Brother Jiang landed in the courtyard, his feet making the faintest sound as they touched the bluestone slabs.
His gaze swept across the silent courtyard, and a smug look crept onto his face.
’That Chen the kid is only in the Spirit Realm. I’ve already snuck in, yet there’s been no reaction at all.’
’Will he only notice when my blade is at his throat?’
Jiang Wenfeng felt completely at ease. A cruel smirk played on his lips. ’That useless Old He was just scaring himself!’
Just as he was about to take a step, a calm voice suddenly sounded, practically right beside his ear. "What brings you here on this late-night visit, sir?"
The hair on Jiang Wenfeng’s body stood on end, and his heart nearly stopped.
He whipped around to see a plain-faced, middle-aged man in a simple blue robe standing silently less than ten feet behind him, quietly watching. He had no idea when the man had appeared.
It felt as if the man had been standing there even before he arrived.
"You are... Chen Shouheng... No, who are you?"
Brother Jiang was horrified. He hadn’t sensed the man’s approach in the slightest.
’This person’s power is far, far greater than my own.’
’And he is definitely not Chen Shouheng!’
’Damn it, Old He! What kind of intelligence was this? You sent us to kill an unfathomable expert.’
’This is just asking to be killed! Was I tired of living or something?’
Chen Li didn’t answer his question, merely watched him in silence.
The gaze sent a chill down Brother Jiang’s spine. He couldn’t help but roar, "Stop playing games!"
Before the words had even faded, the long saber at his waist was already unsheathed, tracing a cold arc of light as it slashed mercilessly toward Chen Li’s face.
The whistling blade was clearly aimed to kill.
In such close quarters, it seemed impossible for Chen Li to evade.
But he didn’t need to. He simply threw a punch. Though he moved second, his right fist arrived first.
It struck with immense power and Inner Qi condensed to its absolute limit, landing with unerring accuracy on Brother Jiang’s chest.
BAM!
A muffled thud rang out.
The cruel smirk on Brother Jiang’s face froze instantly.
He felt an irresistible, terrifying force surge through him. His protective Inner Qi was shredded as easily as paper.
It felt as if a giant sledgehammer had smashed into his organs, and agonizing pain instantly consumed him.
He violently sprayed a mouthful of blood mixed with bits of his internal organs. His body flew backward like a kite with a snapped string, slammed hard against the courtyard wall, and then slid limply to the ground. His long saber fell to the side with a CLANG.
With a single punch, he was grievously wounded, completely incapable of fighting back.
Chen Li slowly approached, looking down at the man who lay limp on the ground, continuously coughing up blood. His voice was as level as ever. "Speak. Who are you? What is your purpose here?"
Brother Jiang’s eyes were filled with fear, but it was overshadowed by the humiliation of being so utterly crushed and a stubborn defiance. "Pah! Go on and kill me if you have the guts!"
Chen Li’s brow twitched, but he said nothing more.
With a light and precise movement, he stepped on Brother Jiang’s right knee.
CRACK!
The sound of bone shattering was sickeningly clear.
AARGH!
Brother Jiang let out a bloodcurdling scream, his forehead instantly breaking out in a cold sweat.
"Who’s there?"
From one of the side rooms, Shouye and Shouyue, having been startled awake, rushed out one after the other.
They frowned upon seeing their father and the man on the ground.
"Speak."
Chen Li’s voice grew colder.
Brother Jiang was convulsing in pain, but he remained defiant, cursing through gritted teeth.
Chen Li’s face was impassive as his foot moved again.
CRACK!
Another sharp crack echoed as both of Brother Jiang’s knees were shattered.
The intense pain nearly made him pass out, but he still clenched his jaw, glaring at Chen Li with eyes full of venom. Blood spilled from his mouth as he continued to curse unintelligibly.
A glint of coldness flashed in Chen Li’s eyes.
’I could use A Dream of Millet Porridge, but he has Spirit Realm Cultivation. His Divine Sense has a foundation, so forcing the technique would be extremely risky. I could easily suffer a backlash, and my own Divine Sense could even be damaged.’
’It’s not worth the risk.’
’If I can’t get any information out of him, he’s worthless.’
Without further hesitation, Chen Li lifted his foot, aimed for the man’s heart, and stepped down lightly.
With a barely audible thump, Brother Jiang’s body stiffened, the light in his eyes rapidly faded, and he fell silent for good.
Just as Chen Li was about to dispose of the troublesome evidence, his brow furrowed once more.
His Divine Sense picked up another unfamiliar Spirit Realm aura, approaching rapidly from the direction of Lingxi. Its target was clear: the Chen Mansion.
"Another one?"
A look of impatient severity flashed in Chen Li’s eyes.
Sensing that his wife, Song Ying, and the others were also waking up, he immediately told Shouye and Shouyue to look after the family.
...
Inside the dilapidated house, the remaining four men had been waiting for nearly the time it takes an incense stick to burn.
The atmosphere in the room grew increasingly tense.
"What’s going on? Why has Brother Jiang been gone so long? Even if he had to fight, we should have heard something by now," one of them said, unable to contain his anxiety.
Old He’s brow was deeply furrowed, the unease in his heart growing stronger. "Something’s not right... Knowing Brother Jiang, whether he succeeded or ran into Chen Shouheng, he wouldn’t be this quiet."
Even Brother Sun, who had been resting with his eyes closed, opened them, a flash of displeasure and doubt in his gaze.
One man ventured tentatively, "Could it be... Brother Jiang has already killed Chen Shouheng?"
Even as he said it, he didn’t sound convinced.
Brother Sun frowned and said, "Zhao Deming, your Lightweight Skill is the best. Go and investigate. See what’s happening. If you find Jiang Wenfeng, tell him to return at once. If you encounter an enemy, signal us immediately."
Hearing this, Zhao Deming’s heart pounded with apprehension, but he didn’t dare disobey Brother Sun. He could only force himself to agree. "Yes, sir."
His figure flickered, and he slipped out silently, stealthily making his way toward the Chen Mansion.
After crossing Lingxi, the closer Zhao Deming got to the Chen Mansion, the more intense his feeling of unease became.
’Something bad hasn’t happened, has it?’
Standing under the old locust tree before the gate, Zhao Deming stared at the silent Chen Mansion, and the thought of retreating suddenly entered his mind.
"Maybe I should just throw something in first, to test the waters?"
The more Zhao Deming thought about it, the more frightened he became, and he began to mutter to himself.
However, just as he was about to turn and find something to throw, a hand suddenly reached out from behind him, offering a palm-sized stone.
"Thanks..."
Zhao Deming instinctively reached for it, but in the next instant, he froze.
’Wait...’
’Where the hell did this hand come from?’
Zhao Deming whipped around in horror, his heart seizing in his chest.
Beside the tree, a figure had appeared without a sound, as if he had been standing there the entire time, completely unnoticed.
"Sir..."
Zhao Deming was terrified. Even with the Spiritual Sense of a Spirit Realm cultivator, he couldn’t detect the man’s aura at all. ’What kind of being is this?’
He scrambled backward, but he had barely uttered a word when Chen Li took a single step, his figure blurring and reappearing right before him.
A suffocating pressure washed over him.
A storm of panic raged in Zhao Deming’s heart. He instinctively tried to retreat and draw his sword, but in Chen Li’s eyes, his movements were as slow as a snail.
A hand clamped down on his right wrist like an iron vise. A sharp, intense pain shot through his arm, leaving it numb and powerless.
Then, an immense power surged from the man’s palm, freezing the Inner Qi throughout his body. He was completely immobilized.