Eagle Strike Technique!
The speed of an eagle is astonishing. One moment it’s on the horizon, the next it’s right before you.
Often, its prey is captured in its talons before it even has a chance to react.
This speed comes from the eagle’s unique anatomy, which allows it to use the momentum of a dive to increase its inertia without being hindered by resistance. Its short-distance bursts are particularly incredible.
The Eagle Strike Technique is the ultimate move of the Eagle Claw Skill, created by a past master who distilled this very essence.
The Qi Blood within Red Eagle Tong Zhixiang suddenly surged. Her entire body fell straight backward at an unbelievable speed.
The laws of physics seemed not to apply to her.
At the same time, she spread her arms like a goshawk soaring close to the ground, and in an instant, she circled behind Zhu Ju.
The sudden, swift movement could be called the most brilliant maneuver of her life.
But even so, the incoming Powerful Qi still grazed her throat, leaving a bloody line. Had she been a fraction of a second slower...
...her throat would have been crushed, killing her instantly. It was a testament to the danger of that moment.
"Hm?"
Zhu Ju let out a sound of surprise.
He was clearly a little surprised by her adaptability, but he immediately spun around and threw a punch.
Giant Spirit Fist!
An invisible Fist Intent coalesced on his fist. The Bright Armor within him trembled slightly, enveloping his entire body.
In the blink of an eye, he transformed into a cold, steel giant.
"CRACK!"
Although Red Eagle Tong Zhixiang was a Seventh-Grade Expert, she was still flesh and blood. She couldn’t possibly withstand the weight of the Bright Armor.
When fist and claw collided, all five of her fingers snapped on the spot. The remaining force surged wildly forward, slamming into her arm.
"BANG!"
Tong Zhixiang cried out in pain and collapsed heavily to the ground.
"A Seventh Grade?"
"Who are you?"
There were quite a few Seventh-Grade Experts in Taiyuan Prefecture, but not so many that she hadn’t heard of most of them.
But this person didn’t seem to be one of them. Besides, for a dignified Seventh-Grade Expert to resort to a sneak attack and assassination...
’How shameless!’
Zhu Ju ignored her questions and charged forward. His body moved like a shifting mountain, and his fist fell like Mount Tai crashing down.
The time he could maintain the Seventh Grade was limited, and this opponent was far stronger than any he’d faced before.
Red Eagle was a Seventh-Grade Expert who had once attempted to break through to the Sixth Grade. Though her power had declined from the Seventh-Grade Peak to the mid-Seventh Grade...
...her methods and strength still far surpassed those of an ordinary Seventh-Grade expert.
"Ahhh!"
Engulfed by the fist, with nowhere to run and no way to dodge, Tong Zhixiang roared in fury:
"I’ll take you down with me!"
Celestial Eagle Claw!
A sharp Qi suddenly erupted, and her rampaging Qi Blood seemed to converge mid-air, forming the image of a goshawk.
A piercing Claw Force enveloped the entire area.
"Hmph!"
Zhu Ju snorted coldly.
He wasn’t afraid of a head-on clash; he was afraid of her stalling for time and attracting others.
Dragon Elephant Force!
Giant Spirit Boxing Technique!
These ordinary Methods became something miraculous in his hands. Every move was packed with Giant Power, and every punch created the illusion that it was impossible to dodge.
"BANG!"
"BANG!"
"..."
Three simple punches.
The first shattered her attacking Claw Skill, the second crushed Red Eagle Tong Zhixiang’s hope of turning the tables, and the third delivered only despair.
At the same Realm, a Seventh Grade was no match for Zhu Ju.
What’s more, he had struck first, landing a heavy blow on his target from the start.
’Hm?’
Just as Zhu Ju pressed his advantage, preparing to finish her off in one fell swoop, a warning flared in his mind.
’Danger!’
"SWOOSH!"
He tapped his toes on the ground, which suddenly sank, and he used the force to retreat explosively.
At the same time,
Red Eagle Tong Zhixiang’s eyes turned savage. She let out a guttural roar as a mist of blood suddenly erupted from her chest.
"Tssssss..."
The blood mist spread over a radius of several dozen feet, dissolving everything it touched.
Zhu Ju had already retreated out of the blood mist’s range, but he still felt his vision darken and his heart race.
"Now that you’ve been hit by my Blood Poison, you..."
Gazing at Zhu Ju, Red Eagle Tong Zhixiang snarled through clenched teeth:
"...will die too!"
"THUD!"
Her body swayed and she collapsed, all signs of life gone.
This so-called Blood Poison was hidden in her heart—a desperate, Life-or-Death Fighting Method meant to take her enemy down with her.
"Blood Poison?"
Zhu Ju retracted his Bright Armor and touched his chest, feeling his heart pounding far faster than usual. He frowned slightly.
"To think it can follow the Qi Blood straight into the heart... this poison..."
"...is quite interesting."
Pressing his lips together, he leaped onto the courtyard wall, let out a muffled grunt, and stumbled into the darkness, disappearing from sight.
