dao protector when you have plenty of kids around? Am I right, Brother Lang?"

"True. I don't have a dao protector as well." Su Yu said with regret, "I asked for a Mountainsea dao protector from my teacher, but he refused. What a pity. With a dao protector, I would look a lot more impressive."

Finally, the two entered a building.

Chapter 776: Murder Case (2)

Restore scroll position

Half an hour later.

With a look of disappointment, Su Yu said through voice transmission, "Forget it. We'll settle with a massage tonight. Do you want to do it together or separately, Brother Huang? We'll take a good rest tonight. Starting from tomorrow morning, we will search the entire city. I can also try visiting Su Yu's teachers or something like that."

"Sure."

Huang He did not mind that, but he wasn't very hopeful that they would find anything. The two separated.

Leaving two massage therapists with him, Su Yu yawned and said, "Massage my legs for me. I'm very tired. If you're good, I'll reward you nicely."

The two massage therapists were overjoyed to hear that. They started rubbing his legs with all their strength. Meanwhile, Huang He was laughing to himself as he walked away from the room. He was happy with this arrangement. If he actually went to a brothel with a loudmouth like Cui Lang, everyone would learn about his night escapades by tomorrow morning.

Nanyuan wasn't even a big city. Everyone would know it. Cui Lang might be shameless, but Huang He wasn't. In fact, he had deliberately brought Su Yu to this place. The massage therapists were old ladies instead of young beauties, but they were actually quite skilled at massage.

While yawning, Su Yu released a long breath. Slowly, the eyes of the two massage therapists turned murky. But before long, they returned to normal. Su Yu was still the same, yawning lazily on the massage chair.

A gentle breeze swept past the room, but none of the two noticed anything unusual. Not even Huang He, who was in the room next door, noticed anything. With the blood character, an illusion was formed. With the calm character, the massage therapists were calmed. Even the concealment ability and the deceit character were being used. Just like that, Su Yu was gone from the massage center.

The Perception Jade had worked perfectly this time. With the jade, he was able to avoid all detection and vanished into the sewer under the city. Sure, this was a filthy place. But so what? He was too angry to care about this. It wasn't like he was someone from a powerful and rich family. This little bit of hardship was nothing for him.

He had completely transformed into water. With the ability of the water elemental, the water character, and the looping turtle's concealment ability, Su Yu was able to hide himself very well in water. With the help of various characters and abilities, he started moving underneath the city.

During his stroll with Huang He earlier, he had learned about the places of residence of some visitors from the large families. Of course, a lot of them couldn't even find proper accommodation in the city as the locals refused to rent anything to them. Thus, these people were basically living in camps atop the city walls.

Some of them had even stopped sleeping entirely, opting to roam the city at night. After a while, Su Yu hesitated. Who should he move against? Who should he kill? After a while, he made his choice. He had yet to detect the ones who had intruded into his home previously. But he knew all five of the intruders today.

"Perhaps for you, that is only a shitty house. The house is filled with garbage, so it doesn't matter what you step on. But for me, that is a place of memories, my place of childhood..."

Suddenly, Su Yu laughed at himself. No. He didn't even need a reason. Why should he need a reason for this? They knew that was his home, but they insisted on intruding. That alone was enough for him to kill them all.

Knowledge Seeking Realm? War Shrine? Big shots? He didn't know about them. Nor did he care. Would he attract the attention of powerful experts after killing them? He was unsure. If this was going to cause chaos, so be it. Let chaos consume Great Xia.

Su Yu was about to go looking for his targets when he stopped. A character had appeared ahead of him. Someone was searching under the city with a character.

Inside his head, the little furball said, "I recognize this scent. This is one of the scents in the dust earlier."

"..."

Su Yu was quite speechless. One of them was being delivered to him just like that? A character? So there was a cultural researcher somewhere above him? This person was searching the underground for the ruin?

Su Yu checked his Perception Jade and noted that this person was too weak. There was someone above him, but that was only a Skysoar. So that Skysoar was one of the people who had intruded into his house before?

After a slight hesitation, Su Yu decided to do it. This person could only blame himself for delivering himself right to Su Yu when Su Yu was targetting some other people. As for who that Skysoar was, it didn't matter.

Even if that was someone from the Xia Family, he wouldn't hold back as that was someone who had entered his home without permission. He only had a friendship with Xia Huyou, not the Xia Family as a whole.

The ground suddenly shook slightly.

The Skysoar youth who was searching the area frowned slightly. He sent his character to search the area yet again. His shadow slowly turned darker than before, but he did not notice it.

Su Yu, who was hiding in the shadows, finally saw the appearance of this Skysoar. This was not one of those he had seen during the day. It was a completely unfamiliar face. As a seventh-stage Skysoar, this youth was by no means weak. And the youth was only around thirty in age.

This was a little genius of an unknown family. It didn't matter. The youth continued scanning the area with a frown. He was still completely clueless thanks to Great Zhou King's calm character. He was not feeling any sense of crisis whatsoever.

Suddenly, something shot out of the shadow under him. A pop rang out. The sound was incomparably soft. The youth's eyes suddenly widened.

With his mouth open, he looked down and saw that his heart had been completely crushed. All the characters in his sea of willpower had also vanished. And after a slight delay, his entire sea of willpower collapsed as well.

Nothing was left of his sea of willpower. Everything had happened noiselessly. In the blink of an eye, the youth had been killed.

Su Yu didn't know who this person was. He only knew that this was someone who had entered his home without permission. As for the possibility that this might be an ally, as far as Su Yu was concerned, anyone entering his home without permission would be an enemy.

His ally would not do something like this. And he didn't even know this person. How could someone unknown be an ally? Su Yu did not bother searching the body. A clump of flame appeared and instantly reduced the youth into nothingness. Meanwhile, Su Yu vanished like the wind, not forgetting to remove every trace of smell or aura in the area.

A short while later, he reappeared at the massage center. The illusion vanished, replaced by the real Su Yu. He continued enjoying his massage. In the room next door, Huang He was completely oblivious to all that had happened.

Not long after Su Yu left.

A Mountainsea appeared at the place where a Skysoar had died. The frowning Mountainsea was clad in the uniform of the Martial Dragon Guards. Before long, several soldiers arrived behind him. One of them asked, "Lord, what is it?" Official source ıs N0veI.Fiɾe.net

They were still completely clueless.

The Mountainsea said, "A Skysoar aura has abruptly vanished here."

The others started scanning the area, but soon, they all shook their heads. They couldn't find anything. The Mountainsea frowned. They were not keeping a close eye on all these outsiders, but they were still keeping a low level of surveillance on these people. Who was here previously?

While he was thinking, another Mountainsea arrived. It was an old man. When he saw the Martial Dragon Guards there, his expression changed as he asked, "Lord Xie, what's going on?"

The Mountainsea from the Martial Dragon Guards said, "A Skysoar aura seemed to have vanished here earlier. Don't tell me that's someone from your family."

"Vanished?"

The old man blanked out slightly. Abrupt disappearance? He did not dare to waste any time and hurriedly took out a voice transmission talisman. After a short moment, he frowned.

"The other talisman has been destroyed."

That discovery alarmed him. He said, "Lord Xie, are you sure the aura vanished here?"

Lord Xie said, "I sensed something, but it wasn't too clear. I'm not sure. We're not responsible for the affairs of you outsiders."

"Lord!" The old man addressed Lord Xie respectfully even though he was a Mountainsea as well. With fear on his face, he said, "That's the sole son of our lord general. Please, can you help me out and search for him? Our lord general will definitely be thankful for that..."

Lord Xie sneered, "This is none of my business. Search yourself. He's probably dead."

He sounded completely indifferent. It was likely that the Skysoar had died. He was actually quite surprised himself. That aura had vanished abruptly and no second aura could be sensed in the area. All that had happened in the blink of an eye.

Right at that moment, one of the soldiers reported, "Lord, there's a storage ring here."

A storage ring had been found in the nearby drain. When the old man saw the ring, his face sank.

