If this sword strike had followed the usual trajectory, it would have pierced the heart instantly, leaving no chance of survival. Yet, Xia Dongting had managed only a faint, sigh-like sound, nothing like the robust shriek he’d let out before!

Zhan Mubai stated emphatically, "I dare swear that if we dissect the wound again and examine the sword marks within, there will be something strange about them!"

Hai Wuya’s eyebrows shot up. After a moment of deep consideration, he raised his sword and brought it down. With a shwa, Xia Dongting’s corpse was cleanly bisected down the middle.

Zhan Mubai crouched down, carefully folding back the flesh. "Brother Hai, come look."

Even without his prompting, Hai Wuya’s eyes were already wide with shock.

The answer was indeed before them. While the blade had accurately struck the vital area near the heart, it had deliberately angled away by a fraction, avoiding a direct hit. Instead, the wound appeared just beside the heart.

This sword strike could have entered the heart cleanly, making the assassination utterly silent and perfect—even that single shriek could have been avoided. But the assassin hadn't done that; instead, they had deliberately ensured that everyone immediately knew of Xia Dongting's death!

"Although this sword intentionally missed the fatal center point after hitting the vital area, it remains a guaranteed deathblow. After completing the setup, the attacker then used the resulting opening to channel internal Xuan Qi to batter the heart and shatter the Dantian. The only purpose for doing this was to allow the victim to let out a piercing scream instantly! However, once the scream was out, the person would immediately lose their breath, with no possibility of survival."

Zhan Mubai stood up, his expression grave. He spoke slowly, "The opponent before us is a lunatic! He deliberately made Xia Dongting utter that single sound."

"Then his intent must be a warning, or perhaps, a provocation!" He Zhiqiu, who had been standing quietly in the rear, interjected, "He is notifying us that he has begun his move. He is telling us to prepare ourselves, to strengthen our defenses! He wants to make this battle more exciting!"

Every person present was stung by this statement, filling them with an astonishing fury! It was utterly intolerable!

A chilling killing intent surfaced on Hai Wuya’s face. He gritted his teeth and said word by word, "What an arrogant bastard!"

To be so openly scorned by someone when he himself was a Saint Sovereign expert—how could he not be enraged?

He Zhiqiu’s face was equally grim, his tone dropping lower. "Might makes right; strength is everything. This is a truth we all acknowledge! And judging by this assassination, the opponent is fully qualified to boast! None of us here could pull off an assassination with this level of skill! This enemy is not only immensely powerful but also possesses astonishing cunning. To call him scheming and treacherous would not be an exaggeration!"

He let out a long sigh and murmured, "The level of danger posed by such an enemy might not be less than facing the Fourteenth Young Master of Nine Netherworld! We must not only take this person seriously but also guard against him with extreme caution. Judging by the method of this demonstration strike, even if we faced him one-on-one, we might not have the slightest chance of winning!"

"Even more despicable is that such a master, facing an opponent far beneath him, chose the tactic of... assassination!"

He Zhiqiu spat out this last sentence through gritted teeth, the muscles in his jaw twitching violently. Clearly, his rage had reached its apex!

At these words, everyone shared the same sentiment.

The Fourteenth Young Master of Nine Netherworld was also a madman, but he was a flamboyant one. While his actions were erratic and arrogant, he would never engage in such sneaky, underhanded assassination work—or perhaps, he disdained to do so. If the Fourteenth Young Master of Nine Netherworld were to fight, it would always be a magnificent, earth-shattering battle! He would never strike from the shadows!

But the figure lurking unseen now was clearly an unscrupulous, ultimate killer!

And that kind of enemy was truly the most troublesome!

The difficulty in dealing with this enemy surpassed even that of the Fourteenth Young Master of Nine Netherworld!

"Brother Zhan, to speak plainly, I suspect this assassin is a direct result of the trouble you stirred up. The target might be just you alone!" He Zhiqiu said, his face dark, turning toward Zhan Mubai with a smile that held no warmth.

"Me? How could it be me? Where does such a conclusion come from? Brother He, please clarify!" Zhan Mubai was perplexed.

"To be honest, I truly hope my judgment is flawed! In all the world today, I have never heard of anyone possessing such assassination skills. Nothing like this has ever appeared in the Jianghu before. And now, suddenly, it appears, and immediately executes a Saint!" He Zhiqiu’s eyes were cold as he slowly continued, "In my estimation, it seems only one person could possess such methods."

