Zhou Ping'an saw the guilt and desperate resolve in Green Lady's heart.

For the first time, he truly respected this temporary ally deep down.

This had nothing to do with feelings or appearances.

Because, from the beginning, the relationship between Zhou Ping'an and Green Lady was very strange.

It was the typical story of a talented man and a beautiful woman from a pamphlet tale.

Their encounters, acquaintance, discussions on music and poetry, could only be written by the most tasteless and down-and-out scholars, dreaming of one day winning a beauty's heart with his extraordinary talent and reaching the pinnacle of life.

Fake.

Of course, Green Lady knew Zhou Ping'an was only putting on an act.

And Zhou Ping'an likewise knew that Green Lady was aware he was putting on an act…

However, neither of them revealed this fact, preferring to pretend they were engrossed, working together for their individual benefits and goals.

What followed?

All you could say was that when the false seemed true, the true also seemed false.

When the act was carried on too long, it became hard to distinguish between the act and reality, until one day, they truly felt that, perhaps, they were comrades on the same path…

Partners who could support each other and move forward together, in life and death.

Their following battles were the same, with seamless cooperation, without a hint of suspicion.

Zhou Ping'an never considered whether he could trust her or not, he simply entrusted her with great authority and put her in charge of intelligence.

Furthermore, he exerted his utmost to supply her with Elixirs, helping her in her Cultivation and the study of the Heart Sutra of Detachment.

And Green Lady, she didn't hesitate in the slightest to betray the Red Lotus Sect, following Zhou Ping'an down a dark path to the end.

Especially this time.

When she heard that her betrayal of Red Lotus had been exposed, and her sister had fallen into the enemy's hands, enduring all kinds of torture and possibly dying at any moment,

Her immediate reaction was to rush to East Mountain to mount a rescue on her own, unwilling to tell Zhou Ping'an the news.

It wasn't that she had confidence in herself.

On the contrary, she had no faith in herself at all.

This journey was purely to retrieve justice at the expense of her life.

Plainly speaking, she was seeking death.

Some things had to be done, but there was no need to drag friends into it. If one had to die, she would be the first to go.

Things should have unfolded in that manner.

But at the last moments of her life, Green Lady saw Zhou Ping'an arrive.

While thrilled and moved in her heart, she also couldn't help feeling additional guilt and sorrow.

After seeing through this, Zhou Ping'an felt both pained and helpless. Sometimes, he didn't fear mutual calculations based on interests; what he truly feared were old acquaintances who were deep in emotions, ready to give up everything, even life itself.

'What merits or abilities do I have?'

Zhou Ping'an sighed internally and claimed that the experts from Red Lotus Sect were nothing but chickens and dogs, although he didn't really believe this.

In fact, even with his ability, he found the group of formidable individuals led by the Holy Maiden of Red Lotus Sect to be quite difficult to deal with.

Just now, from five hundred yards away, he was already building his momentum and harboring the intention to kill, moving with the blade…

Breaking through walls to reach houses, he delivered a fierce strike killing Ancient Crane True Man, a Late Stage expert of Martial Will, with his aura violently depleting, and his True Qi and Qi-Blood dropping to the lowest point in an instant.

Carrying the mighty fame of killing to rescue others.

After an all-out eruption and boasting, his prestige was unmatched in the moment, so much so that it intimidated another expert of the Martial Intent Realm nearby, causing hesitation—unsure of whether to attack now or wait and join forces with the Holy Maiden.

If Ancient Crane True Man was cruel and vile, then Golden Boy was sly and brutal, having grown abnormally both physically and psychologically since he was raised in a jar by others.

An unexpected opportunity led him to be noticed by a master from the Evil Sect for his talents, who casually took him in and taught him some Martial Techniques as an experiment. The result was his rise to power.

After killing his master and drinking his blood, he was unstoppable, starting a bloodbath in the North River territory, with a particular love for consuming human hearts.

As for how he came to follow Red Lotus Matriarch and become a Protector, that's another story.

The Red Lotus Sect gathered many masters of strange and demonic origins, intent on rebellion, recruiting hands without regard for background, truly cold and ruthless.

The likes of Golden Boy and Ancient Crane True Man were not uncommon among their ranks.

While their reputation was truly unsavory, their strength was undeniably formidable.

As soon as Zhou Ping'an broke into the prison, he sensed two vicious and powerful auras in advance.

Either aura was on par with Granny Yan, and even compared to his own master from Emerald Peak, not much weaker.

Facing such experts, numerous and strong, would be seeking one's own death without some strategy.

Thus, he aimed to take the unaware by surprise, giving his all with the first strike and displaying an arrogant demeanor, all to provoke Golden Boy.

He was making a bet that this psychologically twisted individual couldn't resist a sneak attack.

Because the principle was simple, would someone who just defeated a strong enemy and saved a comrade be in a state of complete satisfaction, letting down their guard and relaxing completely?

Zhou Ping'an believed this was inevitable.

Golden Boy also believed it was the best opportunity to attack.

As soon as Zhou Ping'an's words fell, Golden Boy had already plunged into the ground, reappearing as the soil surged, creating a large hole.

