Chapter 96

For the next few days.

News about the two Blood Exchange Soul Envoys of the heretic cult being killed by a mysterious strongman instantly spread throughout the entire Changping County.

It set off a huge uproar among countless martial artists.

Everyone suspected that it was the work of a strongman hidden within the Demon-Suppressing Division.

And the three Deputy Hall Masters of the Demon-Suppressing Division didn't make any clarifications, which made the numerous martial artists in the city even more certain.

A group of martial artists was quite excited; those two Blood Exchange Soul Envoys had been running rampant outside the city, extremely arrogant, and this time they were finally killed by a government strongman.

……

Outside the city.

Inside an underground main hall.

A group of black-clothed men knelt before a red-robed woman, their faces full of awe.

"Reporting to the Venerable Lord, this person is definitely the foundation within the Demon-Suppressing Division; the younger generation couldn't possibly have cultivated a body-protection technique to such a realm."

"Correct, since the government took the lead in not following the rules, we don't need to abide by the 'tacit understanding'..."

A group of black-clothed men spoke one after another.

Everyone had already received the news of the two Soul Envoys' deaths.

"Let the strongmen within the sect take action."

The red-robed woman spoke, her tone cold.

…………

In the days that followed.

Lu Zhangsheng still stayed at home cultivating quietly, occasionally going out of the city to patrol.

Encountering some ordinary heretic cultists, he would kill them directly.

Even if the Wenxiang Sect's Blood Exchange strongmen were dispatched, they couldn't catch up to him.

At the same time, ever since the two Soul Envoys were killed by him.

The conflict between the Wenxiang Sect and the government had become increasingly intense.

Many Blood Exchange realm strongmen were frequently dispatched, which was rarely seen in the past.

The Demon-Suppressing Division and the government also began to respond, dispatching a large number of old-rank strongmen to take action.

Both sides were fighting fiercely outside the city, and the smell of gunpowder was getting stronger.

Such days passed in a flash for half a month.

After these days, the Beast Clone was digging crazily in the mountains, and the Source Energy Points had become abundant again.

Open the panel.

Source Energy Points: 1250.

The plus sign behind the skill lit up again.

He did not hesitate anymore and immediately began to upgrade.

With a thought, he clicked the plus sign behind 【Mysterious Origin Slash】.

As the Source Energy Points decreased by eight hundred points.

"Buzz..."

A fluctuation from the void descended into the depths of his mind again, as if a top-tier strongman were practicing at every moment.

【After six years of your hard cultivation, the Mysterious Origin Slash has finally been cultivated to the Transcendent Realm.】

Following the prompt in his mind, this upgrade ended.

Lu Zhangsheng took out his slaughtering knife, walked rapidly to the courtyard, and began to test the blade technique after the breakthrough.

He instantly drew his blade and slashed forward; the sharp cold light shuttled through the void, with quite an astonishing momentum.

As his body moved in the courtyard, the entire space was filled with blade light, like snowflakes.

A moment later, Lu Zhangsheng withdrew his blade and stood still, slowly exhaling a breath of turbid air.

After raising this blade technique to the Transcendent Realm, his attack power had increased by about thirty percent; under full activation of the secret technique, his strength would increase even more.

Subsequently, Lu Zhangsheng put away his weapon and walked towards the bedroom.

……

The next day, early morning.

Early in the morning, just after Lu Zhangsheng had finished breakfast and was practicing martial arts in the courtyard, he heard bursts of light footsteps coming from outside.

He turned his head to look.

He saw Tong Yuhua walking over slowly with a smile on her face.

"Patrol Officer Lu practices martial arts at home every day; you are quite carefree."

Tong Yuhua teased with a smile.

After many missions, the friendship between the two had deepened quite a bit.

"Patrol Officer Tong, how do you have the time to come to my place today?"

Lu Zhangsheng smiled faintly.

The other party often patrolled outside the city, working hard to accumulate merit points, and rarely had time to find him.

"Sigh... now the fighting between the two sides is becoming increasingly intense, and even many Bone Forging strongmen have fallen."

Tong Yuhua sighed softly.

"Today, Hall Master Qin also has something for the two of us."

She stated her purpose directly.

Lu Zhangsheng nodded slightly, then walked with the other party towards the Demon-Suppressing Division government office.

While walking through the crowd on both sides, Lu Zhangsheng guessed in his heart that Hall Master Qin probably had some large-scale mission for the two of them today.

