Xu Qing gazed into the distance. The Ye Family Mansion was far from Red Leaf Street, on the other side of Qingbei Town's Outer City. From his vantage point atop Qianbao Tower, he could only make out a few blurry shapes.
ROAR! ROAR! ROAR!!!
Xu Qing could hear the ceaseless roars of Corpse Ghosts, Corpse Monsters, and Zombies echoing from all directions, mingled with the terrified screams of the Outer City's residents.
Of course.
Within the city.
The major gangs, Martial Arts Halls, constables, and Demon Exterminators had all sprung into action. Though the disaster had struck without warning, it was gradually being brought under control.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!!!
A series of explosions erupted from the Ye Family Mansion. Although Xu Qing couldn't see the specifics, he could guess that a terrifying battle was taking place.
At the same time,
Xu Qing had no idea how the battle would end. He couldn't get involved—with his current strength, he was utterly unqualified to participate in such a fight.
Moreover,
if he even got close, he would likely be injured by the shockwaves of the battle alone.
「The scene shifted.」
「Inside the Ye Family Mansion.」
"Innate Gang Qi."
BOOM!
The view zoomed in.
There,
Bu Wuyun, the Supreme Commander of the Demon Extermination Agency, had an icy look in his eyes. With a low shout, he shot into the air, an incredibly terrifying Gang Qi erupting from his body.
"Die!"
BANG!
A huge crash.
Bu Wuyun thrust both hands forward. His Innate Gang Qi condensed, forming a massive black Palm Seal that descended like the Tathagata Divine Palm from the heavens, ready to annihilate its target.
"AHHH!!!"
A bloodcurdling scream rang out.
PTHOO!
Blood splattered everywhere.
By this point in the battle,
Bu Wuyun, Supreme Commander of the Demon Extermination Agency, and Wei Wohu, Supreme Commander of the Governmental Agency, had joined forces to suppress Fan Liang and the Blood Demon Desire Woman. The latter had even gone so far as to refine a terrifying Golden Armor Corpse King.
Fan Liang and the Blood Demon Desire Woman had been full of confidence, for they had refined the Golden Armor Corpse King. In terms of the Martial Dao, the Corpse King's power was incredibly fearsome, second only to the 'Immortal' realm. Only a Martial Artist at the 'Innate Gang Qi' level could hope to defeat it.
But as it turned out,
Fan Liang and the Blood Demon Desire Woman had never imagined that Bu Wuyun would have already broken through to the 'Innate Gang Qi' level. And not just him—even Wei Wohu had reached the 'Innate Gang Qi' realm.
Naturally,
Fan Liang and the Blood Demon Desire Woman found themselves being pushed back, step by step.
"Cough, cough..."
Fan Liang coughed up blood as he crawled out from a pile of rubble. Bu Wuyun's last palm strike had injured him severely, causing him to vomit blood and plummet from the sky, crashing through one of the Ye Mansion's buildings.
"How can this be?!"
A look of despair crossed the Blood Demon Desire Woman's face.
"Heh heh."
Wei Wohu sneered, looking down on them. "Just a bunch of pathetic clowns. Did you really think I didn't know what you were up to?"
"How utterly laughable."
"Today, you will both die here."
"Innate Gang Qi."
BOOM!
Wei Wohu let out a long cry. "Vajra Stele Hand!"
CRACK!
Wei Wohu brought a palm down as well. His vast Innate Gang Qi condensed into an enormous golden Palm Seal, resembling a massive stone stele as it descended to crush the Blood Demon Desire Woman.
"Explode!"
BOOM!
At the critical moment,
Fan Liang roared, his hands flashing through seals to form a series of blood-red Dharma Seals that shot towards the Golden Armor Corpse King. The Corpse King howled incessantly as the seals sank into it.
!!!
The Blood Demon Desire Woman's beautiful eyes widened in shock.
"Junior Sister! Run!!!"
Fan Liang roared, turning to her.
"S-Senior Brother..."
The Blood Demon Desire Woman froze for a moment.
Evidently,
the Blood Demon Desire Woman had never expected Fan Liang to have a hidden trump card like this. When refining the Golden Armor Corpse King, Fan Liang had secretly carved a self-destructing Magic Talisman into its body.
!!!
Wei Wohu's and Bu Wuyun's pupils contracted.
"Look out!"
SWOOSH!
The two of them retreated rapidly.
KABOOM!
An earth-shattering explosion.
Every resident of the Outer City heard it. From his lookout on Qianbao Tower, Xu Qing saw a terrifying explosion bloom against the night sky, faintly resembling a mushroom cloud.
Terrifying.
Absolutely terrifying.
The sheer power of it left Xu Qing in shock. It was unbelievable, comparable to a missile from modern-day technology.
The Mighty Power of the Golden Armor Corpse King's self-destruction was no small matter. Only a Martial Artist at the 'Immortal' level could possibly withstand such a blast head-on.
SWISH! SWISH!
Finally,
when the dust settled,
Bu Wuyun and Wei Wohu stared grimly at the Ye Family Mansion, which had been reduced to absolute ruins. As far as the eye could see, every building had collapsed into rubble and wreckage.
Meanwhile,
the Blood Demon Desire Woman was nowhere to be found.
She had escaped.
However,
Fan Liang was still here. His purpose in staying behind was simple: to hold back Bu Wuyun and Wei Wohu so the Blood Demon Desire Woman could escape.
"Fan Liang."
Wei Wohu snapped, "You're courting death."
"Hahaha..."