"This...is impossible!"

He was in big trouble. Was his young master really dead? The old man came from Great Jin. And the dead young master was the son of a general from the Great Jin Army. That general was a Sunmoon.

His son was a thirty-year-old seventh-stage SKysoar. At his age, his cultivation level made him a top genius. He was only here to test his luck. But he was now dead? Just like that? Who did it?

The old man's face changed repeatedly. He hurriedly snatched the ring and checked it carefully. When he scanned the ring with his willpower, his face turned unsightly. The items inside belonged to his young master.

Everything was over for him. As a Mountainsea, he had a high status. He was one of the head butlers in the general's household. But his young master had died out of nowhere. Recently, his young master would search the city every night. He would do the same somewhere nearby. But his young master had been killed before he could even react? The old man was terrified.

Lord Xie rubbed his chin doubtfully. Since he couldn't detect the killer, was that a Sunmoon? That shouldn't be the case, right? After the incident where the Sunmoon was lured away before someone broke into Su Yu's house, the secret guards in the city had boosted their security measures. Thus, it would be much harder for someone to hide from their commander.

While he was deep in thought, the old man said in agitation, "Lord Xie, please help investigate this incident! The culprit must still be in the city. Please, Lord Xie! This is the only son of the lord general!"

Seeing that the old man was starting to lose control of his emotions, Lord Xie frowned and said, "Silence. We don't need you to teach us what to do. I'll have some people investigate this case. But there is no promise that we can find anything."

An investigation was necessary. If someone capable of killing a Skysoar undetected was in the city, everyone would be in danger, including the locals. He was naturally not investigating this for the sake of the dead Skysoar. What could a Great Jin general do in Great Xia? They were the ones who had come uninvited!

"Lord Xie!" The old man roared in agitation, "If you can't find the culprit, my lord won't let this rest!"

"Is that a threat?"

"I wouldn't dare!" The old man clenched his teeth and said, "But my young master was lost inside Nanyuan without leaving anything behind. Not even I sensed anything. You were the first to arrive here..."

"Are you saying that I'm the killer?" Lord Xie coldly said, "I would have done so long ago if I intended to do so. Why wait until now? Do I even need to be sneaky about it? Zhang Min, think carefully before you speak. The Martial Dragon Guards is the private army of the Xia Family. Are you provoking the Xia Family?"

"I wouldn't dare!" The old man was clenching his teeth so hard that he was starting to bleed. He said, "I didn't mean that. But my young master is gone. No matter what, the Martial Dragon Guards need to find the assassin. Otherwise, there might be a second victim. You don't care about my lord, but what if this happens to more people? Does the Xia Family wish to offend so many people?"

"Heh." Lord Xie sneered, "There is no need for you to worry about that. If they die, they die. Who cares? It's not like they're Sunmoons or Invincibles. We already warned all of you that we're not responsible for your affairs. Who knows if this is an internal conflict between outsiders like you?"

Lord Xie decided to ignore the old man and said, "Seal and search this place carefully."

Despite his disdain toward the outsiders, he still needed to investigate this. They didn't even know who the culprit was. If they couldn't find out the truth, it would only embarrass the Xia Family. This could also be a scheme to create more chaos in Great Xia.

Chapter 777: Murder Case (3)

Inside the massage center.

Su Yu was enjoying his massage when someone knocked on the door. Huang He rushed in and said, "Brother Lang, something happened!"

"Huh?" Su Yu opened his eyes and yawned before asking, "What? Did someone find the ruin? Why are you in such a rush? If they found it, so be it..."

"That's not it. A friend told me that Zheng Heng is dead!"

"Who?"

"Zhang Heng?"

"I don't remember that name. Do I know him? Did we party together before?"

"No. He's the son of a general from Great Jin..."

Su Yu nonchalantly stood up and put his shoes on before casually tossing two drops of source qi liquid out, "Ladies, I don't have any cash on me. Can I pay with source qi liquid?"

The two massage ladies were overjoyed. This was an era of cultivation. Everyone knew what source qi liquid was. This was a form of currency that could be used everywhere. A single drop could be easily sold for a hundred thousand anping dollars. Thus, they were definitely fine with this.

When Su Yu saw that Huang He looked slightly agitated, he said, "If he's dead, he's dead. Why are you so anxious? Maybe Great Xia did it. Perhaps a fight has broken out between the outsiders and Great Xia? If that's the case, we need to reveal our identities clearly before fleeing. Great Xia will probably need to think twice before killing me. After all, I am the grandson-in-law of a ninth-stage Sunmoon."

Huang He found that statement so ridiculous he laughed. So this fellow was suddenly the grandson-in-law of that Sunmoon now that he needed backing? How shameless could he be?

"It's not the Xia Family. If they want to kill us, is there a need for assassinations? Since the Xia Family is saying that they won't get involved, they will most likely stick to that. I'm only worried that some people are trying to muddy the waters. That will be very dangerous for people without dao protectors like us."

"What are you afraid of?" Su Yu laughed, "I'll be frank. I'm not afraid of any Cloudbreach. Even a late-stage Cloudbreach won't be able to instantly kill me. As for Mountainseas and Sunmoons, heh...My teacher has given me some good stuff. I can't defeat them, but I'll be able to escape. And if I manage to escape, I'll make them regret life itself. Don't worry. With your Brother Lang around, you will be fine."

Su Yu laughed heartily, showcasing zero fear. After leaving the massage center, they saw a lot of cultivators rushing past them.

Before long, a friend of Huang He arrived. He said, "It's right ahead of us. Zhang Heng went missing there. Nobody knows if he's still alive, but he's most likely dead. After all, his storage ring was found nearby. The Martial Dragon Guards are also investigating the case. That fellow is a seventh-stage Skysoar. He's stronger than us. Yet someone like him was killed before he could even make any noise."

The young man appeared very worried. He said, "Brother Huang, since someone has died, things will probably turn really bad soon. Should we leave?"

Su Yu rolled his eyes and said, "Leave? Can we still leave now? If you leave, people might even take that as an admission of guilt. Since everyone is investigating this case, what are you afraid of? Would the culprit dare to kill a second person in such a situation? Brother Huang, who's this coward?" Official source ıs NoveIＦire.net

Huang He said, "He's Liu Li. My friend from Great Qi."

Su Yu nodded, "Fear not, Brother Liu. Just stick with me. I'm as strong as a Cloudbreach. As long as we don't go anywhere we shouldn't, we will be fine. I refuse to believe the killer can kill all three of us instantly."

Liu Li nodded and said nothing, but he was still very worried. Zhang Heng was the sole son of a Sunmoon. He was a very important individual. He was essentially the heir of a Sunmoon family. He enjoyed the protection of a Mountainsea dao protector, yet he had been killed so easily.

As a seventh-stage Skysoar, he was probably as strong as a ninth-stage Skysoar. Someone like that had died just like that. This was too scary.

Before long, they arrived at the crime scene.

A lot of people had arrived there, and the atmosphere seemed solemn. Su Yu showed no hesitation and scanned the area with his willpower, ignoring the people and Martial Dragon Guards there.

The moment he did that, the people there hurriedly released their own willpower to protect themselves from his scan. Some even glared at him furiously. He did not seem to mind as he said, "I'm only taking a look. Don't get in my way. I'm not trying to spy on any of you. Why are you acting like this? Don't act like you have any big secret that is actually worth my attention."

Inwardly, he was pretty satisfied with this. With so many people releasing their willpower, the little furball would be able to memorize their smell. Even warriors had access to willpower.

As for those with weaker willpower, they could release their source qi instead. But their smell would remain the same. He reckoned those who had intruded upon his home would not bother disguising their smell. And sure enough, the furball detected several individuals who had once entered his home.

He also saw Zhou Hongbo's group among the crowd. He ignored them and continued scanning the area. After a while, he rubbed his chin and said, "Was he killed here? Why is there nothing here? Are you sure this isn't a mistake? Otherwise, the killer must be at least two realms higher than Brother Zhang. Not even Cloudbreaches can kill him so easily."

