Chapter 66

Chapter 66: Stealing My Credit?

The rewards being offered for this operation were astonishing.

It was clear just from this that the Seven Blood Pupils’ higher-ups hated Night Dove to the core.

Xu Qing wasn’t the only one who was excited. At this moment, the eyes of everyone in Team Six lit up. Some of them chuckled, some licked their lips, and their eyes were all filled with desire.

For the disciples of Seven Blood Pupils, cultivation resources drove everything.

Normally, everyone had to use all sorts of methods to hunt down and capture wanted criminals in exchange for extra money. There weren’t many opportunities for large-scale operations like this. But now, everyone realized that once they completed this mission, they wouldn’t be lacking in resources for the foreseeable future.

Thus, their breathing slowly hastened as they looked at the captain.

“Captain, when do we leave?”

“Yeah, let’s go right now!”

Hearing the team members’ anxious voices, the captain smiled and took a bite of the apple in his hand before taking out a handful of jade slips and distributed them to everyone.

“Our goal isn’t too big. The two enemy chiefs at the peak of Qi Condensation must be ours!”

“We’ll sneak into the stronghold and kill them. When we make our move, I’ll deal with one of them. As for the other, once you see him, surround him immediately. If you can, kill him. If not, drag it out until I get there. I hope that when this mission is over, all of you will still be alive.”

“Now, let’s go!”

The entire Homicide Department mobilized in an instant.

Looking from afar, there were numerous figures rushing out of the Homicide Department one after another, moving under the moonlight towards various directions in the city.

These figures were extremely fast and carried peerlessly strong killing intent, shooting out of the Homicide Department like thorny tentacles. As they spread out through the city, the Homicide Department seemed to have become an ancient giant beast that had just woken up. A domineering pressure instantly erupted.

All the evildoers in the city’s night were horrified.

“If we kill an enemy chief, each person gets 10 spirit stones. There are two enemy chiefs… If Team Six kills both of them, each of us will get at least 20 spirit stones.”

As Xu Qing sped forward with the other members of Team Six, he murmured inwardly. Strong anticipation gleamed in his eyes.

He quickly scanned through the jade slip that the captain had distributed. It contained extremely comprehensive information about all the Night Dove members in the stronghold. The enemies’ appearances and their preferred techniques were all recorded. It was clear that the department had investigated Night Dove thoroughly during this period of time.

As they neared the stronghold, everyone stopped talking and fell into ranks behind the captain. Their speed accelerated, and their killing intent was boiling over, intensifying even more.

An overwhelming killing intent pervaded the night sky of the main city. The Homicide Department’s complete mobilization was extremely sudden, and everyone who saw it felt their hearts pound. All those who were out and about that night were struck with terror and instantly hid.

The noisy theaters and gambling dens all fell silent. The people inside were dumbfounded and immediately closed the gates in fear.

Deep in their hearts, all those criminals came to the same realization. Since the Homicide Department was on the move, tonight…

The entire main city was going to bleed!

Countless people were going to die tonight, like lightning streaking across the sky to dispel all evil!

Many of the inns that remained open at night chose to shut their doors. It was the same for the one on Banquan Road…

At that moment, Team Six passed by Banquan Road. Xu Qing watched as the old innkeeper hurriedly closed the gate. Their gazes met for a moment.

“He’s afraid…” Xu Qing narrowed his eyes and noticed the hint of dread in the old man’s gaze. He lowered his head and looked at the badge on his clothes.

On this night, the badge on his gray Daoist robe represented the dignity of Seven Blood Pupils.

All other forces, whether snakes or dragons[1], had to lower their heads tonight and shrink back!

If anyone made the slightest move to hinder the operation, they would instantly be crushed.

“Everywhere has light and darkness, and it’s no different here. Although the sect allows darkness to flourish in the main city, there are rules. One, no one is allowed to harm the commoners. Two, outsiders at Foundation Establishment aren’t allowed to kill our sect’s Qi Condensation disciples. These are the two taboos. If they’re crossed… you have to pay the price.”

The captain in the lead spoke lightly before assigning tasks to each of the team members and continuing onward.

Although he had realized it earlier, it was different experiencing it for himself. Now, he had a new understanding of Seven Blood Pupils’ overbearing style.

An hour later, as Xu Qing followed the team, he saw their destination in the distance.

It was a manor.

The bright moon hung high in the sky, and the land below was covered in black shadows. Although there were lights coming from the manor, in the dark night, they were like flickering candles about to extinguish.

Outside the manor, with the arrival of Team Six, a few disciples from the Homicide Department who were hiding in the dark immediately walked out.

The department had arranged for them to keep an eye on the manor. After cupping their fists to the captain, they quickly left.