The two of them had almost never acted as a group in these past few months.

Now that the heretic cultists outside the city were becoming increasingly rampant, the mission for the two was highly likely related to this.

Soon, Lu Zhangsheng and the other arrived at the Demon-Suppressing Division main hall.

As soon as he stepped into the main hall, he saw Qin Ruobing sitting on a chair, saying straight to the point: "I summoned you today mainly because there is a large-scale mission."

"The Demon-Suppressing Division will dispatch some strongmen to cooperate with you to destroy the secret strongholds of the Wenxiang Sect..."

"You few Patrol Officers will form a team to carry out this operation together; you must severely strike those heretic cultists."

After speaking, she placed two mission tokens on the table.

Lu Zhangsheng and Tong Yuhua looked at each other, and they understood in their hearts.

Given that those Blood Exchange heretic cultists were appearing outside the city, the Demon-Suppressing Division also couldn't sit still and finally dispatched its own foundation.

This also signaled that the great battle between the two sides had escalated once again.

"The two of you have ordinary strength; don't be reckless when encountering strongmen; saving your lives is the priority."

Qin Ruobing smiled faintly.

She only had two good seedlings under her command, so naturally, she didn't want the two to fall.

As for whether the mission could be completed, naturally, that would be best.

"We obey the order."

Lu Zhangsheng and the other bowed, then picked up the mission tokens and walked out of the main hall.

Just after walking out of the hall, Tong Yuhua suddenly said with a smile: "Chen Zhanpeng and the other are Blood Exchange strongmen, and the two under Hall Master Xiao are also children of noble families; the two of us need to look out for each other..."

"That is natural."

Lu Zhangsheng smiled slightly, not refusing the other party's kindness.

He also understood the meaning behind the other party's words.

Among the six Patrol Officers, only the two of them belonged to the ordinary class.

During the mission, if they encountered any danger, the other few would likely be thinking about how to protect themselves.

Tong Yuhua was always smart, so naturally, she would plan ahead.

In Tong Yuhua's view, although the two's strength was mediocre, their chances of survival would increase greatly if they joined forces.

Subsequently, the two parted ways.

…………

The next day, early morning.

Beside a dense forest outside the city.

Six figures stood in the open space; they were exactly Lu Zhangsheng, Zhu Houyu, and the other six Patrol Officers.

"This time the six of us are gathered, the mission is likely quite arduous; to prevent mission failure, no one is allowed to act without authorization."

Zhu Houyu scanned everyone with his gaze.

He had already regarded himself as the leader.

Chen Zhanpeng on the side had a quite gloomy expression.

Ever since Zhu Houyu rose strongly, he had always been pressing him down.

Zhu Houyu had endured for many years; he was truly too cunning.

Lu Zhangsheng and Tong Yuhua were calm, as if it had nothing to do with them.

They didn't express any opinion on who should be the captain.

Just like that, Zhu Houyu became the leader of this mission without hesitation.

The group ran towards the mountain forest ahead rapidly.

Traveling all the way, two days later.

Xiao Wang Zhuang.

In a dense forest on the outskirts.

Lu Zhangsheng and his group leaned against a large tree, watching the manor ahead quietly.

According to the intelligence, there was a high possibility that this place was a heretic cult stronghold.

As early as a few hours ago, the few had arrived here.

After their discussion, they prepared to launch the operation at night.

Time passed slowly.

Night fell.

Lu Zhangsheng and his group channeled their movement techniques, charging towards the manor ahead rapidly.

After a few leaps and jumps, they arrived in an open space within the manor.

Then, the group explored in all directions.

Lu Zhangsheng found an area near the east and searched one by one.

"Creak..."

When he pushed open the doors one by one, the strange thing was that he didn't find anyone's presence.

"Could it be that the other party has already received the news and hidden in advance?"

Lu Zhangsheng felt quite puzzled in his heart.

Then, he began to search rapidly throughout the entire East District.

A moment later, he still had nothing to show for it.

Lu Zhangsheng had no choice but to run towards the center of the manor rapidly.

Soon, the six gathered in the center of the manor again.

"This place is quite strange; I actually didn't find anyone's presence."

Chen Zhanpeng's expression was cold.

The situation of the other few was about the same.

"Then only the main hall in the center remains."

Zhu Houyu watched the front quietly.

Then, the group immediately walked towards the central main hall.