"Two realms?"

Someone else said in a low voice, "I suspect this is a Sunmoon. Can a Mountainsea hide from everyone in the city so easily? The Mountainsea from the Martial Dragon Guards had arrived almost immediately after the murder. Zhang Heng's dao protector was here right after as well. None of them found anything. The killer must be a Sunmoon."

"Why was Zhang Heng killed? Did he discover something? Or was this person an enemy of Zhang Heng's father?"

"Who knows? Also, are we sure that this isn't the cult? A cultist will receive a big reward for each human genius killed. And as the heir of a Sunmoon, Zhang Heng is a lot more valuable than regular geniuses."

More and more people gathered there to satisfy their curiosity. Some were also there to see if they could discover the killer. After all, they were starting to feel anxious. With the first death, this place no longer felt as safe.

Was it time to leave? But they were also afraid that something would happen outside the city. At the very least, there was safety in numbers if they remained in the city. Also, if they left so soon after Zhang Heng's death, would that cast suspicion on them?

Su Yu looked around him and shouted, "I don't care if it's a Mountainsea or a Sunmoon. I just want to make it clear that I have not discovered anything in the city. Don't set your eyes on me if you know what's good for you. I am the student of a seventh-stage Sunmoon and a grandson-in-law of a ninth-stage Sunmoon. I am also protected by Mountainsea defensive talismans. Not even Sunmoon can kill me with one hit. And if I survive the attempt, it will be your turn to die."

He took out a talisman with a powerful aura around it and continued, "I am not interested in your personal quarrel. I have just left seclusion recently. I still want to enjoy life. I'm going to leave Nanyuan tomorrow. If the killer is listening to this, think carefully. Why ruin whatever plan you're making just to kill me? It's not worth it. Am I right?"

The surrounding people had odd expressions, but none of them said anything. In fact, this might actually be a good idea. Attempting to kill Cui Lang might really be a bad idea. There was no guarantee of success and the possibility of backlash.

Someone among the crowd laughed and said, "Brother Cui, that ninth-stage Sunmoon grandpa of yours tried to get close to you a few years back. And you have been in hiding since then. Why are you suddenly so receptive to him?"

Su Yu said, "Stop trying to make trouble for me. It's none of your business. If you have a chance like this, you would have done the same as well. No, you would be even more eager than me so it's really funny to hear this from you. Also, I only have such a backer because I am capable enough to find one. Can you find a backer like this? Just admit you're jealous."

The other person was left completely speechless. He couldn't offer any retort. It was true that he wouldn't be able to find a backer like that even if he wanted.

A young man from Great Tang said, "If Director Cheng finds out what you're saying about him, you need to start watching your back. He might leave seclusion and slap you to death."

Su Yu curled his lips and didn't even deign to give a reply. Instead, he smiled at the crowd and said, "That is all I have to say. I can leave tomorrow if that's what you want. I'm only passing by this city. Don't drag me into your mess. I'm planning to party around in the Great Xia City and experience the beauties there."

Nobody replied. Shortly after, a Mountainsea flew over and solemnly said, "All of you need to be careful. No trace of the killer can be found. Great Xia is not responsible for your safety. If anyone else were to die after this, it will still be none of our business."

After saying that, the Mountainsea left. Su Yu also decided to leave. He gave Huang He a light kick and softly said, "Let's go. The two of us should stay together. As for the others...we don't know anything about them. We were together when the murder happened, so we can only trust each other. If you want to take this friend of yours with us, you'll be in charge of keeping an eye on him. I don't trust strangers."

He was deliberately saying that to make it clear that Huang He was his alibi. The murder had nothing to do with him. Huang He nodded. He was quite worried as well. Everyone had been fine in Nanyuan until this murder happened. He had to find a chance to leave as well. This place was starting to get dangerous.

Not even the Xia Family could find the killer. Either that was deliberate or the killer was too crafty to be found. The heir of a Sunmoon had been killed. Something major might happen here soon. Thus, he had to leave before that.

Meanwhile, Su Yu finally knew the identity of the person he killed. He wasn't too bothered about it. As for the trouble he was causing for Great Xia, he didn't care. Since Great Xia had allowed these people to intrude upon his home, they would need to bear the consequences for it.

At this point, Su Yu was no longer interested in talking things out with anyone. Nanyuan...He vowed to make this place a nightmare for all these outsiders one day.

Chapter 778: Changing After The Deed (1)

Restore scroll position

20th of May, late night. The first death of an outsider appeared in Nanyuan. The victim was the descendant of an expert. The outsiders were slightly worried, but there was only one death so they weren't really scared.

After spending some time at the crime scene, Su Yu and Huang He found a place to sleep. The locals refused to rent any rooms to them, but that didn't matter. At their cultivation level, they could sleep anywhere.

Thus, they found a spacious rooftop and stayed there. Su Yu did not forget to activate the portable ring he bought. The ring came with its own defensive ability, allowing it to be used as a place of accommodation when traveling in the wilderness.

With the defensive formation of the ring, others wouldn't be able to pry on them easily without a deep scan.

When Huang He saw the ring, he exclaimed in admiration, "Great Ming sure is filled with good stuff. Brother Lang, the rapid transit beasts of Great Ming are pretty good as well. If they have a bigger carry capacity, buying a flying one would feel great."

Su Yu smiled, "Of course. Flying naturally feels unique. Looks like you have the same fetish as well. You're truly my kindred spirit." Follow current novels on novelFirｅ.net

"..."

Huang He was left speechless. What did he say? He was absolutely not referring to what this fellow had in mind! They were thinking about completely different things! Forget it. What was the point of explaining to this fellow?

The surrounding people also noticed that they had settled down on a rooftop. This reminded them that rather than staying in dark or hidden corners, they could also find a place with a good field of view. That way, they would be able to notice approaching enemies easier.

But not everyone was willing to stay in such conspicuous places. That ring of theirs was too conspicuous. They could see it even from far away. Even with the defensive barrier, those with good eyes could still see what the people inside were doing. Not everyone was willing to sleep under such a spotlight.

Inside the ring.

Su Yu took out a bed, a small side table, and some other furniture out of his storage ring. Before long, he was done splitting the space inside the ring into three. With a smile, he said, "I'll take a rest tonight before leaving tomorrow at daybreak. Brother Huang, are you guys leaving as well?"

Liu Li, the thin youth from Great Qi said, "Are we really leaving just like this?"

They had yet to obtain anything from Nanyuan.

"What are we supposed to do here? I don't want to wait for the assassins to set their eyes on me."

With some hesitation, Liu Li said, "Zhang Heng is not necessarily dead. Perhaps he had accidentally entered the ruin?"

Su Yu blanked out and said, "That can't be the case, right?"

"Why not?" Liu Li pointed at the crime scene with his chin and said, "Look. A lot of people are still searching the area. They probably believe the same as well. They are merely staying silent about it."

Huang He hurriedly said, "You're right. That is possible. As for his storage ring, it might have been expelled by the ruin."

Only Sunmoons or Invincibles could determine accurately whether Zhang Heng was dead or not. But even that would require a drop of his blood to work. That was something real experts could do. Zhang Heng was the sole son of a Sunmoon. Even now, that Sunmoon might still be unaware of this.

Su Yu shrugged, "You are free to think what you want. As for me, I'm not staying. This shitty place is too boring."

"Should we wait a little bit longer?"

"Sure. Do whatever you want." Su Yu said, "I doubt anything else will happen tonight since everyone is on alert. Do what you want but I'll start cultivating. Don't disturb me."

"Of course."

The two said nothing. Regardless of how genius one was, one should not skip their cultivation sessions. In fact, the more of a genius one was, the more hardworking one would usually be. Even a wastrel like Cui Lang would spend his time cultivating when he was not out partying. He wouldn't have been so strong otherwise.

The three stopped talking. Occasionally, they would take a look around them. They were able to see through the defensive barrier clearly but others wouldn't be able to get a clear look at them unless they sent their willpower through the barrier.

