97: Chapter 97 You're looking for me?!

The setting sun melted like gold, and clouds filled the sky, rolling over the streets and alleys.

Chen An bid farewell to everyone in the Shen Family and walked leisurely along the bluestone road, heading toward the Prefectural Academy at a steady pace.

The evening breeze gently brushed his sleeves, and the surrounding sounds of the marketplace drifted by, creating a peaceful scene.

Suddenly, Chen An felt two gazes filled with deep malice land on him. He couldn't help but raise an eyebrow, then looked up.

His gaze pierced straight through the street buildings and precisely locked onto a pair of indifferent, cold eyes on the second floor of the restaurant.

"Incense Master, it seems he has discovered us?!" On the restaurant, the young man looked at Chen An, who was looking up, and his heart skipped a beat.

They were over a hundred meters away from Chen An, and Chen An was just a piece of trash in the Qi Condensation Realm; how could he possibly have discovered them?!

Was it a coincidence or...

"Heh, this is interesting!"

Watching Chen An, who had only glanced once before continuing on his way—as if that glance had just been an inadvertent sweep—the middle-aged man known as the Incense Master curled his lips into a sinister smile.

"As expected of a Genius who could comprehend the Saber Intent left behind by Instructor Lin Chengyuan, he does indeed have some quick-wittedness!"

"However, what does it matter how quick-witted a mere piece of trash in the Qi Condensation Realm is?!"

"Even if a rabbit is vigilant, can it escape the predation of a tiger?!"

The middle-aged man sneered, a blood-red light flashing in the depths of his eyes. Wisps of cold Evil Qi faintly emanated from his body, and it seemed as if the surrounding temperature had dropped a few degrees.

"Do it!"

"Yes!"

Hearing the middle-aged man's order, the young man immediately stood up and nodded heavily toward a peddler carrying a pole at the corner of the street.

The peddler understood, calmly set down his load, and quietly reached for his waist.

At the same time, three men chatting by the roadside and an old man selling candied haws also stopped what they were doing. Their gazes suddenly turned cold, and they moved to surround Chen An without leaving a trace.

These people were disguised extremely well, blending into the bustling crowd without looking the least bit out of place.

Chen An took it all in with his peripheral vision, a barely perceptible sneer curling the corner of his mouth.

Not only did he not speed up, but he deliberately slowed down and turned into a quiet, secluded alley that looked sparsely populated.

The alley was flanked by mottled high walls, with only a sliver of sky visible above. The afterglow of the setting sun slanted in, casting long shadows on the ground.

"Huh, where is he?!"

When those people saw Chen An walk into the alley, a sneer flashed in their eyes, and they quickly followed him in.

However, after they entered, they did not see their target in the alley, and they were all slightly stunned.

"Everyone, are you looking for me?!"

A cold voice suddenly came from above, chilly and seemingly devoid of any warmth.

The assassins looked up abruptly to see Chen An standing on the high wall at the entrance of the alley. His hands were behind his back, his robes fluttering in the evening breeze, and his expression was as indifferent as a deity looking down upon ants.

"He's up there!"

"Kill him!"

The leading peddler shouted sharply, drew the short blade at his waist first, and leaped toward the top of the wall.

The other four also brandished their weapons, the blades shimmering with cold light under the setting sun, each strike aimed directly at Chen An's vitals. They were clearly veterans who had blood on their hands.

Chen An's eyes didn't flicker in the slightest, and he didn't even move his feet. He simply moved his right hand slowly and struck out with a palm.

The next moment, countless palm shadows seemed to appear in the Void Realm, layered like a surging sea of clouds, crashing down with an overwhelming, irresistible force.

As the palm wind whistled, it actually sucked the air out of the entire alley into a vacuum, and even the rays of the setting sun were twisted and torn apart.

The peddler rushing at the front didn't even have time to scream before his entire body was hit head-on by the palm force.

With a dull thud, his body flew backward like a kite with a broken string, smashing heavily into the stone wall three zhang away. His chest caved in, leaving a gruesome crater, and he died on the spot. Even the Profound Rank short blade in his hand was shattered into pieces.

The other four were terrified upon seeing this and hurriedly swung their blades to block.

But Chen An's palm, which looked casual, actually displayed strength no less than the Late Stage of the Acquired Realm. Wherever the palm force reached, the blades snapped, and the sharp Qi penetrated their protective True Qi like blades.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!~~~

Four dull, loud bangs exploded in succession. All four assassins flew backward just like the peddler before them, blood gushing from their mouths as their bodies smashed heavily against the hard stone wall.

After landing, their bones were shattered, their limbs twisted and deformed. They had completely lost the strength to even struggle to their feet and could only lie in pools of blood, convulsing. In the blink of an eye, their breathing grew weak, and they had no strength left to resist.

Looking at the four people convulsing on the ground, Chen An's gaze remained calm. With a slight movement of his body, he landed on the ground.

"Speak, who are you, and why do you want to intercept and kill me?!" Chen An looked at the four and asked with an indifferent expression.

"You... you are not in the Qi Condensation Realm... Pfft!!~~"

The old man looked at Chen An, his face full of shock and unwillingness. With a 'pfft', another mouthful of blood spewed out.

It was clearly stated in the intelligence that this was just a student who had just passed the County Exam, and his cultivation was only at Condensing Qi Stage 6.

Yet, all five of them had cultivation at least at the 11th stage of Qi Condensation, and he himself was even at the 3rd stage of the Acquired Realm.

As a result, the five of them couldn't even withstand a single move from this person?!

The old man now just wanted to drag the person who collected the intelligence over and ask him, is this what you called a piece of trash in the Qi Condensation Realm?!

If this is trash, then what does that make them?!

"You're so old, yet you get excited so easily. It leads to high blood pressure, understand?!"

Looking at the blood-spitting old man, a playful smile flashed across Chen An's face.

His tone was light and breezy, as if what was before him were not pools of blood and dying assassins, but just passersby chatting on the street.

Hearing Chen An's words, the old man's chest heaved violently. He pointed at Chen An, his lips trembling as he wanted to say something, but another mouthful of black blood spewed out. His head tilted to the side, and he completely lost his breath.

"No way, are you that fragile?!"

Looking at the old man who had died from vomiting blood, Chen An's mouth twitched slightly.

He didn't expect that he would anger someone to death with just one sentence.

Could his ability already rival that of Zhuge Cunfu?!

Shaking his head, he ignored the dead old man and turned his gaze to the remaining three assassins lying on the ground. "Now, it's your turn. Who wants to speak first?"

The three looked at each other, all showing fierce expressions, gritting their teeth and refusing to speak.

"You won't speak?"

Chen An raised an eyebrow, not angry, and simply walked slowly to the sturdiest man, raising his foot to step lightly on his broken leg.

"Agh——!!!"

The man let out a heart-wrenching scream, convulsing in pain, and cold sweat instantly soaked his clothes...