Chapter 60: Chapter 59: Which Sect’s Prodigy Is This?

Furthermore, Wu Chen was acting far too composed. Though he looked battered, he hadn’t shown the slightest intention of fleeing since their clash began.

It was as if victory was already his, as if everything was under his control.

This unflappable demeanor made Xue Hanyan feel a flicker of fear.

It was a feeling she hadn’t experienced in a very long time.

"Brat, my disciple pleaded for you today, so I’ll spare your life for now!"

Xue Hanyan seized the opportunity to back down gracefully, using it as an excuse. With a flick of her sleeves, she turned, hauling Xue Hongling with her as she walked out of the forest.

She walked slowly, terrified that Wu Chen’s supposed "master" hiding in the shadows would notice something was wrong with her legs.

"HSSST... HAH! Dammit, that hurts!"

His organs were churning. Wu Chen gasped in agony, sucking in sharp breaths of cold air.

What Xue Hanyan had mistaken for composure was actually Wu Chen being dazed from the blows.

The gap of two major realms was immense. Even though he had blocked most of the force, his organs still felt like they were churning and shifting, and he was in agony.

This was the first time Wu Chen had felt so utterly frustrated, to be beaten back so relentlessly.

He was filled with a burning rage, but in the face of an Organ Refining Realm expert two major realms his senior, he had no choice but to swallow it.

"Mmm... Chen!"

Muffled words drifted from the distance. It was Xue Hongling’s voice.

Wu Chen knew she was calling him and looked up.

He saw Xue Hanyan already hauling Xue Hongling and heading out of the forest.

He let out a small sigh of relief. He knew that his earth-shaking Qi Power, or perhaps some other reason, had made the demoness wary enough not to attack again.

Moreover, he guessed that members of the Demon Sects dared not get injured easily.

Otherwise, upon returning to their Sect, their ruthless peers could easily turn them into cultivation fodder.

However...

Wu Chen looked over at Xue Hongling, who had managed to turn around in Xue Hanyan’s grasp to face him.

The girl looked utterly wretched. Her entire jaw was stained with blood from her severed tongue, and with her jawbone dislocated, her speech was muffled and indistinct.

Every word she tried to speak sent a thunderous roar through her own ears.

But the thought that her pleas had actually worked put her in a surprisingly good mood, and even the pain in her mouth seemed to lessen.

Xue Hongling swallowed the blood in her mouth, trying to speak more clearly.

Enduring the piercing pain in her tongue, she said urgently, "Wu Chen, do me a favor!"

Wu Chen nodded. "Rescue you from the Blood Slaughter Sect, right? It’s only a matter of time!"

"That’s not it."

Xue Hongling shook her head gently, as if that wasn’t her concern.

"It’s to help me finish killing all the evil gang members in Black Stone City."

Wu Chen: "..."

She spoke earnestly, "I’m definitely being taken back to the Blood Slaughter Sect now, so I can’t kill those people anymore."

"And you must not come to the Blood Slaughter Sect!"

"..."

Having walked several dozen feet away, Xue Hanyan listened to their conversation. Sensing no hostility, she quietly breathed a sigh of relief.

Her eyes, a mixture of anger and wariness, flickered with complex emotions. As she replayed their conversation in her mind, a sly smile suddenly tugged at her lips.

’No matter where this brat comes from, with my disciple in hand, it seems I might be able to make him useful to me.’

With this thought, a sharp glint flashed in her eyes. She stopped walking and pulled a small object from her sleeve.

Then, with a flick of her finger, she tossed it toward Wu Chen.

Not daring to catch anything thrown by the demoness, Wu Chen quickly dodged aside.

THUD!

A two-inch square Blood-colored Jade Pendant landed in the grass before him.

Wu Chen nudged it with the tip of his saber, examining the intricately carved Jade Pendant. It was engraved with the two words "Blood Evil," and he had no idea what she meant by it.

’Could this be a "Here’s a thousand silver, stay away from my disciple" sort of deal?’

’Is she trying to buy off our sincere feelings?’

’Damn it, she’s going to have to offer more than that!’

As his thoughts ran wild, Wu Chen heard the figure ahead of him speak without turning back:

"In three months, the Blood Slaughter Sect will begin the Blood Road trial."

"If you have the guts to save this girl, you can use this Jade Pendant to come to Purple Mist Mountain in three months and participate in the Blood Road trial."

"Don’t—!" Hearing the words "Blood Road trial," Xue Hongling’s eyes flew open and she cried out in alarm.

She had never imagined her master would pull a stunt like this and was about to warn Wu Chen away.

