Imperial henchmen? My divine skills are all hacked versions.

Kyoto, which had been suffering from drought for two months, seemed to want to expend the equivalent of two months' worth of rain in one go, and the heavy rain continued until the next morning.

The Gu Master and the shopkeeper walked out of the back hall of the Inspection Department with their bundles on their backs.

The two men's limbs have been reattached, and their wounds are wrapped in thick gauze, so they are still not able to walk very well.

The Gu Master wore a smile of relief, while the shopkeeper followed behind him with his neck hunched, clutching the empty wooden box containing the Gu worms. All the mother Gu worms had been confiscated and destroyed by the Inspection Department, but he still couldn't bear to throw away that box.

"They actually survived."

The Gu Master looked up at the gloomy sky, raindrops hitting his face. He took a deep breath.

"To leave the capital alive is truly... a worthwhile trip."

The shopkeeper muttered behind him, "Young master, let's hurry up. What if they change their minds?"

"Go back on your word? Mo Feichang is the head of the Inspection Department. He said he would let us go. Would he slap himself in the face? Officials in Jingguo care about their reputation. We have plenty of time to take our time. Going back on our word would only ruin our own reputation."

The Gu Master adjusted the bundle on his back, about to walk forward, when he suddenly saw a person standing in front of him. Rainwater streamed down the scabbard of his goose-feather sword.

"Xu Xian?"

The Gu Master narrowed his eyes. "Mo Feichang has already let us go, why are you still stopping us?"

Xu first drew the knife; raindrops hit the blade, splashing up fine droplets.

"Mo Feichang is Mo Feichang, and I am me. His letting you go and my killing you... are not contradictory."

The Gu Master paused for a moment, then sneered and took out a small porcelain bottle from his pocket. The bottle contained half a bottle of dark purple liquid.

He pulled out the stopper and gulped it down, his Adam's apple bobbing up and down.

In a few breaths, his aura began to surge... Body Tempering Level 4, Level 5... until he reached Body Tempering Level 6 before stopping.

His face turned ashen, veins bulged under his skin, and his eyes were bloodshot.

The shop owner next to him also downed a bottle, his aura surged, he stood up straight, his eyes were bloodshot, and his breath condensed into white mist in the rain.

The Gu Master threw the empty porcelain bottle on the ground and stomped on it, then looked at Xu Xian with a cold smile.

"The Gu Master simply dislikes the crude fighting style of martial artists, which doesn't mean they lack close-combat skills... This secret medicine can push your blood and qi to their peak within an hour. The side effects are significant, but it's enough to kill you. You've come here to die, so don't blame me!"

Xu Xian held the goose-feather saber horizontally in front of him, blinked, and suddenly charged forward.

Without tactics or calculations, a few images flashed through my mind... the image of that boy clutching a brick and lunging at Yang Xu.

The image of Lu Jing slicing off the girl's head with a sword.

The image of the woman slumped in the rain, clutching a cloth tiger.

The image of the old woman lying on top of her granddaughter's body, unable to be pulled up.

  

He poured all his anger into the knife.

The Gu Master caught his blade with his bare hands, the collision of his palm and the blade producing a crisp sound.

After taking the medicine, the Gu Master's muscle density increased dramatically, and Xu Xian's knife only left a shallow white mark on his arm.

The shop owner pounced from the side, his five fingers forming a claw as he reached for Xu Xian's ribs. Xu Xian blocked with his left arm, but the claw tore off his sleeve, leaving five bloody grooves on his arm.

He was forced back by the two men, splashing water everywhere as he stepped on the puddles.

He charged forward again, his blade colliding with the Gu Master's fist. Unable to withstand the continuous heavy blows, the blade shattered in the middle, and half of the blade flew out and stuck in the mud.

He threw away the broken sword and fought back with his fists and palms. He struck the Gu Master in the chest with the "Regretful Dragon" technique. The Gu Master only took half a step back and then struck Xu Xian in the chest with his palm. Xu Xian flew backward and crashed into the alley wall, shattering a large section of the wall.

He coughed up a mouthful of blood, struggled to his feet, and had at least two broken ribs.

The Gu Master flicked the blood from his palm and sneered, "Fourth level of Body Tempering versus sixth level, a difference of two minor realms, what makes you think you can compete?"

Xu stood up, gritted his teeth, and charged forward again.

The Eighteen Subduing Dragon Palms struck one after another—"Dragon Appears in the Field"—striking the Gu Master's chest, causing him to stagger back three steps and vomit blood.

The shop owner kicked him from the side in the broken ribs, and Xu Xian groaned as he knelt down on one knee, the water reaching above his knees.

The Gu Master wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, looked down at Xu Xian kneeling in the water, and said, "I really don't understand. It's just the lives of a few commoners. Is it worth risking your own life?"

