CHAPTER 95: CHAPTER 95: I WANT YOU TO BE THE UNDERSTUDY FOR A CORPSE

Horizontally Mounted Blade!

Shen Changqing shifted his blade to defend, all openings on his body vanishing.

In the instant he did so, Hongyi’s onslaught arrived; her chilling palm pressed directly onto the blade’s surface, a Yin-cold aura bursting forth with immense force.

"HA!"

Shen Changqing stood his ground, Heavenly Martial Gang Qi surging. The blade, which should have been frosted, was instantly engulfed by a wave of heat.

The scorching temperature caused Hongyi’s expression to change, and without a second thought, she retreated.

The moment she fell back, the defensive long blade swept out like a crescent moon, beheading several approaching Corpse Puppets, which collapsed to the ground, unable to rise.

A successful strike.

Shen Changqing did not pause, plunging alone into the midst of the Corpse Puppets, his long blade reaping their heads like the Grim Reaper’s scythe.

He naturally understood the principle of capturing the ringleader first to capture the bandits.

However, Hongyi was very strong. In a one-on-one situation, he was somewhat confident of victory. But now, with the aid of numerous Corpse Puppets, it would not be so easy to suppress Hongyi.

Therefore, the plan for now was to eliminate all the Corpse Puppets first; then it would be time to deal with Hongyi.

Although Shen Changqing didn’t know what method was used to refine these Corpse Puppets, as they didn’t leak even a hint of Yin Evil Aura, when it came to strength, the Corpse Puppets here were not much different in strength from those in Lin’an City. At most, they were merely equivalent to martial artists in the Body Tempering Realm.

With his current strength at the Innate Peak, dealing with some Body Tempering Realm Corpse Puppets was as easy as slaughtering chickens and lambs, posing no difficulty whatsoever.

Wanhua Building had no shortage of Corpse Puppets. The once lively and charming courtesans now looked utterly terrifying, nothing like their former captivating selves.

「On another front.」

While Shen Changqing was slaughtering Corpse Puppets, Hongyi hadn’t stopped either; she waited for an opportunity, coordinating with the Corpse Puppets to launch surprise attacks.

The more they fought, the more alarmed Hongyi became!

She couldn’t understand when the Demon-Subduing Division had produced such a formidable expert. According to the Eternal Alliance’s intelligence, the person before her had clearly only joined the Demon-Subduing Division less than three years ago. Less than three years, yet he had become such an expert. Hongyi believed that if news of this spread, it would undoubtedly shake the Eternal Alliance. Similarly, if she could slay such an expert and absorb his Essence Blood, she would surely be able to break through her current limits and advance directly to the Grandmaster Realm.

The Grandmaster Realm. That was the dividing line between the Human Clan and Demonfolk. For Demon Evil, that was equivalent to the Fiend Level.

"Kill him! He must be killed!"

Thinking of the Grandmaster Realm, Hongyi licked her red lips, her emerald eyes filled with fervent desire.

WHOOSH—

Her figure vanished from the spot; the next instant, she was already lunging at Shen Changqing to kill him.

For this strike, she had timed this fatal assault for a moment when Shen Changqing was distracted.

A fierce gust of wind swept over.

Shen Changqing narrowly avoided his vital points, allowing her palm to land on his body. Her sharp fingernails were like blades; even the seven-layer Invincible Golden Body could not withstand them.

His robes tore. A piercing pain shot through him.

Her palm plunged directly into Shen Changqing’s body, then pierced out through his back.

A successful strike.

Just as Hongyi was about to smile, her expression suddenly changed; she discovered that her hand, embedded in Shen Changqing’s body, was clamped by an immense force, making it impossible to withdraw.

"It’s my turn now!" Shen Changqing sneered viciously, the excruciating pain in his body fully igniting his inner ferocity.

The Lengyue Blade descended, and Hongyi’s entire arm was severed by him.

Dark blood sprayed out, much of it splashing onto Shen Changqing, causing his skin and flesh to instantly fester and rot.

At the same time, Hongyi screamed in agony, clutching her severed arm as she explosively retreated.

"Madman, you’re a madman!"

Clutching her amputated arm, she stared at Shen Changqing in horror. Her own severed arm was still impaled in his body, and combined with the corrosive blood, Shen Changqing’s condition looked utterly horrifying.

SPURT!

The severed arm was brutally pulled out, and Shen Changqing casually tossed it to the ground.

At the same time, the Invincible Golden Body was also frantically repairing the wounds to his flesh, but compared to the horrifying penetrating injury, its healing could barely manage to stanch the bleeding.

The long blade pointed diagonally at the ground. Dark blood dripped from the long blade onto the ground, corroding holes into the bluestone slabs.

"It seems your injuries are more severe than mine!" Shen Changqing licked his cracked lips, his frenzied, savage gaze locked onto Hongyi.

This battle! It was the most severe he had sustained since arriving in this world.

But—in this battle, Shen Changqing sensed that something within his body seemed to be gestating, on the verge of being born. That sensation made him unable to resist becoming engrossed in it.

"It’s a true pity you won’t join the Eternal Alliance!" Hongyi’s expression was icy; the wound on her severed arm was also gradually scabbing over. Although the limb hadn’t regenerated, the bleeding had stopped. "Jincheng is ultimately doomed. With your strength alone, trying to defy fate is simply impossible. If you don’t join the Eternal Alliance, you can only be buried along with Jincheng!"