Su Yu sat down cross-legged and started cultivating.

His Perception Jade remained active. Some of the people around them were still keeping an eye on them. Of course, these people were doing it stealthily. And an unknown Mountainsea had been observing them all the while.

Su Yu guessed that this must be the Mountainsea of Great Xia who was trying to search for the killer. After a long while, the Perception Jade finally indicated that nobody was observing him anymore.

At that point, the night sky was slowly turning bright again. Previously, when the crowd had protected themselves from his scan with their willpower, the little furball had caught onto a few familiar smells. These were the people who had entered his home without permission.

Anyone capable of entering his home openly was probably someone of considerable status. By listening to their conversations, Su Yu even found out the identities of a few of them. Some were from Mountainsea families and some were from Sunmoon families. Some were even Mountainseas. These weren't the people Su Yu could personally deal with.

Inside the ring, Su Yu's body suddenly turned slightly illusory. Since there were two Skysoars right beside him, Su Yu did not rely on his illusion. Rather, he used his ability to regrow his body. A drop of his blood dripped down undetected while slowly absorbing the heavenly source qi he provided it.

Because of the heavenly source qi, the source qi density in the ring started increasing. The other two did not think too much about it as all three of them were cultivating with source qi liquid. The source qi density of Nanyuan was too low for them so this wasn't anything unusual.

Slowly, the source qi turned thick enough to cover the entire ring in mist. A new Su Yu appeared and overlapped with the illusory Su Yu. A short while later, a drop of water noiselessly dripped out of the ring.

The brazen Su Yu had decided to take the risk and make a move right before so many people. After growing an empty body with a drop of blood to replace himself, he left the ring as a drop of water.

Both Huang He and Liu Li noticed nothing. It was as though the three were all cultivating in silence. Huang He and Liu Li felt very safe here as this place was visible to many people. Furthermore, Su Yu's ring also came with a defensive formation that was strong enough to withstand the attack of Cloudbreaches.

This formation was strong enough to even withstand the attack of a Mountainsea for a short moment.

From the rooftop, Su Yu entered the plumbing system and moved rapidly. After reaching underground, he started moving by alternating between earth and water transformations. A short while later, he arrived at a small, messy house.

It was unknown if this was an ownerless or an abandoned house. It looked somewhat shabby, but two individuals were currently staying in it. One of them was a third-stage Skysoar and the other was a ninth-stage Cloudbreach. The Cloudbreach was either a family member or a dao protector of the young Skysoar. The two were in the middle of a conversation.

"Third Granduncle, is Zhang Heng dead or has he entered the ruin?"

The youth had a doubtful expression on his face. At the same time, he also looked expectant. If Zhang Heng had really entered the ruin, the others could probably do the same as well.

The old man answered uncertainly, "It's hard to judge. Even the Zhang Family's dao protector is probably unsure. But we still need to be careful."

"Got it." The youth said, "Everyone is currently on the alert. And you're here. Even a Sunmoon won't be able to get rid of us without creating a commotion."

"You can never be too careful. If it's someone with expert concealment skills, not even I can resist them."

"I understand." The youth said, "Third Granduncle, do you think Su Yu's ruin is really in Nanyuan? Also, I think I found an opening in his house."

"Are you talking about Chen Hao?"

The youth nodded, "We found a lot of things left behind by Chen Hao in the house, such as books and other personal belongings, including the photos of the two and Chen Hao's clothes. This can only prove that he is very close to Su Yu."

The hidden Su Yu was slightly stunned. What? He had never paid too much attention to that. Hao had stayed in his place for a period of time to cultivate together. Thus, he hadn't been paying attention to the things Hao had left behind.

As for things like books, there were probably some left in his house. That fellow had visited him with some books in the past. Most of those books were left behind. But that was done intentionally as he could use the excuse that he lost those books to avoid studying when his father forced him to read.

In fact, that fellow had used that trick many times before. The two had been good friends since childhood. It was normal that they would have some photos together.

Su Yu had not put too much thought into this matter previously so he never cared about leaving all those things in his house. He had also never thought of taking everything related to his past away from the house. He would have taken the photo of him and his father away otherwise. These people had actually noticed all that. And...was he planning to target Chen Hao?

"Third Granduncle, do you think that Chen Hao knows about the ruin? I checked. Chen Hao used to be someone with ordinary aptitude. Even entering a regular academy should have been difficult for him. But he has been progressing rapidly in the Martial Dragon Academy. He's already at the Infinite Strength Realm."

The old man hesitated and said, "But students of the Martial Dragon War Academy can't be dealt with so easily."

"We naturally won't be going to the academy. But a holiday is coming soon, right? Chen Hao should be returning for the holiday, right? We can even do it in the wilderness before he can reach the city."

"Speak cautiously!"

The old man hurriedly scanned their surroundings and said, "Don't speak carelessly. We can ask him about this, but nothing else. Don't forget that we're still in Great Xia."

"I understand. Also, we might not be the only ones to have noticed this. We might be one of the earliest people to enter Su Yu's house, but the first person to sneak into that house must have noticed something as well."

Once again, Su Yu's heart shook. He had made a blunder. He had actually made a lot of preparations, such as stopping his communication with Chen Hao after arriving at the capital. Even the resources he gave Chen Hao had been given through Xia Huyou. He had been careful to avoid making any direct connection with Chen Hao.

But he had not considered the fact that after Nanyuan became the center of attention, his relationship with Chen Hao would no longer remain a secret. And the many belongings of Chen Hao left in his house only served to further support the fact that the two were close. He was only an Infinite Strength cultivator. Could he deal with these opponents?

What did Chen Hao have? Nothing! He only had a father who had entered the Infinite Strength Realm not long ago. Yes. His father had just entered that realm. At a place like Nanyuan, he could already be considered strong. But for these outsiders, he was nothing.

For these prestigious individuals, a family with only Infinite Strength warriors couldn't even be considered a proper household. The most valuable thing Chen Hao had was his identity as a student of the Martial Dragon Academy.

Chapter 779: Changing After The Deed (2)

Restore scroll position

Su Yu remained in hiding.

The sky continued turning bright.

This was a ninth-stage Cloudbreach. This would not be a weak opponent. But since Su Yu had set his eyes on them, he naturally had the confidence to deal with them. This Cloudbreach was no cultural researcher. Rather, he was a warrior.

A warrior's willpower wouldn't be too strong. With a sudden attack on this opponent's willpower, he would be able to stun him momentarily and kill him. Of course, it might create a commotion. As for the third-stage Skysoar, that was nothing. Su Yu could kill someone like that without much trouble.

"Hao..."

Su Yu muttered to himself. He couldn't allow Chen Hao to return. That fellow had to remain in the Martial Dragon Academy.

He did not have too many friends. Chen Hao would be the easiest target. He was someone without a background, sufficient strength, and talent. Someone like that would be in a lot of trouble if people found out his relationship with Su Yu.

"What a big blunder."

He should have emptied his house. Alas, when leaving, he had not imagined that he might not have the chance to return to his childhood home anymore. At the time, he was still hopeful that he would return here one day.

He wanted to keep his home how it was. That way, he might be able to return to his old life when both his father and him returned. Perhaps...that was merely an unrealistic dream. All he wanted was to see his father prepare yet another meal for him in that old apron.

But that dream had been crushed. His beautiful dream had turned into an illusion. The little bit of warmth he wished to preserve had brought Chen Hao danger instead. Since these two had set their eyes on Chen Hao, how about the others? There might be more like them. After all, these two were not the first to enter his home.

"Second Granduncle, the sky is getting bright. You should take a rest. I'll need to start my morning cultivation..."

The old man nodded in a gratified manner. What an obedient young man. No matter how busy or chaotic it was, one should never skip training. That was the strength of mind an expert should have. Without continuous progress and cultivation, how could one grow strong?

"Go. Nanyuan's source qi density is too low so use some source qi liquid."

