Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
At first, Xiong Qifan was certain, but then quickly denied it.
“There weren’t any in the past, but I think they do grow here now.”
“On the northwest side of town, there’s a small hill. A number of trees have been transplanted there in the second half of the year. If someone planted mushrooms, they would been ready.”
“As for picking poisonous mushrooms, I guess it was an accident,”
said Xiong Qifan uncertainly.
“Isn’t that a great grievance?” lamented Lu Hao.
“There’s nothing we can do about it. We can only blame their bad luck,” said Yu Qi softly.
“Forget it, let’s not talk about this. We should think about how to find the Flying Lion Ring.”
Xiong Qifan changed the topic.
“How? There’s no clue at all,” sighed Lu Hao.
“Half of the Flying Lion Ring is already in someone’s hands. Even if we find the other half, we won’t be able to awaken the Flying Lion army,” said Yu Qi in a low voice.
“We still have to search,” said Xiong Qifan in a deep voice. “Even if we find only half of it, we can still build a connection with the Prefecture Army. I know Commander Gu, he values credibility.”
“That’s what we say, but we don’t have any leads. Where are we going to find it?” asked Lu Hao, spreading his hands.
After a brief silence, Xiong Qifan sighed. “There must be a way.”
“Someone has already opened the Mausoleum of Prince Qin and taken away the treasure.”
“Tt’s all up to Flying Lion army now.”
“By the way, do you guys think the other half of the Flying Lion Ring could be in Mausoleum of Prince Qin?”
This…
Lu Hao and Yu Qi were taken aback.
“I don’t think so,” said Lu Hao, mulling it over. “Didn’t we already analyze the situation the last time? The Flying Lion army left a Flying Lion ring as a measure of precaution If it was inside Mausoleum of Prince Qin, and no one opened it, if something unexpected happened, wouldn’t it be impossible for them
to leave their corpses intact?”
“Little Lu is right. The Flying Lion Ring will only be kept outside.”
Yu Qi chimed in. ‘I’ve asked around. The half of the Flying Lion Ring that was taken away from from an ordinary person. The Flying Lion Ring was a treasure passed down from his ancestors.”
“And so, it’s highly likely that the other half of the Flying Lion Ring was also passed down generation after generation as a family heirloom.”
“The most important thing now is to find this person!”
‘El
Lu Hao opened his mouth, he was at a loss for words. “Like I said, where can we start without any leads?”
“There are no records of the Flying Lion Ring on the Internet, much less any relevant information about the people keeping it.”
Xiong Qifan remained silent.
Yu Qi fell into deep thought.
Finding out the whereabouts of the Flying Lion Ring without any relevant information was no different from looking for a needle in a haystack.
The odds of them using this to establish ties with the prefecture army were too slim.
“Never mind.”
After a long while, Xiong Qifan sighed. ‘Let’s not think about that for now. It’s time for new year celebrations already. Let’s talk about finding the Flying Lion Ring after that.”
“Come, let’s go back inside!”
With that, Xiong Qifan walked down the road towards the town.
Yu Qi and Lu Hao followed suit.
The trio was here because Xiong Qifan’s hometown was here.
On the other hand, Yu Qi and Lu Hao had no relatives in the world. After Xiong Qifan’s repeated invitations, they decided to come to his house to celebrate the new year.
Asa part of the middle ranks in the Green Cloud Court, Xiong Qifan owned a large residence in Qinghe City.
However, his parents preferred to stay in the town.
Xiong Qifan had no choice but to follow them here.
Together with his wife, his daughter and his son, they were a large family.
Holidays were usually lively to begin with.
This year, the addition of Yu Qi and Lu Hao made things even more festive.
Night fell.
In Xiong Qifan’s small courtyard, the house was brightly lit.
Red lanterns were hung at the four corners of the courtyard.
Red lanterns were present in all the other households in the town.
Tens of thousands of lanterns were gathered together. From a distance, the scenery was particularly enchanting.
Laughter and noise filled every house.
“Come, come, let’s have a toast,”
shouted Xiong Qifan, raising his glass.
“Cheers!”
The entire family clinked glasses and enjoyed their drinks.
Then, they chatted as they ate.
At home, Xiong Qifan and the rest did not talk about the matters of Green Cloud Court or martial arts. Instead, they gossiped and complained like ordinary people.
Meanwhile, Lu Hao and Xiong Qifan’s son, who was in junior high school were chatting happily about games.
They quickly left the table to go into the room, switched on the computer to PK.
Xiong Qifan did not restrict them since it was a festive occasion.
In short, everyone had their own activities inside and outside the house.
Until…
“ah!
“Help! Help!”
“Murder! Murder!”
Ashriek suddenly tore through the night sky and reverberated through the town.
“Something is up!”
Xiong Qifan and Yu Qi were chatting away when their expressions changed. They quickly jumped to their feet.
Circulating their true energy, the alcohol in their bodies was quickly expelled.
