Chapter 64: High Rank Secret Technique!

As the two spoke, colleagues gradually entered the Main Hall.

Not long after, over twenty figures appeared on the grounds.

At that moment, three powerful figures walked in from behind.

Two men and one woman—Qin Ruobing and the other two Deputy Hall Masters.

The three strode forward, taking two steps at a time, soon reaching the central High Platform, overlooking the crowd below.

"We have confirmed Du Ling's whereabouts as true; those summoned today will act alongside the Xuanjia Army Commander to safely rescue Du Ling…"

Qin Ruobing scanned the entire hall, her voice cold and clear, radiating authority.

"We obey your command."

The crowd below shouted in unison, their voices echoing through the Main Hall.

"The one who first discovered Du Ling will be rewarded with a High Rank Secret Technique by the County Magistrate."

Qin Ruobing spoke again, her tone indifferent.

Xiao Tianci and He Chunlin beside her nodded with smiles.

Looking at their martial artists, they were quite satisfied.

Compared to Qin Ruobing, the two Deputy Hall Masters had far stronger martial artists under them.

Even among this batch of newly promoted Yellow Rank Suppressing Demons Officers, two were already somewhat famous—and both served under them.

One was Chen Qiushi, who had recently earned the nickname "Thunder Blade."

The other was Zhu Zhiquan, also known, who had acquired the title "Autumn Water Blade."

Both were around Refining Flesh Perfection, from prominent county families, and always carried themselves with great arrogance.

Among those newly promoted on the field, they were the two strongest.

Qin Ruobing looked at her own subordinates and felt a touch of discouragement.

None of her subordinates had yet risen to prominence.

The strongest among those recruited this year was only at Flesh Refining Huoqi.

Far behind those two.

Lu Zhangsheng also felt some interest in that Advanced Secret Technique.

He merely harbored a casual hope—if he didn't get it, it didn't matter.

High Rank Secret Techniques were still extremely precious; the County Magistrate had spent considerable resources for his beloved daughter's sake.

Soon, the group received their Task Tokens and filed out of the Main Hall one by one.

Lu Zhangsheng surveyed the surrounding figures.

Most of this group were Flesh Refining martial artists, with five or six Bone-Forging experts.

This rescue operation was no small matter.

The County Government Office would surely send some martial artists as well.

Not long after, the group followed the mission map to the center of County City, arriving at a Square.

At this moment, over a dozen figures already stood on the Square.

The leader wore black armor, his aura deep as an ocean, terrifyingly immense.

He was Wei Shaoxuan, Commander of the Xuanjia Army, his face stern and upright.

Beside him stood four Bone-Forging Experts; the rest were Flesh Refining martial artists.

Their combined auras intertwined, as if capable of suppressing all.

These people, combined with the Suppressing Demons Corps, formed a force of great power.

As Lu Zhangsheng and the others joined the center of the Square, Wei Shaoxuan spoke calmly: "All actions during this mission are under my command. No independent movements. March."

With a wave of his hand, he led the group toward the city's outskirts.

………………

Fulong Manor.

As a large manor, it lay over two hundred li west of County City; the manor was vast, yet sparsely inhabited, eerily silent.

This day, morning.

The entire manor was utterly still, not a single soul to be seen.

"Boom—boom—boom…"

At that moment, a large force arrived at the manor's perimeter, surrounding Fulong Manor entirely.

It was Wei Shaoxuan's group.

After days of climbing mountains and crossing ridges, they had finally reached their destination.

"Storm in, kill every Heretic Cultivator, rescue Du Ling—quick and decisive…"

Wei Shaoxuan's expression was icy.

"We obey your command."

Those around him nodded eagerly.

Then Wei Shaoxuan led the charge, rushing forward with the group.

"Tread-tread-tread…"

The ground rumbled, kicking up clouds of dust.

Lu Zhangsheng followed at the rear of the formation, alongside Yue Shulan, far behind Wei Shaoxuan.

Not long after, the group entered the manor.

"Hehehe… I thought who it might be—turns out it's Imperial Court Hounds. After your last injury, your Realm was permanently blocked, and the Court never gave you a single Soul-Returning Pill. Frankly, such a Court isn't worth your loyalty…"

"Why not join Black Mountain Stronghold? Wouldn't it be glorious to become the Fourth Master?"

Just then, over thirty figures walked out from the main hall ahead, murderous aura radiating from every one of them.

