The assassin who had parried an attack from the air, despite being severely wounded, despite barely being able to stand steady, despite knowing he was done for, still had a strong will to survive and wanted desperately to flee, and still hoped for his accomplices to come and save him.

However, the two people he attempted to assassinate didn't give him a chance to escape; they seized the opportunity as he was weakened to take his life.

One repelled him in mid-air, while the other immediately followed, swiftly closing in for the kill.

He swayed, trying to muster his last strength to counterattack, but he noticed that his opponent's offense was unusual.

Shi Chun, who was rushing towards him, suddenly puffed up his cheeks and sprayed out a mix of unswallowed liquor and debris from his mouth, aiming straight for the assassin's face.

The assassin, already drained, couldn't think straight and didn't recognize the killing technique, meeting it with full force.

However, the spewing Shi Chun rolled on the spot and quickly got up, dodging the blow aimed at his head. His knife flashed like a waterfall as he rose, slashing diagonally from below, and immediately blood and water sprayed out along the blade's path.

The staggering man was split into two halves, his face wearing an expression of disbelief as he looked down, feeling intense pain and seeing his own guts spilling out.

Wu Jinliang, who was knocked away by the blow, landed on the eaves of the first floor, crushing the roof tiles beneath his feet. Grabbing a window ledge, he turned just in time to see Shi Chun dispatch the assassin with a single strike.

The whole process was incredibly quick, yet the noise still alarmed many.

At the entrances of various small shops, people who had taken shelter from the rainy night quickly emerged, startled by the sounds. Those who were fast enough witnessed the final street-side decapitation.

A staff member of Anle Building was among them. As soon as the disturbance broke out, he darted from behind the counter and saw it happen with his own eyes.

The cart that had passed by earlier hadn't gone far. The person inside, not wanting to reveal themselves, nevertheless peeked out the window due to the noise behind them, and also witnessed the scene of their companion being slain, their face full of disbelief.

Their mind screamed, "How is this possible? Those were two Third-Grade Immobilization Charms!"

What did a Third-Grade Immobilization Charm imply?

A First Grade was enough for ordinary people, only those with extraordinary physical strength could break free.

A Second Grade could hold someone at the Initial Martial Realm, though someone at the Great Achievement Realm with overwhelming power might also be able to break the hold.

A Third Grade was meant for those in the High Martial Realm; breaking free from such a charm was rare.

He had seen with his own eyes two Third-Grade Immobilization Charms hit the two, who seemed to be under thirty years old. Had they reached an almost mythical realm already?

He thought it was extremely unlikely; such cultivation talent could hardly be found in the entire Cultivation World, let alone from those just returning from the Land of Exile. Impossible!

Though talismans could indeed be of poor quality, it couldn't be that both were defective, right?

Did one malfunction, allowing the controlled person to quickly free his companion?

At that moment, he was full of questions, somewhat stupefied. The city had its rules, and with such commotion, should they continue?

Regardless of what he thought, Shi Chun knew the grave threat posed by the carriage. He didn't dare linger any longer. After disposing of the assassin with one strike, he immediately spun around, not looking back, and leaped straight towards the inn's main entrance.

As he leaped, he pressed a passphrase, "Dodge!"

Wu Jinliang, who had been standing on the eaves, immediately crashed through a window and swiftly drew his blade to flip into the nearest second-floor room.

The staff member by the door side-stepped, watching as Shi Chun dashed into the main hall and flipped to his feet.

He was about to ask what was happening when Shi Chun instantly threw out instructions, "It's an assassin, there are accomplices in that passing cart!"

Though he hadn't asked everything, he could see that the inn was definitely related to the Demon Path; firstly, because Xiang Laner had intentionally chosen to stay here, and secondly, because he and Wu Jin had been sitting at the entrance for a long time and had personally witnessed several would-be guests being turned away with the excuse that the inn was full.

A likely story; they knew very well since they were staying here. Although unsure if other rooms were vacant, they were certain that many were.

Without further ado, he trusted the staff member to handle the situation and then dashed straight to Xiang Laner's room. He knew Feng Chi was inside, knew Feng Chi was a master, and hoped to seek protection from Feng Chi.

Along the way, he ran into Wu Jinliang, who had just jumped down from the staircase. Without needing any signal from Shi Chun, Wu Jinliang immediately ran, dragging his broadsword along and occasionally looking back, keeping his blade ready against any followers.

"Are you alright?" Shi Chun still inquired, referring to the earlier incident when the assassin's dagger had blasted him away.

"No worries, just a bit numbed from the shock, it's passed. Heh, seems like we've taken down a master!" Wu Jinliang chuckled.

Shi Chun understood; from their brief encounter, he knew the enemy was not merely at the Initial Martial Realm, but definitely at the High Martial.

For the first time in their lives, the two had killed a High Martial monk, which should have been a cause for joy, but Shi Chun couldn't feel happy. He knew they had just exploited a loophole and caught the enemy off guard.

The two rushed to Xiang Laner's room and saw the door still firmly shut, which immediately alerted them that something was wrong, as noises from outside should have been audible here.

Bang, Shi Chun kicked the door open, and his two fingers simultaneously withdrew a Sandal Gold Illumination from the money pouch at his waist. There was no one inside the room—not even a ghost's shadow. They had been sitting at the door but hadn't seen Feng Chi leave.

Wu Jinliang asked urgently, "Can your eyes see?"

He felt that the enemy must have been nervous just now and wanted Shi Chun's right eye to take a look.

