Chapter 1994 - Killed With A Single Punch

Three figures blocked Liu Wuxie's path. With Long Ying having declined an escort, no one from Cloud Mist Manor would know what happened on the mountain behind the estate.

"Still determined to hound me?" Liu Wuxie asked coldly as murderous intent flashed in his eyes.

Since they insisted on throwing their lives away, he saw no reason to spare them.

"On your knees, Liu Wuxie. Beg, and we might make it quick. Refuse, and you'll be praying for death!" Ji Heng threatened. Such viciousness twisted his expression that he looked as if he were ready to flay Liu Wuxie alive.

"You know how serious it is to harm a fellow disciple. Or do you think the sect will never find out?" Liu Wuxie asked, a sinister smile forming on his lips. They certainly lacked no audacity, plotting to murder an Azure Jade Palace disciple before Long Ying's very eyes.

"Kill him!" Ji Heng roared. Elder Ji Pei would shield them if trouble followed. Even if they could get punished, their lives would never be at risk.

They could even receive a reward for killing Liu Wuxie.

"Qi Sitong, get out of my way! Why are you stopping me?" Long Ying demanded. She had barely moved to intervene before he blocked her path.

"Let the outer disciples settle their own disputes. This is no business for elite disciples like us," Qi Sitong replied with a smile. His Great Golden Immortal aura swept across the surroundings, locking down the area. If she wanted to reach Liu Wuxie, she would have to get through him.

"You think you can stop me?" Long Ying snapped, driving her palm toward him.

The sudden attack caught everyone by surprise. Her temper was notorious, and Qi Sitong had exhausted the last of her patience by barring her way.

Their exchange reached Liu Wuxie's ears and settled any doubt about Qi Sitong's involvement. He did not yet understand the reason, but the man had clearly struck a bargain with the three attackers.

"I have no desire to fight you, Junior Sister Long," Qi Sitong said, slipping aside to avoid her palm.

Meanwhile, Ji Heng and his companions brought their most powerful techniques to bear on Liu Wuxie. They meant to end his life in one exchange.

Long Yuanxiong's eyes hardened. He had invited Liu Wuxie here to admire the scenery. If that invitation led to his death, he could never forgive himself. Even their short acquaintance had revealed an extraordinary breadth of knowledge, enough to convince Long Yuanxiong that this was someone worth befriending.

He moved to help, but Qi Sitong's Great Golden Immortal aura flung him backward before he could reach Liu Wuxie.

Liu Wuxie showed no sign of concern as the three attacks closed around him like striking vipers.

Ji Heng declared with a vicious laugh, "Your life ends here, Liu Wuxie!" Only three meters separated them now, and he could already envision his sword delivering the fatal blow.

"You worthless fools think you're fit to challenge me?" Liu Wuxie snapped, stepping into the assault instead of yielding ground.

Refining the Frostweight Bird's core and awakening the primal chaos force within the Desolate World had transformed his physical strength. His unity with heaven and earth had risen to an exceptional height.

A single punch stirred the air around him. The blow looked utterly ordinary, yet the sight stopped Long Ying mid-attack.

No one could track the movement of his fist. It slammed into Ji Heng’s chest, sending blood spraying through the air.

Then Ji Heng burst into a gruesome cloud of blood.

The siblings exchanged shocked glances. They had never doubted Liu Wuxie's ability to fight above his realm, but an Origin Immortal had seemed his upper limit. Instead, he had just slaughtered a peak Divine Immortal as though it was a mundane task.

Liu Wuxie did not pause. He turned straight toward the other two, whose threat had diminished further with Ji Heng's death.

"You dare murder a fellow Azure Jade Palace disciple, brat?" Qi Sitong thundered, sending a palm strike toward him to prevent another killing.

"You're not getting past me!" Long Ying snapped, moving to intercept him.

Qi Sitong's intervention could not alter the fate of Liu Wuxie's targets. Once he decided to kill someone, no one could save them. Only his desire to conceal the Sky Devouring Divine Cauldron restrained him. Otherwise, he could have devoured all three without so much as raising a finger.

Another Ji Clan disciple exploded into a blood mist. Concealed by the crimson mist, Liu Wuxie secretly summoned the cauldron and drew the energy and laws out of their bodies.

Terror robbed the final attacker of the ability to move. Who could have believed a Profound Immortal would be capable of such merciless slaughter?

Liu Wuxie reached out and caught him, then channeled his divine sense into his soul sea to tear through his memories. As those memories poured into Liu Wuxie's mind, the captive's body shriveled away until nothing remained but skin.

Fewer than three breaths had passed, and the fight was already over.

