Xu Qing moved with shocking momentum, accompanied by the golden crow. He headed directly toward the distress signal, peerless, bewitching, leaving behind flames in the sky. As he closed in on his destination, incomparable fire burned in heaven and earth, sending out intense waves of heat toward the fifth Night Dove headquarters. Rumbling echoed out left and right as a sea of flames covered everything. Fleeing Night Dove operatives screamed in agony as they were reduced to ash. Crashing sounds could be heard as entire buildings collapsed.
This area was in the district administered by the Fifth Peak. The headquarters itself was a huge, three-story tower that supposedly sold spell formations. Though it didn’t maintain any official ties to the Fifth Peak, the reality was that it did have some business connections with the disciples there.
Xu Qing wasn’t sure if the Fifth Peak knew that this place also had ties to Night Dove. Nor did he care. After this night, the place wouldn’t exist.
As he arrived, and the sea of flames he brought swept over everything, the Violent Crimes constables who had the place surrounded excitedly bowed in greeting.
Some distance away, the collapsing buildings revealed two locations where fighting was playing out. In one of them, seven or eight deputy directors had used the sect’s grand spell formation to trap a Night Dove operative. The operative was an old man in a fancy black robe with age spots all over his face. His eyes radiated fury, and as he fought back, his three-flame power was clearly extraordinary. Normally speaking, he could have easily slaughtered the one-flame deputy directors. But thanks to using the sect’s spell formation, they were able to stay alive and also prevent him from fleeing.
Unfortunately, there weren’t many deputy directors to begin with, and the power of the spell formation that they could summon wasn’t enough to fully crush the Night Dove operative. All of the deputy directors were injured. That said, Seven Blood Eyes disciples were born of ferocity, and wouldn’t back down just because of some simple injuries.
In the other location where fighting was playing out, a two-flame Violent Crimes director, backed by the support of several hundred constables and the Fifth Peak spell formation, had trapped a single opponent. He wore a golden daoist robe, and looked to be about eighteen or nineteen years old. He was handsome, with eyes like stars and a very extraordinary disposition. Nine flying swords swirled around him, sending pulses of sword energy in all directions. Shockingly, he had the power of three life flames, and he looked very angry as he battered at the spell formation trapping him.
The Seven Blood Eyes Formation wouldn’t work on this person, and thus the director had to rely on the Fifth Peak itself. With hundreds of constables also helping to power the formation, they were just able to contain the young swordsman. However, given how pale they were in the face, it was obvious they wouldn’t be able to sustain the effort much longer.
Xu Qing arrived like a lightning bolt from heaven. As the sea of flames roiled around him, he looked over at the three-flame old man in the black robe, as well as the disciple from the Soaring Cloud Sword Sect.
The latter was stunned to see Xu Qing present, as he knew how terrifying he was. And he grew more alarmed when he realized Xu Qing was ignoring the Night Dove operative and heading in his direction. The sword energy coming off of his flying swords suddenly grew unstable.
“Xu Qing,” he blurted, “I was just passing through! Your subordinates attacked Night Dove and then dragged me into this. I have nothing to do with Night Dove!”
Meanwhile, the director of the Third Peak’s Violent Crimes Division wiped blood from his mouth and said, “Director Xu, when we showed up and surrounded the place, this guy was in the middle of negotiating something with the Night Dove chief. I don’t know what they were talking about, but he definitely wasn’t just passing through!”
Xu Qing nodded and strode forward. He waved his hand, and the Violent Crimes constables restraining the Soaring Cloud Sword Sect disciple were pushed away by a gentle force. The spell formation also ceased functioning.
The young man’s face flickered dramatically as he said, “Xu Qing, my Elder Brother is Master Shengyun! If you hurt me, he’ll kill you! I—”
Xu Qing’s face was completely expressionless as he arrived right in front of the young man, ignoring the flying swords that swirled around him. Xu Qing moved so quickly that the sword disciple couldn’t track his movements or react. In the blink of an eye, Xu Qing reached out, grabbed the young man’s throat, and smashed him into the ground.
A boom echoed as cracks spread out on the ground. At the same time, the young sword disciple bled profusely from the eyes, ears, nose, and mouth. Two of his life flames instantly went out. In his shock, he tried to control his flying swords and send them shooting toward Xu Qing, but he was too slow.
Xu Qing lifted him up and threw him backward. Cracking sounds rang out from inside the young man, and at the same time, he let loose a miserable shriek. Numerous bones within him were now shattered, and his final life flame went out. As he flopped on the ground, coughing up blood, he was obviously seriously injured.
