22: The controversy surrounding the return to the city has attracted widespread attention.

Black Stone City, the mottled city walls resembled a crouching giant beast in the twilight.

At the city gate, several lazy guards leaned against their long spears, dozing.

Wang Laowu, the guard leader, twitched his nose, his drowsiness mostly gone. He muttered, "Damn it, what's that smell? A dead rat?"

Before he finished speaking, an extremely faint but unusually heavy tremor came from the ground.

"Thump... Thump... Thump..."

It was like heavy drumbeats, approaching from afar, striking at people's hearts.

"Something's happening!" Wang Laowu straightened up with a jolt, squinting his eyes as he looked towards the end of the dirt road leading to Decapitation Gorge.

In the dim twilight, an impossibly burly figure was approaching step by step.

"It's... it's that Fiend! Lin... Lin Jingyu!" A young guard's teeth chattered as he recognized the ferocious face that circulated among Black Stone City's lower ranks.

The fierce reputation of him overpowering the city gate guards and sending a Martial Arts Hall Master flying with a single palm strike was still fresh in their minds!

Wang Laowu's scalp tingled, his palms gripping the long spear slick with cold sweat.

He had sharp eyes and stared intently at the large patches of congealed, blackened stains on Lin Jingyu's tattered robes, and the dark red hue that had almost dyed him blood-red... This was definitely not beast blood!

It was human blood! And a massive amount of it... "He... he went in the direction of... Decapitation Gorge!" Another guard cried out, his voice filled with uncontrollable terror. Linking this to the nauseating bloody scent from earlier, a terrifying conjecture sent chills down the spines of all the guards, as if they had fallen into an ice cave!

Lin Jingyu had arrived before the city gate.

"Gulp!" Wang Laowu's Adam's apple bobbed as he swallowed with difficulty. His hand, gripping the spear, trembled violently. He wanted to question him according to regulations, but his throat felt as if it were clamped by iron pincers, unable to utter a single word.

Block his path? He wouldn't dare even with a hundred times the courage! This person before him was simply a primordial Vicious Beast in human skin! A Vicious Beast that had just bathed in fresh blood!

Lin Jingyu's gaze, like two cold bone-scraping knives, swept across the city gate arch. The guards froze in place like frogs stared down by venomous snakes, even their breathing stopped.

He took a step forward.

"Buzz!"

There was no obstruction, no questioning.

Lin Jingyu's burly figure, carrying a strong bloody Aura, silently passed through the city gate arch and entered Black Stone City.

The heavy footsteps echoed through the silent street, gradually fading into the distance.

Only when that figure disappeared around the dark street corner did the suffocating pressure slowly dissipate.

"Hoo... hoo..." Wang Laowu collapsed onto the ground as if his bones had been drained, gasping for breath, cold sweat soaking his back.

"B-boss, he... his clothes... were all blood..." The young guard's face was pale, his voice trembling uncontrollably. "Decapitation Gorge... Blood Wolf Stockade..."

"Shut up!" Wang Laowu roared suddenly, his eyes filled with extreme fear. "What happened today, keep it buried! Anyone who dares to utter another word... I'll tear him apart first! That... that's no longer a human! That's a Malevolent God! That's a Fiend!"

The news, like a winged plague, spread through the lower echelons of Black Stone City at an astonishing speed amidst fear and whispers.

"Did you hear? Lin the Fiend is back! Covered in blood!"

"My heavens, he went in the direction of Decapitation Gorge..."

"Blood Wolf Stockade... it's probably gone!"

"Shh! Keep your voice down! The Zhao family... the Zhao family is probably going crazy!"

"Black Stone City... the sky is about to change!"

East of the city, Zhao Manor.

"Smash!"

A fine blue and white porcelain cup was violently smashed to the ground, shattering into pieces! Hot tea splattered all over the kneeling scout.

"Useless! A bunch of useless people!" Second Master Zhao's face was ashen, veins throbbing on his forehead. His usual cultivated demeanor was gone, replaced by twisted fury and a hint of imperceptible panic. "Is Han Kui a pig? A Bone Forging Realm Second Layer expert, leading dozens of men, guarding a natural chasm, couldn't even stop a young beast who just broke through to the Meridian Opening Realm?! And he let him kill his way in, even destroying their lair?!"