"Yeah. I will."

The youth turned around to leave. Right at that moment, the old man frowned. Instincts were suddenly screaming at him. But the calm character displayed its prowess.

Calm down.

Everything was fine.

Next, a hammer covered by the deceit character slammed dropped onto the old man's head. Right at that moment, the old man finally felt a clear sense of crisis. It was an intense crisis. He was no cultural researcher. As a warrior, his first reaction was to release a burst of source qi eruption. But before he could do anything, the hammer struck him.

Rumble!

The noiseless hit shook the old man's sea of willpower. Due to his weak willpower, he was momentarily stunned. The little furball then shot out of the hammer and punctured the weak sea of willpower.

The terror in the old man's eyes turned blank...before being replaced by emptiness. However, his body continued moving according to its previous order and finished releasing the burst of source qi.

That was an intense eruption. But Su Yu ignored it. The youth couldn't even react before an attack shot out of his shadow and pierced through his heart. Next, the little furball stabbed through his sea of willpower.

The old man wasn't fully dead yet. Despite his destroyed sea of willpower, his body was still alive. An Invincible might be able to restore his sea of willpower. Su Yu naturally wouldn't give the old man a chance to recover.

If he allowed the old man to recover, the authorities could very well discover something related to him, such as the hammer and the little furball. The moment the youth was killed, Su Yu's yang acupoint opened slightly and released a wave of berserk energy into his body. Utilizing the berserk energy, he threw a punch.

Boom!

That was a punch with all his strength. With an eight-forged body, the strength character, and the slightly opened yang acupoint, his physical strength had surpassed five thousand acupoints.

The old man's body was instantly turned into mincemeat. His source qi swept out and covered the entire area. He could sense that some experts were rapidly moving over. He wasted no time and burned everything before vanishing into the ground.

A ninth-stage Cloudbreach had been killed. This might be an ambush and the opponent might be a warrior, but Su Yu was still greatly excited. He was no longer the nobody who had to endure everything. He finally had enough strength to deal with certain things.

Of course, he might not be able to kill a ninth-stage Cloudbreach cultural researcher so cleanly as his hammer wouldn't be as effective. But it didn't matter. He would start with warriors. Before long, he would start killing cultural researchers as well.

He did not regret killing them. He only regretted his lack of consideration that had placed Chen Hao in danger. He had to notify Chen Hao as soon as possible to not return. Yes. A holiday was coming. It was the end of May. Chen Hao might return for his holiday soon.

The instant Su Yu left, a Sunmoon arrived.

That was a Sunmoon of Great Xia. Suns and moons spun in his eyes as his source qi swept out and covered the area. Time started rewinding in the Sunmoon's eyes.

Whoosh!

He saw a hand. A hand that had destroyed the old man's body with one hit. In almost the same instant, everything vanished. The Sunmoon frowned. The explosive strength of the murderer was very strong.

A ninth-stage Cloudbreach had been killed with one hit. This Cloudbreach was no weakling. As a warrior, he almost had the strength of ten thousand acupoints. Yes, his strength was near ten thousand acupoints.

How would a powerful family employ a weak warrior? Even so, his body had been destroyed with one strike.

The Sunmoon couldn't see too much even after rewinding time. But he could feel that something wasn't right. The Cloudbreach might have already been injured before the scene he saw.

"A cultural researcher? It must be a cultural researcher. He was first stunned from willpower damage before his body was destroyed."

At this time, more and more people arrived.

Numerous bursts of willpower and source qi scanned the area. One of them hurriedly asked, "Lord, what happened?"

"Lord..."

"Silence!"

The Sunmoon scolded before ignoring them. He casually grabbed at the air, capturing a clump of warm energy in the air as he said, "Fire character. The killer has a fire character."

He coldly said, "It was a cultural researcher. The killer has the strength of a Mountainsea, not Sunmoon. The killer has powerful willpower as Wang Chen's sea of willpower was instantly destroyed. The body of this killer is probably around the same level as Wang Chen's body or slightly weaker. But I can't be sure if the killer has used all their strength..."

In short, the killer had the willpower of a Mountainsea and the body of a Cloudbreach. Naturally, Su Yu's willpower was nowhere near that level. The Sunmoon had relied on the instance when Wang Chen's willpower was crushed to make that judgment. Without the willpower at the Mountainsea Realm, it would be hard for someone to remain hidden from Wang Chen. After all, warriors were still able to resist willpower attacks with their source qi. Latest content publıshed on noᴠelfire.net

Since Wang Chen had only released his source qi right before his death, it was clear that the killer had managed to completely hide from Wang Chen. That made it very likely that the killer was a Mountainsea cultural researcher.

At the same time, the Sunmoon sent his willpower outward and spoke through voice transmission, "None of you move. Nanyuan has gone out of control. All of you better remain where you are."

The Sunmoon had an unsightly expression. He had arrived quickly, but the killer was even faster. Nevertheless, the killer had also left a lot of clues behind. A cultural researcher, Mountainsea willpower, Cloudbreach body, a fire character, and maybe an earth movement character as well.

Suddenly, the look in his eyes changed. Mountainsea willpower!

Killing Wang Chen and Zhang Heng...

Someone else reached the same conclusion as well. That person said, "Is that assassin here?"

Who? The same assassin who had killed the various Mountainseas at the Rising Sky Sea, Great Tang, and Great Shang. Was the same assassin here? Definitely!

Who else would be capable of assassinating a ninth-stage Cloudbreach undetected in the presence of a Sunmoon? Was that person here? Had that person gone mad? Was that person really in Great Xia?

Great Xia wasn't too far away from Great Shang, and that assassin had just killed a Mountainsea not long ago. Thus, it was perfectly logical for that assassin to be in Nanyuan now.

"Is that fellow here?"

Instantly, everyone present was alarmed. An assassin capable of killing Mountainseas. Or to be precise, that was an assassin that had killed multiple late-stage Mountainseas. A lot of people were searching for that assassin, but all of them had failed.

"Just who is that person?"

A lot of people already had their guesses, but nobody dared to mention the name. Who could it be? Chen Yong.

When Chen Yong was being pursued by the Six-Winged Divine Sect, everywhere he went, experts would die. But even after the defeat and the escape of the Six-Winged Divine Sect, the trail of bodies did not stop. Thus, Chen Yong was the most likely culprit.

As for the recently killed individuals in Nanyuan...what was the reason for that? Chen Yong wasn't completely unrelated to Nanyuan. Su Yu! That was his link to Nanyuan! The more some people thought, the more alarmed they were.

Not everyone had reached the same conclusion, but some of them had definitely concluded that it was Chen Yong. But was Chen Yong strong enough to do so? Had Chen Yong really arrived in Nanyuan? The Sunmoon stood silently as he continued scanning the area. As he thought about the matter, he became absent-minded.

Was it really Chen Yong? Why? Chen Yong was someone he knew personally! At that thought, he took out a voice transmission talisman and sent a direct message to Marquis Xia.

"Marquis Xia, an assassin has appeared in Nanyuan. Wang Chen and Zhang Heng have been killed. We suspect that this is the same assassin that has been killing Mountainsea military officials all over the Human Realm."

Great Xia City.

Marquis Xia blanked out. Assassination?

He looked in Nanyuan's direction and frowned gloomily. Was it Chen Yong? If he continued killing in such an unrestrained manner, something bad would happen soon. While he was thinking, he received another message.

"Marquis, a Mountainsea was just assassinated in Great Wu."

Marquis Xia was stunned. What? Was someone fishing in troubled water? He had thought that the culprit of the Nanyuan murders was Chen Yong. But another assassination had just happened in Great Wu. That prefecture was quite far away from Great Xia. No matter how strong Chen Yong was, he wouldn't be able to move between the two prefectures in such a short time.

Marquis Xia frowned. This was getting more and more complicated. Was someone trying to create even more chaos? But who would do something like this? What was the point of killing some people in Nanyuan? There was nothing in Nanyuan. There might be a ruin there, but with the Xia Family around, what could they do even if everyone in Nanyuan was killed?

