Xu Que's left fingers turned, sending his black longsword spinning to a new angle before shooting toward the four enemies rushing at him.
Thud. Thud.
Four swift sounds of flesh being pierced echoed as the figures instantly froze where they stood. Xu Que had no time to revel in their collapse; he evaded two more slashes from oncoming blades, narrowly avoiding them. As he prepared to strike down another foe, a blade arced toward his neck, swift and merciless—a perfect execution of a heavenly-level technique.
The man wielding the blade smiled, thinking the moment of triumph had arrived. But, to his shock, the blade met nothing but empty air. Before he could even comprehend, a deadly intent locked onto him.
Boom!
The man's grade-D sword shattered in two, and he crumpled, a bloodied mess. Xu Que's punch had unleashed a devastating force of supreme S-rank might. Even a grade-C weapon would have shattered under that blow.
To Xu Que, the ambush of over twenty grade-C warriors was little more than a formation easily dealt with by his sword technique. Once he swiftly dispatched them, his gaze shifted to the distant, brightly-lit manor.
"Are you ready?"
In a courtyard in Shangjing, an elder in a Zhongshan suit raised his head to the night sky. This was Ye Zhentian's brother, Ye Zhenbao. The Ye family, a towering pillar in Z-country, held immense influence not only in the military but also as an unshakable force in politics.
"Zhentian, is it true?"
On the other end of the line came a solemn voice, "Brother, the old whale has aged out. Let it fade away in this new era."
"Ah... the Chen family never should have taken this path," Ye Zhentian sighed deeply.
"They made their choice," came Ye Zhentian's grim reply. "Instead of staying a patriotic businessman, he chose to conspire with them."
"The time is near; I'll arrange to contain the news soon." After ending the call, Ye Zhentian looked back up at the crescent moon. "Tonight... the winds of Shangjing have changed."
Thunder rumbled as rain poured onto the ground. Xu Que continued forward, undeterred, letting the rain cleanse him. As he neared the manor district, he felt the presence of a new killing intent. Arrows suddenly shot out from an unknown direction. Xu Que sensed them just in time, dodging skillfully. But when he looked toward the origin, he found only empty darkness.
"Hah!" Xu Que chuckled inwardly. Were they treating this city like a jungle, thinking him prey? Shaking his head in disdain, he muttered coldly, "Do you think you can restrain me? You're sorely mistaken."
He paid no mind to finding his assailants. With a swift channeling of energy into his black sword, he unleashed an aura that swept out like a hundred-meter crescent moon, obliterating the surrounding ruins. The powerful explosion cleared all hiding spots. The bodies of over a dozen grade-C ability users lay scattered, now unrecognizable.
Inside the manor, several B-rank experts were stunned by the display of power. A man in training garb asked, "Yufeng, how do you think this man measures up to Xiaokun?"
"Senior Zhang, you know Brother Kun better than I do," Yufeng replied, scratching his head. "But something feels strange about this."
"You feel it too?" Senior Zhang asked curiously.
"Hold on, I'll call Brother Kun." Yufeng took out his phone, only to find a busy signal. He tried Huang Bo next, with the same result. Growing anxious, he looked to Senior Zhang.
"Try Qishan or Qikai; one of them should be available," suggested Senior Zhang.
When Qikai finally picked up, Yufeng asked shrewdly, "Brother Qikai, is it true Mr. Xu is heading north?"
"Yes, he should be around Shangjing by now. Why do you ask?" Qikai replied in surprise.
"Nothing, carry on!" Yufeng hung up and exchanged knowing glances with Senior Zhang. They swiftly left the manor under the guise of an errand, aware that Xu Que was indeed nearby.
Meanwhile, Xu Que continued toward the manor, unaware that his actions had caused two familiar faces to flee. Sheathing his black sword, he moved forward.
Less than a kilometer from the manor, a dozen shadows appeared amidst the ruins. Xu Que called out coldly, "You can come out now. No need to hide."
One by one, over ten figures emerged, surrounding him. One of them held up a phone, revealing a video feed of a sinister-looking man seated on a sofa. Xu Que recognized him as the head of the Imperial Hunter Corporation, Chen Tianfang.
In a low voice, Chen Tianfang began, "Xu Que, let's not waste words. I'll give you an extra three percent. From now on, let's stay out of each other's way."
Xu Que smiled but remained silent.
"Don't be too greedy. The waters of Shangjing run deep; you can't manage this alone," Chen warned. "Know that I've enlisted five B-rank experts, and we're closely tied to the Sphield family."
The alliance between the Chen family and the Sphield family didn't surprise Xu Que; he'd already known about it from his past life. He just hadn't expected the Imperial Hunter Corporation to vanish so early in the third year of Tianyuan.
"If the Chen family falls, it will send shockwaves through Z-country's markets," Chen continued, sipping red wine to hide his nervousness, hoping intimidation and bribery would work.
"Is this all you've got?" Xu Que replied coolly.
Chen Tianfang froze. Wasn't this enough? Even without national support, he still held leverage.
"Xu Que, don't be reckless. I'll give you one more percent at most!" Chen pressed.
"Ah..." Xu Que smirked, shaking his head. "They say merchants are all cunning. Today, I see it's true." He sneered, "You're offering me my own resources back—do you think I'm the fool here?"
Chen hadn't anticipated that Xu Que knew everything...
Xu Que surveyed the grade-C ability users around him, an enigmatic smile playing on his lips. How ironic that the Chen family had used his own resources to hire so many.
"Kill him!" Chen Tianfang ordered. But just as his men were about to attack, they froze.
One by one, their faces turned to shock, for the man they thought they'd surrounded moved with a speed far beyond their imagination.