Chapter 21

As night fell.

Luochong's patience was gradually wearing thin. Looking at the little princess sitting in front of Chen Xi's house, he felt increasingly angry at Chen Xi.

How could that detestable bastard not come back yet?

As the sky grew darker and darker, there was still no sign of Chen Xi. Luochong had lost his patience and decided to take the little princess away first.

However, at this moment, a faint and extremely concealed killing intent quietly emanated from afar.

Huh?

Luochong suddenly looked up, seeing three figures stealthily moving in the darkness from a distance. A strong killing intent surged in his heart.

In Songyan City, the General's Mansion strictly prohibited fighting and killing. Anyone who crossed the line would be stripped of their cultivation and expelled from the city. As the top expert under the General's Mansion, Luochong had been leading the guards to patrol Songyan City day and night, safeguarding the peace of this territory.

But now, three assassins had stealthily appeared in the civilian area, clearly challenging the dignity and authority of the General's Mansion!

What made Luochong even more furious was that the direction the three assassins were heading was precisely where he was, and the little princess Qin Hongmian was nearby. If their target was the little princess, then... the little princess's life would be in grave danger, and the consequences would be unimaginable!

"Not only are they challenging the dignity of my General's Mansion, but they also intend to harm the little princess. If I don't kill you, what face will I have to show the General?"

Luochong took a deep breath, and the killing intent in his chest had reached its boiling point.

Yet, his eyes were extremely calm. He hid in the dark corner, his figure blending perfectly with the darkness, making him undetectable. In his hand, a long, curved blade, black as ink, had appeared at some point.

...

Truly, the art of stealth and assassination is the king of the night!

Wu Guan stood at a distance, watching Li Han, Li Feng, and Li Zhan stealthily move through the darkness until they disappeared. He couldn't help but exclaim in admiration.

Hmm, after completing this mission, I must cultivate them well. They might be useful to me in the future.

Wu Guan thought for a moment and then looked at the dilapidated house in the distance.

That day, when Chen Xi rescued Chen Hao and the woman from his hands, Wu Guan had been extremely frustrated. Now, thinking about how Chen Xi would soon be quietly stripped of his cultivation, all his frustration vanished, and he became excited.

A notorious troublemaker in Songyan City, and now a useless waste after being stripped of his cultivation—what a beautiful scene!

Wu Guan became more and more excited, and a look of satisfaction and cruelty appeared on his gaunt face.

Buzz!

In the distance, a low, sharp sound like tearing silk echoed, followed by a streak of dark, eerie light slicing through the sky.

What's going on?

Wu Guan's expression changed, and he leaped onto a rooftop, looking up.

In an instant, the look of satisfaction on his face froze.

A tall figure stood in mid-air, wearing purple clothes and holding a long, curved blade. On the rooftop, the three brothers Li Han, Li Feng, and Li Zhan, dressed in black and only exposing their eyes, stood motionless.

"Zhanmiedao! Luochong!"

Almost as soon as he saw the tall figure, Wu Guan recognized who it was, and his triangular eyes were instantly filled with shock and fear.

In Songyan City, the only cultivator who used a long, curved blade was Luochong. The Zhanmiedao in his hand was the most famous blade in the city.

More importantly, Luochong's cultivation was unfathomable, and he was the top expert under General Qin, representing the supreme dignity of the General's Mansion!

"Damn it! I told you to strip Chen Xi of his cultivation, not to provoke Luochong! What the hell is going on?"

Wu Guan had completely lost his earlier confident and relaxed demeanor. Now, his heart was filled with endless bitterness and fear, and his gaunt face was as dark as water, looking extremely ugly.

"No, I have to go and try to persuade them. As long as they haven't acted, there's still room for negotiation. Otherwise, offending Luochong is the same as offending the General's Mansion. How can the Li family survive in Songyan City?"

Wu Guan took a deep breath, trying to suppress his fear and panic, and was about to step forward to intervene. However, before he could move, the standoff in the distance was completely broken.

"Kill!"

A low, fierce shout came from the distance, and Li Han and his two brothers wielded their weapons, rushing toward Luochong in mid-air.

At this moment, the last bit of hope in Wu Guan's heart crumbled. His eyes were vacant as he muttered, "I've never seen anyone dumber than you three. Damn it, that's Luochong! Do you even have eyes? Even if you didn't recognize Luochong, couldn't you have at least called out before attacking...?"

"Ahh!"

A shrill scream echoed in the night, but it was abruptly cut off.

Wu Guan shuddered, looked up, and saw three bloody heads flying into the air, drawing beautiful arcs before crashing to the ground and turning into a mess of flesh and bone.

"Finished. This operation was completely ruined by these three idiots..."

Wu Guan muttered, completely disheartened. He didn't dare to stay a moment longer and fled like a madman, wishing his parents had given him two more legs.