But Fan Liang just threw his head back and laughed. He had already slit his wrists, and his gushing blood traced a series of crimson sigils in the air before imprinting themselves onto his body.
"Blood Demon Technique!"
Fan Liang roared as the blood-qi around him boiled. A crimson phantom materialized behind him and fused with his body.
"Come on."
Glowering at Wei Wohu and Bu Wuyun, Fan Liang bellowed, "If you've got the guts, you can step over my dead body."
"Kill him!"
"Stubborn fool."
BOOM! BOOM!
Wei Wohu and Bu Wuyun exchanged a glance and charged forward. A great battle erupted. Fan Liang had overdrawn his life force, sacrificing his Lifespan to gain the Power to contend with Innate Gang Qi.
However,
this was, in the end, only borrowed Power.
And so,
PTHOO!
Blood splattered.
Fan Liang's body finally exploded in mid-air, bursting like a crimson firework—brilliant, and yet incredibly bloody.
"Haaaah..."
Wei Wohu took a deep breath, his expression grim as he surveyed the devastated battlefield. It was now impossible to track the Blood Demon Desire Woman.
"She got away,"
Bu Wuyun said.
"Yes."
Wei Wohu nodded. "This is a bit troublesome. We didn't catch the mastermind, and all this chaos has erupted. I'm afraid we won't get much credit for this."
「Time flew by.」
「The next day.」
「Morning.」
A night had passed. The turmoil in the Outer City had been completely suppressed, and ninety-nine percent of the Corpse Ghosts, Corpse Monsters, and Zombies had been eliminated.
"Haaaah..."
Xu Qing took a deep breath. He had returned to his residence, removed the Evil Ghost Mask, and now walked out of his room, steeling himself before heading to the Cangying Martial Arts Hall.
In fact,
Xu Qing had also fought for nearly the entire night.
First,
after dealing with the Zombies at Qianbao Tower, Xu Qing had gone to other streets and eliminated numerous Corpse Ghosts, Corpse Monsters, and Zombies there.
In addition,
because he had killed so many Zombies the night before and revealed himself to many people, he had demonstrated formidable strength and superb Swordsmanship.
As a result,
the reputation of the Swordsmanship master known by the alias 'Lv Dongbin' gradually began to spread throughout the Outer City.
Furthermore,
the turmoil in the Outer City had already been suppressed by the latter half of the night. Although casualties were heavy, the vast majority of the dead were ordinary residents of the Outer City.
However,
to Qingbei Town's elite, ordinary folk were the most expendable. No matter how many of them died, the town's high and mighty figures wouldn't react much.
「Cangying Martial Arts Hall.」
"Last night was absolutely terrifying!"
"Yeah, it really was!"
"So many Corpse Ghosts."
"It was petrifying!"
"..."
In the Martial Arts Hall's Outer Courtyard.
A sizable number of Outer Courtyard Students had gathered. Xu Qing could hear them chattering, obviously discussing the events of the previous night.
"Senior Brother Xu."
"Senior Brother Xu, are you alright?"
"It's so good to see you're safe."
"..."
The Outer Courtyard Students all came forward to greet him.
"Mm."
Xu Qing gave a slight nod.
「The Martial Arts Hall's Inner Courtyard.」
Xu Qing glanced around and saw several Official Disciples of the Cangying Martial Arts Hall. Upon seeing him, they simply nodded in greeting.
"Haaaah..."
Xu Qing took a deep breath and headed straight for the main hall.
"Xu Qing."
However,
on the way, Xu Qing ran into his Eldest Senior Brother, Huo Yi, whom he hadn't seen in a long time.
"Eldest Senior Brother."
Xu Qing looked up, a surprised expression on his face as he saw Huo Yi. He clasped his fists in a salute and said, "Where have you been all this time? It's been a while."
"I was taking care of some things."
Huo Yi smiled and looked Xu Qing up and down. "I didn't expect you to become an Official Disciple of the Cangying Martial Arts Hall while I was away."
"Moreover,"
"Master even told me to give you some pointers when I had the chance. It's clear he thinks highly of you. Your Talent in Martial Arts must be quite good."
"I can't compare to you, Eldest Senior Brother,"
Xu Qing said.
As the two of them spoke,
they arrived at the main hall.
At that moment,
inside the main hall,
Xu Qing saw Du Cangying, Du Luan, and the other True Disciples of the Cangying Martial Arts Hall. He had never seen them before, but today, he was seeing them all.
"Huo Yi, you're here."
Du Cangying raised his head.
"Master."
Huo Yi bowed.
"Eldest Senior Brother."
Du Luan waved.
"Eldest Senior Brother..."
"..."
The others greeted him as well.
Then,
everyone's gazes turned to Xu Qing.
"Xu Qing, what are you doing here?"
Du Luan asked.
"Second Senior Sister, I wanted to ask Master about what happened last night,"
Xu Qing answered honestly.
In truth,
all six True Disciples of the Cangying Martial Arts Hall had been gathered here by Du Cangying, primarily to discuss the events of the previous night.
"Mm."
Du Cangying nodded, glanced at Xu Qing, and said, "Just stand off to the side."
"Yes."
Xu Qing nodded respectfully.
However,
Du Cangying's words stunned the True Disciples present. They hadn't expected him to allow Xu Qing to remain here.
After all,
everyone present was a True Disciple of the Cangying Martial Arts Hall—the true core of the institution.
Because of this,
the True Disciples all began to size up Xu Qing.
Evidently,
judging by Du Cangying's attitude, it wouldn't be long before this Junior Brother Xu Qing became the seventh True Inheritor of their Cangying Martial Arts Hall.