In the blink of an eye, two Soul-breaking Spikes shined with pitch-black light, one aimed at the ankle, the other at the tailbone.

His movement technique was incredibly strange, aiming from the lowest point and attacking from the ground up and from the back in a slant, making it extremely difficult to defend against.

Furthermore, the left and right spikes soaked in a hundred types of rare poisons were extremely sharp, sealing the victim's fate upon drawing blood.

It didn't matter where he struck, as long as he broke the skin. Even a Late Stage expert of the highest Martial Will would face a dilemma between life and death.

"Little…"

Green Lady's vision blurred as she saw the ground explode, the murderous aura flooding like a tide.

He shouted a warning as soon as he opened his mouth.

His heart leapt into his throat.

Recognizing the attacker's method, she instantly knew who it was.

"You know this shorty?"

Zhou Ping'an didn't even turn his head

He lightly lifted his left foot, then stomped down hard.

The entire deteriorated prison cell shook simultaneously, the walls and ceiling collapsing with a thunderous roar.

The dwarf, face crisscrossed with lines like tree bark and beady yellow eyes still flickering with malice, found his left hand and spike crushed into the dirt and stone, flesh and bone reduced to pulp under the heavy stomp.

As his right hand's spike pierced towards Zhou Ping'an's tailbone, his Soul-Breaking Martial Intent oscillated, his Gang Qi turning into a black serpent that snuck into any crevice, tearing through Zhou Ping'an's protective True Qi, barely grazing the edge of his clothes.

Suddenly, he heard a light snort in his ear and a brilliant light dazzled before his eyes.

In the previously gloomy and chilling cell, somehow, a giant pale blue star appeared, rivaling the sun in its size and besetting him with an overwhelming murderous intent.

As he launched his attack, this murderous intent became extremely sharp, piercing straight into his mind.

It made even his limbs go slightly stiff, pausing his movements momentarily.

'Not good, this Sword Intent is fierce.'

Although it was merely the First Realm, Heart-Bewildering State of Sword Intent, it could penetrate his Late Stage Virtual and Real Martial Intent and directly reflect into his soul, conjuring myriad illusions before his eyes, leaving him at a loss.

The Sword Intent invaded his mind, slowing his thoughts – that was not a major issue.

Having his left hand crushed did not seem like a big deal to Golden Boy either.

Ever since he was a child, he had grown accustomed to the hellish agony, to the myriad forms of torture; the more he suffered, the more vicious and ruthless he became.

His right hand's spike accelerated forward, on the brink of piercing flesh and bone.

Suddenly, his fingers trembled violently, his palm and arm went numb, and he felt a massive recoil force, like a raging sea wave, rolling back at him.

Not only did he fail to pierce in, but he also shook all over, nearly being flung backwards.

What?

Facing this abrupt change, Golden Boy's mind cleared, and he finally saw that the spot where his spike struck was already covered by a palm facing backwards with a long knife, using the blade as a shield to block in front of his attacking spike.

The piercing was as fast as lightning and struck true.

But it did not yield favorable results.

Instead of piercing through flesh and bone, it struck the blade of the knife.

If that was all, it would not have mattered – encountering someone blocking an ambush was highly probable.

One only needed to flick the wrist, shed the force to the side, and in a split second, could stab the target full of holes.

All such expectations.

Merely floated in his mind.

Golden Boy couldn't execute any of them.

The immense rebounding force not only numbed half of his body but also disrupted the Qi-Blood within him, nearly causing him to fail at taking a breath.

By the time he managed to disperse this overwhelmingly strong force.

It was too late to retreat.

A fist radiating golden light and faint starlight appeared before his eyes and thunderously struck his chest.

Thoom...

Within the dull resonance.

The Gang Qi that Golden Boy had forcefully gathered, as well as his sly and peculiar movement technique, were ineffective.

He was hammered squarely in the chest by a punch powerful as a mountain collapse.

Golden Boy's bones shattered, his heart was crushed to mush, and his body flew backward like a torn sack.

He burst through the broken wooden lattice and stone, tumbling over thirty yards away.

Before he hit the ground, a green shadow flashed, and a slice of knife light, like a drawn bow's crescent moon, swept across his neck.

His head flew off.

Blood spurted like a fountain.

"What a ruthless move!"

Golden Boy inwardly wailed without uttering a word.

He had countless techniques, endless secret arts, and had not managed to perform any of them.

Even the thought of feigning death to escape could not be realized.

This young man in Green Clothes was not just vicious with his hands, but also merciless with his knife, not only piercing the heart but also not stopping until the head was severed – excessively cautious.

The fierce light in Golden Boy's eyes faded completely, and his head rolled on the ground, tumbling far away.

Zhou Ping'an sheathed his knife and looked up, cracking a smile.

He saw the tempest raging before his eyes.

A figure surrounded by lightning whirled into a blue-white ball of light, roaring as it tore through the air, screaming toward him.

A strand of lightning and thunder bearing the potential to destroy everything touched the front of his chest...

"Who is this now?"

Zhou Ping'an's breath hitched, feeling the air around him turn into nothingness while his bones and muscles tingled and itched, even his hair standing on end.

The flow of Qi-Blood and True Qi within his body became extremely sluggish, and even his spirit slowed down.

............

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