Chapter 780: Changing After The Deed (3)

Restore scroll position

Marquis Xia was getting more and more confused. He sent a reply to the Nanyuan Sunmoon, "It's not the same person. A Mountainsea was just killed in Great Wu. Investigate this properly. Did you notice anything from the deaths in Nanyuan?"

"The assassin is probably still in the city. The formation I laid around the city is still intact."

"Did they discover anything before they were killed? What is the similarity between the victims? Are there any other clues?"

"Similarity?" After thinking for a long time, the Sunmoon replied, "The only similarity is the fact that they're all here for the ruin. I don't know anything else. Maybe they really found something we're not aware of. After all, they all went to Su Yu's house before. I don't know if they managed to find anything there."

Inside the prefect's residence. Marquis Xia was rapping on his desk as he contemplated. They were all there for the ruin. And they had all visited Su Yu's house before. His eyes flickered. Su Yu's house.

After a long while, he sighed and said, "Stop your investigation. Withdraw your people from Nanyuan. Tell them that the Xia Family will no longer get involved. Tell those outsiders that apart from disturbing the locals, they are free to do what they want. Remove the blockade."

"Marquis!"

"Just do it."

Marquis Xia ended the conversation. He reclined against the chair and sneered. Who was the culprit? Was it someone Su Yu sent? He wasn't sure. That was only a guess. But so what? Why should he care about those dead outsiders? Since they were so interested in the ruin, he would let them search to their hearts' content.

Nanyuan.

The Sunmoon frowned. Withdrawing? Was that appropriate?

Despite his hesitation, he still followed the order. After looking around him, he coldly said, "I spoke to the marquis. According to the marquis, since all of you have made the decision to come yourself, the Xia Family is not responsible for your safety. Since we can't find the killer, we won't waste more effort on it. Everyone, deal with it yourself."

After saying that, he soared into the sky and vanished. His voice rang out, "Martial Dragon Guards will be withdrawing from Nanyuan. Nobody is allowed to damage any property or harm any locals in Nanyuan. Any damage done will require compensation a hundred times the value. Apart from that, all of you are free to do what you want."

With that, the Martial Dragon Guards began their withdrawal from the city. All the outsiders looked at each other in dismay. The Xia Family was going to ignore this? Damn it! A ninth-stage Cloudbreach had just been killed! Why was the Xia Family ignoring this?

If the Xia Family was ignoring this, what should they do? Just what was the killer planning?

On the rooftop, Su Yu walked out of the ring and frowned, "Is the Xia Family withdrawing? How can they be so irresponsible? This will be too dangerous for us. Since the sun is out, I'll be taking my leave as well. Are you guys leaving?"

Huang He also looked shaken as he said, "Holy shit! The Xia Family is really withdrawing? But...the murders were committed within their territory..."

Su Yu rolled his eyes, "Nobody from the Xia Family has been killed. They're all outsiders. Do you think the Xia Family is really happy that so many outsiders are here to look for the ruin? We should be celebrating the fact that they're not the ones doing something against us. Now that someone else is venting this anger for them, it is natural that they won't care. If I'm in their position, I'll do the same as well. I don't know how many more people will die after this."

Huang He nodded helplessly, "True. The Xia Family is already being very nice by not doing anything to us. They won't care if outsiders like us die. It's time for us to leave. This is too scary. That was a ninth-stage Cloudbreach. Someone like that was killed so easily!

"The killer won't be weaker than the Mountainsea Realm. And it is even possible that the killer is a Sunmoon. It is not surprising that the Xia Family isn't bothered to fight an opponent like that for our sake. They are basically giving the killer the green light to keep killing."

Huang He gloomily decided to run as well. Nobody knew who would die next. Someone capable of instantly killing a ninth-stage Cloudbreach was actually hiding in a tiny city like Nanyuan. This was too scary. Su Yu directly put his portable ring away.

Looking at the panicking people around the building, he yelled, "Is anyone interested in going to Great Xia City with us? We're going to the capital. The journey might be dangerous. I'm scared of death. Is there any brother out there with a late-stage Mountainsea dao protector interested in traveling with me? I am willing to give you a profound-grade cultural weapon for your trouble."

Su Yu shouted loudly, "Profound-grade cultural weapons are very expensive!"

One of the people there asked, "Brother Cui...is it going to be a cultural weapon you forge yourself?"

For these people, a profound-grade cultural weapon wasn't anything rare. But a lot of people knew that Cui Lang was a weaponsmith. Thus, they were curious.

Su Yu said, "Of course. Why should a weaponsmith like me buy a weapon instead of forging one myself?"

That attracted the attention of many Mountainseas. Profound-grade weaponsmith! Sure, he wasn't as impressive as earth-grade weaponsmiths, but even in the entirety of Great Xia, there was only one earth-grade weaponsmith. Thus, one could say that profound-grade weaponsmiths were the mainstay of the weaponsmithing field.

A Mountainsea asked in surprise, "Cui Lang, did you advance into a profound weaponsmith?"

"What a stupid question." A profound weaponsmith enjoyed a considerably high status, so there was no need for him to hold back. He rolled his eyes and said, "Why should I lie? Any late-stage Mountainseas willing to provide us with protection? I will pay for your service with profound cultural weapons. Of course, it will only be early profound-grade cultural weapons. I can't forge anything better than that."

A profound-grade cultural weapon wasn't much, so a Mountainsea countered the offer, "I can escort you, but as payment, you need to serve as a retainer of my family for a few years. What do you think?"

Su Yu rolled his eyes and said, "Are you dreaming? Great Ming tried to make me stay as an intermediate researcher and I rejected that offer. Becoming your retainer? Dream on. If you're not interested, so be it. I'm going to leave either way. You guys can keep staying here if you want. This shitty place is getting more and more dangerous. If you're below the Mountainsea Realm, you better watch your back as you can die at any moment. You won't even get the chance to call for help."

Some of the people there were regretful to hear that. This was a profound weaponsmith! But they had no way of recruiting him. Truly worthy of being a wastrel capable of seducing the granddaughter of a ninth-stage Sunmoon.

If that Sunmoon from Great Tang found out that this fellow had become a profound weaponsmith, he would probably stop objecting to the relationship between this fellow and his granddaughter. After all, this kid was still so young. He had more than enough time to become an earth-grade weaponsmith in his lifetime.

Like Great Xia, Great Tang only had a single earth-grade weaponsmith. Thus, Cui Lang would be greatly treasured there. Someone like that would enjoy the status of a Sunmoon.

Su Yu asked, "Anyone? Is nobody interested in going to Great Xia City? Elder Hong is going to open the Multiple Character Faculty, right? The myriad race students are coming soon, right? Is nobody interested to go there and enjoy the spectacle? Come on, let's go together."

"Are you guys still dreaming about the ruin? If the ruin can be found so easily, Invincibles would be here long ago. There wouldn't be anything left for you."

Su Yu continued shouting, "I'm leaving. This place is too dangerous. Is anyone coming?"

Someone laughed and said, "Brother Cui, let's travel together."

Su Yu looked over and smiled, "So it's Brother Zhou. Sure. With holy land students and holy land Mountainsea protectors, our journey will be perfectly safe. Hahaha!"

Su Yu soared into the sky. Huang He and his friend hurriedly followed behind Su Yu.

Su Yu landed in front of Zhou Hongbo and said, "Brother Zhou, you are truly a good guy. I'll be troubling you guys for a bit. If you need it, I can forge a custom weapon for you. But I doubt you lack something like a profound cultural weapon..."

Zhou Hongbo smiled, "Nobody will complain about having too many profound cultural weapons. Let me thank you in advance, Brother Cui. Also, congratulations for becoming a profound weaponsmith. You are truly incredible. There are no more than fifty earth weaponsmiths in the entire Human Realm. As for profound weaponsmiths, there are probably around a thousand of them. Split between so many prefectures, there aren't that many of you in each prefecture. It is truly incredible that you can reach this level at your age."

