74: Chapter 74 Kill

Two figures darted through the jungle like ghosts, stirring up a gale and startling countless birds and beasts within the woods.

In the lead, Lin Qing moved with composure, his pace neither hurried nor slow. His form was as light as a butterfly; even as he traversed the intricate thickets, his steps remained steady.

He would occasionally slow down on purpose, glancing back from the corner of his eye to confirm that the man in black was still following behind him.

Behind him, the man in black had a face so gloomy it looked like it could drip water. The cold Devilish Qi surrounding him grew denser, and the malevolence in his eyes almost overflowed.

"Kid, you run quite fast!" The man in black gritted his teeth, his voice filled with venomous resentment and impatience.

Lin Qing scanned his surroundings, confirming that they were already far from Yun Nian and the other three, surrounded only by dense jungle.

Finally, he slowly came to a halt and turned around, standing quietly in place as he calmly watched the man in black rushing toward him.

A few breaths later, the man in black charged to within thirty feet of Lin Qing and came to a sudden stop. His chest heaved violently, his heavy breathing particularly clear in the quiet jungle, and the Devilish Qi around him was somewhat chaotic due to his intense panting.

He looked up at Lin Qing, his dark eyes filled with mockery and cruelty, his lips curling into a sinister smile:

"What? Kid, not running anymore? Finally learned to accept your fate?"

In his view, Lin Qing stopping was nothing more than a helpless act of desperation.

Lin Qing did not speak; he just watched him quietly, his eyes as calm as a pool without a ripple, as if he were looking at a clown. That gaze was too indifferent, too composed, and even carried a trace of undetectable disdain, causing the nameless fire in the black-clothed man's heart to ignite completely.

"Good kid!" The man in black roared, his feet slamming into the ground. With a 'bang', he stomped a shallow pit into the earth, sending gravel flying as his body burst toward Lin Qing like an arrow from a bow.

"Kid, I'll see how you keep up that act in a moment!" The man in black let out a sinister roar, "I'm going to carve that dead-man's face off you and let you know the consequences of offending me!"

Devilish Qi surged, carrying a bone-chilling cold as it instantly closed in on Lin Qing's face. The speed was startling, leaving no time for a reaction.

However, Lin Qing advanced instead of retreating. The man in black felt his vision blur, and the figure of the youth, who had been several feet away, suddenly appeared right before him. In the next second, a massive force clamped onto his neck, the power so great he couldn't resist at all.

"Bang—"

A dull thud echoed through the quiet jungle.

The man in black felt as if his neck had slammed into an indestructible piece of refined iron. His throat shattered instantly, and intense pain swept through his body like a tide, making his vision go dark as he nearly fainted.

His neck was gripped tightly by Lin Qing, held fixed in mid-air while his body continued to lunge forward due to momentum. Consequently, his body swung forward like a pendulum with his neck as the pivot until it was parallel to the ground, before swinging back and slamming into the earth with a heavy thud.

Lin Qing held the man in the air with his left hand while his right hand punched with lightning speed. Dense fist shadows, imbued with Five Elements Spiritual Qi, fell upon the man's chest like raindrops.

A moment later, the man's body hung limp, his neck locked in a death grip, only able to make 'he-he' leaking sounds. He struggled to look up at Lin Qing and finally saw the youth's eyes.

It was a cold, indifferent, and emotionless gaze, as if looking at a lifeless object, carrying a condescending scrutiny.

He was all too familiar with this look. Usually, when he hunted down weak Cultivators, he would look at them with those same eyes, watching them struggle and wail in his hands until they died.

But now that this gaze was fixed on him, he truly experienced that fear and despair.

He knew that while he appeared to be alive, he was already dead; Lin Qing would not let him go.

Lin Qing looked at him and spoke softly:

"Confirmed, is this the way you want to die?"

With his throat crushed, the man in black could not speak, only emitting 'he-he' wheezing sounds, his eyes filled with terror, resentment, and bitterness.

He couldn't understand why, in this remote Great Qi Dynasty, there was a youth with such terrifying strength. At the Peak of the fifth rank, he couldn't even withstand a single move against the opponent, as fragile as an ant.

Lin Qing shook his head slightly. If the opponent had used Spells for a long-range attack, Lin Qing would have had to expend some effort to take him down. But since he dared to charge forward for close-quarters combat, Lin Qing could only helplessly kill him in an instant.

Lin Qing released his grip, and the man in black collapsed to the ground like a broken kite, left with only his last breath, lingering on the edge of death.

He crouched down and began searching the man's body. Aside from a set of black martial attire, the man only had a pitch-black Storage Ring; there were no other items.

It seemed this person didn't have the habit of storing items separately; all his belongings were in one basket.

Lin Qing took the Storage Ring and tucked it into his robe. Then, he removed the metal plate from the man's belt and condensed a sliver of metal-attribute spiritual energy into his fingertips, injecting it into the plate.