"Who?" Hai Wuya and Zhan Mubai pressed simultaneously.

He Zhiqiu sighed deeply. "It must be Jun Moxie’s mysterious master! Brother Zhan attacked his disciple, and now he is retaliating against us with an ambush! I have searched through all my past experiences, and this is the only logical explanation I can muster."

"Exactly! It must be so." Hai Wuya and Zhan Mubai realized it at the same moment. After ten thousand years of history, the Three Great Sacred Lands had no enemies in the current world, let alone one this formidable. Apart from this rather reasonable explanation, there was truly no other possibility.

"But Guardian Elder Qiao clearly stated that Jun Moxie is not dead. She personally saw Jun Moxie frequenting ** City," Hai Wuya murmured. "If Jun Moxie truly isn't dead... then why would his master go mad and attack us?"

"That little rogue took my full-force strike that day. With that little thief’s meager strength, how could he possibly live? And... she had never seen Jun Moxie before; how could she possibly know what he looked like? Should we just take her word for it? I have never believed it!" Zhan Mubai snorted, clearly displeased.

The "she" Zhan Mubai referred to was naturally Qiao Ying. It was evident that Qiao Ying’s recent dissatisfaction, which nearly led her to demand blood repayment from the Zhan Sacred Sovereign, had caused the Great Saint Sovereign Zhan considerable annoyance.

"Senior Qiao is highly respected and cautious; that news might not be false," Hai Wuya stated uncertainly.

"A woman's soft-heartedness must never be indulged; a woman's words should be heeded with caution!" Zhan Mubai's face was ashen as he rolled his eyes. "Unless that little thief Jun Moxie truly appears before me alive, I will never believe he is still breathing!"

The others exchanged glances, none offering a word.

After a long silence, Hai Wuya said, "Arrange Brother Xia's body properly. Be sure to hire skilled craftsmen to sew his remains together so that when we return, he can be laid to rest among his own. Everyone else, intensify your vigilance; do not be careless. The opponent we face this time must not be underestimated."

"Yes!" everyone answered in unison.

The night was deep, and the wind seemed to howl with greater intensity.

The boundless night sky appeared to be incrementally tightening an invisible pressure, causing the atmosphere between heaven and earth to become vast, desolate, and filled with bleak sorrow!

"This is a battle that has nothing to do with justice or evil. It is also a decisive fight where there is no right or wrong. The reason I am doing this is not for any noble or grand cause. I am doing it only so that myself and my loved ones can survive! That is the sole purpose of my fight! Nothing more!"

Jun Moxie stood quietly within the dense canopy of a great tree several hundred zhang away from the Chen Residence, speaking in a low voice.

"This battle has no slogans, no so-called grand righteousness or principles. It is only about survival. Therefore, we must never show mercy. Regardless of whether the opponent is a thug or a Saint, if they intend to kill us, then the only correct action is to make them die before us. Whether they are heroes or Saints, anyone who stands against us has only one designation... the Enemy. That is all..."

"I understood these principles at least several centuries before you did! Can you stop repeating this over and over again, so tediously?" Mei Xueyan frowned her beautiful brows, displaying an expression bordering on exasperation.

Jun Moxie had been performing this sort of political indoctrination on himself for days now. He repeated the same passage dozens of times daily... Now, the moment Jun Moxie uttered the first word, Mei Xueyan could recite the rest of his intended speech word for word!

"I just want to tell you..."

"You just want to tell me that regardless of whether their starting point is the War of Seizing Heaven or whether they truly fight for the common people, if they want us dead, we must never be soft-hearted. If we must kill, we kill; if we must hack, we hack; if we must be despicable, we are despicable; if we must be insidious, we are insidious..." Mei Xueyan recited the entire passage through clenched teeth.

"So clever. That is exactly what I meant. I am greatly relieved that you finally grasp it," Jun Moxie clapped his hands and said with a smile.

Mei Xueyan was left speechless.

How could she not be clever? In the last few days, she had heard this passage at least a thousand times... She was nearly driven to a nervous breakdown by it. If she still hadn't memorized it, it would be inexcusable. Forget memorizing, she could recite it backward now!

"Moxie, I just don't understand. You clearly had the power to kill Xia Dongting silently with one sword stroke, making the entire assassination truly perfect. But why did you deliberately make him scream?"