Yes. There were only about a thousand profound weaponsmiths among humanity. Split among the various prefectures, there were only around thirty per prefecture. In terms of rarity, they were rarer than Mountainseas.

Su Yu smiled, "It's nothing special. Great Xia doesn't have that many weaponsmiths, but there are a lot of us in Great Ming. I know at least fifty of them. There are probably more unknown weaponsmiths in hiding. We're nothing in Great Ming. And I'm only at the early stage. We have at least two living earth weaponsmiths in the Great Ming Cultural Research Academy. I don't know if there are more, though."

"Great Ming's weaponsmithing faction is indeed amazing." ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ꜰʀᴏᴍ novel_fіre.net

Zhou Hongbo nodded. The Mountainsea behind him had been very indifferent to Su Yu during their previous meeting. But now, he smiled, "Young Friend Cui is indeed an incredible talent in this path. If you're interested, I can help you join the Knowledge Seeking Academy as an intermediate researcher."

Beside him, the woman from the War Shrine Academy said, "If you're interested, I can also help you join the War Shrine Academy."

A thirty-year-old profound weaponsmith was basically someone with a bright future. Huang He and Liu Li could only look on with envy. Damn it. A genius would indeed be subjected to special treament everywhere. The elders of the two holy land academies were personally recruiting him. How admirable.

But Su Yu did not show any interest. "I'll think about it. Thanks for the offer. Unfortunately, I'm used to a life without discipline. Rather than going to the holy land and working hard there, I would rather accept that grandpa in Great Tang..."

"..."

They could only shut their mouths helplessly.

Su Yu smiled, "Are you not going to continue your search in Nanyuan? This place is dangerous for the others, but that might not be the case for those from the two holy lands. Who would dare to lay their hands on you guys? Are they courting death?"

Zhou Hongbo shook his head, "No. If we stay, things might really get dangerous for us."

He turned to look in the direction of Su Yu's home and softly said, "We need to leave as soon as possible. Some people are probably not happy to see us here. I only wonder if that person is here himself. Or maybe only his agents are here..."

They had been wondering who the culprit was. And Su Yu was one of the biggest suspects. After all, they were all here for his ruin. But was Su Yu influential enough to send an expert assassin over?

Perhaps it was Great Ming. Would Great Ming really go that far for Su Yu? Would they even start killing outside their prefecture for him? It would be fine if it happened within their territory. But doing it outside their borders would cause them some trouble upon exposure. Since Cui Lang was also a member of Great Ming, they didn't feel like telling him their guesses.

Su Yu smiled, "In that case, I won't say anything else. I'll be leaving for sure. Who knows if more will die after this? I am definitely not interested in getting dragged into this mess."

He smiled and looked at the others, wondering if they would leave. If they remained stubborn, he would find a chance to kill all of them. In truth, a lot of people were already thinking of leaving.

Since the Xia Family was withdrawing, this place would become a lot more dangerous. Before long, a few more people offered to travel with Su Yu. There were too few experts in Nanyuan. But things would be different in the capital. Could Great Xia afford to let the capital sink into chaos?

Furthermore, a lot of outside Sunmoons had arrived in the capital as of late. Thus, they would be much safer there. Before long, around eighteen geniuses and their dao protectors were gathered. They were going to leave together.

Chapter 781: Sinner (1)

A murderous atmosphere covered Nanyuan.

Great Wu.

Chen Yong and Feng Ji had just killed a Mountainsea. They were currently busy running for their lives.

Feng Ji kept coughing blood when Chen Yong was dragging him along as he fled. Despite the miserable state they were in, he had a joyful smile on his face. One could even say that he looked deranged.

"Feng Ji, are you going to die on me?"

"I don't think so."

Chen Yong instantly burned every mouthful of blood Feng Ji spat out. He said, "We have probably exposed ourselves. We won't be able to keep running for long. That fellow sure is patient. I don't know if he will show up even if we kill all these people."

Feng Ji was also smiling despite his deathly pale complexion. He said nothing.

"Reveal yourself and return to Great Xia..."

"What about you?"

"Me?" Chen Yong grinned, "Someone needs to take responsibility for all this. Old Feng, I don't think I can return any more. From the moment I left Great Xia, I knew I wouldn't be returning. If I return, I will be the prime suspect. People will start suppressing me. Everyone will be monitoring my every action."

He had decided to not return. Logically, he should have stopped right after the Six-Winged Divine Sect stopped hunting them. But he had continued. The moment that choice was made, he could no longer return. At this point, more and more people were suspecting him.

One of the experts pursuing them shouted, "Are you Chen Yong and Feng Ji? Stop! Surrender and your life might be spared!"

The pursuers were shouting Chen Yong's name, but they weren't too sure. Nevertheless, Chen Yong and Feng Ji were indeed the prime suspects. If the two had stopped and revealed themselves after the Six-Winged Divine Sect fled, there wouldn't be too much suspicion on them. But since they had continued, the suspicion on them had been growing.

Chen Yong grinned and said, "Are you seeing this? I was unable to stay patient. After so many years of patience, I finally lost control."

He had completely let himself loose. Even after the departure of the Six-Winged Divine Sect, he was still unwilling to stop. He had seen this day coming. Feng Ji said nothing.

Chen Yong continued, "I'll take all the blame. Don't say anything. You're too weak. In fact, you have been dragging me down. I would be able to enjoy this more without you here. Go to Great Xia and look for my teacher. He will protect you."

"You—"

"Listen to me!"

His clear eyes were tinged with a slight red of madness as he said, "I can't return anymore. Nor do I want to return. Rules are nothing but limitations and cages for the just, the weak, and the victims. I don't want to return to this cage. I don't need the protection of these rules. I'll leave my fate to the heavens. The day I walked out of Great Xia, I decided to let go of everything.

"I'm going to keep at it. I need to avenge our old brothers. I also need to avenge Jia's parents. Back then, they died miserably to save me. The two animals from the Six-Winged Divine Sect are still alive. If I return, I'll be under observation. The moment they find proof of wrongdoing, they will want to kill me and there won't be anything I can do about it. Rather than subjecting my fate in the hands of others, I might as well do everything I can myself.

"Take care of Jia for me. My teacher, my junior brother, my martial uncle, and I, including my grandteacher, are all nothing but chess pieces. Heh."

Chen Yong sneered, "None of them have expected insignificant individuals like us to actually fight back even when things are so bad. They want to keep suppressing us for a few decades and buy more time for them. At that point, we will all be reduced to cripples while the myriad races will no longer be wary of us..."

He talked about all sorts of topics, some seemingly completely unrelated to each other. But Feng Ji understood what he was saying. Grief welled in his heart.

"That might be the case for you guys. But is that the case for the fifth principal as well?"

The fifth principal had nearly succeeded. Was someone like that a chess piece as well?

Chen Yong laughed, "There are things that you won't even be able to imagine. Perhaps those people were the ones who had schemed my grandteacher to death. I don't know the exact details yet, but I will continue my investigation. As long as I'm still alive, I won't stop. Who knows what the truth is about my grandteacher? There is only one thing nobody can deny. My teacher and martial uncle have always been the chess pieces used to attract all attention. All the official multiple character faction members are nothing but cannon fodder. Feng Ji, this is a massive game of chess..."

A look of despair could be seen in his eyes as he said, "It's so big that we're nothing but cannon fodder that can be thrown away at any time. And for most people, there is nothing wrong with that. The people who have been scheming against us are in the right. In this game of chess, we are the villains. I am not willing to accept this. I can't accept this. We are also working hard for humanity. Why must they treat us this way? My martial uncle and teacher are probably aware of all this. They have decided to stay silent. But I don't want to do that. I've been silent for too long. Jia's injuries and Su Yu's departure told me that I couldn't stay silent anymore."

Feng Ji wanted to say something, but Chen Yong cut him off, "Stop talking. It's time for you to leave. Return and tell everyone that I did everything. You were merely taken hostage by me and forced to work alongside me."

