I bought a secret manual of the Hehuan Sect for ten yuan.

"Who could it be?"

Shen Yulan grabbed Qin Ge, her heart filled with conflict.

She knew she couldn't just stay in the room, but subconsciously she didn't want Qin Ge to face danger.

The pressure from that voice was overwhelming; she had never felt this way when facing her master or Liu Musheng.

Moreover, the person had already entered the villa without either of them noticing. Just how skilled must that person be?

"Why don't we go out and see for ourselves?" Qin Ge rarely showed a serious expression. "Why don't you stay here? I can go by myself."

"If things don't look good, you'd better get out of here."

Seeing that Shen Yulan was about to speak, he raised his hand to stop her, "The person who came should be a master, a master that none of the people we have encountered before can compare to."

"It's easier for me to get away on my own, but it's hard to say what would happen if I had to take care of you."

"Don't try to fool me!" Shen Yulan wouldn't listen to a word. "Now you're complaining that I'm a burden, but when we were galloping on horseback just now, why didn't you complain that I was a burden?"

"We'll die together!"

"Can't you be a little more reserved?" Qin Ge opened the door.

A tall, slender figure stood in the villa's hall. He appeared to be a man around forty years old, with a handsome and refined appearance, as if he had stepped out of a painting.

"Who are you?"

Qin Ge didn't know what was wrong with her; when she faced the man in front of her, her blood seemed to boil uncontrollably.

He didn't know what his judgment was based on, but he always had a feeling that this person was very strong!

"You're Qin Ge?"

The man quickly glanced at Qin Ge, his expression revealing neither joy nor anger.

As soon as he finished speaking, he raised his right palm slightly and casually slapped Qin Ge with it.

The palm strike was unhurried and calm, yet it sealed off all of Qin Ge's possibilities of dodging. Only when it came close did it suddenly become as powerful as an overwhelming force.

Qin Ge's expression changed slightly. He cursed the other party for his lack of martial ethics in his heart and hastily circulated his spiritual power to meet the attack with his palm.

"boom--"

Before Shen Yulan could react, their palms had already met.

With their palms still about a foot apart, a muffled thud suddenly exploded.

However, it was just a muffled thud, not the earth-shattering sound one might expect, and not even a ripple of air was stirred up.

"Click-clack—"

Qin Ge staggered back several steps, the force dissipating onto the ground, causing the floorboards to crack.

His arm went numb, his blood surged, and his heart was filled with turmoil.

This person... is indeed very strong!

"good!"

The man nodded slightly, a hint of approval appearing in his usually calm eyes.

He took something out of his pocket, tossed it to Qin Ge, and then turned away.

Qin Ge casually took it, not even bothering to check what it was, and seeing the man about to leave, she quickly called out, "Wait a minute!"

"Who are you, and what is this thing?"

"Your choice is yours." The man didn't stop walking; he disappeared before he finished speaking, his voice still echoing in the villa.

Qin Ge calmed his surging blood and examined the object in his hand for a while, discovering it was an exquisite token. "What the hell is this? This is so strange!"

Shen Yulan only snapped out of her daze upon hearing Qin Ge's voice. "What happened? Do you know that person?"

Seeing Qin Ge shake his head, she asked again, "He seems very strong, you...can you beat him?"

As soon as she said it, she felt it was unnecessary to ask, since Qin Ge had clearly been at a disadvantage in that palm strike.

Qin Ge nodded, then shook his head. "It's hard to say. We'll only know after we've played a serious match."

The man had attacked suddenly, and he had been caught off guard and suffered a loss, but he knew that the man had not used his full strength.

That palm strike should only be considered a test.

It's really strange. Not only does the other party know his name, but they also seem to have a lot of confidence in his abilities.

Otherwise, how could that person have controlled the timing of their attack so perfectly?

Although that palm strike was just a test, it wasn't something just anyone could withstand; anyone with slightly weaker strength simply couldn't defend against it.

Even a master like Qiao Song, who was at the Heavenly Realm, would have been turned into a corpse by that palm strike!

Qin Ge went over the man's memory again and again, but still couldn't recall him.

However, he discovered that the man's aura was very different from the martial artists he had encountered before, but rather somewhat similar to the spiritual energy he cultivated!

Are there other cultivators in this world?!

The more Qin Ge thought about it, the more shocked he became, yet he was still completely baffled, as the other party did not seem to have any hostility towards him.

"What are you holding in your hand...?"

Shen Yulan noticed the token in Qin Ge's hand, leaned closer, her eyes widening, "This...this is the Hall Master's token!"

"Let me see it quickly!"

"Are you sure?" Qin Ge asked in surprise before handing the token to Shen Yulan.

Shen Yulan examined it carefully, noticing the two characters "Jiangcheng" on it. She then rubbed it gently in her palm. "That's right, it's the hall master's token!"

"It's the token of the Jiangcheng branch's leader!"

"I've seen my master's token before. It's exactly the same in weight and material as this one, except that my master's has the words 'Jinling' on it!"

Her mind was racing. "How did the Jiangcheng branch's leader's token end up in that person's hands? Did he kill Liu Musheng?"

"That doesn't make sense. If he killed him, why would he specifically send the token to you?"

"This is stolen goods!"

"He confirmed that you killed Liu Musheng!"

"Stop overthinking it!" Qin Ge tapped her on the head. "A master like that wouldn't stoop to doing something like this."

"If he went all out, he might actually be able to kill me. Why bother with all this fuss? Is he just wasting his time?"

"No, I need to confirm if this token is real!" Shen Yulan didn't care that it was late at night and immediately made a video call to her master, Qiao Song.

"It is indeed the hall master's token."

Qiao Song stared at his phone until his eyes were dry before finally giving his conclusion. He was also bewildered. "Yu Lan, what's going on?"

"How did you end up with the Jiangcheng Shadow Martial Arts Hall's master's token?"

"It's like this..." Shen Yulan then told her master what had just happened, describing the man's height, appearance, and mannerisms as clearly as possible.

Qiao Song was instantly wide awake, his expression was priceless, and he tried to utter a word for a long time but couldn't manage to.

Shen Yulan and Qin Ge exchanged a glance, then she tentatively asked, "Master, do you know that person?"

"Who is he?"

Judging from his master's reaction, he must know something.

Qiao Song stood ramrod straight, cleared his throat, and asked, "I'm asking you, did that person who just appeared really hand the token to Qin Ge personally and then tell him to choose for himself?"

Qin Ge scratched his head. "That's true, but I don't quite understand what he means. What should I choose?"

"Old man... no, I mean, Master Qiao, stop beating around the bush and just tell us what you know!"