Mei Xueyan frowned. "I don't object to killing them, but I absolutely do not approve of torture! Once a person dies, their lamp goes out. No matter how great the sin, one sword through the heart, one death, and it should be over. Why make it so cruel?"

"No, no, you misunderstand," Jun Moxie smiled faintly. "First, you need to realize that what I did this time was absolutely not torture. True torture—you haven't really seen it yet. When time and conditions allow, I will demonstrate it to you piece by piece. I guarantee that even you, the Empress of Beasts, will be stunned speechless, drenched in sweat, suffering muscle spasms, and losing all strength in your limbs..."

"And the second reason?" Mei Xueyan gritted her teeth, restraining her temper from arguing with the boy.

"Clever. You even knew there was a second point," Jun Moxie’s remark almost made Mei Xueyan faint. She forced herself to recover, rolling her eyes. If he mentioned a first reason, and she didn't realize there must be a second and third... she would be too stupid to live!

"Secondly, my purpose was to notify the people of the Three Great Sacred Lands that I have arrived. The revenge game has officially begun... Everyone should slowly enjoy the fun of the game..."

Jun Moxie said smugly, "You must know that an enemy who remains hidden from sight, like us now, puts the greatest pressure on the enemy. Once night falls, shadows flicker, every step is fraught with danger, they suspect ghosts everywhere, living in perpetual dread, startled by every rustle of grass and leaves... Even if both of us are sleeping soundly, they still have to maintain the highest alert and dare not relax in the slightest... Over a long period of time like this—tsk tsk—that is the highest form of torment."

"Is there a third reason?" Mei Xueyan huffed, though internally she cursed: He is truly insidious!

"There is naturally a third reason," Jun Moxie grinned, scratching his head. "The third layer of intent is actually my most important one. That is, by using this scream, I am telling another person that big brother has arrived, and big brother has started making moves. They need to hurry up and come cooperate; if they are late, I might eat my fill of meat, but they won't even get the soup..."

"Notifying one person? Who? Oh..." Mei Xueyan understood just as she asked, "The Fourteenth Young Master of Nine Netherworld?"

Jun Moxie shifted into a more comfortable position. "Of course. Although our strength has increased significantly now, why refuse a free vanguard fighter if we can have one? We can never have too many free fighters like that; if we could get eight or ten, that would be ideal."

"A free fighter, eight or ten of them? What are you dreaming about, you scoundrel..." Mei Xueyan was simultaneously exasperated and amused. The renowned Fourteenth Young Master of Nine Netherworld was just a 'free fighter' in his eyes?

"Confucius said, it is better to enjoy joy with others than to enjoy it alone," Jun Moxie yawned and turned his body over. "Don't move. Let me nap for a bit; I am truly exhausted." With that, he rested his head directly on Mei Xueyan's beautifully full thigh, closed his eyes comfortably, and settled in.

What a scoundrel!

Mei Xueyan glared at him for a long time but ultimately could not bring herself to shove him off the tree.

The reason was simple: Young Master Jun had been far too exhausted these past few days, too worn out.

Thinking of this, Mei Xueyan felt a sudden softness in her heart, a pang of inexplicable heartache.

Only she truly knew what Jun Moxie had been doing these past few days. He had barely had time to close his eyes, being ceaselessly busy. He was busy while she slept, and when she woke up, she still found him busy...

He was truly too tired...

Today, she would let him indulge himself, let him sleep soundly for a while.

Mei Xueyan looked at Jun Moxie, sleeping with his eyes closed and his head resting on her lap, his face showing an expression of genuine relief, even tranquility. A wave of sweetness washed over her heart: Only in her embrace could he relax this completely...

Just then, Jun Moxie, who seemed to have fallen asleep with his eyes shut, mumbled vaguely, "...Confucius said: A woman's thighs are so... I really want to strip them bare and feel them..."

This single sentence instantly obliterated the burgeoning tenderness and the innate maternal instinct to protect the man in her embrace that Mei Xueyan had just begun to feel! It also blasted the tempting thought of gently kissing this man straight out of the heavens!

Mei Xueyan was livid enough to burst!

Yesterday, a brilliant concept flashed into my mind! But I didn't have a pen on hand. By the time I rushed out of the carriage and ran home, I found I had already forgotten that brilliant concept...

I racked my brain half the night yesterday, and I've been searching for it all day today... but I still can't recall it... I'm breaking down... D

For more novels, visit storyread.net.