"Big Brother Chen!" Updates are released by novel fire.net

"No matter what, you're a Mountainsea. I guess it's a good thing you're not a part of the multiple character faction. Take care of Jia for me. My teacher is quite unreliable. He will do something crazy sooner or later. That's the case for my junior brother as well. Our entire line...all of us are nothing but sacrificial lambs."

With a bleak smile, he said, "Jia has yet to take part in all this. That is fine. Get her to distance herself from everything. Su Yu has been involving himself too much so he might not be able to avoid this anymore. It is up to him what he wants to do next."

At that point, he released the strength in his blood essence and moved even faster than before. In the blink of an eye, they vanished into thin air.

After some time, they arrived on a mountain. Chen Yong placed Feng Ji on the ground and smiled, "Brother, do me this last favor. Take care of Jia. I have no other request. After today, Chen Yong will stop being Chen Yong."

After saying that, he struck Feng Ji with a palm attack, causing Feng Ji's injuries to worsen.

Chen Yong crouched down, faced Feng Ji who was sprawled on the ground, and said, "I need to tamper with your memories. It might be better for you to forget all that we have done. You only need to remember that you have to take care of Jia for me. It has been hard for you these years."

Feng Ji pleaded, "Can I preserve my memories? Brother, I don't want to live a clueless life like that!"

"Forget about that. We don't want any Invincibles to see through your memories and act against you instead."

Then, Chen Yong knocked Feng Ji unconscious before extracting some blood essence from Feng Ji. During the process, Feng Ji's body started withering away. Drop after drop of blood essence was extracted. Then, Chen Yong started working on the memory fragments. Beads of sweat formed on his head as he worked.

After about an hour, he inserted the blood essence into Feng Ji's body again. With that, Feng Ji started recovering. Chen Yong smiled and further helped with the recovery. When he saw that Feng Ji was on the verge of waking up, he launched an attack on a nearby mountain. The attack was loud, creating a massive ruckus.

And when Feng Ji's eyelids started trembling, Chen Yong vanished with a flicker. A short moment later, several Mountainseas and a Sunmoon arrived. They saw the unconscious Feng Ji. At the same moment, Feng Ji opened his eyes. He looked at them with a blank look in his eyes.

"Feng Ji?"

After coughing a mouthful of blood, Feng Ji asked, "Who...who are you?"

"Are you Feng Ji?" The Sunmoon cautiously asked, "Why are you here?"

"Me?"

Feng Ji's head was hurting badly. He seemed to be recalling something, but he also seemed to have forgotten something. He remained in silence for a long while.

The Sunmoon coldly said, "Speak! Why are you here?"

Feng Ji said nothing. His memories were in a mess. He only remembered that Chen Yong was heading somewhere with him one day when Chen Yong suddenly wanted to kill someone. He tried to stop Chen Yong, but he was knocked out. His memories became a mess after that.

Why? That wasn't right. Why did he try to stop his Big Brother Chen? But that was what he remembered. Big Brother Chen wanted to kill a commander at the Rising Sky Sea. He also remembered seeing his Big Brother Chen killing a few other individuals.

"Brother, take care of Jia for me. I don't care about anything else."

This was the clearest memory in his mind. Everything else was unclear. It was as though he had been sleepwalking until now. The Mountainseas looked at the Sunmoon, awaiting his decision. The Sunmoon from Great Wu frowned. Great Wu had a good relationship with Great Xia. And Feng Ji came from Great Xia. Thus, he also didn't know how to handle this. Were Feng Ji and Chen Yong really the murderers?

"Feng Ji, I'm asking you a question."

Feng Ji looked up, clenched his teeth, and said, "What do you want? I killed someone. What else do you want me to say?"

"Hmm?"

The Sunmoon frowned as suns and moons spun in his eyes. Feng Ji seemed way too ready to take the blame for this.

"Where's Chen Yong?"

"How am I supposed to know? It has been years since I last saw him."

"Bullshit!"

The Sunmoon berated and frowned. This was getting troublesome. Feng Ji had confessed to being the murderer while Chen Yong had disappeared. What was going on? These murders had long attracted the attention of experts. These experts referred to Invincibles, not mere Sunmoons like him.

After all, killing several Mountainsea commanders in a row was a major incident. The Sunmoon himself had not expected himself to succeed at catching anyone. But for some reason, Feng Ji had fallen into his hands.

"Feng Ji, you better speak honestly. Otherwise...this incident has attracted the attention of some Invincibles. Even if you refuse to speak the truth, the Invincibles will have the means to read your heart, examine your memories, and check your past."

Then, he ordered, "Arrest him! I'll report this to the two holy lands, the various prefectures, and the armies of the three seas."

This involved more than a single prefecture. And Feng Ji himself was a genius human Mountainsea. After the death of Great Wu King, Great Wu's strength had deteriorated. They had been relying on Great Xia as their backer, but Great Xia had been in chaos recently. Thus, they had no choice but to report this to the two holy lands.

But prior to that, it would still be a good idea to inform Great Xia of this capture. It wasn't a good thing for Great Wu to be the one to capture Feng Ji. Alas, that had happened out of nowhere. Before long, the Mountainseas flew away with Feng Ji in hand. The Sunmoon continued to scan the area with a frown before vanishing into thin air.

After an indeterminate amount of time, the Sunmoon reappeared. He muttered, "Chen Yong, did you leave Feng Ji behind to clear his name of the crimes? I don't know what you're thinking. Do you have the means to hide the truth from Invincibles? Or is Feng Ji really innocent? It doesn't matter. I will act according to your wishes. He will be sent to Invincibles. Great Wu and Great Xia have maintained a good relationship for hundreds of years. I don't want to see anything bad happen as well..."

There was no reply. The Sunmoon sighed before vanishing again. This time, he did not reappear. After a while, someone started moving through the ground under the mountain and departed the area. This person was using the ability of the mountaindrill bull race.

Water escape, shadow escape, earth escape, and fire escape.

Not even Su Yu had expected this to happen.

The shadow was capable of escaping through shadows.

The water elemental was capable of escaping through water.

The mountaindrill bull was capable of escaping through ground.

The fire crow was capable of escaping through fire.

The white civet was capable of escaping through wind.

As for the suanni, his main element was the metal element. And that element specialized in killing. He thus lacked an escape ability.

Chen Yong was an incredibly knowledgeable person. He had been preparing for this many years ago. He was an astonishing genius. He had been able to enter the Mountainsea Realm many years ago. At the time, Hong Tan even started thinking of reviving the multiple character faction through Chen Yong, his incredible first student. But Chen Yong had remained a Cloudbreach for so many years. As a result, many people had started to forget how much of a genius he was.

***

Feng Ji had been captured. He had confessed to being the culprit behind the murders.

This piece of news started spreading among the circle of Sunmoons and Invincibles. Great Han King who was in charge of guarding the Human Realm and Silk Destroying King who had just returned from the Allheaven Battlefield with Great Song King were all notified of this.

This was an important matter. Five Mountainsea commanders had been killed, with three of them being high-stage Mountainseas. The remaining two were middle-stage Mountainseas. These were all the elites of their respective prefecture.

The captured culprit was a human genius who had faked his death many years ago. This matter might also involve Chen Yong, a recently promoted elder. He was the student of a Sunmoon and the grandstudent of the fifth principal.

This matter was creating waves among the upper echelons of humanity. It had been decided that Feng Ji would be publicly trialed.

Not long after, Feng Ji was taken by someone from Great Xia. General Zhao was in charge of escorting Feng Ji back. During the journey, Feng Ji never stopped confessing to being the murder.

As for how all the murders were performed, he said nothing. But it was clear he wasn't strong enough to kill all those experts. He also claimed that he had not seen Chen Yong at all.

As for why he fainted on the mountain, he claimed that the last Mountainsea he killed had injured him too heavily, resulting in him losing consciousness on the mountain. What was the reason for the murders? He claimed that it was due to a personal grudge.