Volume 5, Chapter 298 – She Actually Isn’t Afraid of Killing Intent

Soon, the inn where the Tiger-Masked Man was staying became the focal point of the entire Honghua Sect, though most people only dared to peek from a distance.

“If you don’t come out, I’ll slaughter everyone in your Honghua Sect.”

The Tiger-Masked Man grew impatient and issued a lofty threat.

At that moment, General Zhang leaped onto the rooftop of the opposite inn in a few swift movements, then stood facing the Tiger-Masked Man from afar.

“Xiong Hu, you’ve got some nerve daring to escape prison?”

General Zhang raised his spear and pointed it at the Tiger-Masked Man.

“What Xiong Hu? What prison? The hell are you talking about? I don’t know any of that!”

The Tiger-Masked Man hesitated briefly before vehemently denying it.

“Hmph, playing dumb, are we? I was one of the people who arrested you and threw you into the Ministry of Justice’s dungeon. Even if you turned to ash, I’d recognize you.”

General Zhang spoke with absolute certainty.

“Nonsense! The Ministry of Justice is heavily guarded. If I were locked up there, how could I have escaped? You’ve got the wrong man. Scram if you don’t want to die.”

Xiong Hu continued to deny it fiercely.

“Heh, true. The Ministry of Justice is filled with experts. Even you wouldn’t be able to break out, unless someone deliberately let you go. The fact that you’re so tight-lipped about your identity suggests the one who released you isn’t simple! But no matter who they are, I suggest you leave now. This Qi Huang was personally selected by His Majesty as an Imperial Consort. Harm her, and next time, you won’t even get the chance to rot in a cell.”

General Zhang warned.

“Annoying fly! You’re asking for death!”

Enraged, Xiong Hu stomped on the rooftop, launching himself into the air like a ferocious bird of prey as he pounced toward General Zhang. The building beneath him collapsed under the force with a thunderous crash.

General Zhang didn’t dare underestimate him. He immediately unleashed his killing intent, enveloping his opponent, then kicked off the rooftop, his spear following like a dragon’s strike—a flash of cold light streaking through the night sky like a meteor.

Despite being shrouded in killing intent, Xiong Hu’s speed didn’t falter in the slightest. He didn’t dodge or evade. Instead, his fist, as large as a sand pot, blasted forth a strange, pulsating force that collided head-on with the spear’s tip.

Clang!

The moment they clashed, a metallic screech resounded. The spear trembled violently, cracks faintly appearing along its surface.

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General Zhang sensed the spear was about to slip from his grip and instinctively tightened his hold—only for searing pain to erupt in his palms, intensifying rapidly. Realizing the vibrations were unnatural, he hastily let go.

Seizing the opportunity, Xiong Hu’s thick right hand snatched the spear mid-air and swung it back at General Zhang like a whip.

With no way to dodge or leverage himself mid-air, General Zhang could only cross his arms in front of his chest to block.

Boom!

The spear tore through the air with a terrifying shriek before slamming into General Zhang’s forearms.

His face instinctively twisted in pain, he knew that even if his arms didn’t break, the bones would surely fracture. Yet something bizarre happened. When the spear struck, the force behind it was unexpectedly light, all bark and no bite.

‘Has the Ministry of Justice’s food gotten so bad that even a warrior like him is too weak to strike?’

The thought flashed through General Zhang’s mind.

Of course, the reality was different. This was all Qi Huang’s doing, she had released a strand of divine sense to cushion the blow before it reached General Zhang’s arms.

Even so, with no footing to brace himself, General Zhang was still sent flying backward, crashing into the inn he had just been standing on. The impact left him dazed and disoriented.

“It’s over. General Zhang lost! Now, no one in the Honghua Sect can stop that fiend.”

Elder Ruan, watching from a distance, lamented in despair.

“Quick, take Hongling and Qi Huang away. I’ll hold him off.”

Qin Quan ordered.

“Sect Leader, let’s all go! That monster is unbeatable!”

Elder Ruan urged.

“If I leave, what about the ordinary disciples here? How will the Honghua Sect maintain its standing in the cultivation world afterward?”

Qin Quan retorted before forcing a resolute smile.

“Don’t worry. As long as Hongling and Qi Huang survive, the Honghua Sect will have a bright future, even if it requires a sacrifice.”

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Having said that, Qin Quan charged toward the battle without hesitation.

“Using killing intent against me? Pathetic. I’ve killed more people than you’ve ever seen!”

Meanwhile, Xiong Hu sneered, tightening his grip slightly—the steel spear instantly shattered into fragments that clattered to the ground.

“Still, you’re not bad for a lackey. You’ve improved over the years, taking a hit from me without breaking your arms.”

