fantasy novels Chapter 9 Nighttime Pursuit
Chapter 9 Nighttime Pursuit
The second round of selections is over.
All ten seeded players have been selected, and Ling Chen is among them. However, everyone's attention has long since shifted away from the selection results—the news that the Holy Maiden of the Central Continent Immortal Sect publicly "snatched" him has spread like wildfire throughout Qingzhou City.
Some say Ling Chen got incredibly lucky, being noticed by the Central Continent Immortal Sect, and thus rose to prominence overnight.
Some people say that Su Qingyuan wasn't attracted to Ling Chen himself, but rather to something about him.
Some people even say that Ling Chen is actually a fugitive wanted by the Central Continent Immortal Sect, and that Su Qingyuan came to arrest him...
Various speculations are flying around.
Ling Chen did not respond to any of them.
He took Ling Xue back to the inn, closed the door, and began packing his luggage.
"Brother, are we leaving?" Ling Xue asked softly.
"I'm not leaving." Ling Chen placed the Broken Army Blade on the table, sat down cross-legged, "but there are some preparations we need to make first."
He is waiting.
Su Qingyuan's words today, spoken in front of everyone, are tantamount to labeling him as "priceless." From now on, it won't just be the Central Continent Immortal Sect eyeing him.
Tonight is destined to be anything but peaceful.
-
Night fell, and the waning moon disappeared behind the clouds.
Qingzhou City was asleep, with only the occasional footsteps of patrolling cultivators on the streets. The lights of Yunlai Inn had long been extinguished, leaving only a single lamp burning in the lobby, where the innkeeper was dozing off at the counter.
A dark shadow silently swept across the rooftop.
Not one, but three.
Dressed in night clothes and with their faces covered by black cloth, they moved with unpredictable movements. The three of them stopped on the rooftop opposite the inn, their gazes simultaneously falling on the dimly lit room with its window.
"Is the target inside confirmed?"
"I'm sure. I kept watch all day, and it hasn't come out since dark."
"I'm in the early stages of Qi Gathering. I fought Han Tie this afternoon and it took a lot of energy. Now is the perfect time to make my move."
"Don't be careless. The master instructed that this person possesses a rare treasure, which is why Su Qingyuan treats him differently. If you can seize it before the Central Continent Immortal Sect, the master will reward you handsomely."
The three said no more and fled at the same time.
Their movements were incredibly fast; their toes barely touched the roof tiles before they glided silently to the inn's window like bats in the night. The leader took out a slender silver needle, inserted it into the window crack, and gently flicked it open; the latch slid open silently.
The three filed in.
The room was pitch black.
A raised quilt could be vaguely seen on the bed, and the breathing was even and steady.
The leader made a gesture—"Take action. Capture him alive."
The three of them lunged at the bed at the same time.
Just as they were about to touch the bedding, it suddenly exploded. A sharp blade flashed from under the bedding, aimed straight for the leader's throat.
Be caught off guard.
The man in black leaned back hastily, the blade grazing his chin and slicing off a piece of flesh. The other two reacted faster, splitting apart and drawing their weapons.
But Ling Chen did not pursue.
After unleashing a slash, he used the recoil to flip and leap to the other side of the room. His Blade of Destruction held horizontally in front of him, his gaze coldly sweeping over the three uninvited guests.
"I've been waiting for you for a long time."
The three men in black exchanged a glance, knowing that things would not end well tonight.
"Kid, if you know what's good for you, hand over the stuff." The leader wiped the blood from his chin, his voice hoarse, "Otherwise, you and that little girl next door..."
He made a throat-slitting gesture.
Ling Chen's expression changed instantly.
If before it was just coldness, now it's murderous intent.
"Are you threatening me?"
"It's not a threat. It's—"
Before he could finish speaking, the blade had already fallen. He used the Shadow Step to its fullest extent, transforming into a blur as he crashed straight into the leader's arms.
The first move of the Nine Heavenly Slashes – Wind Slash.
This time, he held nothing back. Chaotic spiritual power poured into the blade without reservation, and a cyan blade light shone in the darkness, like a lightning bolt tearing through the night.
The man in black looked horrified and only had time to raise his short knife to parry.
Click.
The short sword snapped in two. Its momentum didn't wane; it sliced through the black-clad man's left shoulder, pierced half his chest, and emerged from his right rib.
One stab, and he was dead.
The remaining two were filled with shock and rage, and attacked simultaneously. One wielded a sword, its blade covered in a ghostly green poisonous spiritual energy. The other wielded a whip, the tip transforming into afterimages as it struck at Ling Chen's vital points.
Ling Chen did not retreat. His Eye of Insight clearly analyzed the attack trajectories of the two, and he used the Shadow Step to maneuver between the whip shadows and sword lights. He was looking for an opening.
found it.
The swordsman in black moved with wide, sweeping strokes, and there was a momentary lag in the coordination between him and his whip-wielding companion. It was a pause caused by a breath, lasting less than half a breath.
enough.