“Follow your given tasks. Begin the infiltration!” A cold glint flashed through the captain’s eyes as his body rushed into the manor. As for the members of Team Six, eight of them surrounded the manor and formed a blockade. The remaining dozen or so people spread out and sneaked into the manor from various locations.

Xu Qing was among the infiltrators. He hunched his back and moved extremely swiftly.

Seen from afar, the members of Team Six looked almost like a gigantic hand grabbing at a candle.

At the same time, a team of disciples from the Homicide Department appeared in the distance. The person leading them was none other than that youth from the merfolk race. They were the Earth Division’s Team Three, who were sent to cooperate with Team Six for tonight’s operation.

When the merfolk youth saw that Team Six had already rushed into the manor, disdain appeared in his eyes. Sneering, he waved his hand, and a round black object suddenly flew out. It landed in the manor and exploded with a loud bang.

The members of his team all laughed sinisterly and threw out similar items. Immediately, loud explosions rang out throughout the manor.

This sudden sound instantly alarmed the manor’s Night Dove members. Their expressions changed and they quickly spread out, causing Team Six’s plan to of infiltration and assassination to fail.

Xu Qing frowned. It was obvious that Team Three had done this to interfere with Team Six.

One of the explosives had landed not far away from him. As the explosions rang out, the Night Dove cultivators in the manor scattered everywhere. Some of them even set fires and activated traps, causing the entire manor to instantly be engulfed in flames. Smoke quickly spread in all directions.

The smoke and fire affected everyone’s vision. Instantly, the sounds of fighting, shouts, and explosions rang out in the dense smoke.

A valid assassination plan had gone up in smoke, even causing casualties.

A cold gleam flashed through Xu Qing’s eyes, but he didn’t bother with Team Three. As dense smoke spread out, his body flickered and killing intent rose in his heart.

He fiercely grasped at one side and pulled out Night Dove cultivator, whose neck he promptly slit.

This person was a middle-aged man whose cultivation base was at the sixth level of Qi Condensation. His head was separated from his body and blood spurted everywhere. His lifeless eyes remained fixed in terror.

After man’s leather bag and tossing his corpse aside, Xu Qing ran through the smoke. The dagger in his hand shone with a black light as he approached another Night Dove cultivator and sliced his throat open.

Throughout the entire process, Xu Qing’s expression didn’t change. He allowed the Night Dove cultivator to clutch at his neck and fall to the ground, twitching as he breathed his last. Putting away the other party’s leather bag, Xu Qing quickly left to search for another target.

Just like that, an incense stick’s worth of time passed by. The sounds of shouting and fighting continued to grow more intense, and Xu Qing abruptly stopped his advance to dodge to the side. A blade of wind whistled past him.

The wind lifted Xu Qing’s hair, revealing a wolf-like gaze. His speed instantly erupted as he headed straight for the source of the wind blade. Two Homicide Department disciples, one from Team Six and one from Team Three, were fighting against a Night Dove cultivator there.

The Team Three member’s expression changed when he saw Xu Qing, while the Team Six member revealed pleasant surprise. This sincere expression usually couldn’t be seen; only tonight, when they were all acting as a team, could Xu Qing see it.

“Xu Qing, he’s a cultivator at the eighth level of Qi Condensation!”

There were already two bloodstained corpses on the ground. When the Night Dove cultivator fighting against the two disciples saw Xu Qing, he quickly turned to leave.

However, he was too late. Xu Qing abruptly charged forward, moving so fast that he instantly created a sonic boom. By the time the two Homicide Department disciples recovered from their astonishment, he had already arrived in front of this Night Dove cultivator and slashed out with his dagger.

Blood spurted out. By the time it landed on the ground, the Night Dove cultivator had been decapitated and a lifeless corpse fell to the ground.

The face of the Team Three disciple turned pale, and his eyes revealed intense fear. He had seen experts before, but it was rare to see someone who could kill an eighth level Qi Condensation cultivator with a single blow.

He didn’t dare to stay any longer and quickly retreated. The Team Six disciple also took a deep breath and looked at Xu Qing with shock. He gave a deep bow before disappearing into the smoke.

Xu Qing lowered his head and glanced at the three corpses on the ground. He bent down calmly and slowly took their leather bags one by one. Throughout the entire process, his expression didn’t change at all. He also rummaged through the leather pouches and took their contents out to put into his own.

When he took the leather bag from the last bloody corpse, Xu Qing rubbed his hands and turned around as if to leave. However, his dagger suddenly stabbed out towards the center of the corpse’s forehead at lightning speed.

His movements were quick and sudden, with no indication beforehand.

In the next instant, the corpse actually moved, suddenly jerking backwards as if sliding away, causing Xu Qing’s strike to miss.

The corpse sat up and its eyes suddenly opened, revealing a cold light as it stared fixedly at Xu Qing.