“Old Xiong, stay at home with the Little Lu. I’ll going to see what happened.”
said Yu Qi before Xiong Qifan could.
“Alright.”
Xiong Qifan opened his mouth, then nodded.
Then, he looked at his panicking parents, wife, and daughter. “Don’t worry, I’m here, nothing will happen.”
Although his wife was also a martial artist, she was only at the ninth-grade and nowhere near the the eighth-grade.
Hearing this, she suggested, “Why don’t we go to the basement?”
“I think that’s a good idea.”
Yu Qi agreed. “Old Xiong, for safety’s sake, let Uncle and the rest go to the basement. I’ll make a move first.”
With that, he quickly opened the door and dashed into the night sky.
“Then let’s go to the basement.”
Xiong Qifan was decisive. He immediately made up his mind. “Don’t bring anything with you. Move to the basement immediately.”
“Little Lu, little rascal, get out here!”
Xiong Qifan ran into the room and called out the two gamers.
‘The whole family quickly entered the basement.
Every household in a functional town had a basement as a refuge shelter.
For this, the entrances to the basement were all made of alloy, and were extremely thick. It was impossible to break through them without decades of cultivation.
By hiding in the basement, they could avoid most of the threats.
Xiong Qifan had wanted to settle his family down and go out to check on the situation.
However, his younger daughter insisted on keeping him, so he had no choice but to stay in the basement.
Boom!
Aloud bang resounded through the air.
Abuilding was brutally rammed through by a terrifying force, causing its walls to collapse.
Swish! Swish! Swish!
Amidst the debris, a dark figure darted and leaped, bringing with it sharp claws.
‘The night wind was torn apart, producing a mournful cry.
Whoosh!
Yu Qi’s body flickered. His body was enveloped in true energy, and his palms shone brightly.
Bam! Bam!
Aloud explosion erupted in the air as two palm imprints streaked through the air, one after another, coming from two directions, they charged at the dark figure.
Swish!
The dark figure dodged the left palm strike.
Bam!
Unable to dodge the right one, it was struck. Its entire body shuddered violently. Losing his balance, it fell to the ground and rolled several times.
“Hmph!”
Yu Qi sneered coldly as he emitted true energy from his palms and sent out two more palm strikes.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
The whistling sounded again.
Dust and debris danced in the air.
‘The dark figure dodged the first palm strike, and was struck by the other once more. With a crack, the bones in its neck snapped, and its head tilted to the right.
Logically speaking, such a fatal wound should have killed it.
However, the figure was not dead. With its abnormally broken head hanging on its neck, it continued charging forward at high speed, tearing through the air with its sharp claws.
Bam! Bam! Bam!
Seeing this, Yu Qi exerted more force and bombarded the dark figure.
Finally, one of the dark figure’s arms, and legs, and even its head were torn from its body and fell to the ground.
However, at this point, the dark figure was still alive. Its mouth opened and closed with a sinister look on his face.
Because it wasn’t a human… but a Corpse Puppet!
‘The Corpse Puppet that Yu Qi had crippled was even one at the intermediate level.
The source of the town’s screams and shrieks were the Corpse Puppets.
Yu Qi flew up into the sky and looked down at the town. There were at least ten Corpse Puppets rampaging through the town and killing its residents.
‘The town’s security team couldn’t make any difference. All they could do was defend passively and hole up near the home of the ranch owner.
All sorts of firearms were mounted, and the sound of gunfire filled the air.
‘When Yu Qi finished off one intermediate Corpse Puppet and was about to start on his second, he heard a loud bang.
Boom! Boom!
Two figures suddenly appeared in the air, clashing fiercely.
Fourth-grade!
Both of them were in the fourth-grade.
One of them was someone Yu Qi recognized, the general of the Prefecture Army, Chu Weiliang.
The other one was in black, and his face was hidden from view. However, he had a prominent build and was somewhat obese.
‘The battle between the two was extremely intense, and the force exuded by the aftershocks shattered a large portion of the glass around.
Yu Qi took a few glances. Seeing that Chu Weiliang had the upper hand, he decisively charged at the Corpse Puppet.
In midair, he descended at high speed, shattering and crippling the Corpse Puppets with a single palm strike.
Bang!
Bang!
One Corpse Puppet, two Corpse Puppets, three Corpse Puppets…
Before long, Yu Qi was done with half of the Corpse Puppets.
When he move to attack another——
Swish!
Acold light suddenly came from behind Yu Qi, attacking him.
Yu Qi had no choice but to flash and dodge the attack.
“Who’s there?!”
Yu Qi turned around with a cold expression.
Swish! Swish! Swish!
Bolts of arrows shot straight towards Yu Qi.
Swish! Swish!
Yu Qi dodged swiftly and darted in the direction where the arrows were coming from.
Boom!
Just as he was about to reach his target, a fiery-red palm imprint burst forth and blocked his path.