The scout buried his head even lower, his voice trembling with fear: "Se-Second Master... I took a distant look outside Decapitation Gorge... That... that Lin Jingyu... he... he's different! His Qi and blood shot into the sky like a wolf's smoke! It was terrifyingly condensed! I... I couldn't breathe even from far away! Chief Han... he's probably... probably already..."

"Nonsense!" Zhao Tiande roared, cutting him off, his chest heaving violently.

He simply refused to believe it, refused to accept it!

How many days had Lin Jingyu been away from Black Stone City? How could he be strong enough to slaughter Blood Wolf Stockade?

Han Kui was a fierce hound that his Zhao family had secretly supported for many years! He was their sharp claw for eliminating dissidents and plundering resources outside the city!

"Useless! All useless!" Zhao Tiande paced anxiously in the study with thick velvet carpets, slamming the expensive sandalwood desk with thuds. "Where's the letter? Where's that secret letter Chen San, that dog, sent out? What did it say?" He suddenly remembered the crucial point.

The scout's body trembled, his voice choked with tears: "Didn't... didn't find Chief Chen San... The stockade... was all blood... severed hands and feet everywhere... The letter... the letter wasn't found either... Only at the entrance of the stockade... saw a pile of burnt paper ashes..."

"Paper ashes?!" Zhao Tiande's pupils suddenly constricted, a chill instantly shooting from the soles of his feet to the top of his head!

That letter! The secret letter he personally wrote to Han Kui, promising the land of three villages in exchange for Lin Jingyu's head! If it fell into the hands of that Fiend... Zhao Tiande's face instantly turned from ashen to deathly pale, as if all the blood had been drained from him.

He suddenly clutched the edge of the desk, his knuckles white, his body trembling uncontrollably.

What kind of person was Lin Jingyu? A harbinger of death!

A vengeful Vicious Beast!

The blood feud of the entire Lin family being wiped out was still unavenged, and now with this secret letter... "Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!" Zhao Tiande could no longer maintain his composure, roaring in a distraught manner. Immense fear, like a cold venomous snake, tightly coiled around his heart. He could imagine that Fiend holding the secret letter, his eyes chillingly cold!

"Second Master..." The butler, Zhao Fu, cautiously stepped forward and whispered, "That brat just entered the city, covered in blood, and though his Aura is fierce, he must have gone through a fierce battle and is at the end of his rope! Why not... while he hasn't found his footing, and is injured and exhausted..." A sinister glint flashed in his eyes as he made a cutting gesture. "Once and for all! Invite Old Yin to act?"

"Old Yin?" A flicker of struggle passed through Zhao Tiande's eyes.

But at this moment... thinking of the consequences that the secret letter, capable of dragging him and even the entire Zhao family into an abyss, might bring, and thinking of Lin Jingyu's terrifying growth rate and brutal nature... Zhao Tiande's last trace of hesitation was replaced by ruthlessness. He slammed the table, making the brushes on the brush holder jump: "Go! Immediately go and invite Old Yin! Tell him that as long as he brings Lin Jingyu's head, the three 'Hundred-Year Corpse Evil Jades' in the Zhao family treasury are his! Plus ten thousand taels of gold!"

"Yes!" Zhao Fu's heart tightened, knowing that Second Master was going to spare no expense. He quickly bowed and retreated, his footsteps hurriedly disappearing into the shadows.

Only Zhao Tiande's heavy breathing remained in the study.

He walked to the window, looking at the oppressive silhouette of Black Stone City shrouded in twilight, his eyes as sinister as a venomous snake.

"Lin Jingyu... you little beast... your existence is a grave threat to the Zhao family!" He gritted his teeth, his voice like a chilling wind from the Nine Netherworld. "This time... you must die!"

South of the city, in a dilapidated small courtyard.

Lin Jingyu sat cross-legged on the cold brick bed, as steady as a mountain.

