The Imperial Guards, like Yama, slaughtered until the Empress cried out for help.

Shen Qing gripped the Crimson Sky Blade and casually twirled it into a beautiful flourish.

As Shen Qing's cultivation level reached the Grandmaster realm, Qinghe was completely insufficient. Shen Qing only used the fifth move of the Nine Thunderstrikes before cracks appeared. If Shen Qing had used the sixth move, it would probably have shattered directly.

It's alright though, as long as I'm sleepy, someone will bring me a pillow, so it doesn't waste any time.

Shen Qing looked at the Crimson Sky Sword in his hand. It was strong enough and its appearance was not much different from the Azure River Sword. It was quite easy to use.

It just looks a bit new.

Shen Qing looked at Jiang Guo: "Hey, this knife looks pretty new. Did you just buy it?"

Jiang Guo's eyes were lifeless: "About the new one... it's for dealing with Qin Chuan..."

"What about the old one?"

"I put the old ones away..."

"Shut up!"

Shen Qing tapped his finger three times, leaving two bloody holes in Jiang Guo's chest. The last finger pierced right through Jiang Guo's forehead.

He almost blurted it out.

Turning around, Shen Qing looked in one direction. Just after the fight started, Qin Chuan and Liu Chong had wrestled over there, and he could still hear Qin Chuan cursing.

"Liu Chong, are you a bastard? You only take the beatings and never fight back?"

"Take this!"

Shen Qing gripped the Crimson Sky Sword tightly and stepped toward the final battlefield.

As long as Liu Chong is killed.

So tonight's farce is over.

......

Liu Chong's body was enveloped in a pale green glow as he easily received Qin Chuan's hammer blow once again.

Qin Chuan retrieved his meteor hammer, panting slightly. His true energy was almost completely depleted, but Liu Chong in front of him still had a smiling face, showing no signs of energy depletion.

"Damn, are you a reincarnated turtle? So hard!"

Liu Chong still squinted, his face beaming with a smile.

"You can't beat me, and to be honest, I've known my skin is different from other people's ever since I started practicing martial arts."

"My skin is much tougher than that of other martial artists at the same level, and I can also train my external martial arts skills extremely quickly."

"Moreover, I have been cultivating this Emerald Wood Body for over eighty years, and have long since reached a state of extraordinary mastery."

"Don't even mention you, even someone at the first or second level of the Grandmaster realm would need some time to break through my defenses!"

Qin Chuan spat: "Pah! Watch me smash your turtle shell through!"

After saying that, he swung his meteor hammer at Li Chong again and again, but he could not break through Liu Chong's defense.

Liu Chong turned his head and looked in the direction where Shen Qing was fighting.

"I know, you're trying to stall me until that kid comes over so you can gang up on me together, right?"

"That kid is really something, managing to sever Jiang Guo's arm with a single strike. Given time, I definitely won't be his match, but right now he's just like you—unable to break through my defenses!"

Qin Chuan snorted: "Whether you can or not isn't up to you. The noise over there has stopped, and Shen Qing will be here soon. You can try to be stubborn then!"

Liu Zhong remained calm and composed: "It seems you really have a lot of confidence in him."

"Then I'll give you a choice: either let me go now."

"Either keep stalling me, or I'll head straight for Luoshui City and slaughter the Imperial Guards! Sure, I don't have many attack methods, but that's only limited to you. If I slaughter the Imperial Guards, can they really withstand it?"

Upon hearing this, Qin Chuan stopped attacking and fell silent.

Liu Chong was at least a Grandmaster at the ninth level. If he wanted to slaughter the Imperial Guards, there would be no way to stop him. Although he would eventually die, at least a hundred Imperial Guards would also die.

Liu Chong smiled and said, "That's right!"

"I won't lie to you, you won't be able to find me again. Tonight I will leave Yongning County and head to another country or the border, wherever is the farthest I want to go."

"Shen Qing's talent is terrifying, and his methods are somewhat wicked. I really can't afford to mess with him."

"But I can avoid it."

After saying that, Liu Chong walked out of the Zhenfu Division. Qin Chuan was somewhat unwilling. Was he really going to let him go like this?

Because of Liu Chong, Lu Tong was seriously injured, and the casualties among the Imperial Guards, yamen runners, and city-guarding soldiers in the city at least doubled.

But if they don't let him go, they can't do anything about Liu Zhong.

Qin Chuan clenched his fists, his face full of resentment.

Just then, a gentle breeze swept by, and a figure in a silver robe appeared on the roof of a nearby building, his clear, cold voice ringing out.

"Who gave you permission to leave?"

Qin Chuan looked up excitedly: "Shen Qing!"

He noticed the Crimson Cloud in Shen Qing's hand and realized that Jiang Guo was already dead.