He reached out and used the metal plate to quickly operate on the man's face. As the spiritual energy on the plate fluctuated, accompanied by the sound of tearing flesh, low and desperate whimpers came from the man in the jungle.

A moment later, Lin Qing stood up and tossed a complete human face into the nearby bushes. Then, he raised his foot and stepped down.

"Bang!"

With a dull sound, the man's skull shattered instantly. Brain matter and blood splattered across the surrounding bushes and soil, staining a large area red as a thick scent of blood filled the air.

Lin Qing suddenly looked up toward the horizon.

High in the distant sky, a streak of light pierced through the clouds, racing toward the location of the Flying Boat. The light radiated dense spiritual energy fluctuations; clearly, the reinforcements from the Royal Capital had arrived.

He looked down at the Storage Ring in his bosom, his brow furrowing slightly. A Storage Ring was a Magic Treasure that required a blood bond to recognize its master; opening it would take some effort.

Fortunately, the original owner was dead. He should be able to open it after grinding it down with his Divine Thought for a few days.

Then, Lin Qing surveyed the area, fire-attribute Qi spreading from his hands as he began to clean up the traces around him.

After completing this, Lin Qing finally set off, leisurely walking toward the direction where the Flying Boat had made its emergency landing.

Meanwhile, in a remote and dilapidated house within the Tianhe Dynasty, dim lamplight flickered, casting a blurred shadow.

This man in black was wearing the same style of martial attire as the devil Cultivator Lin Qing had killed, but he was surrounded by an even denser, colder Devilish Qi, his expression terrifyingly grim.

He took out a cracked black jade token from his robe. The spiritual light that had once flickered on the token had long since extinguished.

"What a useless waste!" The man in black barked in a low voice, "To fail a mission to intercept a fourth-rank, and even lose his own life!"

He rubbed the cracked jade token with his fingertips, a cold light flashing in his eyes:

"The Great Qi Dynasty, is it?"

As his voice fell, he casually threw the jade token onto the ground and crushed it under his foot.

On the other side, while returning to the Flying Boat, Lin Qing gradually regrouped with Yun Nian, Yuan Chong, and the other two who had scattered and fled.

The four of them were still somewhat shaken, panic lingering on their faces. Seeing Lin Qing appear safe and sound, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

Yuan Chong stepped forward quickly and asked urgently:

"Senior Brother Lin Qing, are you alright?"

The other three also cast concerned glances. In their eyes, although Lin Qing was powerful, it likely wasn't easy to escape unscathed when facing a fifth-rank Cultivator.

Lin Qing replied:

"I'm fine. After that man saw the reinforcements in the sky, he stopped pursuing."

Hearing this, the four of them sighed in relief, the panic on their faces gradually fading.

Lin Qing smiled and said no more, leading the four of them toward the Flying Boat. Before long, the five arrived at the landing site.

By now, the sky had returned to tranquility. On the ground lay the corpses of several Elders, their bodies covered in wounds, all having died from severe wind blade injuries.

Several Disciples in matching uniforms surrounded the corpses, weeping softly in grief. The air was thick with the scent of blood and a desolate atmosphere.

The once magnificent giant Flying Boat was now in tatters—the deck had collapsed, the masts were broken, and the spirit crystals originally embedded in the hull were scattered across the ground, having lost their former luster.

Lin Qing's group of five did not linger, heading straight through the crowd. Soon, they found Sect Master Shen Yurong, Yuan Kun, and the third person.

The three appeared somewhat disheveled and their Qi was slightly erratic, but fortunately, they had only suffered minor superficial injuries. They were currently sitting cross-legged on the ground, eyes closed as they regulated their breathing to recover their spent spiritual energy.

Sensing the movement, Sect Master Shen Yurong opened her eyes and looked over. Seeing that all five were safe, her furrowed brow relaxed slightly, and she gave a small nod before closing her eyes again without asking further.

At this time, Elders from other Sects also stood up and headed into the surrounding jungle, intending to rendezvous with their Disciples.

However, half an hour later, while some successfully met their Disciples, other Elders only brought back a few corpses.

Seeing more and more bodies on the ground, the faces of all the Elders turned extremely grim, and the aura around them became increasingly cold.

By now, everyone realized that this attack on the Flying Boat was not a chance encounter with a Yao Beast, but a carefully planned ambush!

That sixth-rank eagle Yao Beast was likely deliberately lured here to pin down the Elders, allowing those lying in wait to take the opportunity to intercept and kill the participating Disciples.

As the sky gradually darkened, everyone suppressed their grief and anger to start cleaning up the aftermath. They properly placed the bodies of the deceased Elders and Disciples into the Flying Boat's storage hold.

Then, the Cultivators worked together to barely repair the damage to the Flying Boat. Though it remained battered, it was at least capable of flight.

Once everything was settled, everyone boarded the Flying Boat one after another.

With a low, raspy roar, the battered Flying Boat slowly ascended, swaying like a candle in the wind as it flew toward the Royal Capital of Da Qi.