Shi Chun shook his head, after being immobilized just now, his first reaction had been to try to release the spell, and he had completely forgotten about being nervous.

Now was not the time to talk about this. He whispered, "Let's go, find a place to hide first. The brothel manager will definitely have a response ready."

After all, the assassin had accomplices, and Shi Chun was worried about further assassination attempts, as their cultivation was too low. Vandalizing with an immobilization charm—who could stand that? They at least had to hide where the assassin couldn't easily find them.

"There's a place upstairs." Wu Jinliang, who had just come down from upstairs, immediately beckoned to lead the way.

They also didn't dare to go outside, fearing someone was waiting. The two rushed back upstairs barefoot, not even bothering to put on their shoes, which remained outside the door—including Shi Chun's knife scabbard.

The two ran upstairs and directly entered the roofing above, sitting on the beams, crouching under the roof tiles, occasionally peering through the gaps in the eaves to watch the street outside.

Once they momentarily settled, Wu Jinliang whispered, "Did those two women from the Demon Path screw it up?"

"Rubbish," Shi Chun scoffed, well aware that it couldn't have been Feng Chi's doing; if Feng Chi wanted to kill them, he wouldn't need to beat around the bush.

Wu Jinliang: "Cen Futong's uncle?"

Shi Chun: "Even less likely. We're not the murderers. If it really was his uncle seeking revenge, he would at least try to find out who the killer was before exacting revenge, right? Blindly killing someone as revenge? That's absurd."

Wu Jinliang thought it made sense, "Then it's strange. We just came out of jail, there wasn't enough time to make enemies outside, and even if there were people we've offended, those we offended before don't know where we went after getting out, they're all busy surviving. Who would wait to take revenge on us? And it's even less likely they'd use an immobilization charm; it's too expensive!"

What exactly is an immobilization charm? For cultivators, it's considered a major lethal weapon, able to determine life and death in an instant—how could it be cheap?

The cheapest immobilization charm also costs tens of thousands of gold at least, or else why would Shi Chun sharpen his wits and sneak into Wukang Mountain? It was nothing but a desire to learn skills secretly to make a fortune and also to have a means of self-protection.

"Forget how expensive the immobilization charm is, it can even command a High Martial Realm master..." At this, Wu Jinliang suddenly paused, turning his head to look at Shi Chun as they simultaneously thought of the same likely enemy.

Shi Chun also suspected this, but still frowned, "According to your mother's knowledge, she said the matter was over, that the Qi family wouldn't trouble us anymore, that should be about right, right? Besides, this is already the outside world. If the Qi family wants to move against us, they wouldn't need to use any immobilization charm, just sending a strong person would settle it."

Wu Jinliang didn't think so, "Then tell me, counting all the possibilities, besides Shen Youkun backed by the Qi family who has the capability and the energy to deal with us, who else could there be? After all, this is Lankang City controlled by Wukang Mountain, even if the Qi family is audacious, openly killing here isn't appropriate, didn't you see they wanted to assassinate us quietly? They don't know when we would leave here."

Convinced by this argument, Shi Chun thought it over and indeed, couldn't think of anyone else. Only the Qi family would act like this and also have the necessary power. The more he thought about it, the more likely it seemed, and he couldn't help but curse, "Damn it, will they ever stop?"

Wu Jinliang spat, "Afraid of what? What are we now? We are now people of the Demon Path, daring even to defy the Heavenly Court, how could we be afraid of the Qi family?"

Shi Chun nodded slightly, "Since they insist on a life-and-death confrontation, there's no need to be polite. When we see Feng Chi and the others, let's inform them that the Qi family is trying to ruin our plans, let the Demon Path handle the Qi family!"

Wu Jinliang nodded in agreement, "That's what we should do. It's hard to get along with them, think carefully about what to say, find a way to make the Demon Path thoroughly struggle against them!"

Outside the inn, on the rooftop behind the ridge of a house diagonally opposite, a gaunt man in green clothes stood on the tiles, his deep gaze fixed toward the direction of Anle Building.

A crowd had already gathered far outside the inn, watching the excitement. The scruffy old man had arrived at some point, blending into the crowd on the edge, listening to the discussions of the eyewitnesses while also examining the body on the ground.

The carriage that brought the killer eventually left the scene. As the disturbance grew, without permission, the people in carriage dared not continue their recklessness.

The carriage headed straight for a wall under the city, where the man inside jumped out and soared into a pavilion at the corner of the wall.

Bian Weiyin was still there. The drinks and dishes had been cleared, and standing by the railing with her long hair let loose in the wind, she gazed towards the direction of Wukang Mountain's gate for a long time, not knowing whether she was waiting for news or concerned about the movements on her brother's side.

The man entering the pavilion was visibly nervous, but still recounted the mishap.

Bian Weiyin suddenly turned, her messy hair obscuring her face in disbelief, "Two third-grade talismans couldn't hold them?"

The man said, "I suspect there was a master secretly helping them, breaking the charms on them and severely injuring Liu, resulting in Liu's death at their hands."

"A master capable of breaking third-grade immobilization charms? Very good, things are getting more interesting!" Bian Weiyin laughed, flipping her long hair, her face clear, "This is my territory. Since assassination didn't work, let's do it openly. Gather the troops to arrest them directly. Once controlled, no need for discussion, execute immediately to prevent interference from the mountain. Let's go. I want to see for myself what kind of master will appear!"

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