Just at this moment, a sudden change occurred.

"Swish..." A large group of black-clothed men rushed out from the central main hall, standing in front of Lu Zhangsheng and the others.

The two leaders were in green robes, their faces gloomy.

Their murderous intent rolled like smoke, carrying a powerful sense of oppression.

"It's two Blood Exchange strongmen."

Tong Yuhua's expression tightened, her body tense.

She sensed an extremely strong threat from the two.

Not only that, but there was also a group of Bone Forging martial artists around; the strength of this stronghold was not weak.

She looked at Lu Zhangsheng, her eyes seeming to say that if the situation changed, they should flee immediately.

Lu Zhangsheng and Tong Yuhua looked at each other, and the two instantly made their plans.

For Lu Zhangsheng, he also didn't intend to expose his strength in front of everyone.

When his own strength couldn't decide the outcome of the battle, it was not yet time to reveal it.

Moreover, he suspected that this place was not that simple; the other party seemed to be waiting for them on purpose, which was quite strange.

"Exterminate this group of heretic cultists and destroy this stronghold."

Zhu Houyu was full of killing intent, his tone cold.

The strength of their team was not weaker than the opponent's; at the very least, two of them were at the Bone Forging perfection level.

"Kill."

The group killed towards the heretic cultists ahead.

Powerful auras intertwined, full of oppression.

"Kill."

The two heretic cult Blood Exchange strongmen, one fat and one thin, directly gave the order to attack.

A large number of black-clothed men rushed towards Lu Zhangsheng and the others.

"Boom, boom, boom..."

Both sides collided violently, and the intense Qi energy swept in all directions, the ground bricks and stones cracking in bursts.

Dust and smoke rolled all around, leaving the place in a mess.

The two heretic cult strongmen directly faced Zhu Houyu and the other.

The four were fighting fiercely in the center of the battlefield, with quite astonishing movements.

The strength of the few was similar, and for a time, it was difficult to determine the winner.

The other Patrol Officers each faced three heretic cultists.

Among Lu Zhangsheng's three opponents, two were at the Bone Forging late-stage, and one was at the Bone Forging initial stage.

While striking with his blade, he observed the movements around him.

Seeing that the Demon-Suppressing Division group hadn't fallen into a disadvantage, he felt even more puzzled.

The other party was clearly prepared; Lu Zhangsheng highly suspected that the interior of the government had likely been infiltrated.

Otherwise, it wouldn't be such a coincidence.

"Bang, bang, bang..."

A group of people were fighting to the death in the open space.

Half a stick of incense later.

"Boom, boom, boom..."

A powerful aura approached rapidly from afar, making everyone on the field feel tense.

Lu Zhangsheng and the others turned their heads to look.

They saw an old man with a pigeon face coming towards the battlefield rapidly.

"It's the heretic cult Protector Jiang Yunqi, a Blood Exchange mid-stage strongman!"

Seeing this, Zhu Houyu's pupils shrank.

Their group of Patrol Officers couldn't possibly be this person's opponent.

The other party had run rampant in Changping County for decades, and his reputation had long been foul.

"Withdraw."

Chen Zhanpeng slashed his blade with all his might, forcing away his opponent, and then ran towards the side rapidly.

Zhu Houyu followed closely behind; both directly activated their secret techniques, their speed enough to rival some Blood Exchange mid-stage strongmen.

The remaining few Patrol Officers also used all their skills, breaking through in all directions.

Tong Yuhua's speed was also not slow; the moment Jiang Yunqi appeared, she fled rapidly towards the northeast.

Lu Zhangsheng also rushed towards the northwest rapidly, his speed extremely fast.

Just at this moment, a scream sounded.

A Patrol Officer under Xiao Tianci was directly beheaded by Jiang Yunqi, fresh blood gushing out, which was extremely miserable.

Then, Jiang Yunqi killed towards another Patrol Officer again.

Not long after, he actually arrived beside another Patrol Officer again, slashing his blade.

Cold light flashed by.

"Ah..."

Another Patrol Officer under Xiao Tianci died instantly.

With the Blood Exchange mid-stage, killing two Bone Forging martial artists was simply effortless.

From Jiang Yunqi's appearance to the fall of the two Patrol Officers, it was only a breath of time, and even the few Patrol Officers hadn't reacted.

After killing two people in a row, Jiang Yunqi looked ahead.

