146: Chapter 146 Leaving the City, Assassins! (4k)

A few days later, the capital gradually returned to peace.

The faint sense of being watched that had shrouded the small courtyard finally dissipated completely.

Chen Ran sat on a rattan chair in the yard, holding a cup of coarse tea, gently blowing away the floating leaves on the surface.

The Lin family's investigation had likely come to an end.

He had behaved himself these past few days, clocking in on time every day, eating and drinking as usual, acting exactly like the most ordinary Jailer.

Therefore, he hadn't attracted anyone's attention.

Now, it was time to take a trip out of the city.

He closed his eyes, feeling the surging True Qi within his body.

After a period of "diligent labor" in the Celestial Jail, the cultivation he had harvested from those demons and high-profile prisoners had reached a critical point.

The True Qi in his Dantian was like boiling water, constantly battering the barriers of his Meridians.

His Realm, which had been suppressed for a long time, needed a place for a Breakthrough.

Breaking through in the capital would cause too much of a commotion; with his current level of True Qi convergence, it would definitely attract the attention of experts from the Directorate of Astronomy and the Demon Suppression Division.

He didn't want to expose himself just yet.

Especially after learning of Shen Jixuan's strength a few days ago, he had remained wary of the hidden powers of the Imperial Court.

Even a Cultivator like Shen Jixuan, who could perform Divine Soul travel and practice Possession of Physical Bodies, had been ruthlessly suppressed.

One could only imagine how terrifying the top-tier combat power of this world truly was.

"Perhaps my current strength isn't enough; at the very least, I need to be stronger than that Shen Jixuan."

Chen Ran pondered, silently estimating his current strength.

After finishing his review of the case files, he was now extremely interested in the Divine Soul Cultivation Technique that Shen Jixuan practiced.

If nothing unexpected happened, the technique that man practiced should be the one recorded in legendary ancient texts.

This was likely the reason the Imperial Court had never killed him, but instead kept him trapped in the prison.

"Moving mountains and shifting locations, riding the clouds and mist, comparable to an Immortal..."

At the thought of the heaven-defying methods recorded in the ancient texts,

A surge of heat welled up in Chen Ran's heart.

"Such a technique ought to be used by me."

...

Inside the Demon Suppression Division, the Prison Officer's office.

"Brother Chen, have a good rest."

"I will, I will."

Warden Wen Ruoxu stood at the door, looking at the man in front of him with envy.

"Brother Chen, during the few days you're gone, I will definitely miss you. No one will be left to chat with me."

"Get lost. It's just a few days off, don't get all sentimental on me."

Chen Ran cursed with a smile and waved his hand.

"Then I'll see you in three days."

With that, Chen Ran turned and left, his figure gradually disappearing outside the Celestial Jail.

As a Seventh-Grade Prison Official of the Celestial Jail, he was considered to have truly entered the official ranks of the Great Wei.

Basic life security was guaranteed.

There were three days of vacation every month, and the Imperial Court would even distribute extra rice, flour, grain, and oil as rewards during festivals.

This was much better than the conditions back when he was a Jailer, when he had almost no days off all year round.

"Though, it would be nice if there were weekends. Three days off a month is still too little."

Chen Ran whispered to himself while reminiscing about the past.

It just so happened to be his scheduled rest day.

His trip out of the city was completely reasonable; even if someone investigated, they wouldn't find the slightest problem.

After changing into an inconspicuous black robe, Chen Ran strolled out of the yard and headed towards the Outer City gate.

At the Outer City of the capital, long queues had formed at the gate.

The biting cold wind blew with a sound like ghostly wails.

The air was thick with the smell of sweat, animal droppings, and low-grade tobacco.

Chen Ran walked down the street, frowning slightly as he took in the scene.

This was the Outer City of the capital, and it was also the most realistic portrayal of the lives of the people at the bottom, beneath the capital's prosperous exterior.

Order here was chaotic, Gangs were numerous, and the social hierarchy was rigid...

Chen Ran turned his gaze toward the city gate.

The martial law had not been fully lifted.

A dozen or so soldiers from the City Defense Army, clad in armor and holding weapons, stood guard at the gate, inspecting passing pedestrians one by one.

"Hurry up! What are you dawdling for!"

A burly soldier with a fleshy face kicked the leg of a merchant in front of him.

The merchant stumbled, repeatedly offering apologetic smiles as he handed over his Travel Permit, while discreetly slipping a piece of broken silver into the soldier's hand.

The soldier weighed the silver, frowned, and backhanded the merchant across the face.

"Are you treating me like a beggar? You think this little money can get you through? I think there's definitely contraband hidden in your cart. Men, seize it!"

The merchant was so terrified he fell to his knees with a thud, kowtowing and begging for mercy. He pulled out another silver ingot and shoved it over. Only then did the soldier snort coldly and wave him through.

The surrounding commoners were furious but dared not speak out, only able to shrink their necks and wait in line obediently.

Chen Ran blended into the crowd, his expression calm.