In the distance, Luochong stood in mid-air, not even glancing at the three bodies on the ground. Instead, he looked at the fleeing figure in the distance, a mocking smile appearing on his lips.

From the moment he saw Li Han and his two brothers, he had noticed someone else hiding in the distance. After a brief observation, he recognized Wu Guan from the Li family and finally understood everything.

A month ago, the young master of the Li family had a street fight with Chen Xi's younger brother, Chen Hao. Someone reported it to the General's Mansion, and to save face, General Qin only made the Li family pay a substantial fine.

From that moment, Luochong knew the Li family would not let this go. Indeed, today, Wu Guan and the three assassins appearing near Chen Xi's house confirmed this.

Thinking about this, Luochong felt both angry and amused. He had initially thought these people were after the little princess Qin Hongmian, but it turned out they were after Chen Xi. It was truly a twist of fate.

"Miss, let's go back. If we don't, the General will be worried," Luochong said softly to Qin Hongmian, who was sitting on the steps of Chen Xi's house, hugging her arms.

"I want to wait for him. I can't sleep if I don't understand the structure of the talisman," Qin Hongmian shook her head, her clear and beautiful face showing determination.

Luochong didn't dare to go against Qin Hongmian's wishes and could only give up, but he felt even more angry at Chen Xi, as he felt he was becoming the guardian deity of Chen Xi's house...

---

"I've been staying at Qingxi Wine House for the past half month and only planned to return home today. Who could have known this information in advance and set up an ambush?"

"Could it be the Li family?"

Feeling the sharp and fierce aura surrounding him, Chen Xi's nerves were on edge as he quickly assessed the situation.

Swish!

A blinding sword beam shot out from the air, tearing through the air with a sharp whistling sound.

Seeing this sword beam, Chen Xi's tense heart relaxed somewhat. The most terrifying enemy was the one hidden in the dark. Now that the enemy had revealed themselves, he no longer had to worry about being silently ambushed.

However, he still didn't dare to be careless. The sword beam was condensed and solid, all its power concentrated in one point. Even though he had advanced to the Eighth Stage of the Innate Realm and his body had been tempered to the point where it could withstand the Jiaoshui Star's煞气 (negative energy), the pure and sharp aura of the sword beam still made him feel a great threat.

The enemy is very powerful, probably not much weaker than me!

Without hesitation, Chen Xi took a step to the left, his body spinning like an axis, and he rolled to the side in an awkward but effective move, narrowly avoiding the sword beam.

Clang!

With the sound of a sword being sheathed, the sharp and fierce aura of the sword beam disappeared as if it had vanished into thin air.

"Teaching Instructor Mengkong, I told you, even if you ambush me, you can't beat my brother."

A familiar voice rang in his ear, and Chen Xi was startled. He looked up to see his younger brother, Chen Hao, standing at the entrance of an alley.

Beside Chen Hao was none other than Mengkong, the renowned Sixth Rank Purple Mansion Sword Cultivator and the top sword expert of Songyan Academy!

"Brother, you're not angry with me, right?"

Chen Hao came to Chen Xi's side, looking obedient. "Teaching Instructor Mengkong said that my cultivation has improved greatly this month, and my sword technique has reached the realm of entering the state, so I can definitely defeat you. But..."

Chen Xi patted his brother's shoulder and said gently, "You don't need to explain. Improvement is a good thing, but don't use me as a test subject in the future, okay?"

Chen Hao nodded vigorously, "Okay."

"Your cultivation has improved?"

Mengkong suddenly spoke, his firm face showing a look of surprise.

Chen Hao's actions were not at his instruction. However, Mengkong had confidently told Chen Hao that with his current strength, he could definitely defeat his brother, Chen Xi.

Mengkong had a reason for this assessment. A month ago, Chen Xi was only at the Third Stage of the Innate Realm, and he seemed to be not very skilled in combat.

Chen Hao, on the other hand, was undoubtedly a rare sword cultivation genius. In just one month at Songyan Academy, he had not only advanced his sword technique to the realm of entering the state but had also broken through two stages in cultivation, reaching the Third Stage of the Innate Realm. Defeating his brother, Chen Xi, should have been more than enough.

However, Chen Hao's seemingly sure attack was easily dodged by Chen Xi, which naturally piqued Mengkong's curiosity and surprise.

"My realm has indeed improved, to the Eighth Stage of the Innate Realm," Chen Xi replied. Teaching Instructor Mengkong was Chen Hao's sword cultivation teacher and had a special relationship with Aunt Bai, so there was no need to hide his cultivation progress from him.

"Eighteenth Stage of the Innate Realm? Brother, you're too amazing!" Chen Hao's mouth dropped open, his face full of admiration.

"Breaking through five stages in a month?" Mengkong couldn't remain calm either, staring at Chen Xi with a strange look, as if he were staring at a freak.