His consciousness sank into the System panel, and a cold blue light emerged in the darkness:

[host: Lin Jingyu]

[Realm: Bone Forging Realm Third Layer (Early Stage)]

[Cultivation Technique: Dragon Tendon Tiger Bone Art (Minor Achievement 235/1000) Indestructible Vajra Divine Art (Initiation 85/500)]

[Martial Skill: Sky-Piercing Finger (Proficient 150/500) Dragon-Elephant Suppressing Prison Strength (Fist Intent Initiation 90/500)]

[Movement Technique: Phantom Step (Skilled 120/300)]

[evolution points: 3725]

[Mission: Blood for Blood (In Progress)]

3725 evolution points! An unprecedented 'huge sum'! The rich rewards of cleansing Blood Wolf Stockade were clearly laid out before him.

Lin Jingyu's gaze slowly swept across the Cultivation Technique and Martial Skill sections.

"Dragon Tendon Tiger Bone Art... Minor Achievement." He felt the large tendons in his body tense like bowstrings, storing power, and the steel-like texture emanating from deep within his bones. This was the source of his strength. "Elevate!"

His mind locked onto [Dragon Tendon Tiger Bone Art], and evolution points instantly poured in like a flood from an open sluice gate!

[Consumed 1000 evolution points! Dragon Tendon Tiger Bone Art has been elevated to Major Achievement (235/2000)!]

"Boom!"

The roar of a Dragon and a tiger seemed to explode within his body!

[Strength increased! Defense increased! Total Qi and Blood increased!] The System's prompt was concise and powerful.

Lin Jingyu didn't pause, his gaze turning to the foundation of his defense.

"Indestructible Vajra Divine Art... Initiation." This top-tier defensive Cultivation Technique obtained from the System had infinite potential. [Elevate!]

[Consumed 800 evolution points! Indestructible Vajra Divine Art has been elevated to Minor Achievement (85/1000)!]

"Buzz!"

Defense, counter-shock force, and resistance to sinister energies were all comprehensively enhanced!

With just two elevations, 1700 evolution points had been consumed.

"Dragon-Elephant Suppressing Prison Strength... Fist Intent." This was the pure break out of strength, the core embodiment of his 'one force breaks all methods' philosophy. [Elevate!]

[Consumed 500 evolution points! Dragon-Elephant Suppressing Prison Strength (Fist Intent) has been elevated to Proficient (90/1000)!]

Countless insights into the condensation, explosion, and vibration of power instantly flooded his mind!

It was as if he had undergone hundreds of thousands of training sessions of hammering with immense force!

Above his fist, that domineering Fist Intent, capable of tearing apart and suppressing everything, became even more condensed and pure!

[Strength burst power increased! Fist force penetration increased! Fist Intent pressure enhanced!]

In a short moment, 3200 evolution points flowed out like water, in exchange for an all-around surge in strength! The surging power within him was like a volcano about to erupt, urgently needing a hearty battle to vent and stabilize!

Lin Jingyu slowly opened his eyes. In the darkness, two cold glints, like tangible blades, pierced through the gloom!

He gently clenched his fist, and the air in his palm was crushed with a soft 'pop'.

"The Zhao family..." A cold killing intent, like a tangible chill, permeated the cramped, broken room. "It's time to collect interest."

His gaze swept over the remaining 525 evolution points on the System panel, and the [Blood for Blood] mission marker.

Just then!

"Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh—!"

Several faint, almost inaudible sounds of piercing the air, like venomous snakes flicking their tongues, suddenly attacked from outside the window, outside the door, and even from a hole in the roof!

Their speed was like lightning, their angles cunning and vicious, aimed directly at Lin Jingyu's vital points! A nauseatingly sweet, fishy smell instantly permeated the air—deadly poison!

Almost at the instant the sounds of piercing the air rang out, Lin Jingyu's eyes shot out a cold gleam!

"Courting death!"

He didn't even stand up! His cross-legged body suddenly shook!

"Buzz!"

