Boom!
The usually impenetrable and terror-imposing plate armor of black steel exploded onto the open street of Dong Lin City, the soldier confined within erupting into shockwave of red, white, and grey.
Blood splattered onto the paved street, the people kneeling onto the ground, and the five other soldiers as well as Du Yongkang.
Before they could recover, fragments of bone lodged into the creases of their clothing, striking against the soft corners of their flesh and bodies, drawing forth a wave of pain and disgust.
"Y-y-young Master, dodge!"
The soldier closest to him shouted with a clarion call of panic, prompting Du Yongkang to raise his eyebrows in surprise.
Before the famed genius of cultivation could respond, a finely sliced sheet of human liver slapped onto his countenance with an audible squelch, the severed organ oozing with fresh blood.
"Heavens…"
At that instant, the crowd could no longer care about the blood splattered over their silken robes and dresses, or the dull aches emanating from their joints and flesh from the rain of bone fragments.
Everyone audibly gulped as the blood drained from their countenance, and their kneeling quickly transformed into a complete kowtow.
Someone splattered human liver onto Du Yongkang's countenance, that was equivalent to completely antagonizing the Du Clan from the younger generation to its ancestors for a hundred years of bloody recompense…
"Ah… ah… ah…"
Du Yongkang's nostrils were flooded by the rustic and metallic scent of human blood, his countenance covered by a warm and sticky sensation. As his mouth released incoherent sounds of disbelief and shock, the blood seeped into his robes and permanently stained the elegant brocade, and his feet stepped onto a part of the large stomach intestine.
"Young Mast-"
Puff!
The inner organ burst from the unintentional pressure applied by Du Yongkang's foot, and curled up from the impact before exploding into a slurry of solid and liquid.
Colorful matter slapped the youth's legs from below, dealing an accurate and powerful blow to his weakest defenses with a solid spray of dinner, blood, and… chunks.
This proved to be the ultimate straw that broke the Seventh Young Master of the Du Clan out of his reverie.
"AH!? WHO DARES ATTACK THIS YOUNG MASTER!?"
Du Yongkang roared towards the people earnestly kowtowing to him, their foreheads bleeding from the sharp stones clinging to their skin.
Though their brows were creased in pain, their forehead continued to be pressed onto the ground in increasing haste, their hearts surging with confusion and injustice.
Young Master, we don't know as well!
Please take your wrath onto the true culprit, not us innocent folk!
Du Yongkang appeared to have recognized this reasoning as well, for the youth dressed in the ruined brocade swiftly wiped the carnage from his countenance.
A bloodied smear sneering at him from outside, the Young Master of the Du Clan stamped his foot in frustration, his voice laced with an immense killing intent.
"Order the clan to mobilize all of the forces available for immediate action," the youth commanded.
"I want the culprit found so they may be publicly tortured and executed for committing such a vile act!"
"Understood, Young Master!"
The five remaining soldiers clasped their fists in salute, rushing off into different alleyways to report to the Du Clan in all haste.
His mouth suffused with the coppery and greasy taste of foreign blood, Du Yongkang departed from the area, his heart boiling with rage.
Whoever was responsible, they were bound to suffer an absolutely miserable torture that even the Underworld's punishments appealed on their behalf!
–
"What's going on over there?"
Shen Haoren grimaced as he glanced towards the end of the street, his eyebrow raised in bemusement.
Besides him, Tang Yunhe and Wen Jiu similarly creased their brows, a pondering expression glancing their countenance.
"The spiritual essence fluctuation seemed to be that of the Du Clan's unique martial art,
"What's going on? Brother Yang, the Du Clan doesn't dare disrupt public order even with their overinflated ego, right?"
Tang Yunhe sauntered as he clapped Shen Haoren on the back, before running to match pace with the Young Master of the Yang Clan.
"Out of the four of us, only your Yang Clan can stand on equal footing with the Du Clan," Wen Jiu revealed a faint smile.
"Brother Yang, we're counting on you… ah? Where did the Young Miss go?"
Shen Haoren's eyebrows shot towards the sky as his body lurched to a sudden stop at Wen Jiu's statement.