However, before she could get the words out, Xue Hanyan shot forward. With a few quick leaps, her figure vanished into the dense forest.

Only the trailing, unintelligible end of Xue Hongling’s cry was left to echo through the trees.

He stared at the spot where the pair had vanished, the image of Xue Hongling’s battered, wretched state burning in his mind.

BAM! BAM! BAM!

Wu Chen slammed his fist into the thick tree trunk beside him.

It wasn’t impotent rage, nor was it resentment or a feeling of powerlessness.

It was...

Where the hell was Purple Mist Mountain?!

Couldn’t she have given clear directions before taking off!

’So basically, Purple Mist Mountain is the Blood Slaughter Sect’s main nest, right?’

’Fine, fine. In three months, when I find the place, I’ll give you a taste of my own medicine.’

’Fortunes rise and fall in three months! Don’t you dare look down on a poor Meridian Passage Realm practitioner!’

After resting in the forest for a while until his breathing smoothed out, Wu Chen brushed the leaves from his clothes and started walking toward Black Stone City.

By now, it was nearly dusk.

Wu Chen knocked on the inn’s door, and the familiar waiter answered.

"Where’s your master?" Wu Chen asked, his face etched with exhaustion as he stepped inside.

Before the waiter could answer, Jiang Fang, who had been pacing anxiously in the backyard, heard his voice and rushed out.

"Brother Wu, you’re finally back!"

He had been terrified earlier today when he saw Wu Chen leap from a second-floor room of the Flower and Grass Building.

By the time he and the others got downstairs, all that remained on the street was a mangled pile of flesh and blood.

Fortunately, when the city guards arrived, they didn’t ask many questions, seemingly accustomed to such scenes.

They simply carried the body out of the city for burial and considered the case closed.

This allowed him and everyone at the Flower and Grass Building to breathe a collective sigh of relief.

But Jiang Fang was more worried about Wu Chen. After all, he was still counting on him to wipe out the remaining gangs in Black Stone City!

"Can you arrange to have the city gates closed for one night?"

Wu Chen knew what Jiang Fang was anxious about. He himself was still seething.

"Close the city gates?"

Though confused, Jiang Fang nodded. "I can. I’m from the Jiang Clan, after all, and I have connections in the local government. Keeping them closed for one night is no problem."

Black Stone City had a curfew, but with all sorts of shady characters around, it was completely ineffective. The city gates might as well have been wide open.

Wu Chen then asked, "Do you have any capable men at your disposal?"

"I do, but..."

Jiang Fang heard the impatience in Wu Chen’s voice and sensed he was planning something big.

He continued:

"It’s just that among them, there are four fighters at the Initial Flesh Refining Realm and a dozen or so Martial Artists at the Perfection of the Body Tempering Realm."

But he quickly shook his head. "Brother Wu, I’m afraid these men won’t be much help to you!"

These were all men assigned to him by the Jiang Mansion.

Since coming to Black Stone City, there hadn’t been much business, so he’d assigned them to cleaning duties at his various inns.

In a village or small town, their strength might be enough to lord over others.

But against the local gangs of Black Stone City, they were completely outmatched.

Wu Chen shook his head. "I don’t need them to fight."

Jiang Fang was baffled. "If they’re not going to fight, then what do you need them for?"

Instead of answering, Wu Chen asked, "In the time you’ve all been in Black Stone City, have you managed to pinpoint the locations of all these gangs?"

"I mean everything, right down to where their lackeys live."

He asked because he planned to end things quickly tonight by completely wiping out the eleven remaining gangs in the city.

After all, any move he made would alert his enemies, so he only had this one last night to act.

But without Xue Hongling, the difficulty of clearing out eleven gangs in a single night by himself was immense.

It wasn’t a matter of strength, but gang members weren’t monsters that respawned in a fixed location. After they were done with their debauchery, they would scatter and return to their own homes.

Faced with the sheer size of Black Stone City, even Wu Chen couldn’t possibly hunt them all down under those circumstances.

Hearing Wu Chen’s question, Jiang Fang’s eyebrow twitched. It seemed Wu Chen planned to have a bloody night.

But then again, in the nearly six months he had been in Black Stone City, he hadn’t been idle. He had indeed ordered his men to conduct a secret investigation.

He never thought that information would actually come in handy today!

"More or less," he answered.

Wu Chen nodded. "That’s enough."

Even if he didn’t kill every single one, even if a few slipped through the net...

...after tonight, no one would dare to show their face and cause trouble again.

But a job was best done thoroughly.

Wu Chen had no intention of letting anyone slip through the cracks.

He would stay in Black Stone City for a few more days to root out these remaining pests, one by one.

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