Becoming a martial arts god starting from the mortician.

"call!"

The heavy blade whistled down with a whooshing sound.

click!

A muffled thud. The disheveled head rolled off the platform, landing on the ground covered in dust.

Not a single drop of blood flowed from the severed neck; instead, a hissing sound was heard.

"good!"

"Well done!"

The unsuspecting onlookers erupted in thunderous cheers, some even excitedly throwing sunflower seed shells into the air.

Shen Qi stood outside the wooden fence, his brows furrowing instantly.

Something's not right. This sound doesn't sound like someone being hacked to pieces.

Shen Qi's heart pounded, and she immediately took a half-step back without making a sound. She had to leave quickly.

On the platform, the executioner also noticed something amiss. He'd seen countless beheadings, but never a dead body without blood.

He suddenly stood up, pushed aside the clerk blocking his way, and leaned forward to look at the execution platform.

"What happened? Where's the blood?" the executioner shouted.

Before he could finish speaking...

"laugh--"

Suddenly, a thick, inky black smoke billowed from the cavity of the headless corpse, instantly sweeping in all directions.

The nearest residents were cheering loudly as black smoke billowed in their faces.

"what!"

The screams pierced the hustle and bustle of Caishikou.

The skin of the people who were covered by the black smoke instantly turned bruised and black, and then the flesh quickly ulcerated, festered, and emitted a foul stench.

"Retreat! Retreat quickly!" Shen Qi roared in his mind.

He didn't bother to hide it at all. He suddenly exerted force with both legs, forcefully shoving aside the two men behind him who were still in a daze, and desperately squeezed towards the outer edge of the crowd.

On the execution platform, the executioner, who was the first to be executed, was covered in blood.

Black smoke enveloped him, and the large, gleaming sword in his hand slammed to the ground with a clang. The burly man let out a bloodcurdling scream, like a pig being slaughtered, and frantically scratched his face with his ten fingers.

He painstakingly tore off pieces of flesh, still bloody, revealing his bare bones.

"Help...my face! My eyes!"

He stumbled around on the stage blindly, lost his footing, and fell off the platform, crashing heavily into the crowd.

This completely ignited panic.

"Murder!"

"Monster! It's poisonous!"

Hundreds and thousands of people surged out like madmen. Cries, curses, and screams mingled together. Someone tripped and fell, and the foot behind mercilessly stomped on it, the sound of bones breaking echoing through the crowd.

Shen Qi did not follow the main group to the main street, but instead went against the flow of people, hugging the walls of the shops along the street, and retreated little by little.

It is precisely at times like these that we must not panic.

He looked up at the execution platform.

Just as the crowd completely lost control, three dark figures suddenly sprang up from three different directions without warning.

Each person held a pale white bone spur in their hand, and under the cover of the crowd, they rushed towards the execution platform like arrows released from a bow.

"Assassin! Protect the master!"

The captain leading the patrol battalion roared at the top of his lungs and drew his sword with a clang.

More than thirty armored soldiers quickly huddled together, forming an iron wall in front of the execution platform.

But it didn't work.

The black-robed man at the forefront let out a piercing, sinister laugh. He charged straight at the oncoming spear.

boom!

Golden energy flowed across his body. Four or five spears made of fine steel were thrust into him, yet they couldn't even pierce the hem of his clothes. The spear shafts were bent into an exaggerated arc by the enormous recoil force before snapping with a "crack".

Golden Body Realm!

Shen Qi hid behind a steamer basket in a steamed bun shop, watching with a chill running down his spine.

The man in black robes smashed through the gun array, and with a flick of his wrist, pale bone spurs left a trail of afterimages.

"Pfft pfft pfft!"

Blood spurted wildly.

The seven or eight armored soldiers in front didn't even have time to scream before their necks were instantly pierced. Limbs and heads flew high into the black smoke, and warm blood splattered all over the executioner's face.

The defense line collapsed instantly.

The remaining armored soldiers were thrown into chaos when the evil cultivator at the Golden Body Realm charged at them.

Two other men in black robes seized the opportunity and leaped onto the execution platform. With a flurry of bone spikes, several officials fell to the ground.

Shen Qi pressed his body tightly against the wall, suppressing his breathing to a minimum.