“How did you find out?”

“I’ve seen many corpses. You didn’t look like one.” Xu Qing looked at the ‘corpse’ in front of him and spoke calmly.

“Well then, you can count yourself unlucky.” The corpse wiped its face, revealing the face of a middle-aged man. The middle-aged man’s body exploded forth, charging straight at Xu Qing. Spiritual energy fluctuations at the peak of Qi Condensation spread into the surroundings.

This person was one of the enemy chiefs of this stronghold. He had a cautious personality and originally planned to pretend to be a corpse before escaping quietly. He didn’t expect to be discovered here.

However, he was a ruthless and decisive person. He knew that he couldn’t delay, so he decided to go all out.

The spiritual energy in his body surged, and numerous snakes of fire manifested around him, hissing ferociously at Xu Qing.

In total, there were nine of these fire snakes.

Each of the snakes could instantly tear through the body of a ninth-level Qi Condensation cultivator. With the nine of them together, this was the strongest power Xu Qing had ever seen coming from a Qi Condensation cultivator.

However, Xu Qing’s expression didn’t change much. With a wave of his hand, countless water droplets appeared outside his body. As the aura of the Forbidden Sea spread out, the water droplets distorted and gathered together in the blink of an eye, forming the shape of a crocodile.

This crocodile was covered in scales, and it looked extremely vicious. When it opened its cavernous jaws, its sharp teeth gleamed with a cold light. Moreover, its eyes gleamed with intelligence. After it appeared, it let out a roar and charged toward the nine approaching fire snakes.

As they collided, the might of this magical technique from Xu Qing’s Sea Transforming Scripture was fully displayed, directly devouring five of the nine fire snakes. Although the remaining four entangled it, it was clear that the Sea Transforming Scripture could still resist.

But what shocked the peak Qi Condensation cultivator was Xu Qing’s next move. Stepping forward, his qi and blood formed the ferocious Chief Shadow. With a roar, it followed Xu Qing’s body, shooting out like an arrow and heading straight for the Night Dove chief.

“You’re not an ordinary Seven Blood Pupils disciple!!” The Night Dove chief’s pupils contracted fiercely. Sensing an intense danger coming from Xu Qing, he quickly retreated. Waving his hand, he tossed out a talisman treasure that flickered with blue light.

Without even looking at the result, he retreated even faster.

This blue talisman treasure seemed to have already been used too many times. Its light had become dull, and its power was clearly far weaker than it should have been. Although it instantly erupted and transformed into a ghostly blue hand that had a vague aura of Foundation Establishment, its power was still far inferior to a true Foundation Establishment cultivator.

Although Xu Qing felt that this talisman treasure was nothing extraordinary, he still avoided it. However, the large hand doggedly pursued him, obstructing him from chasing that Night Dove chief. However, Xu Qing wasn’t in a hurry. While dodging the ghostly blue hand, he looked coldly at the fleeing enemy.

“Your poison hasn’t broken out yet?”

As soon as Xu Qing’s words rang out, the Night Dove cultivator’s expression changed drastically. His heart fluctuated, accelerating the spread of the poison. He spat out a mouthful of black blood and a blue-black color appeared on his face.

“Poison!”

Suddenly, he staggered as the poison wreaked havoc inside his body. His internal organs felt like they were about to melt, and madness suddenly appeared in his eyes. Xu Qing didn’t know what secret art the other party used, but he slammed his hands on his chest and flames burst out all over his body. It was as if all his potential had been stimulated, and the poison was actually suppressed. The blue-black color on his face quickly faded.

However, it was clear that the price of using this secret art was very high. At that moment, the Night Dove cultivator’s consciousness was fuzzy, and the only thing left in his mind was – escape!

In a flash, he attempted to flee at an even faster speed.

However, thanks to the delay brought by the poison, Xu Qing had already escaped from the talisman treasure’s onslaught and rushed forward like a bolt of lightning. He was so fast that he approached the Night Dove chief in an instant and raised his right hand to grab him.

However, Xu Qing’s expression suddenly changed as he felt the sensation of a life-and-death crisis. His pupils contracted and he forced himself to abruptly pull back. Almost at the same moment that he retreated, a bladed flywheel[2] whizzed past the place he had just been at.

It emitted an ear-piercing sound as it sliced through the air. If Xu Qing had been even a little slower, his body would have been cut apart on the spot.

As he retreated, a person rushed over from the direction where the flywheel had come from. This person didn’t bother with Xu Qing and headed straight for the Night Dove chief. He was… the captain of Earth Division Team Three, the cold merfolk youth.

“Stealing my credit?” Xu Qing’s gaze instantly turned sharp.

[1] Snake = small, weak force; Dragon = big, strong force

[2] Imagine a giant disk with blades sticking out of it.

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