My cultivation disguise has been exposed by Xiao Sizi.

At the crossroads of Qingyang City.

The bustling sounds of the marketplace filled the air. The shouts of noodle vendors and the laughter of passersby intertwined to create a vibrant and lively scene.

however.

Beside this simple wooden table, the air seemed to freeze solid in an instant.

Li Chen held a bowl of steaming hot Yangchun noodles in his hand.

The noodles hung in mid-air, dripping with oily broth.

His body, however, was as stiff as a stone sculpture that had been weathered for a thousand years.

The icy chill that emanated from his neck made the hairs on his neck stand on end.

The blade was less than half an inch away from his carotid artery.

"Gulp."

Li Chen swallowed hard.

"Holy crap! In broad daylight, a robbery? A murder? Are the people here all this brash?"

Out of the corner of his eye, he cautiously glanced at the man and woman who had somehow ended up sitting in the empty seat next to him.

The two men were dressed in coarse linen clothes and wore bamboo hats, looking no different from ordinary wandering swordsmen.

But the chilling killing intent emanating from them was almost tangible.

Especially the woman holding the sword.

Her eyes were fixed on Li Chen's profile, like a mother leopard guarding her prey.

"explain!"

The woman's voice was low, yet it carried an undisguised chilling murderous intent.

"How on earth did you find out who we are?!"

Li Chen was completely stunned.

He looked at the noodles in the bowl, then at the sword at his neck, his face full of question marks.

"No, wait."

Li Chen carefully tilted his neck back, trying to avoid the sharp blade.

"Hey, hey, hey! What are you two talking about?" Li Chen asked, his face full of innocence.

"And could you please put the sword away? We're all civilized people, let's not resort to knives and guns, it's extremely dangerous, okay? What if you slit someone's throat?"

"Besides, your sword is ice cold. The doctor said I'm prone to feeling cold, could you move it a bit?"

"Stop talking nonsense!"

The man next to him, who hadn't said a word until now, suddenly slammed his hand on the table, his eyes fierce.

"Stop playing dumb! You just turned around and said to us, who are sitting next to you eating noodles, 'You're the assassin, aren't you!'"

"We hid so well that we even shook off the Zhou family's pursuers."

"How exactly did you see through it? Tell me, are you a spy sent by the Zhou family?"

Upon hearing these words...

Li Chen's mind went blank for a moment before he realized what was happening.

He stared wide-eyed at the two people in front of him in disbelief.

"Holy crap?"

Li Chen's voice was distorted, and his tone was full of absurdity.

"You two... are the two assassins the Zhou family posted a bounty on the city wall for?!"

The man gave a cold laugh, his eyes growing even colder.

"Didn't you already know? Why are you asking?"

"I'm asking your grandpa!"

Li Chen simply didn't know where to begin complaining. This kind of luck—wouldn't he have won the lottery in his previous life?

He was just muttering to himself, complaining about not being able to find anyone in this vast sea of ​​people, and casually making a sarcastic remark to the air next to him.

Who would have thought.

What a coincidence!

These two assassins, who were wanted throughout the city, just happened to be sitting next to him eating noodles! And they even happened to overhear his casual remark!

Is this some kind of incredible luck or some kind of damn Murphy's Law?

"Heroine, hero, let me explain... no, I mean, I want to offer my explanation."

Li Chen was both amused and exasperated, waving his hands repeatedly.

"This is a huge misunderstanding. I swear, I don't know you at all. I was just talking to myself. It's purely coincidental! Do you believe me?"

"coincide?"

The female assassin snorted coldly, flicked her wrist slightly, and the blade moved even closer.

"Do you think we're three-year-olds? There's no such thing as a coincidence!"

"Senior brother, stop wasting your breath on him!"

The female assassin turned to look at the man, her eyes filled with murderous intent.

"This kid is spouting nonsense; he's definitely stalling for time while waiting for reinforcements from the Zhou family. Kill him, and let's get out of here quickly!"

"Okay!" The man nodded without hesitation.

The voice just fell.

The female assassin suddenly exerted force with her wrist, and her longsword, carrying a sharp sword aura, slashed directly towards Li Chen's throat.

"He has a really bad temper!"

Li Chen cursed under his breath.

Although his dantian is now depleted and he cannot mobilize a single trace of true essence.

However, his physical body, reshaped by the Chaos Spirit Crystal, still possesses reaction speed and strength far exceeding that of ordinary people.

"Whoosh!"

Just as the blade was about to sever his throat.

Li Chen's body suddenly leaned backward at a very strange angle.

Simultaneously.

He suddenly raised his right foot and kicked the wooden table in front of him solidly.

"Splash!"

He kicked the entire table away, sending the scalding bowl of plain noodles and soup crashing down on the man and woman.

"Be careful!"

The man exclaimed in surprise and quickly pulled his junior sister backward.

The scalding hot noodle soup spilled all over the floor, steaming hot.

"You're actually quite capable!"

The female assassin dodged the soup, but instead of stopping, her swordplay became even more ferocious.

She moved with lightning speed, like a ghost, instantly bypassing the collapsed wooden table.

The longsword transformed into countless sword shadows, completely sealing off all of Li Chen's escape routes.

"Is this never going to end?!"

Li Chen also got angry.

He casually pulled a bamboo chopstick from the chopstick holder next to him.

Instead of retreating, they advanced.

With terrifying physical strength and muscle memory.

The ordinary bamboo chopstick in Li Chen's hand suddenly unleashed a chilling aura.

"clang!"

A crisp sound.

The bamboo chopsticks struck the weakest point on the spine of the longsword with perfect accuracy.

The female assassin felt a tremendous, strange force surge through the sword, making her hands go numb and nearly causing her to drop the sword.

"How is this possible?!"

The female assassin was horrified.

She clearly didn't sense any spiritual energy fluctuations from this young man. Yet, the power of his casual strike was even more terrifying than that of herself, a late-stage Qi Refining cultivator!

"Junior sister, step back! I'll deal with him!"

Upon seeing this, the male assassin immediately drew his short sword and pounced on Li Chen like a tiger descending a mountain.

The three of them instantly engaged in a fierce battle on the narrow street.

In a short time.

The noodle stall was smashed to pieces, and the surrounding diners and civilians screamed in terror and scattered in all directions.

Although Li Chen had no magical powers, he managed to withstand the two men with his bare hands without being at a disadvantage. He wielded a bamboo chopstick with incredible skill, leaving no room for error.

Just as the three were locked in a fierce and evenly matched battle.

"stop!"

"Surround them all! Don't let a single one escape!"

Accompanied by a series of chaotic and heavy footsteps.

Suddenly, a large number of fully armed guards emerged from both ends of the street.

They were dressed in matching black outfits, with a prominent "Zhou" character embroidered on their chests.

Holding gleaming steel knives, they instantly surrounded the entire noodle stall.

"Oh no, the Zhou family's pursuers are here!"