"Commoners?"

Xu Xian raised his head, a smile suddenly appearing on his blood-stained face, because he heard that voice.

"Dragon Elephant Prajna Technique cultivation progress has broken through to the fourth level... Realm has been synchronized, current realm: Body Tempering Level 5!"

"The Yi Jin Jing has advanced to the second level... The synergy of the techniques has been improved, and the cultivation speed is 300-400 per day."

He felt a tingling sensation throughout his body, and his blood and qi surged.

The broken ribs began to return to their original position on their own under the stimulation of the Yi Jin Jing (Muscle/Tendon Changing Classic). Although they were not yet healed, the pain suddenly lessened.

He stood up again, his right hand outstretched, the golden light in his palm more than twice as bright as before. "You call those children commoners, but in my eyes you're nothing but a beast!"

"The dragon appears in the field."

He struck out with his palm.

Seeing the power that was twice as strong as before, the Gu Master was terrified. He used both palms to block the attack, but the force of the blow sent his feet flying off the ground and crashing into the alley wall. The blood he spat out drew an arc in the rain.

After landing, he was already exhaling more than he was inhaling and couldn't get up.

The shop owner standing nearby was shocked and turned to run away!

He didn't understand why Xu Xian's cultivation level had suddenly increased, but survival was the most important thing!

Xu Xian exerted force with his feet, and then his left palm struck the shopkeeper from behind—Kanglong Youhui!

The shop owner turned around and blocked the attack, but his arm bone snapped with a crack, and he was sent flying, crashing into a trash can and scattering rotten vegetable leaves and broken porcelain shards all over the ground.

The two men lay on the ground struggling to get up, blood and foam constantly oozing from the corners of their mouths, and they were twitching incessantly.

On the courtyard wall, Lu Jing, who had been squatting on the wall watching the battle while holding an umbrella, put the umbrella away, jumped down, walked to Xu Xian's side, looked at the two struggling figures on the ground, and then looked at Xu Xian.

The internal energy of the sixth level of Body Tempering surged through his meridians. The rain that hit Xu Xian's shoulders was actually evaporated into white vapor by an invisible layer of qi and blood.

"I didn't expect you to have such a hidden skill, fifth level of Body Tempering..."

Lu Jing sheathed his sword. "The lower ranks attack the higher ones, very good... Looks like I don't need to cover for them anymore. These two don't have any other tricks up their sleeves."

"Thank you for your support, Brother Lu."

Xu Xian smiled, found a relatively dry stone stool by the alley wall, sat down, wiped his mouth with his sleeve, and tilted his head back to let the rain wash away the blood on his face.

The Gu Master leaned against the wall, clutching his chest and panting heavily as he looked at Xu Xian. "You...you're not going to kill us? What are you waiting for?"

"Wait for the people who deserve to kill you."

The Gu Master was taken aback, not understanding why.

...

A moment later, many footsteps came from the alley entrance. Lu Jing looked in the direction of the sound and saw Zhang Hu and Zhao Bao leading nine people out of the rain.

Among the parents who came yesterday, there was a butcher with a fierce face, who was walking at the front, with a boning knife at his waist.

The woman who was holding the cloth tiger also arrived, still clutching the tiger in her hand. The middle-aged man who had been carrying his son's corpse all the way was at the very back, his sleeves still covered in mud from yesterday's rain.

Nine people stood in the alley, rain lashing their faces, but no one spoke.

They looked at the two people on the ground, their limbs twisted and covered in blood, and then at Xu Xian, who was sitting on the stone bench, covered in wounds.

"Commander Lu... Brother Xu, the person has been brought."

Zhang Hu stood next to Xu Xian.

Xu Xian stood up and scanned the nine faces. Rain streamed down their faces, making it impossible to distinguish between rain and tears.

"These two are the murderers who killed your child. I cannot bring your child back to life..."

Xu Xian pointed to the two trembling figures on the ground and said softly, "But I can let you take revenge with your own hands."

The alley was quiet for three breaths.

All nine people turned their gazes toward the two people lying on the ground.

Then, the butcher pulled out a boning knife from his waist and held it in his hand. The knife was used for slaughtering pigs, and its blade was sharpened to a shine, capable of slicing through a pig's spine in one stroke.

He walked up to the Gu Master, looked down at him, his eyes bloodshot.

The Gu Master stared at the knife in his hand, his lips turning white. "W-what are you going to do? You can't kill me! Mo Feichang promised to let us go! You can't!"

The butcher stomped on the sorcerer's chest, pushing him back into the mud. He then squatted down and tapped the sorcerer's left arm with the back of his boning knife, his voice hoarse.

"Don't worry, how could I bear to let you die? That would be too easy on you..."