Chapter Thirty-Nine: The Four Beasts of Azure City

In the deep silence of the night, amid the overgrown weeds of the wild field, Yang Wenhao slowly opened his eyes.

He had drunk a little wine, but it had no effect on him at all.

By now, there was no one left nearby; the person known as Invincible East, who had been here before, had slipped away while Yang Wenhao pretended to sleep.

Since Invincible East had left, Yang Wenhao had no interest in remaining there either.

As dawn approached, Yang Wenhao was already back in Hengyang.

He returned because he knew something significant was about to happen in Hengyang: Liu Zhengfeng’s Golden Basin Handwashing Ceremony.

Though he had not slept all night, after cultivating, Yang Wenhao felt perfectly refreshed.

The only trouble was that, at the moment, he was unable to fast.

As Yang Wenhao walked the streets, pondering which tavern to visit, a shadow suddenly flew at him.

Instinctively, Yang Wenhao thrust out a leg.

“Ouch…”

The shadow was kicked away, tumbling several meters before coming to a halt.

He froze for a moment, suspecting an ambush, so he had acted on reflex.

But it seemed not to be the case.

Moreover, the person he had kicked looked oddly familiar from behind.

When the figure rolled over, Yang Wenhao immediately understood why the person seemed so familiar.

“Linghu Chong?”

Linghu Chong clutched his stomach on the ground, a trace of blood at the corner of his mouth—whether from Yang Wenhao’s kick or some earlier injury was unclear.

Looking up, Linghu Chong’s eyes widened in recognition: the man who’d kicked him was none other than Yang Wenhao, whom he’d met before.

“Brother Yang… you really kicked me hard,” Linghu Chong groaned in pain.

Yang Wenhao shook his head helplessly and helped Linghu Chong to his feet. “Don’t blame me. You flew at me out of nowhere—I thought someone was attacking.”

Linghu Chong grimaced. “Brother Yang, even if I wanted to ambush someone, it certainly wouldn’t be you.”

“Let me go… let me go…”

Just then, a familiar voice reached Yang Wenhao’s ears.

He turned his head and saw three men, all similarly dressed in the garb of wandering martial artists, restraining a young nun—Yi Lin.

One of them curled his lips in a sneer. “A little nun from Mount Heng falling for a disciple of Mount Hua—how amusing. Out of the way, or we’ll deal with you too.”

Linghu Chong, hearing this, shouted angrily, “Let her go! If you don’t, don’t blame me for what happens next!”

The man snorted. “You can barely protect yourself, Linghu Chong. See if you can handle my sword!”

With that, he lunged at Linghu Chong with his sword.

“Damn it,” Linghu Chong cursed inwardly. He was already no match for them, and now, after being kicked by Yang Wenhao, if he didn’t dodge, he’d likely die right there.

But just as he prepared to flee, a silver-white sword barred the attack, intercepting the thrust.

Seeing someone block his strike, the man quickly drew back, eyeing Yang Wenhao warily. “Who are you? Don’t you know we’re from Qingcheng Sect? Wise men should walk away.”

Yang Wenhao sneered. “So this is how arrogant the Qingcheng Sect has become?”

“You—” The man’s confidence wavered as he noticed Yang Wenhao’s cold indifference growing stronger. A sense of dread crept over him.

Meanwhile, Linghu Chong, relieved to see Yang Wenhao intervene, whispered, “Brother Yang, they’re Jia Renda and Luo Renjie, two of the Four Beasts of Qingcheng.”

“Four Beasts of Qingcheng?” Yang Wenhao found the nickname amusing.

“You’re courting death!” Enraged, Luo Renjie swung his sword at Yang Wenhao.

But no matter how fiercely Luo Renjie attacked, to Yang Wenhao it was all child’s play. Every strike missed him by a hair’s breadth, as if Luo Renjie needed just a little more skill to actually injure him.

“Damn it!” Luo Renjie gritted his teeth, his swordplay becoming increasingly erratic out of frustration.

“Had enough? If so, let’s finish this.”

A voice, cold as the depths of hell, echoed in Luo Renjie’s ears, making him shudder.

A flash of steel shot toward him. Already disordered by anger, Luo Renjie found himself helpless before Yang Wenhao’s sudden thrust.

“Watch out!” Jia Renda shouted, but it was too late—or perhaps the gap in strength was simply too great for Luo Renjie to even dodge.

“You… will… not… die well…”

Luo Renjie stared in disbelief at the blood staining his chest. Gazing at Yang Wenhao, his eyes filled with unwillingness and hatred.

With a slight twist, Yang Wenhao pulled his sword free from Luo Renjie’s chest. With a thud, Luo Renjie collapsed, blood gushing like a river.

“Ding… Congratulations to Yang Wenhao for killing Luo Renjie, one of the Four Beasts of Qingcheng. One hundred points awarded.”

“Brother Yang, you…” Linghu Chong, who stood behind Yang Wenhao, was stunned. How had things escalated to murder so quickly?

Though he felt a sense of justice, his next thought was of the powerful Qingcheng Sect backing Luo Renjie.

Killing Tian Boguang had not caused much stir—he was only a notorious criminal, after all—but Luo Renjie was different. He belonged to Qingcheng, and if word got out, there would be real trouble.

“Junior Brother! Junior Brother!”

Seeing Luo Renjie dead, Jia Renda lost his nerve, releasing Yi Lin and rushing to his fallen companion’s side.

“Junior Brother!” he wailed, but no matter how he shook him, Luo Renjie was gone, nothing but a corpse.

“You…” Jia Renda glared at Yang Wenhao, the one responsible for his junior’s death.

“What? Do you want to find out how it feels to have a sword in your belly too?” Yang Wenhao, having already killed one, was not opposed to killing another. In his eyes, these men were nothing more than walking sources of points, there to be reaped.

At his words, Jia Renda trembled. He had witnessed Yang Wenhao toy with Luo Renjie as if it were nothing. His junior’s abilities were a joke compared to Yang Wenhao, who could kill him with a flick of the wrist.

Though Jia Renda was Luo Renjie’s senior, his strength was only marginally greater—he had merely joined the sect earlier.

“Go back and tell your master, Yu Canghai: if he wants revenge, he can come for me. But if he fails to kill me, Qingcheng Sect will cease to exist.”

Hearing that Yang Wenhao had spared his life, Jia Renda could not tell if he should feel grateful or furious.

He watched Yang Wenhao’s departing figure with burning hatred in his eyes. A petty man’s revenge may wait from dawn till dusk.

(End of chapter)