Liu Chong also turned around: "You were quick indeed! You've already taken care of Jiang Guo."

"However, even so, it's still unlikely that I'll stay."

"Your mastery of the Nine Thunderstrikes at the second level of the Grandmaster realm is truly a gift from heaven."

"But you're still too young. If you want to break my defense, you'll have to master the ninth form of the Nine Lightning Strike Blades first."

"Otherwise, the two of you really can't keep me here."

Just then, a slightly weak voice rang out: "What if I were one of them?"

Qin Chuan turned around and saw Lu Tong finally arriving at the battlefield, dragging a tangled iron chain, at the edge of the ruins.

Immediately afterwards, a tiger's roar rang out, and a white tiger appeared at the edge of the Zhenfu Division. The voice seemed to be saying something.

"Master, I'm here to help you!"

Liu Zhong's smiling face finally disappeared. Three Grandmasters, plus a White Tiger with the attack power of a Grandmaster, could truly threaten him.

But at that moment, Shen Qing spoke up.

"No need, I'll come alone."

"I'd like to see if his turtle shell is as stubborn as his mouth!"

Qin Chuan wanted to say something, but Shen Qing threw Qinghe into his hands.

"Commander Qin, please keep Qinghe safe for me."

The Qinghe River has already developed cracks, and the battle that follows will only be more intense than before. Shen Qing doesn't want the Qinghe River to be completely shattered by the aftershocks.

Seeing that Shen Qing was determined, Qin Chuan didn't say anything. At worst, they could just gang up on him later.

The domineering true energy poured out, its power so strong that even the wind in the entire Zhenfu Division stopped.

Lu Tong stood at the edge of the ruins, swinging his right hand like a windmill, and shouted loudly.

"Shen Qing! Beat him up! I believe in you! Smash his turtle shell!"

The white tiger beside them also let out a roar.

"Master! Beat him up! Beat him up like you beat me!"

Qin Chuan was skeptical. What Liu Chong said was true; the first few moves of the Nine Thunderstrikes could not possibly break through his defense.

Even if Shen Qing is a genius, he can't possibly learn all nine sword techniques in a single day.

Just then, Shen Qing suddenly opened his eyes, gripped the hilt of Chi Xiao's sword tightly, and his domineering true energy surged wildly, stirring up a fierce gale. Thunder rumbled all around him, and Shen Qing's voice echoed throughout the Zhenfu Division.

"Nine Lightning Strikes, Eighth Form"

"Heavenly Thunder Summoning!"

Shen Qing's figure rushed straight towards Liu Zhong at a terrifying speed, thunder roared, and the sound of explosions resounded throughout the entire Luoshui City!

Liu Zhong's expression was more solemn than ever before, because in his eyes, Shen Qing seemed to have transformed into lightning. Liu Zhong roared, "Emerald Wood Body! Hundred Wood Heart!"

Liu Chong activated the Emerald Wood Body at full power, and in an instant, a corner of the Zhenfu Division was illuminated by emerald light.

The next instant, a violent bolt of lightning pierced through Liu Chong, causing a massive explosion.

The smoke and dust cleared.

Liu Chong slowly knelt down on the ground, the green light on his body flickering, and a huge wound appeared on his waist and abdomen.

Shen Qing's cold voice rang out.

"This strike is to show you that even without the ninth strike, I can easily break through your defenses!"

Liu Zhong's eyes were filled with disbelief: "I lost? How is that possible?"

At this moment, Baihu and Lu Tong on the edge were completely dumbfounded. Wasn't this power a bit too much?

Qin Chuan was also momentarily stunned, and then his body began to tremble and his face turned red.

He mastered the eighth form of the Nine Thunderstrikes in just one day? What kind of monstrous talent is this!

He seemed to see a peerless genius rising up in the Great Martial World, a hidden dragon soaring into the sky, ready to disrupt the world!

And such a person came from his garrison command!

But soon, Qin Chuan noticed something was wrong: the domineering true energy in the air had not dissipated, and the thunder had not stopped.

An unbelievable thought popped into his head: Could it be...?

Sure enough, the next moment, the domineering true energy rose another notch, and the thunder in the air grew even louder!

Shen Qing's cool voice rang out.

"And this strike is to tell you, I can do the ninth strike too!"

"Nine Lightning Strike Blades, Ninth Form!"

"Ninefold Thunder Sword!!!"

As soon as he finished speaking, a thunder dragon seemed to appear and disappear in the air, as if it were crawling in the ruins of the Zhenfu Division, exuding a strong sense of oppression.

Immediately after Shen Qing charged out, the Thunder Dragon roared and charged straight at Liu Zhong.

[Congratulations on defeating a Grandmaster-level martial artist! Looted attribute: Iron Skin (Purple)]