Ling Chen seized the opportunity and thrust out his Broken Army Blade at an extremely tricky angle—passing through the gap in the whip's shadow, bypassing the sword's parry, and with a soft thud, piercing into the heart of the black-clad swordsman.
the second.
The man in black wielding the whip was utterly terrified and dared not fight any longer. He turned to break through the window and escape.
But a cold blade was already pressed against his neck.
"Who sent you?"
Ling Chen's voice was calm, but the killing intent emanating from him sent a chill down the spine of the man in black.
"You...you should kill me. If I tell the truth, my master will make me wish I were dead."
Ling Chen tightened his grip on the blade: "If you don't talk, I'll make you wish you were dead right now."
The man in black closed his eyes, let out a bitter laugh, and suddenly bit down on something hidden in his back teeth. His body convulsed violently a few times, and the light in his eyes quickly faded.
He committed suicide by poisoning himself.
Ling Chen sheathed his sword, his brows furrowed.
"They're suicide squad members."
Mo Lao's voice echoed in his mind: "There are no more than three forces in Qingzhou that can afford to support Qi Gathering Realm assassins. Judging from the techniques and poisons he uses, if I'm not mistaken, he should be from the Blood Fiend Sect."
"Blood Fiend Sect?"
"The largest assassin organization in Qingzhou's underworld. There's no one they wouldn't dare kill if the price is right. However, they usually don't provoke contestants in sect selections... unless someone offers a price high enough for them to take the risk."
Ling Chen remained silent for a moment.
"Who could it be?"
"That depends on who most wants you to disappear. Many people suspect it, but the most likely candidate..." Old Mo sneered, "is some of tonight's losers. For example, a promising player you trampled underfoot. Or perhaps, someone who doesn't want you to be associated with the Central Continent Immortal Sect."
Ling Chen immediately thought of Han Tie. But he quickly dismissed the idea—Han Tie had acted honorably on the stage today, and such underhanded tactics were not his style.
Excluding Han Tie, the remaining top contenders are Wen Ruyu and Zhong Lingxiu. However, the former is a direct descendant of Luoxia Valley, and the latter is the eldest daughter of the Zhong family. Who would take such a great risk to deal with him?
There is one more person.
Meng Hu, who was knocked off the stage by him in the ranking battle.
Although Meng Hu wasn't seriously injured, being defeated in public was a huge loss of face. Given his connections in Qingzhou, finding out about the Blood Fiend Sect wasn't impossible.
But all of this is still just speculation.
"This place is not safe to stay for long." Ling Chen quickly packed his luggage, woke up Ling Xue next door, and left Yunlai Inn overnight.
They found a secluded little shop in the east of the city to settle down. After settling Ling Xue in, Ling Chen stood by the window, gazing at the shadowy streets in the night, his gaze growing colder.
"Whether it's Meng Hu or anyone else, this score tonight..."
"I've got it."
-
Late at night, at the post station in Qingzhou City.
Su Qingyuan sat alone by the window, her fingertips gently idly playing with an ice crystal. A faint aura was sealed within the ice crystal; it would emit light whenever it sensed a specific fluctuation of spiritual energy.
After sensing the chaotic aura contained in Ling Chen's strike on the arena today, she used a secret technique to seal away that aura.
"The Map of All Paths Returning to Nothingness..."
She murmured softly.
Master is right. That divine painting, lost since ancient times, truly exists in the mortal realm.
Her true purpose for this trip was to find the Myriad Paths Returning to the Void Map, as ordered by her master, and bring it back to the Central Plains Immortal Sect.
She just hadn't expected that the person carrying this map would be such a young man. With only early-stage Qi Gathering cultivation, he was able to defeat Han Tie, who was at the peak of Qi Gathering. What bothered her most was the man's eyes—when facing her, his eyes held wariness and caution, but none of the awe and infatuation she was used to seeing.
"That's interesting."
Su Qingyuan closed her palms, and the ice crystals melted into water, flowing down between her fingers.
"Grandma Fu, please help me investigate someone tomorrow morning."
An old woman in a gray robe emerged from the shadows and bowed, saying, "Is the one you're looking for the investigation of, Miss, that Ling Chen?"
"Yes. I need to know everything about him—his background, his teachers, the techniques he practices, his secrets. Everything."
"I understand." The old woman paused. "If his secret is too dangerous, perhaps...?"
"Don't touch him."
Su Qingyuan's tone suddenly became unusually resolute.
"If this person is truly the host of the Myriad Paths Returning to the Void Diagram, then he is the key to unlocking the ancient secrets. Without my order, no one is allowed to attack him, including those from the Immortal Sect."
A complex light flashed in the old woman's eyes, but she still lowered her head and replied, "...Yes."
Su Qingyuan looked out the window again. The moon had already set in the west, and a sliver of dawn was breaking on the eastern horizon.
It's almost dawn.
But the storm has only just begun to brew.
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