“Get lost!”
Yu Qi retaliated with a palm strike of his own.
Bam! Bam! Bam!
Muffled sounds rang out incessantly as energy shot everywhere.
The resulting shockwave swept through the buildings on both sides, destroying them on a large scale.
Amidst the billowing smoke and dust, Yu Qi found the people who had released the arrows and killed them one after another with his palm strikes.
Among them, fifth-grade martial artist managed to escape briefly.
Yu Qi chased after him, his palm strikes growing stronger and stronger. The impacts left a massive pits in the ground, and when he hit a building, half of the walls crumbled.
Before long, the fifth-grade martial artist was struck in the back and fell to the ground, spurting blood.
Swish!
Yu Qi walked up to the man, looked down and asked, “Speak. Who are you? Why did you create these Corpse Puppets to kill the innocent?”
“Hehe…”
‘The fifth-grade martial artist who was spurting blood grinned. “Why? Why?”
“Tm the one asking you,” said Yu Qi with an ugly expression.
“Hahaha!”
‘The fifth-grade martial artist gave a miserable laugh. “It doesn’t matter who you ask. As for the reason, it’s all because you people forced our hand!”
Boom!
There was a loud bang in the air.
Yu Qi looked up and saw Chu Weiliang slowly floating to the ground like a kite that had its string cut.
‘The other fourth-grade expert flew towards Yu Qi at high speed.
Before he could get close, a rattle appeared in the other party’s hand.
It wasn’t anything but was a child’s rattle.
The other party suddenly shook the rattle hard.
Dong, dong, dong!
Acrisp, dull sound reverberated through the night sky.
In the town, the residents who were running and hiding in the houses suddenly clutched their heads and screamed non-stop.
Yu Qi felt a sharp pain in his head as he swiftly retreated. He covered his ears and focused his attention on resisting the strange sound.
Swish!
Right at this moment, a cold glint flashed towards Yu Qi.
Plkch!
Astrange squelch resounded, and blood spurted into the air.
Alarge hole had appeared in Yu Qi’s abdomen, as a throwing daggers penetrated his body.
“Hahaha!”
‘The assailant was the fifth-grade martial artist who had spat out a mouthful of blood. He was half-kneeling on the ground with three throwing daggers in his hands, laughing maniacally at Yu Qi.
Swish! Swish! Swish!
Yu Qi endured the pain and dodged the first throwing dagger.
Plkch! Plkch!
However, he failed to dodge the second and third knives and was struck squarely.
They landed on his knee and in the right shoulder.
Immediately, he fell to his knees, unable to run.
“Hahaha!”
‘The fifth-grade martial artist roared with laughter as he continued releasing throwing daggers.
This time, the three daggers were aimed at Yu Qi’s head.
Swish! Swish!
Yu Qi dodged two of the daggers, but couldn’t dodge the third. In a daze, all he could do was stare at the throwing dagger in despair. It grew bigger, and bigger in his field of vision…
Clang!
Aloud, crisp collision resounded in his ears.
Resisting the pain, Yu Qi looked up in surprise.
‘The third throwing dagger had been sent flying somehow.
Swish!
A familiar figure descended from the sky.
Boom!
The air exploded.
Agiant palm imprint fell from the sky and struck the furious fifth-grade martial artist, killing him on the spot.
[Cards +30]
[Card+15]
‘The notification flashed past quickly.
Su Jingxing, who was using the alias “Jiang Ziya’, showed no mercy.
After saving Yu Qi, he quickly tumed around and charged at the fourth-grade expert from the He Family who was shaking the rattle.
Dong, dong, dong!
‘The other party continued shaking. The sound produced by rattle was eerie and terrifying. It triggered everyone’s brain, causing them to feel pain and disoriented.
More and more people were screaming in the town.
The remaining Corpse Puppets caught up to the fleeing figures and brutally murdered them one by one.
Yet.
Su Jingxing was unaffected!
With his powerful soul power, this bit of mental disruption could do nothing to him.
Boom!
He threw a punch through the air.
Under the enhancement of the Hundred Steps Reigning Fist, the Heaven Trampling True Energy kept stacking.
‘The fourth-grade expert from the He Family who was the target of this punch felt his hair stand on end, and uncontrollable fear rose in his heart.
Dong, dong, dong!
He shook the rattle with all his might.
Seeing that this act was futile, the fourth-grade expert decisively gathered all the true energy in his body and focused it on one point. Facing the incoming fist imprint, he thrust out his palm.
Bam!
Aloud bang reverberated through the night.
Amidst the rain of blood, the attack of the fourth-grade expert was easily neutralized.
Then, large holes appeared in his chest and back.
‘The fist penetrated his entire body.
The rattle stopped in time.
Not only was there no sound the rattle drum in the fourth-grade expert’s hand also fell to the ground.
However, Su Jingxing scooped it up in the air.
“Who… who are you?!”
