642: I'll give you three moves first.

The monk also knew he was no match; his eyes were filled with determination, as if he intended to risk his life against Zhou Yuanshang.

For him now, only by risking his life did he have a chance.

His Internal Energy erupted as he raised his battered hands and charged at Zhou Yuanshang once more.

"Courting death!"

Zhou Yuanshang sneered. A gap in strength couldn't be bridged by sheer desperation. He had killed countless people and emerged from piles of corpses; how could he possibly fear a monk?

His figure moved like a ghost, charging toward the monk, both of them carrying terrifying waves of Internal Energy.

However, at that moment, Zhou Yuanshang's figure suddenly flew backward. His speed was much faster than when he had charged forward, and his long spear fell to the ground.

*Bang!*

Zhou Yuanshang's body slammed into the ground again, landing back within his original group. He spat out a mouthful of blood, his face contorted in intense pain, and his chest was partially caved in.

It was only because a Martial Grandmaster's vitality was so robust that this strike didn't kill Zhou Yuanshang, but merely left him heavily injured.

The sudden turn of events left everyone stunned, their eyes filled with horror.

What... what was happening?

Even the monk was dumbfounded.

"Who is it?!"

Zhou Yuanshang couldn't help but roar, but the movement aggravated his chest injury. Another mouthful of blood sprayed from his mouth, and blood continued to seep from his chest.

He looked toward the Li Family's direction with terror in his eyes.

At some point, a young man had appeared at the Li Family's entrance. He was as handsome as jade, with an indifferent expression and a faint aura of a superior being.

Zhou Yuanshang's pupils constricted instantly, his face filled with shock.

"You are... a Cultivator!"

Zhou Yuanshang had wondered if a Cultivator was helping the Li Family, but he felt the possibility was far too low. How could the Li Family possibly enlist a Cultivator's help?

He had later dismissed the possibility.

He hadn't expected it to actually be the case.

The Li Family really had a Cultivator's help. This meant that the one who killed his son wasn't the monk before him, but this Cultivator from the Li Family.

Damn it, how is this possible!

"So noisy."

Su Chen's figure slowly emerged from the shadows. He looked at Zhou Yuanshang with an impatient expression: "I killed your son. Why are you making such a racket in the middle of the night?"

He carried a faint pressure. Unlike martial artists, it was a sense of oppression that transcended Internal Energy.

The faces of the other guards from the City Lord's Mansion changed drastically, filled with fear. To them, Cultivators were existences they could only look up to; how could they not be afraid?

"It's over! How did we provoke a Cultivator?"

"Even the City Lord is no match. Are we all going to die?"

"How could the Li Family have a Cultivator backing them? It's all the Young City Lord's fault. If he hadn't provoked a Cultivator, we wouldn't have come to trouble the Li Family."

Many guards, their faces pale with fear and their emotions spiraling out of control, ignored Zhou Yuanshang's presence and began to complain about Zhou Bi.

"Shut up!"

Zhou Yuanshang roared at the group. His long-established authority immediately silenced the guards.

"So what if you're a Cultivator? You interfered in the affairs of my City Lord's Mansion and killed my son. I will make you pay the price." Zhou Yuanshang's voice was cold, as if he still had an ace up his sleeve.

He endured the intense pain and struggled to his feet, his eyes filled with resentment as he looked at Su Chen.

The vengeance for his son's death was irreconcilable.

Su Chen said calmly, "So, you have an ace up your sleeve? Why don't you bring it out and let me see it?"

He looked at Zhou Yuanshang playfully, as if he were looking at a toy or an ant.

Zhou Yuanshang's face was incredibly grim; that look made him feel humiliated.

He took a deep breath, then cupped his hands toward the direction of the City Lord's Mansion:

"Mr. Qi, this person is also a Cultivator. I am no match for him, so I must ask for your help."

Mr. Qi served as an Enshrined Expert for the City Lord's Mansion. Every year, the mansion paid a significant price to support him, and Mr. Qi would only step in when Zhou Yuanshang encountered a predicament he couldn't solve.

Mr. Qi?

Just as Zhou Yuanshang finished speaking, a figure appeared on the roof as if out of thin air. His long robes fluttered, resembling a transcendent immortal who had entered the Mortal world, filled with a mysterious and powerful aura.

The pressure released from his body far exceeded that of a martial artist. Even Zhou Yuanshang, a Martial Grandmaster, felt incredibly insignificant in his eyes.

He swallowed hard, his eyes filled with a trace of it.

Is this a Cultivator?

Mr. Qi glanced at Zhou Yuanshang, a flash of disdain deep in his eyes.

A martial artist is just a martial artist; far too weak.

"City Lord Zhou, you should understand the price for my intervention, right?"

Zhou Yuanshang's expression changed drastically. Just retaining Mr. Qi as an Enshrined Expert required untold wealth every year, and an actual intervention would cost even more. But after thinking about it, as long as Su Chen was killed, it would all be worth it.

Zhou Yuanshang grit his teeth and nodded. "I understand. As long as Mr. Qi helps kill this person, all your previous conditions will be met by the City Lord's Mansion."

Only then did Mr. Qi nod in satisfaction. He turned his gaze toward Su Chen, his eyes narrowing slightly, looking as if he had the situation completely under control.

He wasn't an ordinary Qi Refining Stage Cultivator; he was at the Eighth Level of Qi Refining, a powerhouse within the entire stage.

The pressure from Su Chen wasn't strong, nor was there any spiritual energy surrounding him. He estimated that Su Chen was just a Cultivator who had recently achieved a Breakthrough into Qi Refining.

"Kid, your luck is quite poor. Meeting me is your misfortune."

Mr. Qi remained calm and composed. With a wave of his hand, a long sword appeared out of thin air. His aura instantly surged, becoming incredibly terrifying, on a completely different level from a Martial Grandmaster.

The two were like heaven and earth.

A Martial Grandmaster is the strongest among Mortals, but even so, even the weakest Qi Refining Cultivator can easily defeat one. A Cultivator who has successfully refined Qi possesses Physical Body speed that Mortals find impossible to rival.

Even though some exceptionally gifted Martial Grandmasters can defeat a Cultivator who has just begun Qi Refining, they are, after all, a small minority.

Moreover, Mr. Qi was at the Eighth Level of Qi Refining, on a completely different level from those who had just started.

"It's been a long time since I fought a Cultivator. Kid, I'll give you the chance to strike first. If you can force me to draw my sword within three moves, I'll leave you an intact corpse today."

Mr. Qi was extremely arrogant, his eyes full of confidence, completely disregarding Su Chen.

Su Chen looked at him deeply. To be honest, he didn't quite know what to say.

Just how much does he look down on people?

Does he not see me as a person at all?

It's really a bit much.

"Fine."

A pure smile appeared on Su Chen's face as he slightly raised his hand toward Mr. Qi.

In the next instant, a terrifying force erupted. Mr. Qi was stunned; before he could even react, he was blasted away. A violent explosion rang out, and deep gouges appeared in the street.

Mr. Qi was covered in blood, with ragged wounds all over his body and several teeth missing. Gone was his previously calm and composed demeanor; he was in an extremely wretched state, like an old dog on the brink of death.

He swallowed hard and looked up tremblingly, his eyes filled with gravity and shock.

"You... you are not a Qi Refining Cultivator at all!"

...