With the stolen memories absorbed, Liu Wuxie released a terrifying aura. He turned the full weight of his murderous intent upon Qi Sitong.

"Five million immortal stones. That's all it takes to buy an elite disciple's dignity? Pathetic," Liu Wuxie said. He advanced slowly, and each step brought a deeper surge of murderous intent.

His suspicions had proved correct. Qi Sitong had struck a deal with the three Ji Clan disciples. The only surprise was how cheaply he had sold himself. For five million immortal stones, he had agreed to occupy Long Ying while they murdered Liu Wuxie.

To a Great Golden Immortal, that amount was insignificant. Taking such a paltry payment for a despicable task disgraced the standing of an elite disciple.

"What have you found out, Brother Liu?" Long Yuanxiong asked as he hurriedly walked beside him.

Liu Wuxie told him about the deal between Qi Sitong and Ji Heng. When Long Yuanxiong learned that Qi Sitong had taken a mere five million immortal stones to obstruct him and his sister, undisguised contempt filled his gaze.

A dark look settled over Qi Sitong's face.

"You killed the disciples of the Azure Jade Palace, brat! The sect's laws demand your death!" he snapped, lashing out under the sting of humiliation. Vanishing, he appeared directly before Liu Wuxie and brought his palm down in a killing strike. He had willingly committed the deed, yet could not summon the courage to acknowledge it.

"Oh? Then try it. Show me whether you dare touch me," Liu Wuxie replied, bringing out a token.

"A Law Enforcement Token? H-how did you get that?" Qi Sitong cried. He recoiled as though confronted by a ghost, his aura disappearing the instant recognition struck.

Tremors ran through him. With that token in hand, Liu Wuxie possessed the authority to make him answer for everything he had done.

Long Ying also couldn't believe her eyes as she stared at the token.

Having only recently joined the sect, Long Yuanxiong understood little of its significance. However, Long Ying and Qi Sitong needed no explanation of the authority it represented.

"Well? Are you still going to attack?" Liu Wuxie asked, offering no explanation for possessing the token.

Qi Sitong insisted. "You stole it! I'll take you into custody and let the sect judge you!" He could not accept that anyone would entrust such a precious token to an outer disciple.

"Have you lost every shred of shame, Qi Sitong? Before anyone receives a Law Enforcement Token, the Sword of Law must be activated. A thief would die by that sword the moment he steals it," Long Ying said, her contempt making his face burn.

The fact that Liu Wuxie could hold it without suffering harm settled the matter. The sect had indeed given it to him. The question was why. Had his fifty immortal roots prompted them to grant him such protection?

That was reason enough for that possibility. So many immortal roots would make him a target wherever he traveled, and the token could safeguard his life.

Yet the Azure Jade Palace had no shortage of prodigies. None possessed fifty immortal roots, but some had more than ten. Long Yuanxiong himself possessed nine and would likely obtain a tenth through the right opportunity, yet no one had bestowed a Law Enforcement Token upon him. Exceptional talent could not account for this privilege on its own.

There had to be another explanation. Perhaps Liu Wuxie shared an unusually close bond with someone among the sect's upper echelons, someone whose influence had secured the token for him.

Liu Wuxie commanded, lifting the token and awakening the Sword of Law, "Qi Sitong, Long Ying, Long Yuanxiong, listen to my orders!" A faint radiance gathered around his figure.

"This disciple stands ready to obey," Qi Sitong replied, reluctantly bowing.

Long Ying and Long Yuanxiong bowed immediately as well. An Immortal Emperor's will resided within the token, a force none of them could resist, particularly now that the Sword of Law had awakened.

"Not a word of today's events leaves this place. Break that command, and I'll personally execute you with the Sword of Law," Liu Wuxie warned. Qi Sitong was the true target of his words; he already trusted the siblings to remain silent.

"We understand!" the three answered.

Before the Sword of Law, none of them dared speak a lie. A righteous heart had forged it, leaving no room for impurity.

Liu Wuxie stowed the token. As the sword disappeared, the crushing pressure lifted, and only then did Qi Sitong realize that cold sweat had drenched his body.

"I'll be leaving now," he said the moment he straightened. He hurried away, terrified that Liu Wuxie might yet choose to execute him.

With only the siblings remaining, Liu Wuxie felt an unfamiliar distance open between them. The token had not frightened them away. Rather, they could no longer make sense of the man standing before them.

From the moment he had entered the Cloud Mist Manor, every move he made seemed carefully calculated. Each apparent concession became another form of unrelenting pressure, leaving even Yun Zhong with little choice but to follow the course Liu Wuxie had laid out.