First update of the day! Two updates for two steady days, I felt shy about asking for monthly tickets, but since I'm having a little burst today, I'm shouting with full vigor: Begging for monthly tickets!)

Blood continued to pour forth, rain continued to fall, and in an instant, the color gradually faded from blood-red to pale red, becoming indistinguishable...

The young matron had intended to test the flying knife against her own, but upon turning around, she was the first to realize the dagger nearby had suddenly vanished. This shock was extraordinary, causing her entire body to tremble.

Could these people up above really be ghosts? At this moment, the shock of the five remaining individuals was beyond measure!

Who exactly could approach the vicinity of these five great Heaven Profound masters silently, undetected? A Supreme Divine Profound expert perhaps, but if a Supreme Divine Profound master intended to deal with them, would they still need to resort to sneak attacks?

But if it wasn't a Divine Profound expert, then who was it?

Explaining it or not was secondary; this place was absolutely not suitable for lingering!

Yet, as they prepared to depart, the five unharmed individuals simultaneously shed tears of profound sorrow.

When they arrived, there were ten brothers and sisters, laughing and joking along the way, brimming with confidence, but upon leaving, only five remained, accompanied by four corpses, and one person whose fate was unknown—even if alive, they would be permanently crippled, with no hope of recovery!

What a desolate reality this was!

The five each carried one person on their backs, just enough; they departed sorrowfully, constantly looking back, their eyes filled with a hatred that seemed capable of setting the downpouring rain itself ablaze.

The flying knives were, naturally, the masterpiece of Jun Moxie. After hearing that these people were experts hired by the Li family, he had already resolved to kill them. The experts drawn by the Profound Core would soon leave after the battle for the Core concluded. At that time, Tianxiang City would return to how it was, but if the Li family could hire these people once, they could hire them a second time!

Especially since Li Youran was their fellow disciple, this made Jun Moxie even more uneasy. In the face of the current Divine Profound masters, these Heaven Profound experts were nothing, but after this matter concluded, they held enough influence within Tianxiang City to threaten the current Jun Family's existence! If the Li family went mad and decided to move against the Jun Family, these men would become a formidable force.

It is better to prepare for a rainy day than to wait until the rain falls! Kill them first, then think later!

Jun the Great Killer, whose moral compass was already weak, would naturally not care about a few lives! Especially since these people, exhausted after the great battle, had already withdrawn all their Profound Qi defenses to rest—this was a perfect opportunity, and Jun Moxie felt that missing it would be a great disservice to himself.

However, he hadn't expected to kill four of them in one fell swoop! Simultaneously controlling four flying knives while invisible was already Jun Moxie's peak current technique. He hadn't expected all four flying knives to strike true...

And he even managed to kill one Heaven Profound master! This left Jun Moxie feeling rather smug.

Everyone had departed, and even the unattended corpses on the ground were carried away by the soldiers of the Tianxiang Empire. The bloody arena of moments before was now vast and empty, leaving behind only a few collapsed ruined houses and a ring of broken trees. The ground was a mess, and the rain fell steadily, raising small, silent bubbles that quietly burst, the pools of blood on the earth spreading out, gradually becoming clear rainwater, leaving behind only a dense scent of blood that lingered stubbornly.

After a long, long pause in the silence, the large tree that had been surrounded by Lei Jianhong and the others suddenly emitted a sound: "Have you finally arrived? Heh heh, I've been waiting for you for quite some time."

After a moment's wait, the voice spoke again, "Aren't you coming out? Do I need to personally drag you out?" There was a hint of impatience in the tone.

The voice was not loud, neither pleased nor angry, but utterly placid, as if speaking to someone standing directly in front. Yet, there was clearly no human figure in the surroundings, and naturally, no other sound either.

After a while, the voice sounded again, calm and detached, repeating the exact same line: "Have you finally arrived? Heh heh, I've been waiting for you for quite some time."

Followed by a pause, still the same line: "Aren't you coming out? Do I need to personally drag you out?"

After another brief interval, he said it once more.

Still, no reply.

He repeated this every so often, without haste or annoyance. But if anyone were truly listening nearby, they would likely have been driven to madness by the emotionless, utterly devoid-of-boredom tone!

After persevering for over ten repetitions, there was finally a response.

Two figures in black appeared in the area as if they were ghosts, each face etched with astonishment. In their minds, there were indeed people in this world who could detect them, but that number would not exceed the count of one's fingers; yet here was one! And this person had detected them while they were still ten zhang away! All this, under the harsh weather of a driving rain... it was simply inconceivable!

One of the stout black-clad figures scowled, his thick eyebrows furrowing, and his wide, thick lips pulling back, asking bluntly: "Who are you? How did you know we were here? Stop playing tricks on me and come out now!"

These two figures of mysterious movements were, of course, the duo in black who had snatched the Profound Core and had clearly left. During the prior struggle for the Profound Core, Jun Moxie had suddenly activated the Hongjun Tower specifically to confirm their identity and lure them back for a meeting.

The reason Young Master Jun was certain they would return a second time was simple: when the most pristine and surging spiritual energy suddenly erupted between heaven and earth, this surge was not noticed by Shi Changxiao and the other Profound Realm experts. However, this mysterious duo had perceived it with utter clarity. If they hadn't sensed it, Jun Moxie would have known that his calculated move had failed.

