Infinite Puzzle City

Chapter 724 Despair
"Yes!"

The little eunuch nodded and hurriedly ran out through the side door.

After the eunuchs left, Wang Qiang stood up, clasped his hands in a respectful gesture, and bowed to the crowd before him. His face was contorted with bulging fat, and his eyes gleamed with a cold light. He looked everyone over and then congratulated them, saying, "Congratulations on your success in the imperial examinations!"

Wang Qiang, the old eunuch, didn't have a loud voice, but it immediately attracted everyone's attention.

"From today onwards, you will all be like fish leaping over the dragon gate, becoming disciples of the emperor. This special imperial examination was no easy feat, and I imagine you are all exhausted. The sage has prepared the finest ingredients for you, and we will soon be able to feast to your hearts' content."

Upon hearing Wang Qiang's words, everyone began to look forward to it. Most of them had indeed exhausted a lot of energy and were in dire need of food to restore their strength.

Therefore, upon hearing this, their eyes burned with anticipation.

The old eunuch Wang Qiang continued, "As for your results in this special imperial examination, you'll know once you step out of this gate. The better your results, the sooner you can leave. As for those who came in last, I'm sorry, you'll have to leave later."

As Wang Qiang finished speaking, several eunuchs behind him stepped forward and shouted, "Open the door!!!"

"Om..."

Behind him, the vermilion gate was wide open, and all that could be heard outside was a constant commotion. He could hear the hawking and shouting of vendors on the street, and even the clamor of many people wanting to see the top scholar.

"and many more!!"

Hearing the sound like a tidal wave outside, Xiao Ran didn't react at first, but he quickly realized what was happening. He looked at the 'examinees' who were rushing towards the gate in shock, and his expression changed drastically.

"These guys aren't human, are we just going to let them rush out like this?"

Suddenly, Xiao Ran's expression changed drastically, but when he tried to rush forward, he found that he couldn't move at all.

It was as if an invisible force was binding me tightly.

Xiao Ran quickly turned around to look at Shao Hongzhang and found that Shao Hongzhang's face was also full of astonishment. Obviously, he had not expected that these things would be sent out like this.

"We can go out now!"

"Haha, finally we're leaving this awful place!"

Chen Cheng, the Tan brothers, and the other demonized "examinees" had their tired faces instantly ignited with flames of ecstasy and greed.

The craving for flesh and blood, the hunger for chaos, and the instinct to hunt erupted under the catalysis of the "human" atmosphere.

The street vendors had just set up their stalls, and steam was rising from the steamers.

The peddler carrying his load stopped and craned his neck to peer curiously through the open gate, eager to catch a glimpse of the top scholar.

However, this beautiful moment was shattered the instant the first "examinee" rushed out and stepped onto the bluestone slab outside the palace!
"Roar--!"

Leading the charge was Shang Genqi, a butcher-like figure covered in blood with only half his chest cavity remaining.

The sunlight fell on his exposed internal organs and the skin scorched by the purple lightning, causing him to let out a beast-like howl of pain.

The pain did not suppress his ferocity; instead, it ignited the intense bloodlust within him.

The arm, like a giant hammer, swung up suddenly, whistling through the air, and slammed down hard on the nearest vendor!
"Pfft!"

The inevitable cracking sound.

The vendor's body was thrown out like a tattered sack, crashing into the wall on the side of the street. The scarlet syrup mixed with warm brain matter exploded instantly, splattering all over the snow-white steamed buns in the steamer next to him.

Immediately following, the distorted figures of the Tan brothers rushed out from inside the gate.

Tan Shanyuan's eyes rolled, and his deformed hand transformed into a sharp bone spur, easily piercing a woman's chest.

He suddenly pulled her and the child in his arms in front of him, and bit down hard on the neck of the crying child with his fangs.

"puff!!!"

Blood splattered on the woman's face, her eyes widened, and the next second she let out a heart-wrenching scream.

But as the benevolent creature beside them lunged at them with its gaping maw, the street exploded in an instant! Screams, cries, and screams replaced the previous clamor!

The warm sunlight no longer illuminated the bustling street scene, but rather a sudden and bloody massacre!

More and more 'examinees' rushed out, and the smell of blood in the air further stimulated their hungry nerves, making them like irrational sharks, frantically charging into the crowd.

The tough tentacles, like long whips, swept across and instantly wrapped around the waists of two fleeing pedestrians. The sharp barbs on the tentacles dug deep into their flesh, dragging them back and stuffing them into the gaping maw, where they were frantically devoured! Blood and entrails flowed from the corners of their mouths.

Another monster, covered in bone spurs, roared excitedly as it charged toward a roadside breakfast stall. With a flick of its greasy tongue, it devoured the freshly fried dough sticks and golden-brown fried cakes, along with the trembling stall owner, and chewed them with gusto!

Chaos is spreading, and blood and flesh are flying everywhere.

"Help!! Help..."

"Daddy... Ahhh... Waaaaah..."