Xu Qing didn’t need to issue orders. The Violent Crimes constables in the area immediately pounced on the young man and placed shackles on him to seal his cultivation base.
Meanwhile, the old Night Dove operative surrounded by the deputy directors suddenly used some sort of life-saving technique. Booms rang out as a huge shockwave swept out, stunning everyone around him. Then he threw out an identity medallion, which shattered but somehow loosened the effects of the sect’s grand spell formation.
Using that opportunity, the black-robed operative fled with terror in his eyes. Strangely, the direction to which he fled was none other than the sect’s mountain peaks.
Xu Qing turned and looked at him coldly. He had no idea who this person was, but he could sense the fluctuations of a disguise. What was more, he had obviously used an identity medallion to negate some of the effects of the spell formation.
Though the formation was only being used by deputy directors, who couldn’t unleash its full might, it was still something formidable. Because of that, it seemed to indicate that this person… was actually a Seven Blood Eyes disciple. There was no way that Night Dove could operate in the Seven Blood Eyes capital city without working with Seven Blood Eyes disciples. Xu Qing was fully aware of that, but at the same time, wasn’t interested in uncovering every detail. There wasn’t any point.
After noting the direction in which the ‘old man’ fled, Xu Qing expressionlessly stepped up into mid-air. Then he lifted his right hand over his head, whereupon the shadowy image of a heavenly saber appeared. The saber was shockingly powerful, and as soon as it appeared in the open, wild winds screamed, and a desolate aura spread out everywhere. Everyone who could see it was visibly shocked.
In fact, there were some Seven Sect Coalition disciples who recognized what it was, and let loose exclamations of surprise.
“Supreme Vastness Solitary Saber!”
As those cries of shock rang out, Xu Qing sped up, heading directly toward the three-flame ‘old man’ from Night Dove. Blinding light erupted from the saber as it slashed down, moving with such incredible speed it could slice stars and sever moons. From a distance, the majestic might of that saber caused the dome of heaven to change color, and filled the night with the radiance of glittering heavenly bodies.
One solitary saber descended, shaking everything in all directions.
The fleeing ‘old man’ looked completely astonished as he tapped into all of the power his life flames could muster. However, none of that was enough for him to flee the saber. As the saber light glittered, his eyes lit up with despair. ｂ𝚍ｎｏ𝚟ｌ.
“I had no idea you knew the Supreme Vastness Solitary Saber….” he murmured. A blood-red line appeared on his forehead, then stretched down to his nose and his lips. It went through his chin, down his chest, and then the rest of his body. Blood sprayed everywhere as he was sliced completely in half. Then the two halves of him flopped onto the ground, surrounded by gore.
Given the current level of Xu Qing’s cultivation base, his Supreme Vastness Solitary Saber was even more deadly than before. One strike was enough to kill a three-flame opponent. Everyone who saw it was struck speechless.
Meanwhile, not far away, there was a team of Violent Crimes constables stopping anyone on the street to make sure they weren’t fleeing Night Dove operatives. Despite the curfew, there were still some people who, for various reasons, needed to be out and about.
At the moment, one such person was standing near the Violent Crimes constables. He was a young man of about thirteen or fourteen years of age, and he was so nervous he was trembling. He had arrived in Seven Blood Eyes the day before, and had just passed his assessment earlier that day and been assigned to the Sixth Peak. He had his identity medallion in his hand, and it indicated he was to check in for duty with the Sixth Peak’s Violent Crimes Division.
On his way back from the assessment, he was stopped by some Violent Crimes constables. And as they inspected his identity medallion, he heard a scream and looked up to see that Night Dove operative being cut in half by a saber!
He was shocked, but at the same time, the saber move filled him with a deep longing and an indescribable reverence.
Seeing the look in his eye, one of the constables looked over his shoulder and then said, “That’s Director Xu Qing from the Seventh Peak’s Violent Crimes Division. He’s the top figure in all of Seven Blood Eyes’ Violent Crimes Divisions.” Then he waved at the other constables and continued, “This kid’s with us. Calm down, you’ll scare him. We need to focus on catching the Night Dove fugitives. The exalted Xu Qing’s orders are to wipe out every last Night Dove operative before the sun rises! As for you, boy, hurry on your way. It’s not safe out tonight.”
The other constables raced off excitedly into the night. Meanwhile, the young man stood where he was, looking up at the heavenly saber slowly fading out of existence.
I wonder when I’ll be like that, he thought. Then he hurried on his way. A seed had been planted in his heart, a seed that would urge him to become a powerful expert as well.
.