He had seen scenes like this many times.

Low-level soldiers with a bit of power loved to find a sense of existence by bullying commoners, while picking up some extra profit along the way.

The line moved forward slowly.

Suddenly, Chen Ran's eyes narrowed slightly.

Under his perception, he suddenly sensed a familiar aura within the crowd.

"This aura... is it the person who fled from the Ghost Market that day?"

He tilted his head slightly, his gaze sweeping through the crowd.

Ten paces ahead to his diagonal left, a hunched old man wearing grey sackcloth caught his attention.

The old man was pushing a dilapidated wheelbarrow filled with some rotten vegetable leaves, looking like a poor wretch who had come into the city to sell vegetables.

There were no flaws.

But how sharp was Chen Ran's perception?

Chen Ran raised an eyebrow.

Interesting.

This assassin was bold enough; despite being heavily injured, instead of continuing to hide in the city, he actually dared to leave through the city gate in broad daylight.

After several days of searching, those hounds of the Imperial Court actually hadn't found this person?

Chen Ran withdrew his gaze, acting as if he hadn't seen anything.

"What are you looking at! I'm talking to you!"

A sudden roar interrupted Chen Ran's thoughts.

The fleshy-faced soldier, carrying a spear, strode up to Chen Ran with a fierce look in his eyes, clearly treating Chen Ran as the next fat sheep to be slaughtered.

"Looking around like that, got a guilty conscience? Show me your Travel Permit!"

Chen Ran looked calmly at the soldier in front of him.

He didn't pull out a Travel Permit; instead, he reached into his robe and produced a black iron medallion.

On the medallion was carved a ferocious beast's head and the words "Demon Suppression."

The soldier's gaze fell upon the medallion.

His originally ferocious expression suddenly froze on his face.

He rubbed his eyes to confirm he wasn't seeing things.

The next second, the soldier's back bent down sharply.

"Oh! So it's an official from the Demon Suppression Division!"

The soldier took the medallion with both hands and carefully handed it back to Chen Ran, his voice kept very low, dripping with sycophancy.

"Sir, you are on official business, why didn't you say so earlier? Please, after you!"

Saying that, he turned and roared at the crowd waiting in line ahead.

"Are you all blind? Get out of the way for the official!"

The crowd scattered with a rustle, clearing a wide path.

Chen Ran took the medallion and walked through the city gate without a word.

Low murmurs of discussion came from behind him.

"Who was that? Such a grand display of authority."

"Shh! Didn't you hear? Someone from the Demon Suppression Division! Those are living Yamas who deal specifically with demons!"

"No wonder those bastards from the City Defense Army acted like they'd seen their own father. All that arrogance from earlier is gone."

Listening to the discussion behind him, Chen Ran felt no ripples in his heart.

This was the benefit of power.

Although he was only a Seventh-Grade Prison Official, wearing the skin of the Demon Suppression Division allowed him to walk tall here in the Outer City.

Chen Ran walked out of the city gate indifferently, his gaze sweeping slightly backward, lingering on that person.

...

"Officer, this is the last of my savings."

"Fine, fine, get going. Just a poor ghost..."

Amidst the dissatisfied voices of the City Defense Army,

The grey-clad old man pushed his wheelbarrow and slowly walked out of the city gate.

Not until he had walked about a mile and confirmed there were no tails behind him did he slightly straighten his back.

In his cloudy eyes, a flash of undisguised mockery appeared.

Xu Jianyi cracked his jaw.

The hounds of the Great Wei Court were truly getting worse with each generation.

He had hidden in the capital for five whole days.

Since the assassination attempt failed that night and he was heavily injured by an expert from the Inner Palace,

It was lucky he specialized in concealment and escape techniques; otherwise, there really would have been no way to get out of that place.

But fortunately, those idiots in the City Defense Army only knew how to squeeze the people for money and couldn't find a single flaw in him.

It was simply a joke.

Xu Jianyi abandoned the wheelbarrow and walked into a dense forest by the roadside.

He took off the grey sackcloth and tore the human skin mask from his face,

Revealing a sinister middle-aged face.

He stretched his limbs, his True Qi circulating to forcefully suppress his aching Meridians.

"The intelligence was wrong. Even without Wei Yanxi's Innate Realm guard that day, he's not easy to kill."

"Once I recover from my injuries, I'll come back and play with you all slowly."

He let out a sneer.

With a light tap of his toe on a tree trunk,

He transformed into an afterimage, speeding toward the continuous mountain range in the distance.

He was extremely fast, moving through the forest as if on level ground.

The air of freedom was truly intoxicating.

As long as he escaped into the deep mountains, not even the King of Heaven himself could hope to catch him.

As the number one assassin on the silver flower ranking of the Flower Rain Pavilion, he was confident that no one below the Innate Realm could catch him.

Even if those pursuers chased him for a lifetime, they would never know where he was.

Xu Jianyi ran for a dozen miles in one breath, and after arriving at a hidden location,

His tensed nerves finally relaxed completely.

