8 Chapter 8: Kill

Time went by, day by day.

In the blink of an eye, an entire month passed.

"Puff~" A ruler point pierced through a figure's back.

A youth dressed in black, standing on a stone-paved street, stared at the figure slowly collapsing.

His handsome face was stern like a sharp-edged blade. The Iron Ruler smeared in fresh blood gave him a trail of terror that one could not ignore.

"Sir?" a young man in a fur coat called out nervously from a distance. Despite being surrounded by over a dozen burly men armed with knives, he couldn't suppress his fear.

"County Pursuivant Shen Zhui, acting under orders to kill criminals; Decapitation Order is here; are you the local village head?" Shen Zhui produced a green-glowing token from his robe, waving it at the head of Anyang Village.

"I'm Lu Xiao, the village head of Anyang," the young man replied, relieved to see the government official executing a criminal.

The new county official's reputation among the civilians was not bad. He equally implemented harsh measures, which saved Lu Xiao from the fear of the official blindly beheading him to claim credit.

"Good, you're just in time; the villain has already been punished. I'll leave it to you to handle the body and comfort the neighbors."

"Of course, of course… sir, you have worked hard. My home is just up ahead. I'll have someone prepare a feast... Sir? Sir?"

Lu Xiao, still trying to butter up the official, found that Shen Zhui had already vanished.

...

"Clippity-Clop, Clippity-Clop~"

On the official roadway, a fast horse was galloping towards the county town.

The plants and trees on both sides of the road were all withering away, decaying leaves littered around; the scene was the epitome of desolation.

This was the fifth murder case Shen Zhui had tackled, and also the fifth Ninth Ranked martial artist of the Innate Realm he had killed.

Two of them were criminals involved in long-standing cases who were caught within a hundred-mile radius of the county town, thinking they could escape justice.

Three were new cases, which were covertly related to two major families.

"Having continuously killed five Ninth Ranked Innates and accumulated over 30,000 Good Deeds, it's time to rest."

In fact… executing murderers was not too taxing.

With Shen Zhui's mastery over the Iron Ruler technique and the underlying support of the 16 energy cores forged by the Burning Blood Art, his physical abilities were close to reaching the Great Achievement Realm.

Fighting these ninth-rank opponents whose martial arts skills were not his equal may have been dangerous, but it did not pose a threat to his life.

Liu Bin, who was only partially proficient in his techniques and had sword skills nearing the state of 'Great Achievement', was also killed by him.

Of these five people, the most formidable one just barely matched Liu Bin's level.

However, throughout the month, he had traveled back and forth, chasing and killing threats over a distance of nearly a thousand miles.

Even with Shen Zhui's physical abilities of the Eighth Ranked Innate serving as a base, the constant traveling and fights over a month had left him feeling a bit overwhelmed.

"This time when I return, I will first strive to achieve the 'Great Achievement' stage in physical arts and assimilate and absorb this month's combat experience."

"Once I achieve the 'Great Achievement' in both the ruler-fighting technique and physical arts, I'll be close to achieving Perfect Strength. Then, I should be able to take on assignments involving top-ranked innates!"

Shen Zhui contemplated.

Once he achieved 'Great Achievement' in ruler-fighting technique and physical arts, it would signify his near-perfect control over bodily strength.

"With perfect control over strength, I would meet the first requirement of the 'Unity of Heaven and Man' realm, with every blow at its full force. If I can then incorporate a hint of natural essence into my ruler-fighting and physical arts, that would bring me closer to the 'Unity of Heaven and Man' realm."

Perfect control of strength along with a hint of the force of nature in both the ruler-fighting technique and physical arts.

Combining these, is the 'Unity of Heaven and Man' realm.

Once he achieved this realm, even when facing an Innate master, Shen Zhui estimated that he could hold his own for quite some time.

Just as Shen Zhui was lost in these thoughts...

Ten miles outside the city, at Fanyan Pavilion.

"Young Master, according to those below, that Shen Zhui has already executed Chen Tong in Anyang Town. Based on his traveling speed, he should reach this place and enter the city in half an hour," an elderly man dressed in white robes, bowing his head, reported to the resplendent-dressed youth beside him.

Even though the elder was an Innate master, he was respectful toward the resplendent-dressed young man. This was because the youth was none other than Li Ming, the legitimate eldest son and future head of the Li Family.

Li Ming stood on a slope, overlooking the road leading into the distance, an unspoken ruthlessness smeared across his fair face.

"Damn that Shen Zhui; he has made me wait here for so long. Why couldn't he hurry up?"

In the end, the youth turned to the old man and asked, "Elder Cang, we shouldn't have any problems here, right?"

The elder with the surname Cang laughed, "Young Master, you need not worry. We both have a spirit tablet for protection, and this is outside the city. We won't be detected. However, we can't say the same for that group of archers."

Li Ming nodded, "No problem. As long as we are not found now, we can quickly escape into the Li family's territory afterward. With the protection of our ancestral hall, without solid evidence, no suspicion will be cast on us."