Just as he was about to dispatch a sarcastic remark towards the handsome man who seemed to have found his moment of spring whilst in a battle, the middle-aged man's spine shivered with fear.
She really was gone!
Second Elder Sister was going to flay him alive when she finds out!
"This…"
Shen Haoren's wife pondered whilst in a solemn mood.
As Tang Yunhe, Wen Jiu, and Tang Shiqi's minds spiraled into odd thoughts, the heartwarming panting of a young maiden soon drifted into the enhanced ears of the practitioners.
"You… left me behind!"
An Fei groaned as she rushed towards the group with a countenance dazzled with beads of sweat, her chest heaving from a lack of air.
The slightly loosened clothing and the faint blush on her cheeks from the exertion caused Wen Jiu's heart to soar into the ninth sky, prompting the little raven to gnash its beak without realizing the reason why.
That wasn't a false complaint; she had accidently entered the wrong streets as she was fleeing from the incident with Du Yongkang, prompting her to travel halfway throughout the entire western sector of Dong Lin City before she faintly discerned the position of Shen Haoren and his heavy, plodding feet!
Combined with the cruel suppression on her abilities imposed by the world… her speed could not compare to even Tang Shiqi's pace if she didn't dare utilize spiritual essence…
Ah, how misfortunate!
"Young Miss…"
The bachelor's heart within Wen Jiu burst at the inadvertent temptation emanating from An Fei's body, and he stepped forward with a warm and consoling smile on his countenance.
The handsome man outstretched a wandering hand towards the young girl's head, but was ruthlessly intercepted by a golden streak of light.
Caw!
"Ouch!"
Wen Jiu's hand retreated backwards at the fastest speed he could muster, but a faint light managed to create a long, thin wound on the underside of his palm.
The little raven puffed its head in a triumphant glare as the handsome man stumbled, his eyes widening in disbelief.
"Young Miss, ah…" Wen Jiu could only muster after a wry smile broke onto his countenance.
"Your raven… is quite powerful, to be able to break my defense!"
"What? A mortal raven shattered Brother Wen's defense to inflict an injury?" Tang Yunhe's eyes bulged in surprise.
"Brother Wen's clan's unique martial arts technique is an unconscious defensive barrier to prevents many attacks underneath the practitioner's attainment in cultivation from scratching the skin and piercing flesh, but a mortal raven could bypass it…"
Yang Jian's interest could only be piqued after the combined surprise of both Tang Yunhe and Wen Jiu, and he turned around to face An Fei's still heaving figure.
The handsome man successfully ignored the fragrant, unconscious charm hovering around the average-appearance young girl, his hand extended towards the little raven perched on her shoulder.
"May the Young Miss allow this one to inspect the young raven?"
Yang Jian asked in an expressionless voice, his countenance devoid of any fluctuation and steady regardless of the circumstance.
"This…" An Fei hesitated, her eyes narrowing in confusion.
"Xiao Hei… is only a normal raven? There isn't anything special about him, so there shouldn't be a need to investigate…"
The little raven graced the young girl a favor by remaining silent and preening its feathers with a docile demeanor, though the implied remark about it existing as a mutant breed echoed in its mind with deafening roars.
The young girl similarly glanced back towards the handsome man with a confused expression on her countenance, portraying the essence of an innocent and clueless girl.
At the unexpected refusal, Yang Jian's proffered hand twitched, but was soon retracted without a further word.
"Young lady, you might want to… ah…"
The young woman besides Shen Haoren suddenly remarked, her expression slightly queer as she glanced towards the young girl.
"Ah? Is there something wrong?" An Fei's head tilted towards the right, a finger trailing at the base of her chin.
"Your clothes…"
"Clothes?"
The young girl paused, her glance traveling downwards to rest upon her body. The dress was intact, though the collars were slightly loosened, revealing a little more skin of her collarbone than necessary…
"O-oh…"
An Fei reached for the clasp of the hanfu to tighten it, causing Wen Jiu to gulp and kiss his throbbing bachelor's heart a hopeful farewell.
Just as her fingers rested onto the cotton strip, the young girl couldn't help but freeze in place.
She had forgotten to change her clothing, and they were standing on an open street-
"Freeze!"