The crowd shoved and trampled each other, their cries and screams blending into a symphony that seemed to lead straight to hell.

Some tried to resist, but their resistance, in the eyes of these "examinees" at this moment, was more like the last wave of a delicious crab's claws before it was put into the pot—so playful and cute.

But... that's not entirely true.

"court death!!"

A cold snort echoed through the street, followed by a flash of sword light piercing through the pedestrians, severing the head of an 'examinee' in the next second. "Pfft!!!"

As the enormous head rolled to the ground, the massive body twitched unconsciously a few times before collapsing heavily to the ground.

"Om..."

The swords were sheathed, the gold and silver blades making a pleasant rustling sound. Gu Xintang looked up, picked up the osmanthus pastries he had just bought, and quickly stuffed them into his pocket.

Today is his mother's birthday, so he went out to buy a osmanthus cake, hoping to surprise her. But as soon as he stepped out of the store, he was attacked by these monsters.

His eyes flashed with shock and anger. He leaped onto the roof beam and looked around. The vast city of Chang'an was now in complete chaos.

"Damn it! How could this have happened?"

A hint of panic flashed in Gu Xintang's eyes, but he quickly forgot about it, and only one thought occupied his mind.

"go home!!"

“Hurry, hurry!!”

Gu Xintang's figure was as swift as a breeze, leaping up like lightning as he stepped on the roof tiles.

"Bang!!" A store on the street was smashed open by a giant tentacle, and half of a woman's gruesome body flew out with the splinters of wood.

"Mother!!" A heart-wrenching scream suddenly erupted from the store, tugging at the heartstrings of passersby, including Gu Xintang who leaped over the store.

But this did not make Gu Xintang slow down at all; on the contrary, it made him even more eager to get back.

"Father, Mother, Sister, Little Brother, you must wait for me to come back! Please don't come out."

Gu Xintang displayed his lightness skill to the extreme, stepping on the flagpoles of the taverns and the low eaves of the teahouses, his figure flying over the chaotic streets as if walking on flat ground.

The streets below were a living hell, filled with screams, shrieks, and cries, which only fueled his anxiety. His gaze was fixed on the direction of his home.

"Almost there, almost there!" he cried anxiously in his heart. Just pass through the narrower alleyway lined with locust trees ahead, and turn the corner, and he would see the eaves of his house.

However, the light at the alley entrance suddenly dimmed!
Two figures blocked the way like gatekeepers.

The one on the left is covered in a sticky, slippery armor that looks like it's made of mud, and it emits a suffocating stench.

On the right is a deformed monster with abnormally bent arm joints and finger bones turned into sharp bone spurs, its eyes flashing with a bloodthirsty red light.

Their large size clearly indicates that they are two highly skilled individuals with exceptional abilities.

"Hmph... such a fresh taste..." Shang Genqi, clad in armor, let out a muffled hiss as the slime on his body dripped onto the ground, corroding and emitting hissing white smoke.

"Rushing to be reincarnated?" Another powerful figure grinned maliciously, raising his arms, which were twisted in reverse, like a praying mantis, with bone spurs pointing directly at Gu Xintang.

Gu Xintang abruptly stopped on the tilted roof tiles, his anger flaring. "Get out of the way!"

His voice was as cold as iron, and his right hand had already flashed to the golden hilt of the longsword at his waist.

"Buzz!"

With the sound of a longsword being drawn, two streaks of light, one gold and one silver, suddenly burst forth!

"The sun and moon shine together!!"

The sword's edge transformed into the power of the sun and moon in an instant. Only then did the two cultivators with superior roots realize the danger, but it was too late to run. They could only parry with all their might.

"Clang! Clang clang clang clang!!"

A dense, metallic clang, like raindrops pattering on banana leaves, exploded instantly! Sparks flew everywhere, but the next second, a sound like tempered glass shattering rang out, and the person clad in full armor was pierced through by the sword's edge in an instant.

His armor couldn't even withstand a single round of sword light.

At the same time, the golden longsword in his other hand, as powerful as the sun, cleaved down and pierced through another person with superior roots.

"Pfft! Ah!!"

The two newly promoted cultivators didn't even have time to enjoy themselves before they were brutally killed by Gu Xintang's sword.

Having dealt with the two men, Gu Xintang did not stop for a moment. His figure swept past the last remaining eaves of Huai Shu Lane like a gust of wind. He used his toes to push off the bluestone wall and swooped down towards his familiar courtyard like a hawk.

The area in front of the gate was clean, with no signs of vandalism.

This put Gu Xintang at ease: "I don't think those monsters will be here so quickly."

"Father, Mother... I'm back." He almost whispered the names as he rushed to the courtyard gate, not even bothering to catch his breath, and pushed open the wooden door that was incredibly heavy for him.

The door creaked open.

However, the moment the courtyard gate was pushed open...

blood.

The first thing that assaulted his senses was the intense, suffocating stench of blood, stronger, fresher, and more...desperate than anything he had smelled on his way here.

(End of this chapter)