Elder Cang hesitated, "Young Master, the family head once said not to have conflicts with the county magistrate for the time being, especially since the Wei family is currently in power…"

"I know, I know!" Li Ming sounded somewhat impatient. "What's the big deal in killing a low-ranking bailiff? Didn't we just slaughter a few troublesome fellows last month?"

Li Ming said in a furious tone, "Didn't Wei Wenhe kill members of my Li family? His grandfather cut off all ties, submitted a petition to abandon our ancestral temple, planning to sever the foundation of our clan. The Emperor was confused at the time and actually believed the slander... Otherwise, how dare a mere county magistrate like Wei Wenhe be so arrogant and antagonize us?"

However…" Li Ming sneered a few times. "Some time ago, news came from the court. The imperial forces in Qingzhou suddenly suffered a defeat in the North Desolation. The second front in Jizhou, which had been victorious and unstoppable under the brave Marquis, also suddenly lost momentum, claiming that a natural disaster had occurred. Over the period of half a year, they retreated continuously, pushing the defensive line back by three hundred miles."

"On the surface, it seems normal, victory or defeat is common in military affairs. But Elder Cang, do you know the connection behind all this?"

The elder with the surname Cang shook his head, "I do not know."

Li Ming laughed heartily, "How can such a coincidence exist in this world!"

"The provinces of Qing and Ji, by coincidence, reported defeat, isn't it also a sign of dissatisfaction shown by the two lords, using the natural disaster as an excuse?"

"The Wei family, under the pretext of saving the national expenditures, submitted a petition to the emperor to abandon the ancestral temples, causing panic among all the major clans."

"However, there are many who opposed it. This matter is against filial piety, and it is akin to asking people to destroy their own ancestral tablets. Secondly, it cuts off the root of social order for all the aristocratic clans, henceforth, there can be no corruption in land taxes, and the children of royalty and nobility who break the law will have the same punishment as the common people! Under the supervision of the divine law."

"Now, some people have linked these natural disasters to this issue, claiming that it is a result of forgetting our ancestors and incurring the wrath of our ancestors…"

"Elder Cang, you wait and see, it won't be long before more and more people oppose it, and even the wise emperor will have to overturn old Wei's proposal and restore the temples, and rebuild the golden statues!"

"Young master, your insights are superior, I have learned a lot. However, the master has repeatedly instructed us to ensure your safety, we better be careful and cautious."

Seeing that his spirited discussion fell on deaf ears, Li Ming's mood deflated somewhat.

"Forget it, if it wasn't for Yang Wu pleading repeatedly, agitating me... Killing a mere innate ninth-rank martial artist does not require the personal involvement of this young master."

"Elder Cang, you just watch here, I'm going to rest in the pavilion for a while. Call me when the person arrives."

Li Ming murmured a few words, waved his hand and walked away

"This damn Shen Zhui, he's not hurrying up and wasting my time, serves him right to die with a thousand arrows through his heart…"

......

It was freezing cold, nearing dusk.

When the setting sun's glow was cast on Shen Zhui's face, he could vaguely see the outline of Heyuan City.

"Once I pass this mountain pavilion, I can enter the city and I really have to rest for a few days…"

Shen Zhui rarely had the chance to watch such a beautiful sunset. He slowed his horse and quietly appreciated the view.

"Hmm?"

Shen Zhui suddenly felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up, his eyes widened instantly, with his current hearing and vision, almost instantaneously in this peaceful scene, he heard an discordant sound - the whistling sound of a sharp arrow cutting through the air!

The extreme tension instantly caused the energy in Shen Zhui's body to go wild, his heartbeat accelerated sharply, all the hairs on his body stood up, as if he was back facing Liu Bin's desperate strike!

Death crisis struck!

"Whoosh whoosh whoosh~"

A deadly arrow shot towards Shen Zhui's head!

In an eye blink, Shen Zhui pulled out the iron ruler from his waist, like a conditioned reflex, and parried it.

"Clang clang! Phew!"

Two steel arrowheads were blocked by Shen Zhui with his iron ruler, but one directly shot into his shoulder.

A sharp pain in his shoulder, the force on the arrow shot Shen Zhui off the horse.

"Whistle whistle~"

Several bloody holes appeared on the body of the horse, falling dead instantly!

Shen Zhui didn't have time to take a closer look as even more arrows were whistling at him!

"Whoosh whoosh whoosh~"

With his double iron rulers in his hands, Shen Zhui displayed "Iron Ruler Ninefold", protecting his surrounding body. The tightly wound iron rulers blocked the incoming arrows without gaps!

"Ding ding ding!"

Arrows and iron rulers collided, arrow feathers filled the sky, seeming to be everywhere!

Suddenly—

Shen Zhui felt the pressure around him easing!

At this moment, his foot movements suddenly became elusive and illusory, his body seemed to move faster in evasion, every action became smooth and flowing!

At this moment of life and death, his body technique "Flowing Cloud Step", was finally able to break through that barrier, entering the Great Achievement Realm!

At the same time, feeling the pressure easing slightly, Shen Zhui finally had the mind to see where the threat was coming from.

"The hillside! Over there!"

Without a horse, escape meant exposing his back to the enemy.

Shen Zhui roared, taking advantage of the gap in the enemy's volley of arrows, he charged towards the hillside.