Chapter 22

Under the night sky, an airplane flew from Jingzhou to Zhongzhou.

In the first-class cabin of the airplane, two figures sat, one old and one young.

The middle-aged man's eyes revealed a hint of smugness as he hummed a popular tune from Hanzhou.

The young man, on the other hand, quietly gazed at the stars outside the window.

"Jiansheng, this time, you did a great job. The capital of the Nine Provinces is Jingzhou, and you have already taken down all the swordsmanship geniuses in Jingzhou. This is a good start.

The remaining eight provinces, if you can sweep through them all, your reputation will surely be greatly enhanced, and your name will resound throughout the world!

At that time, the prestige of our Hanzhou in the world will rise to a new level!"

The young man's face remained indifferent, showing no signs of emotion.

"Director Jin, you are overthinking it. The Nine Provinces are vast, with many talented individuals. With a civilization of five thousand years, the cultural heritage cannot be underestimated.

Take the few in Jingzhou, for example. They all gained insight through reading and self-study, without any guidance.

Yet their swordsmanship has already made me feel threatened.

If they had a master like me to guide them, we would probably have been defeated in Jingzhou."

A trace of displeasure flashed across Director Jin's face.

"Jiansheng, you are overestimating the Nine Provinces.

I admit that the Nine Provinces indeed have a five-thousand-year civilization and many talented individuals. But don't forget that in the past two hundred years, the Nine Provinces have been manipulated by various provinces and have suffered large-scale star beast attacks multiple times. Nowadays, many martial arts have lost their lineage and are no longer passed down.

Although the Nine Provinces have been actively restoring their strength in recent decades, two hundred years of trauma cannot be healed overnight.

In a swordsmanship competition, what matters is technique and sword intent, not cultivation!

You are a disciple of the great sword saint Liu Chengxun of our Hanzhou. Your swordsmanship has already reached a divine level.

You will surely enhance our national prestige!

The next stop is Jianghai City in Zhongzhou, the first station in Zhongzhou. Rest well and focus your mind. In three days, you must make the entire Zhongzhou tremble with fear!"

Piao Jiansheng slowly closed his eyes.

Enhance national prestige?

Hanzhou, a small region, has its cultural and historical heritage derived from the Nine Provinces.

Now, it is controlled by America. What national prestige is there?

He had no interest in so-called national prestige.

He only wanted to find a strong person!

A true swordsmanship master to enhance his own swordsmanship skills!

...

The night passed in a flash.

Soon, it was time to go to work the next day.

...

"Two tofu buns, two red bean buns, one beef bun, and a cup of soy milk, that's eight yuan. Why did you give me ten yuan?"

"You took an extra beef bun yesterday, which wasn't accounted for."

"You're a honest young man. I wouldn't have known if you hadn't mentioned it."

Ye Xiao smiled but didn't respond.

Because the beef bun was stolen by Illusory Liuli.

Just as he was about to leave, a loud explosion echoed in his ears, followed by screams.

"A car accident, someone died!"

The old lady at the breakfast shop frowned, packing up the buns and grumbling unhappily.

"Again! Accidents happen every day, it's really bizarre."

Ye Xiao asked in confusion:

"Do accidents often happen here?"

"Isn't that the case? At least twice a week, it's really bizarre. Exorcists have come, but they can't find anything. They set up stone lions and peachwood stakes, but nothing seems to work. Instead, more and more people are dying.

In the past, only ordinary people died, but in recent years, even martial artists with divine souls have started dying."

Ye Xiao glanced at the nearby roundabout intersection, his eyebrows slightly raised.

Masters cannot see spirits, but he had cultivated mental strength, so he could see them.

There was clearly a malevolent spirit sitting on the golden bronze bull in the center of the flower bed, wearing clothing from a different era, gnawing on the soul of someone who had just died in the car accident.

This malevolent spirit had likely been cultivating for a long time. Not only was its mental strength formidable, but the spiritual energy it had condensed was also very powerful.

Its spiritual energy was roughly equivalent to that of a Ninth Rank Postnatal martial artist.

But because it was a spirit, even a Pre-natal Master might not be its match without cultivating mental strength.

He held his buns and soy milk and slowly walked over.

Illusory Liuli, who was gnawing on the beef bun Ye Xiao had just bought, couldn't help but ask:

"Master, why did you still give her money? I stole the item yesterday, and she didn't see it, so she wouldn't cause you any trouble."

"Because I am human, and I am just doing what a human should do."

"What's the difference? Humans are born to human mothers, and star beasts are born to star beast mothers, they are all born to mothers!"

Illusory Liuli rolled her eyes; she found it hard to understand Ye Xiao's thoughts.

In the world of star beasts, it was always the strong who ruled, and the weak were preyed upon.

The weak were only fit to be trampled underfoot by the strong!

Ye Xiao didn't explain further to her.

Humans have humanity!

This is the biggest difference between humans and star beasts.

At this moment, as he walked, he stared straight at the malevolent spirit, his expression calm, showing no thoughts.

The malevolent spirit sat on the golden bronze bull, gnawing on the soul, whose face was contorted in agony.

But he wouldn't let go because of this; the more the soul struggled, the more excited he became.

The malevolent spirit and the soul were invisible to ordinary people.

The malevolent spirit gnawed on the soul while admiring its "masterpiece," watching the crowd gather around the car accident, a greedy look in its eyes.

Clearly, its appetite was not small. It not only wanted to gnaw on this soul but also had its eyes on the souls of others.

"After I devour a thousand souls, I can solidify my spirit body.

At that time, combined with the control of spiritual energy, I might even directly advance to the level of a Grand Master, becoming a powerful Grand Master!

Then, I will be reborn, free from the constraints of my corpse, and completely leave this place, becoming a free entity!"

But at that moment, his gaze suddenly fell on Ye Xiao.

The moment their eyes met, his face changed.

He was discovered?

Good grief!

This young man looks young, but he's not to be underestimated!

No, I can't let him leave now that he's seen me. If I'm exposed and attract a Grand Master or a Master-level exorcist, I'm done for.

With that thought, he immediately dropped the soul he was gnawing on, which had lost an arm, and lunged at Ye Xiao.

In an instant, the electromagnetic field on the entire street was disrupted. Traffic lights and street lamps flickered rapidly, cars honked, a cloud covered the sun, and a cold wind blew, causing everyone to shiver.

The malevolent spirit moved swiftly, like a bolt of black lightning, and in a flash, it was in front of Ye Xiao.

Its ugly face, twisted into a bloodthirsty grin, looked even more terrifying.

Not only to prevent his secret from being exposed, but also because a stronger person would have a more powerful soul!

A great supplement!

Of course, he didn't think Ye Xiao was particularly strong.

A twenty-year-old kid, what danger could he pose?

"Die!"