His Physical Body had integrated the Seven Spirits and the Life Soul, giving him astonishing recovery abilities. The Blood Poison wasn’t enough to be fatal.
But in the short term, it would inevitably have some effect on him.
If he were surrounded by other members of the Celestial Eagle Thieves right now, he might truly be done in by a moment of carelessness.
’I was careless!’
’She was a former Seventh-Grade Peak expert, after all. This assassination was too rushed. If I had planned more carefully, I wouldn’t have ended up in such a sorry state. The power I once held in the Nascent Soul Realm has made me too arrogant.’
His gaze quickly swept over the surroundings, his eyes flickering.
’First, I need to find a place to hide.’
*
*
*
The Zhou Mansion.
Zhou Ruxuan walked into the main hall carrying a teapot.
"Second Brother."
"Mm."
Zhou Jingren stood up.
"How is Father?"
"Same as always. He feels unwell whenever he catches a chill, but he’s much better now that he’s asleep," Zhou Ruxuan said.
"It’s nothing to worry about. It’s been like this for years."
"The aftereffects of that mistake Father made in his Cultivation all those years ago have become a chronic ailment," Zhou Jingren sighed.
"I’ll look for some famous doctors again and see if they can treat it."
"Mm." Zhou Ruxuan was already used to her father’s condition—it was just a minor issue, after all. She changed the subject, asking,
"I heard someone was robbed outside the city again. Isn’t the Sanhe Gang going to do anything about it?"
"Demons..." Zhou Jingren shook his head.
"You don’t understand."
"What don’t I understand?" Zhou Ruxuan frowned.
"Isn’t it just that Hai Yunzou is crazy for money? Don’t you know the Sanhe Gang’s reputation is already worse than the Qingyi Gang’s?"
"Your Gang Leader is useless!"
"Silence!" Zhou Jingren’s expression darkened.
"Don’t underestimate the Gang Leader. For him to have clawed his way up from the bottom to where he is today, he is by no means an ordinary person."
"It’s just..."
"...after Hai Yunzou just helped the Sanhe Gang conquer Taiyuan Prefecture, for him to turn on people now is just too cold-hearted."
"We just have to wait a little longer."
"Wait for what?" Zhou Ruxuan frowned.
"Wait for an opportunity," Zhou Jingren said.
"It’s coming soon."
......
The Sanhe Gang’s headquarters.
The back gate.
Tuying stood in the darkness, his face grim.
Behind him was a flatbed cart, and on the cart lay the still-warm body of Red Eagle Tong Zhixiang.
"Go back."
A man spoke.
"Croc Hall Master said we must prioritize the big picture. We can’t let one person’s death ruin Young Master Hai’s important plans."
"Don’t worry."
Seeing the cold look in Tuying’s eyes, the man quickly changed his tune.
"Once Young Master Hai becomes a Great Demon, won’t Taiyuan Prefecture be ours for the taking? Finding the murderer will be a piece of cake then."
"Go back!"
Under the night sky,
the cold wind swirled fallen leaves.
Tuying’s body was like a wooden post, rooted stubbornly to the spot.
"I just went out to order some food and wine. If I hadn’t gone, maybe my wife wouldn’t have been harmed."
"Seventh Leader," someone said from behind him.
"What do we do now?"
"The Third Leader is dead, killed right here in the Prefecture City. Are we just going to do nothing?"
Reporting it to the authorities was out of the question.
The Celestial Eagle Thieves were bandits with a price on their heads. The person who killed Red Eagle Tong Zhixiang could probably collect a bounty.
And as for the Demons of the Sanhe Gang, they clearly had no intention of getting involved now.
"Heh..."
Tuying looked up, his face contorted into a savage sneer.
"The big picture?"
"To raise enough silver taels to buy Elixirs, Hai Yunzou let Demons prey on passing merchants and allowed his subordinates to extort money wantonly, not even caring that all the wealthy households in the city are crying out in grievance."
He muttered to himself,
"And now..."
"I just ask them to help investigate my wife’s murderer, and they’re worried about ’the big picture.’"
"How ridiculous is that?"
Tuying grinned, his expression a mask of both tears and laughter, which slowly twisted into madness.
"Go!"
"Light the Demon-Luring Grass!"
"Ah!" The subordinate behind him turned pale.
"Boss."
"The Demon-Luring Grass will make the Demons go berserk! There are so many Demons in the city right now. If they all go crazy..."
"Do it!" Tuying spun around, his face savage.
"Don’t make me say it twice!"
"Yes, sir." His subordinate’s heart pounded.
"I’ll go at once!"
He then rushed off toward the courtyard where they were staying.
"My wife."
Tuying knelt before the cart, reaching out to gently stroke Red Eagle Tong Zhixiang’s hair, his eyes filled with an icy coldness.
"No matter who killed you, I will make them pay. No..."
"I will make the entire Taiyuan Prefecture know no peace!"