The Minor Achievement Indestructible Vajra Divine Art instantly activated! Dark golden light flowed like mercury, covering his entire body, and the dark golden patterns beneath his skin suddenly lit up!

"Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!"

Intense, rain-like impacts exploded in the darkness!

Several poisonous needles, darts, and caltrops, glinting with eerie blue and emerald light, fiercely struck the dark golden flow! Most of them were like hitting divine iron, sparks flying, instantly twisting, deforming, and shattering as they bounced off! The potent poison was blocked and purified by the golden light!

Only three thin needles, emanating a strange, withered gray hue and shaped like dry bones, possessed extremely strong penetrating power, barely piercing through the weakest points of the circulating dark golden light and embedding themselves in Lin Jingyu's shoulder and arm!

Pfft!

A subtle sound of flesh being pierced.

However, the expected flesh corrosion and bone dissolution did not occur!

The three withered bone poison needles only penetrated less than half an inch into his skin before being firmly lodged by the bones beneath, which were at the Bone Forging Realm Third Layer and as tough as tempered steel!

The terrifying corpse poison attached to the needles was just about to spread through his blood when it encountered the surging, mercury-like and lava-hot Qi and blood of the Major Achievement Dragon Tendon Tiger Bone Art!

Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle!

It was like a red-hot branding iron pressed onto ice!

The domineering Qi and blood instantly enveloped, incinerated, and annihilated the invading yin and cold corpse poison! A faint gray mist briefly rose from the tip of the needles on his skin, but it was immediately covered and smoothed over by the dark golden glow!

[Ding! Indestructible Vajra Divine Art experience +30! Poison resistance increased!]

[Ding! Dragon Tendon Tiger Bone Art experience +25! Qi and blood's evil-dispelling effect enhanced!]

Lin Jingyu's eyes were cold, and a cruel arc curved at the corner of his mouth.

He slowly stood up, his burly figure like an awakened giant beast in the darkness, and a terrifying Evil Qi erupted!

"Cowardly rats hiding in the shadows." His voice was low, like muffled thunder rolling. "Zhao family dogs, only worthy of such despicable methods?"

Before his words even finished, he moved!

His figure was like a ghost! Phantom Step activated, leaving only an afterimage in his original spot!

"Bang!"

In the shadow of the corner, an assassin, entirely wrapped in gray cloth and emanating a chilling Aura, was just about to flee when a large hand, covered in dark golden light and imbued with terrifying power, clasped his throat like an iron clamp!

"Crack!"

A crisp, clean sound of bone shattering! The horror in the assassin's eyes instantly froze, and his body went limp.

Lin Jingyu's figure didn't stop, appearing at the doorway as if teleporting, and he unleashed a punch! Dragon-Elephant Suppressing Prison Strength erupted!

"Boom!"

The wooden door, along with a gray-clad assassin who was about to rush in behind it, instantly shattered into pieces as if struck by a rampaging giant elephant! The assassin's chest caved in, blood mixed with internal organ fragments spurted from his mouth, and he flew backward, collapsing the courtyard wall!

A faint sound of broken tiles came from the roof; the last assassin, seeing the unfavorable situation, frantically tried to escape!

"Stay!"

A cold light flashed in Lin Jingyu's eyes, and he pointed his fingers like a sword! The Sky-Piercing Finger power condensed like a silver lightning bolt, tearing through the air!

"Whoosh!"

With a soft sound, a dull thud of a heavy object rolling off the roof followed, and then silence.

In an instant, three ambush assassins, all formidable experts at least at Meridian Opening Realm Seventh Layer or above, were killed!

Lin Jingyu stood in the center of the dilapidated courtyard, assassin corpses at his feet, the three dull withered bone poison needles still embedded in his body.

He casually pulled out the poison needles and tossed them to the ground, where they made a crisp sound.

He raised his head, his gaze like two cold javelins, piercing through the night sky, accurately directed towards the brightly lit Zhao Manor in the east of the city.

A killing intent even more biting than the late autumn night wind... "Zhao Tiande..." Lin Jingyu murmured, his voice like the chilling wind scraping across an icy surface in the Nine Netherworld. "Clean your neck and wait."