Chapter 56: Unexpected Turn of Events

Nightfall shrouded the entire Yuanping County; tonight was a starless night, and even the moon in the sky was hidden behind dark clouds.

It was a night suitable for underhanded actions.

Perhaps due to the rampant tiger plague, or perhaps because the Martial Artists had swarmed out this morning, Yuanping County lacked much of its vitality today.

To such an extent that many shops had closed their doors early, and there were few lights lit on either side of the streets.

Right in the midst of this deathly silent night, over twenty young Martial Artists dressed in tight-fitting outfits were threading through the streets.

The leading Martial Artist's Qi and Blood Power far exceeded that of the other Martial Artists; he was clearly a Martial Master with solid strength.

This team of Martial Artists walked quickly through the street, and the leading Martial Master asked in a low voice, "Are you sure? Have those rootless Martial Artists all been dispersed?"

A Martial Artist who appeared very close to him nodded and replied, "Yes, Young Master, everything is as you expected."

The Martial Master pondered for a moment before making up his mind: "Remember, we only have one chance! Once the deed is done, the flesh and blood of that tiger spirit will be split among you!"

Upon hearing this promise, a flash of fanaticism crossed the eyes of the other Martial Artists in the team—

If they could split the flesh and blood of a tiger spirit, not to mention improving their strength, even breaking through the great realm of a Martial Master was not out of the question!

The Martial Artists in the team were all stirred up, and they spoke in low, determined voices: "Rest assured, Young Master, this mission will surely succeed!"

This team led by a Martial Master headed toward the mountains in the east without looking back, and the figures of the twenty-plus people gradually disappeared into the night.

Feng Zi leaned calmly against the window, watching this scene unfold before his eyes in silence, yet he subconsciously frowned slightly:

He always felt... no matter from what angle one considered it, this situation was full of things that were not right!

According to the intelligence gathered over the past few days, although Feng Zi himself had never seen that Guang Family Young Master, he had already formed a rough sketch of his personality in his mind:

As a young man, while he certainly possessed the hot-blooded spirit of youth, he did not seem like a reckless brute who would lose his head and act without regard for consequences!

Would such a person, having planned and laid out his strategy for so long, really be unable to suppress the impulses in his heart? Especially when facing this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for a breakthrough?

Feng Zi felt it was strange, yet he could not put his finger on why—after all, the person leading the team was indeed a genuine Martial Master.

He subconsciously rubbed his chin and muttered, "Could it be... that the Guang Family has more than one Martial Master?"

This was indeed a highly probable hypothesis; regardless of whether it was true, Feng Zi secretly noted this conjecture in his heart and reserved a few contingency plans.

With the rising of the sun, no other major events occurred in Yuanping County.

But the news that the Guang Family Young Master, Guang Heng, had led the County Government Office's Tiger-Hunting Squad and departed overnight quietly spread throughout the entire county.

This was certainly not done by Feng Zi:

As a third-party Martial Master force hiding in the shadows, he should do everything possible to conceal his tracks and lower his own presence; how could he possibly do such a thing?

Without needing to think, he understood that there were only two forces that could have spread this news—

Either it was the head of the Ying family, who had yet to make a move, or it was the Guang Family Young Master, who clearly still had hidden cards to play.

Of course, no matter who spread the news, Feng Zi was very clear that other people or forces who had not yet begun to act now had no choice left.

Just as Feng Zi had expected, the first to be unable to sit still were the few Martial Artists who still lingered in Yuanping County and considered themselves "smart people."

Watching the few remaining Martial Artists leave Yuanping County one after another, Feng Zi remained unmoved.

It was not until evening that he saw:

A seemingly mediocre middle-aged Martial Master leading a fully armed team of over ten people, walking toward the distant mountains.

As they walked, the Martial Artists behind the middle-aged man proclaimed, "Rest assured, fellow villagers, with Martial Master Ying Xian setting out, the tiger plague will surely be eradicated!"

In that instant, Feng Zi nearly misheard this sentence as that classic line—

"With Lord Ying Xian setting out, the blue sky returns! With Lord Ying Xian setting out, Yuanping will be at peace!"

Immediately, he shook his head repeatedly, casting these messy thoughts to the back of his mind.

Feng Zi understood that the reason he was like this was entirely because he had seen two sides of Martial Masters set out one after another, causing his tense heartstrings to suddenly relax.

"Feng Zi, oh Feng Zi, we are only at the beginning, why are you slacking off?" He sighed deeply and muttered in his heart.

But even seeing that two Martial Masters had already left, Feng Zi still sat steadily in his room, with no intention of moving at all.

According to his original plan, he intended to stay for one more night.

The reason was simple: firstly, no one could be sure if all parties had set out, and staying one more night to observe the situation was necessary;

Secondly, as a lone Martial Master, compared to the other two local powerhouses, Feng Zi was not held back by other Martial Artists and possessed a unique level of flexibility!

Therefore, Feng Zi was confident in continuing to wait, waiting for those two sides of Martial Masters to start fighting each other first.

But no matter how comprehensive a plan is, it can never keep up with sudden changes—

Just as Feng Zi was preparing to turn and go to bed for a short nap, he saw a cyan streak of light that was almost one with the night!

That streak of light seemed to fall from the sky, cutting across the horizon at an extreme speed and landing among the mountains in the east.

If not for the fact that Feng Zi was a Martial Master with extremely strong eyesight and was observing his surroundings with full concentration at that moment, he would have nearly missed this "streak of light."

Seeing this scene, Feng Zi could not help but be stunned, his mind racing at high speed.

What was that? A meteor? Extraterrestrial meteorite iron? Or a treasure fallen from the heavens?

Was this an opportunity, or a disaster? He did not know.

Moreover, should he seek this opportunity? If he did, would it disrupt his previous plans and cause the opportunity to break through to the Transformation Realm to be lost in vain?

Regarding all of this, Feng Zi did not know, and he had to make a decision immediately!

From a rational perspective, Feng Zi understood that he should forget the scene he had just seen and focus all his energy on the struggle for the tiger spirit.

After all, the opportunity to break through to a higher realm was rare, while the truth behind that cyan streak of light was hidden in unknown mist.

But for some reason, Feng Zi's instinct was telling him:

Compared to that cyan streak of light, the opportunity to break through to the Transformation Realm seemed insignificant!

And... as time passed, this thought became increasingly difficult to ignore in his heart.

After pondering for a moment, Feng Zi finally made up his mind to change his plan and pursue that cyan streak of light that had cut across the sky—

"A Martial Artist's intuition"—this existence sounded highly unreliable, but it was not something conjured out of thin air; it was a conclusion reached by Feng Zi's subconscious combined with the available information.

It was just that for Feng Zi at this moment, he did not know why he had reached this conclusion.

Therefore, Feng Zi decided to trust his intuition.

Afterwards, he shouldered his pack, picked up his precious bow, and without the slightest hesitation climbed over the window, using the cover of the night to dash straight toward the mountains in the east.