Martial Cultivator

Chen Chao carried a lantern and arrived at the house that Song Lian had arranged for him some time ago. This house was found for him by Song Lian back then, but Chen Chao had spent most of his time away from the Divine Capital. Even when he was in the Divine Capital, he mostly stayed at the lakeside courtyard at the academy. Therefore, he had not set foot here in quite a while. Just a few days ago, when he returned to the house, he found that even though he practically never stayed here, Song Lian had arranged for someone to clean it regularly. The house remained as tidy as ever.

When he reached the front door, Chen Chao hung the lantern in front of the door and then reached out to push the door open.

He did not lock the door when he left because there was nothing of value inside. Although he had a number of valuable items on him, they were mostly kept with him, making it unnecessary to lock the door. Besides, the house was not far from the Left Guard’s office, so he did not have to worry about thieves.

The door always pushed open easily.

After opening the door, he should be able to see the small tree that had been recently planted in the yard.

Although there was no moonlight tonight, with Chen Chao’s vision, spotting that little tree should not be difficult.

However, many things in life can be unexpected, just like what happened now.

As he opened the door, instead of seeing the small tree, he saw a flash of sword light.

A sword thrust straight at his chest the moment he opened the door, and it was accompanied by an overwhelming sword qi and an unmistakable intent to kill.

The sword qi surged like a rushing river, seemingly held back by a dam, with the door serving as that dam. Now that the door was pushed open, it was as if the dam had given way, allowing the river to flow freely, and the sword qi naturally poured out.

The gust of wind generated by that sword swept up Chen Chao’s hair.

It made his black robe flutter loudly.

That sword strike was incredibly powerful, clearly delivered with all the strength of a Great Beyond Realm sword cultivator. In this world, the powerhouses in the Nepenthe Realm were big shots, but these figures did not easily appear in the world. Thus, Great Beyond Realm cultivators frequently took their place, and sword cultivators known for their killing power were destined to be the most terrifying existences in these tales.

The most terrifying aspect of this sword strike was actually not because the cultivation realm was very high, nor the fearsome killing power, but rather the complete lack of sword qi leaking out before it was unleashed. It was like a venomous snake waiting for the right moment to strike a lethal blow that while not being aware, no Great Beyond Realm cultivator could escape.

This was an assassination.

However, from the moment that sword was drawn, it revealed how much effort had been put into the arrangement.

Chen Chao had known in advance that someone was behind the door.

So when that sword was thrust out, he pulled the door back.

The courtyard door was merely an ordinary wooden door, even if it were made of fine steel, it would undoubtedly be torn apart by that sword strike at this moment.

There were no surprises, the wooden door was torn apart in an instant, splinters exploding and flying everywhere. The sword did not deviate in the slightest because of the door and continued to stab directly at Chen Chao’s heart.

The sword was gripped by a hand with slender fingers. It looked very strong and calloused on the thumb, indicating how many years this person had practiced with a sword.

Behind that sword was an ordinary and unremarkable face, devoid of any expression. The person simply focused intently on thrusting the sword, not thinking about anything else. But he was perfectly clear that this sword would certainly strike Chen Chao, though it would not kill him. However, the poison smeared on the sword tip would quickly seep into Chen Chao’s heart, severely diminishing his combat power.

As long as this was accomplished, the assassination would be half successful.

But in the next moment, his expression became somewhat ugly, because the sword had stabbed into empty air.

The young martial artist had sidestepped and avoided this vicious strike.

How could this be possible?!

These four words involuntarily appeared in the assassin’s mind.

He had used a secret treasure to conceal his presence and he hid his killing intent very well too, believing that even a Nepenthe Realm powerhouse would not be able to detect him in such a short time.

Yet the undeniable fact before him was that Chen Chao had discovered him and evaded this sword strike.

This left him in disbelief.

However, he had no time to dwell on it. In the next moment, the young martial artist took a step forward, lowered his shoulder, and charged out.

With a loud crash!

The large vat in the courtyard was smashed at this moment, water erupting from it and splashing in all directions.

Chen Chao did not pursue or reach for his saber, instead, he threw a punch to the left.

An assassin hiding there was instantly struck in the chest by Chen Chao’s fist. In an instant, his chest caved in, and his internal organs were completely shattered by the blow!

Chen Chao grabbed the dead assassin’s body and tossed it to the back.

Two other assassins who had been lurking in the shadows were already moving towards Chen Chao. However, they were quickly obstructed by the corpse. As the duo sent the corpse flying with a palm strike, Chen Chao had already killed two more people who had entered the courtyard. Without any pause, he turned to face the two remaining assassins.

He threw another punch at them, facing the two.

Another loud bang!

The assassin who faced Chen Chao head-on had his hand bones shattered by the force of the blow, and the immense power caused his arm to break, exposing raw bone and flesh.

Chen Chao then reached out and struck the other assassin on the head, crushing the head completely.

As a martial artist who had one of the toughest bodies among Great Beyond Realm martial artists, Chen Chao’s body had long since become as sturdy as metal and stone. This not only meant that others could not easily injure him but also meant that he himself was one of the most formidable weapons in the world.

With that palm strike, it was naturally impossible for the average cultivator whose body had not been tempered to withstand it.

But at the same time, several figures had already surrounded him.

Chaotic qi flooded this small courtyard at this very moment.

In the next instant, several figures flew backward and crashed heavily to the ground, shattering numerous stone bricks.

Chen Chao stepped into the courtyard.

The sword cultivator he had severely injured earlier had already summoned his flying sword, aiming it at Chen Chao’s heart.

However, this flying sword had long since lost its initial speed and was now swaying unsteadily, lacking any power.

As a result, Chen Chao simply grabbed the sword’s blade and instantly crushed it.

A look of pain appeared on the sword cultivator’s face, and he spat out a mouthful of blood.

Chen Chao ignored him, instead, he looked up. On the roof of the small courtyard, figures appeared at the north, south, east, and west corners. Each one held a red thread entwined in their hands, which they then tossed out. The four red threads spread like thin snakes, encircling the courtyard completely, and at each corner, bells dangled from the red threads.

A mysterious aura appeared.

Though it was already dark, at this moment, it seemed as if the sky darkened even further.

Chen Chao knew that this was a secret technique used to conceal the events about to unfold in the small courtyard.

It seemed that this assassination had been planned long in advance. Otherwise, it definitely would not have been so elaborate.

Chen Chao glanced at the several corpses lying on the ground, fell silent for a moment, and did not speak.

He merely placed his hand on the hilt of his saber.

The previous schemes had failed, and now these assassins appeared much more indifferent, pouring out from all corners of the courtyard. Their auras were mixed, with varying levels of strength. Chen Chao counted carefully and found that there were actually more than twenty cultivators at the Bitter Sea Realm, while among the cultivators at the Great Beyond Realm, excluding the already severely injured sword cultivator, there were still five or six left.

With such a lineup, forget about killing one Great Beyond Realm martial artist, even if another came, they would probably die here as well.

Chen Chao did not speak.

In the Divine Capital, there were few people capable of orchestrating such a killing trap, and even fewer who were bold enough to do so

Although he was not far from the Left Guard’s office, Chen Chao felt inexplicably that he would not see Song Lian tonight.

Feeling the silent killing intent around him, Chen Chao did not ask who was behind this assassination, because there would undoubtedly be no answer.

Tonight, it would either be them killing him or him killing them.

There were only these two paths.

Chen Chao took a deep breath and slowly drew his saber.

Meanwhile, the assassins also walked towards him silently.