He didn't care about the lives of these officials. He just wanted to live. As long as those three ruthless men finished killing and left quickly, he could slip away in the chaos.

But things backfired.

The black-robed man who had just smashed through the gun emplacement turned his head after crushing the throat of a captain.

Beneath the hood were a pair of bloodshot eyes.

His gaze swept quickly across the chaotic execution ground, then fixed on Shen Qi, who was hiding outside the steamed bun shop.

Shen Qi's heart skipped a beat.

In order to maintain his balance amidst the shoving crowd, he had no choice but to activate his internal energy. Although it was only a wisp of internal energy circulating, to a Golden Body Realm expert, his vigorous blood and energy were as conspicuous as a torch in the dark night.

"Such pure blood and energy..."

He abandoned his pursuit of the officials on the platform, and with a leap, he transformed into a black whirlwind, rushing straight towards Shen Qi.

Without any hesitation, Shen Qi turned and ran.

He pushed his qi and blood to their limit, causing the muscles in his legs to bulge out.

"Can they escape?"

A mocking sneer came from behind.

The wind howled.

too fast.

Shen Qi felt the hairs on the back of his head stand on end, and a bone-chilling cold instantly approached the back of his head.

He didn't even have time to turn around. He slammed his right foot against the wall and twisted his body forcefully.

"Sizzle!"

A withered hand scratched across his scalp.

The wooden hairpin that held her hair in place was struck by the strong wind and instantly shattered into dust. Shen Qi rolled twice on the ground with her hair disheveled, and in a sorry state, knocked over a pile of bamboo baskets.

"You dodged it?"

The man in black seemed somewhat surprised. A mere ant who had just entered the world of martial arts had actually managed to evade his attack.

But the accident happened in an instant.

The greed in his eyes intensified. This kid's martial meridian grade was definitely not low! If he could drain his martial meridian, his own stagnant cultivation level, which had been stuck for many years, might be able to break through.

"Little mouse, obediently hand over your life!"

The man in black robes formed a claw with his five fingers, and a swirling black aura faintly appeared in his palm as he reached out to grab Shen Qi's crown once more.

This time, he blocked all of Shen Qi's escape routes.

The alley was too narrow, and Shen Qi had no way to avoid it, with his back against the brick wall of the dead end.

Am I going to die?

Shen Qi stared intently at the approaching hand, his blood and qi surging wildly within him. He didn't want to die! Even if it meant death, he would tear a piece of this old dog's flesh from his body!

He clenched his fists, gathering strength in his arms, ready to unleash it.

At this critical moment.

"boom!"

In the sky, the thick, dark clouds were suddenly torn apart.

A dazzling crimson stream of fire, like a meteor falling to earth, ripped through the sky and slashed down with a piercing shriek!

Immediately afterwards, a deafening sound of horses' hooves came from the end of the long street.

The man in the black robe froze abruptly.

He suddenly looked up, a look of extreme horror flashing in his eyes.

"No--"

He let out a desperate roar, no longer caring about grabbing Shen Qi, and turned to flee in the opposite direction.

But it was too late.

The crimson stream of fire was already upon them.

A figure clad entirely in dark gold heavy armor appeared in mid-air at some unknown time. In his hand he held a crimson spear twelve feet long, the tip of which was wreathed in tangible golden gales.

The armored figure used one arm to throw the spear out like lightning.

"puff!"

The spear, with overwhelming force, pierced through the black-robed man's back, pinning him firmly to the bluestone slab at the alley entrance.

The man in black robes didn't even have time to struggle before he died instantly.

Shen Qi leaned against the brick wall, panting heavily, his chest heaving violently.

A drop of warm liquid splashed over and hit the corner of his eye.

Shen Qi reached out and wiped it.

is blood.

He looked in the direction of the still slightly trembling crimson spear.

The black-robed man's corpse was nailed to the ground, his hood slipped down, revealing his unseeing, lifeless face. The once thick, pure black life thread on his head was breaking and dissipating at a visible speed.

Outside the long street, the heavy sound of horses' hooves grew closer.

A large number of armored cavalrymen poured into Caishikou.

Shen Qi leaned against the wall, looking at the pool of blood that was still spreading at his feet, and slowly shifted his gaze to the glaring crimson at the end of the spear.