"Even if I am buried with Jincheng, you’ll be the one at the bottom of the pile of corpses—"

Shen Changqing’s body suddenly moved; he shot forward like an arrow, his long blade scraping across the ground, kicking up a trail of sparks.

Immediately afterward, he stomped down with his left foot, his body leaping into the air; gripping the long blade with both hands, he fiercely chopped down towards Hongyi.

Feeling the strength contained within that strike, Hongyi ultimately chose to retreat, her body receding rapidly like a black shadow.

And in the moment she vanished, the long blade heavily struck the ground.

The Blade Gang burst forth, causing the bluestone pavement to crack, the fissures spreading far before gradually stopping.

Blade sheathed, Shen Changqing extended his senses to their fullest. Only after confirming Hongyi had truly retreated did he turn his gaze to the surroundings.

All the Corpse Puppets had now been completely slaughtered by him. A rough count suggested at least one or two hundred.

It was unknown how long these Corpse Puppets had been dead; after being slain, their bodies rapidly decomposed. Mixed with the dark blood, the stench was enough to make one want to retch.

He took a bottle of Qi and Blood Pills from his robes. Without a second thought, he swallowed one down.

The elixir entered his stomach. A surging Qi and Blood Force erupted within him.

True Qi surged in his Dantian, forcibly refining this unfamiliar Qi and Blood Force, transforming it into the sustenance his body needed.

In just a few breaths, Shen Changqing felt the wounds on his body begin to itch, and the areas corroded by the blood had also recovered considerably.

Fighting Demonfolk is truly a great nuisance, he thought, observing his injuries and shaking his head in resignation.

Fortunately, his Heavenly Martial Gang Qi had broken through to the unprecedented fourteenth layer, and moreover, it had absorbed the inherent characteristics of Pure Yang True Qi. Otherwise, the Yin-cold aura carried by Hongyi’s earlier strike would have been enough to freeze the Qi and blood in his body. Let alone severing an arm, he was fortunate not to have been killed in return.

After briefly recovering from his injuries, Shen Changqing didn’t linger and headed directly towards Tianyi Tower.

The commotion from the battle had been so great, yet it hadn’t attracted the slightest attention from the common people. Combined with Hongyi’s words, he didn’t need to think hard to realize that Jincheng was likely on the verge of a major disaster.

Walking down the street, the surrounding residences were all pitch black, as if no one was there.

It didn’t take long. Fortunately, by the time Shen Changqing reached the street where Tianyi Tower was located, the surroundings had begun to appear more normal.

Even though it was curfew and no commoners dared to venture out, the occasional bright lights from within proved that people were present.

Upon returning to Tianyi Tower, Shen Changqing’s ghastly appearance immediately caused the shock of the attendant who was closing up.

"Young... Young Master Shen—"

"I’m all right. Immediately bring a pail of water to my room, and prepare a set of clean clothes," Shen Changqing instructed, then headed straight up to the third floor.

He had barely returned to his room when there was a knock on the door.

Upon opening it, he saw Yu San holding a large bucket, the hot water in it still steaming, and Zhong Chi holding a set of green robes.

After pouring the water into the wooden tub in the room, Yu San stepped out.

Meanwhile, Zhong Chi placed the clothes on the table. Seeing Shen Changqing’s wretched state, his expression also became grave.

"Lord Shen, what has happened?"

"Something’s gone wrong!" Shen Changqing said faintly. As he spoke, he made no attempt to hide from Zhong Chi, directly disrobing in front of him before stepping into the wooden tub to wash the filth from his body.

Once he was soaking in the wooden tub, his gaze fell on Zhong Chi, and he then recounted everything that had happened.

After a long moment, Zhong Chi’s expression turned as dark as water.

"If what Lord Shen says is true, then something major has indeed happened! The Zhou Family has been exterminated, and now Wanhua Building has also torn off its facade, no longer hiding itself. I fear the Eternal Alliance still has other motives in this matter!"

His thoughts spun wildly. Since the Eternal Alliance allowed Wanhua Building to become its stronghold in Jincheng, it certainly wasn’t without reason. It was said that Wanhua Building’s purpose was to give Hongyi a chance to break through to the Grandmaster Realm. However, one Grandmaster expert was not necessarily indispensable to the vast Eternal Alliance. Compared to producing a Grandmaster expert, Wanhua Building, being rooted in Jincheng, could gather a great deal of intelligence from the city, helping the Eternal Alliance gain greater benefits. An intelligence stronghold could sometimes play a much larger role. Unless—the Eternal Alliance never intended for Wanhua Building to last long from the beginning.

Soaking in the hot water, Shen Changqing spoke calmly, "From what that Demonfolk said, it seems Jincheng will be destroyed before long. It’s highly probable the Eternal Alliance has a major move planned next."

"This matter is critical. I will immediately send word to the other Heavenly Inspection Guards to track the Eternal Alliance’s movements. At the same time, this will also be reported back to the Demon-Subduing Division. If necessary, sufficient experts will be dispatched as reinforcements." Zhong Chi said, his expression calm. His last sentence was directed at Shen Changqing.