He kicked his feet and rushed out directly.

The target was actually the direction of Lu Zhangsheng.

The two Blood Exchange Patrol Officers were extremely fast after activating their secret techniques, and he couldn't catch up for a while.

This person, whose speed was second only to the two, actually made Jiang Yunqi have a bit of interest.

The surrounding heretic cultists also chased in all directions.

The field soon became empty.

Chasing all the way.

Half an hour later.

Lu Zhangsheng stopped in the depths of a dense forest.

After a long run, he was already far away from that manor.

And he also knew that Jiang Yunqi had been following behind him.

With his speed, shaking off the opponent was effortless.

However, he decided to kill Jiang Yunqi right here.

This place was uninhabited, and after killing him, no one would know.

Moreover, this person didn't give him a sense of strong threat; he was likely just a new Blood Exchange mid-stage.

A moment later.

Jiang Yunqi landed in front of Lu Zhangsheng, his expression cold.

"Why aren't you running anymore? Your speed is very strange, actually exceeding many Blood Exchange strongmen."

"Kill."

Lu Zhangsheng couldn't be bothered to talk nonsense, directly activating his secret technique and killing his way up.

The Qi and blood around his body surged crazily, turning into a transparent Gang Qi, wrapping himself firmly.

He flashed his steps a few times, arrived in front of the opponent, and slashed his blade.

Sharp cold light shone in the void, with quite an astonishing momentum.

Under the superposition of the secret technique and the Transcendent-grade blade technique, his attack power had already reached the Blood Exchange mid-stage.

"It's you! The mysterious strongman who killed Zuo Jiliang!"

Seeing this situation, Jiang Yunqi's expression was shocked.

He didn't have time to think much, also drawing his blade to slash forward.

"Boom, boom, boom..."

Violent Qi energy cut wantonly through the dense forest, rolling up layers of fallen leaves.

After one strike.

Lu Zhangsheng was as stable as Mount Tai, standing quietly in the open space, his expression very calm.

Looking at Jiang Yunqi, he retreated several meters away, the places his footsteps passed were all small earth pits.

Clearly, the other party had unloaded the force into the depths of the ground.

"Such strong power, are you at the Blood Exchange mid-stage?"

Jiang Yunqi's eyes were incomparably solemn.

For this blade just now, he had already used his full strength, yet he hadn't expected to still be at a disadvantage.

This made a monstrous wave surge in his heart.

"Kill."

The only response to Jiang Yunqi was a cold word.

Lu Zhangsheng killed his way up again.

He kicked his feet, fast as thunder.

After a few leaps, he arrived in front of the opponent and slashed with his blade.

Jiang Yunqi gritted his teeth and met him.

"Boom, boom, boom..."

Both sides fought to the death in the dense forest.

Intense air waves swept in all directions, dust and smoke rolled in the forest, leaving the place in a mess.

Jiang Yunqi directly activated his essence blood secret technique, only then gradually stabilizing.

However, he became increasingly anxious in his heart.

His own essence blood couldn't be endless; full-power eruption could only last for a moment.

He wanted to flee, but his speed was far inferior to the opponent's, and a trace of despair couldn't help but appear on his face.

A quarter of an hour later.

Jiang Yunqi's decline was fully revealed in his attacks, even worse than before.

His speed was even slower by a large margin.

Clearly the sequelae of excessive essence blood consumption.

"Don't kill me, I have a shocking secret..."

He immediately opened his mouth to beg for mercy, his face full of fear.

If he kept fighting like this, he would sooner or later be exhausted to death; under the pressure of death, his mindset collapsed directly.

"Die."

Lu Zhangsheng seized the opportunity and slashed his blade.

He had no interest in this person's secret, and it was also difficult to distinguish truth from falsehood; it was better to kill him and be done with it.

"Swish..."

Under Jiang Yunqi's despair-filled gaze, a cold light instantly slashed across this person's neck, and a large amount of fresh blood gushed out, staining a small piece of lawn red.

Lu Zhangsheng walked forward, and after dealing with the opponent's corpse, ran towards the front rapidly.

After this battle, he also understood his own combat power.

With infinite activation of the secret technique, he was stronger than the average Blood Exchange mid-stage.

But if the opponent were an old-rank Blood Exchange mid-stage, it would also be difficult for him to kill them.

However, if he broke through to Blood Exchange himself, his strength would definitely soar by a notch.

(End of chapter)