Looking at the middle-aged man holding a knife to Xia Chan's throat, Luo Xiu's expression remained unchanged as he secretly channeled Qi to recover his Spiritual Power. When the Sword Spirit of *Dream and Asura* controlled his body, it unleashed tremendous power, but the cost was a massive drain on Luo Xiu's own Spiritual Power.

"Are you also from the Ye Family?" Luo Xiu asked, his voice cutting through the silence.

The middle-aged man's gaze turned ruthless, and the blade in his hand drew a thin, red line on Xia Chan's pale neck.

"Cut the crap and hand over the elixir!"

Luo Xiu's eyes narrowed, his gaze suddenly becoming razor-sharp. He could tell the middle-aged man was extremely nervous.

"Brother Luo, I'm sorry… Don't worry about me, just go!" Xia Chan cried out, her eyes brimming with tears.

Luo Xiu took a slow, deep breath. "Fine, I can give you the elixir."

As soon as he spoke, he produced the small wooden box and tossed it to the man without hesitation.

Seeing the box fly toward him, the middle-aged man's eyes lit up.

Excellent! He's truly worthy of the title Messenger Lord, getting this Heavenly Grade Elixir so easily! he praised inwardly, reaching out to catch it.

However, just as his hand was about to touch the wooden box, Luo Xiu's sword landed on his neck.

SLICE!

With a soft sound, Luo Xiu killed him with the still-sheathed sword, then kicked the body away. He casually caught the wooden box, stored it in his Holy Lotus Jade Pendant, and then reached out to steady Xia Chan.

"Xiaochan, are you alright?"

Xia Chan suddenly threw herself into Luo Xiu's arms, sobbing like a frightened kitten. "Brother Luo, I'm sorry… It's all my fault for being useless. I almost dragged you down with me…"

Luo Xiu gently stroked her head. "It's okay. Let's go."

Although he said it was okay, he felt helpless. Since coming to the Capital City, Xia Chan's safety had become his primary concern. He naturally had feelings for this silly, clingy girl with whom he had been intimate several times. He had originally thought that he could find her family in the Capital City and leave her in their care, which would make his own life simpler. But the search had yielded nothing; her family was nowhere to be found.

Helpless, Luo Xiu could only continue to keep her by his side. With things having reached this point, he had no choice but to change his plan and decided to take Xia Chan to the Chu Family first.

"Luo Xiu… there's something I have to tell you."

Just as Luo Xiu was helping Xia Chan to her feet, Ye Piaoling staggered up.

Luo Xiu paused without turning around. "What is it?"

A ferocious grin spread across Ye Piaoling's face. "The man you just killed—I know him. He was one of the Tianyu King's subordinates!"

"Luo Xiu, you're a dead man tonight!" he shrieked. "Because the one who wants you dead is the Tianyu King! My entire Ye Family will be waiting for you on the road to the Yellow Springs!"

"Hahahaha…!"

Amid his crazed laughter, he suddenly channeled Qi to sever his own heart meridians, collapsing to the ground, dead. Only in his final moments did Ye Piaoling realize he had been used by the Tianyu King. The entire Ye Family had been nothing more than pawns. So, before he died, he wanted to drag the Tianyu King down with him, to let him experience the wrath of this terrifying God of Slaughter, Luo Xiu!

Luo Xiu turned, his gaze falling indifferently on Ye Piaoling's corpse.

The Tianyu King, huh... I don't give a damn what king you are. If you mess with me, I'll end you!

Just then, Lin Tong's voice echoed in his mind. "Big Brother, there seem to be many powerful auras nearby. In your current state, breaking out of here might be difficult."

Luo Xiu sighed and took out an elixir that could accelerate the recovery of Spiritual Power and swallowed it. He had already sensed the powerful auras lurking nearby. He imagined their eyes were fixed on him right now.

A moment later, as the elixir's effects took hold and his Spiritual Power began to recover, Luo Xiu suddenly swept Xia Chan up into a bridal carry.

"Xiaochan, hold on tight."

Xia Chan quickly wrapped her arms around his neck, curling up in his embrace. "Brother Luo, what are you doing?"

Luo Xiu tensed his legs and launched himself upward.

BOOM!

With a thunderous explosion, the ground beneath them cracked and splintered. Holding Xia Chan, he shot into the night sky like a cannonball, then used his Spiritual Power to glide swiftly into the distance. In the blink of an eye, they had vanished into the darkness.

Strangely, none of the powerful auras in the shadows pursued them, even after they had left the Ye Family's territory.

Little did he know, those so-called "powerful auras" were all busy wiping cold sweat from their brows, each feeling as if they had just taken a stroll past the Ghost Gate Pass.

"That kid… he's too terrifying!"

"No wonder His Majesty only told us to watch from the shadows and not to engage him."

"Damn… you have no idea. I was terrified he hadn't had his fill of killing and would come after us next."

"Well, he's gone now, at least."

"Sigh. But honestly, the Ye Family had it rough… wiped out, top to bottom, in a single night!"

"This is why you have to keep a low profile. Don't go swaggering around just because you have a bit of power. You never know when the person you provoke might be an iron plate you can't afford to kick."

"Exactly like the Young Master of the Ye family!"

"Speaking of which, doesn't this mean all the Ye Family's peripheral businesses are now ownerless?"

"Ownerless? They belong to His Majesty!"

"..."

「...」

Luo Xiu deliberately concealed his aura and took several different routes as a precaution. Finally, he arrived at the forest park leading to Lake Chu Tian.

The park was silent at night, save for the occasional chirp of insects from some unknown corner.

Holding Xia Chan's hand, Luo Xiu walked briskly along the man-made stone path through the woods. He had been careful to memorize the general route in and out of Lake Chu Tian before, so navigating the Formation in the forest was now second nature to him. Besides, this Formation was much cruder than the one at Ghost Valley Mountain. Even if he hadn't memorized the path, he could have found his way through after a few tries.

"Brother Luo, where are we going?"

"Somewhere safe."

"But it's so scary here. Xiaochan is frightened."

Hearing this, Luo Xiu squeezed her hand. "Don't be afraid. I'm here."

Xia Chan's beautiful eyes trembled as she gazed at Luo Xiu's profile, mysterious in the night. Her feelings were suddenly a tangled mess. The warmth from his palm felt like needles pricking her heart, a sharp and painful feeling.

Luo Xiu, I'm so sorry... I truly regret this. If I could choose again, I'd rather you had never hit me with your car that night. I would rather we had never met...

As Xia Chan was lost in her complex thoughts, Luo Xiu, who was leading her, suddenly stopped.

She looked up and saw several figures blocking their path. For some reason, she wasn't surprised.

Luo Xiu released her hand and moved her behind him. "When the fight starts, find a place to hide," he said in a low voice.

Then, he scanned the figures ahead and asked, "Are you here to kill me?"

Among them, he recognized only one person: Yang Zhilu, whom he had seen at the Chu Family's estate.

Yang Zhilu of the Heaven-Obscuring Finger, ninth on the Heavenly Ranking!

What Luo Xiu couldn't understand was how they had managed to intercept him so precisely when he had hidden his aura and taken a secret route. It was as if they had known all along that he would come this way.

Yang Zhilu approached with elegant steps. She raised a delicate hand to brush a strand of hair from her ear and smiled. "Little one, this big sister is only here on behalf of someone else. My apologies."

"..."

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.