Mocking, Xiong Hu snatched a few spear fragments and hurled them toward the ruined inn where General Zhang had fallen.

The shards shot forth faster than arrows, slicing through the air with a terrifying whistle.

“I’m done for…”

General Zhang was still stunned, his body unresponsive. Though conscious, he couldn’t move in time to evade and could only watch as the deadly projectiles closed in.

“Father, Mother… My wife, my daughter… I’m sorry. I couldn’t keep my promise.”

Guilt and regret flooded his heart.

Yet another strange thing happened. Just as the fragments were about to strike him, they suddenly lost momentum, scattering harmlessly to the ground.

“What the—?”

Xiong Hu muttered in disbelief.

“Hah…”

General Zhang struggled to his feet from the rubble and scoffed, “A ‘special-class convict’, yet you can’t even throw a few scraps of metal properly? At this rate, they won’t need to lock you up in the Ministry of Justice, even a pigsty would be enough to hold you.”

“Who is it?! Who’s screwing with me?! Show yourself if you’ve got the guts!”

Xiong Hu trembled with fury, howling into the night.

“You asked for it.”

Before the words faded, Qi Huang appeared in the night sky directly above Xiong Hu, looking down at him like a deity.

Qin Quan, who had just rushed to the scene, immediately ducked into the shadows upon sensing the shift in the situation.

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Who in their right mind wants to be a sacrifice?!

‘So fast!’

Xiong Hu’s expression flickered slightly. “Who are you? Why are you interfering?”

“Qi Huang is an Imperial Consort personally chosen by His Majesty. Attempting to kill her is treason, and you dare call it ‘interfering’?”

Qi Huang rebuked sternly, subtly hinting at her identity.

“You were sent by Lin Tu? I heard that cowardly emperor, too afraid to die, secretly formed an elite guard of a thousand men, led by someone called ‘Thousand Shadows’. Are you supposed to be that ‘Thousand Shadows’?”

Xiong Hu speculated aloud.

Qi Huang blinked. She hadn’t expected him to assign her an identity so readily. Playing along, she retorted, “What if I am? Since His Majesty ascended the throne, the people have lived in peace and prosperity, their laughter filling the land. Yet you dare call such a benevolent ruler a ‘cowardly emperor’, have you no conscience?”

“Getting riled up, are we? I’ll call him whatever I want! ‘Cowardly emperor’ is being generous, he’s nothing but a dog. All he does is eat, sleep, and hide in his palace mounting his harem. Isn’t that what a dog does?”

Xiong Hu hurled insults, trying to provoke her.

‘Damn, brother. You’re speaking facts. You’re making it hard for me to kill you.’

Qi Huang felt an odd sense of satisfaction.

“How dare you slander His Majesty?!”

General Zhang, however, couldn’t tolerate it and stepped forward, ready to fight.

“Stand down, General Zhang. Leave this man to me, Thousand Shadows. The reason I’m standing so high is so I can crush him underfoot.”

Qi Huang stopped him.

“As you command, Lord Thousand Shadows.”

General Zhang retreated respectfully, clearly convinced. After all, the emperor’s elite guards were few in number—at least, as far as he knew.

“Big words. Let me show you that in the face of a warrior’s killing intent, cultivators have no right to look down on others!”

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Xiong Hu, now thoroughly enraged, stomped the ground and shot toward Qi Huang like a cannonball, his killing intent surging like a tsunami.

“Killing intent? Too bad, I fear nothing now.”

Qi Huang had already steeled herself. Unfazed, she took a calm step forward, her overwhelming divine sense crashing down like a mountain.

Xiong Hu was strong, but only equivalent to a peak Incarnation Realm cultivator.

Qi Huang’s divine sense, however, had reached the late-stage Divine Realm, an entire major realm above him. The gap was insurmountable.

Sure enough, the moment Xiong Hu leaped into the air, his body jerked like a kite with its string yanked, sending him tumbling back down.

‘This person isn’t affected by killing intent?!’

Horror flashed through Xiong Hu’s mind, but before he could react, a numbing itch spread across his neck. Then came the pain—sharp, relentless—until it swallowed his consciousness. Before his body even hit the ground, his head slid from his shoulders, blood gushing like a fountain.

Meanwhile, atop a towering tree outside the Honghua Sect, a hidden observer’s breathing grew slightly ragged.

“Such powerful divine sense… But if you’re ‘Thousand Shadows’, then who am I?”

“You’re a dead man.”

A girl’s voice suddenly whispered in his ear.

“Who’s there?!”

The figure vanished like a ghost, reappearing several meters away on another tree, so fast it seemed like teleportation.

Stabilizing himself, he turned toward the voice.

A black-clad cat-eared girl stood before him, her crimson vertical pupils burning like twin flames.