While Feng Wuqing was telling Shuidong Liu about Huang Wenlong, back in the Xiao Mansion, Xiao Yue’Er’s maid, Xiaoyu, had a frosty look on her face.
“What audacity!
To dare try and kill the Xiao Mansion’s son-in-law!”
“Miss, I’ll go protect the son-in-law…”
But Xiao Yue’Er shook her head.
“They are unaware of his capabilities, but you’re not, are you?”
The maid, Xiaoyu, thought for a moment.
When she had first met Shuidong Liu, he had indeed seemed like an ordinary person.
But now, he had turned the tables and killed five people.
Moreover, his powers of observation were so keen that he could see through things at a glance that even Feng Wuqing had missed.
‘How could he possibly be an ordinary person?’
“Since he wants to lure the snake from its hole, then let them have a taste of what he’s capable of!”
As Xiao Yue’Er spoke, her gaze turned as cold and sharp as a blade.
“Where is Second Brother?”
“The Second Young Master heard that Master Huang gave the son-in-law a piece of Luminous Jade.
He said he was going to get a few more pieces to give him!”
Only then did Xiao Yue’Er crack a smile.
“He wouldn’t ask me for them…
Oh well, let him be…”
Her smile had barely formed when the sound of hurried footsteps arrived.
A maid entered, her head bowed.
“Second Miss, rumors are spreading throughout Celestial Fragrance City.”
“What are they saying?”
「In Celestial Fragrance City, the sky gradually darkened.」
“Shuidong Liu is the son of the Champion Marquis!
That man’s whole family was executed for treason, but to think they didn’t get them all!”
“How did a good-for-nothing who’s been in the mines since he was seven manage to fool the Second Miss?
We have to let her know he’s a menace and should be killed!”
“I heard he’s sleeping with a Musician.
Now he’s trying to fool the Second Miss, probably so he can use the Xiao Family’s power to rebel!
The Xiao Family has stood for six hundred years; we can’t let him drag us down with him!”
“This brat is too vicious, he must die!”
Feng Wuqing heard the chatter from the crowd as soon as he reached the door.
Some people were staring at the house, their gazes cold and sinister.
“Son-in-law…”
“What happened at Fugui Building was no secret.
Let them talk!”
“How can we let them slander you?” Feng Wuqing said, annoyed.
“I’ll call in some men to drive them away!”
“Are you going to stop every mouth from talking?”
“But…”
“No need.
Eat.
Sleep!”
Ever since he was seven, Shuidong Liu had never had a peaceful night’s sleep.
At first, he had tried to escape, still bound in chains and shackles.
But each attempt ended with him being whipped until he was covered in blood, his body convulsing in agony.
It had been more than ten years.
‘Sleep?’
All he did was swing a great hammer or haul stones.
‘I thought things would finally be peaceful after I got out, but now…
things are even more chaotic.’
The most urgent task was to increase his strength.
He had no time to waste.
He ate a quick meal, shut out the noise from outside, ignored Feng Wuqing’s nagging, and closed the door to begin cultivating the Profound Yellow Undying Body.
He was only at the Minor Achievement stage of the First Level Jade Bone, but he could already feel its extraordinariness.
It should be known that most Cultivation Techniques in the world were not even considered ranked.
But for those that were, they were divided into Mortal, Human, Earth, and Celestial Levels.
It was said that even higher-level Cultivation Techniques existed beyond that.
In the Yunlong Dynasty, however, the highest level was Celestial Level.
Shuidong Liu, however, suspected his technique was above Celestial Level.
It even seemed to disregard the Ten Realms of the Body, allowing him to withstand the blade of a Qi Cultivation Realm Martial Artist while only at Jade Bone Minor Achievement.
Without further thought, Shuidong Liu grasped the Luminous Jade and began circulating his Cultivation Technique.
The Luminous Jade emitted a faint, hazy blue light, an ethereal glow that quickly seeped into Shuidong Liu’s hand like a mist.
His flesh, meridians, and bones began to tremble and boil!
In the moonlight, two figures suddenly appeared, drifting in.
Lying on a beam under the eaves, Feng Wuqing’s ears twitched.
His gaze flickered, but he remained perfectly still.
“Grab the Linglong Pendant and let’s go!”
The two vaulted over the wall, and just as they landed, Feng Wuqing appeared like a phantom and threw a vicious punch.
BOOM!
“Feng Wuqing, you dare to stop us!”
Feng Wuqing stared at the two unfamiliar faces, taken aback.
They knew him.
“Who are you?”
“The leader of the Xiao Family’s Wind Group, right?