Naturally, if no one could sense it, the elaborate scheme Jun Moxie had woven would have to be declared a failure.

Although the mysterious duo had sensed the aura that was intensely desirable to them, the opponents at the time were too numerous, and the source of the aura had not truly revealed himself, so they were forced to retreat first.

But both harbored suspicion: even though this person hadn't appeared immediately, since he had emitted such an aura, and moreover, retracted it immediately? He must have some other move planned, or perhaps he simply intended to make an acquaintance with the two of them. Driven by their craving for the preceding pure spiritual energy, even knowing there was some risk involved, they simply had to try; thus, after estimating that everyone else had dispersed, these two immediately snuck back to investigate a second time.

After all, for them, the spiritual energy aura emitted by that hidden master through some unknown method was undeniably the most enticing substance in the world! They believed no elixir, no treasure, no gathering of rare materials could possibly attract them more!

Therefore, once they detected it, they would certainly not let the chance slip by—this was exactly as Jun Moxie had predicted!

This was also Jun Moxie's primary objective! Compared to luring them here, the preceding battle that drew out a large contingent of experts, the resulting depletion of strength among the Li Family and Ice Snow Silver City masters, and even the subsequent successful assassination of Lei Jianhong’s group, and the contemplation of how to utilize the Ninth-Grade Profound Core, all became insignificant. Because their arrival, if handled correctly, might resolve the greatest impending disaster facing the Jun Family, or at least delay its arrival!

The reason lay in the manipulation of Jun Moxie’s true trump card! Now that the targets were here, it was time for Jun Moxie to stir the pot! Would his plan succeed?

A chuckle sounded before the two mysterious figures, deep and resonant, yet filled with an ethereal and strange quality.

Before them stood only a large tree; there was no other person in sight! Yet the voice was clearly right in front of them!

Although the origins of these two were equally strange, they had never encountered such a spiritual phenomenon. Simultaneously, they stepped back, hands crossed over their chests, alert as if facing a great enemy!

"Who exactly are you? Come out!"

Without any warning or indication, another masked figure in black suddenly materialized directly in front of the two mysterious black-clad men! This person seemed to have drilled up from the ground or materialized out of thin air. Even with their formidable strength, not inferior to the Eight Supreme Masters, they had completely failed to detect how this black-clad man arrived!

Such a technique, even Yun Biechen, the leader of the Eight Supreme Masters, likely could not manage—it was too bizarre!

But unknown to them, compared to his entrance, the mysterious duo was more concerned with another matter: as this black-clad figure appeared, the familiar, intimate, and intensely desired aura they had sensed earlier began to emanate slowly from him again.

The two could now be completely certain: this was absolutely not an illusion!

"Who are you, sir? What is your purpose in luring us here?" the lean black-clad man asked cautiously.

"I brought you here naturally for my own reasons," the black-clad man’s eyes flickered. "My name is Feng Jueqing. May I inquire as to your esteemed names?"

"You don't know our background?" The lean black-clad man’s eyelids twitched in confusion. This person before them seemed extraordinary, unlikely to use a false name, yet the name Feng Jueqing was utterly unfamiliar. Had they become too isolated from the world?

"I have roughly guessed your background, but I do not know your names. It is not hard to deduce your origins, is it?!" This black-clad man was naturally Jun Moxie, engaging in his theatrics. If he hadn't already confirmed the duo's background, why would he show himself?

"Oh, that's true. I am He Chongxiao, and this is my fourth brother, Xiong Kaishan," the lean He Chongxiao nodded. "It is an honor to meet Brother Feng. Your name is known to us, ringing like thunder! To hear of you is one thing, but to meet you is even better. Meeting you today is truly a blessing spanning three lifetimes."

Heard? You’ve heard of Feng Jueqing? Jun Moxie tilted his head. This was the first time he'd heard that name today. Yet they claimed to have “heard of it ringing like thunder.” Had he accidentally borrowed the name of some famous person?!

"Naturally, we haven't heard of it," the stout Xiong Kaishan admitted honestly. "Isn't that just the polite formality you people use when meeting? To pretend closeness? Why are you taking it seriously? Old Xiong despises you!"

Damn it! I actually got looked down upon by a bear!

"Ahem, gentlemen, traveling thousands of miles to Tianxiang City, was it only for this Ninth-Grade Peak Profound Core?" Jun Moxie touched his nose.

"How could this be a Ninth-Grade Peak Profound Core! Ordinary Profound Qi experts might be fooled, but we have spent years..." He Chongxiao flipped his palm, and the Profound Core fabricated by Jun Moxie appeared in his hand. "Indeed, we came here for the rumored Ninth-Grade Peak Profound Core, but it seems we were tricked this time."

He glanced meaningfully at Jun Moxie: "However, since we have met Your Excellency, it was not a wasted trip. Perhaps it can even be considered a great gain!"

(The Monthly Ticket Rankings are shifting wildly; Xie Jun desperately needs support from his brothers and sisters! Thank you! The second update will arrive in an hour.)