This was his usual hiding spot; people from the Court would definitely not be able to catch up.

Just then.

A sharp sound of something piercing the air suddenly rang out!

The sound came from behind his head, unbelievably fast, with a shriek that tore through the air.

Xu Jianyi's face changed drastically.

Prompted by the instincts of someone who spent years on the edge of life and death,

He didn't look back; his body twisted forcefully in mid-air, shifting three feet to the side.

Boom!

A violent palm print brushed past his shoulder and slammed heavily into a giant boulder ahead.

The man-sized boulder exploded!

Shards of rock flew everywhere like hidden weapons, making dull thudding sounds as they hit tree trunks.

The entire ground collapsed downward, revealing a crater in the shape of a giant palm.

After landing, Xu Jianyi rolled several times to dissipate the impact.

Like a startled wild cat, he sprang up, leaning his back against a large tree and staring fixedly in the direction the palm print had come from.

"Who is it?!"

He shouted sharply, his right hand already gripping the short blade at his waist.

The blade glinted with an eerie blue light, clearly coated in lethal poison.

The forest was silent.

Only the rustling of wind through the leaves could be heard.

Tap.

Tap.

The sound of unhurried footsteps rang out.

A young man wearing ordinary black clothes stepped out from the shadows.

No mask, no disguise.

His aura was extraordinary, and a faint smile hung on his face.

He appeared before him just like that, in plain sight.

"Tsk, I actually missed."

The man seemed surprised that he had dodged the attack.

"You are..."

Xu Jianyi narrowed his eyes, his brain working rapidly.

In his memory of the Court's experts, there didn't seem to be such a figure.

"Who is Your Excellency? Why do you block my path?" Xu Jianyi gripped his short blade, his True Qi silently gathering.

Chen Ran stopped walking, ten paces away from the other man.

He looked the middle-aged man up and down, his tone casual.

"You don't need to know who I am..."

Chen Ran raised his hand, and True Power as vast as the sea attached itself to his palm. A powerful suction force erupted from his hand, causing the surrounding trees to rustle loudly.

A wild wind swept the ground, sending sand and stones flying.

A terrifying pressure followed like a shadow.

Xu Jianyi's expression changed drastically; he felt an incomparably horrifying pressure coming from the man.

Even as someone at the Peak of the Return to Truth Realm, he felt no small amount of danger from those fluctuations.

Buzz!

In the next moment, Xu Jianyi kicked off the ground, his figure like a rebounding cannonball as he fled into the distance.

Chen Ran waved his hand, and his True Power shifted abruptly, turning into streaks of turbulent flow.

[Thousand Crows Chaotic Burial]!

Swish! Swish! Swish!

It was as if thousands of crow shadows were flying out from his hand. Wherever each shadow passed, trees instantly collapsed.

Boom!

A series of black torrents struck out in every direction of his vision.

Seeing this, anger also rose in Xu Jianyi's heart.

"Do you really think I'm made of clay?"

He held his blade in front of him, channeled his True Qi, and his figure vanished from sight in an instant.

Ghost Shadow Trace!

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Within the black torrent, tens of thousands of brilliant silver blade-light afterimages slashed through.

Boom!

Two extremely powerful True Qis collided, followed by a powerful shockwave.

The shockwave shattered the entire forest; broken wood lay across the ground before finally turning into dust.

In just a few breaths,

The entire hilltop looked as if it had been violently leveled, leaving only bare ground and pockmarked pits.

...

Clang!

A flying blade-glow flashed and struck the black-clothed youth.

The blade-glow made a tooth-aching screeching sound upon contact with his body.

Chen Ran's figure was sent flying backward by the blow, smashing through mountain rocks and sinking into a giant crater.

"So this is a Peak Return to Truth Realm expert; their strength is indeed extraordinary."

Chen Ran spat out a mouthful of bloody saliva, but instead of being angry, he laughed.

He hadn't suffered such a heavy injury in a long time. Having lived a stable life in the Celestial Jail for so long, even his combat skills had grown quite rusty.

At this moment, after just a few brief exchanges with this man, Chen Ran felt his own shackles begin to crumble.

The power accumulated in his body was now being rapidly digested and integrated.

"Hahaha, delightful! Again!"

Boom!

Two figures turned into afterimages and clashed once more.

...

The more Xu Jianyi fought, the more alarmed he became. Clearly, his Realm was several times higher than his opponent's.

Yet he hadn't gained a clear advantage in this exchange.

"Just who is this person?"

As the top of the silver flower ranking, he had seen many experts stronger than himself.

But this was the first time he had felt such a great sense of pressure from this man.

Xu Jianyi swung out a blade-glow, his figure retreating sharply.

He was unwilling to continue fighting this madman.

The blade-glow tore through the air, arriving before Chen Ran in the blink of an eye.

Chen Ran clenched his fingers, catching the blade-glow in his hand before crushing it into fragments with a crack.

Watching the figure fleeing into the distance, his voice was cold:

"Did I say you could leave?"