Well, you can go ask in hell!”
The two swarmed him, their fists striking like roaring thunder.
BOOM!
BOOM!
Feng Wuqing’s fists flew like dragons, shattering the air as all four fists collided.
His two opponents stumbled back two steps, their arms stinging with pain as their expressions changed.
“You’re not…
at the Inner Realm!
You’re…”
“Just figuring that out?
Too late!” Feng Wuqing sneered.
‘Only an idiot would tell others their true Realm.’
Feng Wuqing was a man forged on the battlefield.
His moves were sweeping and powerful, designed for nothing but killing.
After three moves, both men coughed up a mouthful of blood.
“Still not dead!” Feng Wuqing sneered.
Just as he stepped forward, a gust of wind swept past him.
BOOM!
The two assassins were flung backward.
“Son-in-law!
Be careful!” Feng Wuqing shouted, his fist numb.
He knew this was bad.
The person before him wore night clothes and a mask.
From that single exchange, Feng Wuqing knew this was a master of the Super Body Realm, the Ninth of the Ten Realms of the Body.
The Super Body Realm was the stage where one’s physique began to transcend the Mortal Body, enabling them to see through an opponent’s every move.
Before Feng Wuqing’s warning had even faded, the man in black pounced on him, shouting, “Idiots!
Get in there and kill him already!”
“Yes!” The first two assassins wiped the blood from their mouths and charged toward the house.
CRASH!
The wooden door shattered, sending splinters flying everywhere.
Shuidong Liu, who had been sitting on a cushion cultivating, opened his eyes, which glinted with a golden light.
Killing intent flashed in the two men’s eyes.
First, they flicked two daggers from their sleeves, then they lunged forward with their fists.
Shuidong Liu’s gaze hardened.
The daggers were unexpectedly fast, stabbing toward the left and right sides of his chest in an instant.
THUNK!
THUNK!
With two thuds, the daggers pierced his flesh but were immediately repelled by his muscles, clattering to the floor.
The two men’s fists arrived in the next instant.
Hearing the whistle of their fists, Shuidong Liu planted one foot back and braced himself to take the blows head-on.
Seeing this, the two men were overjoyed.
“Die!”
BOOM!
A massive bang echoed as the violent force slammed into the wounds left by the daggers.
As blood soaked through his clothes, Shuidong Liu used the momentum from the painful blow to crash through the wall and escape into the night.
“After him!”
The two men sped off in pursuit.
Under the moonlight, the two assassins gave chase, leaping from eave to eave, while Shuidong Liu darted along the ground below.
Before long, the city gate was just ahead.
It was then that Shuidong Liu realized his Realm was too low—he couldn’t even leap across rooftops.
His only option was to rush up the gate tower and take a death-defying leap to the outside.
The guards on the gate tower barely had time to react before his two pursuers vaulted over the edge after him.
“What’s going on?” The guards were all stunned.
The two pursuers frowned as they looked at the dark mountain range ahead.
“That’s Celestial Cloud Mountain.
He’s trying to escape into the mountains!”
“As long as he doesn’t run for the mines, we’re good.
It’ll be even easier to kill him in the mountains!”
But a smile touched the corners of Shuidong Liu’s mouth.
Deep in the night, as he plunged into the pitch-black Celestial Cloud Mountain, pairs of glowing, multicolored eyes appeared in the darkness like eerie will-o’-the-wisps.
Soon, roars echoed through the forest.
Beasts were stirred in every direction, but this only made Shuidong Liu more excited.
After reaching the peak of the first mountain, he turned around to face them.
Caught off guard, the two men were startled.
Under the moonlight, atop the peak of Celestial Cloud Mountain, Shuidong Liu stood with his hands clasped behind his back.
The moonlight washed over him, its radiance making him look like a descending god.
“Those who come to kill me are doomed to die!”
“Putting on an act even at death’s door!”
“Hand over the Linglong Pendant, and we’ll leave your corpse intact!”
His only answer was the wind from his fist as he lunged down at them.
“You’re courting death!” Enraged, the two shot forward like meteors.
The colossal power of the Inner Realm—a force of twenty thousand jin capable of shattering mountains and crushing rock—erupted from their fists, making the very air explode.
“Once we smash your head, the Linglong Pendant will be ours all the same!”
In their first true clash, a sharp pain shot through both men’s fists, startling them.
“You…
you’re just a worthless scrub from the Body Refining Realm!
How in the world did you do that?”
“You…
you have a secret!”
The two exchanged an astonished glance, and their gazes, now filled with greed, fixed on Shuidong Liu.