The one at the front was fanning himself with a feather fan — it was the Black Mountain Bandits' Third Master, Liu Shiqi; those few lines from earlier had come from his mouth.

Beside him stood an old man in a red robe, his eyes deeply sunken, looking like a fierce ghost.

This man was a Helmsman-level expert of the Wenxiang Sect, Wei Zhongyuan. "Hmph… you bandits actually consorting with an Evil Cult — you're going backwards in life."

Wei Shaoxuan's face was full of killing intent.

"Kill."

Liu Shiqi's expression hardened, and he said no more.

He then waved a large hand and led the men charging forward.

"Cut them down quickly."

Wei Shaoxuan issued the same order.

The great battle between the two sides erupted in an instant.

"Boom boom boom…"

Wei Shaoxuan charged out at the forefront, going straight to meet Liu Shiqi and Wei Zhongyuan.

He meant to take on two at once, fighting both of them simultaneously.

The County City's side also swiftly engaged the Black Mountain Bandits and the Wenxiang Sect people.

The two sides crashed into each other violently.

The fierce sounds of collision shook the heavens, kicking up layers of dust all around.

The ground began to crack in patches, a scene of utter devastation.

Kill…

The two sides' forces clashed on the field, growing more and more intense.

"Bang bang bang…"

Wei Shaoxuan's Long Blade swept through the air like a war god, firmly pinning the two opponents beneath him.

Taking on two and still steadily holding the upper hand — this was the strength of a Commander of the Xuanjia Army.

That Wenxiang Sect Helmsman was the weakest of the three; without Liu Shiqi's help, he would likely have been cut down within a few exchanges.

The gap in strength between them and Wei Shaoxuan was clearly far too great.

Lu Zhangsheng was in a corner at the outermost edge of the Battlefield.

He was fighting a young man in black with his blade while surveying the entire Battlefield.

The aftershocks from the three top Strong Persons' clash were truly terrifying.

Lu Zhangsheng guessed these people were probably at least at the Blood Exchange level or above.

To avoid being caught in the crossfire, everyone on the field unanimously kept a good distance from the three Strong Persons.

The moment the two sides made contact, the County City's Martial Artists gained a clear upper hand.

At this rate, it probably wouldn't be long before the Wenxiang Sect people collapsed.

The man in black fighting Lu Zhangsheng saw that the two of them were evenly matched and grew fiercer in his assault.

Lu Zhangsheng had been maintaining the strength of Flesh Refining Mid Stage, on par with the man, and their fight was extremely "intense."

The man in black seemed to have met a kindred spirit — no matter how hard he erupted, it always ended in a draw.

After the time it took to drink a cup of tea.

"Retreat."

Liu Shiqi gave the order, and he and Wei Zhongyuan both swiftly retreated backward.

After a few flashes, they vanished into the vicinity.

A group of Wenxiang Sect people immediately retreated backward.

"Ah…"

Some who failed to escape were cut down on the spot by the County Government Office's Strong Persons.

Corpses were left strewn across the ground, fresh blood staining a great many Qing Shi bricks all around.

All of this happened far too quickly, seeming somewhat eerie.

Even Lu Zhangsheng felt something was a bit off.

"This mission went far too smoothly — could there be a trap?"

They had barely exerted any effort before the enemy fled.

That was clearly not normal.

Lu Zhangsheng couldn't believe the enemy had operated for so many years with only this level of strength.

If that were the case, they would have been wiped out by the County Government Office long ago.

"Hurry and search for Du Ling."

Wei Shaoxuan shouted loudly, and did not choose to pursue.

He too didn't want to think too much about it for now — finding Du Ling came first.

Hearing this, the crowd scattered to search the surroundings.

The lure of an Advanced Secret Technique was still quite tempting.

Lu Zhangsheng also rushed swiftly toward the west side of the estate.

The ground of the estate had many round covers made of wooden boards.

Lifting the covers revealed an underground space below.

Inside, quite a few Commoners and Martial Artists were being held captive.

As the County City's experts struck one after another, many people were rescued, yet Du Ling's figure was still nowhere to be seen.

As time passed, the others continued their search.

After inspecting several underground chambers, Lu Zhangsheng returned to a cover plate at the very corner.

"Clang clang..."

He drew the Long Blade and instantly severed the chains before him.

Then he lifted the cover and jumped down.

(End of Chapter)